A resource indication method and device based on multiple time periods

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a resource indication method applied to multiple time periods, the method comprising: an access point sends a trigger frame, the trigger frame carries multiple time period information fields, each of the multiple time period information fields contains public information, and user-specific information of one or more sites; the access point receives a multi-time period uplink physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, the multi-time period uplink PPDU includes uplink data sent by multiple sites in multiple time periods; the access point sends a confirmation frame. An embodiment of the present invention also provides a corresponding resource indication device. By applying the method and device of the embodiment of the present invention, efficient resource indication and confirmation for multiple time periods can be achieved in the 802.11ax system, thereby improving the efficiency of transmitting small packet services of existing WLAN devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of communication technology, and in particular relates to a resource indication method and device based on multiple time periods. Background Art

[0002] The existing wireless local area network (WLAN) standards based on OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) technology consist of gradually evolving versions such as 802.11a, 802.11n, and 802.11ac. Currently, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11 standard organization has launched the standardization of the next-generation WLAN standard 802.11ax, called HEW (High Efficiency WLAN). By introducing OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) technology, 802.11ax can further improve the transmission performance of WLAN in dense user scenarios.

[0003] To better understand the uplink data transmission process of 802.11ax, Figure 1 The process of uplink data transmission between access points and stations in the prior art is given, including data transmission between one access point AP and four stations STA. First, the access point sends a trigger frame, which carries identification information and resource indication information of the station to be scheduled. The resource indication information includes the transmission time, frequency domain information, spatial stream information and modulation coding mode MCS of the uplink data. The trigger frame contains identification information and resource indication information of STA1 and STA2 to be scheduled. Then, after receiving the trigger frame, the station parses the trigger frame. If the identification information of the station itself matches the identification information of the scheduled station in the trigger frame, the station reads the resource indication information allocated to itself by the access point from the trigger frame, such as Figure 2 As shown, STA1 and STA2 accept AP scheduling and send uplink data according to the resource indication information. Finally, the access point sends a confirmation frame to confirm that the data transmission of STA1 and STA2 is successful. It should be noted that the scheduling of STA3 and STA4 by AP through trigger frames is the same as the scheduling of STA1 and STA2.

[0004] Since most uplink data are small packet services, that is, the payload (useful information) in the data packet occupies fewer bytes, and the leading part in the data packet (generally referring to the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU) occupies more bytes. Therefore, in uplink multi-user transmission, multiple stations repeatedly send the leading part, resulting in low uplink data transmission efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a resource indication method and device based on multiple time periods in a wireless local area network, which aggregates multiple uplink data carrying small packet services in one PPDU for transmission, so as to solve the problem of low efficiency of transmitting small packet services in existing WLAN devices.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a resource indication method based on multiple time periods, which is applied to a wireless local area network WLAN. The method includes:

[0007] The access point sends a trigger frame, the trigger frame carrying a plurality of time period information fields, each of the plurality of time period information fields containing common information and user-specific information of one or more sites;

[0008] The access point receives a multi-time period uplink physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, where the multi-time period uplink PPDU includes uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods;

[0009] The access point sends an acknowledgement frame.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect, the time period information field in the trigger frame is separated by a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a frame check sequence FCS.

[0012] Through the above method, a multi-time period uplink PPDU can contain uplink data sent by multiple sites in multiple time periods, and through frame checking of the information field of each time period, it can prevent the multi-time period uplink PPDU from being too long, causing the receiving end to be unable to correctly decode and receive it.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect and the above implementation manner, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the public information of the first time period information field in the trigger frame includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU and the length of the uplink data sent by the station in the first time period;

[0014] The public information of the time period information field other than the first time period information field in the trigger frame includes the starting point and length of uplink data sent by the station in the current time period.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect and the above-mentioned implementation method, in the fourth possible implementation method of the first aspect, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU, and the starting point and length of the uplink data sent by the site in this time period.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the trigger frame further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of time period information fields and the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

[0017] Through the above manner, each station can obtain the start time and duration of uplink data transmission by itself, thereby ensuring the temporal continuity of uplink data transmitted by the stations in different time periods.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, or the fifth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the sixth possible implementation of the first aspect, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame also includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of sites sending uplink data in this time period, the length of the information field of this time period, and the EOF indication at the end of the frame.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in the seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the uplink data sent by the multiple sites in multiple time periods include: the first uplink data sent by the site indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, and the second uplink data sent by the site indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time periods.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the uplink data sent by the multiple sites in multiple time periods include: first uplink data sent by the site indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, third uplink data sent by the site indicated by the remaining time period information field in the first time period, and second uplink data sent by the site indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time periods.

