Rate control method and device for wireless network

Abstract

A rate control method considering low-power dense wireless networks is provided. This rate control method is implemented by a wireless communication device. The rate control method includes determining a first power required for additional overhead of transmitting a data stream; determining a plurality of second powers required for transmitting the data stream, wherein the plurality of second powers correspond to a plurality of data rates of the data stream; selecting a data rate from the plurality of data rates based on the first power, the plurality of second powers, and a plurality of packet error rates (PERs) corresponding to the plurality of data rates; and transmitting a Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), wherein the PPDU includes the data stream, and the data stream is transmitted at the selected data rate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the field of wireless communication technology. More specifically, aspects of the present invention relate to a rate control method and device for wireless dense networks with consideration of low power consumption. Prior Art

[0002] Most of the current rate control algorithms or rate control mechanisms are based on packet error rate (PER) or channel response. The goal of these rate control algorithms or rate control mechanisms is to optimize the effective bit rate rather than low power consumption. Therefore, transmitting a small amount of data traffic between devices may result in a large amount of power consumption. In addition, these rate control algorithms or rate control mechanisms do not consider media access control (MAC) / power efficiency, resulting in a large amount of power consumption or retransmission overhead in dense networks. Summary of the invention

[0003] The following summary is provided for reference only and is not intended to limit the present invention in any way. That is, the following summary is intended to introduce the concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious technologies described herein. Optionally, not all implementations are further described in the detailed description below. Therefore, the following summary is not intended to identify the essential features of the protected subject matter, nor is it a basis for determining the scope of the protected subject matter.

[0004] In an exemplary embodiment, a rate control method for a wireless network considering low power consumption is provided. The rate control method is implemented by a first device. The rate control method includes establishing a connection with a second device using a first 802.11 protocol. The rate control method includes determining whether a data traffic to be sent is a large data traffic or a small data traffic. The rate control method includes sending a first physical protocol data unit (PPDU) that complies with the first 802.11 protocol to the second device when the data traffic to be sent is determined to be a large data traffic, wherein the first PPDU includes a preamble that complies with the first 802.11 protocol and a large data traffic. The rate control method includes sending a second PPDU that complies with a second 802.11 protocol to the second device when the data traffic to be sent is determined to be a small data traffic, wherein the second PPDU includes a preamble that complies with the second 802.11 protocol and a small data traffic, wherein the duration of the preamble that complies with the second 802.11 protocol is shorter than the duration of the preamble that complies with the first 802.11 protocol.

[0005] In some embodiments, the first PPDU is an extremely high throughput (EHT) PPDU or a high efficiency (HE) PPDU, and the second PPDU is a very high throughput (VHT) PPDU. The first 802.11 protocol is 802.11ax or 802.11be, and the second 802.11 protocol is 802.11ac.

[0006] In some embodiments, the duration of a long training field (LTF) symbol in a HE PPDU or EHT PPDU is longer than the duration of an LTF field symbol in a VHT PPDU.

[0007] In some embodiments, the HE PPDU or EHT PPDU has a data packet extension, while the VHT PPDU does not have a data packet extension.

[0008] In some embodiments, the step of determining whether the data stream to be sent is a large data stream or a small data stream includes: determining the ratio of the calculated PPDU length to a predefined PPDU maximum length, wherein the PPDU includes the data stream to be sent and a preamble code located before the data stream to be sent, and the PPDU complies with the first 802.11 protocol; comparing the ratio with a threshold; when the ratio is greater than the threshold, determining that the data stream to be sent is a large data stream; when the ratio is less than or equal to the threshold, determining that the data stream to be sent is a small data stream.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment, a rate control method for a wireless network considering low power consumption is provided. The rate control method is implemented by a wireless communication device. The rate control method includes determining a first power required for an additional overhead of transmitting a data stream, wherein the additional overhead includes an additional control signal required to complete the data stream transmission. The rate control method includes determining multiple second powers required for transmitting the data stream, wherein the multiple second powers correspond to multiple data rates of the data stream. The rate control method includes selecting a data rate from multiple data rates based on the first power, multiple second powers corresponding to the multiple data rates, and multiple packet error rates (PER) corresponding to the multiple data rates. The rate control method includes sending a physical protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the PPDU includes a data stream, and the data stream is sent at the selected data rate.

