Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device. The communication method provided by the present application comprises: a first STA receiving first information from an AP, the first information indicating a bandwidth scheduled by the AP and an RU used by each second STA when at least one scheduled second STA sends uplink data; when the scheduled at least one second STA does not include the first STA, if the first STA has a low-delay service transmission demand in a period when the AP schedules the at least one second STA, sending second information on the first null subcarrier, the second information indicating that the low-delay service transmission demand exists; wherein the first null sub-carrier is included in at least one null sub-carrier, and the at least one null sub-carrier comprises a null sub-carrier having a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA in the bandwidth scheduled by the AP. According to the technical scheme, the transmission delay of the low-delay service data packet of the first STA can be reduced when the low-delay service data packet needs to be transmitted when the first STA supporting the low-delay service is not scheduled by the AP.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] With the development of mobile Internet, wireless local area networks (WLAN) have become a mainstream way for stations (STA) to access the network.

[0003] At present, regarding how STAs that use WLAN to access the network perform uplink transmission, an uplink transmission method for scheduling STAs to send uplink data based on a trigger frame (TF) sent by an access point (AP) is proposed: the AP sends a trigger frame, which includes information for indicating the STA that performs uplink data transmission and resource allocation RU information that the STA should use when sending uplink data; accordingly, the scheduled STA can perform uplink data transmission.

[0004] However, the above transmission method may not be able to guarantee the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packets of the STA supporting low-latency services when the STA has low-latency service data packets to transmit during the period when the STA is not scheduled by the AP. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication device, in order to reduce the transmission delay of a low-latency service data packet of a STA supporting a low-latency service when the STA has a low-latency service data packet to transmit during a period when the STA is not scheduled by an AP.

[0006] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a first station STA, the method comprising: receiving first information from an access point AP, the first information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one scheduled second STA sends uplink data; when the at least one scheduled second STA does not include the first STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one second STA, second information is sent on a first empty subcarrier, and the second information indicates that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement; wherein the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP that has a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA.

[0007] In this embodiment, the AP will indicate the scheduled bandwidth, the scheduled at least one second STA, and the RU allocated to each of the at least one second STA based on the first information, and accordingly, the first STA will receive the first information. Afterwards, if the first STA determines that there is a need for low-latency service transmission during the period when it is not called by the AP, the first STA will determine at least one empty subcarrier based on the bandwidth information scheduled by the AP indicated by the first information and the RU information allocated by the AP to each of the at least one second STA scheduled, and then send the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on the first empty subcarrier included in the at least one empty subcarrier (or it can also be described as sending the low-latency service transmission need to the AP through the first empty subcarrier), so that after receiving the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission, the AP determines the STA (including the first STA) that may have a low-latency service transmission need, and then schedules the STA that may have a low-latency service transmission need for uplink transmission at an appropriate time, thereby reducing the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet of the first STA that supports low-latency service when the first STA has a low-latency service data packet to transmit during the period when it is not scheduled by the AP without affecting the data transmission of at least one second STA.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

[0009] The description that the subcarriers included in the N null subcarrier groups are the same as the null subcarriers included in the at least one null subcarrier may also be replaced by: the at least one null subcarrier is divided into N null subcarrier groups.

[0010] The description that each of the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one AID may also be replaced by: each empty subcarrier group corresponds to at least one AID.

[0011] During implementation, when the first STA supporting low-latency services has low-latency service data packets to transmit during a period when it is not scheduled by the AP, the first STA can divide the at least one empty subcarrier into N empty subcarrier groups after determining at least one empty subcarrier, and then the first STA determines a first empty subcarrier group that has a corresponding relationship (or is called an associated relationship) with the AID of the first STA, and then sends the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on the empty subcarriers included in the first empty subcarrier group.

[0012] It should be understood that the method of selecting the corresponding empty subcarrier group by AID and sending the second information for indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on the empty subcarriers included in the corresponding empty subcarrier group can reduce the time it takes for the AP to determine the STA that may have a low-latency service transmission requirement, compared to the method of sending the second information for indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on all empty subcarriers, thereby further reducing the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet of the first STA.

[0013] Optionally, in an example, the first empty subcarrier group is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

[0014] That is, when the first STA has a need for low-latency service transmission during the period when it is not called by the AP, the first STA, after determining at least one empty subcarrier, divides the at least one empty subcarrier into N empty subcarrier groups, and then sends the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on the i-th empty subcarrier group (mod(AID, N)+1) among the N empty subcarrier groups.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first STA sends the second information on the first empty subcarrier, including: sending the second information on the first empty subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0016] That is, the first STA sends in OOK mode on the first empty subcarrier, and each OFDM symbol may have a signal or no signal according to the second information. In this way, the power consumption of the AP when detecting the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission can be reduced.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a first trigger frame.

[0018] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to an access point AP, the method comprising: sending first information, the first information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one second STA scheduled sends uplink data; receiving second information transmitted on a first empty subcarrier, the second information indicating that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement, the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP that has a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA; sending third information, the third information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each third STA when at least one third STA scheduled sends uplink data, at least one third STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one second STA.

[0019] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

[0020] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier group is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

[0021] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a first trigger frame, and the third information is carried in a second trigger frame.

[0023] In the third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a first station STA, including: receiving fourth information and fifth information from an access point AP, the fourth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each fourth STA when at least one scheduled fourth STA sends uplink data, the fifth information is used to indicate at least one first RU used to transmit second information within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP, and the second information is used to indicate that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement; when the first STA is not included in the at least one scheduled fourth STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one fourth STA, the second information is sent on a first subcarrier, and the first subcarrier is included in the subcarriers included in at least one first RU.

[0024] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible implementation manner, sending the second information on the first subcarrier includes: sending the second information on the first subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0025] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to an access point AP, including: sending fourth information and fifth information, the fourth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource units RU used by each fourth STA when at least one fourth STA scheduled sends uplink data, the fifth information is used to indicate at least one first RU used to transmit second information within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP, and the second information is used to indicate that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement; receiving the second information transmitted on the first subcarrier, the first subcarrier is included in the subcarriers included in at least one first RU; sending sixth information, the sixth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RUs used by each fifth STA when at least one fifth STA scheduled sends uplink data, at least one fifth STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one fourth STA.