[0021] In combination with the seventh or eighth possible implementation of the first aspect, in the ninth possible implementation of the first aspect, the first uplink data includes a traditional preamble, an efficient preamble and a payload, the second uplink data includes an efficient short training sequence, an efficient long training sequence and a payload, and the third uplink data includes a traditional preamble and an efficient signaling field.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the confirmation frame includes multiple time period block confirmation information fields, and each time period block confirmation information field in the multiple time period block confirmation information fields contains confirmation of one or more sites.

[0023] In combination with the tenth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in the eleventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame is separated by a delimiter, and each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS.

[0024] In combination with the tenth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a twelfth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes a frame check sequence FCS.

[0025] In combination with any one of the tenth to twelfth possible implementations of the first aspect, in a thirteenth possible implementation of the first aspect, the confirmation frame further includes the number of time period block confirmation information fields.

[0026] In combination with any one of the tenth to twelfth possible implementations of the first aspect, in the fourteenth possible implementation of the first aspect, each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes at least one of the following parameters: the length of the time period block confirmation information field and the EOF indication at the end of the frame.

[0027] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a resource indication device based on multiple time periods, which is applied to a wireless local area network WLAN, including:

[0028] A baseband circuit is used to generate a trigger frame, wherein the trigger frame carries a plurality of time period information fields, each of the plurality of time period information fields contains common information and user-specific information of one or more sites;

[0029] A radio frequency circuit, used for sending a trigger frame and a confirmation frame;

[0030] The radio frequency circuit is further used for receiving a multi-time period uplink physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, where the multi-time period uplink PPDU includes uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in a first possible implementation of the second aspect, the time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit is separated by a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit includes a frame check sequence FCS.

[0033] Through the above method, a multi-time period uplink PPDU can contain uplink data sent by multiple sites in multiple time periods, and through frame checking of the information field of each time period, it can prevent the multi-time period uplink PPDU from being too long, causing the receiving end to be unable to correctly decode and receive it.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect and the above implementation manner, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the public information of the first time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU, and the length of the uplink data sent by the station in the first time period;

[0035] The public information of the time period information field other than the first time period information field in the trigger frame includes the starting point and length of uplink data sent by the station in the current time period.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect and the above-mentioned implementation method, in a fourth possible implementation method of the second aspect, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU, and the starting point and length of the uplink data sent by the site in this time period.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of time period information fields and the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

[0038] Through the above manner, each station can obtain the start time and duration of uplink data transmission by itself, thereby ensuring the temporal continuity of uplink data transmitted by the stations in different time periods.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, or the fifth possible implementation of the second aspect, in the sixth possible implementation of the second aspect, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit also includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of sites sending uplink data in this time period, the length of the information field of this time period, and the EOF indication at the end of the frame.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation of the second aspect, the uplink data sent by multiple sites in multiple time periods received by the RF circuit include: first uplink data sent by the site indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, and second uplink data sent by the site indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time periods.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the uplink data sent by multiple sites in multiple time periods received by the RF circuit include: first uplink data sent by the site indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, third uplink data sent by the site indicated by the remaining time period information field in the first time period, and second uplink data sent by the site indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time periods.

[0042] In combination with the seventh or eighth possible implementation of the second aspect, in the ninth possible implementation of the second aspect, the first uplink data includes a traditional preamble, an efficient preamble and a payload, the second uplink data includes an efficient short training sequence, an efficient long training sequence and a payload, and the third uplink data includes a traditional preamble and an efficient signaling field.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes multiple time period block confirmation information fields, and each time period block confirmation information field in the multiple time period block confirmation information fields contains confirmation of one or more sites.

[0044] In combination with the tenth possible implementation method of the second aspect, in the eleventh possible implementation method of the second aspect, the time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit is separated by a delimiter, and each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS.

[0045] In combination with the tenth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a twelfth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes a frame check sequence FCS.

[0046] In combination with any one of the tenth to twelfth possible implementations of the second aspect, in a thirteenth possible implementation of the second aspect, the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit also includes the number of time period block confirmation information fields.

[0047] In combination with any one of the tenth to twelfth possible implementations of the second aspect, in the fourteenth possible implementation of the second aspect, each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes at least one of the following parameters: the length of the time period block confirmation information field and the EOF indication at the end of the frame.

