Information indication method and communication device

Abstract

The present application discloses an information indication method and a communication device. A non-AP MLD or a first STA in a non-AP MLD generates a first frame, and the first frame includes indication information for indicating the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, and the duration occupied by the fill bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame; the non-AP MLD, the first STA or other STA in the non-AP MLD sends the first frame. The AP MLD or the first AP or other AP in the AP MLD receives the first frame, and the AP MLD or the first AP determines the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame based on the indication information. Based on the above scheme, the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame can be accurately determined, so that the first STA can complete the switching of the corresponding number of transmission channels before the arrival of subsequent data frames.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202110485965.4, and the original application date is April 30, 2021. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to an information indication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] With the development of wireless technology, more and more wireless devices support multi-link communication. Non-access point multi-link devices (non-AP MLD) can monitor on multiple links. When a non-AP MLD or a non-access point station (non-AP STA) in a non-AP MLD receives an initial control frame sent to it on a certain link, it can switch the receiving channel (receive chain) on other links to this link, so that after receiving the initial control frame, it can receive data frames at a higher rate.

[0004] like Figure 1 As shown in the schematic diagram of the transmission channel switching process, when the number of receiving channels of the non-AP MLD on a link is switched from A to B (where B>A, Figure 1 Therefore, the access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or the access point (AP) in the AP MLD needs to add padding bits in the initial control frame sent to allow the non-APMLD to have enough time to switch its receiving channel after receiving the initial control frame. After receiving the content part of the initial control frame, the non-AP MLD can start switching, and it only needs to complete the switching before the subsequent data frame arrives. The longer the switching delay required by the non-AP MLD, the more padding bits need to be added to the initial control frame.

[0005] However, there is currently no corresponding solution for how the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD determines the duration of the padding bit when sending the initial control frame so that the non-AP MLD can complete the switching of the number of transmission channels before the subsequent data frames arrive. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application provides an information indication method and a communication device to accurately determine the duration of the filling bits of the initial control frame, so that the non-AP MLD can complete the switching of the number of transmission channels before the subsequent data frame arrives.

[0007] In a first aspect, an information indication method is provided, the method comprising: a non-AP MLD or a first STA in a non-AP MLD generates a first frame, the first frame comprising indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a duration occupied by a padding bit in an initial control frame required to satisfy a channel switching delay, the duration occupied by the padding bit being determined according to a duration of a control response frame; and the first STA or other STAs in the non-AP MLD or non-AP MLD send the first frame. In this aspect, the duration occupied by the padding bit in the initial control frame can be accurately determined, so that the first STA can complete the switching of a corresponding number of transmission channels before a subsequent data frame arrives.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the indication information is carried in an enhanced multi-link single-radio delay field of the first frame and / or an enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay field of the first frame.

[0009] In another possible implementation, the first frame includes a plurality of indication information, wherein each indication information of the plurality of indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame. In this implementation, a non-AP MLD or a non-AP STA may send a plurality of indication information to an AP MLD or an AP, each indication information being used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame, and the AP MLD or the AP may determine the duration occupied by the filling bits in the corresponding initial control frame according to the actual transmission rate of the initial control frame.

[0010] In yet another possible implementation, the method further includes: the non-AP MLD or a first STA in the non-AP MLD determining a duration of the control response frame.

[0011] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: the non-AP MLD or the first STA in the non-AP MLD determines the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame. In this implementation, the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame is the shortest duration of the control response frame. The non-AP MLD or the first STA determines the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame, thereby determining the maximum value of the duration occupied by the padding bits in the initial control frame, thereby satisfying the delay required for the first STA to switch the corresponding number of transmission channels.

[0012] In another possible implementation, the determining the duration of the control response frame includes: the non-AP MLD or the first STA in the non-AP MLD determines the rate of the control response frame; and the non-AP MLD or the first STA in the non-AP MLD determines the duration of the control response frame according to the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame. In this implementation, the length of the control response frame is associated with the format of the control response frame, wherein the duration of the control response frame = the length of the control response frame / the rate of the control response frame.

[0013] In another possible implementation, the determining of the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame includes: the first STA in the non-APMLD or non-AP MLD determines the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame; and the first STA in the non-AP MLD or non-AP MLD determines the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame. In this implementation, the length of the control response frame is associated with the format of the control response frame, wherein the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame = the length of the control response frame / the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame. In this implementation, the basic service set basic rate set includes one or more basic rates that can be supported by the first STA, and the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame, so that the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame can be obtained according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, and then the minimum value of the duration occupied by the padding bits in the initial control frame can be determined. The maximum rate of the initial control frame is a variable.

[0015] In another possible implementation, the maximum rate of the initial control frame is 24 Mbps, and the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is the smaller value between 24 Mbps and the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set. In this implementation, the maximum rate of the initial control frame can be a fixed 24 Mbps. The basic service set basic rate set includes one or more basic rates that can be supported by the first STA, and the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is the maximum rate less than or equal to 24 Mbps in the basic service set basic rate set, so that the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame can be obtained according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, and then the minimum value of the duration occupied by the padding bits in the initial control frame can be determined.

[0016] In another possible implementation, the duration of the fill bit is associated with the switching delay, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the duration of the control response frame.

[0017] In another possible implementation, the maximum value of the duration occupied by the fill bits is associated with the switching delay, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame.

[0018] In another possible implementation, the duration of the fill bits is the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at the maximum rate, or the duration of the fill bits is determined based on the maximum rate of the initial control frame, or the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at 24Mbps, or the duration of the fill bits is the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at any rate, or the duration of the fill bits is the maximum value of the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at all rates.

[0019] In a second aspect, an information indication method is provided, the method comprising: an AP MLD or a first AP or other AP in an AP MLD receives a first frame, the first frame comprising indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a duration occupied by fill bits in an initial control frame required to meet a channel switching delay, the duration occupied by the fill bits being determined based on a duration of a control response frame; and the AP MLD or the first AP determines a duration occupied by fill bits in the initial control frame based on the indication information.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the indication information is carried in an enhanced multi-link single-radio delay field of the first frame and / or an enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay field of the first frame.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the first frame includes multiple indication information, wherein each of the multiple indication information is used to indicate a duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to a sending rate of the initial control frame; the first AP determines the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame based on the first frame, including: determining the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame corresponding to the sending rate of the initial control frame based on the first frame.

[0022] In yet another possible implementation, the duration of the control response frame is determined according to a rate of the control response frame and a length of the control response frame.