[0026] In combination with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0027] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including: a receiving module, used to receive first information from an access point AP, the first information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each second STA when the at least one scheduled second STA sends uplink data; a sending module, used to send second information on a first empty subcarrier when the at least one scheduled second STA does not include the first STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one second STA, the second information indicates the low-latency service transmission requirement; wherein the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier having a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP.

[0028] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

[0029] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier group is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

[0030] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the sending module is specifically used to: send the second information on the first empty subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0031] In combination with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a first trigger frame.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, applied to an access point AP, including: a sending module, used to send first information, the first information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one scheduled second STA sends uplink data; a receiving module, used to receive second information transmitted on a first empty subcarrier, the second information indicating that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement, the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP that has a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA; the sending module is also used to send third information, the third information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each third STA when at least one scheduled third STA sends uplink data, at least one third STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one second STA.

[0033] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

[0034] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first empty subcarrier group is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

[0035] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation, the second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0036] In combination with the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a first trigger frame, and the third information is carried in a second trigger frame.

[0037] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, applied to a first site STA, including: a receiving module, used to receive fourth information and fifth information from an access point AP, the fourth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each fourth STA when the at least one scheduled fourth STA sends uplink data, the fifth information is used to indicate at least one first RU used to transmit the second information within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP, and the second information is used to indicate that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement; a sending module, used to send the second information on a first subcarrier when the at least one scheduled fourth STA does not include the first STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one fourth STA. The first subcarrier is included in the subcarriers included in at least one first RU.

[0038] In combination with the seventh aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the sending module is specifically used to: send the second information on the first subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0039] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to an access point AP, including: a sending module, used to send fourth information and fifth information, the fourth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each fourth STA when the at least one fourth STA scheduled sends uplink data, the fifth information is used to indicate at least one first RU used to transmit the second information within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP, and the second information is used to indicate that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement; a receiving module, used to receive the second information transmitted on a first subcarrier, the first subcarrier is included in the subcarriers included in at least one first RU; the sending module is also used to: send sixth information, the sixth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each fifth STA when the at least one fifth STA scheduled sends uplink data, at least one fifth STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one fourth STA.

[0040] In an eighth aspect, in a possible implementation, the second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0041] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0042] In combination with the ninth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0043] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0044] In combination with the tenth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0045] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation method thereof.

[0046] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0047] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory configured to execute the method described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation method thereof.

[0048] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device also includes a processor; the memory is used to store program instructions; and the processor is used to call the program instructions in the memory to execute the method described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0049] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising the communication device as described in the fifth aspect and the communication device as described in the sixth aspect; or, comprising the communication device as described in the seventh aspect and the communication device as described in the eighth aspect.

[0050] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable medium storing a program code for computer execution, wherein the program code includes instructions for executing the method as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0051] In the fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system comprising at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and at least one processor being interconnected by lines, and the at least one processor being used to run computer programs or instructions to perform the method described in the first to fourth aspects or any possible implementation thereof.

[0052] In the sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program code. When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer implements the method described in any one of the first to fourth aspects or any possible implementation method thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of subcarrier distribution and RU distribution of 20M (HZ) provided in this application;

[0055] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the subcarrier distribution and RU distribution of 40M (HZ) provided in this application;

[0056] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an existing trigger frame-based scheduled uplink transmission method provided by the present application;

[0057] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a frame format of a trigger frame provided in the present application;

[0058] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of low latency requirements when low latency service data transmission cannot be guaranteed for this application;

[0059] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of realizing the reduction of low-latency service data transmission provided by this application;

[0061] Fig. 9 A flow chart of a communication method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Fig.10 A structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Fig.11 A structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] In order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects. For example, the first information and the second information are used to distinguish different information, and their order is not limited. Those skilled in the art can understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different.

[0065] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0066] In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0067] Below, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the embodiments of the present application are described in detail.

[0068] First, combine Figure 1 The communication system architecture to which the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable is described.

[0069] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes an AP and a STA (such as Figure 1 Each STA can access the AP through a wireless local area network (WLAN) to communicate with other devices.

[0070] Among them, the access point AP is a device with wireless communication function, supports communication using WLAN protocol, has the function of communicating with other devices in the WLAN network (such as stations or other access points), and of course, can also have the function of communicating with other devices. AP 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, buildings and parks. 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 wireless fidelity (WiFi) chip. The access point can be a device that supports the 802.11be (also known as EHT (extremely high throughput)) standard. The access point may also be a device supporting multiple WLAN standards of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n (also known as HT (high throughput)), 802.11ac (also known as VHT (very high throughput)), 802.11ax (also known as HE (high efficient)), and 802.11bn (also known as UHR (ultra high reliability)). In the present application, the access point may be a high efficiency (HE) AP or an extremely high throughput (EHT) AP, and may also be an access point applicable to a future generation of WiFi standards.

[0071] Among them, STA is a device with wireless communication function, which can refer to user equipment, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The site can also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in the future 5G network or a terminal device in the future evolved public land mobile communication network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. Optionally, the site can also support multiple WLAN standards of the 802.11 family such as 802.11be, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a.

[0072] Optionally, the 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 smart remote controls in smart homes, smart water and electricity meters, and sensors in smart cities.

[0073] Optionally, the AP can be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in the complete device, etc. The device installed with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chips or processing systems. For example, the AP can be a communication entity such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, etc.; the AP can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. Of course, the AP can also be a chip and processing system in these various forms of devices, so as to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0074] Optionally, the device with wireless communication function can be a complete device, or it can be a chip or processing system installed in the complete device. The device installed with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system.

[0075] It should be noted that the above Figure 1 An AP and six STAs are used as examples to illustrate the architecture of the communication system applicable to the present application, but they do not constitute limitations of the present application. Figure 1The wireless communication system shown may further include more APs, or may further include more or fewer STAs.