[0010] In some embodiments, the step of selecting a data rate from a plurality of data rates according to a first power, a plurality of second powers corresponding to the plurality of data rates, and a plurality of PERs corresponding to the plurality of data rates comprises: determining a plurality of total power consumptions corresponding to the plurality of data rates according to the first power, the plurality of second powers corresponding to the plurality of data rates, and the plurality of PERs corresponding to the plurality of data rates, and selecting a data rate corresponding to a lowest total power consumption among the plurality of total power consumptions.

[0011] In some embodiments, the additional overhead includes a request-to-send (RTS) and a preamble of the PPDU.

[0012] In some embodiments, the power required to transmit the RTS is the product of the duration of the RTS and the transmit power of the RTS, and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU is the product of the duration of the preamble and the transmit power of the preamble. The first power required to transmit the additional overhead includes the power required to transmit the RTS and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU.

[0013] In some embodiments, the additional overhead includes only the preamble of the PPDU.

[0014] In some embodiments, the rate control method further includes: determining an actual power for sending a data stream according to a channel condition, wherein the data stream in the PPDU is sent using the actual power.

[0015] In some embodiments, the PPDU includes a number of spatial streams (NSS) field, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a bandwidth (BW) field, and a guard interval (GI) / long training field (LTF). At least one of the NSS field, the MCS field, the BW field, and the GI / LTF field is used to indicate a selected data rate.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, a wireless communication device for a wireless network considering low power consumption is provided. The wireless communication device includes a processor and a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to perform wireless transmission and reception. The processor is configured to establish a connection with a second device using a first 802.11 protocol. The processor is configured to determine whether a data stream to be sent is a large data stream or a small data stream. When it is determined that the data stream to be sent is a large data stream, the processor is configured to send a first physical protocol data unit (PPDU) that complies with the first 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the first PPDU includes a preamble that complies with the first 802.11 protocol and a large data stream. When it is determined that the data stream to be sent is a small data stream, the processor is configured to send a second PPDU that complies with a second 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the second PPDU includes a preamble that complies with the second 802.11 protocol and a small data stream. The duration of the preamble that complies with the second 802.11 protocol is shorter than the duration of the preamble that complies with the first 802.11 protocol.

[0017] In an exemplary embodiment, a wireless communication device for a wireless network considering low power consumption is provided. The wireless communication device includes a processor and a transceiver. The transceiver is configured to perform wireless transmission and reception. The processor is used to determine a first power required for an additional overhead of transmitting a data stream, wherein the additional overhead includes an additional control signal required to complete the data stream transmission. The processor is configured to determine a plurality of second powers required for transmitting the data stream, wherein the plurality of second powers correspond to a plurality of data rates of the data stream. The processor is configured to select a data rate from a plurality of data rates based on the first power, a plurality of second powers corresponding to the plurality of data rates, and a plurality of data packet error rates (PERs) corresponding to the plurality of data rates. The processor is configured to send a physical protocol data unit (PPDU), wherein the PPDU includes a data stream, and the data stream is sent at the selected data rate. Simple diagram description

[0018] The accompanying drawings are included in this disclosure to further understand the present invention and constitute a part of the present invention. The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description, are used to explain the principles of the present invention. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, because in order to clearly illustrate the concept of the present invention, some elements may not be proportional to the size in the actual implementation. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary network environment according to various solutions and schemes of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a first wireless communication entity and a second wireless communication entity according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how the rate controller according to the present invention selects the parameter x. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a rate control method for wireless dense networks considering low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows an EHT MU PPDU format, a HE SU PPDU format, a HE MU PPDU format, and a VHT PPDU format according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a rate control method for wireless dense networks considering low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention. Implementation

