CN110890910A

CN110890910A - Sector scanning method and related device

Info

Publication number: CN110890910A
Application number: CN201811044765.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄国刚; 韩霄; 李云波
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-07
Filing date: 2018-09-07
Publication date: 2020-03-17
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-07
Also published as: CN110890910B; WO2020048417A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a sector scanning method and a related device, wherein the sector scanning method comprises the steps that an initiator sends sector scanning parameters of the initiator to a responder on a first channel, receives the sector scanning parameters of the responder sent by the responder on the first channel, and scans sectors on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel. The sector training method and device can reduce time consumption of sector training of the high-frequency channel and improve sector training efficiency.

Description

Sector scanning method and related device

Technical Field

The present application relates to communications technologies, and in particular, to a sector scanning method and a related apparatus in a wireless communication system.

Background

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) typically operate in unlicensed spectrum, which includes low frequency channels and high frequency channels. The radio signal transmitted on the low frequency channel is relatively slow in attenuation and good in penetration effect, but the frequency spectrum resource of the low frequency channel is limited, so that the transmission rate is limited. While the wireless signal transmitted on the high-frequency channel is relatively fast in attenuation and poor in penetration effect, the high-frequency channel is rich in frequency spectrum resources, and the transmission rate is high in a close range.

On a high-frequency channel, an initiator and a responder with a plurality of transceiving sectors can adopt BeamForming (BF) training, also called sector scanning, to align the transceiving sectors of the initiator and the responder, and data transceiving is performed according to the aligned transceiving sectors, so that the gain of a transceiving antenna can be effectively improved to overcome signal attenuation, and the transmission distance on the high-frequency channel is increased.

In the beamforming training process on the high-frequency channel, the initiator and the responder may continuously and blindly switch sectors to perform sector scanning, which makes the sector scanning performed by the initiator and the responder on the high-frequency channel take longer time, resulting in lower sector scanning efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a sector scanning method and a related device, which are used for improving the sector scanning efficiency on a high-frequency channel.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a sector scanning method, including:

the initiator transmits a first frame comprising the sector scanning parameters of the initiator to the responder on a first channel, and also receives a second frame comprising the sector scanning parameters of the responder, which is transmitted by the responder on the first channel;

the initiator scans the sector on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a sector scanning method, including:

a responder receives a first frame comprising sector sweep parameters of an initiator from the initiator on a first channel and sends a second frame comprising sector sweep parameters of the responder to the initiator on the first channel;

the responder scans the sector on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel.

The method can reduce the cost of signaling interaction on the high-frequency channel, and can also enable the initiator and the responder to respectively carry out sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the opposite end, thereby realizing the accurate sector scanning of the initiator and the responder on the high-frequency channel, avoiding the blind switching of sectors, effectively reducing the time consumption for carrying out sector training on the high-frequency channel and improving the training efficiency of the high-frequency sectors.

Under the condition of accurate sector scanning of an initiator and a responder, the devices at the transmitting and receiving ends can respectively adopt respective optimal transmitting sectors and optimal receiving sectors to communicate with the opposite end device on a high-frequency channel, namely, the directional transmitting and receiving of the devices at the transmitting and receiving ends are realized, and the information transmission distance on the high-frequency channel is increased.

On the basis of the sector scanning method according to any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in an implementation manner, the sector scanning parameter of the initiator includes at least one of the following information:

the starting time of sector scanning by the initiator, the number of sectors of the initiator, the number of antennas of the initiator, indication information of antenna diversity of the initiator, indication information of antenna mode diversity of the initiator, the length of a training frame of sector scanning by the initiator, and indication information of training mode of the initiator;

the number of sectors of the initiator is the number of sectors used for sector scanning by the initiator;

the number of the antennas of the initiator is the number of the antennas used by the initiator for sector scanning;

the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the initiator is used for indicating that: whether the optimal transmitting antenna of the initiator is the optimal receiving antenna of the initiator;

the indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the initiator is used for indicating that: whether the antenna weight corresponding to the sending antenna mode of the initiator is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the initiator;

the training mode indication information of the initiator is used for indicating whether the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with one end oriented or a training mode with both ends oriented.

The sector scanning parameters of the initiator comprise the starting time of sector scanning performed by the initiator and the length of the training frame of sector scanning performed by the initiator, so that the initiator and the responder can realize synchronous sector switching based on the starting time and the length of the training frame, the initiator and the responder can perform sector switching by adopting the same frequency or beat, the accurate sector switching of the initiator and the responder is realized, the time consumption of sector scanning on a high-frequency channel is reduced, and the sector scanning efficiency is improved.

In another implementation manner, when the training mode indication information of the initiator is used to indicate that the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with both ends oriented, the sector sweep parameters of the initiator further include:

indication information of sector scanning mode of the initiator; the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the initiator is used for indicating the corresponding relationship between the number of times of sending the responder in each sector and the number of times of sector scanning performed by the initiator.

In yet another implementation manner, the sector sweep parameter of the initiator further includes at least one of the following information:

the frame type of the first frame, the indication information whether the initiator requests to perform transmission sector scanning, the indication information whether the initiator requests to perform receiving sector scanning, the indication information of the feedback type, the indication information whether the first frame carries the training sequence of the receiving end, and the length indication information of the training sequence;

the feedback type indication information is used for indicating whether a transmission mode of the feedback information between the initiator and the responder adopts a tunnel transparent transmission mechanism OCT or not.

On the basis of the sector scanning method according to any one of the first aspect and the second aspect, in an implementation manner, the sector scanning parameter of the responder includes at least one of the following information:

the start time of sector scanning by the responder, the number of sectors of the responder, the number of antennas of the responder, the indication information of antenna diversity of the responder, the indication information of antenna mode diversity of the responder node, the length of a training frame of sector scanning by the responder and the indication information of training mode of the responder;

the number of the sectors of the responder is the number of the sectors used for sector scanning by the responder;

the number of the antennas of the responder is the number of the antennas used by the responder for sector scanning;

the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the responder is used for indicating that: whether the optimal transmitting antenna of the responder is the optimal receiving antenna of the responder;

the indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the responder is used for indicating that: whether the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the responder is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the responder;

the training mode indication information of the responder is used for indicating whether the training mode of the responder is a training mode with one end oriented or a training mode with both ends oriented.

In another implementation manner, when the training mode indication information of the responder is used to indicate that the training mode of the responder is a training mode oriented at both ends, the sector sweep parameters of the responder further include:

indication information of sector scanning mode of the responder; the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the responder is used for indicating the corresponding relation between the number of times of sending the initiator in each sector and the number of times of sector scanning performed by the responder.

In yet another implementation, the sector sweep parameter of the responder further includes at least one of the following information:

the frame type of the second frame, the indication information whether the responder requests to perform transmission sector scanning, the indication information whether the responder requests to perform receiving sector scanning, the indication information of the feedback type, the indication information whether the second frame carries the training sequence of the receiving end, and the length indication information of the training sequence;

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a sector scanning method, including:

the network device sends a beacon frame including the sector scanning parameters of the network device to the user device on a first channel, and performs sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the network device, wherein the frequency of the second channel is higher than that of the first channel.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a sector scanning method, including:

the user equipment receives a beacon frame which comprises sector scanning parameters of the network equipment from the network equipment on a first channel; and performing sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the network device, wherein the frequency of the second channel is higher than that of the first channel.

The sector scanning method can reduce the overhead of signaling interaction on a high-frequency channel, and enable the user equipment to acquire the sector scanning parameters of the network equipment in advance, so that the network equipment and the user equipment can perform sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the network equipment, thereby realizing accurate sector scanning of the network equipment and the user equipment on the high-frequency channel, avoiding blind sector switching, effectively reducing the time consumption for performing sector training on the high-frequency channel, and improving the training efficiency of the high-frequency sector.

On the basis of the sector scanning method provided by the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the sector scanning parameter of the network device includes at least one of the following information:

the starting time of sector scanning by the network equipment, the number of sectors of the network equipment, the number of antennas of the network equipment, the indication information of antenna diversity of the network equipment, the indication information of antenna mode diversity of the network equipment, the length of a training frame of sector scanning by the network equipment, and the indication information of training mode of the network equipment;

the number of the sectors of the network equipment is the number of the sectors used for sector scanning of the network equipment;

the number of the antennas of the network equipment is the number of the antennas used for sector scanning of the network equipment;

the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the network device is used for indicating: whether the optimal transmitting antenna of the network equipment is the optimal receiving antenna of the network equipment;

the indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the network device is used for indicating: whether the antenna weight corresponding to the sending antenna mode of the network equipment is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the network equipment;

the training mode indication information of the network device is used for indicating whether the training mode of the network device is a training mode with one end oriented or a training mode with both ends oriented.

The sector scanning parameters of the network device comprise the starting time of the network device for sector scanning and the length of the training frame of the network device for sector scanning, so that the network device and the user equipment can realize synchronous sector switching based on the starting time and the length of the training frame, the network device and the user equipment can perform sector switching by adopting the same frequency or beat, the accurate sector switching of the network device and the user equipment is realized, the time consumption of sector scanning on a high-frequency channel is reduced, and the sector scanning efficiency is improved.

Optionally, when the training mode indication information of the network device is used to indicate that the training mode of the network device is a training mode with both ends oriented, the sector scanning parameters of the network device further include:

indication information of a sector scanning mode of the network device, and indication information of a repetition number;

the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the network device is used for indicating the corresponding relation between the sending times of the user equipment in each sector and the sector scanning times of the network device;

the indication information of the repetition times is used for indicating the sending times of the user equipment in each sector, or the sector scanning times of the network equipment.

Optionally, the sector scanning parameters of the network device further include at least one of the following information:

the beacon frame carries the indication information of the training sequence of the receiving end and the length indication information of the training sequence;

the feedback type indication information is used for indicating whether a transmission mode of the feedback information between the network device and the user equipment adopts a tunnel transparent transmission mechanism OCT.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a sector scanning apparatus on an initiator or a network device side. In one approach, the apparatus may be an initiator device or may be a chip within the initiator device. The initiator may be a network device or a user equipment. In another mode, the apparatus may be a network device, or may be a chip within the network device.

