Communication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device, and the scheme provided by the invention can be applied to a wireless local area network system which supports an IEEE802.11ax next generation Wi-Fi protocol, such as 802.11 be, Wi-Fi 7 or EHT, and then 802.11 series protocols, such as 802.11 be next generation, Wi-Fi 8 and the like, and can also be applied to a wireless personal local area network system and a sensing system based on ultra-wideband (UWB). The communication method comprises the steps that scheduling information and time information are sent, the scheduling information is used for scheduling N wireless frames, the time information is used for keeping clock synchronization of a station, and N is an integer larger than or equal to 1; and sending and / or receiving the NC radio frame based on the scheduling information and the time information. The scheme provided by the invention can improve the communication efficiency and reduce the time delay.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to Russian patent application No. 2022113649, filed with the Russian Patent Office on May 23, 2022, entitled “Communication Method and Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0003] IoT technology is widely used in industrial production. Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) is a communication protocol that can be applied to IoT communications. To make Wi-Fi technology more suitable for IoT nodes, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has developed a series of standards. Because industrial IoT scenarios require high communication efficiency and latency, improving efficiency and reducing latency are key considerations when using Wi-Fi technology.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus that can improve communication efficiency and reduce latency.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first device, which can be an access point, a chip, or a circuit, and is not limited in this application. The method includes: sending scheduling information and time information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, the time information being used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and sending and / or receiving the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0007] Based on the above scheme, N wireless frames can be sent and / or received according to the time synchronized with the time information in order to improve the accuracy of communication, and the scheduling information can schedule more than 2 wireless frames, which can improve the efficiency of communication and reduce delay.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, identification information of the scheduling information is sent.

[0009] Based on the above solution, if there are multiple pieces of scheduling information, the scheduling information to be used can be determined by the identification information, thereby avoiding the need to configure the scheduling information each time a wireless frame is scheduled, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0010] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a first device, which can be an access point, a chip, or a circuit, and is not limited in this application. The method includes: sending scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; sending identification information of the scheduling information; and sending and / or receiving the N radio frames based on the scheduling information determined based on the identification information.

[0011] Based on the above scheme, the scheduling information and its identification information can be configured first. Subsequently, only the identification information needs to be sent to determine the scheduling information to be adopted, avoiding the need to configure the scheduling information every time a wireless frame is scheduled. In addition, the scheduling information can schedule more than two wireless frames, which can improve communication efficiency and reduce latency.

[0012] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, time information is sent, where the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization.

[0013] Based on the above solution, N wireless frames may be sent and / or received according to the time synchronized with the time information, so as to improve the accuracy of communication.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the wireless frame includes only at least one of the first field, the second field, the third field, the fourth field, and the fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

[0015] Based on the above solution, the scheduling information may include a portion of the configuration information about the radio frame, so the radio frame may only include at least one of the above-mentioned fields, thereby reducing overhead and improving communication efficiency.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the sending time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the sending end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0017] Based on the above scheme, the specific transmission method of N wireless frames can be configured through scheduling information, including: transmission direction, time domain and frequency domain resource location, modulation method, etc., and N wireless frames can be sent and / or received more accurately based on the scheduling information.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect or the second aspect, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0019] Based on the above scheme, when the scheduling information and time information are carried in the trigger frame, the frequency of time synchronization can be increased. When the scheduling information and time information are carried in the beacon frame or the multicast management frame, the identification information can be directly sent to determine the scheduling information to be adopted, thereby achieving the effect of semi-static scheduling.

[0020] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second device, which can be a station, a chip, or a circuit, and is not limited in this application. The method includes receiving scheduling information and time information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, the time information being used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and sending and / or receiving a radio frame corresponding to the second device in the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0021] Based on the above scheme, N wireless frames can be sent and / or received according to the time synchronized with the time information in order to improve the accuracy of communication, and the scheduling information can schedule more than 2 wireless frames, which can improve the efficiency of communication and reduce delay.

[0022] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, identification information of the scheduling information is received.

[0023] Based on the above solution, if there are multiple pieces of scheduling information, the scheduling information to be used can be determined by the identification information, thereby avoiding the need to configure the scheduling information each time a wireless frame is scheduled, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0024] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a second device, which can be a station, a chip, or a circuit, and is not limited in this application. The method includes: receiving scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; receiving identification information of the scheduling information; and sending and / or receiving a radio frame corresponding to the second device in the N radio frames based on the scheduling information determined according to the identification information.

[0025] Based on the above scheme, the scheduling information and its identification information can be configured first. Subsequently, only the identification information needs to be sent to determine the scheduling information to be adopted, avoiding the need to configure the scheduling information every time a wireless frame is scheduled. In addition, the scheduling information can schedule more than two wireless frames, which can improve communication efficiency and reduce latency.

[0026] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, time information is received, where the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization.

[0027] Based on the above solution, N wireless frames may be sent and / or received according to the time synchronized with the time information, so as to improve the accuracy of communication.

[0028] In combination with the third aspect or the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the wireless frame includes only at least one of the first field, the second field, the third field, the fourth field and the fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the number information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

[0029] Based on the above solution, the scheduling information may include a portion of the configuration information about the radio frame, so the radio frame may only include at least one of the above-mentioned fields, thereby reducing overhead and improving communication efficiency.

[0030] In combination with the third aspect or the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the sending time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the sending end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0031] Based on the above scheme, the specific transmission method of N wireless frames can be configured through scheduling information, including: transmission direction, time domain and frequency domain resource location, modulation method, etc., and N wireless frames can be sent and / or received more accurately based on the scheduling information.