[0019] The various aspects of the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented in the present invention. On the contrary, these aspects are provided to make the present invention comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings of this article, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is intended to cover any aspect of the present invention disclosed herein, whether implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of the present invention. For example, a device or method can be implemented using multiple aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the present invention is intended to cover devices or methods implemented using other structures and / or functions in addition to the various aspects of the present invention set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the present invention disclosed herein can be embodied by one or more elements of the claim.

[0020] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not to be construed as preferred over other aspects. In addition, unless otherwise specified in the specification, the same numerals in multiple drawings represent the same elements.

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an example network environment 100 in which various solutions according to the present invention can be implemented. FIG. 2 to FIG. 6 show implementation examples of various proposed solutions according to the present invention in the network environment 100. Various proposed solutions are described below with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 1 , a network environment 100 involves wireless communication entities 110 and 120 communicating wirelessly in a wireless network based on one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. For example, the wireless communication entity 110 may be an access point (AP) providing Wi-Fi wireless access, and the wireless communication entity 120 may be a station (STA). According to the scheme proposed by the present invention, the wireless communication entity 110 and the wireless communication entity 120 may be configured to perform rate control according to various schemes described herein.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of the wireless communication entity 110 and the wireless communication entity 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention. For the wireless communication entity 110, the antenna 207 transmits and receives radio frequency signals. The radio frequency transceiver module 206 coupled to the antenna 207 receives radio frequency signals from the antenna 207, processes them and sends the processed signals to the processor 203. The radio frequency transceiver module 206 also receives signals from the processor 203, processes them and sends the processed signals to the antenna 207. The processor 203 processes the received signals and calls different functional modules to perform functions in the wireless communication entity 110. The memory 202 stores program instructions and data 2022 to control the operation of the wireless communication entity 110.

[0024] A similar configuration exists in the wireless communication entity 120, where the antenna 217 transmits and receives radio frequency signals. The radio frequency transceiver module 216 coupled to the antenna 217 receives radio frequency signals from the antenna 217, processes them, and sends the processed signals to the processor 213. The radio frequency transceiver module 216 also receives signals from the processor 213, processes them, and sends the processed signals to the antenna 217. The processor 213 processes the received signals and calls different functional modules to perform functions in the wireless communication entity 120. The memory 212 stores program instructions and data 2122 to control the operation of the wireless communication entity 120.

[0025] The wireless communication entities 110 and 120 also include several functional modules to implement some embodiments of the present invention. Different functional modules are circuits that can be configured and implemented by software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof. When executed by the processors 203 and 213 (e.g., by executing the program codes 2022 and 2122), the functional modules allow the wireless communication entity 110 to send data traffic or receive data traffic from the wireless communication entity 120. The link adaptation module 209 / 219 includes a power estimator 201 / 211, a user scenario module 204 / 214, a rate controller 205 / 215, a power control module 208, and / or a power control module 218.

[0026] In some embodiments, the power estimator 201 / 211 is used to estimate, for example, the power of the additional overhead and the power of the data stream in the PPDU, wherein the additional overhead is an additional control signal required to complete the transmission of the PPDU data stream, including a request-to-send (RTS), a clear-to-send (CTS), a preamble of the PPDU, or an ACK / block ACK. In one embodiment, the additional overhead includes the RTS and the preamble of the PPDU. The RTS may be a multi-user RTS or other types of RTS. In another embodiment, the additional overhead includes only the preamble of the PPDU.

[0027] The user scenario module 204 / 214 determines a data traffic type, wherein the data traffic type indicates whether the data traffic is a small data traffic or a large data traffic, for example, whether the data traffic is a small amount of data (eg, periodic data) or a large amount of data (eg, burst data).