[0023] In yet another possible implementation, the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame is determined according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

[0024] In yet another possible implementation, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is a maximum rate in a basic service set basic rate set that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame.

[0025] In another possible implementation, the maximum rate of the initial control frame is 24 Mbps, and the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is a smaller value between 24 Mbps and the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set.

[0026] In another possible implementation, the duration of the fill bit is associated with the switching delay, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the duration of the control response frame.

[0027] In another possible implementation, the maximum value of the duration occupied by the fill bits is associated with the switching delay, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame.

[0028] In another possible implementation, the duration of the fill bits is the fill bit duration required when the initial control frame is sent at the maximum rate, or the duration of the fill bits is determined based on the maximum rate of the initial control frame, or the fill bit duration required when the initial control frame is sent at 24Mbps, or the fill bit duration is the fill bit duration required when the initial control frame is sent at any rate, or the fill bit duration is the maximum value of the fill bit duration required when the initial control frame is sent at all rates.

[0029] In a third aspect, an information indication method is provided, the method comprising: a non-AP MLD or a first STA in a non-AP MLD generates a first frame, the first frame comprising indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from a first value to a second value; and the non-AP MLD or the first STA or other STAs in the non-AP MLD send the first frame. In this aspect, the non-AP MLD or the first STA in the non-AP MLD indicates the delay required for the AP to switch the corresponding number of transmission channels, so that the AP satisfies the delay when setting the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame, so that the first STA can complete the switching of the corresponding number of transmission channels before the arrival of subsequent data frames.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the indication information is carried in an enhanced multi-link single-radio delay field of the first frame and / or an enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay field of the first frame.

[0031] In a fourth aspect, an information indication method is provided, the method comprising: AP MLD or the first AP or other AP in AP MLD receives a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from a first value to a second value; and the first AP determines the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame, wherein the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame is determined based on the delay.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the duration of the filling bits is associated with the delay, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the duration of the control response frame.

[0033] In yet another possible implementation, the duration of the control response frame is associated with a rate of the control response frame.

[0034] In yet another possible implementation, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is a maximum rate in a basic service set basic rate set that is less than or equal to the rate of the initial control frame.

[0035] In another possible implementation, the sum of the duration occupied by the filling bits and the first inter-frame interval is greater than the processing delay of the initial control frame.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can implement the information indication method in the first aspect. For example, the communication device can be a chip or a non-AP MLD or a non-AP STA in a non-AP MLD. The above method can be implemented by software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: the processing unit is used to generate a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, and the duration occupied by the fill bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame; and the transceiver unit is used to send the first frame.

[0038] Optionally, the processing unit is further used to determine the duration of the control response frame.

[0039] Optionally, the processing unit is further configured to determine a minimum duration of the control response frame.

[0040] Optionally, the processing unit is further used to determine a rate of the control response frame; and determine a duration of the control response frame according to the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

[0041] Optionally, the processing unit is further used to determine a maximum value of the rate of the control response frame; and determine a minimum value of the duration of the control response frame based on the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

[0042] When the communication device is a non-AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and the processing unit; when the communication device is a non-AP MLD, the communication device includes a non-AP STA and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is located in the non-AP STA, and multiple non-AP STAs can share one processing unit; when the communication device is a non-AP STA in a non-AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0043] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can implement the information indication method in the second aspect. For example, the communication device can be a chip or an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD, and the method can be implemented by software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: the transceiver unit is used to receive a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, and the duration occupied by the fill bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame; and the processing unit is used to determine the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame according to the indication information.

[0045] Optionally, the first frame includes multiple indication information, wherein each of the multiple indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to the sending rate of the initial control frame; the processing unit is also used to determine, based on the first frame, the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame corresponding to the sending rate of the initial control frame.

[0046] Among them, when the communication device is AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and processing unit; when the communication device is AP MLDP, the communication device includes AP and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is located in the AP, and multiple APs can share one processing unit; when the communication device is an AP in AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and processing unit.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which can implement the information indication method in the third aspect. For example, the communication device can be a chip or a non-AP MLD or a non-AP STA in a non-AP MLD. The above method can be implemented by software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: the processing unit is used to generate a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the site to switch from a first value to a second value; and the transceiver unit is used to send the first frame.

[0049] When the communication device is a non-AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and the processing unit; when the communication device is a non-AP MLD, the communication device includes a non-AP STA and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is located in the non-AP STA, and multiple non-AP STAs can share one processing unit; when the communication device is a non-AP STA in a non-AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can implement the information indication method in the fourth aspect. For example, the communication device can be a chip or an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD. The above method can be implemented by software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0051] In another possible implementation, the communication device may include: a transceiver unit and a processing unit; wherein: the transceiver unit is used to receive a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the site to switch from a first value to a second value; and the processing unit is used to determine the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame, wherein the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame is determined based on the delay.

[0052] Among them, when the communication device is an AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and the processing unit; when the communication device is an AP MLD, the communication device includes an AP and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is located in the AP, and multiple APs can share one processing unit; when the communication device is an AP in an AP MLD, the communication device includes the above-mentioned transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the communication device in the fifth to eighth aspects above includes a processor coupled to a memory; the processor is configured to support the device to perform the corresponding functions in the above information indication method. The memory is used to couple with the processor, which stores the necessary programs (instructions) and / or data of the device. Optionally, the communication device may also include a communication interface for supporting communication between the device and other network elements. Optionally, the memory may be located inside the communication device or outside the communication device.

[0054] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the fifth to eighth aspects includes a processor and a transceiver, the processor is coupled to the transceiver, and the processor is used to execute a computer program or instruction to control the transceiver to receive and send information; when the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the processor is also used to implement the above method through a logic circuit or execute code instructions. The transceiver may be a transceiver, a transceiver circuit or an input-output interface, which is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. When the communication device is a chip, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit or an input-output interface.

[0055] When the communication device in the fifth to eighth aspects is a chip, the sending unit may be an output unit, such as an output circuit or a communication interface; the receiving unit may be an input unit, such as an input circuit or a communication interface. When the communication device is a terminal, the sending unit may be a transmitter or a transmitter; the receiving unit may be a receiver or a receiver.

[0056] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein a computer program or instruction is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program or instruction is executed, the methods described in the above aspects are implemented.

[0057] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the methods described in the above aspects.

[0058] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication device of the fifth aspect and the communication device of the sixth aspect.