[0032] In combination with the third aspect or the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0033] Based on the above scheme, when the scheduling information and time information are carried in the trigger frame, the frequency of time synchronization can be increased. When the scheduling information and time information are carried in the beacon frame or the multicast management frame, the identification information can be directly sent to determine the scheduling information to be adopted, thereby achieving the effect of semi-static scheduling.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be a first device, a component of the first device, or a device including the first device. The first device may be an access point, a chip, or a circuit, which is not limited in this application. The device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is configured to send scheduling information and time information, the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames, the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the processing unit is configured to control the transceiver unit to send and / or receive the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0035] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send identification information of the scheduling information.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a first device, a component in the first device, or a device including the first device. The first device may be an access point, or a chip or circuit, which is not limited in this application. The device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit being configured to send scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the transceiver unit being further configured to send identification information of the scheduling information, and the processing unit being configured to control the transceiver unit to send and / or receive the N radio frames based on the scheduling information determined according to the identification information.

[0037] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to send time information, which is used to maintain clock synchronization.

[0038] In combination with the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the wireless frame includes only at least one of the first field, the second field, the third field, the fourth field and the fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the number information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

[0039] In combination with the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the sending time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the sending end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0040] In combination with the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a second device, a component in the second device, or a device including the second device. The second device may be a site, a chip, or a circuit, which is not limited in this application. The device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit being configured to receive scheduling information and time information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, the time information being used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the processing unit being configured to control the transceiver unit to send and / or receive radio frames corresponding to the second device in the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0042] In combination with the seventh aspect, in certain implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive identification information of the scheduling information.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be a second device, a component in the second device, or a device including the second device. The second device may be a site, a chip, or a circuit, which is not limited in this application. The device includes: a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit being configured to receive scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, the scheduling information being used to schedule N radio frames, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the transceiver unit being further configured to receive identification information of the scheduling information, and the processing unit being configured to control the transceiver unit to send and / or receive radio frames corresponding to the second device in the N radio frames based on the scheduling information determined according to the identification information.

[0044] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive time information, and the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization.

[0045] In combination with the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, the wireless frame includes only at least one of the first field, the second field, the third field, the fourth field and the fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the number information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the serial number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

[0046] In combination with the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the sending time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the sending end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0047] In combination with the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the seventh aspect or the eighth aspect, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0048] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method of any one of the first or second aspects, or the method of any possible implementation of the first or second aspects, or the method of any one of the third or fourth aspects, or the method of any possible implementation of the third or fourth aspects.

[0049] Optionally, the device further includes a memory. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0050] In one implementation, the device is an access point or a station. When the device is an access point or a station, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0051] In another implementation, the device is a chip configured in an access point or station. When the device is a chip configured in an access point or station, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0052] In another implementation, the device is a chip or a chip system.

[0053] Optionally, the transceiver is a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface is an input / output circuit.

[0054] In the tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by an apparatus, the apparatus implements the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects, or the method of any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0055] In the eleventh aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, wherein when the instructions are executed by a computer, the device implements the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects, or the method of any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects.

[0056] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising: a communication device for executing each implementation method of the above-mentioned first aspect and a communication device for executing each implementation method of the above-mentioned third aspect.

[0057] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising: a communication device for executing each implementation method of the above-mentioned second aspect and a communication device for executing each implementation method of the above-mentioned fourth aspect.

[0058] In the fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a chip system, comprising: a processor for executing the method in any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network structure provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] FIG2 is an interactive flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure carrying scheduling information and time information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0062] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0063] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of frame information corresponding to an uplink wireless frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0064] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of frame information corresponding to a downlink wireless frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0065] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of a wireless frame carrying scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0066] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of another wireless frame carrying scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0067] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of a wireless frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0068] FIG10 is an interactive flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0069] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of scheduling N radio frames through scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0070] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0071] FIG13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0073] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios. For example, they can be applicable to IEEE 802.11 system standards, such as 802.11a / b / g standards, 802.11n standards, 802.11ac standards, 802.11ax standards, or their next generations, such as 802.11be standards, Wi-Fi 7 or extremely high throughput (EHT), such as the next generation of 802.11be, Wi-Fi 8 or even the next generation standards.

[0074] Although the embodiments of the present application are mainly described by taking the deployment of a WLAN network, especially a network using the IEEE 802.11 system standard as an example, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the various aspects involved in the embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, random phase multiple access (RPMA), high performance radio local area network (HIPERLAN), wide area network (WAN), personal area network (PAN), or other networks now known or developed in the future. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0075] The embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to wireless local area network systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) network or the Vehicle to X (V2X) network. Of course, the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to other possible communication systems, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, the fifth generation (5G) communication system, and the future sixth generation (6G) communication system.

[0076] The above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is described uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0077] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network structure provided by an embodiment of the present application. The network structure may include one or more access point (AP) type stations and one or more non-AP type stations (non-AP STAs). For ease of description, access point type stations are referred to as access points (APs) and non-AP type stations are referred to as stations (STAs). Figure 1 illustrates a network structure including one AP and two stations (STA 1 and STA 2) as an example, and does not limit the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

[0078] For example, the network structure 100 shown in FIG1 includes two access points and two stations, such as AP 11 and AP 12 and STA 21 and STA 22 shown in FIG1 . Stations and access points can establish associations before communicating with each other. For example, AP 11 can establish an association with STA 21 before communicating with each other, and AP 12 can establish an association with STA 22 before communicating with each other. Stations can establish associations before communicating with each other, and access points can also establish associations before communicating with each other. For example, AP 11 can establish an association with AP 12 before communicating with each other, and STA 21 can establish an association with each other before communicating with each other.

