CN117676783A

CN117676783A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN117676783A
Application number: CN202211091171.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 于健; 狐梦实; 淦明
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-09-07
Filing date: 2022-09-07
Publication date: 2024-03-08
Also published as: WO2024051326A1

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can improve the transmission power of downlink transmission of equipment in an LPI scene and can be applied to a WLAN communication system. The method comprises the following steps: the first access point AP generates a first trigger frame. The first trigger frame is used for triggering the plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using the discrete resource unit RU or the discrete multi-resource unit MRU. Further, the first AP transmits a first trigger frame.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and device.

Background

Wireless local area networks (wireless local area network, WLAN) have evolved over many generations from 802.11a/b/g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax to 802.11be, etc. now in question. Among them, the 802.11n standard is called High Throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is called very high throughput (very high throughput, VHT), the 802.11ax standard is called High Efficiency (HE), and the 802.11be standard is called ultra high throughput (extremely high throughput, EHT).

In a Low Power Input (LPI) scenario, the maximum power and the maximum frequency spectrum density transmitted by a device are strictly limited, and the maximum transmission power of the device increases with an increase in transmission bandwidth. Wherein, when the bandwidth is 320MHz at maximum, for an Access Point (AP), the maximum power is 30 decibels-milliwatts (dBm), and the maximum power spectral density is 5 dBm/megahertz (MHz); for a Station (STA), its maximum power is 24dBm and its maximum power spectral density is-1 dBm/MHz. In a standard power scenario, the maximum power of the AP is 36dBm and the maximum power of the sta is 30dBm. It follows that even with a bandwidth of 320MHz, the transmit power of the device in the LPI scenario is still 6dBm lower than the transmit power of the device in the standard power scenario. For this reason, how to increase the transmission power of the device in the LPI scenario is a problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which can improve the transmission power of equipment in an LPI scene.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the application adopts the following technical scheme:

in a first aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a first AP, or a component of the first AP, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system on a chip of the first AP, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first AP. The following description will be made on the case where this method is executed by the first AP. The communication method comprises the following steps: the first Access Point (AP) generates a first trigger frame, wherein the first trigger frame is used for triggering a plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using a discrete Resource Unit (RU) or a discrete multi-resource unit (MRU). Further, the first AP transmits a first trigger frame.

Based on the communication method, the first AP can trigger a plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU through the first trigger frame, and compared with single AP transmission, under the condition of the same frequency spectrum efficiency, the transmission power of the APs can be improved or the power spectrum density on a single subcarrier can be improved.

In one possible design, the plurality of APs may include N second APs, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. In this way, the first AP may not participate in downlink transmission, and only schedule at least two second APs to form multi-AP discrete RU transmission or multi-AP discrete MRU transmission, so that under the same spectrum efficiency condition, the transmitting power of the AP may be improved or the power spectrum density on a single subcarrier may be improved.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs may include a first AP and N second APs, where N is a positive integer. Therefore, the first AP can also participate in transmission, and forms multi-AP discrete RU transmission or multi-AP discrete MRU transmission with at least one scheduled second AP, so that complexity of the scheduled AP can be reduced, and under the condition of the same frequency spectrum efficiency, transmitting power of the AP can be improved or power spectrum density on a single subcarrier can be improved.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the first AP transmits a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to one or more STAs. Wherein the first PPDU may include a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. In this way, under the condition that the first AP and the second AP participate in downlink transmission together, the first AP also uses the discrete RU or the discrete MRU to transmit the first PPDU together with the second AP, so that the transmission power of the AP or the power spectral density on a single subcarrier can be improved.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the multiple APs participate in downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the first indication information may be a trigger frame type field.

In another possible design, the first trigger frame may include the second indication information and the third indication information. The second indication information is used for indicating the plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission, and the third indication information is used for indicating the plurality of APs to use discrete RU or discrete MRU for downlink transmission.

In one possible embodiment, the second indication information is a trigger frame type field, and the third indication information is carried in a public information field, a special user information field, or a user information field.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may further include identification information of the second AP.

In one possible design, the identification information of the second AP may be carried in the user information list field. Wherein one of the user information fields of the user information list field includes identification information of a second AP.

Alternatively, the identification information of the second AP may correspond to M user information fields in the user information list field, where M is a positive integer.

In one possible design, the user information field may further include RU allocation information.

In one possible design, the RU allocation information may include a discrete RU or a discrete MRU allocated to the second AP for downlink transmissions. Therefore, the first AP can only allocate the discrete RU or the discrete MRU resource information for the second AP, does not schedule the STA for the second AP, and further the second AP freely schedules the STA according to the allocated discrete RU or the discrete MRU resource information, so that the signaling overhead of the first AP can be reduced, and the flexibility of the communication between the second AP and the STA can be improved.

In another possible design, the user information field may further include identification information of the STA associated with the second AP. Therefore, the first AP can uniformly schedule, and the STA to be transmitted and the discrete RU or discrete MRU resource information of each STA are indicated in advance, so that resources can be allocated more reasonably, the second AP can directly perform data transmission according to the related information in the first trigger frame, the complexity of communication of the second AP can be reduced, and the communication rate can be improved. In this case, the plurality of second APs may also be allowed to transmit data using a unified signaling field.

In another possible embodiment, the identification information of the second AP may be carried in a public information field or a special user information field.

In one possible design, the public information field or the special user information field may further include information of the number of user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. The identification information of the second AP is adjacently arranged with the number information of the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. Therefore, after the second AP acquires the first trigger frame, the corresponding identification information can be analyzed and obtained to determine the number of the corresponding allocated user information fields, and further, the related information of downlink transmission can be acquired.

In one possible design, the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP are arranged continuously. Therefore, the user information fields corresponding to the same second AP are continuously discharged, so that the related information of downlink transmission can be acquired more quickly, and the data transmission delay is reduced.

Optionally, the identification information of the second AP may be a basic service set color corresponding to the second AP or a basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP, or the identification information of the second AP is part of information in the basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP.

In one possible design, the first PPDU may also include a non-modulated portion field. Wherein the non-modulated part field may include a first field, and the first field may include information for demodulating the modulated part field.

In one possible design, the non-modulated portion field may further include a universal signaling U-SIG field, where the U-SIG field may include one or more of the following: a physical layer version field, an uplink/downlink field, a basic service set color field, a transmission opportunity field, a PPDU type and compressed mode field, a number of symbols of the first field, and a coding and modulation policy field of the first field.

In one possible design, multiple APs jointly transmit non-modulated part fields with the same content. Multiple APs may jointly transmit the same non-modulated portion field, with non-modulated portions transmitted by different APs not interfering with each other so that all STAs associated can receive.

In one possible design, a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is indicated by the first trigger frame; or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is predefined; or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is the basic service set color corresponding to the first AP.

In one possible design, the common information field in the first field may include RU allocation information for STAs associated with the plurality of APs.

In another possible design, multiple APs may transmit the non-modulated section field on different frequency resource sub-blocks.

In one possible design, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to the second AP may be the basic service set color corresponding to the second AP.

In one possible design, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP includes RU allocation information of the STA associated with the second AP.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may also be used to trigger multiple APs to participate in channel sounding. Therefore, the first trigger frame can be used for triggering channel detection besides triggering data transmission, and a plurality of APs can also adopt discrete RU or discrete MRU transmission in the channel detection process, so that the sending power of the APs in the channel detection process can be improved or the power spectrum density on a single subcarrier can be improved.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may further include fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the multiple APs participate in channel sounding.

Optionally, the first trigger frame may further include a probe dialog token field. Wherein the probing session token field may be used to indicate how many times the channel is probed.

In one possible design, the first PPDU may be a null data packet NDP, where the first PPDU may be used for channel sounding by one or more STAs. In this way, since data transmission may not be performed in the channel sounding process, in case that the plurality of APs includes the first AP and the N second APs, the first PPDU may be an NDP that does not include a data field and uses a discrete RU or a discrete MRU transmission together with the second APs participating in the channel sounding, thereby reducing signaling overhead and improving transmission power and channel sounding rate of the APs.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the first AP transmits a null data packet announcement NDPA frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding. In this way, the first AP participates in channel transmission, and needs to send an NDPA frame to the STA before sending the NDP, so as to notify the STA to perform channel sounding, and send the NDPA frame by using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, so that the transmission power of the first AP can be increased.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by the second AP, or may be performed by a component of the second AP, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip of the second AP, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functionality of the second AP. The following description will be made on the case where this method is executed by the second AP. The communication method comprises the following steps: the second access point AP receives a first trigger frame from the first AP. The first trigger frame is used for triggering the plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using the discrete resource unit RU or the discrete multi-resource unit MRU. The second AP transmits the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to one or more station STAs. Wherein the first PPDU includes a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

Based on the communication method, one or more second APs can participate in downlink transmission initiated by the first AP according to the discrete RU or the discrete MRU indicated by the first trigger frame, and under the condition of the same spectrum efficiency, the sending power of the APs can be improved or the power spectrum density on a single subcarrier can be improved.

In one possible design, the plurality of APs may include N second APs, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs may include a first AP and N second APs, where N is a positive integer.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the second AP receives a second PPDU from one or more STAs, the second PPDU being transmitted by the STA using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the RU allocation information may include a discrete RU or a discrete MRU allocated to the second AP for downlink transmissions. Therefore, the first AP can only distribute the discrete RU or the discrete MRU resource information for the second AP, does not schedule the STA for the second AP, and further the second AP freely schedules the STA according to the distributed discrete RU or the distributed MRU resource information, so that the signaling overhead of the first AP can be reduced, and the flexibility of the communication between the second AP and the STA can be improved.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame is further configured to trigger a plurality of APs to participate in channel sounding.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may further include fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the multiple APs participate in channel sounding. Therefore, the first trigger frame can be used for triggering channel detection besides triggering data transmission, and a plurality of APs can also adopt discrete RU or discrete MRU transmission in the channel detection process, so that the sending power of the APs in the channel detection process can be improved or the power spectrum density on a single subcarrier can be improved.

Optionally, the first trigger frame may further include a probe dialog token field.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the second AP transmits a null data packet announcement NDPA frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding. In this way, the first AP participates in channel transmission, and needs to send an NDPA frame to the STA before sending the NDP, so as to notify the STA to perform channel sounding, and send the NDPA frame by using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, so that the transmission power of the first AP can be increased.

In one possible design, NDPA frames jointly sent by multiple APs have the same content. In this way, multiple APs can transmit the same NDPA frame, and the transmission delay of multiple APs can be reduced.

In one possible design, the NDPA frame may include identification information of a plurality of APs and identification information of STAs associated with the plurality of APs.

In another possible design, multiple APs may send NDPA frames using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs. Thus, different APs can independently transmit using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs, and the flexibility of communication of the APs can be improved.

In one possible design, the first PPDU may be a null data packet NDP, the second PPDU may include a compressed beamforming report CBFR or a channel state indication CQI, and the first PPDU may be used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a STA, or may be performed by a component of the STA, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip of the STA, or may be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the STA. This method is described below by taking STA as an example. The communication method comprises the following steps: the station STA receives the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU from the second access point AP. Wherein the first PPDU includes a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete resource unit RU or a discrete multi-resource unit MRU. The STA parses the first PPDU.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the STA transmits a second PPDU to the second AP using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the STA transmits the second PPDU to the first AP using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the first PPDU may be an NDP, and the second PPDU may include a compressed beamforming report CBFR or a channel state indication CQI, where the first PPDU is used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the STA receives the null data packet declaration NDPA frame from the second AP. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding.

In one possible design, multiple second APs jointly transmit NDPA frames with the same content.

In one possible design, the NDPA frame may include identification information of the second AP and identification information of a STA associated with the second AP.

In another possible design, the second AP may send the NDPA frame using a different discrete RU or discrete MRU.

In one possible design, multiple second APs jointly transmit non-modulated part fields with the same content.

In one possible design, a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is indicated by the first trigger frame; or the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is predefined; or the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is the basic service set color corresponding to the first AP.

In one possible design, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP may include RU allocation information for STAs associated with the plurality of second APs.

In another possible design, the plurality of second APs may transmit the non-modulated section field on different frequency resource sub-blocks.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by the first AP, or may be performed by a component of the first AP, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip of the first AP, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first AP. The following description will be made on the case where this method is executed by the first AP. The communication method comprises the following steps: the first Access Point (AP) generates a second trigger frame, wherein the second trigger frame is used for triggering a plurality of APs to participate in channel detection by using a discrete Resource Unit (RU) or a discrete multi-resource unit (MRU). The first AP transmits a second trigger frame.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the first AP transmits a null data packet announcement NDPA frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the first AP transmits a null data packet NDP to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, NDP is used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

In one possible design, the second trigger frame may further include fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to instruct the plurality of APs to participate in channel sounding using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

Optionally, the second trigger frame may further include a probe dialog token field. Wherein the probing session token field may be used to indicate how many times the channel is probed.

In one possible design, the second trigger frame may further include identification information of the second AP.