[0076] In addition, it should be noted that although the present application is described by taking the network deploying IEEE 802.11 as an example, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the various aspects involved in the present application can be extended to other networks adopting various standards or protocols, such as Bluetooth, high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN), wide area network (WAN), WLAN, personal area network (PAN) or other networks known now or developed later. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0077] The above introduces the system architecture that can be applied to the embodiments of the present application. In order to better understand the communication method proposed in the embodiments of the present application, several concepts involved are explained before introducing the communication method of the present application.

[0078] 1. Resource allocation (RU)

[0079] The 802.11ax standard supports 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz bandwidth configurations. The difference between 160 MHz and 80+80 MHz is that 160 MHz is a continuous frequency band, and 80+80 MHz is two discontinuous 80 MHz (each 80 MHz is a continuous frequency band). In order to meet the user's requirements for ultra-large bandwidth, ultra-high transmission rate and extremely high throughput, the 802.11be standard expands the bandwidth from 160 MHz to 320 MHz, which means that the 802.11be standard will support the bandwidth configuration of 320 MHz / 160+160 MHz. In addition, the 802.11be standard allocates resources in units of RU.

[0080] RU can be considered as a basic frequency resource unit for dividing frequency resources of wireless networks. RU types mainly include 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, 996-tone RU, 2*996-tone RU, 4*996-tone RU, etc. Among them, tone refers to subcarrier. Among them, 26tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 26 subcarriers, 52tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 52 subcarriers, 106tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 106 subcarriers, 242tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 242 subcarriers, 484toneRU can be understood as an RU containing 484 subcarriers, 996tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 996 subcarriers, 2*996tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 2*996 subcarriers, and 4*996tone RU can be understood as an RU containing 4*996 subcarriers.

[0081] RU, as a basic frequency resource unit, can be allocated to different users for uplink and downlink data transmission. RUs of different sizes have different bandwidths and can also carry services of different rates.

[0082] As an example, see Figure 2 , Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the subcarrier distribution and RU distribution of 20M (HZ). Figure 2 As shown in the figure, when the bandwidth is 20MHz, the entire bandwidth (i.e. 20MHz) includes a 242tone RU; or includes various combinations of 26tone RU, 52tone RU, and 106tone RU. In addition to the RU, the 20MHz bandwidth also includes some guard subcarriers, empty subcarriers ( Figure 2 The part shown in 1tone in the figure) or the direct current (DC) subcarrier. Specifically, the subcarrier range included in the RU can be referred to the description in the related art, which will not be repeated here.

[0083] As an example, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the 40MHz subcarrier distribution and RU distribution. Figure 3As shown in the figure, when the bandwidth is 40MHz, the entire bandwidth (i.e. 40MHz) includes a 484-tone RU, or various combinations of 26tone RU, 52toneRU, 106-tone RU, and 242tone RU. In addition to the RU, the 40MHz bandwidth also includes some guard subcarriers, empty subcarriers, or direct current (DC) subcarriers. Among them, the empty subcarriers include Figure 3 Specifically, the subcarrier range included in the RU can be referred to the description in the related art, which will not be repeated here.

[0084] As an example, when the bandwidth is 80MHz, the entire bandwidth (i.e., 80MHz) includes a 996tone RU, or includes various combinations of 26tone RU, 52tone RU, 106tone RU, 242tone RU, and 484tone RU. For example, the 80MHz bandwidth may include 37 26-tone RUs, or the 80MHz bandwidth may include 16 52-tone RUs, or the 80MHz bandwidth may include 8 106-tone RUs, or the 80MHz bandwidth may include 4 242-tone RUs, or the 80MHz bandwidth may include 2 484-tone RUs, or the 80MHz bandwidth may include 1 996-tone RU. Similarly, in addition to being used for RU, the 80MHz bandwidth also includes some guard subcarriers, empty subcarriers, or direct current (DC) subcarriers. Specifically, the subcarrier range included in the RU can be referred to the description in the relevant technology, which will not be repeated here.

[0085] According to the above rules, when the bandwidth is 160MHz or 80+80MHz, the entire bandwidth can be regarded as a copy of two 80MHz subcarrier distributions, and the entire bandwidth (i.e. 160MHZ) can be composed of a whole 2*996-tone RU, or various combinations of 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, and 996-tone RU. Among them, the difference between 160MHz and 80+80MHz is that the former is a continuous frequency band, while the two 80MHz frequency bands of the latter can be separated. Similarly, when the bandwidth is 240MHz or 160+80MHz, the entire bandwidth can be regarded as a copy of three 80MHz subcarrier distributions; when the bandwidth is 320MHz or 160+160MHz, the entire bandwidth can be regarded as a copy of four 80MHz subcarrier distributions, which will not be repeated here.

[0086] In terms of bandwidth, 26-tone RU corresponds to approximately 2MHz, 52-tone RU corresponds to approximately 4MHz, 106-tone RU corresponds to approximately 8MHz, and 242-tone RU corresponds to approximately 20MHz. The bandwidths corresponding to RUs of other sizes can be deduced by addition or multiplication, which will not be repeated here.

[0087] It should be understood that because the 802.11be standard allows multiple RUs to be allocated to a STA, that is, multiple RUs are combined and allocated to a STA, the 802.11be standard supports multiple resource units (multiple RUs, MRUs). In other words, in addition to the several RUs mentioned above, the 802.11be standard also includes some MRUs. For example, a 52-tone RU and a 26-tone RU form a 52+26-tone MRU; a 106-tone RU and a 26-tone RU form a 106+26-tone MRU. For example, a 996-tone RU and a 484-tone RU form a 996+484-tone MRU; two 996-tone RUs and a 484-tone RU form a 2*996+484-tone MRU; three 996-tone RUs form a 3*996-tone MRU; three 996-tone RUs and a 484-tone RU form a 3*996+484-tone RU. It should also be understood that the symbol "*" herein means "multiply" or "times."