[0079] Among them, the access point can be an access point for terminal devices (such as mobile phones) to enter the wired (or wireless) network. It is mainly deployed in homes, inside buildings and inside campuses. The typical coverage radius is tens of meters to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. The access point is equivalent to a bridge connecting the wired network and the wireless network. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, the access point can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router) with a Wi-Fi chip. The access point can be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. The access point can also be a device that supports various wireless local area networks (WLAN) standards of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a and the next generation of 802.11be. The access point in this application can be a high-efficiency (HE) AP or EHT AP, or it can be an access point applicable to a future generation of Wi-Fi standards.

[0080] A station can be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, or wireless communication terminal, also known as a user. For example, a station can be a mobile phone that supports Wi-Fi communication, a tablet that supports Wi-Fi communication, a set-top box that supports Wi-Fi communication, a smart TV that supports Wi-Fi communication, a smart wearable device that supports Wi-Fi communication, an in-vehicle communication device that supports Wi-Fi communication, or a computer that supports Wi-Fi communication. Optionally, a station can support the 802.11be standard. A station can also support 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 8, or its next generation WLAN standards within the 802.11 family.

[0081] The access point in this application may be a high-efficiency (HE) STA or an EHT STA, or may be a STA applicable to a future generation of Wi-Fi standards.

[0082] For example, access points and sites can be devices used in the Internet of Vehicles, IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras and remote controls in smart homes, smart water and electricity meters, and sensors in smart cities.

[0083] FIG2 is an interactive flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. This communication method can improve communication efficiency and is applicable to scenarios with high requirements for communication efficiency and latency (such as industrial Internet of Things scenarios). The method 200 shown in FIG2 includes:

[0084] S210 , a first device sends scheduling information, where the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Correspondingly, a second device receives the scheduling information.

[0085] Scheduling information can be understood as configuration information, and scheduling N radio frames can be understood as transmitting N radio frames according to the specific configuration of the N radio frames in the scheduling information. The specific configuration is the specific content of the scheduling information.

[0086] Optionally, the first device and the second device may be one of the following: the first device and the second device are access points; the first device and the second device are sites; the first device is an access point and the second device is a site; the first device is a site and the second device is an access point.

[0087] Optionally, the method 200 further includes:

[0088] S211: The first device sends time information, which is used to maintain clock synchronization. Correspondingly, the second device receives the time information.

[0089] It should be understood that the above-mentioned time information and scheduling information can be carried in the same wireless frame or in different wireless frames, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0090] For example, the time information is used to synchronize the clocks of at least one second device with the first device. Synchronizing the clocks of at least one second device with the first device can be understood as: the clock of at least one second device is completely consistent with the clock of the first device, or the time difference between the clocks of at least one second device and the clock of the first device can be maintained within an error range, which can be predefined, preconfigured, or indicated through signaling. When the time information and scheduling information are carried in the same radio frame, the time information can be the time of the local clock of the first device when the scheduling information and time information are transmitted. For example, it can be the start time when the data symbol containing the first bit of the time information field appears at the transmitting antenna port, or the time when the local clock of the first device is generated when the scheduling information and time information are generated, or the end time when the data symbol containing the last bit of the time information field appears at the transmitting antenna port, or the start time of transmitting the radio frame carrying the time information and scheduling information, or the end time of transmitting the radio frame carrying the time information and scheduling information.

[0091] The time information can be system time information, such as the value of the time synchronization function (TSF), or a partial value of the TSF, or the low k bits of the TSF, or the mth to nth bits of the TSF (from high to low bits) (or the mth most significant bit (MSB) to the nth MSB of the TSF), where k, m, and n are greater than 0, m>n, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0092] Specifically, the value of TSF includes 8 bytes (64 bits) and the unit is microsecond (us).

[0093] For example, within a certain period of time, the upper bit of the TSF does not change, and only the lower bit changes. Therefore, as long as the lower k bits are indicated, the time can be indicated.

[0094] For example, 16 bits can represent a range from 0 to 65535. Therefore, within 65535 microseconds, the lower 16 bits of the TSF will change, while the upper 48 bits will remain unchanged, or only change by one bit. Therefore, if the access point sends time information once every 65535 microseconds, only the lower 16 bits need to be sent. In actual systems, the value of k can be determined based on the synchronization period. k can be selected as k = 32, 24, or 16, etc. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0095] When the synchronization accuracy requirement is not high (for example, not accurate to 1 μs), the access point may send the mth bit to the nth bit of the TSF, but loses the accuracy from the n-1th bit to the 1st bit.

[0096] For example, when n=4, the lower 3 bits of TSF are unknown, so TSF is only accurate to 8 us.

[0097] Optionally, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame.

[0098] For example, the trigger frame is a multi-user request to transmit (MU-RTS) frame, or other frames, which is not limited in this application.

[0099] In a possible implementation manner, when the first device is an access point, it may compete for a channel through enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) and send the scheduling information and / or time information.

[0100] Optionally, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the sending time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the sending end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set (MCS) used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual carrier modulation (DCM), the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0101] For example, the transmission directions of the N radio frames include uplink (UL), downlink (DL), and device-to-device (D2D). That is, the transmission directions of the N radio frames can all be uplink, downlink, or D2D; or, the transmission direction of some radio frames in the N radio frames can be uplink, the transmission direction of some radio frames can be downlink, and the transmission direction of some radio frames can be D2D. Therefore, the scheduling information can include the transmission direction of each radio frame in the N radio frames.

[0102] The sending time of the N radio frames may be the start time of sending the radio frames. For example, the start time of the radio frame = the end time of the trigger frame + Δt, where Δt is an offset and Δt is greater than or equal to 0.