[0059] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication device of the seventh aspect and the communication device of the eighth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a transmission channel switching process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a multi-link device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 3 A flowchart of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a MU-RTS frame;

[0064] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the frame format of non-HT PPDU;

[0065] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a CTS frame;

[0066] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a QoS-Null frame;

[0067] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the format of a first frame according to an example of an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Fig. 9 A flowchart of another information indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Fig.10 A schematic diagram showing the relationship between the duration of the filling bit and the processing delay of the trigger frame;

[0070] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0075] The embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0076] First, several concepts involved in this application are described:

[0077] Multi-link device (MLD)

[0078] Multi-link devices can communicate simultaneously on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands, or simultaneously on different channels in the same frequency band, thereby increasing the communication rate between devices.

[0079] A multi-link device usually contains multiple stations (STAs), each of which works on a specific frequency band or channel. Figure 2 The multi-link device shown in the figure can be an AP MLD100 or a non-APMLD200. If it is an AP MLD, the device includes one or more APs (such as the AP 1 ~AP n ), and each STA in the AP MLD is an AP; if it is a non-AP MLD, the device includes one or more non-AP STAs (such as the STA in the figure 1 ~STA n ), and each STA in the non-AP MLD is a non-AP STA. One or more non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD may establish an association relationship with one or more APs in the AP MLD and then communicate.

[0080] In one implementation, each non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD may include a processing unit / processor and a transceiver / transceiver, and the processing unit / processor may perform processing operations in the present application, such as generating, determining, and the like; and the transceiver / transceiver is used to communicate with the AP MLD or an AP associated with the non-AP STA in the AP MLD. Therefore, the processing and transceiver operations in the present application may be performed by the non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD.

[0081] In another implementation, each non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD includes only a transceiver unit / transceiver, and the non-AP MLD includes a processing unit / processor, and each non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD can share the processing unit / processor. Therefore, the transceiver operation in the present application can be performed by the non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD, and the processing operation in the present application can be performed by the non-AP MLD.

[0082] In another implementation, the non-AP MLD may include a processing unit / processor and a transceiver / transceiver, wherein the processing unit / processor may perform processing operations in the present application, such as generating, determining, and the like; and the transceiver / transceiver is used to communicate with the AP MLD. Therefore, the processing and transceiver operations in the present application may be performed by the non-AP MLD.

[0083] For the sake of clarity and simplicity, the present application is described by taking the non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD performing the processing and transceiver operations in the present application as an example.

[0084] In one implementation, each AP in the AP MLD may include a processing unit / processor and a transceiver / transceiver, the processing unit / processor may perform processing operations in the present application, such as determining operations; the transceiver / transceiver is used to communicate with a non-AP MLD or a non-AP STA associated with the AP in the non-AP MLD. Therefore, the processing and transceiver operations in the present application may be performed by the AP in the APMLD.

[0085] In another implementation, each AP in the AP MLD includes only a transceiver unit / transceiver, and the AP MLD includes a processing unit / processor, and each AP in the AP MLD can share the processing unit / processor. Therefore, the transceiver operation in the present application can be performed by the AP in the AP MLD, and the processing operation in the present application can be performed by the AP MLD.

[0086] In another implementation, the AP MLD may include a processing unit / processor and a transceiver / transceiver, the processing unit / processor may perform processing operations in the present application, such as determining operations, and the transceiver / transceiver is used to communicate with the non-AP MLD. Therefore, the processing and transceiver operations in the present application may be performed by the AP MLD.

[0087] For the sake of clarity and simplicity, the present application is described by taking the AP in the AP MLD as an example in which the processing and transceiver operations in the present application are performed.

[0088] Enhanced Multi-Link Operation

[0089] In enhanced multi-link operation, non-AP MLD can monitor multiple links. After receiving the initial control frame sent to it on a link, it can switch the receiving channels on other links to this link, so that after receiving the initial control frame, it can receive data frames at a higher rate.

[0090] Enhanced multi-link operation includes enhanced multi-link single-radio operation (eMLSR) and enhanced multi-link multi-radio operation (eMLMR). In eMLSR operation, non-AP MLD can monitor on multiple links, but can only communicate data on one link; in eMLMR operation, non-AP MLD can monitor on multiple links and can also communicate data on multiple links. What they have in common is that when monitoring, the number of receiving channels is A; when transmitting data, the number of receiving channels is B, where B>A.

[0091] The solution of this application is mainly used in wireless local area networks. Figure 1 The communication system of the present application includes APMLD 100 and non-AP MLD 200. One or more non-AP STAs in non-AP MLD 200 may establish an association relationship with one or more APs in AP MLD to communicate.

[0092] It should be noted that the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "Multiple" refers to two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0093] Still refer to Figure 1 The time that non-AP MLD can switch the transmission channel includes: the duration of the padding bits of the initial control frame, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the duration of the control response frame, and the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame. However, the duration of the control response frame depends on the sending rate of the initial control frame. Therefore, the STA cannot determine the duration of the control response frame before receiving the initial control frame, and therefore cannot determine the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame.

[0094] The embodiment of the present application provides an information indication scheme, wherein the first STA in the non-AP MLD generates a first frame, wherein the first frame includes indication information for indicating the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, wherein the duration of the padding bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame, or the indication information is used to indicate the delay required for the number of transmission channels to switch from the first number of channels to the second number of channels, or the indication information is used for the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from the first value to the second value; the non-AP MLD or the first STA or other STA in the non-AP MLD sends the first frame. The AP MLD or the first AP or other AP in the AP MLD receives the first frame, and determines the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame according to the indication information. Based on the above scheme, the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame can be accurately determined, so that the first STA can complete the switching of the transmission channel of the corresponding value before the arrival of the subsequent data frame.

[0095] like Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the method comprises the following steps:

[0096] S101. A first STA generates a first frame.

[0097] Still refer to Figure 1 , taking the switching of the number of transmission channels from 1 to 2 as an example, before the switching, non-APSTA1 in link 1 and non-AP STA2 in link 2 both have the receiving capability of one spatial stream, or non-AP STA1 and non-AP STA2 both have one transmission channel. In this application, the transmission channel can also be referred to as a transmission channel, a transmission module, a spatial stream, etc. AP1 in link 1 sends an initial control frame to non-AP STA1. The initial control frame includes a content part and a padding part (i.e., padding bits). After non-AP STA1 receives the content part of the initial control frame sent by AP1, it can start switching, and the switching can be completed before the subsequent data frame arrives. Non-AP STA1 starts switching, and at this time, non-AP STA2 switches the transmission module to link 1, and link 2 loses its transmission capability. Of course, this is for eMLSR. For eMLMR, non-AP STA2 can have multiple transmission modules. After switching one transmission module to non-AP STA1, non-AP STA2 can also communicate data through other transmission modules.