[0088] 2. Transmit Opportunity (TXOP)

[0089] A transmission opportunity is a MAC feature in 802.11 that improves the throughput of high priority data by providing contention-free channel access for a period of time. It is a limited period of time during which contention-free channel access is available to the channel owning station.

[0090] Currently, in Figure 1 In the system architecture shown, how to enable STA to transmit uplink data is a hot research issue. In traditional WLAN, when each STA needs to send uplink data, it will occupy the entire channel for uplink data transmission through competition, which results in low spectrum utilization efficiency.

[0091] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ax protocol standard proposes a scheduled uplink transmission method based on a trigger frame (TF), that is, the AP sends a trigger frame to schedule one or more STAs to perform uplink data transmission.

[0092] Specifically, Figure 4 As shown, the scheduling uplink transmission method based on the trigger frame includes:

[0093] Step 1: After the AP successfully obtains the channel transmission opportunity TXOP by competing for the channel, the AP sends a TF, which is used to schedule one or more STAs to send PPDUs. The trigger frame contains resource scheduling and other parameters for one or more STAs to send uplink PPDUs. The specific frame format of the trigger frame can be referred to the corresponding description in the relevant technology, which will not be described here.

[0094] Exemplarily, the trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information list field. The common information field contains common information that one or more STAs receiving the trigger frame need to read. The user information list field is composed of one or more user information fields, and a STA needs to read the user information field containing the AID of the STA. The user information field includes an association identification 12 (AID12) and a resource unit allocation (RU allocation) subfield. AID12 represents the association identification of a certain STA, and the resource unit allocation subfield is used to indicate the location of the RU allocated to this STA (the STA indicated by AID12).

[0095] It is noted here that the trigger frame may also include more fields. For example Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a trigger frame format is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the trigger frame includes a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving address (RA) field, a transmitting address (TA) field, a common information field, a user information field, a padding field, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field, etc. It should be understood that this is only an example, and for example, the trigger frame may include more fields, which does not constitute a limitation of the present application.

[0096] Step 2: After receiving the trigger frame, the STA parses the user information field that matches its AID12 from the trigger frame, and then sends the PPDU on the RU indicated by the resource unit allocation subfield contained in the user information field. The names and meanings of the various fields contained in the PPDU can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in the relevant technology, which will not be described here.

[0097] Step 3: After receiving the PPDU sent by one or more STAs, the AP replies with a block acknowledgement (BA) frame.

[0098] However, in the above-mentioned trigger frame-based scheduled uplink transmission method, there may be a situation where the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packets of the STA supporting low-latency services cannot be guaranteed when the STA supporting low-latency services has low-latency service data packets to transmit during the period when it is not scheduled by the AP. Figure 6 ,like Figure 6 As shown in the figure, for a STA supporting low latency services, also called LL_STA, if a low latency service data packet arrives at the LL_STA at this time, but the LL_STA cannot send it at this time, it needs to wait until the TXOP ends to compete for the channel, and can only send the low latency service data packet after the channel competition is successful (that is, the low latency service can only be transmitted after the channel competition is successful). Since it takes a long time to wait, and the channel competition may not be successful after the AP's TXOP ends, it will cause a large delay when the LL_STA transmits the low latency service data packet.

[0099] One current solution is to increase the priority of LL_STA when competing for channels, thereby increasing the probability of LL_STA successfully competing for channels after the TXOP of the AP ends, so as to reduce the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packets of LL_STA. However, although this method of increasing the priority of LL_STA when competing for channels can increase the probability of LL_STA successfully competing for channels, it still needs to wait until the TXOP of the AP ends, and it is impossible to inform the AP of its low-latency service transmission requirements within the TXOP of the AP, so that the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packets of LL_STA is still very large. And it is understandable that the longer the TXOP of the AP is, the greater the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packets of LL_STA.

[0100] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method. In the communication method provided by the present application, Figure 7 As shown, when LL_STA has a low-latency service data packet to transmit during the period when it is not scheduled by AP, the LL_STA is allowed to inform the AP of the low-latency service transmission demand in the AP's TXOP, so that the AP can schedule the LL_STA to transmit the low-latency service data packet (such as Figure 7 LL_PPDU in the data packet), thereby reducing the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet.

[0101] Below, reference Figure 8 , describes in detail the communication method proposed in the embodiments of the present application. Figure 8 This is a flow chart of a communication method proposed in one embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the method includes:

[0102] S801, the AP sends first information, and correspondingly, the first STA receives the first information; the first information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each second STA when at least one second STA scheduled sends uplink data.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first information is carried in a trigger frame. In this embodiment, for ease of description, the trigger frame carrying the first information is also referred to as a first trigger frame. It should be understood that the first trigger frame may also include other information, which does not constitute a limitation of the present application. Specifically, the relevant description of the trigger frame can refer to the specific description of the above concept, which will not be repeated here.

[0104] In this embodiment, after the AP successfully obtains the TXOP by competing for the channel, at least one STA scheduled in the TXOP is called a second STA.

[0105] Or, in another way, after the AP successfully obtains the TXOP by competing for the channel, one or more STAs scheduled in the TXOP are called second STAs.

[0106] In this embodiment, after obtaining the TXOP, the AP sends the first information to each managed STA, wherein the managed STA includes the first STA, and the first information indicates at least one second STA scheduled by the AP in the TXOP, and the RU allocated to each scheduled second STA. Accordingly, the at least one second STA scheduled by the AP performs uplink transmission on its respective RU.

[0107] S802, when the first STA is not included in the scheduled at least one second STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission demand during the period when the AP schedules at least one second STA, second information is sent on the first empty subcarrier, and the second information indicates that there is a low-latency service transmission demand.

[0108] In this embodiment, when the first STA is not included in at least one second STA scheduled by the AP, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement, that is, the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement when the first STA is not called by the AP, the first STA will send indication information on the first empty subcarrier to indicate that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement.

[0109] In this embodiment, the indication information sent by the first STA to indicate the need for low-latency service transmission is also referred to as second information.

[0110] Specifically, in this embodiment, the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, wherein the empty subcarrier refers to a subcarrier that can be used to transmit information but is not used to transmit information when the AP schedules at least one second STA.