[0103] The identification information of the sender of the N radio frames may be a sender identifier. For example, when the transmission direction of the radio frame is uplink, the sender identifier is the application identifier (AID) of the second device, or the sender identifier is part of the AID.

[0104] The identification information of the receiving end of the N radio frames may be a receiving end identifier. For example, when the transmission direction of the radio frame is downlink, the receiving end identifier is the AID of the second device, or the receiving end identifier is a part of the AID.

[0105] When the transmission direction is D2D, the scheduling information also needs to include indication information for indicating whether the device indicated by the identification information is a sender or a receiver of the D2D.

[0106] The modulation coding set used by the N radio frames may be binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM).

[0107] The number of sites corresponding to N wireless frames: If the transmission direction of N wireless frames is uplink, the number of sites can be the number of transmitters of N wireless frames; if the transmission direction of N wireless frames is downlink, the number of sites can be the number of receivers of N wireless frames.

[0108] The resource unit allocation information of the N radio frames may be resource unit information in which the N radio frames are located: if the transmission direction of the N radio frames is uplink, the resource unit information may indicate on which resource unit (RU) the second device sends the radio frame corresponding to the second device. If the transmission direction of the N radio frames is downlink, the resource unit information may indicate on which RU the second device receives the radio frame corresponding to the second device.

[0109] In one possible implementation, the frame carrying the above-mentioned scheduling information and / or time information includes one or more of the following fields: frame control field, duration field, address 1 field, address 2 field, timestamp field, scheduling information field and check field, etc.

[0110] For example, the frame structure of a frame carrying the above-mentioned scheduling information and / or time information may be as shown in FIG3. As shown in FIG3, the frame includes the following fields: a frame control field (frame control) (e.g., may occupy 2 bytes), a duration field (duration / ID) (e.g., may occupy 2 bytes), an address 1 field (address 1) (e.g., may occupy 6 bytes), an address 2 field (address 2) (e.g., may occupy 6 bytes), a timestamp field (tetrapartial timestamp) (may carry time information, e.g., may occupy 4 bytes), a scheduling information field (schedule) (may carry scheduling information, the number of bytes occupied may vary and is not fixed), and a frame check sequence (FCS).

[0111] In a possible implementation manner, when the scheduling information schedules multiple radio frames, the scheduling information may include at least one frame information, or the scheduling information may include at least one frame information and at least one offset.

[0112] For example, the scheduling information includes a frame structure of at least one frame information and at least one offset, as shown in FIG4 . The scheduling information can schedule n+1 radio frames, such as radio frame #0, radio frame #1, ..., radio frame #n. The scheduling information includes frame information corresponding to the aforementioned n+1 radio frames, where radio frame #0 corresponds to frame information #0, radio frame #1 corresponds to frame information #1, ..., and radio frame #n corresponds to frame information #n. There are offsets between different frame information. Each offset field is used to indicate the start time of each radio frame, for example, a time offset relative to a <trigger frame>.

[0113] In one possible implementation, when the transmission direction of the scheduled wireless frame is downlink, the frame information may include one or more of the following fields: transmission direction field, site number field, spatial stream number field, modulation and coding field, check field, site identification field, type field and length field.

[0114] For example, when the transmission direction of the radio frame is downlink, the frame format of the frame information can be as shown in Figure 5, including common fields for multiple sites, carrying common scheduling information, such as transmission direction (DL), number of sites (number of user fields), number of spatial streams (N of SS), MCS, and forward error correction (FEC). It also includes a field specific to each site, carrying scheduling information specific to each site, such as site identifier (RX ID), type (type), and length (length).

[0115] The information for each site may be repeated multiple times (using the same RU allocation) to indicate the presence of multiple receivers' MPDUs.

[0116] In one possible implementation, when the transmission direction of the scheduled wireless frame is uplink, the frame information may include one or more of the following fields: transmission direction field, site number field, receiving end identification field, transmitting end identification field, type field, modulation and coding field, resource unit allocation field, length field, spatial stream number field, check field field, and receiving power field.

[0117] For example, when the wireless frame is transmitted in the uplink direction, the frame format of the frame information can be as shown in Figure 6, where RX ID is the receiver identifier, TX ID is the transmitter identifier, and RU allocation can be found in Table 9-29i of 802.11ax D 8.0. It should be noted that if the above frame information is in a multicast frame, the multicast AID must also be included.

[0118] It should be understood that the frame structures, the name of each field, the order, and the bytes occupied by each field in Figures 3-6 are only examples and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0119] It should also be understood that the above figure illustrates the frame structure when the scheduling information and time information are carried in the same wireless frame. When the scheduling information and time information are carried in different wireless frames, the timestamp field in the above frame structure can be removed.

[0120] In one possible implementation, the frame carrying the above-mentioned scheduling information and / or time information includes one or more of the following fields: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a sending end address field, a timestamp field, a user information list field, a padding field, and a check field.

[0121] The user information list field may include at least one user information field, and the user information field includes one or more of the following fields: user identification field, time field, resource unit allocation field, transmission direction field, frame identification field, modulation coding field, spatial stream number allocation field, carrier modulation field, and error correction coding type field.

[0122] For example, the frame structure of the frame carrying the above-mentioned scheduling information and / or time information may be as shown in FIG. 7 .