[0098] After non-AP STA1 receives the content of the initial control frame sent by AP1, it can start switching. Therefore, the time for non-AP STA1 to switch the transmission channel includes: the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame sent by AP1, the first inter-frame interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second inter-frame interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the duration of non-AP STA1 sending the control response frame. Among them, the first inter-frame interval and the second inter-frame interval are short inter-frame space (SIFS). The short inter-frame space is generally 16μs. Therefore, the key to determining the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame is to determine the duration of the control response frame.

[0099] Wherein, determining the duration of the control response frame includes: determining the rate of the control response frame, and determining the duration of the control response frame according to the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame. Thus, the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame = switching delay - first inter-frame interval - duration of the control response frame - second inter-frame interval. The switching delay may be set in the first STA when the first STA leaves the factory. Optionally, the time in which the transmission channel switching can be performed also includes a certain margin △, thus, the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame = switching delay - first inter-frame interval - duration of the control response frame - second inter-frame interval - △, and the margin △ may be, for example, the leading part of the data frame.

[0100] Furthermore, in order to maximize the switching delay, the maximum value of the duration occupied by the filling bit can be determined. The maximum value of the duration occupied by the filling bit is determined according to the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame. The minimum value of the duration of the control response frame can also be called the shortest duration of the control response frame.

[0101] Specifically, the first STA determines the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame, including: determining the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame; determining the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame. Thus, the maximum value of the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame = switching delay - first inter-frame interval - minimum value of the duration of the control response frame - second inter-frame interval. Among them, the maximum value of the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame is the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame when the first AP sends the initial control frame at the maximum rate. Optionally, the time for switching the transmission channel also includes a certain margin △, thus, the maximum value of the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame = switching delay - first inter-frame interval - minimum value of the duration of the control response frame - second inter-frame interval - △.

[0102] Regarding the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, in one implementation, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set (BSSBasicRateSet) that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame. BSSBasicRateSet is a parameter broadcast by the AP MLD before the link is established. The AP MLD broadcasts to inform the non-AP MLD with which it wants to establish a link. If the non-AP MLD has the ability to receive the data when the AP MLD sends data at any rate in BSSBasicRateSet, the non-AP MLD can establish a link with the AP MLD. The rates included in BSSBasicRateSet can be, for example, {6, 12, 24, 48}, and the maximum rate of the initial control frame can be a variable, and the maximum rate of the initial control frame does not exceed the maximum rate in BSSBasicRateSet. For example, if the maximum rate of the initial control frame is 24, then the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is 24. For another example, if the maximum rate of the initial control frame is 12, then the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is 12.

[0103] In another implementation, in this implementation, the maximum rate of the initial control frame is a fixed value, such as 24Mbps, so the maximum rate of the control response frame = min{24Mbps, the maximum rate in the BSSBasicRateSet parameter}. For example, if the maximum rate in the BSSBasicRateSet parameter is 48, then the maximum rate of the control response frame = min{24Mbps, 48Mbps}, that is, the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is 24Mbps.

[0104] In addition, the duration of the control response frame is also related to the format of the control response frame. Therefore, the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame can be determined according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame, the format of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

[0105] In one implementation, the initial control frame is a MU-RTS frame, and the control response frame is a CTS frame. The MU-RTS frame is a type of trigger frame. When the trigger type in the trigger frame is 3, it indicates that the trigger frame is MU-RTS. The format of MU-RTS is as follows: Figure 4As shown in the figure. MU-RTS includes the following fields: frame control, duration, receiving address (RA), transmitting address (TA), common information, user information list (user infolist), padding, frame check sequence (FCS). Among them, the common information field includes multiple fields; the user information list field includes one or more user information.

[0106] Among them, in the common information field, the following fields are reserved fields (i.e., not used for MU-RTS): uplink length (UL length), guard interval and long training field type (GI and LTF type), multi-user multiple input and multiple output long training field mode (MU-MIMO LTF mode), number of high-efficiency long training field symbols and midamble periodicity (number of HE-LTFsymbols and midamble periodicity), uplink space-time block code (UL STBC), additional symbol segmentation of low-density parity check code (LDPC extra symbol segment), access point transmit power (AP TX power), pre-FEC padding factor, packet extension disambiguation (PE disambiguity), uplink spatial reuse (UL spatial reuse), Doppler (Doppler) and uplink efficient signaling field A2 reserved (UL HE-SIG-A2reserved).

[0107] Among them, in the user information field, the following fields are reserved fields: uplink high-efficiency modulation and coding strategy (UL HE-MCS), uplink FEC coding type (UL FEC coding type), uplink secondary carrier modulation (UL DCM), synchronization offset allocation / random access RU information (SS allocation / RA-RU information) and uplink target received signal strength indication (UL target RSSI).

[0108] The initial control frame includes a content part and a padding bit. For a non-AP STA, after receiving its own user information and the contents of the previous fields (including frame control, duration, receiving address, sending address, and public information fields) in the initial control frame sent by the AP, it is considered to have received the content part of the initial control frame. The padding bits of the initial control frame include other user information parts and padding fields in the initial control frame. In particular, the FCS field can be considered as the content part of the initial control frame, or as the padding bits of the initial control frame.

[0109] If the initial control frame is a MU-RTS frame, the control response frame is a CTS frame. The format of the CTS frame can be non-HT or non-HT duplicate format. The frame format of non-HT PPDU is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the CTS frame includes the following fields: physical layer preamble (PHY preamble), signal (signal) and data (data). Among them, the physical layer preamble occupies 12 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) symbols, the signal occupies 1 OFDM symbol, and the OFDM symbols occupied by the data are variable. Among them, it takes 20μs to send the physical layer preamble and signal fields. The data field includes a 16-bit service field, a 112-bit (i.e. 14-byte) PSDU field and a 6-bit tail field, a total of 16+112+6=134 bits. Among them, the frame structure of the CTS frame is as follows Figure 6 As shown, the physical layer service data unit (PSDU) includes frame control, duration, receiving address (RA) and FCS fields. These four fields occupy 2 bytes, 2 bytes, 6 bytes and 4 bytes respectively, a total of 14 bytes. For example, when the rate of the control response frame is 24Mbps, the time required to transmit 134 bits is 134 / 24=5.583us. Since the length of the data part (i.e., the data field) must be an integer multiple of 4us, the length of the data field is actually 8us. In specific implementation, bits are added to the Pad Bits field to reach 8us, so the duration of the control response frame is 20+8=28us. For another example, when the rate of the control response frame is 6Mbps, the time required to transmit 134 bits is 134 / 6=22.33us, which needs to be aligned to 24us, so the total is 20+24=44us.