The apparatus can implement any function of any implementation manner of the first aspect related to the initiator, or any function of any implementation manner of the third aspect related to the network device. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In one possible implementation, when the apparatus is an initiator device or a network device, the initiator device may include: a processor, also called a controller, may be configured to support the initiator device or the network device to perform the respective functions of the above-described methods. The transceiver comprises a low-frequency transceiver and a high-frequency transceiver, wherein the low-frequency transceiver is used for supporting communication between the initiator device and the responder device on a low-frequency channel so as to send information or instructions related in the method to the responder device on the low-frequency channel, and receive the information or instructions sent by the responder device on the low-frequency channel; or to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel, to send information or instructions involved in the above method to the user equipment on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiver to support sector scanning on a high frequency channel by the initiator and the responder; or, to support sector scanning between the network device and the user equipment on the high frequency channel. Optionally, the initiator device may further include a memory, coupled to the processor, that stores necessary program instructions and data for the initiator device or the network device.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes: processor, memory, transceiver, antenna. The processor, also referred to as a controller, is mainly configured to control the entire apparatus, and execute computer program instructions to support the apparatus to perform the actions described in any of the method embodiments of the first aspect or the third aspect. The memory is used primarily for storing program instructions and data necessary to maintain the initiator device or the network device. The transceiver is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

In a possible implementation manner, when the apparatus is a chip in an initiator device or a network device, the chip includes: the processing module may be, for example, a processor, which is also called a controller, and may be used to generate various messages and signaling, and perform processing such as encoding, modulating, and amplifying after encapsulating various messages according to a protocol, and the processor may also be used to obtain signaling and messages after demodulating, decoding, and decapsulating; the transceiver module may be, for example, an input/output interface, pin, or circuit on the chip, etc. The processing module can execute the computer execution instructions stored in the storage unit to support the initiator device or the network device to execute the corresponding functions in the above method. Alternatively, the storage unit may be a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, and the like, and the storage unit may also be a storage unit located outside the chip in the initiator device or the network device, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like.

The processor mentioned in any of the above may be a general processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the sector scanning method according to the first aspect or the third aspect.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a sector scanning apparatus applied to a responder or a user equipment. In one mode, the apparatus may be a responder device or may be a chip within the responder device. In another mode, the apparatus may be a user equipment, or may be a chip within the user equipment.

The apparatus has any function of implementing the responder according to any implementation manner of the second aspect, or any function of the user equipment according to any implementation manner of the fourth aspect. The function can be realized by hardware, and can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above functions.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus may be a responder device or a user equipment, and the responder device or the user equipment may include: a processor, also referred to as a controller, may be configured to enable a responder device or user equipment to perform the respective functions of the above-described methods. The transceivers include low frequency transceivers and high frequency transceivers. The low-frequency transceiver is used for supporting communication between the responder device and the initiator device, receiving the information or the instruction which is transmitted by the initiator device on the low-frequency channel and is involved in the method, and sending the information or the instruction which is involved in the method to the initiator on the low-frequency channel; or to support communication between a network device and a user equipment to receive information or instructions involved in the above method of network device transmission on a low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiver to support sector scanning on a high frequency channel by the initiator and the responder; or, to support sector scanning between the network device and the user equipment on the high frequency channel. Optionally, the responder device may also include a memory, coupled to the processor, that stores program instructions and data necessary for the responder device or the user device.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes: processor, memory, transceiver, antenna. The processor is mainly configured to control the entire apparatus, and execute the computer program instructions to support the apparatus to perform the actions described in any method embodiment of the second aspect or the fourth aspect. The memory is used primarily for storing program instructions and data necessary to maintain the responder device or the user device. The transceiver is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus may be a chip within a responder device or a user device, and the chip includes: the processing module may be, for example, a processor, which is also called a controller, and may be used to generate various messages and signaling, and perform processing such as encoding, modulating, and amplifying after encapsulating various messages according to a protocol, and the processor may also be used to obtain signaling and messages after demodulating, decoding, and decapsulating; the transceiver module may be, for example, an input/output interface, pin, or circuit on the chip, etc. The processing module can execute computer-executable instructions stored by the storage unit to support the responder device or the user equipment to execute corresponding functions in the method. Alternatively, the storage unit may be a storage unit in the chip, such as a register, a cache, and the like, and the storage unit may also be a storage unit located outside the chip in the responder device or the user device, such as a ROM or another type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a RAM, and the like.

The processor mentioned in any of the above may be a CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the programs of the sector scanning method of the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, where the instructions are executable by one or more processors on a processing circuit. When run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the sector scanning method in any possible implementation of any of the first, second, third or fourth aspects described above.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the sector scanning method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first, second, third or fourth aspects.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor, configured to support an initiator device to implement the first aspect, or support a responder device to implement the functions related to the second aspect, or support a network device to perform the functions related to the third aspect, or support a user equipment to perform the functions related to the fourth aspect, for example, to generate or process data and/or information related to the aspects. In one possible design, the system-on-chip further includes a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the data transmission device. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, which includes a processor, configured to call and execute instructions stored in a memory, so that a device in which the chip is installed performs the method in the above aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides another chip, including: the system comprises an input interface, an output interface, a processor and a memory, wherein the input interface, the output interface, the processor and the memory are connected through an internal connection path, the processor is used for executing codes in the memory, and when the codes are executed, the processor is used for executing the method in the aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network system, including: an initiator device and a responder device; the initiator device and the responder device are connected, the initiator device is any one of the initiator devices and executes the sector scanning method executed by the initiator according to the first aspect, and each second terminal device of the responder device is any one of the responder devices and executes the sector scanning method executed by any one of the responders according to the second aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a network system, including: a network device and a user device; a network device and a user equipment are connected, where the network device is any one of the network devices described above and executes the sector scanning method executed by the network device described above in the third aspect, and the user equipment is any one of the network devices described above and executes the sector scanning method executed by the user equipment described above in the fourth aspect.

According to the sector scanning method and the related device provided by the embodiment of the application, the responder can send the first frame including the sector scanning parameters of the initiator on the first channel through the initiator and receive the second frame including the sector scanning parameters of the responder returned by the responder on the first channel, so that the initiator can perform sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder and perform sector scanning parameters on the second channel, and the responder can perform sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator. According to the sector scanning method, the initiator and the responder exchange respective sector scanning parameters on the low-frequency channel in advance, so that the signaling interaction overhead on the high-frequency channel is reduced, the initiator and the responder know the sector scanning parameters in advance and perform accurate sector scanning on the high-frequency channel, and the blind switching of sectors is avoided, so that the time consumption for sector scanning on the high-frequency channel is effectively reduced, and the sector scanning efficiency is improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario of a WLAN according to embodiments of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic view of a scene in which information is transmitted between apparatuses by using OCT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic frame structure diagram of a request frame for beamforming training according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a directional beamforming training control element in a request frame for beamforming training according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a frame structure diagram of a response frame for beamforming training according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a first signaling flowchart of sector scanning performed by a station 1 and a station 2 in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a signaling flowchart of a sector scanning performed by a station 1 and a station 2 in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a signaling flow chart three of sector scanning performed by a site 1 and a site 2 in a sector scanning method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a flowchart of another sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a default sub-element of a multi-bandwidth element in a beacon frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 is a first signaling flow chart of sector scanning performed by an AP and a station in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a signaling flowchart of sector scanning performed by an AP and a station in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a signaling flowchart of sector scanning performed by an AP and a station in another sector scanning method according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a first schematic structural diagram of a sector scanning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a possible product configuration of the sector scanning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 19 is a second schematic structural diagram of a sector scanning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 20 is a second block diagram of a possible product form of the sector scanning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application provide a sector scanning method, initiator and responder devices, a network device and a user device, where the network device is a wireless communication apparatus with a wireless transceiving function, and may include but is not limited to: an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B or home Node B, HNB), a baseband Unit (BBU), an Access Point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, a Transmission Point (TP), a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), and the like, and may also be a base station supporting a 5G protocol, and the like. The user equipment is a communication device with a wireless transceiving function, may also be referred to as a station, and may be a wireless sensor, a wireless communication terminal or a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or referred to as a "cellular" phone) supporting a WIFI communication function and a computer with a wireless communication function. For example, the wireless communication devices may be portable, pocket-sized, hand-held, computer-embedded, wearable, or vehicle-mounted devices that support WiFi communication functionality, which exchange voice, data, etc. communication data with a radio access network.

It should be understood that the method and apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application may be applicable to various Wireless communication systems, for example, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system, and the communication system may perform beamforming training, for example, a WLAN system of the 802.11ad standard, the 802.11ay standard, and subsequent improved standards thereof. Taking a WLAN as an example, fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario of a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the WLAN includes one or more basic service sets, and a basic service set may include a network device and at least one user equipment.

Referring to fig. 1, it can be known that the signal transmission distances of different frequency channels are different, and therefore, the coverage areas of network devices are different. Wherein, the coverage of the high frequency channel with BF training is larger than that of the high frequency channel without BF training, and the coverage of the low frequency channel may be larger than that of the high frequency channel with BF training.

The solutions provided by the following embodiments of the present application may be applicable to communication between a user equipment and a network device, communication between a user equipment and a user equipment, and communication between a network device and a network device.

The devices (e.g., network devices, and user equipment) referred to in the following embodiments of the present application may be devices having dual-mode communication functions, that is, devices having a Low Frequency (LF) channel communication mode and a High Frequency (HF) channel communication mode. Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 2, the network device includes a controller (controller), an HF module operable to generate and transmit a high frequency signal, and an LF module operable to generate and transmit a low frequency signal. The controller may store, among other things, common information (common info) for the HF module and the LF module. The HF module may include: an HF Media Access Control (MAC) layer module and an HF Physical layer (PHY) layer module; the LF module may include: LFMAC layer module and LFPHY layer module. A controller may control and coordinate the HF module and the LF module. The HF module and the LF module may be located in the same chip within the network device or may be located in separate chips.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the user equipment includes a controller (controller), an HF module operable to generate and transmit a high frequency signal, and an LF module operable to generate and transmit a low frequency signal. Wherein the controller may store common information of the HF module and the LF module. The HF module may include: an HF MAC layer module and an HF PHY layer module; the LF module may include: an LF MAC layer module and an LF PHY layer module. A controller may control and coordinate the HF module and the LF module. The HF module and the LF module may be located in the same chip within the user equipment or in separate chips.

Both communication parties can be dual-mode devices, no matter the network device or the user equipment, and if the devices of both communication parties support an On-Channel Tunneling (OCT) mechanism, the devices of both communication parties can adopt an OCT technology to transmit information On a high-frequency Channel On a low-frequency Channel. Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a scene where OCT is used to transmit information between devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the device 1 may use OCT to transmit the transmission information of the high frequency channel to a Management Entity of the LF MAC layer module of the device 1, which is also called a low frequency medium access control Management Entity (MLME). After the management entity of the LF MAC layer module of the device 1 performs MAC layer processing, the LF PHY layer module of the device 1 performs physical layer processing to encapsulate into a low frequency transmission frame, and transmits the low frequency transmission frame to the low frequency receiver of the device 2 in a packet manner through the low frequency transmitter of the device 1. After receiving the low-frequency transmission frame, the low-frequency receiver of the device 2 sequentially processes the low-frequency transmission frame by the LF PHY layer module of the device 2 and the LF MAC layer module of the device 2, and transmits the obtained information to a management entity of the HF MAC layer module of the device 2, which is also called high-frequency MLME, thereby implementing transmission of high-frequency information.