Optionally, the identification information of the second AP corresponds to M user information fields in the user information list field, where M is a positive integer.

In one possible design, the RU allocation information may include a discrete RU or a discrete MRU allocated to the second AP for downlink transmissions.

In another possible design, the user information field may further include identification information of the STA associated with the second AP.

In another possible embodiment, the identification information of the second AP is carried in a public information field or a special user information field.

In one possible design, the public information field or the special user information field may further include information about the number of user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. The identification information of the second AP is adjacently arranged with the number information of the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP.

In one possible design, the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP are arranged continuously.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by the second AP, or may be performed by a component of the second AP, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip of the second AP, or may be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functionality of the second AP. The following description will be made on the case where this method is executed by the second AP. The communication method comprises the following steps: the second access point AP receives a second trigger frame from the first AP. The second trigger frame is used for triggering the plurality of APs to participate in channel detection by using the discrete resource unit RU or the discrete multi-resource unit MRU. The second AP transmits a null data packet announcement NDPA frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding. The second AP transmits the null data packet NDP to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, NDP is used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the second AP receives a second PPDU from one or more STAs, the second PPDU transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the second PPDU may include a compressed beamforming report CBFR or a channel state indication CQI.

Optionally, M user information fields in the user information list field, where M is a positive integer.

In one possible design, the public information field or the special user information field may further include information of the number of user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. The identification information of the second AP is adjacently arranged with the number information of the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP.

In one possible design, multiple APs jointly transmit NDPA frames with the same content.

In another possible design, multiple APs may send NDPA frames using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs.

In one possible design, the NDP may include a modulation section field that uses either discrete RU or discrete MRU transmissions.

In one possible design, the NDP may also include a non-modulated part field. Wherein the non-modulated part field may include a first field, and the first field may include information for demodulating the modulated part field.

In one possible design, multiple APs jointly transmit non-modulated part fields with the same content.

In one possible design, a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is indicated by the second trigger frame; or, a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field; or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is a predefined or basic service set color corresponding to the first AP.

In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, where the method may be performed by a STA, or may be performed by a component of the STA, for example, a processor, a chip, or a system-on-chip of the STA, or may be implemented by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the STA. This method is described below by taking STA as an example. The communication method comprises the following steps: the station STA receives the null data packet announcement NDPA frame from the second access point AP. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding. The STA receives the null data packet NDP from the second AP. Wherein, NDP is used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: the STA transmits a second PPDU to the second AP, the second PPDU transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the STA receives the NDPA frame from the first AP.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the STA receives the NDP from the first AP.

In one possible design, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the application may further include: the STA transmits a second PPDU to the first AP, the second PPDU transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In another possible design, the plurality of second APs may transmit NDPA frames using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs.

In one possible design, a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is indicated by the second trigger frame; or the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is predefined; or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is the basic service set color corresponding to the first AP.

The technical effects of the communication methods described in the fourth to sixth aspects may refer to the technical effects of the methods described in the first to third aspects, and are not described herein.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above methods. The communication device may be the first AP of the first aspect, or a device including the first AP, such as a chip. The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the method according to the first aspect, which modules, units or means may be implemented in hardware, in software or by executing corresponding software in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible designs, the communication device includes: the device comprises a processing module and a receiving and transmitting module. The processing module is used for generating a first trigger frame, wherein the first trigger frame is used for triggering a plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using a discrete resource unit RU or a discrete multi-resource unit MRU. And the transceiver module is used for transmitting the first trigger frame.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs may include the communication device of the seventh aspect and N second APs, where N is a positive integer.

In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to one or more STAs. Wherein the first PPDU may include a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the identification information of the second AP may correspond to M user information fields in the user information list field, where M is a positive integer.

In another possible design, the user information field may further include identification information of a station STA associated with the second AP.

In a possible implementation manner, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to the communication apparatus according to the eighth aspect may be the basic service set color corresponding to the communication apparatus according to the eighth aspect.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may also be used to trigger multiple APs to participate in channel sounding.

In one possible design, the first PPDU may be a null data packet NDP, where the first PPDU may be used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send a null data packet declaration NDPA frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding.

Alternatively, the transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module. Wherein, the sending module is used for realizing the sending function of the communication device according to the seventh aspect, and the receiving module is used for realizing the receiving function of the communication device according to the seventh aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the seventh aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the communication device of the seventh aspect to perform the method of the first aspect.

The technical effects of the communication device according to the seventh aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to the first aspect, which are not described herein.

In an eighth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the second AP in the second aspect, or a device including the second AP, such as a chip. The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the method according to the second aspect, which modules, units or means may be implemented in hardware, in software or by executing corresponding software in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible designs, the communication device includes: a transmitting module and a receiving module. The receiving module is configured to receive a first trigger frame from a first AP. The first trigger frame is used for triggering the plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using the discrete resource unit RU or the discrete multi-resource unit MRU. And the sending module is used for sending the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to one or more Site (STA). Wherein the first PPDU includes a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In a possible design, the plurality of APs may include N communication devices according to the eighth aspect, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs may include a first AP and N communication devices according to the eighth aspect, where N is a positive integer.

Optionally, the receiving module is further configured to receive a second PPDU from one or more STAs, where the second PPDU is transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In a possible implementation manner, the first trigger frame may further include identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect.

In a possible implementation manner, the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect may be carried in a user information list field. Wherein one of the user information fields in the user information list field includes identification information of a communication device according to the eighth aspect.

Optionally, the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect corresponds to M user information fields in the user information list field, where M is a positive integer.

In a possible design, the RU allocation information may include a discrete RU or a discrete MRU allocated to the communication device according to the eighth aspect for downlink transmission.

In another possible design, the user information field may further include identification information of the STA associated with the communication apparatus according to the eighth aspect.

In a further possible embodiment, the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect is carried in a public information field or a special user information field.

In a possible embodiment, the public information field or the special user information field may further include the number information of the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect. Wherein the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect is arranged adjacent to the number of user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect.

In a possible implementation manner, the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect are arranged continuously.

Optionally, the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect may be a basic service set color corresponding to the communication device according to the eighth aspect or a basic service set identifier corresponding to the communication device according to the eighth aspect, or the identification information of the communication device according to the eighth aspect is part of the information in the basic service set identifier corresponding to the communication device according to the eighth aspect.

In one possible design, the transmitting module is further configured to transmit the null data packet declaration NDPA frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein the transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device according to the eighth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the eighth aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein the processing module is configured to implement the processing function of the communication device according to the eighth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the eighth aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by the processing module, enable the communication device to perform the communication method of the second aspect.

The technical effects of the communication device according to the eighth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to the second aspect, which are not described herein.

In a ninth aspect, a communications apparatus is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the STA in the third aspect, or a device including the STA, or a device included in the STA, such as a chip. The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the method according to the third aspect, which modules, units or means may be implemented in hardware, in software or by executing corresponding software in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible designs, the communication device includes: the device comprises a processing module and a receiving and transmitting module. The transceiver module is configured to receive a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU from a second access point AP. Wherein the first PPDU includes a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete resource unit RU or a discrete multi-resource unit MRU. And the processing module is used for analyzing the first PPDU.

Optionally, the transceiver module is further configured to send the second PPDU to the second AP using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In a possible design, the first PPDU is an NDP frame, and the second PPDU may include a compressed beamforming report CBFR or a channel state indicator CQI, where the first PPDU is used for channel sounding by one or more communication devices in the ninth aspect.

In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a null data packet declaration NDPA frame from the second AP. Wherein the NDPA frame is configured to notify one or more communication devices of the ninth aspect of channel sounding.

In a possible implementation, the NDPA frame may include the identification information of the second AP and the identification information of the communication device according to the ninth aspect associated with the second AP.

In a possible design, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP may include RU allocation information of the communication apparatus according to the ninth aspect associated with the plurality of second APs.

In a possible design, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP includes RU allocation information of the communication device according to the ninth aspect associated with the second AP.

The technical effects of the communication device according to the ninth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to the third aspect, which are not described herein.

In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the first AP in the fourth aspect, or a device including the first AP, such as a chip. The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the method according to the fourth aspect, which modules, units or means may be implemented in hardware, in software or by executing corresponding software in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible designs, the communication device includes: the device comprises a processing module and a receiving and transmitting module. The processing module is configured to generate a second trigger frame, where the second trigger frame is configured to trigger the multiple APs to participate in channel sounding using a discrete resource unit RU or a discrete multi-resource unit MRU. And the transceiver module is used for transmitting the second trigger frame by the first AP.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs may include the communication device of the tenth aspect and N second APs, where N is a positive integer.

In a possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to send the null data packet NDP to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Wherein, NDP is used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

Alternatively, the transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module. Wherein, the sending module is used for realizing the sending function of the communication device according to the tenth aspect, and the receiving module is used for realizing the receiving function of the communication device according to the tenth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the tenth aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by a processing module, enable the communications device of the tenth aspect to perform the method of the fourth aspect.

The technical effects of the communication device according to the tenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method according to the fourth aspect, and will not be described herein.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above methods. The communication device may be the second AP in the fifth aspect, or a device including the second AP, or a device included in the second AP, such as a chip. The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the method according to the fifth aspect, which modules, units or means may be implemented in hardware, in software or by executing corresponding software in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible designs, the communication device includes: a receiving module and a transmitting module. The receiving module is configured to receive a second trigger frame from the first AP. The second trigger frame is used for triggering the plurality of APs to participate in channel detection by using the discrete resource unit RU or the discrete multi-resource unit MRU. A transmitting module for transmitting the null data packet announcement NDPA frame to one or more STAs using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU. Wherein, the NDPA frame is used to inform one or more STAs to perform channel sounding. The transmitting module is further configured to transmit the null data packet NDP to one or more STAs using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU. Wherein, NDP is used for channel sounding by one or more STAs.

In a possible design, the plurality of APs may include N communication devices according to the eleventh aspect, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs may include a first AP and N communication devices according to the eleventh aspect, where N is a positive integer.

In a possible implementation manner, the second trigger frame may further include identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

In a possible implementation form, the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect may be carried in a user information list field. Wherein one of the user information fields in the user information list field includes identification information of a communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

In a possible design, the RU allocation information may include a discrete RU or a discrete MRU allocated to the communication device of the eleventh aspect for downlink transmission.

In another possible design, the user information field may further include identification information of the STA associated with the communication apparatus according to the eleventh aspect.

In a further possible embodiment, the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect is carried in a public information field or a special user information field.

In a possible embodiment, the public information field or the special user information field may further include the number information of the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect. Wherein the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect is arranged adjacent to the number of user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

In a possible implementation manner, the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect are arranged continuously.

Alternatively, the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect may be a basic service set color corresponding to the communication device according to the eleventh aspect or a basic service set identifier corresponding to the communication device according to the eleventh aspect, or the identification information of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect may be part of the information in the basic service set identifier corresponding to the communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

In a possible implementation manner, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to the communication apparatus according to the eleventh aspect may be the basic service set color corresponding to the communication apparatus according to the eleventh aspect.

In a possible implementation manner, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the communication device according to the eleventh aspect includes RU allocation information of the STA associated with the communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein the transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the eleventh aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein the processing module is configured to implement a processing function of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the eleventh aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by the processing module, enable the communication device to perform the communication method of the fifth aspect.

The technical effects of the communication device according to the eleventh aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to the fifth aspect, which are not described herein.

In a twelfth aspect, a communications device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the STA in the sixth aspect, or a device including the STA, or a device included in the STA, such as a chip. The communication device comprises corresponding modules, units or means (means) for implementing the method according to the sixth aspect, which modules, units or means may be implemented by hardware, by software or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

In some possible designs, the communication device includes: and a receiving module. The receiving module is configured to receive an NDPA frame declared by a null data packet from the second access point AP. Wherein the NDPA frame is configured to notify one or more communication devices of the twelfth aspect of channel sounding. And the receiving module is also used for receiving the null data packet NDP from the second AP. Wherein NDP is used for channel sounding by one or more communication devices according to the twelfth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include: and a transmitting module. And the sending module is used for sending a second PPDU to the second AP, wherein the second PPDU is transmitted by using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the receiving module is further configured to receive an NDPA frame from the first AP.

In one possible design, the receiving module is further configured to receive the NDP from the first AP.

In a possible design, the sending module is further configured to send a second PPDU to the first AP, where the second PPDU is transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In a possible design, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP may include RU allocation information of the communication apparatus according to the twelfth aspect associated with the plurality of second APs.

In a possible design, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP includes RU allocation information of the communication device according to the twelfth aspect associated with the second AP.

Alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module. Wherein the transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device according to the twelfth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the twelfth aspect may further include a processing module. Wherein the processing module is configured to implement a processing function of the communication device according to the twelfth aspect.

Optionally, the communication device according to the twelfth aspect may further include a storage module, where the storage module stores a program or instructions. The program or instructions, when executed by the processing module, enable the communication device to perform the communication method of the sixth aspect.