[0110] In another implementation, the initial control frame is a BSRP frame, and the control response frame is a QoS-Null frame. The frame structure of the BSRP frame is the same as the MU-RTS frame structure, which can be referred to Figure 4 When the trigger type of the trigger frame is set to 4, it indicates that the trigger frame is a BSRP frame. In addition, the reserved fields in the MU-RTS frame are used in the BSRP frame and are no longer reserved fields. The format of the QoS-Null frame is as follows: Figure 7 As shown, it includes the following fields: frame control, duration, address 1, address 2, address 3, sequence control, address 4, quality of service control (QoS control), high throughput control (HT control) and frame check sequence (FCS). The QoS-Null frame needs to be sent using the HETB PPDU format or the EHT TB PPDU format. The preambles of these two formats are longer, and the preamble part exceeds 50μs. Therefore, when the control response frame is a QoS-Null frame, its duration is greater than the duration of the control response frame as a CTS frame, and the duration occupied by the fill bits of the initial control frame is required to be lower. Therefore, this embodiment can take the control response frame as a CTS frame as an example to report the duration occupied by the fill bits of the initial control frame.

[0111] After the first STA determines the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame, it can generate the first frame.

[0112] In one implementation, the first frame includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the duration of the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay. Optionally, the duration of the fill bits is the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at the maximum rate, or the duration of the fill bits is determined according to the maximum rate of the initial control frame, or the duration of the fill bits is the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at 24Mbps, or the duration of the fill bits is the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at any rate, or the duration of the fill bits is the maximum value of the duration of the fill bits required when the initial control frame is sent at all rates.

[0113] Specifically, in one example, the relationship between the duration of one or more fill bits and the indication information may be predefined or pre-negotiated by the first STA and the first AP. The relationship is shown in Table 1 below:

[0114] Table 1

[0115] Instructions The duration of the padding bits required to meet the switching delay First value (such as 0) 0us Second value (such as 1) 32us The third value (such as 2) 64us Fourth value (such as 3) 96us The fifth value (such as 4) 128us Sixth value (such as 5) 160us Seventh value (such as 6) 192us Eighth value (such as 7) 224us …… ……

[0116] According to Table 1, when the indication information is the first value, it is used to indicate that the duration occupied by the filling bit is 0us; when the indication information is the second value, it is used to indicate that the duration occupied by the filling bit is less than or equal to 32us; when the indication information is the third value, it is used to indicate that the duration occupied by the filling bit is less than or equal to 64us; and so on.

[0117] In another example, the relationship between the duration of one or more fill bits and the indication information may be predefined or pre-negotiated by the first STA and the first AP. The relationship is shown in Table 2 below:

[0118] Table 2

[0119] Instructions The duration of the padding bits required to meet the switching delay First value (such as 0) 0us Second value (such as 1) 32us The third value (such as 2) 64us Fourth value (such as 3) 128us The fifth value (such as 4) 256us …… ……

[0120] In yet another implementation, the first frame includes a plurality of indication information, wherein each indication information in the plurality of indication information is used to indicate a duration occupied by a filling bit of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame.

[0121] For example, a first STA sends a first frame to a first AP, where the first frame includes multiple indication information.

[0122] The first indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame being 6 Mbps;

[0123] The second indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame being 12 Mbps;

[0124] The third indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to the transmission rate of the initial control frame being 24 Mbps.

[0125] The first STA may determine which indication information to use to indicate the duration of the filling bits of different initial control frames based on the above Table 1. For example, if the initial control frame transmission rate is 6Mbps, the duration of the filling bits of the corresponding initial control frame is greater than 0us and less than or equal to 32us, which corresponds to the first indication information; if the initial control frame transmission rate is 12Mbps, the duration of the filling bits of the corresponding initial control frame is greater than 32us and less than or equal to 64us, which corresponds to the second indication information; if the initial control frame transmission rate is 24Mbps, the duration of the filling bits of the corresponding initial control frame is greater than 64us and less than or equal to 96us, which corresponds to the third indication information.

[0126] S102: A first STA sends a first frame. Correspondingly, a first AP associated with the first STA receives the first frame.

[0127] The first frame includes indication information. Figure 8 As shown, it is a schematic diagram of the format of an example of a first frame, and the first frame includes the following fields: frame control, duration, receiving address, sending address, frame body and frame check sequence. Among them, the frame body also includes fields such as multi-link element. Among them, the multi-link element also includes the following fields: element identification (element ID), length (length), element identification extension (element ID extension), multi-link control (multi-link control), common information (common information) and user information (user information). Among them, the common information also includes fields such as enhanced multi-link single radio delay (EMLSR delay) and / or enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay (EMLMR delay). The above indication information can be carried in the EMLSR delay and / or EMLMR delay fields.

[0128] If the first frame includes multiple indication information, the multiple indication information may also be carried in other fields except EMLSR delay and / or EMLMR delay.

[0129] S103. The first AP determines the duration of the filling bits in the initial control frame according to the indication information.

[0130] The first AP receives the first frame and parses the indication information from the first frame. The duration of the filling bits in the initial control frame can be determined according to the indication information.

[0131] In one of the above implementations, the first frame includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay. The first AP can determine the duration occupied by the fill bits indicated by the indication information based on the relationship between the duration occupied by one or more fill bits and the indication information as shown in Table 1. For example, if the indication information is the second value, the first AP can determine that the maximum value of the duration occupied by the fill bits indicated by the indication information is 32us based on Table 1.

[0132] In another implementation described above, the first frame includes multiple indication information, wherein each indication information in the multiple indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bit of the initial control frame corresponding to a transmission rate of the initial control frame. The first AP receives the multiple indication information and can determine the duration occupied by the filling bit according to a rate of the initial control frame to be sent. For example, assuming that the rate of the initial control frame actually adopted by the first AP is 12Mbps, it can be determined that the maximum duration occupied by the filling bit corresponding to this rate is 64us.

[0133] Furthermore, after determining the duration of the filling bits in the initial control frame, the first AP may fill the initial control frame with corresponding bits and send the initial control frame.

[0134] Furthermore, when the first STA receives the initial control frame sent at the maximum rate and replies to the control response frame after the second inter-frame interval, it has the ability to receive data frames with the second number of transmission channels; or, after the first STA receives the initial control frame sent at any rate, it must have the ability to communicate with the second number of transmission channels within the SIFS time after replying to the control response frame.