[0028] The rate controller 205 / 215 may select a data rate from a plurality of data rates according to the following formula: (1) (2)

[0029] Where 𝑅(𝑥) is the data rate corresponding to x, where x represents a set of parameters that affect the rate. x represents a combination of one or more of the following parameters: modulation and coding scheme (MCS), the number of spatial streams (NSS), bandwidth (BW), guard interval (GI), and long training field (LTF). PER is the packet error rate (PER) of the data stream in the PPDU. T overhead is the duration of the additional overhead, where the additional overhead is the additional control signal required to complete the data stream transmission of the PPDU. P overhead is the transmit power of the additional overhead. T data(x) is the duration of the data stream corresponding to x. P data is the transmit power of the data stream. Data traffic in formula (2) represents the amount of data in the data stream to be sent.

[0030] In one embodiment, the overhead set includes the RTS and the preamble of the PPDU.

[0031]

[0032] In another embodiment, the overhead set includes only the preamble of the PPDU.

[0033]

[0034] In some embodiments, the data rate of the preamble is constant. If the data stream has a high rate, the RTS also has a high rate. If the data stream has a low rate, the RTS also has a low rate. In another embodiment, the rate of the RTS can be constant.

[0035] The rate controller 205 / 215 selects a data rate from a plurality of data rates according to the duration of the additional overhead of the data stream, the transmit power of the additional overhead, the duration of the data stream, the transmit power of the data stream, and a plurality of PERs corresponding to the plurality of data rates. The transmit power of the additional overhead and the transmit power of the data stream may be the power estimated by the power estimator 201 / 211. Specifically, the rate controller 205 / 215 determines a plurality of total power consumptions corresponding to the plurality of data rates according to the duration of the additional overhead of the data stream, the transmit power of the additional overhead, the plurality of durations of the data stream corresponding to the plurality of data rates, the transmit power of the data stream, and a plurality of PERs corresponding to the plurality of data rates. Then, the rate controller 205 / 215 selects the lowest total power consumption from the plurality of total power consumptions, and selects the data rate corresponding to the lowest total power consumption. The rate controller 205 / 215 generates a first indication, which is used to indicate the selected data rate and the lowest total power consumption.

[0036] In some embodiments, the rate controller 205 / 215 further determines the actual power used to send the data stream based on the channel conditions. When the rate controller 205 / 215 determines that the channel conditions are good, the data stream can be sent using low power. When the rate controller 205 / 215 determines that the channel conditions are not good, the data stream can be sent using high power, where the high power should meet the minimum signal to noise ratio (SNR) requirement corresponding to the selected data rate. The rate controller 205 / 215 can generate a second indication for indicating the actual power of the sent data stream based on the channel conditions.

[0037] The power control module 208 / 218 transmits the data stream using the selected data rate and power indicated by the rate controller 205 / 215 .

[0038] In some embodiments, data traffic may be data or management frames.

[0039] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how the rate controller according to the present invention selects a set of parameters x.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 3 , in step S301 , the rate controller first selects a parameter x. In step S302 , the power control module sends a data stream through a wireless channel using a rate corresponding to the parameter x. Then, in step S303 , the rate controller collects PER and physical layer (PHY) information on the wireless channel using the rate corresponding to the parameter x, wherein the PHY information may include information about the current physical channel, such as channel quality (e.g., SNR), channel characteristics (e.g., static or fading channel), whether the channel has interference, etc., which may indicate the performance of the PER. In step S304 , the rate controller selects a set of possible parameters x based on the selected parameter x, PER, and the PHY information corresponding to the selected parameter x. The selected set of possible parameters x is used in formula (2).

[0041] 4 is a flow chart 400 showing a rate control method for wireless dense network considering low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rate control method is implemented by a processor of a first device, wherein the first device may be one of the communication entities 110 and 120.

[0042] In step S405, the processor establishes a connection with the second device using the first 802.11 protocol.