[0048] In the embodiment of the present invention, an access point sends a trigger frame to indicate the starting point and length of uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods, so that the uplink data sent by multiple stations are aggregated into one multi-time period uplink PPDU, which can realize efficient resource indication and confirmation of the 802.11ax system for multiple time periods, and can improve the efficiency of transmitting small packet services of existing WLAN devices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of uplink multi-user transmission in the existing WLAN standard.

[0050] Figure 2 This is an application scenario diagram of the present invention.

[0051] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of uplink multi-user transmission in the present invention.

[0052] Figure 4 A diagram showing a grouping structure of a trigger frame in the present invention.

[0053] Figure 5 This is a diagram of the grouping structure of a multi-time period uplink PPDU in the present invention.

[0054] Figure 6 A diagram showing a grouping structure of a confirmation frame in the present invention.

[0055] Figure 7 This is another grouping structure diagram of a trigger frame in the present invention.

[0056] Figure 8 This is another grouping structure diagram of a multi-time period uplink PPDU in the present invention.

[0057] Fig. 9 This is a diagram of another grouping structure of a trigger frame in the present invention.

[0058] Fig.10 This is a diagram of another grouping structure of a trigger frame in the present invention.

[0059] Fig.11 This is a diagram of another grouping structure of a trigger frame in the present invention.

[0060] Fig.12 This is a diagram of another grouping structure of a confirmation frame in the present invention.

[0061] Fig.13 This is a diagram of another grouping structure of a confirmation frame in the present invention.

[0062] Fig.14 This is a diagram of another grouping structure of a confirmation frame in the present invention.

[0063] Fig.15The physical structure diagram of a multi-time period resource indication device in the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clear, the specific embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In order to fully understand the present invention, many specific details are mentioned in the following detailed description.

[0065] The embodiment of the present invention can be applied to WLAN, and the standard currently adopted by WLAN is the IEEE802.11 series. WLAN may include multiple basic service sets (English: Basic Service Set, referred to as: BSS), and the network nodes in the basic service set are stations (English: Station, referred to as: STA), and the stations include access point type stations (abbreviated as: AP, English: Access Point) and non-access point type stations (English: None Access Point Station, referred to as: Non-AP STA). Each basic service set may include an AP and multiple Non-AP STAs associated with the AP.

[0066] Access point type sites are also called wireless access points or hotspots. APs are mainly deployed in homes, buildings, and campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to Ethernet. Specifically, AP can be a terminal device or network device with a WiFi (English: Wireless Fidelity, Chinese: Wireless Fidelity) chip. AP can support multiple standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a.

[0067] Non-AP STA (None Access Point Station, Non-AP STA for short) Can It is a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor or wireless communication terminal . Specifically, for example: smartphones, tablets and personal computers that support WiFi communication functions, set-top boxes and smart TVs that support WiFi communication functions, smart wearable devices that support WiFi communication functions, vehicle-mounted communication equipment that supports WiFi communication functions, and drones that support WiFi communication functions. The site can support multiple standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a. It should be noted that Non-AP STA is referred to as STA below.

[0068] Figure 2 The following is a system diagram of a typical WLAN deployment scenario, including an AP and four STAs. The AP communicates with STA1-STA4. For the 802.11 family, the TGax working group introduced OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and uplink MU-MIMO (Multi User-Multiple Input and Multiple Output) technologies for the next-generation WLAN standard. With the above technologies, STA1-STA4 can transmit data with the AP on different frequency resources at the same time or on different spatial streams at the same time.

[0069] Example 1

[0070] Embodiment 1 of the present invention provides a multi-time period resource indication method, which can be applied to access points and stations, for example: Figure 2 The AP and STA1-STA4 in the figure can support the next-generation WLAN standard, such as the 802.11ax standard. Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the resource indication method, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0071] Step 310: The access point sends a trigger frame.

[0072] Step 320: The access point receives a multi-time period uplink physical layer protocol data unit PPDU.

[0073] Step 330: The access point sends an acknowledgement frame.

[0074] Specifically, the detailed structure of the trigger frame mentioned in step 310 is as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the trigger frame carries multiple time period information fields, and each time period information field of the multiple time period information fields contains public information and user-specific information of one or more sites. Figure 4 TS Info1-TS Info M in the format refer to M time segment information fields (English: Time Segment Information, abbreviated as TS Info).

[0075] Optionally, the time period information field in the trigger frame is separated by a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS. It should be noted that: Figure 4The trigger frame shown adopts a frame structure design similar to A-MPDU (Aggregate-MAC Protocol Data Unit), and TS Infos are separated by delimiters. Each TSInfo contains a frame control field, a duration field, and a frame check sequence field. The delimiter, frame control field, duration field, and FCS sequence are already described in detail in the existing 802.11 standard.