[0123] As shown in Figure 7, the common information field is used to carry common information of multiple user information, that is, common information of N radio frames. The padding field can make the radio frame longer so that the receiving end has enough time to process the radio frame. The user information list field (user info list) can carry multiple user information (user info). Each user information field includes an AID 12 field, a time field (offset), an RU allocation field (RU allocation), a transmission direction field (direction), a frame ID field (frame ID), an MCS field, a spatial stream number allocation field (SS Allocation), a DCM field, and an FEC coding type field (FEC coding type). The user information field may also include other fields not shown in Figure 7, which are not limited in this application.

[0124] The Transmission Direction field indicates the direction of the scheduled radio frame (e.g., UL, DL, D2D, etc.), and the AID 12 field is the user identifier. When the Transmission Direction field indicates DL, the AID 12 field indicates the receiver address of the scheduled radio frame. When the Transmission Direction field indicates UL, the AID 12 field indicates the transmitter address of the scheduled radio frame. The Frame ID field indicates the radio frame in which the user transmits or receives. The Time field indicates the start time of the scheduled radio frame. The FEC Coding Type field indicates the channel coding method of the scheduled radio frame. The meanings of the other fields are described above and are not repeated here.

[0125] In one possible implementation, the frame carrying the above-mentioned scheduling information and / or time information includes one or more of the following fields: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a sending end address field, a timestamp field, a user information list field, a padding field, and a check field.

[0126] The user information list field may include at least one user information field, which may include a specific user information field and / or a regular user information list field. The specific user information field may include one or more of the following fields: a user identification field, a time field, and a transmission direction field; the regular user information list field may include one or more of the following fields: a user identification field, a resource unit allocation field, a modulation and coding field, a spatial stream number allocation field, a carrier modulation field, and an error correction coding type field.

[0127] For example, the frame structure of the frame carrying the above-mentioned scheduling information and / or time information may be as shown in FIG8 .

[0128] As shown in Figure 8, the user information list field can carry multiple user information. The user information field includes a special user information field (special user info) and a regular user information list field (regular user info list). The special user information field includes an AID 12 field, a time field, and a transmission direction field, or may also include other fields not shown in Figure 8, which are not limited in this application. The regular user information list field includes at least one regular user information field, which includes an AID 12 field, an RU allocation field, an MCS field, a spatial stream number allocation field, a DCM field, and an FEC coding type field. The regular user information field may also include other fields not shown in Figure 8, which are not limited in this application.

[0129] Among them, the specific user information field is used to carry the common information of one radio frame among the N scheduled radio frames. There are several specific user information fields for each scheduled radio frame. A special value of the AID 12 field can be used to indicate that the user information carried by this field is specific user information. The time field indicates the start time of the scheduled radio frame. The transmission direction field indicates the direction of the scheduled radio frame (for example, UL, DL, D2D, etc.). Each specific user information field is followed by at least one regular user information field, and each regular user information field corresponds to one user information. The meaning of other fields can be referred to the above description and will not be repeated here.

[0130] The user information lists in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 may include frame information of N radio frames, and may also include time offset information (offset) of each frame in the N radio frames. The user may correspond to the site in the above example.

[0131] It should be understood that the frame structures, names of each field, and order of FIG7 and FIG8 are merely examples, and this application does not limit them. Optionally, method 200 further includes:

[0132] S212: The first device sends feedback information, where the feedback information indicates confirmation of the scheduling information and / or time information. Correspondingly, the second device receives the feedback information.

[0133] For example, the feedback information may be a clear to send (CTS) frame.

[0134] Optionally, the method 200 further includes:

[0135] S213: The second device updates the clock time based on the time information.

[0136] For example, the second device can update the time of the local clock of the second device based on the time information. If multiple second devices receive N wireless frames, the second devices that receive the wireless frames can achieve time synchronization among the multiple second devices based on the time information.

[0137] S220: The first device sends and / or receives the N radio frames based on the scheduling information.

[0138] For example, when the transmission direction of N wireless frames is all uplink, the first device receives the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information; when the transmission direction of N wireless frames is all downlink, the first device sends the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information; when the transmission direction of N wireless frames includes uplink and downlink, the first device receives the wireless frames with uplink transmission direction among the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information, and sends the wireless frames with downlink transmission direction among the N wireless frames.

[0139] For S220' corresponding to S220, the second device sends and / or receives the radio frame corresponding to the second device in the N radio frames based on the scheduling information, or the second device sends and / or receives the radio frame corresponding to the second device in the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0140] For example, the N radio frames may be destined for multiple second devices. In this case, each second device sends and / or receives its own radio frames among the N radio frames based on the scheduling information. When the transmission direction of its own radio frames among the N radio frames is all uplink, the second device sends its own radio frames based on the scheduling information. When the transmission direction of its own radio frames among the N radio frames is all downlink, the second device receives its own radio frames based on the scheduling information. When the transmission direction of its own radio frames among the N radio frames includes both uplink and downlink, the second device receives its own radio frames among the N radio frames whose transmission direction is downlink based on the scheduling information, and sends its own radio frames among the N radio frames whose transmission direction is uplink.

[0141] In one possible implementation, a radio frame in the N radio frames includes only at least one of a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field, and a fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry information about the number of media access control protocol data units (MPDUs), the second field is used to carry sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry content (payload) of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry check information (e.g., FCS) of the MPDU.

[0142] For example, the frame structure of a radio frame in N radio frames may be as shown in Figure 9. It should be understood that the frame structure of Figure 9 and the order of each field and the bytes occupied by each field are only examples and are not limited in this application.