The technical effects of the communication device according to the twelfth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method according to the sixth aspect, and will not be described herein.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, to cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to sixth aspects.

In one possible implementation form, the communication device according to the thirteenth aspect may further comprise a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be for use in a communication device according to the thirteenth aspect in communication with other communication devices.

In an embodiment of the present application, the communication device according to the thirteenth aspect may be the first AP according to the first aspect or the fourth aspect, or the second AP according to the second aspect or the second AP according to the fifth aspect or the STA according to the third aspect or the sixth aspect, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that may be disposed in the first AP or the second AP or the STA, or a device including the first AP or the second AP or the STA.

The technical effects of the thirteenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the method described in any implementation manner of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, which are not described herein.

In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes: a first AP, a second AP, and a STA. Wherein the first AP is configured to perform the communication method described in the first aspect, the second AP is configured to perform the communication method described in the second aspect, and the STA is configured to perform the communication method described in the third aspect; alternatively, the first AP is configured to perform the communication method described in the fourth aspect, the second AP is configured to perform the communication method described in the fifth aspect, and the STA is configured to perform the communication method described in the sixth aspect.

In a fifteenth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects.

In a sixteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product comprises: computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of the possible implementation manners of the first to sixth aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a distribution of discrete RUs according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of another distribution of discrete RUs provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic view of a scenario in which an AP triggers a plurality of STAs to communicate according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an 802.11be trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an EHT TB PPDU according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an EHT MU PPDU for copy transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a user information field in a first trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of multi-AP transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a user information field in another first trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a common information field or a special user information field according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of an indication manner of identification information of a second AP according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a first PPDU according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a transmission manner of a non-modulated part field in a first PPDU according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of an NDP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an NDPA frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of multi-AP channel sounding provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of still another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

For ease of understanding, the related art related to the embodiments of the present application will be described first.

WLAN supports communication using 802.11a/b/g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, etc. protocols. Among them, the 802.11n standard is called HT, the 802.11ac standard is called VHT, the 802.11ax standard is called HE, and the 802.11be standard is called EHT.

In terms of bandwidth configuration, 802.11ax currently supports the following bandwidth configuration: 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 80+80MHz. The 160MHz is different from 80+80MHz in that the former is a continuous band, and the latter can be separated between two 80MHz. Only bandwidths of contiguous bands of 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 320MHz are supported in 802.11 be.

LPI (one)

The manner of communication of LPI is defined in regulations promulgated by the federal communications commission in the united states for the 6 (gigahertz, GHz) spectrum. LPI communications severely limit the maximum power and maximum frequency spectral density transmitted by a device, e.g., the maximum power of an AP is 30dBm, the maximum power spectral density is 5dBm/MHz, the maximum power of an STA is 24dBm, and the maximum power spectral density is-1 dBm/MHz. Therefore, the transmit power of the device cannot exceed the maximum power, nor cannot the power spectral density transmitted by the device exceed the maximum power spectral density. The maximum power spectral density refers to the maximum transmission power of 1MHz, and the minimum granularity of the maximum power spectral density is 1MHz.

Table 1 below shows the relationship between the maximum power of the device and the transmission bandwidth in the LPI scenario, where the maximum power of the device increases with increasing transmission bandwidth, but cannot exceed the maximum power specified by regulations.

TABLE 1

Transmission bandwidth (MHz)	AP maximum power (dBm)	STA maximum power (dBm)
			20	18	12
40	21	15
			80	24	18
160	27	21
			320	30	24

As can be seen from table 1, when the transmission bandwidth is 320MHz at maximum, the AP and the STA can reach the maximum power limit specified by the regulations, and when the transmission bandwidth is less than 320MHz, the maximum power transmitted by the AP and the STA is lower due to the limitation of the maximum power spectral density. In addition, the power on each subcarrier is also low due to the limited power transmitted per MHz, so that the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal received by the receiving end is low.

In the standard power scenario, the maximum power of the AP is 36dBm and the maximum power of the sta is 30dBm, while in the LPI scenario, the transmit power of the device is 6dB lower than that of the device in the standard power scenario, even if the bandwidth is 320 MHz. Therefore, how to increase the transmission power of the device in the LPI scenario is a problem to be solved.

(two) discrete Resource Units (RU)

The 802.11ax standard specifies that for bandwidths of 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, the bandwidths may be divided into classes of RU, the size of RU may be 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU,242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, 996-tone RU, etc. Where tone denotes a subcarrier, for example, a 26-tone RU denotes an RU including 26 consecutive subcarriers, or an RU including one set of 13 consecutive subcarriers and another set of 13 consecutive subcarriers.

In order to solve the problem of insufficient transmit power of a device in an LPI scenario, a method of replacing part or all of a continuous RU with a discrete RU is proposed at present, for example, the continuous RU is split into a plurality of sub-RUs (sub-RUs) and then allocated to different bandwidths, so that the sum of the frequency ranges of the sub-RUs is larger than the original frequency range of the continuous RU, and the transmit power is increased by increasing the bandwidth.

Illustratively, fig. 1A shows a schematic distribution diagram of a discrete RU. As shown in fig. 1A, the channel bandwidth is 80MHz, including 4 20MHz subchannels. The 26-tone RU is divided into an odd number sub-RU and an even number sub-RU according to the index value of the sub-carrier, for example, a 26 sub-RU 1 and a 26 sub-RU 2, each sub-RU comprises 13 sub-carriers, every two adjacent sub-carriers of each sub-RU are separated by 1 sub-carrier, the two sub-RUs are located on different 20MHz sub-channels, for example, the 26 sub-RU 1 is located on a first 20MHz sub-channel, and the 26 sub-RU 2 is located on a second 20MHz sub-channel, so that the distribution of a plurality of sub-channels can be realized.

Through the resource allocation manner shown in fig. 1A, the 26-tone RU with the original frequency span of 2MHz can be dispersed into the frequency range of 4MHz, so that under the condition that the power spectral density has reached the maximum value, the total transmitting power can be increased through the manner of increasing the equivalent bandwidth, the power of each subcarrier can be indirectly increased, and the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio of the receiving end can be improved. For example, a 26-tone RU occupies approximately 2MHz bandwidth in a continuous case, with a maximum power supported by the AP of 8dB and a maximum power supported by the STA of 2dB. While the discrete 26-tone RU occupies about 4MHz bandwidth, the maximum power supported by the AP is 11dB, the maximum power supported by the STA is 5dB, and the maximum power of the AP and the STA is increased by 3dB compared with the continuous 26-tone RU.

Also exemplary, fig. 1B shows a schematic distribution diagram of another discrete RU. As shown in fig. 1B, the 26-tone RU is divided into four sub-RUs, such as 26 sub-RU 1, 26 sub-RU 2, 26 sub-RU 3 and 26 sub-RU 4, each sub-RU includes 6 sub-carriers, each sub-RU is separated by 3 sub-carriers between every two adjacent sub-carriers, and the four sub-RUs are located on different 20MHz sub-channels, such as 26 sub-RU 1 is located on a first 20MHz sub-channel, 26 sub-RU 2 is located on a second 20MHz sub-channel, 26 sub-RU 3 is located on a third 20MHz sub-channel, and 26 sub-RU 4 is located on a fourth 20MHz sub-channel.

By the resource allocation method shown in fig. 1B, the discrete 26-tone RU occupies about 8MHz bandwidth, the maximum power supported by the AP is 14dB, the maximum power supported by the STA is 8dB, and the maximum power of the AP and STA is increased by 6dB compared with the continuous 26-tone RU.

It should be noted that, as shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the bandwidth includes Guard (Guard) subcarriers, null subcarriers, or Direct Current (DC) subcarriers, in addition to the discrete RU used for transmitting data.

The resource allocation method shown in fig. 1A and 1B can increase the total transmission power by increasing the equivalent bandwidth. In addition to the above-mentioned manner of using the pair-wise discrete method in fig. 1A and fig. 1B, the discrete processing may also be performed by other mapping methods, such as mapping all continuous subcarriers as a whole by uniformly removing the mapping by a predetermined interleaver, and mapping to different subcarrier positions.

In the downlink transmission process from the AP to the STA, as shown in fig. 2, the AP1 sends a trigger frame to the STAs 1 to 3, where the trigger frame is used to trigger the STAs 1 to 3 to send a physical layer protocol data unit (extreme high throughput trigger based physical layer protocol data unit, EHT TB PPDU) with extremely high throughput based on the trigger, and after the STAs 1 to 3 send the EHT TB PPDU, the AP1 sends an acknowledgement frame again to acknowledge the EHT TB PPDUs sent by different STAs.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an 802.11be trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the trigger frame includes a common information (common info) field and a user information list (user info list) field. It is understood that the trigger frame may include only a portion of the fields shown in fig. 3, or may include more fields than those shown in fig. 3, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The common information field may also be referred to as a common field or a common information field, where the common information field includes a Trigger frame Type (Trigger Type) field, an uplink Length (UL Length) field, a More Trigger frame (More TF) field, a Required carrier sense (CS Required) field, an uplink Bandwidth (UL Bandwidth) field, a guard interval+long training sequence Type (GI And LTF Type) field, a multi-user multiple input multiple output long training sequence Mode (MU-MIMO LTF Mode) field, a LTF number And intermediate preamble period (Number of LTF Symbols And Midamble Periodicity) field, an uplink space time block coding (UL STBC) field, an extra symbol fragmentation (LDPC Extra Symbol Segment) field, an AP transmit Power (AP TX Power) field, a padding factor (Pre-FEC Padding Factor) field before a forward error correction code, a packet extension disambiguation (PE space multiplexing (UL space Reuse) field, doppler (Doppler), an uplink HE-SIG 2 a (UL space multiplexing) field, a Reserved information Type (LDPC) field, and a Reserved common Trigger Type (62) field, and the like.

The User information list field may also be referred to as a User information list field, which includes a special User information field and one or more User information (User Info) fields.

As shown in fig. 3, the special user information field includes an association identifier (association identifier, AID) field, a physical layer Version identifier (PHY Version ID) field, an upstream EHT bandwidth extension (UL EHT BW Extension) field, an upstream EHT spatial multiplexing 1 (UL EHT Spatial Reuse 1) field, an upstream EHT spatial multiplexing 2 (UL EHT Spatial Reuse 2) field, a universal signaling field override and validation indication (U-SIG Disregard And Validate) field, a reserved field, and a trigger frame type based station information (Trigger Dependent User Info) field, and specific functions of each field may be referred to the existing related description and will not be repeated herein.

The user information fields include an association identifier (AID 12) field, a resource unit Allocation (RU Allocation) field, an uplink forward error correction coding type (UL FEC Coding Type) field, a modulation and coding strategy (UL EHT-MCS) field, a reserved field, a spatial stream start value field, a spatial stream number field, an uplink Target received signal strength indication (UL Target RSSI) field, a PS160 primary and secondary 160MHz indication (PS 160) field, and a trigger (frame type) based user information (Trigger Dependent User Info) field, and specific functions of each field may be referred to the existing related description and will not be repeated herein.

The trigger frame includes identification information of the target STAs (STA 1 to STA 3), resource unit allocation information corresponding to the target SAT, and the like, and may carry indication information for indicating that the plurality of STAs adopt discrete RU transmission. The identification information of the target STA may be indicated by an association identification field in the user information field, the resource unit allocation information corresponding to the target SAT may be indicated by the resource unit allocation field, the resource unit allocation information corresponding to the target SAT may include a discrete RU allocated by the AP1, and the multiple STAs may use the discrete RU to transmit and may promote the transmitting power of the EHT TB PPDU sent by the STA.

Also for example, fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an EHT TB PPDU according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the EHT TB PPDU includes a legacy short training sequence (legacy short training field, L-STF) field, a legacy long training sequence (legacy long training field, L-LTF) field, a legacy signaling field (legacy signal field A, L-SIG) field, a legacy signaling field copy (RL-SIG) field, a universal signaling field (U-SIG) field, a very high throughput short training sequence (extremely high throughput short training field, EHT-STF) field, a very high throughput long training sequence (extremely high throughput long training field, EHT-LTF) field, a Data (Data) field, and a Data Packet Extension (PE) field. The roles of the various fields in the EHT TB PPDU are shown in table 2 below. It will be appreciated that in standard formulation or actual implementation, the EHT TB PPDU may also include other fields, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

TABLE 2

English abbreviations	Action
		L-STF	Discovery, coarse synchronization, automatic gain control for PPDUs
L-LTF	For fine synchronization, channel estimation
		L-SIG	For carrying signaling information related to the length of a PPDU, ensuring coexistence
RL-SIG	For carrying signaling information related to the length of a PPDU, ensuring coexistence
		U-SIG	For carrying signalling for demodulating subsequent data
EHT-STF	Automatic gain control for subsequent fields
		EHT-LTF	For channel estimation
Data	Bearing data information
		PE	For increasing the processing time of the receiver

In the uplink transmission process shown in fig. 2, a plurality of STAs adopt discrete RU transmission, so that the number of subcarriers transmitted in a 1MHz bandwidth is reduced, the equivalent bandwidth is increased, and under the condition that the total power on the 1MHz bandwidth is unchanged, the power of a single subcarrier is increased, thereby increasing the transmission power and the signal-to-noise ratio of the STAs on the single subcarrier.