In the embodiment of the present application, the two communication parties may also be referred to as an initiator and a responder. That is, the initiator may be a user equipment or a network device, and the responder may also be a user equipment or a network device. In the embodiment of the application, the initiator and the responder interact respective sector scanning parameters on a low-frequency channel in advance, so that the signaling interaction overhead on a high-frequency channel is reduced, the initiator and the responder can acquire the sector scanning parameters of the other party in advance, and can perform sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the opposite party, namely, the initiator can perform sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder, and the responder can perform sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, so that accurate sector scanning of the initiator and the responder on the high-frequency channel is realized, and blind sector switching is avoided, thereby effectively reducing the time consumption for performing sector training on the high-frequency channel and improving the high-frequency sector training efficiency.

The sector scanning method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below with reference to a plurality of examples.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the sector scanning method may include the following:

s501, an initiator sends a first frame to a responder on a first channel; the first frame includes: sector sweep parameters for the initiator.

The sector scanning parameters of the initiator are used for enabling the responder to carry out sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator.

In this implementation manner, the initiator may be a network device or a user device, and the responder may be a network device or a user device. For example, if the initiator is a network device, the responder is a network device; if the initiator is the user equipment, the responder may be the network equipment or the user equipment. The initiator may also be referred to as a requester or a requester, and the responder may also be referred to as a responder.

Both the initiator and the responder may be dual-mode communication devices, i.e., the initiator and the responder may also support a communication mode of the second channel if they support a communication mode of the first channel.

The first channel may be a low frequency channel, and the low frequency channel may be, for example, a 2.4GHz channel or a 5.8GHz channel. Of course, the low frequency channel may also be other low frequency channels, which are only examples and are not limited in this application. The second channel may be a high frequency channel, which may be, for example, a millimeter wave channel, such as a 60GHz channel. Of course, the high frequency channel may also be a channel of other frequencies, which is only an example and is not limited in this application. The bandwidth of the second channel may be higher than or equal to a preset channel bandwidth, and the preset channel bandwidth may be a single channel bandwidth in a high frequency channel. For example, the bandwidth of the second channel may be a single channel bandwidth of the high frequency channel, or may be an integral multiple, such as 2 times, of the single channel bandwidth of the high frequency channel.

Optionally, the first frame transmitted on the first channel is transmitted omnidirectionally. Because the attenuation of the low-frequency channel, that is, the signal transmitted on the first channel is small, the first frame including the sector scanning parameter of the initiator is transmitted in an omnidirectional manner on the first channel, so that the sector scanning parameter of the initiator can be ensured to accurately reach the responder, and the accurate sector scanning of the responder on the second channel is ensured.

Since the low frequency channel is typically not required to be sector scanned, the initiator's sector sweep parameters included in the first frame transmitted on the low frequency channel are actually the parameters used to sector scan the high frequency channel.

In an embodiment of the present application, the initiator may transmit the first frame including sector sweep parameters of the initiator to the responder on the first channel using OCT techniques. The initiator may also use other techniques, and the first channel sends the sector sweep parameters of the initiator to the responder as long as the responder can obtain the sector sweep parameters of the initiator. The initiator may transmit the sector sweep parameters of the initiator to a management entity of the LF MAC layer module of the initiator, which is also called low frequency MLME. After the LF MAC layer module of the initiator performs MAC layer processing, the LF PHY layer module of the initiator performs physical layer processing to encapsulate into a low frequency transmission frame, i.e., the first frame, and transmits the low frequency transmission frame to the low frequency receiver of the responder in a packet manner through the low frequency transmitter of the initiator.

S502, the responder receives a first frame from the initiator on the first channel, where the first frame includes: sector sweep parameters for the initiator.

For the responder, the responder may employ OCT techniques to receive the first frame sent from the initiator on the first channel that includes the sector sweep parameters of the initiator. The responder may also use other techniques to receive the initiator's sector sweep parameters from the initiator on the first channel, as long as the responder can obtain the initiator's sector sweep parameters.

After receiving the first frame, the responder may sequentially process the frame by the LF PHY layer module of the responder and the LFMAC layer module of the responder, and transmit the obtained information to a management entity of the HF MAC layer module of the responder, which is also called high-frequency MLME, to obtain the sector scanning parameters of the initiator.

S503, the responder further sends a second frame to the initiator on the first channel, where the second frame includes: sector sweep parameters for the responder.

The first frame may be, for example, a management frame on the first channel, and the second frame may also be, for example, a management frame on the first channel. For example, the first frame may be a request frame, such as a beamforming training request (beam forming _ training _ request) frame, and the second frame may be a response frame, such as a beamforming training response (beam forming _ training _ response) frame.

In an embodiment of the present application, the responder may transmit the second frame including the sector sweep parameters of the responder to the initiator on the first channel using OCT techniques. The responder may also use other techniques, and the sector sweep parameters of the responder are sent to the initiator on the first channel as long as the initiator can obtain the sector sweep parameters of the responder.

The responder may pass the sector sweep parameters of the responder to a management entity of the LF MAC layer module of the responder, also known as low frequency MLME. After the LF MAC layer module of the initiator performs MAC layer processing, the LF PHY layer module of the responder performs physical layer processing to encapsulate into a low frequency transmission frame, i.e., the second frame, and transmits the low frequency transmission frame to the low frequency receiver of the initiator in a packet manner through the low frequency transmitter of the responder.

Optionally, the second frame transmitted on the first channel is transmitted omnidirectionally. Because the attenuation of the low-frequency channel, that is, the signal transmitted on the first channel is small, the second frame including the sector scanning parameter of the responder is transmitted on the first channel in an omnidirectional manner, so that the sector scanning parameter of the responder can be ensured to accurately reach the initiator, and the initiator is ensured to accurately scan the sector on the second channel.

S504, the initiator receives the second frame from the responder on the first channel, where the second frame includes: sector sweep parameters for the responder.

For the initiator, the initiator may employ OCT techniques to receive the second frame including sector sweep parameters of the responder sent from the responder on the first channel. The initiator may also employ other techniques to receive the responder's sector sweep parameters from the responder on the first channel, as long as the responder can obtain the responder's sector sweep parameters.

After receiving the second frame, the initiator may sequentially process the frame by the LF PHY layer module of the initiator and the LFMAC layer module of the responder, and transmit the obtained information to a management entity of the HF MAC layer module of the initiator, which is also called high-frequency MLME, so as to obtain the sector scanning parameters of the responder.

By executing the above S501 and S502, the responder can be made aware of the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, and by executing the above S503 and S504, the initiator can be made aware of the sector scanning parameters of the responder. That is, according to the scheme of the embodiment of the application, the initiator and the responder can interact with each other through the first frame and the second frame, so that the initiator and the responder can acquire sector scanning parameters of the other.

And S505, the initiator performs sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder, wherein the frequency of the second channel is higher than that of the first channel.

The initiator acquires the sector scanning parameters of the responder based on a second frame returned by the responder, and performs sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder. Since the sector scanning process is also affected by the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, the initiator can also combine the sector scanning parameters of the initiator in the process of sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder.

The initiator may perform a scan of a receiving sector and a scan of a transmitting sector of the initiator on the second channel according to the sector scan parameters of the responder. For example, the initiator may receive a plurality of training frames transmitted by the responder on the second channel according to the sector sweep parameters of the responder to perform the receiving sector sweep of the initiator. Through the receiving sector scanning of the initiator, the initiator can determine the optimal receiving sector of the initiator and the optimal transmitting sector of the responder. Wherein each of the plurality of training frames transmitted by the responder on the second channel may have a reflection sector, i.e., the responder transmits at least one training frame in each of a plurality of transmission sectors on the second channel. The at least one training frame transmitted in each transmission sector has the same transmission sector. Training frames transmitted in different transmit sectors may have different transmit sectors.

The initiator can switch receiving sectors according to sector scanning parameters of the responder, receive training frames sent by the responder by sequentially adopting a plurality of receiving sectors on the second channel, and determine the optimal receiving sector of the initiator according to the receiving condition of the training frames in the plurality of receiving sectors, wherein the transmitting sector corresponding to the training frame received in the optimal receiving sector of the initiator is the optimal transmitting sector of the responder. The optimal receiving sector of the initiator may be a receiving sector corresponding to a training frame received by the initiator and having the strongest received signal quality, the highest signal-to-noise ratio, and the like in the multiple receiving sectors.

The initiator may also send one or more training frames on a second channel according to the sector sweep parameters of the responder to perform a sweep of the transmit sector of the initiator, such that the responder performs a receive sector sweep of the responder on the second channel according to the sector sweep parameters of the initiator.

The training frame as shown above may be a Sector Sweep (SSW) frame.

S506, the responder scans the sector on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the initiator.

The responder acquires the sector scanning parameters of the initiator based on the first frame sent by the initiator, and performs sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator. Since the sector scanning process is also affected by the sector scanning parameters of the responder, the responder can combine the sector scanning parameters of the responder in the process of sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator.

The responder may perform a scan of a receiving sector and a scan of a transmitting sector of the responder on the second channel according to the sector scan parameters of the initiator. For example, the responder may send a plurality of training frames on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator to perform scanning of the transmitting sector of the responder, so that the initiator performs receiving sector scanning of the initiator on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder.

The responder may also receive one or more training frames sent by the initiator on the second channel according to the sector sweep parameters of the initiator to perform a receive sector sweep of the responder. Through the receiving sector scan of the responder, the responder can determine the optimal receiving sector of the responder and the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator.

In an example, for the training frame, if the initiator determines the inter-diversity of the antennas supported by the responder and the inter-diversity of the antenna patterns according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder, it may be determined that the optimal transmit sector of the responder, which is determined by the initiator performing the receive sector scanning, is the optimal receive sector of the responder; if the initiator determines that the initiator also supports antenna diversity and antenna mode diversity according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, the optimal receiving sector of the initiator determined by the initiator performing receiving sector scanning can be determined to be the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator. Therefore, the initiator may send the training frame to the responder on the second channel by using the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator in the time period corresponding to the optimal transmitting sector of the responder. The training frame may also carry the best transmit sector for the responder.

The responder can switch receiving sectors according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, receive training frames sent by the initiator by sequentially adopting a plurality of receiving sectors on the second channel, and once receiving the training frames, can determine the optimal transmitting sector of the responder and the optimal receiving sector of the responder.

In another example, if for multiple training frames, the initiator may have one transmit sector per training frame among the multiple training frames sent on the second channel, i.e., the initiator transmits at least one training frame in each transmit sector among multiple transmit sectors on the second channel. The at least one training frame transmitted in each transmission sector has the same transmission sector.