[0135] Since the duration of the filling bit is determined according to the duration of the control response frame, when the first AP sends the initial control frame, no matter which rate is used, the first STA can complete the switching of the number of transmission channels before the subsequent data frame arrives.

[0136] Further, after receiving the data frame, the first STA sends an acknowledgment frame (ACK) / block-ACK frame to the first AP. After the first STA determines that the transmission opportunity (TXOP) on link 1 has ended, the second STA can switch the transmission module back to restore the transmission capability.

[0137] According to an information indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, a non-AP STA generates a first frame, the first frame including indication information for indicating the duration of the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, the duration of the fill bits being determined according to the duration of the control response frame and / or the maximum rate of the initial control frame; the non-APSTA sends the first frame. The AP receives the first frame, and the first AP determines the duration of the fill bits in the initial control frame based on the indication information. Thus, the duration of the fill bits in the initial control frame can be accurately determined, so that the first STA can complete the switching of the corresponding number of transmission channels before the arrival of subsequent data frames.

[0138] like Fig. 9FIG. 1 is a flow chart of another information indication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the method may include the following steps:

[0139] S201. The first STA generates a first frame.

[0140] The first frame includes first indication information.

[0141] In one implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate a first delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from a first value to a second value. Figure 1 In the example, the first channel number is 1 and the second channel number is 2, and the first indication information is used to indicate the delay required for switching the number of transmission channels from 1 to 2. The first delay may be a value pre-set in the first STA when the first STA leaves the factory.

[0142] One or more corresponding relationships between the switching delay and the first indication information may be predefined. The corresponding relationship may be as shown in Table 1 or Table 2 above. For example, if the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from the first value to the second value is 32us, the corresponding first indication information takes the second value; if the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from the first value to the second value is 64us, the corresponding first indication information takes the third value, and so on.

[0143] The first STA generates a first frame, and the first frame includes first indication information. Specifically, the format of the first frame can be as follows: Figure 8 As shown, the first indication information may be carried in the EMLSR delay and / or EMLMR delay field.

[0144] In another implementation, the first frame includes first indication information and second indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate a first delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from a first value to a second value. The second indication information is used to indicate a second delay required for the number of transmission channels to switch from the second number of channels to the first number of channels, that is, the delay required for the first STA to switch back to the first number of channels after receiving the data frame.

[0145] In yet another implementation, the first frame includes third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate a larger value of the first delay and the second delay, that is, max{first delay, second delay}.

[0146] S202. The first STA sends a first frame. Correspondingly, the first AP receives the first frame.

[0147] The first AP receives the first frame, and parses the above fields in the first frame to obtain a first delay.

[0148] S203. The first AP determines a duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame, wherein the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame is determined based on the first delay.

[0149] After acquiring the first indication information, the first AP may determine the duration occupied by the filling bit according to the first delay.

[0150] Specifically, if the initial control frame is a MU-RTS frame, the duration occupied by the filling bit is determined, including:

[0151] The duration of the filling bit = the first delay – 2*SIFS – the duration of the control response frame.

[0152] The duration of the control response frame is determined according to the rate of the control response frame. The rate of the control response frame is determined according to the rate of the initial control frame and the BSSBasicRateSet parameter. Specifically, the rate of the control response frame is the maximum rate in the BSSBasicRateSet that is less than or equal to the rate of the initial control frame. That is, min{the rate of the initial control frame, the maximum rate in the BSSBasicRateSet parameter}.

[0153] After the rate of the control response frame is determined, the duration of the control response frame is the duration required to send the control response frame according to the rate of the control response frame.

[0154] like Fig.10 The relationship between the duration of the filling bit and the processing delay of the trigger frame is shown in the figure. If the initial control frame is a BSRP frame, the duration of the filling bit should be determined so that the sum of the duration of the filling bit and the first inter-frame interval should be greater than the processing delay of the trigger frame (here, the initial control frame). The duration of the filling bit = max{processing delay of the trigger frame, switching delay – 2*SIFS – control response frame duration}.

[0155] Furthermore, after receiving the data frame, the first STA sends an acknowledgment frame (ACK) / block-ACK frame to the first AP. After the first STA determines that the transmission opportunity on link 1 has ended, the second STA can switch the transmission module back to restore the transmission capability. After the second delay ends, the second AP sends a frame, such as an initial control frame, to the second STA on link 2 to initiate the next transmission. Or conversely, before the second delay ends, the second AP cannot send a frame to the second STA on link 2.

[0156] According to an information indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application, a first STA generates a first frame, which includes indication information, and the indication information is used to indicate the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the first STA to switch from a first value to a second value, and sends the first frame; the first AP receives the first frame and can accurately determine the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame, so that the first STA can complete the switching of the corresponding number of transmission channels before the arrival of subsequent data frames.

[0157] Returning to the problem raised in the background technology of the present application, the embodiments of the present application also provide another method and device for determining the duration of the filling bit.

[0158] First, two types of initial control frames are introduced.

[0159] When the initial control frame sent by the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD is the second initial control frame, such as MU-RTS, the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD replies with a CTS frame and sends the CTS frame in the non-HT or non-HT duplicate format. Using these two formats of CTS frames, the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD is not required to complete the switching of the number of channels, that is, the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD can switch the number of channels in the time of sending the control response frame (here is the CTS frame).

[0160] When the initial control frame is the first initial control frame, such as a Trigger frame, the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD replies with a HE TB PPDU or an EHT TB PPDU. Sending these two formats of PPDUs requires high capabilities, and the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD needs to complete the switching of the number of channels before sending the control response frame (here is the HE TB PPDU or the EHT TBPPDU). It can be seen that when the initial control frame is different (or, it can be said that the frame format of the control response frame is different), the required duration of the padding bit of the initial control frame is also different. In one implementation, the first initial control frame is a BSRP Trigger frame.

[0161] To this end, an embodiment of the present application proposes a method for determining a fill bit duration, including:

[0162] Method 1:

[0163] S1001, non-AP MLD or STA in non-AP MLD reports a first duration, where the first duration is the duration of the padding bit required to be added to the first initial control frame (or the first duration is the larger or smaller value of the duration of the padding bit required to be added to the first initial control frame and the duration of the padding bit required to be added to the second initial control frame).

[0164] S1002. If the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD sends a first initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, a padding bit is added to the first initial control frame, and the duration of the padding bit is the first duration reported in S1001.