[0111] It should be understood that at least one empty subcarrier can be determined based on the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU allocated to at least one second STA within the scheduled bandwidth. Since the empty subcarrier is uniquely determined when the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU allocated to at least one second STA within the scheduled bandwidth are determined, in this embodiment, at least one empty subcarrier is also referred to as an empty subcarrier that has a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth.

[0112] That is, after the first STA receives the first information, if the first STA is not included in at least one second STA, the first STA will determine that it is not scheduled by the AP. In this case, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP is not called, the first STA will determine at least one empty subcarrier based on the bandwidth information scheduled by the AP indicated by the first information and the RU information allocated by the AP to at least one scheduled second STA, and then use the first empty subcarrier included in the at least one empty subcarrier to send the second information.

[0113] It should be understood that the first empty subcarrier mentioned here does not mean that only one empty subcarrier is used to send the second information, but all empty subcarriers used to send the second information are called first empty subcarriers.

[0114] Below, taking the case where the number of RUs allocated by the AP to the at least one second STA reaches the maximum value as an example, several index situations of at least one empty subcarrier determined under different bandwidths and RUs are described:

[0115] 1. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 20M, corresponding to 26-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: -122, -69, 69, 122.

[0116] 2. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 20M, corresponding to 52-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: -122, -69, -3, 3, 69, 122.

[0117] 3. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 20M, corresponding to 106-tone RU, the index of the corresponding empty subcarrier is as follows: -3, 3.

[0118] 4. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 40M, corresponding to 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU, the corresponding empty subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±3, ±56, ±57, ±110, ±137, ±190, ±191, ±244.

[0119] 5. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 40M, corresponding to 106-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±3, ±110, ±137, ±244.

[0120] 6. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 40M, corresponding to 106-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±3, ±110, ±137, ±244.

[0121] 7. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 80M, corresponding to 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU or 106-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±12, ±65, ±66, ±119, ±146, ±199, ±200, ±253, ±254, ±255, ±256, ±257, ±258, ±259, ±312, ±313, ±366, ±393, ±446, ±447, ±500.

[0122] 8. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 80M, corresponding to 242-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±254, ±255, ±256, ±257, ±258.

[0123] 9. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 80M, corresponding to 484-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±254, ±255, ±256, ±257, ±258.

[0124] 10. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 160M, corresponding to 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, or 996-tone RU, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±12, ±65, ±66, ±119, ±146, ±199, ±200, ±253, ±254, ±255, ±256, ±257, ±258, ±259, ±312, ±313, ±366, ±393, ±446, ±447, ±500, ±501, ±502, ±503, ±504, ±505, ±506, ±507, ±508, ±509, ±510 0, ±511, ±512, ±513, ±514, ±515, ±516, ±517, ±518, ±519, ±520, ±521, ±522, ±523, ±524, ±577, ±578, ±631, ±658, ±711, ±712, ±765, ±766, ±767, ±768, ±769, ±770, ±771, ±824, ±825, ±878, ±905, ±958, ±959,

[0125] ±1012.

[0126] 11. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 160M, corresponding to 2*996-tone RU, the corresponding empty subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±510, ±511, ±512, ±513, ±514.

[0127] 12. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 320M, it corresponds to 26-tone RU or 52-tone RU or 106-tone RU or 242-tone RU or 484-tone RU or 996-tone RU or 2*996-tone When RU is used, the corresponding null subcarrier indexes are as follows: ±12, ±65, ±66, ±119, ±146, ±199, ±200, ±253, ±254, ±255, ±256, ±257, ±258, ±259, ±312, ±313, ±366, ±393, ±446, ±447, ±500, ±501, ±502, ±503, ±504, ±505, ±506, ±507, ±508, ±509, ±510, ±511, ±512, ±513, ±514, ±515, ±516, ±517, ±518, ±519, ±520, ±521, ±522, ±523, ± 524,±577,±578,±631,±658,±711,±712,±765,±766,±767,±768,±769,±770,±771,±824,±825,±878,±905,±958,±959,±1012,±1013,±1014±1015,±1016,±1017,±1018,±1019,±1020,±1021,±1022,±1023,±1024,±1025,±1026,±1027,±1028,±1029,±1030,±1031,±1032,±1033,±1034,

[0128] ±1035, ±1036, ±1089, ±1090, ±1143, ±1170, ±1223, ±1224, ±1277, ±1278, ±1279, ±1280,

[0129] ±1281, ±1282, ±1283, ±1336, ±1337, ±1390, ±1417, ±1470, ±1471, ±1524, ±1525, ±1526,

[0130] ±1527, ±1528, ±1529, ±1530, ±1531, ±1532, ±1533, ±1534, ±1535, ±1536, ±1537, ±1538,

[0131] ±1539, ±1540, ±1541, ±1542, ±1543, ±1544, ±1545, ±1546, ±1547, ±1548, ±1601, ±1602,

[0132] ±1655, ±1682, ±1735, ±1736, ±1789, ±1790, ±1791, ±1792, ±1793, ±1794, ±1795, ±1848,

[0133] ±1849, ±1902, ±1929, ±1982, ±1983, ±2036.

[0134] 13. When the bandwidth scheduled by the AP is 160M, corresponding to 4*996-tone RU, the indexes of the corresponding empty subcarriers are as follows: ±510, ±511, ±512, ±513, ±514, ±1013, ±1014, ±1015, ±1016, ±1017, ±1018, ±1019, ±1020, ±1021, ±1022, ±1023, ±1024, ±1025, ±1026, ±1027, ±1028, ±1029, ±1030, ±1031, ±1032, ±1033, ±1034, ±1035, ±1534, ±1535, ±1536, ±1537, ±1538.

[0135] As described above, after the first STA determines at least one empty subcarrier based on the bandwidth information scheduled by the AP indicated by the first information and the RU information allocated by the AP to at least one second STA scheduled, the first STA sends the second information to the AP through the first subcarrier in the at least one empty subcarrier. This embodiment does not limit the implementation method of how the first STA specifically determines the first empty subcarrier.