The responder can switch receiving sectors according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, receive training frames sent by the initiator by sequentially adopting a plurality of receiving sectors on the second channel, and determine the optimal receiving sector of the responder according to the receiving condition of the training frames in the plurality of receiving sectors, wherein the transmitting sector corresponding to the training frames received in the optimal receiving sector of the responder is the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator. The optimal receiving sector of the initiator may be a receiving sector corresponding to a training frame received by the initiator and having the strongest received signal quality, the highest signal-to-noise ratio, and the like in the multiple receiving sectors.

The initiator can determine the optimal receiving sector of the initiator and the optimal transmitting sector of the responder by executing the above S505, and the responder can determine the optimal receiving sector of the responder and the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator by executing the above S506.

In order to enable the initiator and the responder to know the respective optimal transmitting sectors, in one implementation manner, in the process of scanning the receiving sectors of the responder through the above S506, the initiator carries the information of the optimal transmitting sectors of the responder in the training frame on the second channel and sends the training frame to the responder, so that the responder knows the optimal transmitting sectors of the responder.

After the receiving Sector scanning of the responder is performed by performing the above S506, the responder may send a Feedback frame, such as a Sector scanning Feedback (SSW Feedback) frame, to the initiator on the second channel, where the Feedback frame carries information of the optimal transmitting Sector of the initiator, so that the initiator receives the Feedback frame on the second channel, and thus knows the information of the optimal transmitting Sector of the initiator. The initiator may further send an Acknowledgement (ACK) frame to the responder on the second channel after receiving the feedback frame to inform the responder that the initiator has received the feedback frame.

After the receiving sector of the responder is scanned by performing the above S606, the responder may further send a feedback frame including information of the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator to the initiator on the first channel by using OCT, so that the initiator receives the feedback frame on the first channel by using OCT, thereby acquiring the information of the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator. After receiving the feedback frame, the initiator may further send an ACK frame to the responder on the first channel by using OCT to inform the responder that the initiator has received the feedback frame.

In another implementation manner, the initiator can determine the optimal receiving sector of the initiator by performing the above S505, and if the initiator determines that the initiator supports antenna diversity according to the sector scanning parameter of the initiator, the optimal receiving sector of the initiator can be determined to be the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator. The above S506 is executed to enable the responder to determine the optimal receiving sector of the responder, and if the responder determines that the responder supports antenna reciprocity according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder, the optimal receiving sector of the responder may be determined to be the optimal transmitting sector of the responder.

If the initiator knows the optimal transmitting sector and the optimal receiving sector of the initiator, the initiator can transmit information to the responder on a high-frequency channel by adopting the optimal transmitting sector of the initiator, and receive the information transmitted by the responder on the high-frequency channel by adopting the optimal receiving sector of the initiator. If the responder knows the optimal transmitting sector and the optimal receiving sector of the responder, the responder can transmit information to the initiator by adopting the optimal transmitting sector of the responder on a high-frequency channel, and receive the information transmitted by the responder by adopting the optimal receiving sector of the responder on the high-frequency channel. Therefore, the devices at the transmitting and receiving ends can communicate with the opposite end device by respectively adopting the respective optimal transmitting sector and the optimal receiving sector on the high-frequency channel, namely, the directional transmitting and receiving of the devices at the transmitting and receiving ends are realized, and the information transmission distance on the high-frequency channel is increased.

According to the sector scanning method provided by the embodiment of the application, the responder can send a first frame including the sector scanning parameters of the initiator on a first channel through the initiator, and receive a second frame including the sector scanning parameters of the responder, which is returned by the responder on the first channel, so that the initiator can perform sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder, and the responder can perform sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator. According to the sector scanning method, the initiator and the responder exchange respective sector scanning parameters on the low-frequency channel in advance, so that the signaling interaction overhead on the high-frequency channel is reduced, the initiator and the responder know the sector scanning parameters in advance and perform accurate sector scanning on the high-frequency channel, and the blind switching of sectors is avoided, so that the time consumption for sector scanning on the high-frequency channel is effectively reduced, and the sector scanning efficiency is improved.

In one possible implementation, the sector sweep parameter of the initiator as shown above may include at least one of the following information: the initiator starts time (Starting time) for sector scanning, the number of sectors (sectors) of the initiator, the number of antennas (antennas) of the initiator, indication information of antenna reciprocity (antenna reception) of the initiator, indication information of antenna mode reciprocity (antenna mode reciprocity) of the initiator, length (Training frame length) of a Training frame for sector scanning of the initiator, and indication information of Training mode (Training mode) of the initiator.

The number of sectors of the initiator is the number of sectors used for sector scanning by the initiator.

The sector scanning parameters of the initiator comprise the starting time of sector scanning performed by the initiator and the length of the training frame of sector scanning performed by the initiator, and the initiator and the responder can realize synchronous sector switching based on the starting time and the length of the training frame, so that the initiator and the responder can perform sector switching by adopting the same frequency or beat, thereby realizing accurate sector switching between the initiator and the responder, reducing the time consumption of sector scanning on a high-frequency channel and improving the efficiency of sector scanning.

The number of antennas of the initiator is the number of antennas used by the initiator for sector scanning.

The indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the initiator is used for indicating that: whether the optimal transmit antenna of the initiator is the optimal receive antenna of the initiator. For example, if the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the initiator is used to indicate: the optimal transmitting antenna of the initiator is the optimal receiving antenna of the initiator, and the initiator supports the mutual difference of the antennas. If the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the initiator is used for indicating: the optimal transmitting antenna of the initiator is not the optimal receiving antenna of the initiator, and the initiator does not support the mutual difference of the antennas.

The indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the initiator is used for indicating that: whether the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the initiator is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the initiator. For example, if the indication information of the antenna pattern reciprocity of the initiator is used to indicate: the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the initiator is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the initiator, and then the initiator supports the mutual difference of the antenna modes. If the indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the initiator is used for indicating: the antenna weight corresponding to the sending antenna mode of the initiator is not the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the initiator, so that the initiator does not support the antenna diversity.

The training frame for sector scanning may be, for example, an SSW frame, and the length of the training frame for sector scanning by the initiator may be, for example, used to indicate the length of each SSW frame.

The indication information of the training mode of the initiator is used for indicating whether the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with one end oriented or a training mode with both ends oriented. For example, if the indication information of the training mode of the initiator is 0, it may be determined that, when the initiator performs sector scanning, one of the initiator and the responder uses a directional transmission mode and the other uses an omnidirectional reception mode, or one of the initiator and the responder uses an omnidirectional transmission mode and the other uses a directional reception mode. If the indication information of the training mode of the initiator is 1, it can be determined that one end of the initiator and the responder adopts a directional transmission mode and the other end adopts a directional reception mode when the initiator performs sector scanning.

Optionally, when, in the sector scanning parameters of the initiator, the training mode indication information of the initiator is used to indicate that the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with both ends oriented, the sector scanning parameters of the initiator may further include:

indication information of a sector scanning mode (sweeparing mode) of the initiator; the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the initiator is used for indicating the corresponding relationship between the number of times of sending the responder in each sector and the number of times of sector scanning performed by the initiator.

Illustratively, the indication information of the scanning mode of the initiator is 0, which may be used to indicate that the responder transmits N training frames in each sector, and the initiator performs one sector scanning; the indication information of the scanning mode of the initiator is 1, and may be used to indicate that the responder initiates a training frame in each sector, and repeats the sector scanning N times at the initiator. And N is the number of sectors of the initiator.

For example, if the number of receiving sectors of the initiator is 5 and the number of transmitting sectors of the responder is 4, the indication information of the scanning mode of the initiator may be used to indicate whether the initiator and the responder perform scanning in a 5 × 4 mode or a 4 × 5 mode.

Wherein, the 5 × 4 mode may be: after the responder can send 5 SSW frames in the transmitting sector 1, the initiator performs sector scanning once in 5 receiving sectors; after the responder sends 5 SSW frames in the transmitting sector 2, the initiator performs sector scanning once in 5 receiving sectors; after the responder can send 5 SSW frames in the transmitting sector 3, the initiator performs sector scanning once in 5 receiving sectors; after the responder sends 5 SSW frames in transmit sector 4, the initiator performs a sector scan in 5 receive sectors. In the whole sector scanning process, the responder sends 5 SSW frames in each transmission sector, and since the responder has 4 transmission sectors, the number of SSW frames sent by the responder is 20.

Wherein, the 4 by 5 mode can be as follows: the responder sends 1 SSW frame in the transmitting

sector

1, 1 SSW frame in the transmitting

sector

2, 1 SSW frame in the transmitting sector 3, and 1 SSW frame in the transmitting sector 4, and the initiator performs the first sector scan in 5 receiving sectors. The execution is repeated until the initiator performs 5 sector scans within 5 receiving sectors. Since the responder sends 1 SSW frame in each transmission sector during each sector scanning process, 4 SSW frames are conveniently sent in response in 4 transmission sectors, and then the number of SSW frames sent by the responder is 20 in 5 sector scans.

Optionally, the sector scanning parameters of the initiator may further include at least one of the following information:

the frame Type of the first frame, indication information of whether the initiator requests to perform a Transmit Sector scan (isinnotortransmit Sector scan, IsTXSS), indication information of whether the initiator requests to perform a receive Sector scan (isresender Transmit Sector scan, IsRXSS), indication information of a Feedback Type (Feedback Type), indication information of whether the first frame carries a Training-receiving (TRN-R) sequence of a receiving end, and indication information of a length (Training-length, TRN-LEN) sequence of the Training sequence.

Optionally, the frame type of the first frame may indicate that the first frame is a request frame, for example.

For example, if the indication information of the issxss is 1, it can be used to indicate that the initiator requests to perform the transmission sector scan. If the indication information of the issxss is 0, it may be used to indicate that the initiator does not request to perform the transmission sector scan. If the indication information of IsRXSS is 1, it can be used to indicate that the initiator requests to perform receiving sector scanning. If the indication information of IsRXSS is 0, it may be used to indicate that the initiator does not request to perform a receive sector scan.

And the feedback type indication information can be used for indicating whether the transmission mode of the feedback information between the initiator and the responder adopts OCT or not. The feedback information fed back to the initiator by the responder may be transmitted through an SSW feedback frame, for example, and then the indication information of the feedback type may be used to indicate whether the transmission mode of the SSW feedback frame is OCT, that is, to indicate whether the SSW feedback frame is transmitted on the second channel or transmitted on the first channel by OCT. If the feedback information from the initiator to the responder can be transmitted through an ACK frame, for example, the indication information of the feedback type can also be used to indicate whether the transmission mode of the ACK frame is OCT, that is, to indicate whether the ACK frame is transmitted on the second channel or the ACK frame is transmitted on the first channel by OCT.