[0165] S1003. If the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD sends a second initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, a padding bit is added to the second initial control frame, and the duration of the padding bit is a second duration, and the second duration is determined according to the first duration. For example, the second duration is the first duration minus (or plus) a fixed time, for example, the fixed time may be 60us, or the fixed time may also be other values ​​specified by the standard, or the fixed time may also be sent by the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD to the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD.

[0166] In this method, alternatively, the first duration is the duration of the padding bit that needs to be added in the initial control frame when the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD responds to the first frame format; the second duration is the duration of the padding bit that needs to be added in the initial control frame when the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD responds to the second frame format.

[0167] The second frame format may be a non-HT format or a non-HT duplicate format.

[0168] The first frame format may be the HE TB format or the EHT TB format.

[0169] Method 2:

[0170] S2001, non-AP MLD or STA in non-AP MLD reports a first duration and a second duration, wherein the first duration is the duration of the fill bit required to be added to the first initial control frame, and the second duration is the duration of the fill bit required to be added to the second initial control frame.

[0171] S2002. If the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD sends a first initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, a padding bit is added to the first initial control frame, and the duration of the padding bit is the first duration reported in S2001.

[0172] S2003. If the AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD sends a second initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD, a padding bit is added to the second initial control frame, and the duration of the padding bit is the second duration reported in S2001.

[0173] Method 3:

[0174] S3001. A non-AP MLD or an STA in a non-AP MLD reports a switching delay, where the switching delay is a switching delay required for the STA to switch from a first number of channels to a second number of channels.

[0175] S3002: The AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD determines the length of padding bits to be added to the initial control frame according to the type of the initial control frame.

[0176] S3003: The AP MLD or the AP in the AP MLD sends an initial control frame to the non-AP MLD or the STA in the non-AP MLD. The length of the padding bits added in the initial control frame is determined in S3002.

[0177] A possible implementation of S3002 includes:

[0178] If it is the first initial control frame, the duration of the filling bit = switching delay - 16us;

[0179] If it is the second initial control frame, the duration of the filling bit = switching delay - 76us;

[0180] The first initial control frame may be a BSRP Trigger frame; the second initial control frame may be a MU-RTS frame.

[0181] Alternatively, S3002 may also be replaced by: AP MLD or the AP in AP MLD determines the length of the padding bits to be added to the initial control frame according to the frame format of the control response frame that the STA is expected to reply to. If the AP sends the first frame format to the STA, the length of the padding bits = switching delay - 76us; if the AP sends the second frame format to the STA, the length of the padding bits = switching delay - 16us. The first frame format may be a non-HT format or a non-HT duplicate format; the second frame format may be a HE TB format or an EHT TB format.

[0182] Accordingly, the embodiment of the present application also provides a device capable of implementing the above method, and the device is used to implement any of the above methods. The device can have a variety of product forms, and the specific product forms can be referred to the types described later in this application, which will not be repeated here.

[0183] The above introduces the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the communication device (such as AP, non-AP STA, AP MLD or non-AP MLD), in order to implement the method, includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of the method. Those skilled in the art can realize that the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software.

[0184] The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application can be divided into functional modules according to the above method. For example, the functional modules can correspond to each step in the method, or two or more steps can be integrated into one functional module. The above functional modules can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. It should be noted that the division of functional modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following is an example of each step corresponding to a functional module:

[0185] A possible structural diagram of a communication device is shown in FIG. Fig.11 The communication device 1000 includes a processing unit 11 and a transceiver unit 12.

[0186] In one embodiment, the communication device may be a non-AP MLD or a non-APSTA in a non-AP MLD. The processing unit 11 is used to generate a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the duration of the padding bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, and the duration of the padding bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame; and the transceiver unit 12 is used to send the first frame.

[0187] Optionally, the processing unit 11 is further configured to determine a duration of the control response frame.

[0188] Optionally, the processing unit 11 is further configured to determine a minimum duration of the control response frame.

[0189] Optionally, the processing unit 11 is further configured to determine a rate of the control response frame; and determine a duration of the control response frame according to the rate of the control response frame and a length of the control response frame.

[0190] Optionally, the processing unit 11 is further used to determine the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame; and determine the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame according to the maximum value of the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

[0191] In another embodiment, the communication device may be an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD. The transceiver unit 12 is used to receive a first frame, the first frame including indication information, the indication information being used to indicate the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, the duration occupied by the fill bits being determined according to the duration of the control response frame; and the processing unit 11 is used to determine the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame according to the indication information.

[0192] Optionally, the first frame includes multiple indication information, wherein each of the multiple indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits of the initial control frame corresponding to the sending rate of the initial control frame; the processing unit 11 is also used to determine, based on the first frame, the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame corresponding to the sending rate of the initial control frame.

[0193] In another embodiment, the communication device may be a non-AP MLD or a non-APSTA in a non-AP MLD. The processing unit 11 is used to generate a first frame, wherein the first frame includes indication information, wherein the indication information is used to indicate a delay required for the number of transmission channels of the station to switch from a first value to a second value; and the transceiver unit 12 is used to send the first frame.

[0194] In another embodiment, the communication device may be an AP MLD or an AP in an AP MLD. The transceiver unit 12 is used to receive a first frame, the first frame including indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a delay required for the number of transmission channels of the station to switch from a first value to a second value; and the processing unit 11 is used to determine a duration occupied by a fill bit in the initial control frame, wherein the duration occupied by the fill bit in the initial control frame is determined according to the delay.

[0195] A possible structural diagram of a communication device is shown in FIG. Fig.12 The communication device 2000 may be a non-APMLD, and the communication device 2000 includes a first STA and a processing unit 22. The communication device 2000 may also include more non-AP STAs. The first STA includes a transceiver unit 21.

[0196] In one embodiment, the processing unit 22 in the non-AP MLD is used to generate a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the duration of the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, the duration of the fill bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame, and the first frame is transmitted to the transceiver unit 21 of the first STA; and the transceiver unit 21 is used to send the first frame.

[0197] In another embodiment, the processing unit 22 in the non-AP MLD is used to generate a first frame, the first frame including indication information, the indication information being used to indicate the delay required for the number of transmission channels of the station to switch from a first value to a second value, and transmit the first frame to the transceiver unit 21 of the first STA; and the transceiver unit 21 is used to send the first frame.

[0198] A possible structural diagram of a communication device is shown in FIG. Fig.13 The communication device 3000 may be an AP MLD, and the communication device 3000 includes a first AP and a processing unit 32. The first AP includes a transceiver unit 31. The communication device 3000 may also include more APs.