[0076] Furthermore, each of the plurality of time period information fields contains common information and user-specific information of one or more sites. Figure 4 As shown in the figure, the common information is the Common field, and the user-specific information is the Per User Info field. The user-specific information includes frequency domain information, spatial stream information, and modulation coding scheme MCS information. It should be noted that the number of user-specific information of the site contained in each time period information field (such as Figure 4 The number N in can be different.

[0077] Optionally, the public information of the first time period information field in the trigger frame includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU and the length of the uplink data sent by the station in the first time period; the public information of the time period information field other than the first time period information field in the trigger frame includes the starting point and length of the uplink data sent by the station in this time period. Figure 4As shown, the MTS UL PPDU Length (English: Multiple TimeSegment Uplink PPDU Length, Chinese: Multi-time period uplink PPDU length) of the common field in TS Info1 is the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU received by the AP, and the offset of TS1 of the common field in TS Info1 is the length of the uplink data sent by the station in the first time period. The start of TS2 of the common field in TS Info2 is the starting point for the station to send uplink data in the second time period, and the offset of TS2 of the common field in TS Info2 is the length of the uplink data sent by the station in the second time period. Preferably, the four fields of MTS UL PPDU Length, offset of TS1, start of TS2 and offset of TS2 contain 12 bits, and the present invention does not limit the number of bits of the four fields. In addition, the unit of the equivalent time length indicated by the four fields is byte (English: Byte). For example, the value of offset of TS 2 is "000010010100", that is, the equivalent number of bytes of uplink data sent in the second time period is 148 Bytes.

[0078] It should be noted that the limitation of the uplink data length in the above four fields and the limitation of the uplink data starting point are described in detail below.

[0079] Optionally, the multi-time period uplink PPDU mentioned in step 320 includes uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods. Further optionally, the first time period information field indicates the first uplink data sent by the station in the first time period, and the remaining time period information field indicates the second uplink data sent by the station in the remaining time periods.

[0080] Specifically, the first uplink data includes a traditional preamble, an efficient preamble and a payload, and the second uplink data includes an efficient short training sequence, an efficient long training sequence and a payload.

[0081] The structure of the multi-time period uplink PPDU is as follows: Figure 5As shown. Specifically, the uplink data sent in time period 1 is the first uplink data, and the uplink data sent in time periods 2 and 3 is the second uplink data. The legacy preamble includes L-STF (English: Legacy Short Training Field, Chinese: Traditional short training field), L-LTF (English: Legacy Long Training Field, Chinese: Traditional long training field), L-SIG (English: Legacy Signaling Field, Chinese: Traditional signaling field) and RL-SIG (English: Repeated Legacy Signaling Field, Chinese: Repeated Legacy Signaling Field) and High Efficient Signaling A (High Efficient signaling A, referred to as HE-SIGA). The efficient preamble includes HE-STF (English: High Efficient-Short Training Field, Chinese: Efficient short training field), HE-LTF (English: High Efficient-Long Training Field, Chinese: Efficient long training field). Figure 5 STA1-STA9 in the figure refers to the payload (English: Payload) of the uplink data sent by stations 1-9.

[0082] It should be noted that, combined with Figure 5 Explain the four fields of MTS UL PPDU Length, offset of TS1, start of TS2 and offset of TS2 in the trigger frame.

[0083] The MTS UL PPDU Length is the number of bytes equivalent to the transmission time between after the L-SIG and the end of the multi-time period uplink PPDU (in other words, the end point of STA7-9).

[0084] Offset of TS1 is the number of bytes equivalent to the transmission time between after L-SIG and the end of time segment 1 in the multi-time segment uplink PPDU (in other words, the end point of STA1-3).

[0085] The definition of start of TS2 includes two options, option 1 is the number of bytes equivalent to the transmission time between the end of time period 1 in the multi-time period uplink PPDU (in other words, the end point of STA1-3). Option 2 is the number of bytes equivalent to the transmission time between the start of L-STF and the end of time period 1 in the multi-time period uplink PPDU (in other words, the end point of STA1-3).

[0086] offset of TS2 is the number of bytes equivalent to the transmission time of time period 2, that is, the number of bytes equivalent to the transmission time between the start of HE-STF of time period 2 and the end of time period 2 (in other words, the end point of STA4-6).

[0087] The station sending uplink data in time period 2 determines the start time of sending uplink data by start of TS2 and determines the duration of sending uplink data by offset of TS2. In this way, the station sending uplink data in time period 2 can maintain temporal continuity with the uplink data sent in time period 1. The principle of stations sending uplink data in other time periods is the same as that of stations sending uplink data in time period 2.