[0136] For example, in a first implementation, the first empty subcarrier determined by the first STA is all the empty subcarriers included in the at least one subcarrier. In other words, the first STA uses all of the at least one empty subcarrier as the first empty subcarrier. Or in other words, the first STA sends the second information on all the empty subcarriers.

[0137] In a second implementation manner, the first null subcarrier determined by the first STA is a null subcarrier in a first null subcarrier group, and the first null subcarrier group is one of N null subcarrier groups.

[0138] The subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in the at least one empty subcarrier, or in another description: the N empty subcarrier groups are obtained based on the division of the at least one empty subcarrier. Or in another description: the at least one empty subcarrier is divided into N empty subcarrier groups.

[0139] When implementing the second implementation, for example, each of the N empty subcarrier groups may be associated with at least one AID. Accordingly, the first STA may determine the empty subcarrier group associated with the AID of the first STA as the first empty subcarrier group.

[0140] For example, after at least one empty subcarrier (i.e., all empty subcarriers) is divided into N empty subcarrier groups, the first empty subcarrier group selected by the first STA is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, where i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1. That is, the first STA determines the i-th empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups as the first empty subcarrier group, i=mod(AID of the first STA, N)+1, where i is greater than or equal to 1.

[0141] Exemplarily, the empty subcarriers corresponding to each 20M sub-bandwidth can be taken as a group. Assuming there are N sub-20M channels on the entire bandwidth, the site can choose to send signals on the empty subcarriers corresponding to the mod(AID, N)+1th 20M sub-bandwidth.

[0142] Similarly, it can be understood that if there are other STAs that are not scheduled by the AP and have low-latency service transmission requirements during the unscheduled period, the order of the empty subcarrier group selected by the other STA in the N empty subcarriers is j==mod(AID of the other STA, N)+1.

[0143] For another example, the AP may send a message to the first STA indicating an association relationship between each of the N empty subcarrier groups and at least one association identifier AID. Accordingly, after receiving the association relationship, the first STA determines the empty subcarrier group associated with the first STA as the first empty subcarrier group and sends the second information on the subcarriers included in the first empty subcarrier group.

[0144] S803, the AP sends the third information, and accordingly, the first STA receives the third information, the third information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each third STA when at least one third STA scheduled sends uplink data, at least one third STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one second STA.

[0145] In this embodiment, when the AP schedules at least one second STA for uplink transmission, it monitors / detects the information transmitted on the empty subcarrier at the same time. If it is found that the second information is transmitted on the first empty subcarrier, it means that there is currently a STA low-latency service transmission demand (that is, there is currently a STA that needs to perform low-latency service transmission), and then the AP determines at least one STA that may have a low-latency service transmission demand, wherein the at least one STA that the AP determines may have a low-latency service transmission demand includes the first STA. After that, the AP can choose a suitable time to schedule the first STA. For example, in this embodiment, the AP sends a third information, wherein the third information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RUs used by the at least one third STA scheduled to send uplink data, wherein the at least one third STA includes the first STA.

[0146] That is, when the AP detects the second information, it will schedule the first STA at an appropriate time to reduce the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet of the first STA.

[0147] In some embodiments, the third information may be carried in a trigger frame. In this embodiment, the trigger frame carrying the third information is also referred to as a second trigger frame.

[0148] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the specific implementation method of how the AP determines which STAs may have low-latency service transmission requirements after monitoring the second information.

[0149] For example, after receiving the second information, the AP determines which STAs may be STAs with low-latency service transmission requirements based on some historical information, and then includes one or more of these STAs that may have low-latency service transmission requirements in at least one third STA. It should be understood that in this embodiment, these STAs that may have low-latency service transmission requirements include the first STA, and the first STA is included in at least one third STA.

[0150] For example, when the first STA divides at least one empty subcarrier (i.e., all empty subcarriers) into N empty subcarrier groups using S702, and then the first STA sends the second information on the empty subcarriers included in the corresponding first empty subcarrier group, accordingly, for the AP, a group of STAs (the AID of each STA in the group of STAs is associated with the first subcarrier group) can be determined based on the first subcarrier group used by the second information, and then one or more STAs in the group of STAs are included in at least one third STA. It should be understood that the group of STAs includes the first STA, and the first STA is included in at least one third STA.

[0151] In addition, it should be understood that when the first STA selects the corresponding empty subcarrier group through AID and sends the second information for indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on the empty subcarriers included in the corresponding empty subcarrier group, compared to sending the second information for indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on all empty subcarriers, the polling time can be reduced, thereby reducing the time it takes for the AP to determine the STA that may have a low-latency service transmission need, so as to further reduce the transmission delay of the data packet of the low-latency service of the first STA.

[0152] It can be seen that in the communication method proposed in this embodiment, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission demand during the period when it is not called by the AP, the first STA can send the second information on the first empty carrier. Accordingly, the AP determines the STA that may have a low-latency service transmission demand based on the second information monitored on the first empty subcarrier, wherein the determined STA with a low-latency service transmission demand includes the first STA, and then the first STA is scheduled for data transmission at the next scheduling, thereby reducing the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet of the first STA supporting the low-latency service.

[0153] Optionally, in this embodiment, in order to simplify the AP's detection of the second information (also referred to as monitoring), the first STA may send the second information in OOK mode, that is, each OFDM symbol may have a signal or no signal, according to the second information.

[0154] Above, an embodiment of how to reduce the transmission delay of a low-latency service data packet of a first STA when the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during a period when the first STA is not called by the AP is introduced. Below, when a first STA has a low-latency service data packet to transmit during a period when the first STA is not scheduled by the AP, the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet of the first STA supporting the low-latency service is introduced.

[0155] Specifically, the method of this embodiment includes:

[0156] S901, AP sends the fourth information and the fifth information, and correspondingly, the first STA receives the fourth information and the fifth information; the fourth information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each fourth STA when at least one scheduled fourth STA sends uplink data, the fifth information is used to indicate at least one first RU used to transmit the second information within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP, and the second information is used to indicate that there is a demand for low-latency service transmission.