However, there is only one AP in one basic service set (basic service set, BSS), and in the downlink transmission from the AP to the STA, if the AP uses the discrete RU transmission, there are many empty subcarriers, which may cause waste of spectrum resources. Otherwise, if the data transmitted by the AP occupy all the data subcarriers, the power on the 1MHz bandwidth is limited under the limitation of the power spectrum density, so that the power on each subcarrier is very small, which results in very low equivalent signal-to-noise ratio of the receiving end, and reduces the decoding performance of the receiving end, thereby reducing the throughput rate. It follows that discrete RU transmissions are not suitable for use in AP-to-STA downlink transmissions.

Further, if the data transmitted by the AP occupy all the data subcarriers, it is obtained that the power on each subcarrier is very low, which results in a very low equivalent signal-to-noise ratio at the receiving end, the AP may perform downlink transmission by using a duplicate transmission method, that is, send the same data on more than 1 subcarrier. For copying the transmitted data, the receiving end can combine and receive the data received on the plurality of subcarriers, thereby increasing the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio of the receiving end and further improving the decoding performance of the receiving end.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an EHT MU PPDU for copy transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the AP transmits data to 3 users (e.g., STA1 to STA 3) using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (orthogonal frequency division multiple access, OFDMA). The AP uses a copy transmission mode to transmit data, such as 1 bit information, to the user 1 and the user 2, and the PPDU format adopted by the AP is an extremely high throughput multi-user physical layer protocol data unit (extreme high throughput multiple user physical layer protocol data unit, EHT MU PPDU), and the EHT MU PPDU can support data transmission of a single user (downlink or uplink) and multiple users (downlink). Compared with the EHT TB PPDU, the EHT MU PPDU further comprises an EHT-SIG field, wherein the EHT-SIG field comprises information required by a receiving end for demodulating subsequent data, such as identification information of a target STA, corresponding resource unit allocation information of the target STA and the like.

However, although the method of duplication transmission can increase the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio of the receiving end, the method needs to send the same data on different subcarriers, which causes the problem of low spectrum efficiency, such as duplication a times, the spectrum efficiency is 1/a of the spectrum efficiency of non-duplication transmission using all data subcarriers, and a is a positive integer greater than 1.

Therefore, for downlink transmission in the LPI scenario, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the mechanism of multi-AP transmission is adopted, so that the transmission power of the AP can be improved under the condition of the same spectrum efficiency and the same number of subcarriers, or the equivalent signal-to-noise ratio of each subcarrier can be improved under the condition of the same spectrum efficiency and the same transmission power.

The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiments of the present application may be applicable to the context of a WLAN, and may be applicable to the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (institute of electrical and electronics engineers, IEEE) 802.11 system standard, such as the 802.11a/b/g standard, the 802.11n standard, the 802.11ac standard, the 802.11ax standard, or the next generation thereof, such as the 802.11be standard or the next generation standards. Alternatively, the embodiments of the present application may be applied to wireless local area network systems such as internet of things (internet of things, ioT) networks or internet of vehicles (V2X) networks. Of course, the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to other possible communication systems, such as long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), universal mobile telecommunication systems (universal mobile telecommunication system, UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (worldwide interoperability for microwave access, wiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5th generation,5G) mobile communication systems, such as new radio, NR, systems, and future sixth generation (6th generation,6G) mobile communication systems and further next generation communication systems, etc.

The present application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features about a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It is to be understood and appreciated that the various systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and/or may not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary," "for example," and the like are used to indicate an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term use of an example is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.

In the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding" and "corresponding" may be sometimes used in combination, and it should be noted that the meaning to be expressed is consistent when the distinction is not emphasized.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

First, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication system to which the communication method described in the present application is applicable. The communication system may include: at least two APs, and one or more STAs. The AP may be configured to implement resource scheduling, radio resource management, radio access control, and the like of the STA, and transmit data for the STA on the scheduled radio resource.

As an example, referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. In the communication system shown in fig. 6, the AP includes AP1, AP2, and AP3, and the STA includes STA1, STA2, and STA3. The AP1 may schedule radio resources for STA1 and STA2, and transmit data for STA1, STA2, and STA3 on the scheduled radio resources, where the data may include uplink data information and/or downlink data information.

In this embodiment, taking AP1 as a primary AP and AP2 and AP3 as secondary APs as examples, AP1 may schedule radio resources for AP2 and AP3, and AP2 and AP3 may transmit data for STA1, STA2 and STA3 on the radio resources scheduled by AP 1.

It is to be appreciated that one or more APs may communicate with one or more STAs. Of course, the AP may communicate with the AP, and the STA may communicate with the STA.

In this embodiment, the AP may be a device deployed in a wireless communication network to provide a wireless communication function for its associated STAs, and is mainly deployed in a home, a building, and a campus, where a typical coverage radius is several tens meters to hundreds meters, and of course, may also be deployed outdoors. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network, and mainly serves to connect each wireless network client together and then access the wireless network to the ethernet. Specifically, the AP may be a communication device such as a base station with a WiFi chip, a router, a gateway, a repeater, a communication server, a switch, or a bridge. The base station may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, and the like.

In addition, the AP may be a device supporting the 802.11be system. The AP may also be a device supporting multiple WLAN systems of 802.11 families such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11 a. The AP in the embodiment of the present application may be an extremely high throughput (extramely high throughput, EHT) AP or HE AP, and may also be an access point that is suitable for a future generation Wi-Fi standard. Where very high throughput rates may also be referred to as very high throughput.

The STA in the embodiment of the present application may be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, a wireless communication terminal, or the like, and may also be referred to as a user (or a user station). Such as a user terminal, user device, access device, subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station, user agent, or user equipment supporting Wi-Fi or WLAN communication functions. The user terminals may include, among other things, various handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, ioT devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, as well as various forms of User Equipment (UE), mobile Stations (MS), terminals (terminal), terminal devices (terminal equipment), portable communication devices, handsets, portable computing devices, entertainment devices, gaming devices or systems, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable devices configured to communicate over a network via a wireless medium, etc.

In addition, the STA may support the 802.11be system. STAs may also support multiple WLAN systems of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11 a. The STA in the embodiment of the present application may be an EHT STA or an HE STA, or may be a station suitable for a future generation Wi-Fi or WLAN standard.

Illustratively, the STA and AP described above may be: the method is applied to equipment in the Internet of vehicles, internet of things nodes, sensors and the like in the IoT, intelligent cameras in intelligent homes, intelligent remote controllers, intelligent water meter and electricity meters, sensors and the like in intelligent cities, and communication servers, routers, switches, bridges, computers, mobile phones and the like.

The APs and STAs involved in the embodiments of the present application may be collectively referred to as WLAN communication devices. The WLAN communication device may include a hardware structure, software modules. The WLAN communication device may implement various communication functions (e.g., functions corresponding to the communication methods in the embodiments herein) in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or both. A certain function of the various communication functions may be implemented in a hardware structure, a software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module.

It should be noted that, the names of the network elements and the interfaces between the network elements in the architecture of fig. 6 are just an example, and in a specific implementation, the names of the network elements and the interfaces between the network elements may be other names, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. In addition, fig. 6 is merely an exemplary frame diagram, and the number of nodes included in fig. 6 and the access manner of STAs are not limited. In addition to the functional nodes shown in fig. 6, other nodes may be included, such as: core network devices and the like may also be included, without limitation.

It should be noted that the solution in the embodiments of the present application may also be applied to other communication systems, and the corresponding names may also be replaced by names of corresponding functions in other communication systems.

The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to fig. 7 to 18.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication method can be applied to the communication system shown in fig. 6.

As shown in fig. 7, the communication method includes the steps of:

s701, the first AP generates a first trigger frame.

Wherein the first trigger frame is used to trigger the plurality of APs to participate in the downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete multi-resource unit (multiple resource unit, MRU).

Wherein the discrete MRU may be a joint RU consisting of a plurality of predetermined discrete RUs. The structure of the first trigger frame may refer to the structure of the trigger frame shown in fig. 3 described above, i.e., the first trigger frame may include a common information field and a user information list field, which may include a special user information field and one or more user information fields.

In one possible design, the plurality of APs includes a first AP and N second APs, where N is a positive integer. In other words, the first trigger frame is used to trigger the first AP and the N second APs to participate in downlink transmission using discrete RU or discrete MRU, where N is a positive integer.

In this scenario, the first AP participates in downlink transmission, that is, the first AP performs downlink transmission with its scheduled second APs, where the number of the scheduled second APs may be 1, that is, N may be 1. It can be appreciated that when the first AP participates in downlink transmission, the downlink transmission is also performed using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. In addition, the first AP may reserve the resources required for its own transmission when scheduling the second AP, for example, when configuring the first trigger frame. In this case, at this time, the first trigger frame may be used to trigger the first AP and the at least one second AP to participate in the downlink transmission using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU.

It should be noted that, in the multi-AP discrete RU transmission process, the first AP is not only an initiator but also a participant of the multi-AP transmission, and when the first AP participates in the discrete RU transmission, the first AP may be considered to be triggered by the first trigger frame, or may not depend on the first trigger frame to trigger, that is, the first AP may autonomously perform downlink transmission according to the number of scheduled second APs, where the first trigger frame may not include scheduling information related to the participation of the first AP in the transmission, and after the first trigger frame is sent to the second AP, the first AP may use the discrete RU or the discrete MRU together with the second AP to perform downlink transmission at a set time point.

In another possible design, the plurality of APs includes N second APs, where N is a positive integer greater than 1. In other words, the first trigger frame is used to trigger N second APs to participate in downlink transmission using discrete RU or discrete MRU, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

In this scenario, the first AP does not participate in downlink transmission, i.e. only schedules the plurality of second APs to participate in downlink transmission, where N may be a positive integer greater than 1. In other words, the first AP may be configured to schedule the plurality of second APs to transmit only, and not participate in downlink transmission.

It may be appreciated that, the first AP may be used as an initiator of multi-AP discrete RU transmission, and whether to participate in the transmission may be determined according to the number of second APs that can be currently scheduled, channel state information, complexity of scheduling the second APs, and the like, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. For example, in one possible scenario, where there are only two APs, then the AP that is the initiator of the multi-AP transmission (i.e., the first AP) needs to participate in the transmission. In another possible scenario, where there are five APs, an AP that is the initiator of the multi-AP transmission (i.e., the first AP) may schedule another at least two APs in the current scenario to participate in the transmission, and may schedule itself to participate in itself with another at least one AP. It will be appreciated that the greater the number of APs involved in the transmission, the more complex the scheduling, and that in practical applications the number of APs transmitted by multiple APs cannot be excessive.

In this embodiment of the present application, the first AP may also be referred to as the primary AP AP (primary AP), and may be the AP1 shown in fig. 6, and the second AP may be referred to as the secondary AP AP (secondary AP), and may be the AP2 or the AP3 shown in fig. 6.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may include first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the multiple APs participate in downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. In other words, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first AP and the at least one second AP participate in downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, or the first indication information is used to indicate that the at least two second APs participate in downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

The first indication information may be a trigger frame type field as shown in fig. 3, through which the first AP may indicate that the plurality of APs participate in downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. In other words, the trigger frame type field is used to indicate that the first trigger frame is a trigger frame for multiple APs to participate in downlink transmissions using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. It should be noted that, the trigger frame type field is an existing field, the length of the trigger frame type field is 4 bits, and when the value of the trigger frame type field is 0-7 (i.e. 0000-0111), there is a corresponding indication meaning, in this embodiment of the present application, the value of the trigger frame type field may be any one value of 8-15 (i.e. 1000-1111) to indicate that multiple APs use discrete RU or discrete MRU to participate in downlink transmission, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In some possible scenarios, the trigger frame type field may also be used to instruct multiple APs to use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU but not make downlink transmissions. Alternatively, the trigger frame type field may also be used to indicate that multiple APs do not use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU for downlink transmissions. Alternatively, the trigger frame type field may also be used to indicate that multiple APs do not use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU and do not transmit downstream. For example, the trigger frame type field is 4 bits in length, and when the trigger frame type field indicates 1001, the plurality of APs are instructed not to use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU and not to perform downlink transmission; when the trigger frame type field indicates 1010, it indicates that the plurality of APs do not use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU (e.g., use a continuous RU or a discrete MRU), but may perform downlink transmission; when the trigger frame type field indicates 1011, indicating that the plurality of APs use the discrete RU or the discrete MRU but do not perform downlink transmission; when the trigger frame type field indicates 1100, multiple APs are instructed to use discrete RU or discrete MRU for downlink transmission, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment of the present application, each field may also correspond to different indication information when the fields are different in value, or different indication information may correspond to different values of the fields, and specific description may refer to related description of the trigger frame type field, which is not repeated herein.