[0143] It should be understood that some fields that should be carried in the radio frame already carry information in the scheduling information, so the frame structure of the radio frame can be simplified and does not need to be repeated. The radio frame includes only one or more of the above five fields, which is one implementation method. In addition, the radio frame may also include fields other than the above fields, such as the frame control field, etc., and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0144] For example, the transmission direction of the radio frame corresponding to the second device among the N radio frames included in the scheduling information is downlink, and the second device receives the radio frame based on the transmission direction. The transmission direction of the radio frame corresponding to the second device among the N radio frames included in the scheduling information is uplink, and the second device sends the radio frame based on the transmission direction.

[0145] When the scheduling information includes the sending time of the N wireless frames, the second device can send and / or receive its own wireless frame at the corresponding time (which can be the time read by the clock after synchronization with the time information) in combination with the transmission direction of the wireless frame.

[0146] When the scheduling information includes the number of sites, the second device may determine the length of the scheduling information corresponding to the second device according to the number of sites, for example, the length from the identifier to the DCM.

[0147] When the scheduling information includes the identification information of the sending end of the N wireless frames, if the transmission direction of the wireless frame is uplink, the second device can determine whether to send the wireless frame based on the identification information. For example, if the identification information matches the identifier of the second device, the wireless frame is sent; if the identification information does not match the identifier of the second device, the wireless frame is not sent.

[0148] When the scheduling information includes the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, if the transmission direction of the wireless frame is downlink, the second device can determine whether to receive the wireless frame based on the identification information. For example, if the identification information matches the identifier of the second device, the wireless frame corresponding to the second device is received; if the identification information does not match the identifier of the second device, the wireless frame is not received.

[0149] The scheduling information includes the modulation and coding set adopted by N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams adopted by the N wireless frames, and whether the N wireless frames adopt one or more of the dual-carrier modulation. The second device can determine the sending parameters or receiving parameters of the wireless frames based on the above information.

[0150] When the scheduling information includes resource unit allocation information of N radio frames, the second device can send and / or receive radio frames at corresponding resource unit locations.

[0151] When the scheduling information includes the value of N, the second device can determine the corresponding operation of each scheduled wireless frame according to the value of N.

[0152] Through the method 200 provided in this application, N radio frames can be scheduled using scheduling information, avoiding the need to configure scheduling information each time a radio frame is scheduled. Furthermore, the scheduling information can schedule more than two radio frames, thereby improving communication efficiency and reducing latency. Furthermore, the method 200 can synchronize the clocks of a first device and at least two second devices using time information. Specifically, N radio frames can be sent and / or received based on the time synchronized with the time information, thereby improving communication accuracy.

[0153] FIG10 is an interactive flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. This communication method can improve communication efficiency and is applicable to scenarios with high requirements for communication efficiency and latency (such as industrial Internet of Things scenarios). Unless otherwise specified, the method shown in FIG10 and the contents described in FIG2-9 above can be referenced to each other. The method 300 shown in FIG10 includes:

[0154] S310 , a first device sends scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, where the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Correspondingly, a second device receives the scheduling information and identification information.

[0155] Optionally, the first device and the second device may be one of the following: the first device and the second device are access points; the first device and the second device are sites; the first device is an access point and the second device is a site; the first device is a site and the second device is an access point.

[0156] For example, the scheduling information may be a plurality of scheduling information, each of which has its own corresponding identifier. The scheduling information can be determined by the identifier information of the scheduling information.

[0157] For the meaning and specific content of the scheduling information, please refer to the description of the relevant content in S210 and will not be repeated here.

[0158] Optionally, the scheduling information and identification information are carried in a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0159] S320: The first device sends identification information of at least one scheduling information, and the second device receives the identification information of the at least one scheduling information.

[0160] For example, the identification information may be an ID of the scheduling information. The second apparatus may determine, based on the identification information, which scheduling information to be used among the scheduling information acquired in S310.

[0161] Optionally, the identification information is carried in a trigger frame.

[0162] For example, the trigger frame is a MU-RTS frame, or other frames, which is not limited in this application.

[0163] For example, when the scheduling information does not need to change dynamically, the trigger frame may always carry a certain scheduling information identifier, and the scheduling information may be used during this period. When the scheduling information changes, the trigger frame carries the identifier of the new scheduling information.

[0164] In a possible implementation manner, when the first device is an access point, it may compete for a channel through EDCA and send the identification information.

[0165] Optionally, the method 300 further includes:

[0166] S321: The first device sends time information, which is used to maintain clock synchronization. Correspondingly, the second device receives the time information.

[0167] For the meaning and specific embodiment of the time information, please refer to the description of the relevant content in S211 and will not be repeated here.

[0168] Optionally, the method 300 further includes:

[0169] S322: The first device sends feedback information indicating confirmation of the identification information, or the identification information and the time information. Correspondingly, the second device receives the feedback information.

[0170] For example, the feedback information may be a CTS frame.

[0171] Optionally, the method 300 further includes:

[0172] S323 is the same as S213. Please refer to the relevant description in S213 and will not be repeated here.

[0173] After the second device determines the scheduling information according to the identification information, the method 300 further includes:

[0174] S330 is the same as S220. Please refer to the relevant description in S220 and will not be repeated here.

[0175] S330' corresponding to S330 is the same as S220'. Please refer to the relevant description in S220' and will not be repeated here.

[0176] The frames where the scheduling information and time information involved in method 300 are located, and the frame structure of N radio frames can be found in the diagram of method 200 and will not be described in detail.

[0177] Through the method 300 provided in this application, scheduling information and its identification information can be preconfigured. Subsequently, only the identification information needs to be sent to determine the scheduling information to be used, avoiding the need to configure scheduling information each time a radio frame is scheduled. The scheduling information can schedule more than two radio frames, thereby improving communication efficiency and reducing latency. Furthermore, method 300 can synchronize the clocks of a first device and at least two second devices using time information. That is, by sending and / or receiving N radio frames according to the time synchronized with the time information, communication accuracy can be improved.