The sector sweep parameters of the initiator may be carried at a predetermined location in the first frame. For example, the first frame is a request frame, such as a request frame for beamforming training. Fig. 6 is a frame structure diagram of a request frame for beamforming training provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 6, the request frame for beamforming training may include: a Category of 1 byte (Category), a function of 1 byte (Action), a Dialog Token of 1 byte (Dialog Token), and a Directional beamforming Training Control element of preset byte (Directional BF Training element). The predetermined byte may be greater than or equal to 1 byte, for example. The dialog token may be a session value corresponding to the request frame for beamforming training, and may be used to match the request frame for beamforming training, so as to distinguish the request frame for beamforming training from other request frames, thereby avoiding confusion.

The scanning parameters of the initiator may be carried in a directional beamforming training control element as shown in fig. 6.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a directional beamforming training control element in a request frame for beamforming training according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the directional beamforming training control element may include: an Element identification (Element ID) field, a Length (Length) field, a Dialog Token (Dialog Token) field, a frame type (Frametype) field, a start Time (Starting Time) field, a Number of sectors (Number of sectors), a Number of antennas (Number of antennas) field, an issxss indication field, an IsRXSS indication field, an Antenna Reciprocity (Antenna reception) field, an Antenna pattern Reciprocity (Antenna pattern reception) field, a Training frame Length (Training frame Length) field, a Feedback type (Feedback type) field, a Training pattern (TRN mode) field, a Beam Tracking Request (Beam Tracking Request) field, a Length of Training sequence (TRN-LEN) field, a scanning pattern (swingmode) field, and a repetition Number (Repeat) field.

The frame type field, the issxss indication field, the IsRXSS indication field, the Feedback type (Feedback type) field, the beam tracking request field, the length of the training sequence field, the scan pattern field, and the repetition number field may be optional fields, that is, the optional field may be included or may not be included in the beamforming training control element in the first frame.

The frame type field is used for carrying the frame type of the first frame, i.e. for indicating that the first frame is a request frame.

The start time field may carry the start time of the sector sweep by the initiator.

The sector number field may carry the sector number of the initiator. The number of antennas field may carry the number of antennas of the initiator.

The IsTXSS indication field may carry information indicating whether the initiator requests a transmit sector sweep.

The IsRXSS indication field may carry indication information whether the initiator is requesting a receive sector sweep.

The antenna diversity field may carry information indicating antenna diversity of the initiator.

The antenna pattern diversity field may carry information indicating antenna pattern diversity of the initiator.

The training frame length field may carry the length of the training frame that the initiator performs the sector sweep.

The feedback type field may carry information indicating the type of feedback.

The training mode field may carry training mode indication information for the initiator.

When the training mode field carries the training mode indication information of the initiator, where the training mode indication information is used to indicate that the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with one end directed, and if the value of the training mode field is 0, the directional beamforming training control element may include: a beam tracking request field. Wherein, the beam tracking request field can carry indication information whether the first frame carries training sequence of a receiving end.

When the indication information carried by the beam tracking request field indicates that the first frame carries a training sequence of a receiving end, the directional beamforming training control element may further include: a length field of the training sequence. Wherein, the length field of the training sequence can carry the length indication information of the training sequence.

When the training mode field carries the training mode indication information of the initiator, which is used to indicate that the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with two directional ends, if the value of the training mode field is 1, the directional beamforming training control element may further include: a scan mode field. Wherein the scan mode field may carry indication information of the sector scan mode of the initiator.

When the indication information of the scan mode of the initiator, which is carried in the scan mode field, is used to indicate that the responder initiates a training frame in each sector, and N times of sector scanning is repeated at the initiator, where N is the number of sectors of the initiator, the directional beamforming training control element may further include: a Repeat Times (Repeat Times) field.

The number of repetitions field may be used to indicate the number of repetitions of sector scanning by the initiator, i.e., N. It can be understood that the responder may obtain the number of repetitions of sector scanning performed by the initiator according to the number of sectors of the initiator, and therefore, the number of repetitions field may not be included.

In one possible implementation, the sector sweep parameter of the responder as shown above may include at least one of the following information:

the starting time of sector scanning by the responder, the number of sectors of the responder, the number of antennas of the responder, the indication information of antenna diversity of the responder, the indication information of antenna mode diversity of the responder, the length of a training frame of sector scanning by the responder and the indication information of training mode of the responder.

The sector scanning parameters of the responder comprise the starting time of sector scanning performed by the responder and the length of the training frame of sector scanning performed by the responder, so that the initiator and the responder can realize synchronous sector switching based on the starting time and the length of the training frame, the initiator and the responder can perform sector switching by adopting the same frequency or beat, the accurate sector switching of the initiator and the responder is realized, the time consumption of sector scanning on a high-frequency channel is reduced, and the sector scanning efficiency is improved.

The number of sectors of the responder is the number of sectors used for sector scanning by the responder.

The number of antennas of the responder is the number of antennas used by the responder to perform sector scanning.

The indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the responder is used for indicating that: the optimal transmit antenna of the responder is the optimal receive antenna of the responder. For example, if the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the responder is used to indicate: the optimal transmitting antenna of the responder is the optimal receiving antenna of the responder, and then the responder supports the mutual difference of the antennas. If the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the responder is used for indicating that: the optimal transmit antenna of the responder is not the optimal receive antenna of the responder, and the responder does not support the antenna reciprocity.

The indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the responder is used for indicating that: the antenna weight corresponding to the transmit antenna pattern of the responder is the antenna weight corresponding to the receive antenna pattern of the responder. For example, if the indication information of the antenna pattern reciprocity of the responder is used to indicate: the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the responder is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the responder, and then the responder supports the mutual difference of the antenna modes. If the indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the responder is used for indicating: the antenna weight corresponding to the transmit antenna pattern of the responder is not the antenna weight corresponding to the receive antenna pattern of the responder, and the responder does not support antenna diversity.

The training frame for sector scanning may be, for example, an SSW frame, and the length of the training frame for sector scanning by the responder may be, for example, used to indicate the length of each SSW frame.

The training mode indication information of the responder is used for indicating whether the training mode of the responder is a training mode with one end oriented or a training mode with both ends oriented. For example, if the indication information of the training mode of the responder is 0, it may be determined that, when the responder performs sector scanning, one of the initiator and the responder uses a directional transmission mode and the other uses an omnidirectional reception mode, or one of the initiator and the responder uses an omnidirectional transmission mode and the other uses a directional reception mode. If the indication information of the training mode of the responder is 1, it can be determined that one end of the initiator and the responder adopts a directional transmission mode, and the other end adopts a directional reception mode when the responder performs sector scanning.

Optionally, when the training mode indication information of the responder is used to indicate that the training mode of the responder is a training mode with both ends oriented, the sector scanning parameters of the responder may further include:

Illustratively, the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the responder is 0, which can be used to indicate that the initiator transmits N training frames in each sector, and the responder performs one sector scanning; the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the responder is 1, which can be used to indicate that the initiator initiates a training frame in each sector, and the responder repeats N sector scans. And N is the number of sectors of the responder.

Optionally, the sector sweep parameter of the responder may further include at least one of the following information:

the frame type of the second frame, the indication information of whether the responder requests to perform transmission sector scanning, the indication information of whether the responder requests to perform receiving sector scanning, the indication information of the feedback type, the indication information of whether the second frame carries the training sequence of the receiving end, and the indication information of the length of the training sequence.

Optionally, the frame type of the second frame may indicate that the second frame is a response frame, for example.

For example, if the indication information indicating whether the responder requests to perform the transmission sector scan is 1, the indication information may be used to indicate that the responder requests to perform the transmission sector scan. If the indication information indicating whether the responder requests to perform the transmission area scanning is 0, the indication information may be used to indicate that the responder does not request to perform the transmission sector scanning. If the indication information indicating whether the responder requests to perform the receive sector scan is 1, the indication information may be used to indicate that the responder requests to perform the receive sector scan. If the indication information indicating whether the responder requests to perform the receive sector scan is 0, it may be used to indicate that the responder does not request to perform the receive sector scan.

The responder's sector sweep parameters may be carried at a predetermined location in the second frame. For example, the second frame is a response frame, such as a response frame of beamforming training. Fig. 8 is a frame structure diagram of a response frame for beamforming training provided in an embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 8, the response frame for beamforming training may include: a Category of 1 byte (Category), a function of 1 byte (Action), a Dialog Token of 1 byte (Dialog Token), a Status number of 2 bytes (Status Code), and a Directional beamforming Training control element of preset byte (Directional BF Training control). The predetermined byte may be greater than or equal to 1 byte, for example. Wherein the status number can be used to feed back whether the request of the initiator is successful. The specific structure of the directional beamforming training control element may be similar to that in fig. 7, which is specifically referred to above, and is not described herein again.

The following describes one implementation manner provided by the embodiments of the present application through three specific examples, that is, a scheme for performing sector scanning by interacting respective sector scanning parameters between an initiator and a responder. The specific signaling information included in the sector sweep parameter involved in the following example has been described in detail in the foregoing embodiment, and is not described herein again.

Fig. 9 is a first signaling flow chart of sector scanning performed by a station 1 and a station 2 in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application. In the example of fig. 9, both the initiator and the responder are user equipment, the initiator may be station 2, and the responder may be station 1, and then the station 2 may transmit a request frame, such as a request frame of beamforming training, to the station 1 on the first channel by using OCT. The station 1, as a responder, receives the request frame sent by the station 2 on the first channel by using the OCT. The request frame includes: sector sweep parameters for site 2.

After receiving the request frame and acquiring the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, the station 1 may return a response frame, such as a response frame of beamforming training, to the station 2 on the first channel by using OCT. Station 2 may receive the response frame sent by station 1 on the first channel using OCT. The response frame includes: sector sweep parameters for site 1.

In the first stage shown in fig. 9, the station 1 may send multiple SSW frames to the station 2 by multiple transmission sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, so that the station 2 receives the multiple SSW frames by multiple reception sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 1, and then determines the optimal reception sector of the station 2 and the optimal transmission sector of the station 1 according to the reception conditions of the multiple SSW frames.

In the second stage shown in fig. 9, the station 2 may send multiple SSW frames to the station 1 by multiple transmission sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 1, so that the station 1 receives the multiple SSW frames by multiple reception sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, and then determines the optimal reception sector of the station 1 and the optimal transmission sector of the station 2 according to the reception conditions of the multiple SSW frames. In the second stage, each SSW frame sent by the station 2 may carry information of the optimal transmission sector of the station 1 determined by the station 2 in the first stage.

After determining the optimal transmitting sector of the site 2, the site 1 may further send, to the site 2 on the second channel, an SSW feedback frame carrying the optimal transmitting sector of the site 2 according to the sector scanning parameter of the site 2.

In case of receiving the SSW feedback frame, the station 2 may also feed back an SSW acknowledgement frame to the station 1 on the second channel to indicate that it receives the SSW feedback frame.