In yet another possible design, the first trigger frame may include the second indication information and the third indication information. The second indication information is used for indicating the plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission, and the third indication information is used for indicating the plurality of APs to use discrete RU or discrete MRU for downlink transmission. The second indication information may be a trigger frame type field as shown in fig. 3, where the trigger frame type field is only used to indicate that the plurality of APs participate in downlink transmission. The third indication information may be carried in a common information field, a user information field or a special user information field, e.g. the third indication information may be indicated by 1 or more bits in the common information field or the user information field or the special user information field.

Illustratively, the third indication information is indicated by 1 or more bits from the 56 th to 62 th bits (i.e., b56 to b 62) in the common information field, as shown in fig. 3, b56 to b62 in the common information field is a reserved field of other uplink HE-SIG-A2 in the reserved field of uplink HE-SIG-A2, the third indication information may be indicated by b60 to b62, and in actual application, b60 to b62 in the reserved field of uplink HE-SIG-A2 may be set to a new field, which may be used to indicate the third indication information, i.e., to indicate that the downlink transmission of multiple APs uses a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. In other words, the reserved field of the uplink HE-SIG-A2 is changed from 9 bits to 6 bits, the third indication information is a field located in bits 60 to 62 bits, and the field name corresponding to the third indication information may be named according to practical application or requirement, for example, a discrete RU indication field or a discrete transmission indication field, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Further, the first trigger frame may further include identification information of a second AP, where the identification information of the second AP is used to indicate an AP that uses a discrete RU or a discrete MRU to participate in downlink transmission. The identification information of the second AP may be a basic service set color corresponding to the second AP or a basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP, or the identification information of the second AP may be part of information in the basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP, for example, information indicated by a low 8 bit in the basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP is used as the identification information of the second AP, which may save signaling overhead.

It can be understood that, whether the first AP participates in downlink transmission or not, the first trigger frame also includes identification information of the first AP, but the first trigger frame may not need to carry related information of the first AP transmission, and the first AP may schedule the STA to perform downlink transmission by using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In one possible embodiment, the identification information of the second AP may be carried in a user information list field, and one of the user information list fields includes identification information of one second AP, in other words, one of the user information fields includes identification information of one second AP of the N second identification information.

Alternatively, the identification information of the second AP may correspond to M user information fields in the user information list field, where M is a positive integer. In other words, the identification information of one second AP may correspond to one or more of the user information list fields.

Further, RU allocation information may be further included in the user information field. In other words, RU allocation information may be further included in one user information field corresponding to the identification information of one second AP. The RU allocation information may include a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, which may be one or more, allocated to the second AP for downlink transmission.

In one possible design, the user information field may also include identification information of the STA associated with the second AP. In other words, the identification information of the STA associated with a second AP may be further included in a user information field corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. For example, the mth user information field corresponding to the identification information of the nth second AP may further include identification information of the STA associated with the nth second AP, and in this case, RU allocation information in the mth user information field may include one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs used for downlink transmission between the nth second AP and the STA associated with the nth second AP.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a user information field in a first trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 8, the user information field includes an AP identification information field, an association identification field, and a resource unit allocation field. The AP identification information field may be used to indicate identification information of one second AP (such as an nth second AP) among the N second APs, the association identification field may be used to indicate identification information of an STA associated with the nth second AP, and the resource unit allocation field may be used to indicate RU allocation information, where the RU allocation information includes one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs used for downlink transmission between the nth second AP and the STA associated with the nth second AP.

In addition, as shown in fig. 8, the user information field may further include information for downlink transmission such as an uplink forward error correction coding type field, a modulation and coding strategy field, a spatial stream start value field, a spatial stream number field, an uplink target received signal strength indication field, and a user information field based on a trigger (frame type).

It will be appreciated that the user information field shown in fig. 8 may indicate identification information of a second AP and identification information of a STA associated with the second AP. In other words, the identification information of one second AP and the associated one STA may correspond to one user information field. In a possible scenario, the identification information of one second AP may correspond to one or more user information fields in the user information list field, but the STAs indicated by the association identifications in different user information fields are different, that is, the STAs indicated by the association identifications in M user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the nth second AP are different.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of multi-AP transmission according to an embodiment of the present application. Wherein, AP1 is a first AP, AP2 and AP3 are second APs, i.e., n=2, AP1 does not participate in transmission, i.e., multiple APs include two second APs (AP 2 and AP 3), and AP1 schedules STAs for data transmission for AP2 and AP3, e.g., STA1 and STA2 are scheduled for AP2, STA3 is scheduled for AP3, the generated user information field in the first trigger frame is shown in fig. 8, the identification information of AP2 may correspond to the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 in the user information list field, i.e., m=2, and the identification information of AP3 may correspond to the user information field 4 in the user information list field, i.e., m=1. It is understood that different APs may transmit data to the same STA.

The corresponding AP identification information fields indicate the identification information of the AP2 for the user information field 2 and the user information field 3, but the corresponding identification information of the STA associated with the AP2 is different. That is, the STAs indicated by the association identification fields in the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 are different, e.g., the association identification fields in the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 indicate the identification information of the STA1 and the STA2, respectively, and the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 may indicate that the AP2 needs to transmit data to the STA1 and the STA2, respectively. And, RU allocation information indicated by the resource unit allocation field in the user information field 2 is used for the AP2 to communicate with the STA1, where the RU allocation information includes one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs used for downlink transmission between the AP2 and the associated STA 1. RU allocation information indicated by the resource unit allocation field in the user information field 3 is used for AP2 to communicate with STA2, and includes one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs used for downlink transmissions between AP2 and associated STA 2.

For the user information field 4, the corresponding AP identification information field indicates the identification information of the AP3, the association identification information indicates the identification information of the STA3, and the RU allocation information indicated by the resource unit allocation field is used for the AP3 to communicate with the STA3, where the RU allocation information includes one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs used for downlink transmission between the AP3 and the associated STA 3.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs used for downlink transmission may also be simply referred to as discrete RU resource information or downlink discrete RU resource information, which is not specifically limited.

In another possible design, the user information field corresponding to the identification information of the second AP may not include identification information of the STA associated with the second AP. In other words, the identification information of the STA associated with the second AP is not included in the user information field. That is, the first AP may not schedule the STA in advance for the second AP. In this case, the second AP may schedule the STA according to one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs allocated to the second AP for downlink transmission, which are included in the RU allocation information in the user information field.

Illustratively, the structure of the user information field in the first trigger frame may be as shown in fig. 10, where the user information field includes an AP identification information field and a resource unit allocation field, and there is no association identification field in the user information field. The functions of the AP identification information field and the resource unit allocation field are similar to those of the AP identification information field in the user information field shown in fig. 8, but RU allocation information indicated by the resource unit allocation field is not designated for communication with which STA.

In this case, one second AP may also correspond to a plurality of user information fields, and the resource unit allocation information fields in the different user information fields indicate different RU allocation information allocated to the second AP by the first AP, where the RU allocation information includes one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs allocated to the second AP for downlink transmission. For example, the first AP allocates one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs to a second AP, and the first AP may indicate the allocated discrete RU resource information through one user information field, or may separately indicate the allocated discrete RU resource information through a plurality of user information fields. If the AP1 allocates 6 discrete MRUs for the AP2, the two user information fields, such as the user information field 2 and the user information field 3, indicate that the resource unit allocation field in the user information field 2 indicates 2 discrete MRUs allocated to the AP2, and the resource unit allocation field in the user information field 3 indicates 4 discrete MRUs allocated to the AP2, but the AP identification information fields in the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 indicate the identification information of the AP 2.

It will be appreciated that the user information field shown in fig. 10 may also include information for downlink transmission, such as an uplink forward error correction coding type field, a modulation and coding strategy field, a spatial stream start value field, a spatial stream number field, an uplink target received signal strength indication field, or a user information field based on a trigger (frame type).

Optionally, the RU allocation information may further include discrete RU resource information for uplink transmissions. In a possible scenario, the AP may use the same discrete RU resource information for both uplink and downlink transmissions with the STA, where the RU allocation information may not include the discrete resource RU information for uplink transmissions.

In another possible embodiment, the identification information of the second AP may be carried in a public information field or a special user information field. For example, the identification information of the second AP may be located in a trigger frame type-based common information field among the common information fields as shown in fig. 3, and the user information field does not carry the identification information of the second AP.

Further, the public information field or the special user information field may further include user information field number information corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. The identification information of the second AP is adjacently arranged with the number information of the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP. That is, in addition to the identification information of the N second APs, the common information field or the special user information field may further include the number information of the user information field for indicating the number or the number of the user information fields of each second AP in the first trigger frame, and the identification information of each second AP is arranged adjacent to the corresponding number information of the user information fields.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a common information field or a special user information field according to an embodiment of the present application. In one possible design, as shown in fig. 11 (a), the common information field or the special user information field includes an AP number field, an AP identification information field, and a corresponding user information field number field, and each AP identification information field is adjacently arranged with a corresponding user information field number field. The number of APs field may be used to indicate the number of second APs, the AP identification information field may be used to indicate identification information of the second APs, and the number of corresponding user information fields field may be used to indicate the number of corresponding user information fields of the second APs.

In the scenario shown in fig. 9, AP1 (first AP) instructs AP2 and AP3 (second AP) to participate in downlink transmission, and the manner of indicating the identification information of the second AP in the common information field or the special user information field is shown in fig. 12 (a). The number of the second APs indicated by the AP number field is 2, the first AP identification information field indicates the identification information (e.g. id=1) of AP2, the number of the user information fields corresponding to AP2 indicated by the adjacent corresponding user information field number field is 2, the second AP identification information field indicates the identification information (e.g. id=2) of AP3, and the number of the user information fields corresponding to AP3 indicated by the adjacent corresponding user information field number field is 1.

For another example, in another scenario, AP1 instructs APs 2 to AP4 to participate in the downlink transmission, and the manner of indicating the identification information of the second AP in the common information field or the special user information field is as shown in (c) of fig. 12. Wherein the number of the second APs indicated by the AP number field is 3, the first AP identification information field indicates the identification information (e.g. id=1) of AP2, the number of the user information fields corresponding to AP2 indicated by the adjacent corresponding user information field number field is 3, the second AP identification information field indicates the identification information (e.g. id=2) of AP3, the number of the user information fields corresponding to AP3 indicated by the adjacent corresponding user information field number field is 4, the third AP identification information field indicates the identification information (e.g. id=3) of AP4, and the number of the user information fields corresponding to AP4 indicated by the adjacent corresponding user information field number field is 2.

In one possible design, the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP are arranged continuously. In other words, in the case where one second AP corresponds to a plurality of user information fields, the user information fields corresponding to the same second AP are arranged consecutively. Thus, the second AP may determine which user information fields correspond to the second AP according to the identification information of the second AP.

As shown in (b) of fig. 12, the user information fields corresponding to the same second AP are arranged consecutively, and the user information fields of a plurality of second APs are arranged in sequence according to the AP identification information. For example, two user information fields (user information field 2 and user information field 3) corresponding to AP2 (e.g., id=1) are sequentially arranged, followed by arranging 1 user information field (user information field 4) corresponding to AP3 (e.g., id=2).

As further shown in fig. 12 (d), 3 user information fields (user information field 2 to user information field 4) corresponding to AP2 (e.g., id=1) are sequentially arranged, then 4 user information fields (user information field 5 to user information field 8) corresponding to AP3 (e.g., id=2) are arranged, and then 2 user information fields (user information field 9 to user information field 10) corresponding to AP4 (e.g., id=3) are arranged.

In another possible design, as shown in (b) in fig. 11, the public information field or the special user information field may not include the number information of the user information fields, as shown in (a) in fig. 11, but include the number of APs field and the AP identification information field, which are used to indicate the number of the second APs and the identification information of the second AP.

It will be appreciated that in the case where the identification information of the N second APs is indicated based on the manner shown in fig. 11 in the common information field or the special user information field, the structure of the user information field may be the structure of the user information field as shown in fig. 3. Alternatively, the user information field may not include the association identification field, that is, the information of the STA associated with the second AP, and the second AP performs STA scheduling according to RU allocation information indicated by the resource unit allocation field, as shown in fig. 10, without including the association identification field in the user information field.

In one possible design, the first trigger frame may also be used to trigger multiple APs to participate in channel sounding. For example, the first AP may trigger the second AP to participate in channel sounding by a first trigger frame to provide the channel information required for beamforming, encoding, etc. for data transmission before the second AP transmits data to the STA. Alternatively, the first AP participates in channel sounding with the scheduled second AP.

In performing channel sounding, the first trigger frame may further include fourth indication information for indicating that the plurality of APs perform channel sounding using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. In some possible cases, for example, when data transmission is performed, the field corresponding to the fourth indication information may indicate that the plurality of APs do not participate in channel sounding.

In one possible scenario, the fourth indication information may also be a trigger frame type field, where the trigger frame type field may indicate, according to a value, that the plurality of APs use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU to participate in downlink transmission but not in channel sounding, or indicate that the plurality of APs use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU to participate in downlink transmission but not in channel sounding, or the like.