[0178] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of scheduling N radio frames through scheduling information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0179] The Industrial / IoT request to transmit (IRTS) frame shown in FIG11 is an example of a radio frame carrying scheduling information. IRTS is a name chosen for convenience of description. The radio frame carrying the scheduling information may also be named differently, such as a trigger frame. This application does not limit the name of the radio frame carrying the scheduling information. The five radio frames following the CTS are examples of radio frames scheduled by the scheduling information. When no transceiver conversion is involved, the interval xIFS between scheduled radio frames may be less than the short inter-frame space (SIFS). xIFS may be, for example, a reduced inter-frame space (RIFS), a point coordination function inter-frame space (PIFS), any inter-frame space (AIFS), or a distributed coordination function inter-frame space (DIFS). Since the transmission time of each radio frame is carried in the scheduling information, the first device may set the frame interval in the scheduling information to make the interval between radio frames less than the SIFS. The network allocation vector (NAV) refers to the length of time a device needs to occupy air interface resources. After other devices are set with NAV, they consider the channel busy during this period.

[0180] The various embodiments described herein may be independent solutions or combined according to internal logic, and all of these solutions fall within the scope of protection of this application. It should be understood that the steps in the above embodiments are only for the purpose of clearly describing the technical solutions of the embodiments and do not limit the order in which the steps are performed. The steps indicated by the dashed boxes and dashed lines are optional steps.

[0181] In the embodiments provided in the present application above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of interaction between various devices. The corresponding device embodiments are introduced below. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for parts not described in detail, please refer to the previous method embodiments. The communication device may include a hardware structure and / or a software module to implement the above-mentioned functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a function of the above-mentioned functions is performed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0182] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0183] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the device 400 may include a transceiver unit 410 and a processing unit 420. The transceiver unit 410 can communicate with the outside world, and the processing unit 420 is used to process data. The transceiver unit 410 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver unit.

[0184] In one possible design, the device 400 can implement a process corresponding to that executed by the first device in the above method embodiment, wherein the processing unit 420 is used to execute processing-related operations of the first device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver unit 410 is used to execute transceiver-related operations of the first device in the above method embodiment.

[0185] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 410 is used to send scheduling information and time information, the scheduling information is used to schedule N wireless frames, the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the processing unit 420 is used to control the transceiver unit 410 to send and / or receive the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0186] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to send identification information of the scheduling information.

[0187] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 410 is used to send scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, the scheduling information is used to schedule N wireless frames, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the transceiver unit 410 is also used to send identification information of the scheduling information, and the processing unit 420 is used to control the transceiver unit 410 to send and / or receive the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information determined according to the identification information.

[0188] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to send time information, where the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization.

[0189] In one possible implementation, the wireless frame includes only at least one of the first field, the second field, the third field, the fourth field, and the fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

[0190] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the transmission time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the transmitting end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0191] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0192] In one possible design, the device 400 can implement a process corresponding to that executed by the second device in the above method embodiment, wherein the processing unit 420 is used to execute processing-related operations of the second device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver unit 410 is used to execute transceiver-related operations of the second device in the above method embodiment.

[0193] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 410 is used to receive scheduling information and time information, the scheduling information is used to schedule N wireless frames, the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and the processing unit 420 is used to control the transceiver unit 410 to send and / or receive the wireless frame corresponding to the second device in the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information and time information.

[0194] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to receive identification information of the scheduling information.

[0195] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 410 is used to receive scheduling information and identification information of the scheduling information, the scheduling information is used to schedule N wireless frames, N is an integer greater than or equal to 1, the transceiver unit 410 is also used to receive identification information of the scheduling information, and the processing unit 420 is used to control the transceiver unit 410 to send and / or receive the wireless frame corresponding to the second device in the N wireless frames based on the scheduling information determined according to the identification information.

[0196] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to receive time information, which is used to maintain clock synchronization.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the wireless frame includes only at least one of the first field, the second field, the third field, the fourth field, and the fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

[0198] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: the transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the transmission time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the transmitting end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

[0199] In a possible implementation manner, the scheduling information and / or time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

[0200] It should be understood that the device 400 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a merging logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 400 can be specifically the first device in the above-mentioned embodiment, which can be used to execute the process corresponding to the first device in the above-mentioned method embodiment, or the device 400 can be specifically the second device in the above-mentioned embodiment, which can be used to execute the process corresponding to the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0201] The above-mentioned device 400 has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the first device in the above-mentioned method, or the above-mentioned device 400 has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the second device in the above-mentioned method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or can be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the sending and receiving operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0202] In addition, the above-mentioned transceiver unit can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it can include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit. In an embodiment of the present application, the device in Figure 12 can be the second device or the first device in the aforementioned embodiment, or it can be a chip or a chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). Among them, the transceiver unit can be an input and output circuit, a communication interface. The processing unit is a processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0203] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 500 can be an independent device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device 500 can be: (1) a first device or a second device (such as a receiver, an intelligent terminal, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, a vehicle-mounted device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.); (2) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (3) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC collection can also include a storage component for storing data and instructions; (4) an ASIC, such as a modem; (5) a module that can be embedded in other devices.

[0204] Figure 13 only shows the main components of the communication device 500. The communication device 500 includes a processor 501 and a transceiver 502. Optionally, in addition to the processor 501 and the transceiver 502, the communication device may further include a memory 503 and an input / output device (not shown in Figure 13).

[0205] The processor 501 is primarily used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process software program data. The memory 503 is primarily used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 502 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is primarily used to convert baseband signals into radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as a touch screen, display, and keyboard, are primarily used to receive user input and output data to the user.