Fig. 10 is a signaling flowchart of a sector scanning performed by a station 1 and a station 2 in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application. In the example of fig. 10, the initiator and the responder are both user equipment, the initiator may be station 2, and the responder may be station 1, and then the station 2 may transmit a request frame, such as a request frame of beamforming training, to the station 1 on the first channel by using OCT. The station 1, as a responder, receives the request frame sent by the station 2 on the first channel by using the OCT. The request frame includes: sector sweep parameters for site 2.

In the first stage shown in fig. 10, the station 1 may send multiple SSW frames to the station 2 by multiple transmission sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, so that the station 2 receives the multiple SSW frames by multiple reception sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 1, and then determines the optimal reception sector of the station 2 and the optimal transmission sector of the station 1 according to the reception conditions of the multiple SSW frames.

The site 2 may be in the second stage shown in fig. 10, if it is determined that the site 2 supports antenna diversity and antenna mode diversity according to the sector scanning parameters of the site 2, it may be determined that the optimal receiving sector of the site 2 is the optimal transmitting sector of the site 2; if the station 1 supports antenna diversity and antenna mode diversity according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 1, it may be determined that the optimal transmitting sector of the station 1 is the optimal receiving sector of the station 1, and therefore, the station 1 may send an SSW frame to the station 1 by using the optimal receiving sector of the station 2 in a time period corresponding to the optimal transmitting sector of the station 1 on the second channel, so that the station 1 receives the SSW frame by using a plurality of receiving sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, and if the SSW frame is received, the optimal transmitting sector of the station 1 carried by the SSW frame may be obtained.

If the station 1 can determine that the station 1 supports antenna diversity and antenna mode diversity according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 1, it can be determined that the optimal transmitting sector of the station 1 is the optimal receiving sector of the station 1.

Fig. 11 is a signaling flow chart three of sector scanning performed by a site 1 and a site 2 in a sector scanning method according to the embodiment of the present application. In the example corresponding to fig. 11, both the initiator and the responder are user equipment, and the initiator may use the station 2 as the initiator and use OCT to send a request frame, such as a request frame of beamforming training, to the station 1 on the first channel. The station 1, as a responder, receives the request frame sent by the station 2 on the first channel by using the OCT. The request frame includes: sector sweep parameters for site 2.

In the first stage shown in fig. 11, the station 1 may send multiple SSW frames to the station 2 by multiple transmission sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, so that the station 2 receives the multiple SSW frames by multiple reception sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 1, and then determines the optimal reception sector of the station 2 and the optimal transmission sector of the station 1 according to the reception conditions of the multiple SSW frames.

In the second stage shown in fig. 11, if it is determined that the station 2 supports antenna diversity and antenna mode diversity according to the sector scanning parameters of the station 2, the station 2 may determine that the optimal receiving sector of the station 2 is the optimal transmitting sector of the station 2. Station 2 also sends an SSW feedback frame to station 1 on the first channel using OCT, during the second phase, so that station 1 receives the SSW feedback frame on the first channel using OCT. The SSW feedback frame includes: and if the site 1 determines that the site 1 supports antenna reciprocity and antenna mode reciprocity according to the sector scanning parameters of the site 1, determining that the optimal transmitting sector of the site 1 is the optimal receiving sector of the site 1.

Station 1, upon receiving the SSW feedback frame, may also feed back an SSW acknowledgement frame to station 2 on the first channel using OCT to indicate that it received the SSW feedback frame.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can also send the sector scanning parameters of the network device to the user device on the low-frequency channel in advance, so that the overhead of signaling interaction on the high-frequency channel is reduced, the user device can know the sector scanning parameters of the network device in advance, the network device and the user device can perform sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the network device, accurate sector scanning of the network device and the user device on the high-frequency channel is realized, blind sector switching is avoided, time consumption for sector training on the high-frequency channel is effectively reduced, and the efficiency of the high-frequency sector training is improved.

The sector scanning method provided by this implementation is described below in connection with several examples.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart of another sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 12, the sector scanning method may include the following:

s1201, a network device transmits a Beacon (Beacon) frame to a user equipment on a first channel, where the Beacon frame includes: sector sweep parameters for the network device.

The sector sweep parameters of the network device may be used to enable the user device to perform a sector sweep on the second channel in accordance with the sector sweep parameters of the network device.

The network device and the user equipment can both be dual-mode communication devices, that is, the network device and the user equipment can also support a communication mode of a second channel when supporting the communication mode of a first channel.

The description of the first channel and the second channel is similar to that in S601 in the above embodiment, and is not repeated here.

Correspondingly, the method can comprise the following steps:

s1202, the ue receives a beacon frame from the network device on the first channel, where the beacon frame includes: sector sweep parameters for the network device.

S1203, the network device performs sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the network device, where a frequency of the second channel is higher than a frequency of the first channel.

S1204, the user equipment scans the sector on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the network equipment, and the frequency of the second channel is higher than that of the first channel.

The network device may perform scanning of the transmission sector of the network device on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the network device, that is, according to the sector scanning parameter of the network device, the network device sends a training frame to the user equipment on the second channel to perform transmission sector scanning of the network device. Correspondingly, the user equipment may receive the training frame sent by the network equipment on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the network equipment, and perform the sector scanning of the user equipment.

The user equipment may also send a training frame to the network equipment on the second channel according to the sector sweep parameter of the network equipment, so as to perform a transmit sector sweep of the user equipment. Correspondingly, the network device may receive the training frame sent by the user equipment on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the network device, and perform the sector scanning on the network device.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 12, the training frame may be a beacon frame or an SSW frame. If the beacon frame transmitted on the first channel only includes information to be transmitted of a low-frequency beacon frame, the training frame may be a high-frequency beacon frame; if the beacon frame transmitted on the first channel includes: the information to be transmitted of the low frequency beacon frame and the information to be transmitted of the high frequency beacon frame, the training frame may be an SSW frame.

By executing the above S1203 and S1204, the network device may determine an optimal transmitting sector of the user equipment and an optimal receiving sector of the network device, so that the user equipment determines an optimal receiving sector of the user equipment and an optimal transmitting sector of the network device.

In order to enable the network device and the user equipment to acquire the respective optimal transmitting sectors, after the receiving sector of the user equipment is scanned, the user equipment carries the information of the optimal transmitting sector of the network device in the training frame on the second channel and sends the training frame to the network device, so that the network device acquires the optimal transmitting sector of the network device.

After the receiving Sector scanning of the network device is performed, the network device may carry information of the optimal transmitting Sector of the user equipment in a Feedback frame, such as a Sector scanning Feedback (SSW Feedback) frame, and send the Feedback frame to the user equipment, so that the user equipment can obtain the optimal transmitting Sector of the user equipment. After receiving the feedback frame, the ue may further send an acknowledgement frame to the network device to inform the network device that the ue has received the feedback frame.

The network device may send a feedback frame including the optimal transmit sector of the user device to the user device on the second channel, and then the user device may also receive a feedback frame including the optimal transmit sector of the user device sent by the network device on the second channel.

The network device may further send, to the user equipment, a feedback frame including the optimal transmission sector of the user equipment on the first channel by using the OCT, and then the user equipment also receives, on the first channel by using the OCT, the feedback frame including the optimal transmission sector of the user equipment sent by the network device.

According to the sector scanning method provided by the embodiment of the application, the beacon frame including the sector scanning parameters of the network equipment can be sent to the user equipment on the low-frequency channel through the network equipment, so that the signaling overhead on the high-frequency channel is reduced, the network equipment and the user equipment can perform accurate sector scanning on the high-frequency channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the network equipment, the blind switching of sectors is avoided, the time consumption for sector training on the high-frequency channel is effectively reduced, and the sector training efficiency is improved.

In one implementation, the sector sweep parameters of the network device as shown above may include at least one of the following information:

The number of sectors of the network device is the number of sectors used for sector scanning of the network device.

The number of the antennas of the network device is the number of the antennas used for sector scanning of the network device.

The indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the network device is used for indicating: whether the optimal transmit antenna of the network device is the optimal receive antenna of the network device. For example, if the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the network device is used to indicate: the optimal transmitting antenna of the network device is the optimal receiving antenna of the network device, and the network device supports the mutual difference of the antennas. If the indication information of the antenna reciprocity of the network device is used for indicating: if the optimal transmitting antenna of the network device is not the optimal receiving antenna of the network device, the network device does not support the antenna diversity.

The indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the network device is used for indicating: whether the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the network device is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the network device. For example, if the indication information of the antenna pattern reciprocity of the network device is used to indicate: the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the network device is the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the network device, and the network device supports the mutual difference of the antenna modes. If the indication information of the antenna mode reciprocity of the network device is used for indicating: the antenna weight corresponding to the transmitting antenna mode of the network device is not the antenna weight corresponding to the receiving antenna mode of the network device, and the network device does not support the antenna diversity.

The training mode indication information of the network device is used for indicating whether the training mode of the network device is a training mode with one end oriented or a training mode with both ends oriented. For example, if the indication information of the training mode of the network device is 0, it may be determined that, when the network device performs sector scanning, one end of the network device and the user equipment uses a directional transmission mode and the other end of the network device and the user equipment uses an omnidirectional reception mode, or one end of the network device and the user equipment uses an omnidirectional transmission mode and the other end of the network device and the user equipment uses a directional reception mode. If the indication information of the training mode of the network device is 1, it may be determined that, when the network device performs sector scanning, one end of the network device and the user equipment uses a directional transmission mode, and the other end of the network device and the user equipment uses a directional reception mode.

Optionally, when, in the sector scanning parameters of the network device, the training mode indication information of the network device is used to indicate that the training mode of the network device is a training mode with both ends oriented, the sector scanning parameters of the network device may further include:

the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the network device is used for indicating the corresponding relation between the number of times of sending the user equipment in each sector and the number of times of sector scanning performed by the network device. Illustratively, the indication information of the scanning mode of the network device is 0, which may be used to instruct the user equipment to transmit N training frames in each sector, and the network device performs a sector scanning; the indication information of the scanning mode of the network device is 1, which may be used to instruct the ue to transmit a training frame once in each sector, and perform N times of sector scanning repeatedly in the network device. Optionally, N may be the number of sectors of the network device.

The indication information of the repetition times is used for indicating the times of sector scanning of the network device.

Optionally, the sector scanning parameters of the network device may further include at least one of the following information:

the feedback type indication information is used for indicating whether the transmission mode of the feedback information between the network device and the user equipment adopts OCT. The feedback information fed back to the user equipment by the network equipment may be transmitted through an SSW feedback frame, for example, and then the indication information of the feedback type may be used to indicate whether the transmission mode of the SSW feedback frame is OCT, that is, to indicate whether the SSW feedback frame is transmitted on the second channel or the first channel by OCT. If the feedback information from the user equipment to the network equipment can be transmitted through an ACK frame, for example, the indication information of the feedback type can also be used to indicate whether the transmission mode of the ACK frame adopts OCT, that is, to indicate whether the ACK frame is transmitted on the second channel or the ACK frame is transmitted on the first channel by using OCT.