In another possible scenario, the fourth indication information is also indicated by 1 bit or more in the common information field or the user information field. In this case, and upon channel sounding, the trigger frame type field in the first trigger frame may indicate that a discrete RU or a discrete MRU is used for multiple APs but not engaged in downlink transmission.

It may be understood that, when the priority of channel sounding is higher than the priority of data transmission, the first trigger frame includes indication information (such as first indication information or second indication information) for indicating that the multiple APs use the discrete RU or the discrete MRU to participate in downlink transmission, and indication information (such as fourth information) for indicating that the multiple APs use the discrete RU or the discrete MRU to participate in channel sounding, the first trigger frame may preferentially trigger the multiple APs to perform channel sounding, and trigger the multiple APs to perform downlink data transmission after the channel sounding is completed.

It can be understood that, when the first AP participates in channel detection, the first trigger frame may not carry information related to channel detection by the first AP, similar to data transmission, because the first AP is both an initiator and a participant in the multi-AP discrete RU channel detection process, and when the first AP participates in discrete RU channel detection, the first AP may be considered to be triggered by the first trigger frame or may not depend on the first trigger frame.

Optionally, the RU allocation information in the first trigger frame may further include one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs allocated to the plurality of APs for channel sounding. In a possible scenario, the discrete RU resource information for channel sounding by multiple APs may be the same as the discrete RU resource information for downlink transmission.

It will be appreciated that when performing channel detection, the first trigger frame may not carry information related to the encoding of the data field, since no data transmission is involved. In addition, the first trigger frame may further include common information such as a sounding ring (sounding dialogue token), where the sounding ring is used to indicate what channel sounding is performed by the current channel sounding.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the names of the fields may be named according to the functions of the fields, for example, the fields corresponding to the number of user information fields may also be referred to as the number of user information fields, and the like, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S702, the first AP sends a first trigger frame to the second AP. Correspondingly, the second AP receives a first trigger frame from the first AP.

In a possible implementation manner, in a case that the first trigger frame is used to trigger multi-AP data transmission, the first trigger frame may include first indication information (or second indication information and third indication information), identification information of the second AP, RU allocation information, or the like, may not include fourth indication information, or a field corresponding to the fourth indication information may indicate that the multiple APs do not participate in channel sounding. The second AP may determine to use the discrete RU or the discrete MRU to participate in the downlink transmission according to the first indication information in the first trigger frame, or the second AP may determine to use the discrete RU or the discrete MRU to participate in the downlink transmission according to the second indication information and the third indication information in the first trigger frame. The indication manner or the carrying manner of each information in the first trigger frame may be referred to the related description in S701.

Illustratively, in the scenario shown in fig. 9, the first AP is AP1 and the second AP is AP2 and AP3. For example, the first trigger frame sent by the AP1 includes the user information fields 2 to 4, and the user information field in the first trigger frame has the structure shown in fig. 8. The user information fields 2 and 3 are used for indicating the related information of the downlink transmission of the AP2, and the user information field 4 is used for indicating the related information of the downlink transmission of the AP3. Each user information field may include identification information of a second AP (AP 2 or AP 3), identification information of an STA associated with the second AP (STA 1 or STA2 or STA 3), and discrete RU resource information for downlink transmission between the second AP and the associated STA.

Alternatively, for example, in the scenario shown in fig. 9, the first AP transmits a first trigger frame including the user information fields 2 to 4, where the user information fields in the first trigger frame have the structure shown in fig. 10. The user information fields 2 and 3 are used for indicating the related information of the downlink transmission of the AP2, and the user information field 4 is used for indicating the related information of the downlink transmission of the AP3. Each user information field may include identification information of the second AP (AP 2 or AP 3) and discrete RU resource information for downlink transmission of the second AP (AP 2 or AP 3), where the first AP does not schedule the STA for the second AP, but only allocates discrete RU resource information for the second AP, and further the second AP (AP 2 or AP 3) may schedule the STA for downlink transmission according to the discrete RU resource information indicated by the user information field.

Or, the user information field in the first trigger frame is shown in fig. 3, and the identification information of the second AP is carried in the public information field or the special user information field as shown in fig. 11, and the AP2 or the AP3 may determine the number of the user information fields according to the corresponding identification information, and further determine the discrete RU resource information allocated by the AP1 and/or the STA associated with the discrete RU resource information according to the corresponding number of the user information fields.

In another possible implementation manner, in a case that the first trigger frame is used to trigger the multiple APs to participate in channel sounding, the first trigger frame may include first indication information (or second indication information and third indication information), identification information of the second AP, RU allocation information, fourth indication information, and so on. The second AP may use a discrete RU or a discrete MRU for channel sounding according to the fourth indication information in the first trigger frame. The indication manner or the bearing manner of each information in the first trigger frame may refer to the description related to S701 and the description related to the multi-AP data transmission, which are not described herein.

S703, the second AP transmits the first PPDU to one or more STAs. Accordingly, the STA receives the first PPDU from the second AP.

Wherein the first PPDU includes a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. For example, the second AP performs transmission of the modulated part field according to the discrete RU or the discrete MRU indicated in the first trigger frame. The plurality of second APs simultaneously transmit the first PPDU at a set time point, where the set time point may be indicated by the first AP, for example, carried in the first trigger frame, or determined by negotiation between the first AP and the second AP, and the set time point is used to indicate a time point when the second AP performs downlink transmission.

For example, in the scenario illustrated in fig. 9, where the user information field in the first trigger frame is as illustrated in fig. 8, the AP2 transmits the first PPDU to the STA1 and the STA2, and then the AP2 may transmit the modulated part field in the first PPDU to the STA1 and the STA2 at a set point in time according to one or more discrete RUs or discrete MRUs in the RU allocation information indicated in the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 in the first trigger frame, and the AP3 may transmit the modulated part field in the first PPDU to the STA3 at the set point in time according to one or more discrete RUs or discrete MRUs in the RU allocation information indicated in the user information field 4 in the first trigger frame.

Alternatively, for example, in the scenario shown in fig. 9, the user information field in the first trigger frame is shown in fig. 10, and the AP2 may schedule the STA according to one or more discrete RUs or discrete MRUs in RU allocation information indicated in the user information field 2 and the user information field 3 in the first trigger frame, and send a modulated part field in the first PPDU to the scheduled STA, where the AP3 is similar to the AP2 and is not repeated herein.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the first PPDU may further include a non-modulation portion field, wherein the non-modulation portion field may include a first field, and the first field may include information for demodulating the modulation portion field.

Wherein the non-modulated portion field may further comprise a U-SIG field, wherein the U-SIG field may comprise one or more of the following: a physical layer version field, an uplink/downlink field, a basic service set color field, a transmission opportunity field, a PPDU type and compressed mode field, a number of symbols field of the first field, or a coding and modulation policy field of the first field.

The physical layer version field indicates a type of a first PPDU (e.g., a UHR PPDU as described below), the bandwidth field indicates a bandwidth of the first PPDU, the uplink/downlink field indicates a downlink transmission, the transmission opportunity field indicates a transmission opportunity duration of the present transmission, the PPDU type and the compressed mode field indicate that the present transmission is downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, the number of symbols field of the first field indicates the number of symbols occupied by the first field, and the coding and modulation policy field of the first field indicates a coding modulation mode of the first field. The basic service set color indicated by the basic service set color field is determined according to the transmission mode of the non-modulation part, and the following related description can be seen specifically.

It is understood that, in case that the first trigger frame is used to trigger data transmission of a plurality of APs, the modulation part field in the first PPDU may further include a data field.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a first PPDU according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 13, the first PPDU is a ultra high reliability (ultra high reliability, UHR) PPDU including an L-STF field, an L-LTF field, an L-SIG field, an RL-SIG field, a U-SIG field, a UHR-STF field, a UHR-LTF field, a data field, and a PE field. Wherein the L-STF field, L-LTF field, L-SIG field, RL-SIG field, U-SIG field, UHR-SIG field belong to a non-UHR modulation part field, the above first field may be the UHR-SIG field, UHR-STF field, UHR-LTF field, data field, and PE field belong to a UHR modulation part field. Wherein the UHR-STF field and the UHR-LTF field are preambles used for demodulating subsequent data fields, the UHR-STF field can be used for automatic gain control, and the UHR-LTF field can be used for channel estimation.

Wherein the non-UHR modulation portion from the L-STF field to the RL-SIG field is typically modulated in units of 20MHz subchannels, with duplicate transmissions on each 20MHz subchannel. The U-SIG field is transmitted in duplicate in each 80MHz frequency sub-block, and the content of the U-SIG field in each 80MHz frequency sub-block may be different or the same. The presence of a content channel in the UHR-SIG field supports carrying different content in different 20 MHz.

It should be noted that, in the UHR PPDU provided in the embodiment of the present application, the UHR may be a standard reference name of a certain generation after 802.11be, and the above name is only an example, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the name of the first PPDU, for example, may also be referred to as an ultra-high throughput (UHT) PPDU, and may also be other codes XX, XT.

In one possible design, the non-modulated part fields sent by multiple APs are identical in content, e.g., at least two second APs may jointly send non-modulated part fields with identical content. In other words, the content in the non-modulated part field transmitted by different APs is the same, as shown in (a) in fig. 14. For example, AP2 and AP3 jointly transmit the non-modulated parts, and the contents of the non-modulated part fields transmitted by AP2 and AP3 are identical. In this case, the first AP may specify the signaling content of the non-modulated part in advance, as the user information field in the first trigger frame is shown in fig. 8.

Under the condition that a plurality of second APs can be jointly transmitted, the basic service set colors corresponding to basic service set color fields in U-SIG fields corresponding to different second APs are the same, the basic service set colors in the U-SIG fields can be indicated by a first trigger frame, and if the first trigger frame indicates the basic service set colors adopted by the current transmission of the AP2 and the AP 3; alternatively, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field may be a predefined basic service set color; or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field may also be a basic service set color corresponding to the first AP, for example, AP2 and AP3 uniformly adopt a basic service set color or identifier corresponding to AP1, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In addition, for the first field (e.g., UHR-SIG field), the common information field in the first field may include RU allocation information of STAs associated with the plurality of second APs, e.g., RU allocation information including STA1 and STA2 associated with AP2, and one or more of identification information of the second AP, identification information of STAs associated with the second AP, coded modulation, spatial stream allocation, etc. are carried in a User Specific (User Specific) field in the first field. In another possible implementation, RU allocation information for STAs associated with the plurality of second APs may also be carried in the user information field in the first field. RU allocation information for STAs associated with the plurality of second APs in the first PPDU may also include one or more discrete RUs or discrete MRUs for downlink transmissions.

If the STA associated with the second AP can correctly demodulate the first trigger frame, that is, the STA may obtain the corresponding information of the discrete RU resources for transmitting by demodulating the first trigger frame, the first field may not carry the RU allocation information of the STA associated with the N second APs, the identification information of the second AP, the identification information of the STA associated with the second AP, the code modulation, the spatial stream allocation, or the like, or the second AP may not transmit the first field or the first PPDU does not include the first field.

In another possible design, the multiple APs may send the non-modulated portion field on different frequency resource sub-blocks, e.g., at least two second APs may send the non-modulated portion field on different frequency resource sub-blocks. In other words, the non-modulated part field is transmitted by different APs in a frequency division manner, and the non-modulated part field is transmitted on different frequency resource sub-blocks, and the non-modulated part field transmitted by different second APs is different, as shown in (b) of fig. 14. For example, the non-UHR modulated parts are transmitted by the AP2 and the AP3 in different sub-blocks of the 80MHz frequency resource, and the positions of the sub-blocks of the 80MHz frequency resource where the non-UHR modulated parts are transmitted by different second APs may be indicated in the first trigger frame sent by the first AP (e.g. AP 1), for example, de-allocated according to the order in which the identification information of the second AP appears, or explicitly indicated in the user information field corresponding to the second AP. In another possible scenario, the location of the 80MHz frequency resource sub-block where the different APs transmit the non-UHR modulated portion may also be determined by the first AP and the second AP through negotiation.

And under the condition that the plurality of second APs independently send the non-modulation part fields on different frequency resource sub-blocks, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to the second APs is used for indicating the basic service set color corresponding to the second APs. If the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to AP2 is the basic service set color corresponding to AP2, and the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to AP3 is the basic service set color corresponding to AP 3.

In addition, the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP includes RU allocation information of the STA associated with the second AP. For example, the common information field in the first field corresponding to AP2 may include RU allocation information of the STA associated with AP2, and the common information field in the first field corresponding to AP3 may include RU allocation information of the STA associated with AP 3. Wherein RU allocation information for STAs associated with the second AP also includes one or more discrete RUs or discrete MRUs for downlink transmissions.