[0043] Then, in step S410, the processor determines whether the data stream to be sent is a large data stream or a small data stream. The data stream may be a data or management frame. The large data stream may be a data stream whose data stream size is greater than a threshold, and the small data stream may be a data stream whose data stream size is less than or equal to the threshold. Specifically, the processor determines the ratio of the calculated PPDU length to the predefined PPDU maximum length, wherein the PPDU includes the data stream to be sent and a preamble of the PPDU located in front of the data stream to be sent, and the PPDU complies with the first 802.11 protocol. When the ratio is greater than the threshold, the processor determines that the data stream to be sent is a large data stream; when the ratio is less than or equal to the threshold, the processor determines that the data stream to be sent is a small data stream. In one embodiment, the predefined PPDU maximum length may be 5.484ms.

[0044] Then, in response to determining that the data stream to be sent is a large data stream ("large" in step S410), in step S415, the processor sends a first PPDU that complies with the first 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the first PPDU includes a preamble that complies with the first 802.11 protocol and the large data stream following the preamble.

[0045] In response to determining that the data stream to be sent is a small data stream ("small" in step S410), in step S425, the processor sends a second PPDU that complies with the second 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the second PPDU includes a preamble that complies with the second 802.11 protocol and a small data stream located after the preamble.

[0046] In one embodiment, the duration of the preamble code conforming to the second 802.11 protocol is shorter than the duration of the preamble code conforming to the first 802.11 protocol. The preamble code of the 802.11 protocol includes a PHY preamble code.

[0047] In one embodiment, the first PPDU is an extremely high throughput (EHT) PPDU or a high efficiency (HE) PPDU, and the second PPDU is a very high throughput (VHT) PPDU.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows an EHT MU PPDU format 510, a HE SU PPDU format 520, a HE MU PPDU format 530, and a VHT PPDU format 540 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the duration of a plurality of long training field (LTF) symbols 512, 522, and 532 in the EHT MU PPDU format 510, the HE SU PPDU format 520, and the HE MU PPDU format 530 is greater than the duration of the LTF field 542 in the VHT PPDU format 540. For example, in the HE / EHT PPDU, the duration of one LTF symbol may be: 2xLTF+0.8 (GI) = 7.2 us, 2xLTF+1.6 (GI) = 8 us, 4xLTF+3.2 (GI) = 16 us; in the VHT PPDU, LTF = 4 us. In addition, the EHT MU PPDU format 510, the HE SU PPDU format 520, or the HE MU PPDU format 530 has a packet extension (PE), while the VHT PPDU format 540 does not have a packet extension. In some embodiments, the GI length in the EHT MU PPDU format 510, the HE SU PPDU format 520, or the HE MU PPDU format 530 is greater than the GI length in the VHT PPDU format 540. In addition, the number of SIG-B or EHT-SIG symbols in the EHT MU PPDU format 510, the HE SU PPDU format 520, or the HE MU PPDU format 530 is an integer greater than 1. The VHT PPDU format 540 has one SIG-B symbol. In addition, the EHT MU PPDU format 510, the HE SU PPDU format 520, or the HE MU PPDU format 530 has an RL-SIG. The VHT PPDU format 540 does not have an RL-SIG.

[0049] In one embodiment, the first 802.11 protocol is 802.11ax or 802.11be, and the second 802.11 protocol is 802.11ac.

[0050] In the rate control method and rate control device for wireless dense networks considering low power consumption provided in the embodiments of the present invention, when the data stream to be sent is a small data stream, the purpose of reducing additional overhead can be achieved by using VHT PPDU to transmit the data stream to be sent instead of using EHT PPDU or HE PPDU to transmit the data stream to be sent.

[0051] 6 is a flow chart 600 showing a rate control method for wireless dense networks considering low power consumption according to an embodiment of the present invention. The rate control method is implemented by a processor of a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device may be one of the communication entities 110 and 120.