[0088] It should be noted that the actual payload length of different sites in the same time period is different from the equivalent number of bytes in the time period indicated by the trigger frame. In this case, padding can be added to the payload to ensure that the payload length sent by the site is the same as the equivalent number of bytes in the time period indicated by the trigger frame.

[0089] Optionally, the confirmation frame in step 330 includes multiple implementation methods. Method 1: The access point can reply ACK for the uplink data sent by each station. Figure 5 For a multi-time period uplink PPDU, 9 ACKs can be sent in chronological order to confirm the uplink data sent by sites 1 to 9. Mode 2: The access point can send three confirmation frames. The first confirmation frame is for the three sites that send uplink data in time period 1, the second confirmation frame is for the three sites that send uplink data in time period 2, and the third confirmation frame is for the three sites that send uplink data in time period 3.

[0090] Mode 3: The access point sends a block confirmation frame to confirm the uplink data sent by site 1 to site 9. The structure of the confirmation frame is as follows: Figure 6 The confirmation frame includes a MAC header part and a frame body part.

[0091] The MAC packet header includes a frame control field (Frame control), a time period / identification field (Duration / ID), a receiver address (RA) and a transmitter address (TA).

[0092] The frame entity part includes the block acknowledgment control (BA control) field, the block acknowledgment information (BA information) field and the frame check sequence (FCS). The block acknowledgment control includes the block acknowledgment request acknowledgment policy (BAR ACK Policy) field, the multi-stream identifier (Multi-TID) field, the compressed mode bitmap (Compressed Bitmap) field, the groupcast with retries (GCR) field, the reserved field and the stream identifier information (TID_INFO) field. The block acknowledgment information includes the per stream identifier information (Per TID INFO) field, which consists of 11 bits (B0-B10) of AID, 1 bit (B11) of ACK / BA indication bit, 4 bits of stream identifier value (TID Value), as well as the block acknowledgment starting sequence control (Block ACK Starting Sequence Control) field and the block acknowledgment bitmap (Block ACK Bitmap).

[0093] In mode 3, the (TID_Info) field is used to define the number of sites that need to be confirmed. The 4-bit (TID_INFO) field can confirm 16 sites. It should be noted that the (TID_Info) field can borrow bits from the Reserve field, so the (TID_Info) field can be up to 12 bits, which can confirm 4096 sites. The present invention does not limit the number of bits in the (TID_Info) field. Among them, the identification of the site is represented by the 11-bit (B0-B10) AID in the (Per TID INFO) field.

[0094] If the uplink data sent by the station is a single data packet, then B11 is "0", indicating ACK, and the Block ACK Starting Sequence Control field and Block ACK Bitmap in the Block ACK Information field no longer appear. The length of the Block ACK Information field is the number of stations multiplied by the length of the Per TID INFO field.

[0095] If the uplink data sent by the station is an aggregated data packet, then B11 is "1", indicating BA, and the Block ACK Starting Sequence Control field and the Block ACK Bitmap in the Block ACK Information field are retained. The length of the Block ACK Information field is the length of the Per TID INFO field, the Block ACK Starting Sequence Control field, and the Block ACK Bitmap field multiplied by the number of stations.

[0096] In the embodiment of the present invention, an access point sends a trigger frame to indicate the starting point and length of uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods, so that the uplink data sent by multiple stations are aggregated into one multi-time period uplink PPDU, which can realize efficient resource indication and confirmation of the 802.11ax system for multiple time periods, and can improve the efficiency of transmitting small packet services of existing WLAN devices.

[0097] Optionally, the trigger frame in step 310 also includes another implementation method. Specifically, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU, and the starting point and length of the uplink data sent by the station in the current time period. The specific structure of the trigger frame is as follows: Figure 7 As shown, Figure 4 The difference is that each time period information field contains the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU. Through the above method, each station indicated by the trigger frame can read the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU, so that each station sets the Length value in the L-SIG field for sending uplink data.

[0098] Optionally, the multi-time period uplink PPDU in step 320 also includes another implementation method, specifically, the uplink data sent by the multiple stations in multiple time periods include: the first uplink data sent by the station indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, the third uplink data sent by the station indicated by the remaining time period information field in the first time period, and the second uplink data sent by the station indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time period. The first uplink data includes a traditional preamble, an efficient preamble and a payload, the second uplink data includes an efficient short training sequence, an efficient long training sequence and a payload, and the third uplink data includes a traditional preamble and an efficient signaling field.