[0157] Among them, the fourth information can be compared to Figure 8 In the description of the first information in the embodiment, at least one fourth STA is equivalent to at least one second STA in the aforementioned first information, and the only difference is the name, which will not be repeated here.

[0158] In this embodiment, the AP reserves at least one RU for transmitting the second information, and indicates the reserved at least one RU to the first STA through the fifth information. In this embodiment, the at least one RU reserved by the AP for transmitting the second information is also referred to as at least one first RU.

[0159] Exemplarily, the at least one first RU is 1 RU.

[0160] Exemplarily, the at least one first RU is a plurality of first RUs, which is also referred to as MRU.

[0161] In some embodiments, the fourth information and the fifth information are sent to the first STA via a trigger frame.

[0162] S902, when the first STA is not included in at least one fourth STA scheduled by the first STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one fourth STA, the second information is sent on the first subcarrier, and the first subcarrier is included in the subcarriers included in at least one first RU; accordingly, the AP receives the second information.

[0163] The second information can refer to Figure 8 The relevant description in the embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0164] In this embodiment, the first STA can determine at least one first RU reserved by the AP for transmitting the second information based on the fourth information. Then, if the first STA is not included in the at least one fourth STA scheduled by the AP, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one fourth STA, it can send the second information on the first subcarrier included in the at least one first RU reserved by the AP.

[0165] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit how the first STA determines the first subcarrier.

[0166] Exemplarily, in one implementation, the first subcarriers are all subcarriers included in at least one first RU, that is, the first STA sends the second information on all subcarriers included in at least one first RU reserved by the AP.

[0167] Exemplarily, in the second implementation, the first subcarrier is a part of all subcarriers included in at least one first RU. For example, the first STA may divide all subcarriers included in the reserved at least one first RU into N parts, for example, there are K subcarriers in total, and the first STA may send the second information on the subcarriers of mod(AID, N)+1:N:K.

[0168] S903, the AP sends the sixth information, and accordingly, the first STA receives the sixth information, the sixth information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RUs used by at least one fifth STA scheduled to send uplink data, at least one fifth STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one fourth STA.

[0169] Similarly, the sixth information can be analogized Figure 8 In the third information of the embodiment, at least one fifth STA can be analogous to Figure 7 The at least one third STA in the embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0170] In this embodiment, while the AP is receiving uplink data sent by at least one fourth STA, it also monitors the signal on the reserved at least one first RU. If it is found that the second information is transmitted on the first subcarrier included in the reserved at least one first RU, it means that there is currently a STA low-latency service transmission demand (that is, there is currently a STA that needs to perform low-latency service transmission), and then the AP determines at least one STA that may have a low-latency service transmission demand, wherein the at least one STA that the AP determines may have a low-latency service transmission demand includes the first STA. After that, the AP can choose a suitable time to schedule the first STA. For example, in this embodiment, the AP sends the sixth information, wherein the sixth information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RUs used by the at least one fifth STA scheduled to send uplink data, wherein the at least one fifth STA includes the first STA.

[0171] That is, when the AP detects the second information, it will schedule the first STA at an appropriate time to reduce the transmission delay of the low-latency service data packet of the first STA.

[0172] In some embodiments, the sixth information may be carried in a trigger frame.

[0173] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the specific implementation method of how the AP determines which STAs may have low-latency service transmission requirements after monitoring the second information.

[0174] For example, after receiving the second information, the AP determines which STAs may be STAs with low-latency service transmission requirements based on some historical information, and then includes one or more of these STAs that may have low-latency service transmission requirements in at least one fifth STA. It should be understood that these STAs that may have low-latency service transmission requirements include the first STA.

[0175] For example, when the first STA divides all subcarriers included in the reserved at least one first RU into N parts using S902, and then the first STA sends the second information on the subcarriers of mod(AID, N)+1:N:K, accordingly, for the AP, a group of STAs can be determined based on the subcarriers used by the second information, and then one or more of the STAs in the group are included in at least one fifth STA. It should be understood that the first STA is included in the group of STAs. It should be understood that when the first STA selects the corresponding subcarrier through AID and sends the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on the corresponding subcarrier, compared with the method of sending the second information indicating the need for low-latency service transmission on all empty subcarriers, the time length for the AP to determine the STA that may have a need for low-latency service transmission can be reduced, thereby further reducing the transmission delay of the data packet of the low-latency service of the first STA.

[0176] Combined with the above Figures 7 to 9 , describes in detail the communication method of the embodiment of the present application, and will now be combined with Fig.10 and Fig.11 The communication device provided by the present application is described in detail.

[0177] Fig.10 The structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application is as follows. Fig.10 As shown, the device 1000 includes: a receiving module 1001 and a sending module 1002.

[0178] In the first embodiment, the communication device is applied to a first STA.

[0179] Specifically, in the first embodiment, the receiving module 1001 is used to receive first information from the access point AP, where the first information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each second STA when the at least one scheduled second STA sends uplink data; the sending module 1002 is used to send second information on the first empty subcarrier when the at least one scheduled second STA does not include the first STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules at least one second STA, and the second information indicates the low-latency service transmission requirement; wherein the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP that has a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

[0181] In a possible implementation, the first empty subcarrier group is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

[0182] In a possible implementation, the sending module 1002 is specifically configured to send the second information on the first empty subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0183] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a first trigger frame.

[0184] In the second embodiment, the communication device is applied to an AP.

[0185] Specifically, in the second embodiment, the sending module 1002 is used to send first information, the first information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one scheduled second STA sends uplink data; the receiving module 1001 is used to receive second information transmitted on the first empty subcarrier, the second information indicating that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement, the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier with a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP; the sending module 1002 is also used to send third information, the third information indicating the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each third STA when at least one scheduled third STA sends uplink data, at least one third STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in at least one second STA.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

[0187] In a possible implementation, the first empty subcarrier group is ranked i in the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

[0188] In a possible implementation, the second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

[0189] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried in a first trigger frame, and the third information is carried in a second trigger frame.