[0052] In step S605, the processor determines a first power required for transmitting an additional overhead of a data stream, wherein the additional overhead includes additional control signals required to complete the transmission of the data stream. The data stream may be a data or management frame. In one embodiment, the additional overhead may include a request to send (RTS) and a preamble of the PPDU. In another embodiment, the additional overhead may include only the preamble of the PPDU.

[0053] In step S610, the processor determines a plurality of second powers required for transmitting the data stream, wherein the plurality of second powers correspond to a plurality of data rates of the data stream. In some embodiments, each second power required for transmitting the data stream is the product of the duration of the data stream corresponding to the corresponding data rate and the transmit power of the data stream.

[0054] In step S615, the processor selects a data rate from a plurality of data rates according to the first power, a plurality of second powers corresponding to the plurality of data rates, and a plurality of packet error rates (PER) corresponding to the plurality of data rates. Specifically, the processor determines a plurality of total power consumptions corresponding to the plurality of data rates according to the first power, a plurality of second powers corresponding to the plurality of data rates, and a plurality of PERs corresponding to the plurality of data rates. The processor selects the lowest total power consumption from the plurality of total power consumptions, and selects the data rate corresponding to the lowest total power consumption. The total power consumption corresponding to a data rate may be equal to the sum of the first power and the second power corresponding to the data rate multiplied by (1+PER), and the PER is the PER corresponding to the data rate, as shown in formula (2).

[0055] In step S620, the processor sends a PPDU, wherein the PPDU includes a data stream and a preamble code located before the data stream, and the data stream is sent at a selected data rate.

[0056] In some embodiments, determining a first power required for transmitting an additional overhead of a data stream includes: determining multiple first powers corresponding to multiple rates required for transmitting the additional overhead; determining multiple total power consumptions includes: determining multiple total power consumptions corresponding to multiple data rates based on the multiple first powers corresponding to the multiple rates, the multiple second powers corresponding to the multiple data rates, and the multiple PERs corresponding to the multiple data rates.

[0057] In one embodiment, the additional overhead may include a request to send (RTS) and a preamble of the PPDU. For example, the power required to transmit the request to send (RTS) is the product of the duration of the RTS and the transmit power of the RTS. The power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU is the product of the duration of the preamble and the transmit power of the preamble. At this time, the first power required for the additional overhead of the data stream includes the sum of the power required to transmit the request to send (RTS) and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU. In another embodiment, the additional overhead may include only the preamble of the PPDU. The power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU is the product of the duration of the preamble and the transmit power of the preamble. At this time, the first power required for the additional overhead of the data stream is the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU.

[0058] In some embodiments, the processor may also determine an actual power for transmitting the data stream according to channel conditions, wherein the data stream is transmitted using the actual power in the PPDU.

[0059] In some embodiments, the PPDU includes a number of spatial streams (NSS) field, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) field, a bandwidth (BW) field, and a guard interval / long training field (GI / LTF), wherein at least one of the NSS field, the MCS field, the BW field, and the GI / LTF field indicates a selected data rate.

[0060] A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and steps in the embodiments described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. In order to clearly describe the interchangeability between hardware and software, the components and steps of each embodiment are generally described above in terms of function. Whether these functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0061] Although the present invention has been described by way of examples and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, the present invention is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (which are obvious to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the attached claims should be given the broadest interpretation to cover all such modifications and similar arrangements.

[0062] 100: Network environment 110,120: Communication entity 201,211: Power Estimator 202,212: Memory 203,213:Processor 204,214: User scenario module 205,215: Rate controller 208,218: Power control module 206,216: RF transceiver module 207,217: Antenna 2022,2122:Program S301, S302, S303, S304: Steps 400:Flowchart S405, S410, S415, S420: Steps 510:EHT MU PPDU format 520:HE SU PPDU format 530:HE MU PPDU format 540:VHT PPDU format 600: Flowchart S605, S610, S615, S620: Steps