[0099] The structure of the multi-time period uplink PPDU is as follows: Figure 8As shown, in the first time period, all stations (STA1-STA9) send traditional preambles and efficient signaling fields, wherein the stations (STA1-STA3) indicated by the first time period information field in the trigger frame also send efficient preambles and uplink data payloads, in the second time period, stations (STA4-STA6) send efficient short training sequences, efficient long training sequences and uplink data payloads, and in the third time period, stations (STA7-STA9) send efficient short training sequences, efficient long training sequences and uplink data payloads. Through the above method, the time continuity of uplink data sent by stations in different time periods is achieved.

[0100] Optionally, the trigger frame in step 310 can be implemented in the following three ways: Figure 9-11 As shown, there is no delimiter between different time period information fields in the trigger frames of the three implementations, each time period information field does not have an independent MAC header, and each time period information field contains an independent FCS.

[0101] Further optionally, the trigger frame further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of time period information fields and the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU. Fig. 9 The TS number field in the trigger frame is the number of the time period information field. It should be noted that the above parameters may be carried entirely by the trigger frame, partially by the trigger frame, or may not appear in the trigger frame.

[0102] Further optionally, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of sites sending uplink data in this time period, the length of this time period information field and the EOF indication at the end of the frame. Figure 9-11 The Scheduled number N in the field is the number of sites scheduled in each time period information field. Figure 9-11 Length of TS1 is the length of each time period information field. Figure 9-11 The EOF indication in is used to define whether the current time period information field is the last time period information field. It should be noted that the above parameters may be carried entirely by the trigger frame, partially by the trigger frame, or not appear in the trigger frame.

[0103] Optionally, the confirmation frame in step 330 also includes multiple implementations, such as Figure 12-14 Specifically, the confirmation frame includes a plurality of time period block confirmation information fields, and each of the plurality of time period block confirmation information fields includes confirmation of one or more sites. Figure 12-14BA info of TS1-BA info of TS M in the TS1-BA info of TS M are M time period block confirmation information fields, wherein each time period block confirmation information field contains confirmation of one or more sites.

[0104] Optionally, the time block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame is separated by a delimiter, and each time block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS. The structure of the confirmation frame is as follows: Fig.12 shown.

[0105] Optionally, there is no delimiter between different time period block confirmation information fields in the confirmation frame, each time period block confirmation information field does not include a media access control layer header MAC header, and each time period block confirmation information field includes a frame check sequence FCS. The structure of the confirmation frame is as follows: Figure 13-14 shown.

[0106] Optionally, the confirmation frame further includes a number of time period block confirmation information fields, Fig.14 The TS number in the field is the number of time segment block confirmation information fields.

[0107] Optionally, each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes at least one of the following parameters: the length of the time period block confirmation information field and an EOF indication at the end of the frame. Figure 13-14 The EOF indication at the end of the frame is used to define whether the current time period block confirmation information field is the last time period block confirmation information field.

[0108] It should be noted that the setting of the (Per TID Info) field in the confirmation frame has been explained in detail in the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0109] In summary, the present invention provides a resource indication method based on multiple time periods, and the resource indication method includes steps 310, 320, and 330. Among them, the trigger frame sent by the AP in step 310 includes at least 5 implementation methods, such as Figure 4 ,7,9-11, the multi-time period uplink PPDU received by the AP in step 320 includes at least two implementation methods, such as Figure 5 ,8. The confirmation frame sent by the AP in step 330 includes the existing ACK confirmation mode and the block confirmation mode, such as Figure 6 , as shown in 12-14. The present invention does not limit the selection of different implementation methods in different steps. Through the above method, the 802.11ax system can achieve efficient resource indication and confirmation for multiple time periods, which can improve the efficiency of transmitting small packet services of existing WLAN devices.

[0110] Example 2

[0111] Please refer to Fig.15 , is a schematic block diagram of a resource indication device based on multiple time periods in a wireless local area network provided by an embodiment of the present invention. The resource indication device is, for example, an access point, or a dedicated circuit or chip that implements related functions. The resource indication device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020, a baseband circuit 1030, a radio frequency circuit 1040, and an antenna 1050. The resource indication device can be Figure 2 The AP shown in FIG. The AP communicates with STA-STA4.