The sector sweep parameter of the network device may be carried in a preset sub-element (sub) of a Multi-bandwidth element (Multi-band element) in a beacon frame transmitted on the first channel. For example, a sub-element is added to a beacon frame, also called a low frequency beacon frame, on the first channel for carrying sector scanning parameters of the network device.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a default sub-element of a multiple bandwidth element in a beacon frame according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, the default sub-elements of the multi-bandwidth element in the beacon frame may include: an Element identification (Element ID) field, a Length (Length) field, a start Time (Starting Time) field, a Number of sectors (numbers of sectors), a Number of antennas (numbers of antennas) field, a TRN-R indication field, a Training frame Length (Training frame Length) field, a Training pattern (TRN mode) field, and a scan pattern field and repetition Number field. The TRN-R indication field and the scan mode field may be optional fields, that is, the optional fields may be included or excluded in preset sub-elements of the multi-bandwidth element in the beacon frame.

The start time field may carry the start time of the sector sweep performed by the network device. The sector number field may carry the number of sectors of the network device. The number of antennas field may carry the number of antennas of the network device.

The TRN-R indication field may carry information indicating whether the beacon frame carries a training sequence at the receiving end.

The training frame length field may carry the length of the training frame that the network device performs the sector sweep.

When the training mode field carries the training mode indication information of the network device, the training mode indication information is used to indicate that the training mode of the network device is a training mode with two directional ends, and if the value of the training mode field is 1, the preset sub-element may further include a scan mode field. Wherein, the scan mode field can carry indication information of scan mode of the network device.

When the indication information of the scan mode of the network device carried by the scan mode field is used to indicate that the user equipment transmits a training frame in each sector, and the network device performs N times of sector scanning repeatedly, where N is the number of sectors of the network device, the directional beamforming training control element may further include: a number of repetitions field.

The number of repetitions field may be used to indicate the number of repetitions of the sector sweep by the network device, i.e., N.

The following describes another implementation manner provided by the embodiment of the present application through two specific examples, that is, a scheme for sending the sector scanning parameters of the network device to the user equipment through the network device, and then performing sector scanning is described. In the following example, an AP is used as a network device, and a station is used as a user device.

Fig. 14 is a first signaling flow chart of sector scanning performed by an AP and a station in a sector scanning method according to an embodiment of the present application. In this example corresponding to fig. 14, the AP may transmit a beacon frame to the station on the first channel, and the station receives the beacon frame transmitted by the AP on the first channel. The beacon frame transmitted on the first channel includes: sector scan parameters of the AP.

The AP may send a plurality of Beacon frames, that is, high-frequency Beacon frames, to the station on the second channel with a plurality of Transmission sectors according to the sector scanning parameters of the AP during the Beacon Transmission period (Beacon Transmission Interval) shown in fig. 14, so that the station receives the plurality of Beacon frames with a plurality of reception sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the AP, and then determines the optimal reception sector of the station and the optimal Transmission sector of the AP according to the reception conditions of the plurality of Beacon frames.

A station may send multiple SSW frames to an AP with multiple transmitting sectors on a second channel according to sector scanning parameters of the AP during Association Beamforming Training (a-BFT) shown in fig. 14, so that the AP receives the multiple SSW frames with multiple receiving sectors on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the AP1, and then determines an optimal receiving sector of the AP and an optimal transmitting sector of the station according to the receiving conditions of the multiple SSW frames. Wherein, the SSW frame can carry the information of the optimal transmitting sector of the AP determined by the station in the BTI.

After determining the optimal transmitting sector of the station, the AP may also send an SSW feedback frame carrying the optimal transmitting sector of the station to the station on the second channel in the a-BFT period.

The station, upon receiving the SSW feedback frame, may also feed back an SSW acknowledgement frame to the AP on the second channel during the a-BFT period to indicate that it received the SSW feedback frame.

Fig. 15 is a signaling flowchart of a sector scanning performed by an AP and a station according to an embodiment of the present application. In this example of fig. 15, the AP may transmit a beacon frame to the station on the first channel, and the station receives the beacon frame transmitted by the AP on the first channel. The beacon frame transmitted on the first channel includes: sector scan parameters of the AP. With respect to fig. 14 above, in the corresponding example of fig. 15, the beacon frame transmitted on the first channel may further include: the information to be transmitted of the beacon frame on the second channel is also referred to as the transmission content of the beacon frame of the high frequency channel. Therefore, the information to be transmitted of the beacon frame on the second channel is also transmitted on the first channel, so that the signaling overhead of the second channel, namely the high-frequency channel, can be further reduced.

In the example of fig. 15, the operation of the AP and the station in the BTI is similar to that of fig. 14, except that the beacon frame is transmitted as the training frame in fig. 14, and the SSW frame is transmitted as the training frame in the example of fig. 15. For the similarity, refer to the above description, and are not repeated herein.

In the example of fig. 15, the operation of the AP and the station during the a-BFT period is similar to that of fig. 14, which is described above and will not be described again here.

In the asymmetric link scenario of the high-frequency channel, the ue may receive the downlink frame sent by the network device on the high-frequency channel, and the network device may not receive the uplink frame sent by the ue on the high-frequency channel because the transmit power and the antenna gain of the ue are small. For a network device and a user equipment with an asymmetric link, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a sector scanning method, so as to implement sector scanning between the network device and the user equipment. Fig. 16 is a signaling flowchart of sector scanning performed by an AP and a station in another sector scanning method according to the embodiment of the present application. In the example of fig. 16, continuing to use the AP as the network device and the station as the user device, the AP may send multiple beacon frames, i.e., high-frequency beacon frames, to the station with multiple transmission sectors on the second channel, so that the station receives the multiple beacon frames with multiple reception sectors on the second channel, and determines the optimal reception sector of the station and the optimal transmission sector of the AP according to the reception conditions of the multiple beacon frames.

However, due to the presence of the asymmetric link, the AP may not receive the information transmitted by the station to the AP on the second channel. Thus, the station may transmit SSW feedback frames to the AP on the first channel using OCT. The AP may receive the SSW feedback frame sent by the station on the second channel using OCT, and determine the optimal transmit sector of the AP.

The AP may also send an SSW acknowledgement frame to the station on the first channel using OCT to indicate that the AP received the SSW feedback frame. Correspondingly, the station may receive the SSW acknowledgment frame on the first channel using OCT. The first channel may be a low frequency channel and the second channel may be a high frequency channel.

The SSW feedback frame may carry parameters for the receiving sector. In this embodiment, the parameters of the receiving sector may include: the identification of the receiving sector, the antenna identification corresponding to the receiving sector, and the like. The SSW feedback frame may include: number of entries (digits) field, information field corresponding to N receiving sectors. Wherein, the information field corresponding to each receiving sector may include: a sector identification field and an antenna identification field. Wherein the sector identification field may carry an identification of each receiving sector. The antenna identification field may carry an identification of the antenna corresponding to each receiving sector.

After receiving the SSW acknowledgement frame, the station may send an SSW frame to the AP using the optimal receiving sector of the station in a time period corresponding to the optimal transmitting sector of the AP according to the parameters of the receiving sector indicated in the SSW feedback. The SSW feedback frame may include: information of the optimal transmission sector of the AP.

The AP may determine the staying time of the AP in each receiving sector according to the parameters of the receiving sector indicated by the SSW feedback frame, receive the SSW frame sent by the station on the second channel, implement the scanning of the receiving sector of the AP, and determine the optimal receiving sector of the AP and the optimal transmitting sector of the station.

In the scheme of this embodiment, the station may transmit the parameter of the receiving sector to the AP on the low frequency channel by using OCT, so that the AP receives the SSW frame sent by the station on the high frequency channel based on the parameter of the receiving sector, thereby avoiding the unreachable problem of the asymmetric link, enabling the station and the AP to perform accurate sector scanning on the high frequency channel, and avoiding blind sector switching, thereby effectively reducing the time consumed for performing sector scanning on the high frequency channel, and improving the efficiency of sector scanning.

Embodiments of the present application may also provide an initiator device, which may have any function of the initiator or any function of the network device involved in any method in fig. 5 to 16. Fig. 17 is a first schematic structural diagram of a sector scanning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 17, the sector scanning apparatus 1700 may include:

in one implementation, the low frequency module 1701 is to send a first frame to a responder on a first channel; the first frame includes: sector scanning parameters of the initiator; receiving a second frame transmitted by the responder on the first channel, the second frame comprising: sector scan parameters of the responder;

a high frequency module 1702, configured to perform sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the responder; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel.

In another implementation, the low frequency module 1701 is configured to transmit a beacon frame to a user device on a first channel; the beacon frame includes: sector scanning parameters of the network device;

a high frequency module 1702, configured to perform sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameter of the network device; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel.

The sector scanning apparatus 1700 further includes: a processing module 1703, configured to generate information to be sent and/or process received information, and further configured to control the high frequency module 1702 to perform sector scanning on the second channel according to a sector scanning parameter of the network device.

It should be understood that the sector scanning apparatus 1700 has any function of the initiator or the network device in the method described in any one of fig. 5 to fig. 16, and the any function may refer to the method described in any one of fig. 5 to fig. 16, and is not described herein again.

The sector scanning apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in various product forms, for example, the sector scanning apparatus can be configured as a general processing system; for example, the sector scanning means may be implemented by a general bus architecture; for example, the sector scanning means may be implemented by an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or the like. Several possible product forms of the sector scanning device according to the embodiment of the present application are provided below, and it should be understood that the following is only an example and not a limitation to the possible product forms of the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 18 is a first structural diagram of a possible product form of the sector scanning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present application.

As a possible product form, the sector scanning apparatus includes a processor 1802 and a transceiver 1804; optionally, the sector scanning apparatus may further include a storage medium 1803. The transceiver 1804 includes a low frequency transceiver and a high frequency transceiver. The low-frequency transceiver is used for supporting communication between the initiator device and the responder device on a low-frequency channel so as to send the information or the instruction related in the method to the responder device on the low-frequency channel and receive the information or the instruction sent by the responder device on the low-frequency channel; or to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel to transmit beacon frames to the user equipment on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiver to support sector scanning on a high frequency channel by the initiator and the responder; or to support sector scanning by network devices and user devices on high frequency channels.

As another possible product form, the sector scanning apparatus is also implemented by a general-purpose processor, namely a chip in common usage. The general purpose processor includes: a processor 1802 and a transceiving interface 1805/transceiving pin 1806; optionally, the general-purpose processor may also include a storage medium 1803. The transceiving interface 1805 includes a low frequency transceiving interface and a high frequency transceiving interface. The low-frequency transceiving interface is used for supporting communication between the initiator device and the responder device on a low-frequency channel so as to send the information or the instruction related in the method to the responder device on the low-frequency channel and receive the information or the instruction sent by the responder device on the low-frequency channel; or to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel to transmit beacon frames to the user equipment on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiving interface for supporting sector scanning on a high frequency channel by the initiator and the responder; or to support sector scanning by network devices and user devices on high frequency channels.