Claims

1. A rate control method for a wireless network, wherein the rate control method is implemented by a first device and includes: Establish a connection with the second device using the first 802.11 protocol; Determine whether the data stream to be sent is a large-size data stream or a small-size data stream; Upon determining that the data stream to be transmitted is a large-size data stream, a first Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) conforming to the first 802.11 protocol is sent to the second device, wherein the first PPDU includes components conforming to the first 802.11 protocol. 2.11 The preamble of the protocol and the large data stream; and when it is determined that the data stream to be sent is a small data stream, sending a second PPDU conforming to the second 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the second PPDU includes the second 802.11 protocol conforming to the second 802.11 protocol. 2.11 protocol preamble and small data stream; wherein, the duration of the preamble conforming to the second 802.11 protocol is shorter than that conforming to the first 802.11 protocol. 2.11 Duration of the preamble in the protocol.

2. The rate control method according to claim 1, wherein, The first PPDU is an extremely high throughput (EHT) PPDU or a high efficiency (HE) PPDU, and the second PPDU is a very high throughput (VHT) PPDU.

3. The rate control method according to claim 2, wherein, The duration of the long training field (LTF) symbol in the HE PPDU or EHT PPDU is longer than the duration of the LTF field symbol in the VHT PPDU.

4. The rate control method according to claim 2, wherein, The HE PPDU or EHT PPDU has a packet extension, while the VHT PPDU does not have a packet extension.

5. The rate control method according to request item 1, wherein the step of determining whether the data stream to be transmitted is a large-size data stream or a small-size data stream includes: Determine the ratio of the calculated PPDU length to the predefined maximum PPDU length, wherein the PPDU includes the data stream to be transmitted and the PPDU preamble, and the PPDU conforms to a first 802.11 protocol; compare the ratio with a threshold; when the ratio is greater than the threshold, determine that the data stream to be transmitted is a large data stream; when the ratio is less than or equal to the threshold, determine that the data stream to be transmitted is a small data stream.

6. A rate control method for a wireless network, wherein the method is implemented by a wireless communication device and includes: Determine the first power required for the additional overhead of transmitting the data stream, wherein the additional overhead includes additional control signals required to complete the data stream transmission; Determine a plurality of second powers required to transmit the data stream, wherein the plurality of second powers correspond to a plurality of data rates of the data stream; select a data rate from the plurality of data rates based on the first power, the plurality of second powers, and a plurality of packet error rates (PER) corresponding to the plurality of data rates; And transmit Physical Protocol Data Units (PPDUs), wherein the PPDUs include data streams and the data streams are transmitted at a selected data rate.

7. The rate control method according to claim 6, wherein, The step of selecting a data rate from a plurality of data rates based on the first power, the plurality of second power, and a plurality of PERs corresponding to a plurality of data rates includes: determining a plurality of total power consumption corresponding to a plurality of data rates based on the first power, the plurality of second power, and the plurality of PERs corresponding to a plurality of data rates, wherein the second power required for each transmission of the data stream is the product of the duration of the data stream and the transmission power of the data stream; and selecting the data rate corresponding to the lowest total power consumption among the plurality of total power consumption.

8. The rate control method according to claim 7, wherein, The step of determining a first power required for additional overhead of transmitting data streams includes: determining a plurality of first powers required for additional overhead of transmitting data streams, the plurality of first powers corresponding to a plurality of data rates; the step of determining a plurality of total power consumption corresponding to a plurality of data rates based on the first power, a plurality of second powers and a plurality of PERs corresponding to a plurality of data rates includes: determining a plurality of total power consumption corresponding to a plurality of data rates based on the plurality of first powers, a plurality of second powers and a plurality of PERs corresponding to a plurality of data rates.

9. The rate control method according to claim 7, wherein, The additional overhead includes the request to send (RTS) and the preamble for the PPDU.

10. The rate control method according to claim 7, wherein, The additional overhead only includes the preamble of the PPDU.