[0112] Specifically, the processor 1010 controls the operation of the resource indication device 1000. The memory 1020 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provides instructions and data to the processor 1010. The processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or other programmable logic devices. A portion of the memory 1020 may also include a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM). The baseband circuit 1030 is used to synthesize a baseband signal to be transmitted, or to decode a received baseband signal. The radio frequency circuit 1040 is used to modulate a low-frequency baseband signal into a high-frequency carrier signal, and the high-frequency carrier signal is transmitted through the antenna 1050. The radio frequency circuit is also used to demodulate the high-frequency signal received by the antenna 1050 into a low-frequency carrier signal. The various components of the resource indication device 1000 are coupled together through a bus 1060, wherein the bus system 1060 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to a data bus. However, for the sake of clarity, various buses are labeled as bus systems 1060 in the figure. It should be noted that the above description of the structure of the resource indication device can be applied to subsequent embodiments.

[0113] The baseband circuit 1030 is configured to generate a trigger frame, wherein the trigger frame carries a plurality of time period information fields, each of the plurality of time period information fields comprising common information and user-specific information of one or more sites;

[0114] The radio frequency circuit 1040 is used to send a trigger frame and a confirmation frame;

[0115] The radio frequency circuit 1040 is further configured to receive a multi-time period uplink physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, where the multi-time period uplink PPDU includes uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods.

[0116] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the time period information fields in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit are separated by a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a media access control layer header MACheader and a frame check sequence FCS.

[0117] Optionally, as another implementation, each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit includes a frame check sequence FCS, the different time period information fields in the trigger frame do not include a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame does not include a MAC header.

[0118] Furthermore, there are multiple implementation methods for the content of each time period information field in the trigger frame.

[0119] Mode 1: The common information of the first time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU and the length of the uplink data sent by the station in the first time period;

[0120] The public information of the time period information field other than the first time period information field in the trigger frame includes the starting point and length of uplink data sent by the station in the current time period.

[0121] Mode 2: The common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit includes the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU, and the starting point and length of the uplink data sent by the station in this time period.

[0122] In addition to the above method, the common information of each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit also includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of sites sending uplink data in this time period, the length of the time period information field and the EOF indication at the end of the frame.

[0123] Optionally, the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of time period information fields and the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

[0124] It should be noted that the structure of the above trigger frame is Figure 4 ,7,9-11 have been explained in detail, and the trigger frame structure has been explained in detail in Example 1, so it will not be repeated here.

[0125] Furthermore, the uplink data sent by multiple sites in multiple time periods and received by the radio frequency circuit includes multiple implementation methods.

[0126] Mode 1: the first uplink data sent by the station indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, and the second uplink data sent by the station indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time period.

[0127] Mode 2: The first uplink data sent by the station indicated by the first time period information field in the first time period, the third uplink data sent by the station indicated by the remaining time period information field in the first time period, and the second uplink data sent by the station indicated by the remaining time period information field in the remaining time periods.

[0128] Specifically, in the uplink data sent by the site, the first uplink data includes a traditional preamble, an efficient preamble and a payload, the second uplink data includes an efficient short training sequence, an efficient long training sequence and a payload, and the third uplink data includes a traditional preamble and an efficient signaling field.

[0129] It should be noted that the structure of the multi-time period uplink PPDU is as follows Figure 5 , as shown in 8, and the structure of the multi-time period uplink PPDU has been explained in detail in Example 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0130] Furthermore, the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes multiple implementation methods.

[0131] Specifically, the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes a plurality of time period block confirmation information fields, and each of the plurality of time period block confirmation information fields includes confirmation of one or more sites.

[0132] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit is separated by a delimiter, and each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame includes a media access control layer header MAC header and a frame check sequence FCS.

[0133] Optionally, as another implementation, each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes a frame check sequence FCS. The different time period block confirmation information fields in the confirmation frame do not include a delimiter, and each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame does not include a MAC header.

[0134] The confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit also includes some optional fields. Specifically, the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit also includes the number of time period block confirmation information fields. Each time period block confirmation information field in the confirmation frame sent by the radio frequency circuit includes at least one of the following parameters: the length of the time period block confirmation information field and the EOF indication at the end of the frame.

[0135] An embodiment of the present invention provides a resource indication device based on multiple time periods, wherein a trigger frame generated by a baseband circuit of the device is sent through a radio frequency circuit, and the trigger frame indicates the starting point and length of uplink data sent by multiple stations in multiple time periods, so that the radio frequency circuit receives uplink data sent by multiple stations and aggregates them into one multi-time period uplink PPDU. Through the above manner, efficient resource indication and confirmation for multiple time periods can be achieved in the 802.11ax system, thereby improving the efficiency of transmitting small packet services of existing WLAN devices.