In a possible scenario, as the user information field in the first trigger frame is shown in fig. 8, RU allocation information of the STA associated with the second AP may be indicated in the first trigger frame. In another possible scenario, as shown in fig. 10 for the user information field in the first trigger frame, RU allocation information of the STA associated with the second AP may be further scheduled to the STA by the second AP according to the discrete RU or the discrete MRU allocated in the user information field, the RU allocation information of the STA associated with the second AP including one or more discrete RU or discrete MRU for transmission.

Optionally, in a case where the first AP (e.g., AP 1) also participates in the transmission, the first AP also transmits the first PPDU to one or more STAs at a preset point in time. Accordingly, the STA receives the first PPDU from the first AP. In other words, in case the first AP participates in transmission, it may transmit PPDUs together with at least one second AP at the same point of time. The first AP may also jointly transmit the same non-modulated portion field as the second AP, where the content of the non-modulated portion field in the first PPDU is identical to the content of the non-modulated portion field in the second PPDU. In this case, RU allocation information of the STA associated with the first AP and RU allocation information of the STA associated with the at least one second AP are included in the first field corresponding to the first AP and the first field corresponding to the at least one second AP. The first AP may also transmit the non-modulated part field on a different frequency resource sub-block from the second AP, where the content of the non-modulated part field in the first PPDU corresponding to the different AP is different, as shown in (b) of fig. 14.

In case that the first trigger frame is used to trigger multi-AP channel sounding, the first PPDU may be a Null Data Packet (NDP) for channel sounding by one or more STAs. The NDP may also be referred to as a sounding PPDU, which is a special UHR PPDU, that is, the NDP has no data field, the structure of the NDP is shown in fig. 15, the transmission manner of the NDP is similar to that of the UHR PPDU shown in fig. 13, and the modulation part field is transmitted by using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, which can be specifically referred to the related description of the transmission of the UHR PPDU and will not be repeated herein.

In case that the first PPDU is an NDP, the second AP may further transmit a null data packet announcement (null data packet announcement, NDPA) frame to one or more STAs before transmitting the NDP, wherein the NDPA frame is used to inform the STAs of channel sounding.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an NDPA frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 16, the NDPA frame may include a frame control field, a duration field, a receive address field, a transmit address field, a common information field, one or more station information fields, or a frame check sequence field, etc. The public information field may include a probe session token field, an AP identification list field, and the like, and the station information field may include an AP identification field, an association identification 11 (association identifier, AID 11) field, a Partial bandwidth information (Partial BW Info) field, a 1-bit reserved field, a column number index field, a feedback type and packet number field, a disambiguation field, a codebook size field, or a 3-bit reserved field, and the like.

Wherein the AP identification field is used to indicate one AP (first AP or second AP); the association identifier 11 field represents the low 11 bits of an association site identifier, which is used for identifying a target site; the partial bandwidth information field is a bit map of 1 9 bits, and is used to instruct the STA to feed back channel state information of the partial bandwidth. Wherein the first bit is used to indicate the subsequent 8-bit bitmap, and each bit represents whether the granularity of the sub-bandwidth is 20MHz or 40MHz. For example, when the bandwidth is 320MHz, the granularity indicates 1, which indicates that the granularity is 40MHz, and each of the following 8 bits is used to indicate 8 40MHz sub-bands in the whole 320 MHz; a column number (number of columns, nc) index field is used to indicate the number of columns of channel state information (compressed beamforming report matrix V) that a certain STA needs to feed back; a feedback type and number of packets field (Feedback Type And Number of Grouping) is used to indicate the feedback type and Ng subcarriers are grouped, wherein the feedback type includes Single User (SU) feedback, multi-user feedback, and channel quality indication (channel quality indication, CQI). The number of packets (number of grouping, ng) includes 4 and 16, the greater Ng, the greater the amount of compression; codebook size (codebook size) is used to indicate the accuracy of quantization, with different accuracy corresponding to different overheads. In addition, two reserved fields of 1 bit and 3 bits are used for subsequent expansion.

In one possible design, multiple APs may jointly transmit NDPA frames with the same content, e.g., at least two second APs may jointly transmit NDPA frames with the same content. In other words, the NDPA frames transmitted by the plurality of APs have the same content. Wherein the station information field in the NDPA frame includes identification information of a plurality of APs and identification information of STAs associated with the plurality of APs.

In another possible design, multiple APs may transmit NDPA frames using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs, e.g., at least two second APs may transmit NDPA frames using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs. In other words, different APs transmit NDPA frames using different discrete RUs or discrete MRUs, independently transmitting on different frequency resources. In this case, the NDPA frame may not include the AP identification field in the AP identification list field and the station information field, and the transmission address field may identify the transmitter of the NDPA frame.

Similarly, the first AP may also transmit an NDPA frame to the STA in the event that the first AP participates in channel sounding. Accordingly, the STA receives the NDPA frame from the first AP. The first AP may jointly transmit the NDPA frame with the same content as the at least one second AP, or may independently transmit the NDPA frame using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, and the corresponding first PPDU is an NDP, which is not described herein.

S704, the STA analyzes the first PPDU.

For example, the first PPDU is a UHR PPDU as shown in fig. 13, and after receiving the UHR PPDU, the STA analyzes the UHR PPDU to obtain data transmitted by the UHR PPDU, discrete RU resource information for uplink transmission, or identification information of the AP.

As another example, if the first PPDU is an NDP as shown in fig. 15, after receiving the NDP, the STA analyzes the NDP and performs channel sounding or the like using the analyzed L-LTF sequence.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

s705, the STA transmits a second PPDU to the second AP using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU. Accordingly, the second AP receives the second PPDU from the STA.

The discrete RU or the discrete MRU used for the uplink transmission of the STA may be obtained by parsing the first PPDU, or may be obtained by parsing the first trigger frame, which may be specifically described in S703 above.

For example, after parsing the first PPDU, the STA may acquire one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs for uplink transmission, which are allocated to the STA and are indicated in the first PPDU, and further the STA may also transmit the second PPDU to the second AP using the discrete RUs or the discrete MRUs. The STA1 transmits a second PPDU to the AP2 using the discrete RU resource information indicated in the first PPDU, and the second PPDU may carry data information therein.

In case the first PPDU is an NDP, no data information may be carried in the second PPDU, but the second PPDU may carry or include a compressed beamforming report (compressed beamforming report, CBFR) or a channel state indication CQI for feeding back the current channel state.

The process of using the discrete RU transmission by the multi-STA may be referred to as the process shown in fig. 2, and will not be described herein.

It may be appreciated that, in the case where the first AP participates in transmission, the STA may also send the second PPDU to the first AP according to one or more discrete RUs or one or more discrete MRUs indicated in the first PPDU for uplink transmission. Accordingly, the first AP receives the second PPDU from the STA. See the description of S705, and will not be repeated here.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 7, the first AP may trigger one or more second APs to perform data transmission of the discrete RU through the first trigger frame, so as to form a multi-AP discrete RU transmission process.

The communication method shown in fig. 7 mainly describes a process of downlink data transmission by the multiple APs using the discrete RU, and a process of channel sounding by the multiple APs using the discrete RU will be described in detail with reference to the scenario.

Fig. 17 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 17, the communication method includes the steps of:

s1701, the first AP generates a second trigger frame.

The second trigger frame is used for triggering the plurality of APs to participate in channel detection by using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU.

In one possible design, the plurality of APs includes a first AP and N second APs, where N is a positive integer. In other words, the second trigger frame is used to trigger the first AP and the N second APs to participate in channel sounding using discrete RU or discrete MRU, N being a positive integer.

In this scenario, the first AP participates in channel sounding, i.e., the first AP performs channel sounding with its scheduled second APs, where the number of scheduled second APs may be 1, i.e., N may be 1. It is appreciated that when the first AP participates in channel sounding, the channel sounding is also performed using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

In this scenario, the first AP does not participate in channel sounding, i.e. only schedules the plurality of second APs for channel sounding, N may be a positive integer greater than 1. In other words, the first AP may be configured to schedule only the plurality of second APs for channel sounding, and not participate in channel sounding.

Similar to the first trigger frame in S701 described above, since the first AP is both an initiator and a participant in the multi-AP discrete RU transmission process. The first AP may be considered to be triggered by the second trigger frame or may not be triggered by the second trigger frame when participating in the discrete RU channel sounding. The second trigger frame may not include the scheduling information related to the first AP participating in channel sounding.

In one possible design, the second trigger frame may include fifth indication information for indicating that the plurality of APs participate in channel sounding using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. The fifth indication information may be a trigger frame type field.

In another possible design, the second trigger frame may include a sixth indication information and a seventh indication information. The sixth indication information is used for indicating the plurality of APs to participate in channel sounding, and the seventh indication information is used for indicating the plurality of APs to use discrete RU or discrete MRU for channel sounding. The sixth indication information may also be a trigger frame type field, and the seventh indication information may be carried in a common information field, a user information field, or a special user information field.

Further, the second trigger frame may also include identification information of the second AP, identification information of an STA associated with the second AP, RU allocation information, or the like, where the RU allocation information includes one or more RUs or one or more discrete MRUs allocated to channel sounding for the second AP.

The fifth indication information (or the sixth indication information and the seventh indication information) in the second trigger frame, the identification information of the second AP, the identification information of the STA associated with the second AP, the carrying manner and the transmitting manner of the RU allocation information may be referred to the related description in the first trigger frame in S701, which is not repeated herein.

The second trigger frame is different from the first trigger frame in that the second trigger frame does not include the first indication information (or the second indication information and the third indication information), and when channel detection is performed, the second trigger frame may not carry related information such as data field coding and the like because data transmission is not involved. In addition, the second trigger frame may further include common information such as a sounding ring (sounding dialogue token) for indicating the number of channel sounding times the current channel sounding is performed.

S1702, the first AP sends a second trigger frame to the second AP. Correspondingly, the second AP receives a second trigger frame from the first AP.

Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of multi-AP channel sounding according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 18, AP1 is a first AP, AP2 and AP3 are second APs, and AP1 does not participate in channel sounding. AP1 may send a second trigger frame to AP2 and AP3 for triggering AP2 and AP3 to perform channel sounding. The second trigger frame may include identification information of STAs associated with the AP2 and the AP3, discrete RU resource information for channel sounding, and the like. The relevant description in S1702 may be referred to the relevant content in S702, which is not described herein.

S1703, the second AP transmits an NDPA frame to one or more STAs. Accordingly, the STA receives the NDPA frame from the second AP.

The NDPA frame is used to inform the STA to perform channel sounding.

In one possible design, multiple second APs may jointly transmit NDPA frames with the same content. In other words, the NDPA frames transmitted by the plurality of second APs have the same content. The site information field in the NDPA frame corresponding to one second AP includes identification information of a plurality of second APs and identification information of STAs associated with the plurality of second APs. In other words, each NDPA frame transmitted by the second APs includes identification information of all the second APs and identification information of STAs associated with all the second APs, and as in the scenario in fig. 18, identification information of AP2, identification information of AP3, identification information of STAs associated with AP2, and identification information of STAs associated with AP3 may be included in the NDPA frame corresponding to AP 2.

In another possible design, NDPA frames are sent independently on different frequency resources using discrete RU or discrete MRU transmissions. In this case, the NDPA frame may not include the AP identification field in the AP identification list field and the station information field, and the transmission address field may identify the transmitter of the NDPA frame.

Similarly, the first AP may also transmit NDPA frames to the STA. Accordingly, the STA receives the NDPA frame from the first AP. The first AP and the second AP may jointly transmit the NDPA frame with the same content, or may independently transmit the NDPA frame using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, which is not described herein.

For example, as shown in fig. 18, AP2 transmits an NDPA frame to STA1 and STA2, AP3 transmits an NDPA frame to STA3, and AP2 and AP3 may jointly transmit an NDPA frame of the same content, or may independently transmit different NDPA frames using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

The relevant description of the NDPA frame may be referred to the relevant content in S703, which is not described herein.

It is worth noting that multiple APs participating in channel sounding transmit NDPA frames at the same time.

S1704, the second AP transmits an NDP to one or more STAs. Accordingly, the STA receives the NDP from the second AP.

The NDP is used for channel sounding by the STA.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 18, AP2 transmits NDP to STA1 and STA2, and AP3 transmits NDP to STA3, with modulation part fields in the NDP transmitted using discrete RU or discrete MRU. AP2 and AP3 may jointly transmit NDP, or may independently transmit NDP on different frequency resource sub-blocks.

The NDP may also be referred to as a sounding PPDU, which is a special UHR PPDU, i.e. the NDP has no data field, and the structure of the NDP may be shown in fig. 15, and the transmission manner of the NDP is similar to that of the UHR PPDU shown in fig. 13, and the modulation part field is transmitted by using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU, which may be specifically referred to the related description of the UHR PPDU transmission in S703 and will not be repeated herein.

Optionally, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps:

s1705, the second AP transmits a third trigger frame to one or more STAs using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU. Accordingly, the STA receives the third trigger frame from the second AP.

The third trigger frame is used for triggering the STA to send channel sounding information, and the channel sounding information may be indicated by CBFR or CQI. It may be appreciated that the third trigger frame may also include identification information of the STA, or information for instructing the STA to transmit channel sounding information, etc.