[0190] Fig.11 A structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of the present application. Fig.11 The device shown can be used to execute the method described in any of the above embodiments.

[0191] like Fig.11 As shown, the apparatus 1100 of this embodiment includes: a memory 1101 and a processor 1102. Optionally, the apparatus 1100 further includes a communication interface 1103 and a bus 1104. The memory 1101, the processor 1102, and the communication interface 1103 are connected to each other through the bus 1104.

[0192] The memory 1101 may be a read only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1101 may store a program. When the program stored in the memory 1101 is executed by the processor 1102, the processor 1102 is used to execute the program. Figures 7 to 9 The individual steps of the method are shown.

[0193] The processor 1102 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for executing related programs to implement the present application. Figures 7 to 9 The method shown.

[0194] The processor 1102 may also be an integrated circuit chip having the ability to process signals. Figures 7 to 9 Each step of the method may be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 1102 or by instructions in the form of software.

[0195] The processor 1102 may also be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or executed. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0196] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding 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 1101, and the processor 1102 reads the information in the memory 1101 and completes the functions required to be executed by the units included in the device of the present application in combination with its hardware. For example, it can execute Figures 7 to 9 The various steps / functions of the illustrated embodiment.

[0197] The communication interface 1103 may use, but is not limited to, a transceiver or other transceiver device to implement communication between the apparatus 1100 and other devices or a communication network.

[0198] The bus 1104 may include a path for transmitting information between various components of the device 1100 (eg, the memory 1101 , the processor 1102 , and the communication interface 1103 ).

[0199] It should be understood that the device 1100 shown in the embodiment of the present application may be an electronic device, or may also be a chip configured in an electronic device. The device 1100 may be deployed in a terminal device, or may also be deployed in a network device.

[0200] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any other combination. When implemented by software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium can be a solid-state hard disk.

[0201] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship, but it may also indicate an "and / or" relationship. Please refer to the context for specific understanding.

[0202] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can be represented by: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0203] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0204] Those of ordinary skill 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 to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0205] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0206] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, 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.

[0207] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0208] 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.

[0209] 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 can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments 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 read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0210] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first station STA, the method includes: receiving first information from an access point AP, where the first information indicates a bandwidth scheduled by the AP and a resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one second STA scheduled to send uplink data; When the at least one scheduled second STA does not include the first STA, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules the at least one second STA, second information is sent on the first empty subcarrier, where the second information indicates that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement; The first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier having a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in the at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier group is ranked i among the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The sending the second information on the first empty subcarrier comprises: The second information is sent on the first empty subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first information is carried in a first trigger frame.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: Applicable to access points AP, including: Sending first information, where the first information indicates a bandwidth scheduled by the AP and a resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one second STA scheduled to send uplink data; Receiving second information transmitted on a first empty subcarrier, where the second information indicates that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement, where the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier having a preset association relationship with an RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP; Send third information, wherein the third information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each third STA when at least one third STA scheduled sends uplink data, wherein the at least one third STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in the at least one second STA.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in the at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier group is ranked i among the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that The first information is carried in a first trigger frame, and the third information is carried in a second trigger frame.

11. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A receiving module, configured to receive first information from an access point AP, wherein the first information indicates a bandwidth scheduled by the AP and a resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one second STA scheduled to send uplink data; A sending module, configured to send second information on a first empty subcarrier when the first STA is not included in the at least one second STA scheduled, if the first STA has a low-latency service transmission requirement during the period when the AP schedules the at least one second STA, wherein the second information indicates a low-latency service transmission requirement; The first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier having a preset association relationship with the RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in the at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier group is ranked i among the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

14. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that The sending module is specifically used for: The second information is sent on the first empty subcarrier in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

15. The device according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that The first information is carried in a first trigger frame.

16. A communication device, characterized in that: Applicable to access points AP, including: A sending module, configured to send first information, wherein the first information indicates a bandwidth scheduled by the AP and a resource unit RU used by each second STA when at least one second STA scheduled sends uplink data; A receiving module, configured to receive second information transmitted on a first empty subcarrier, where the second information indicates that there is a low-latency service transmission requirement, where the first empty subcarrier is included in at least one empty subcarrier, and the at least one empty subcarrier includes an empty subcarrier having a preset association relationship with an RU used by each second STA within the bandwidth scheduled by the AP; The sending module is also used to send third information, wherein the third information indicates the bandwidth scheduled by the AP and the RU used by each third STA when at least one third STA scheduled sends uplink data, wherein the at least one third STA includes the first STA and the first STA is not included in the at least one second STA.

17. The device according to claim 16, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier is an empty subcarrier in a first empty subcarrier group, the first empty subcarrier group is one of N empty subcarrier groups, the empty subcarriers included in the N empty subcarrier groups are the same as the empty subcarriers included in the at least one empty subcarrier, each empty subcarrier group in the N empty subcarrier groups is associated with at least one association identifier AID, and the AID associated with the first empty subcarrier group includes the AID of the first STA.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The first empty subcarrier group is ranked i among the N empty subcarrier groups, and i is equal to the sum of a value obtained by taking the AID of the first STA modulo N and 1, and i is a positive integer.

19. The device according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The second information is transmitted in an on-off keying (OOK) manner.

20. The device according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The first information is carried in a first trigger frame, and the third information is carried in a second trigger frame.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor, The processor is configured to enable the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 by executing a computer program and / or a logic circuit.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: processor, The processor is configured to enable the communication device to implement the method according to any one of claims 6 to 10 by executing a computer program and / or through a logic circuit.

23. A communication system, characterized in that: Comprising the communication device according to claim 21 and / or the communication device according to claim 22.

24. A computer readable medium, characterized in that The computer-readable medium stores a program code for computer execution, the program code including instructions for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or claims 6 to 10.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer program codes, and when the computer program codes are executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or claims 6 to 10.

26. A chip, characterized in that: The invention comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected via a line, and the at least one processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to perform the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 5 or the communication method as described in any one of claims 6 to 10.

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