Claims

1. A resource indication device based on multiple time periods, applied to a wireless local area network WLAN, comprising: A processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store instructions. When the processor executes the instructions, the device is controlled to execute: Generate a trigger frame, the trigger frame carrying a plurality of time period information fields, each of the plurality of time period information fields comprising: common information, and user-specific information of one or more sites; wherein the user-specific information of the one or more sites comprises an identifier of the one or more sites; The common information of one of the time period information fields includes: the starting point and length of uplink data sent by the one or more stations in the corresponding time period; Sending the trigger frame; Receiving a multi-time period uplink PPDU, wherein the multi-time period uplink PPDU includes uplink data sent in multiple time periods, wherein the uplink data sent in multiple time periods includes: uplink data sent by the one or more stations in the corresponding time period; An acknowledgement frame is sent in response to the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The trigger frame further includes: an indication of the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The multiple time periods include a first time period, wherein uplink data sent in the first time period includes a traditional preamble and a high-efficiency preamble, and uplink data sent in the remaining time periods of the multiple time periods except the first time period includes a high-efficiency preamble.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Multiple time period information fields are separated by a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a media access control layer header MACheader and a frame check sequence FCS.

5. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that Each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit contains a frame check sequence FCS.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The trigger frame further includes the number of time period information fields, which is used to indicate the number of the multiple time period information fields.

7. The device according to claim 1 or 6, characterized in that The common information of each time period information field further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of stations sending uplink data in this time period, and the frame tail EOF indication of this time period information field.

8. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The multiple time period information fields include: a first time period information field and other time period information fields, wherein the first time period information field indicates the first uplink data sent by the station in the first time period, and the remaining time period information fields indicate the second uplink data sent by the station in the remaining time periods.

9. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The confirmation frame includes a plurality of time period block confirmation information fields, and a time period block confirmation information field among the plurality of time period block confirmation information fields contains confirmation of uplink data of one or more sites indicated by a corresponding time period information field.

10. The device according to claim 9, characterized in that A time period block confirmation information field includes: confirmation and block confirmation indication, which is used to indicate whether the time period block confirmation information field includes a block confirmation starting sequence control field and a block confirmation bitmap.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that The confirmation frame further includes a number of time period block confirmation information fields, which is used to indicate the number of the multiple time period block confirmation information fields.

12. A resource indication device based on multiple time periods, applied to a wireless local area network WLAN, comprising: A processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store instructions. When the processor executes the instructions, the device is controlled to execute: receiving a trigger frame, the trigger frame carrying a plurality of time period information fields, each of the plurality of time period information fields comprising: common information, and user-specific information of one or more sites; wherein the user-specific information of the one or more sites comprises information indicating the one or more sites; The common information of one of the time period information fields includes: the starting point and length of uplink data sent by the one or more stations in the corresponding time period; determining, according to the trigger frame, that the device is one of the one or more sites; Sending a multi-time period uplink PPDU, wherein the multi-time period uplink PPDU includes: uplink data sent by the device within the time period indicated by the time period information field; An acknowledgement frame is received in response to the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The trigger frame further includes: an indication of the total length of the multi-time period uplink PPDU.

14. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The multiple time periods include a first time period, wherein uplink data sent in the first time period includes a traditional preamble and a high-efficiency preamble, and uplink data sent in the remaining time periods of the multiple time periods except the first time period includes a high-efficiency preamble.

15. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that Multiple time period information fields are separated by a delimiter, and each time period information field in the trigger frame includes a media access control layer header MACheader and a frame check sequence FCS.

16. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that Each time period information field in the trigger frame generated by the baseband circuit contains a frame check sequence FCS.

17. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The trigger frame further includes the number of time period information fields, which is used to indicate the number of the multiple time period information fields.

18. The device according to claim 12 or 17, characterized in that The common information of each time period information field further includes at least one of the following parameters: the number of stations sending uplink data in this time period, and the frame tail EOF indication of this time period information field.

19. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The multiple time period information fields include: a first time period information field and other time period information fields, wherein the first time period information field indicates the first uplink data sent by the station in the first time period, and the remaining time period information fields indicate the second uplink data sent by the station in the remaining time periods.

20. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The confirmation frame includes a plurality of time period block confirmation information fields, and a time period block confirmation information field among the plurality of time period block confirmation information fields contains confirmation of uplink data of one or more sites indicated by a corresponding time period information field.

21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that A time period block confirmation information field includes: confirmation and block confirmation indication, which is used to indicate whether the time period block confirmation information field includes a block confirmation starting sequence control field and a block confirmation bitmap.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The confirmation frame further includes a number of time period block confirmation information fields, which is used to indicate the number of the multiple time period block confirmation information fields.

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