[0206] The processor 501 , the transceiver 502 , and the memory 503 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0207] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 501 can read the software program in the memory 503, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 501 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 501. The processor 501 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0208] The radio frequency circuit and antenna can be set independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and antenna can be arranged independently of the communication device in a remote manner.

[0209] In one possible implementation, the communication device 500 is configured to implement the operations performed by the first device in the above method embodiment. For example, the memory 503 is configured to store instructions, and the processor 501 may call the instructions stored in the memory 503. The processor 501 is configured to implement the operations performed internally by the first device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver 502 is configured to implement the receiving or sending operations performed by the first device in the above method embodiment.

[0210] In another possible implementation, the communication device 500 is used to implement the operations performed by the second device in the above method embodiment. For example, the memory 503 is used to store instructions, and the processor 501 can call the instructions stored in the memory 503. The processor 501 is used to implement the operations performed by the second device in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver 502 is used to implement the receiving or sending operations performed by the second device in the above method embodiment.

[0211] During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in conjunction with its hardware. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0212] The above-mentioned devices can be respectively arranged on independent chips, or at least partially or completely arranged on the same chip. For example, the processor can be further divided into an analog baseband processor and a digital baseband processor. Among them, the analog baseband processor can be integrated with the transceiver on the same chip, and the digital baseband processor can be arranged on an independent chip. With the continuous development of integrated circuit technology, more and more devices can be integrated on the same chip. For example, the digital baseband processor can be integrated with a variety of application processors (such as but not limited to graphics processors, multimedia processors, etc.) on the same chip. Such a chip can be called a system on chip. Whether each device is independently arranged on different chips or integrated on one or more chips often depends on the specific needs of the product design. The embodiment of the present invention does not limit the specific implementation form of the above-mentioned devices.

[0213] The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The processor in the embodiments of the present application can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented as a hardware decoding processor, or can be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor.

[0214] The aforementioned memory may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache memory. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0215] According to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 10.

[0216] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a computer-readable medium, which stores program code. When the program code runs on a computer, the computer executes the method in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 10.

[0217] According to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the present application also provides a system, which includes the aforementioned one or more sites and one or more access points.

[0218] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this application simply describes an association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, the character " / " in this document generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. For specific understanding, please refer to the context.

[0219] As used herein, the term "at least one of" or "at least one of the following" refers to all or any combination of the listed items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, B and C together, A and C together, or A, B, and C together. As used herein, "at least one" means one or more items. "Multiple items" means two or more items.

[0220] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the first, second, and various numerical numbers are merely distinctions for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0221] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0222] Those skilled in the art will 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.

[0223] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or 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.

[0224] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0225] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0226] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0227] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending scheduling information and time information, where the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames and the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; The N radio frames are sent and / or received based on the scheduling information and the time information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sends identification information of scheduling information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The wireless frame includes only at least one of a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field, and a fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: The transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the transmission time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the transmitting end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The scheduling information and / or the time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving scheduling information and time information, wherein the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames, and the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; A radio frame among the N radio frames is transmitted and / or received based on the scheduling information and the time information.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive identification information of scheduling information.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: The time of the clock is updated based on the time information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The wireless frame includes only at least one of a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field, and a fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: The transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the transmission time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the transmitting end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding used by the N wireless frames The set includes the number of spatial streams used by the N radio frames, whether the N radio frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N radio frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N radio frames, and the value of N.

11. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 10, characterized in that The scheduling information and / or the time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver unit, configured to send scheduling information and time information, wherein the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames, and the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; A processing unit is configured to control the transceiver unit to send and / or receive the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and the time information.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further configured to send identification information of the scheduling information.

14. The device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The wireless frame includes only at least one of a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field, and a fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

15. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: The transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the transmission time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the transmitting end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

16. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that The scheduling information and / or the time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

17. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver unit, configured to receive scheduling information and time information, wherein the scheduling information is used to schedule N radio frames, and the time information is used to maintain clock synchronization, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1; A processing unit is configured to control the transceiver unit to send and / or receive a radio frame among the N radio frames based on the scheduling information and the time information.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The transceiver unit is further configured to receive identification information of the scheduling information.

19. The device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The processing unit is further configured to update the clock time based on the time information.

20. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The wireless frame includes only at least one of a first field, a second field, a third field, a fourth field, and a fifth field, wherein the first field is used to carry the quantity information of the media access control protocol data unit MPDU, the second field is used to carry the sequence number information included in the MPDU, the third field is used to carry the length information of the MPDU, the fourth field is used to carry the content of the MPDU, and the fifth field is used to carry the verification information of the MPDU.

21. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that The scheduling information also includes at least one of the following: The transmission direction of the N wireless frames, the transmission time of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the transmitting end of the N wireless frames, the identification information of the receiving end of the N wireless frames, the modulation and coding set used by the N wireless frames, the number of spatial streams used by the N wireless frames, whether the N wireless frames use dual-carrier modulation, the number of sites corresponding to the N wireless frames, the resource unit allocation information of the N wireless frames, and the value of N.

22. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that The scheduling information and / or the time information is carried in a trigger frame, a beacon frame or a multicast management frame.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Memory, for storing computer instructions; A processor, configured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 6 to 11.

24. A chip, characterized in that: include: A processor and an interface, configured to call from a memory and run a computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or to execute the method according to any one of claims 6 to 11.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that Used to store a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or comprising instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 6 to 11.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a computer program code, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or causes the computer to implement the method according to any one of claims 6 to 11.

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