11. The rate control method according to claim 9, wherein, The power required to transmit the RTS is the product of the duration of the RTS and the transmission power of the RTS, and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU is the product of the duration of the preamble and the transmission power of the preamble; wherein, the first power required to transmit the additional overhead is the sum of the power required to transmit the RTS and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU.

12. The rate control method according to claim 6, further comprising: The actual power for transmitting the data stream is determined based on the channel conditions; wherein, the actual power is used to transmit the data stream in the PPDU.

13. The rate control method according to claim 6, wherein, The PPDU includes a Spatial Stream Quantity (NSS) field, a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) field, a Bandwidth (BW) field, and a Guard Interval / Long Training (GI / LTF) field; wherein at least one of the NSS, MCS, BW, and GI / LTF fields indicates the selected data rate.

14. A wireless communication device, comprising: processor; The transceiver is capable of performing wireless transmission, wherein the processor is configured to: establish a connection with a second device using a first 802.11 protocol; determine whether the data stream to be transmitted is a large-size data stream or a small-size data stream; when the data stream to be transmitted is determined to be a large-size data stream, send a first Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) conforming to the first 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the first PPDU includes a preamble conforming to the first 802.11 protocol and the large-size data stream; and when the data stream to be transmitted is determined to be a small-size data stream, send a second PPDU conforming to a second 802.11 protocol to the second device, wherein the second PPDU includes a preamble conforming to the second 802.11 protocol and the small-size data stream; wherein the duration of the preamble conforming to the second 802.11 protocol is shorter than the duration of the preamble conforming to the first 802.11 protocol.

15. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein, The first PPDU is an Extremely High Delivery Rate (EHT) PPDU or a High Efficiency (HE) PPDU, while the second PPDU is a Very High Delivery Rate (VHT) PPDU; wherein the first 802.11 protocol is 802.11ax or 802.11be, and the second 802.11 protocol is 802.11ac.

16. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein, The steps for determining whether a data stream to be transmitted is a large-size data stream or a small-size data stream include: determining the ratio of the length of a calculated PPDU to a predefined maximum PPDU length, wherein the PPDU includes the data stream to be transmitted and a preamble of the PPDU, and the PPDU conforms to a first 802.11 protocol; comparing the ratio with a threshold; when the ratio is greater than the threshold, determining that the data stream to be transmitted is a large-size data stream; when the ratio is less than or equal to the threshold, determining that the data stream to be transmitted is a small-size data stream.

17. A wireless communication device, comprising: processor; And a transceiver capable of performing wireless transmission, wherein the processor is configured to: determine a first power required for additional overhead of transmitting a data stream, wherein the additional overhead includes additional control signals required to complete the transmission of the data stream; determine a plurality of second powers required for transmitting the data stream; and select a data rate from the plurality of data rates based on the first power, the plurality of second powers, and a plurality of packet error rates (PER) corresponding to a plurality of data rates; and transmit Physical Protocol Data Units (PPDUs), wherein the PPDU includes the data stream, and the data stream is transmitted at a selected data rate.

18. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein selecting a data rate from the plurality of data rates based on the first power, a plurality of second power, and a plurality of packet error rates (PER) corresponding to a plurality of data rates includes: Multiple total power consumptions corresponding to multiple data rates are determined based on a first power, multiple second power, and multiple PERs corresponding to multiple data rates, wherein the second power required for each transmitted data stream is the product of the duration of the data stream and the transmission power of the data stream; and the data rate corresponding to the lowest total power consumption among the multiple total power consumptions is selected.

19. The wireless communication device according to claim 17, wherein, The additional overhead includes the preamble for the Transmission Request (RTS) and PPDU.

20. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein the energy required to transmit the RTS is the product of the duration of the RTS and the transmission power of the RTS, and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU is the product of the duration of the preamble and the transmission power of the preamble; wherein the first power required to transmit additional overhead is equal to the sum of the power required to transmit the RTS and the power required to transmit the preamble of the PPDU.

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