S1706, the STA performs channel sounding according to the NDP.

For example, after receiving the NDP sent by the AP2, the STA1 may perform parsing processing on the NDP to obtain an L-LTF sequence, or a UHR-LTF sequence, and perform channel estimation, so as to obtain channel state information between the STA1 and the AP 2. The processing procedure of STA2 and STA3 is similar to that of STA1, and will not be described here again.

S1707, the STA transmits a second PPDU to the second AP. Accordingly, the second AP receives the second PPDU from the STA.

Wherein the second PPDU includes CBFR or CQI for indicating a channel state between the STA and the second AP.

For example, as shown in fig. 18, the STA1 may transmit the second PPDU according to the discrete RU resource information carried in the NDP transmitted by the AP 2. In other words, STA1 may send CBFR or CQI to AP2 according to the discrete RU resource information carried in NDP, and may prepare for subsequent data transmission between AP2 and STA2, so as to achieve more efficient data transmission. The processing procedure of STA2 and STA3 is similar to that of STA1, and will not be described here again.

The specific description in S1707 may refer to the relevant content in S705, which is not described herein.

It may be understood that, in the scenario where the first AP participates in channel sounding, the first AP may also participate in channel sounding (e.g., AP1 in fig. 18), and, unlike channel sounding performed by the plurality of second APs, the second trigger frame does not include relevant scheduling information for channel sounding by the first AP, and the first AP configures relevant scheduling information itself, and after the first AP sends the second trigger frame to the second AP, the first AP may also send NDPA and NDP together with the second AP using discrete RU or discrete MRU at a set time point, which may be described in the above-mentioned relevant descriptions in S1701-S1707, and further description is omitted.

It should be noted that, the communication method shown in fig. 17 is illustrated by taking multi-AP downlink channel detection as an example, and the channel detection flow provided in the embodiment of the present application is not only applicable to downlink channel detection by multiple APs and multiple STAs, but also supports uplink channel detection by multiple STAs and multiple APs.

Based on the communication method shown in fig. 17, the first AP may trigger one or more second APs to perform channel detection by using discrete RU through the second trigger frame, so as to form a multi-AP discrete RU channel detection process, and under the condition of the same spectrum efficiency, not only can the transmission power of the AP be increased or the power spectral density on a single subcarrier be increased, but also channel detection can be implemented.

It will be appreciated that in the above embodiments, the methods and/or steps implemented by the first AP may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a processor, a chip, a system on a chip, a circuit, a logic module, or software) that may be used in the first AP; the methods and/or steps implemented by the second AP may also be implemented by a component (e.g., a processor, chip, system on chip, circuit, logic module, or software) operable with the second AP; the methods and/or steps implemented by a STA may also be implemented by components (e.g., a processor, a chip, a system-on-chip, a circuit, a logic module, or software) that may be used for the STA.

The foregoing has mainly described the solutions provided in this application. Correspondingly, the application also provides a communication device, which is used for realizing the various methods in the method embodiment. The communication device may be the first AP in the above-described method embodiments, or a device including the first AP, or a component, such as a chip or a chip system, that may be used for the first AP. Alternatively, the communication device may be the second AP in the above-described method embodiment, or a device including the second AP, or a component, such as a chip or a chip system, that may be used for the second AP. Still alternatively, the communication device may be an STA in the above method embodiment, or a device including an STA, or a component, such as a chip or a chip system, that may be used for the STA.

It will be appreciated that the communication device, in order to achieve the above-described functions, comprises corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the elements and algorithm steps of the examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the application may divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the embodiment of the method, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the modules is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual implementation.

Taking the communication device as the first AP or STA in the above method embodiment as an example, fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 19, the communication apparatus 1900 includes: a processing module 1901 and a transceiver module 1902. The processing module 1901 is configured to execute the processing function of the first AP or STA in the foregoing method embodiment. A transceiver module 1902, configured to perform the transceiver function of the first AP or STA in the foregoing method embodiment.

Alternatively, in an embodiment of the present application, the transceiver module 1902 may include a receiving module and a transmitting module (not shown in fig. 19). The transceiver module is used to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device 1900.

Optionally, the communications device 1900 may also include a memory module (not shown in fig. 19) that stores programs or instructions. When the processing module 1901 executes the program or instructions, the communication apparatus 1900 is enabled to perform the functions of the first AP or the second AP or the STA in the communication method illustrated in any one of fig. 7 or 17.

It is to be appreciated that the processing module 1901 involved in the communications device 1900 may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit component, which may be a processor or processing unit; the transceiver module 1902 may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit component, which may be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be cited to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, which is not described herein.

Since the communication device 1900 provided in this embodiment can execute the above-mentioned communication method, the technical effects obtained by the communication device can be referred to the above-mentioned method embodiment, and will not be described herein.

Taking the communication device as an example of the second AP in the above method embodiment, fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 20, the communication apparatus 2000 includes: a receiving module 2001 and a transmitting module 2002. The receiving module 2001 is configured to perform the receiving function of the second AP in the above method embodiment. A sending module 2002, configured to perform the sending function of the second AP in the foregoing method embodiment.

Alternatively, in the embodiment of the present application, the receiving module 2001 and the transmitting module 2002 may be integrated into one module, such as a transceiver module (not shown in fig. 20). The transceiver module is configured to implement a transmitting function and a receiving function of the communication device 2000.

Optionally, the communication device 2000 may also include a processing module (not shown in fig. 20). The processing module is configured to implement a processing function of the communication device 2000.

Optionally, the communication device 2000 may further include a storage module (not shown in fig. 20) storing a program or instructions. The processing module, when executing the program or instructions, enables the communication apparatus 2000 to perform the function of the second AP in the communication method illustrated in fig. 7 or 17.

It is to be appreciated that the processing modules involved in the communication device 2000 may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, which may be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module may be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver related circuit components, and may be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

Since the communication device 1900 and the communication device 2000 provided in the present embodiment can execute the above-mentioned communication method, the technical effects obtained by the method can be referred to the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be described herein.

Fig. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of still another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a first AP or a second AP or an STA, or may be a chip (system) or other part or component that may be provided in the first AP or the second AP or the STA. As shown in fig. 21, the communication device 2100 may include a processor 2101. Optionally, the communication device 2100 may also include a memory 2102 and/or a transceiver 2103. The processor 2101 is coupled to the memory 2102 and the transceiver 2103, such as may be connected by a communication bus.

The following describes each constituent element of the communication apparatus 2100 in detail with reference to fig. 21:

the processor 2101 is a control center of the communication apparatus 2100, and may be one processor or a plurality of processing elements. For example, the processor 2101 is one or more central processing units (central processing unit, CPU), but may also be an integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement embodiments of the present application, such as: one or more microprocessors (digital signal processor, DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (field programmable gate array, FPGAs).

Alternatively, the processor 2101 may perform various functions of the communication apparatus 2100 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 2102 and invoking data stored in the memory 2102.

In a particular implementation, the processor 2101 may include, as one embodiment, one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in fig. 21.

In a particular implementation, as an example, the communication apparatus 2100 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 2101 and the processor 2104 shown in fig. 21. Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 2102 is configured to store a software program for executing the present application, and is controlled to execute by the processor 2101, and the specific implementation may refer to the above method embodiment, which is not described herein.

Alternatively, memory 2102 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that may store static information and instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that may store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, without limitation. The memory 2102 may be integrated with the processor 2101 or may exist separately and be coupled to the processor 2101 through interface circuitry (not shown in fig. 21) of the communication device 2100, as the embodiments of the present application are not limited in detail.

A transceiver 2103 for communicating with other communication devices. For example, the communication apparatus 2100 is a terminal device, and the transceiver 2103 may be used to communicate with a network device or another terminal device. As another example, the communication apparatus 2100 is a network device and the transceiver 2103 may be used to communicate with a terminal device or another network device.

Alternatively, the transceiver 2103 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not separately shown in fig. 21). The receiver is used for realizing the receiving function, and the transmitter is used for realizing the transmitting function.

Alternatively, the transceiver 2103 may be integrated with the processor 2101 or may exist separately and be coupled to the processor 2101 through interface circuitry (not shown in fig. 21) of the communication device 2100, as the embodiments of the present application are not limited in detail.

It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 2100 shown in fig. 21 is not limited to the communication device, and an actual communication device may include more or less components than those shown, or may combine some components, or may be different in arrangement of components.

In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 2100 may refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the above method embodiments, and will not be described herein.

The embodiment of the application provides a communication system. The communication system comprises the first AP, the second AP and the STA.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a computer, perform the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

The present application also provides a computer program product which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the method embodiments described above.

Those skilled in the art will understand that, for convenience and brevity, the specific working process of the system, apparatus and unit described above may refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which is not described herein again.

It should be understood that the term "and/or" is merely an association relationship describing the associated object, and means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: there are three cases, a alone, a and B together, and B alone, wherein a, B may be singular or plural. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the associated object is an "or" relationship, but may also indicate an "and/or" relationship, and may be understood by referring to the context.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "at least one of" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural items(s). For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or plural.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

It will be appreciated that the systems, devices, and methods described in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, i.e. may be located in one place, or may be distributed over a plurality of network elements. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it 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 the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in accordance with embodiments of the present application are produced in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device including one or more servers, data centers, etc. that can be integrated with the medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), or the like. In an embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the apparatus described above.

Although the present application has been described herein in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the figures, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in connection with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents that fall within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present application without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims and the equivalents thereof, the present application is intended to cover such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a first Access Point (AP) generates a first trigger frame, wherein the first trigger frame is used for triggering a plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using a discrete Resource Unit (RU) or a discrete multi-resource unit (MRU);

the first AP sends the first trigger frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of APs comprises N second APs, N being a positive integer greater than 1.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of APs comprises the first AP and N second APs, N being a positive integer.

4. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the first AP transmits a first physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, to one or more STAs, the first PPDU including a modulation portion field transmitted using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

5. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a second Access Point (AP) receives a first trigger frame from a first AP, wherein the first trigger frame is used for triggering a plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission by using a discrete Resource Unit (RU) or a discrete multi-resource unit (MRU);

the second AP transmits a first physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, to one or more station STAs, the first PPDU including a modulation portion field transmitted using the discrete RU or the discrete MRU.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of APs comprises N second APs, N being a positive integer greater than 1.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of APs comprises the first AP and N second APs, N being a positive integer.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5-7, further comprising:

the second AP receives a second PPDU from the one or more STAs, the second PPDU transmitted by the STA using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the first trigger frame includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to instruct the plurality of APs to participate in downlink transmission using a discrete RU or a discrete MRU.

10. The method of any of claims 9, wherein the first trigger frame further comprises identification information of a second AP.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the identification information of the second AP is carried in a user information list field, wherein one of the user information list fields includes identification information of a second AP.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the identification information of the second AP corresponds to M user information fields in the user information list field, M being a positive integer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user information field further comprises RU allocation information, wherein the RU allocation information comprises a discrete RU or a discrete MRU allocated to the second AP for downlink transmissions.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user information field further comprises identification information of a STA associated with the second AP.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the identification information of the second AP is carried in a public information field or a special user information field.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the common information field or the special user information field further includes user information field number information corresponding to identification information of the second AP, and wherein the identification information of the second AP is arranged adjacent to the user information field number information corresponding to the identification information of the second AP.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the user information fields corresponding to the identification information of the second AP are arranged consecutively.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10-17, wherein the identification information of the second AP is a basic service set color corresponding to the second AP or a basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP, or the identification information of the second AP is part of information in the basic service set identifier corresponding to the second AP.

19. The method of any of claims 4-8, wherein the first PPDU further comprises a non-modulated portion field including a first field including information for demodulating the modulated portion field.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the non-modulated portion field further comprises a general information U-SIG field, wherein the U-SIG field comprises one or more of the following: a physical layer version field, an uplink/downlink field, a basic service set color field, a transmission opportunity field, a PPDU type and compressed mode field, a number of symbols field of the first field, and a coding and modulation policy field of the first field.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the non-modulated portion field content transmitted jointly by the plurality of APs is the same.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is indicated by the first trigger frame;

or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is predefined;

or, the basic service set color corresponding to the basic service set color field in the U-SIG field is the basic service set color corresponding to the first AP.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the common information field in the first field comprises RU allocation information for STAs associated with the plurality of APs.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the plurality of APs transmit the non-modulated portion field on different frequency resource sub-blocks.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein a basic service set color corresponding to a basic service set color field in the U-SIG field corresponding to the second AP is used to indicate a basic service set color corresponding to the second AP.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the common information field in the first field corresponding to the second AP comprises RU allocation information for STAs associated with the second AP.

27. A communication device, the device comprising: a processing module and a receiving-transmitting module; wherein,

the processing module for performing the processing functions of the method of any of the preceding claims 1-26;

the transceiver module being configured to perform the transceiver function of the method of any of the preceding claims 1-26.

28. A computer readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-26.

29. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising: computer program or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-27.