[0199] In one embodiment, the transceiver unit 31 is used to receive a first frame, the first frame including indication information, the indication information being used to indicate the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, the duration occupied by the fill bits being determined based on the duration of the control response frame; and the transceiver unit 31 is also used to transmit the first frame to the AP MLD, so that the processing unit 32 in the AP MLD determines the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame based on the indication information.

[0200] In another embodiment, the transceiver unit 31 is used to receive a first frame, the first frame including indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a delay required for the number of transmission channels of the site to switch from a first value to a second value; and the transceiver unit 31 is also used to transmit the first frame to the AP MLD, so that the processing unit 32 in the AP MLD determines a duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame, wherein the duration occupied by the fill bits in the initial control frame is determined based on the delay.

[0201] For example, the sending end is Fig.12 The structure shown in the figure, accordingly, the receiving end can be Fig.11 or Fig.13 The structure shown; the receiving end is Fig.13 The structure shown in the figure, accordingly, the sending end can be Fig.11 or Fig.12 The structure shown.

[0202] Fig.14 A structural diagram of a possible product form of the communication device described in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.14 For Fig.11 An embodiment of the communication device is shown.

[0203] As a possible product form, the communication device may be an information transmission device / information transmission board. The communication device includes a processor and a transceiver. Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory. The processor is used to execute Fig.11 The method steps performed by the processing unit 11 in the transceiver are used to perform Fig.11 The method steps executed by the transceiver unit 12.

[0204] As another possible product form, the communication device may be a chip. The communication device includes a processing circuit and a communication interface. Optionally, the communication device may also include a storage medium. The processing circuit is used to execute Fig.11 The communication interface is used to perform the method steps performed by the processing unit 11. Fig.11 The method steps executed by the transceiver unit 12.

[0205] Fig.15 A structural diagram of a possible product form of the communication device described in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.15 For Fig.12 or Fig.13 An embodiment of the communication device is shown.

[0206] As a possible product form, the communication device may be an information transmission device / information transmission board. The communication device includes a processor and a transceiver. Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory. The processor is used to execute Fig.12 The method steps performed by the processing unit 22 in the transceiver are used to perform Fig.12 The method steps performed by the transceiver unit 21 in the processor; or the processor is used to perform Fig.13 The method steps performed by the processing unit 32 in the transceiver are used to perform Fig.13 The method steps executed by the transceiver unit 31.

[0207] As another possible product form, the communication device may be a chip. The communication device includes a processing circuit and a communication interface. Optionally, the communication device may also include a storage medium. The processing circuit is used to execute Fig.12 The method steps performed by the processing unit 22 in the communication interface are used to perform Fig.12 The method steps performed by the transceiver unit 21 in the processing circuit; or the processing circuit is used to perform Fig.13 The method steps performed by the processing unit 32 in the communication interface are used to perform Fig.13 The method steps executed by the transceiver unit 31.

[0208] As another possible product form of the above embodiment, the communication device can also be implemented using the following: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), programmable logic devices (PLD), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits that can perform the various functions described throughout this application.

[0209] The above-mentioned processor can be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the contents disclosed in this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and so on. The bus can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, and so on. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and so on. For ease of representation, Fig.14 or Fig.15 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0210] A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiment can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned program instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program instructions are executed, the steps of the above method embodiment are executed; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, ROM, RAM, disk or CD-ROM, etc. Various media that can store program codes.

[0211] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application also provides a readable storage medium, which stores computer execution instructions. When a device (which may be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, controller, etc.) or a processor executes the steps in the business indication method provided in the present application.

[0212] On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer execution instructions, and the computer execution instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium; at least one processor of the device can read the computer execution instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and at least one processor executes the computer execution instructions so that the device executes the steps in the business indication method provided in the present application.

[0213] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0214] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. The mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0215] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0216] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted through the computer-readable storage medium. The computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), or a random access memory (RAM), or a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape, a magnetic disk, or an optical medium, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid state disk (SSD), etc.

Claims

1. An information indication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Generate a first frame, the first frame including indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, and the duration occupied by the filling bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame; The first frame is sent.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The indication information is carried in the enhanced multi-link single-radio delay field of the first frame and / or the enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay field of the first frame.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Determine the duration of the control response frame.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The determining the duration of the control response frame includes: determining a rate of the control response frames; The duration of the control response frame is determined according to the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is a maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The maximum rate of the initial control frame is 24 Mbps, and the maximum rate of the control response frame is the smaller value between 24 Mbps and the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The duration of the filling bits is associated with the switching delay, the first interframe interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second interframe interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the duration of the control response frame.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The duration occupied by the filling bits is the duration of the filling bits required when the initial control frame is sent at a maximum rate.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The duration occupied by the filling bits is determined according to the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The control response frame is a CTS frame, and the format of the CTS frame is a non-HT format.

11. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A processing unit, the processing unit is used to generate a first frame, the first frame includes indication information, the indication information is used to indicate the duration occupied by the filling bits in the initial control frame required to meet the channel switching delay, and the duration occupied by the filling bits is determined according to the duration of the control response frame; A transceiver unit, wherein the transceiver unit is used to send the first frame.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that The indication information is carried in the enhanced multi-link single-radio delay field of the first frame and / or the enhanced multi-link multi-radio delay field of the first frame.

13. The device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The processing unit is further used to determine the duration of the control response frame.

14. The device according to claim 13, characterized in that: The processing unit is further used to determine the rate of the control response frame; The processing unit is further used to determine the duration of the control response frame according to the rate of the control response frame and the length of the control response frame.

15. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The maximum value of the rate of the control response frame is a maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set that is less than or equal to the maximum rate of the initial control frame.

16. The device according to claim 14, characterized in that The maximum rate of the initial control frame is 24 Mbps, and the maximum rate of the control response frame is the smaller value between 24 Mbps and the maximum rate in the basic service set basic rate set.

17. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that The duration of the filling bits is associated with the switching delay, the first interframe interval between the initial control frame and the control response frame, the second interframe interval between the control response frame and the data frame, and the duration of the control response frame.

18. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 17, characterized in that The duration occupied by the filling bits is the duration of the filling bits required when the initial control frame is sent at a maximum rate.

19. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that The duration occupied by the filling bits is determined according to the minimum value of the duration of the control response frame.

20. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 19, characterized in that The control response frame is a CTS frame, and the format of the CTS frame is a non-HT format.

21. A communication device comprising means for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10.

22. A communication device, comprising: Memory, used to store computer programs or instructions; A processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or an instruction, and when the computer program or the instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is implemented.

24. A chip system comprising Memory, used to store computer programs or instructions; A processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction so that the communication device including the chip system performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

Images