The transceiving pins 1806 include a low frequency transceiving pin and a high frequency transceiving pin. The low-frequency transceiving pin is used for supporting communication between initiator equipment and responder equipment on a low-frequency channel so as to send information or instructions related in the method to the responder equipment on the low-frequency channel and receive the information or instructions sent by the responder equipment on the low-frequency channel; or to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel to transmit beacon frames to the user equipment on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiver pin for supporting sector scanning of the initiator and the responder on a high frequency channel; or to support sector scanning by network devices and user devices on high frequency channels.

As another possible product form, the sector scanning apparatus can also be implemented using: one or more Field-Programmable Gate arrays (FPGAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, Gate Logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include: instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the sector scanning method performed by any of the initiators of fig. 5-16 in the above-described embodiments.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method for scanning a cell area performed by any one of the initiators or the network devices in fig. 5 to 16 in the foregoing embodiments.

The functions of the computer program product may be implemented in hardware or software, and when implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable storage medium.

The sector scanning apparatus, the computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program product according to the embodiments of the present application may execute the sector scanning method executed by any initiator or network device in fig. 5 to fig. 16, and specific implementation processes and beneficial effects thereof are described above and will not be described herein again.

Embodiments of the present application may also provide a sector scanning apparatus, which may have any function of the responder or the user equipment involved in any method in fig. 5 to 16. Fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a sector scanning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 19, the sector scanning apparatus 1900 may include:

in one implementation, the low frequency module 1901 is configured to receive a first frame from an initiator on a first channel, the first frame comprising: sector scanning parameters of the initiator; transmitting a second frame to the initiator on the first channel, the second frame comprising: sector scan parameters of the responder;

a high frequency module 1902, performing sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel.

In another implementation, the low frequency module 1901 is configured to receive a beacon frame from a network device on a first channel, the beacon frame including: sector scanning parameters of the network device;

a high frequency module 1902 for performing sector scanning on a second channel according to sector scanning parameters of the network device; the frequency of the second channel is higher than the frequency of the first channel.

The sector scanning apparatus 1900 further includes:

the processing module 1903 is configured to generate information to be sent and/or process received information, and is further configured to control the high frequency module 1902 to perform sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the network device.

It should be understood that the sector scanning apparatus 1900 has any function of the responder or the ue in the method described in any one of fig. 5 to fig. 16, and the any function may refer to the method described in any one of fig. 5 to fig. 16, and is not described herein again.

As one possible product form, the sector scanning apparatus includes a processor 2002 and a transceiver 2004; optionally, the sector sweep apparatus may further include a storage medium 2003. The transceiver 2004 includes a low frequency transceiver and a high frequency transceiver. The low-frequency transceiver is used for supporting communication between the initiator device and the responder device on a low-frequency channel, so as to send the information or the instruction related in the method to the initiator device on the low-frequency channel, and receive the information or the instruction sent by the initiator device on the low-frequency channel; or, to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel to receive a beacon frame transmitted by the network device on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiver to support sector scanning on a high frequency channel by the initiator and the responder; or to support sector scanning by network devices and user devices on high frequency channels.

As another possible product form, the sector scanning apparatus is also implemented by a general-purpose processor, namely a chip in common usage. The general purpose processor includes: a processor 2002 and a transceiver interface 2005/transceiver pin 2006; optionally, the general purpose processor may also include a storage medium 2003. The transceiving interface 2005 includes a low frequency transceiving interface and a high frequency transceiving interface. The low-frequency transceiving interface is used for supporting communication between the initiator device and the responder device on a low-frequency channel, so as to send the information or the instruction related in the method to the initiator device on the low-frequency channel, and receive the information or the instruction sent by the initiator device on the low-frequency channel; or, to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel to receive a beacon frame transmitted by the network device on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiving interface for supporting sector scanning on a high frequency channel by the initiator and the responder; or to support sector scanning by network devices and user devices on high frequency channels.

The transceiver pins 2006 include low frequency transceiver pins and high frequency transceiver pins. The low-frequency transceiving pin is used for supporting communication between the initiator device and the responder device on a low-frequency channel, so as to send the information or the instruction related in the method to the initiator device on the low-frequency channel, and receive the information or the instruction sent by the initiator device on the low-frequency channel; or, to support communication between the network device and the user equipment on a low frequency channel to receive a beacon frame transmitted by the network device on the low frequency channel. A high frequency transceiver pin for supporting sector scanning of the initiator and the responder on a high frequency channel; or to support sector scanning by network devices and user devices on high frequency channels.

As another possible product form, the sector scanning apparatus can also be implemented using: one or more FPGAs, PLDs, controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may include: instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the sector scanning method performed by any of the respondents or user equipments in fig. 5-16 in the above embodiments.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method for scanning a cell area performed by a responder or a user equipment in any one of fig. 5 to 16 in the foregoing embodiments.

The sector scanning apparatus, the computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program product according to the embodiments of the present application may execute the sector scanning method executed by any one of the responders or the user equipment in fig. 5 to 16, and specific implementation processes and beneficial effects thereof are described above and will not be described herein again.

Embodiments of the present application may also provide a network system, which may include an initiator device and a responder device. The initiator device is connected with the responder device; the initiator device may be the sector scanning apparatus shown in any one of fig. 17 or 18, so as to execute the sector scanning method executed by any one of the initiators shown in fig. 5 to 11, which is referred to above for specific implementation and is not described herein again. The responder device may be the sector scanning apparatus shown in any one of fig. 19 or 20, so as to execute the sector scanning method executed by any one of the responders shown in fig. 5 to fig. 11, which is referred to above for specific implementation and is not described herein again.

The system can implement the sector scanning method between the initiator and the responder in any of the embodiments described above, and the specific implementation process and beneficial effects thereof are referred to above and will not be described herein again.

The embodiment of the present application may further provide a network system, which may include a network device and a user equipment. The network equipment is connected with the user equipment; the network device may be the sector scanning apparatus shown in any one of fig. 17 or 18, so as to execute the sector scanning method executed by any one of the network devices shown in fig. 12 to fig. 16, which is referred to above for specific implementation and is not described herein again. The user equipment may be the sector scanning apparatus shown in any one of fig. 19 or 20 to execute the sector scanning method executed by any one of the user equipments shown in fig. 12 to fig. 16, which is referred to above for specific implementation and is not described herein again.

The system can implement the sector scanning method between the network device and the user equipment according to any of the embodiments, and specific implementation processes and beneficial effects thereof are described above and are not described herein again.

It should be noted that, in the above embodiments, all or part of the implementation may be realized by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more available media integrated servers, data centers, and the like. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

Claims

1. A method of sector scanning, comprising:

an initiator sends a first frame to a responder on a first channel; the first frame includes: sector scanning parameters of the initiator;

the initiator receives a second frame sent by the responder on the first channel, wherein the second frame comprises: sector scanning parameters of the responder;

the initiator performs sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder; the second channel has a higher frequency than the first channel.

2. A method of sector scanning, comprising:

a responder receives a first frame from an initiator on a first channel, the first frame comprising: sector scanning parameters of the initiator;

the responder sends a second frame to the initiator on the first channel, the second frame comprising: sector scanning parameters of the responder;

the responder scans the sector on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator; the second channel has a higher frequency than the first channel.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sector scanning parameters of the initiator comprise at least one of the following information:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein when the training mode indication information of the initiator is used to indicate that the training mode of the initiator is a training mode with both ends oriented, the sector sweep parameters of the initiator further comprise:

indication information of a sector scanning mode of the initiator;

the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the initiator is used for indicating the corresponding relationship between the number of times of sending the responder in each sector and the number of times of sector scanning performed by the initiator.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the sector scanning parameters of the initiator further comprise at least one of the following information:

the frame type of the first frame, the indication information of whether the initiator requests to perform transmission sector scanning, the indication information of whether the initiator requests to perform receiving sector scanning, the indication information of the feedback type, the indication information of whether the first frame carries the training sequence of the receiving end, and the length indication information of the training sequence;

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the sector sweep parameters of the responder comprise at least one of the following information:

the start time of sector scanning by the responder, the number of sectors of the responder, the number of antennas of the responder, the indication information of antenna diversity of the responder, the indication information of antenna mode diversity of the responder, the length of a training frame of sector scanning by the responder, and the indication information of training mode of the responder;

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the responder's training mode indication information is used to indicate that the responder's training mode is a training mode with both ends oriented, the responder's sector sweep parameters further comprise:

indication information of a sector scanning mode of the responder;

the indication information of the sector scanning mode of the responder is used for indicating the corresponding relation between the number of times of sending the initiator in each sector and the number of times of sector scanning performed by the responder.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the sector sweep parameters of the responder further comprise at least one of the following information:

the frame type of the second frame, the indication information of whether the responder requests to perform transmission sector scanning, the indication information of whether the responder requests to perform receiving sector scanning, the indication information of the feedback type, the indication information of whether the second frame carries the training sequence of the receiving end, and the indication information of the length of the training sequence;

9. An initiator-side sector scanning apparatus, comprising:

a low frequency module to send a first frame to a responder on a first channel; the first frame includes: sector scanning parameters of the initiator; receiving a second frame sent by the responder on the first channel, the second frame comprising: sector scanning parameters of the responder;

the processing module is used for controlling the high-frequency module to carry out sector scanning on the second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the responder; the second channel has a higher frequency than the first channel.

10. A sector scanning apparatus on a responder side, comprising:

a low frequency module to receive a first frame from an initiator on a first channel, the first frame comprising: sector scanning parameters of the initiator; transmitting a second frame to the initiator on the first channel, the second frame comprising: sector scanning parameters of the responder;

the processing module is used for controlling the high-frequency module to carry out sector scanning on a second channel according to the sector scanning parameters of the initiator; the second channel has a higher frequency than the first channel.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the sector sweep parameters of the initiator include at least one of the following information:

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein when the training mode indication information of the initiator is used to indicate that the training mode of the initiator is a training mode oriented at both ends, the sector sweep parameters of the initiator further comprise:

indication information of a sector scanning mode of the initiator;

13. The apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the sector sweep parameters of the initiator further include at least one of the following information:

14. The apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the sector sweep parameter of the responder comprises at least one of the following information:

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein when the responder's training mode indication information is used to indicate that the responder's training mode is a training mode with both ends oriented, the responder's sector sweep parameters further comprise:

indication information of a sector scanning mode of the responder;

16. The apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the sector sweep parameters of the responder further comprise at least one of the following information: