Communication methods and devices

Abstract

This application applies to UWB-based wireless personal area network (WLAN) systems, including 802.15 series protocols, such as 802.15.4a, 802.15.4z, or 802.15.4ab. It can also support IEEE 802.11ax next-generation Wi-Fi protocols, such as 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7, or EHT, as well as 802.11be next-generation, Wi-Fi 8, and other 802.11 series protocol WLAN systems, sensing systems, etc. Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus. According to this application, the transmitting end can send a first frame, and the receiving end can determine the available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame. If the spectrum of the narrowband system overlaps with the spectrum of the Wi-Fi system, the method provided in this application can prevent interference from Wi-Fi devices from affecting the NB signals transmitted by the receiving end.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless communication (or ranging, sensing, etc.) technology that utilizes nanosecond-level non-sinusoidal narrow pulse signals. Due to its very narrow pulse and extremely low radiation spectral density, UWB systems have advantages such as strong multipath resolution, low power consumption, and strong security.

[0003] For ranging or sensing scenarios, the accuracy of the measurement or sensing results is closely related to the signal bandwidth. The larger the signal bandwidth, the higher the accuracy of the sensing or ranging results. It is advisable to consider transmitting and receiving the reference signal used for ranging or sensing through a UWB system, while transmitting other reference signals and / or data through a narrowband protocol. This approach can be understood as UWB ranging or sensing assisted by narrowband (NB).

[0004] Currently, alternative spectrum options for narrowband systems include unlicensed national information infrastructure 3 (U-NII 3) and U-NII 5, which overlap with the spectrum corresponding to Wi-Fi channels. In this case, the NB signal used for interaction between the initiating and responding stations may be interfered with by Wi-Fi devices. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus to address the problem of how narrowband systems and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems can share spectrum.

[0006] Firstly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device, or by a component of the communication device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation. For ease of description, the following explanation will take execution by a transmitting device as an example.

[0007] The method may include: generating a first frame for determining at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a narrowband (NB) signal, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; transmitting the first frame; wherein the first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channels are available for transmitting the NB signal; the second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channels are available for transmitting the NB signal, each of the at least one narrowband channels including frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting the Wi-Fi signal; the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, the first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, the first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine the frequency domain resources available for transmitting the NB signal.

[0008] Among them, at least one available narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels, which are obtained by dividing the spectrum of the narrowband system into channels.

[0009] At least one narrowband channel belongs to multiple reference narrowband channels, which are obtained by dividing the spectrum of the narrowband system according to a predefined channel allocation method. The predefined channel allocation method may be the same as the target channel allocation method, or it may be different from the target channel allocation method; this application does not limit this. The target channel allocation method is used to divide the spectrum of the narrowband system to obtain multiple candidate narrowband channels. It can be understood that if the predefined channel allocation method is the same as the target channel allocation method, then the multiple reference narrowband channels are the same as the multiple candidate narrowband channels; that is, at least one narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels.

[0010] Based on the above technical solution, the transmitting device can send a first frame to the receiving device, and the receiving device can then determine at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame. In cases where the spectrum of the narrowband system overlaps with the spectrum of the Wi-Fi system, according to the method provided in this application, the transmitting device can indicate to the receiving device via the first frame the frequency domain resources not occupied by Wi-Fi devices. That is, the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel determined by the receiving device based on the first frame are not occupied by Wi-Fi devices, thereby preventing interference from Wi-Fi devices on the NB signals transmitted by the receiving device.

[0011] Furthermore, the embodiments of this application indicate whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals through the first field. Since the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is relatively large, the number of bits required to indicate the Wi-Fi channel is less than the number of bits required to indicate the narrowband channel for a spectrum resource. Therefore, the method provided by the embodiments of this application will not cause a large bit overhead.

[0012] The embodiments of this application also indicate whether the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals through a second field. Each narrowband channel in the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. Thus, when the spectrum resources of the narrowband system include frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, a comprehensive indication of the spectrum resources of the narrowband system can be achieved.

[0013] Furthermore, the first frame may include at least one scaling factor field, which can then flexibly indicate whether the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting NB signals. If a device has the capability to transmit both NB signals and Wi-Fi signals, it can use at least one scaling factor field to indicate a scaling factor greater than 1, thereby ensuring that the frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals and Wi-Fi signals are not adjacent, thus avoiding in-band interference.

[0014] For example, if multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel satisfy the following relationship: The scaling factor is then M / 4, where M is a positive integer and 1 ≤ M < 8. 1 ≤ n' ≤ 6. This represents the frequency point of the 8n'th narrowband channel among multiple reference narrowband channels. This indicates the frequency of the Wi-Fi channel with channel number [149+4(n'-1)].

[0015] For example, if multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel satisfy the following relationship: If the scaling factor is N / 8, where N is a positive odd number and 1 ≤ N < 8.

[0016] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a first field, the first field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel; if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0017] This application does not limit the correspondence between at least one Wi-Fi channel and at least one bit. For example, the correspondence between at least one Wi-Fi channel and at least one bit may be one-to-one, or many-to-one. It is understood that if the correspondence between at least one Wi-Fi channel and at least one bit is many-to-one, then the number of bits in the first field is less, and consequently the number of bits in the first frame is less, thereby avoiding excessive bit overhead.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes the first field. If the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, then the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit the NB signal; or, the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0019] Based on the above technical solution, it is possible to indicate whether a bandwidth-rich frequency domain resource can be used to transmit NB signals with a relatively small number of bits.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes the second field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel; if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, then the frequency domain field of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0021] This application does not limit the correspondence between at least one narrowband channel and at least one bit. For example, the correspondence between at least one narrowband channel and at least one bit may be one-to-one, or many-to-one. It is understood that if the correspondence between at least one narrowband channel and at least one bit is many-to-one, then the number of bits in the second field is less, and consequently the number of bits in the first frame is less, thereby avoiding excessive bit overhead.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a third field that indicates an offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of which is a preset value.

[0023] Based on the above technical solution, if the division method of the reference narrowband channel is different from that of the alternative narrowband channel, the first frame may include a third field, so that the receiving device can determine the frequency point of the available narrowband channel based on the third field and the frequency point of the reference channel.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame also includes a fourth field used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0025] For example, the fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel, or the fourth field indicates a multiple relationship between the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel and the bandwidth of a reference narrowband channel, the bandwidth of which is a fixed value.

[0026] Based on the above technical solution, if the allocation method of the reference narrowband channel is different from that of the alternative narrowband channel, the first frame may include a fourth field, so that the receiving device can determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel based on the fourth field.

[0027] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes the first field, and the first frame also includes a fifth field, which is used to indicate the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

[0028] Since the bandwidth of a Wi-Fi channel may not be fixed, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel can be indicated through the fifth field.

[0029] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field for determining the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of that period.

[0030] For example, the sixth field includes a fourth subfield and / or a fifth subfield, the fourth subfield being used to indicate the duration of the interval between the start time of the time period and the time when the first frame was sent, and the fifth subfield being used to indicate the duration of the time period.

[0031] The fourth subfield indicates the duration in units of measurement time slots or measurement durations. The measurement duration is the time required to perform one data measurement; that is, the interval between the start of the fourth subfield and the transmission of the first frame is L measurement time slots or L measurement durations. It can be understood that the time between the start of an available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals and the transmission of the first frame generally does not exceed 1 second, and the duration of a measurement time slot is not less than 1 ms. Therefore, if the unit of the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is measurement time slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 1000 measurement time slots. With a maximum of 1000 measurement time slots, the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 10 bits. Similarly, if a measurement duration includes 10 measurement time slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 100 measurement durations, meaning the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 7 bits.

[0032] The fifth subfield indicates the duration in units of measurement time slots or measurement duration.

[0033] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame further includes a seventh field, which is used to indicate whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: the first field, the second field, the at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or the sixth field.

[0034] Based on the above technical solution, the receiving device can determine the structure of the first frame according to the seventh field, which is conducive to the receiving device correctly parsing the first frame.

[0035] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before sending the first frame, the method further includes: receiving a second frame for determining a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal.

[0036] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device, or by a component of the communication device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation. For ease of description, the following explanation uses execution by a receiving device as an example.

[0037] The method includes: receiving a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; determining at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal based on the first frame; wherein the first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting the NB signal; the second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, each of the at least one narrowband channel including frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting the Wi-Fi signal; the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, the first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, the first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine the frequency domain resources available for transmitting the NB signal.

[0038] Further descriptions and beneficial effects of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof can be found in the first aspect above.

[0039] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes the first field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel. Determining at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame includes: if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, then determining that the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal, wherein the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel include the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit; or, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a second value, then determining that the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0040] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes the first field. If the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, then it is determined that the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit the NB signal. Alternatively, it is determined that the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0041] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes the second field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel. Determining at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame includes: if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, then it is determined that the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal, and the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel include the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit; or, if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, then the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0042] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a third field indicating an offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of which is a preset value; determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: determining available frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals based on at least one of the following fields included in the first frame: the first field, the second field, or the at least one scaling factor field; and determining the at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the third field.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further includes a fourth field for determining the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: determining available frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals based on at least one of the following fields included in the first frame: the first field, the second field, or the at least one scaling factor field; and determining the at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the fourth field.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes the first field, and the first frame also includes a fifth field, which is used to indicate the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

[0045] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period; the method further includes: determining the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period based on the first frame.

[0046] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further includes a seventh field, which is used to indicate whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: the first field, the second field, the at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or the sixth field.

[0047] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: sending a second frame for determining a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal.

[0048] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device, or by a component of the communication device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation. For ease of description, the following explanation uses execution by a receiving device as an example.

[0049] The method includes: transmitting a second frame during the measurement control phase of the nth measurement process, the second frame being used to determine at least one recommended narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal, where n is a positive integer; receiving an acknowledgment frame of the second frame during the measurement result reporting phase of the nth measurement process; and transmitting the NB signal through the recommended narrowband channel during the (n+1)th measurement process.

[0050] Based on the above technical solution, the receiving device can indicate to the transmitting device via the second frame that a first narrowband channel suitable for transmitting NB signals is available. Furthermore, if the transmitting device determines that the first narrowband channel is suitable for transmitting NB signals, it can reply with an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device, allowing the receiving device to confirm that the first narrowband channel is suitable for transmitting NB signals based on the acknowledgment frame. Subsequently, both the transmitting and receiving devices can transmit NB signals via the first narrowband channel during the next measurement process.

[0051] Fourthly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device, or by a component of the communication device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation. For ease of description, the following explanation uses execution by a transmitting device as an example.

[0052] The method includes: generating a first frame for determining at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal, the first frame including a first field for indicating whether the frequency domain resources corresponding to each of the at least one first channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, the bandwidth of the first channel being greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; and transmitting the first frame.

[0053] Based on the above technical solution, by indicating whether the frequency domain resources of the first channel can be used to transmit NB signals, it is possible to indicate at least one available narrowband channel to the receiving device. Furthermore, since the bandwidth of the first channel is greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel, for a given spectrum resource, the number of bits required to indicate the first channel is less than the number of bits required to indicate the narrowband channel. Therefore, the method provided in this application embodiment does not incur significant bit overhead.

[0054] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame includes the first field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel; if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0055] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame includes a third field that indicates an offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of which is a preset value.

[0056] Based on the above technical solution, if the division method of the reference narrowband channel is different from that of the alternative narrowband channel, the first frame may include a third field, so that the receiving device can determine the frequency point of the available narrowband channel based on the third field and the frequency point of the reference channel.

[0057] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame also includes a fourth field used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0058] For example, the fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel, or the fourth field indicates a multiple relationship between the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel and the bandwidth of a reference narrowband channel, the bandwidth of which is a fixed value.

[0059] Based on the above technical solution, if the allocation method of the reference narrowband channel is different from that of the alternative narrowband channel, the first frame may include a fourth field, so that the receiving device can determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel based on the fourth field.

[0060] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame also includes a fifth field, which is used to indicate the bandwidth of the first channel.

[0061] Since the bandwidth of the first channel may not be fixed, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel can be indicated by the fifth field.

[0062] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame also includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of that period.

[0063] For example, the sixth field includes a fourth subfield and / or a fifth subfield, the fourth subfield being used to indicate the duration of the interval between the start time of the time period and the time when the first frame was sent, and the fifth subfield being used to indicate the duration of the time period.

[0064] The fourth subfield indicates the duration in units of measurement time slots or measurement durations. The measurement duration is the time required to perform one data measurement; that is, the interval between the start of the fourth subfield and the transmission of the first frame is L measurement time slots or L measurement durations. It can be understood that the time between the start of an available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals and the transmission of the first frame generally does not exceed 1 second, and the duration of a measurement time slot is not less than 1 ms. Therefore, if the unit of the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is measurement time slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 1000 measurement time slots. With a maximum of 1000 measurement time slots, the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 10 bits. Similarly, if a measurement duration includes 10 measurement time slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 100 measurement durations, meaning the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 7 bits.

[0065] The fifth subfield indicates the duration in units of measurement time slots or measurement duration.

[0066] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame further includes a seventh field, which is used to indicate whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: the first field, the at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or the sixth field.

[0067] Based on the above technical solution, the receiving device can determine the structure of the first frame according to the seventh field, which is conducive to the receiving device correctly parsing the first frame.

[0068] Fifthly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device, or by a component of the communication device (such as a chip or circuit), without limitation. For ease of description, the following explanation uses execution by a receiving device as an example.

[0069] The method includes: receiving a first frame, the first frame including a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources corresponding to each of at least one first channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, the bandwidth of the first channel being greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; and determining at least one available narrowband channel available for transmitting the NB signal based on the first frame.

[0070] The beneficial effects of the fifth aspect and any possible implementation of the fifth aspect can be referenced in the fourth aspect above.

[0071] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame includes the first field, the first field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel, and determining the at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame includes: if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a first value, then determining that the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal, the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel including the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit; or, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a second value, then determining that the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0072] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame includes a third field indicating an offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of which is a preset value; determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: determining available frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame; and determining the at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the third field.

[0073] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame further includes a fourth field for determining the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: determining available frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame; and determining the at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the fourth field.

[0074] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame also includes a fifth field, which is used to indicate the bandwidth of the first channel.

[0075] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period; the method further includes: determining the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period based on the first frame.

[0076] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame further includes a seventh field, which is used to indicate whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: the first field, the at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or the sixth field.

[0077] A sixth aspect provides an apparatus for performing the method provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects. Specifically, the apparatus may include units and / or modules for performing the method provided in the first aspect or any of the above-described implementations of the first aspect, or units and / or modules for performing the method provided in the second aspect or any of the above-described implementations of the second aspect, such as processing units and / or transceiver units; or units and / or modules for performing the method provided in the third aspect or any of the above-described implementations of the third aspect, such as processing units and / or transceiver units; or units and / or modules for performing the method provided in the fourth aspect or any of the above-described implementations of the fourth aspect, such as processing units and / or transceiver units; or units for performing the method provided in the fifth aspect or the second aspect.

[0078] In one implementation, the device is a apparatus (such as a transmitting device or a receiving device). When the device is an apparatus, the transceiver unit can be a transceiver or an input / output interface; the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0079] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device (such as a transmitting device or a receiving device). When the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device, the transceiver unit can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, or related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; the processing unit can be at least one processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit.

[0080] A seventh aspect provides an apparatus comprising: a memory for storing a program; and at least one processor for executing the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to perform the method provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0081] In one implementation, the device is a device (such as a transmitting device or a receiving device).

[0082] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device (such as a transmitting device or a receiving device).

[0083] Eighthly, this application provides a processor for performing the methods provided in the above aspects.

[0084] Unless otherwise specified, or if it does not contradict its actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, the transmission and / or reception operations involved in the processor can be understood as processor output and reception, input and other operations, or as transmission and reception operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit them in this regard.

[0085] Ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores program code for execution by a device, which, when run on a computer, causes the methods provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects to be executed.

[0086] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0087] Eleventhly, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, the processor reading instructions stored in a memory through the communication interface and executing the method provided in any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0088] Optionally, as one implementation, the chip also includes a memory storing computer programs or instructions, and a processor for executing the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the processor is used to perform the methods provided in any of the first to fifth aspects described above.

[0089] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the transmitting end device and the receiving end device described above. Attached Figure Description

[0090] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating two application scenarios applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0091] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a UWB signal;

[0092] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a ranging and positioning system;

[0093] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a narrowband-assisted UWB ranging method.

[0094] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the narrowband channel partitioning method applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0096] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the Wi-Fi channel partitioning method applicable to embodiments of this application;

[0097] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between narrowband channels and Wi-Fi channels;

[0098] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between narrowband channels and Wi-Fi channels;

[0099] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first frame provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0100] Figure 11 The frequency domain resources available for transmitting NB signals are determined based on the first frame, which is the same.

[0101] Figure 12 This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0102] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0103] Figure 14 This is a schematic flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0104] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the device 1500 provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0105] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the device 1600 provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0106] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of the chip system 1700 provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0107] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0108] This application's embodiments can be applied to wireless personal area networks (WPANs) based on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. Currently, WPANs use the IEEE 802.15 standard. WPANs can be used for communication between digital auxiliary devices such as telephones, computers, and peripherals within a small range, typically within 10 meters. Technologies supporting wireless personal area networks include Bluetooth, ZigBee, UWB, IrDA infrared connectivity (infrared), and HomeRF. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the aspects of this application can be extended to other networks employing various standards or protocols. For example, wireless local area networks (WLANs), high-performance radio LANs (HIPERLANs) (a wireless standard similar to IEEE 802.11, primarily used in Europe), and wide area networks (WANs) or other networks now known or to be developed in the future. From a network architecture perspective, WPAN sits at the bottom layer of the overall network architecture, used for wireless connections between devices within a small area, i.e., point-to-point short-range connections, and can be considered a short-range wireless communication network. Depending on the application scenario, WPAN is further divided into high-rate (HR) WPAN and low-rate (LR) WPAN. HR-WPAN can be used to support various high-rate multimedia applications, including high-quality audio and video delivery, multi-megabyte music and image document transmission, etc. LR-WPAN can be used for general daily business operations.

[0109] In WPAN, devices are categorized into full-function devices (FFDs) and reduced-function devices (RFDs) based on their communication capabilities. FFDs can communicate with each other and with each other. RFDs cannot communicate directly; they can only communicate with FFDs or forward data through an FFD. The FFD associated with the RFD is called its coordinator. RFDs are primarily used for simple control applications, such as light switches and passive infrared sensors, transmitting relatively little data and consuming minimal transmission and communication resources, resulting in lower costs. The coordinator can also be called a personal area network (PAN) coordinator or central control node. The PAN coordinator is the master control node of the entire network, and there can only be one PAN coordinator in each ad hoc network. It has functions such as membership management, link information management, and packet forwarding. Optionally, the device in the embodiments of this application can be a device that supports multiple WPAN standards such as 802.15.4a and 802.15.4z, as well as versions currently under discussion or later.

[0110] In this embodiment, the aforementioned device may be a communication server, router, switch, bridge, computer, mobile phone, smart home device, vehicle communication device, etc.

[0111] In this embodiment, the device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux, Unix, Android, iOS, or Windows. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. Furthermore, this embodiment does not specifically limit the structure of the execution entity of the method provided in this embodiment, as long as it can communicate according to the method provided in this embodiment by running a program that records the code of the method provided in this embodiment. For example, the execution entity of the method provided in this embodiment can be an FFD or an RFD, or a functional module in an FFD or RFD that can call and execute a program.

[0112] Furthermore, various aspects or features of this application can be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). Additionally, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0113] The embodiments of this application can also be applied to wireless local area network systems such as Internet of Things (IoT) networks or vehicle-to-X (V2X) networks. Of course, the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other possible communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, 5th Generation (5G) communication systems, and future communication systems.

[0114] The communication systems described above that are applicable to this application are merely illustrative examples, and the communication systems applicable to this application are not limited to these. They will be uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0115] Figure 1 These are schematic diagrams illustrating two application scenarios provided in this application. Figure 1 In system 101 shown in (A), multiple FFD devices and multiple RFD devices form a star topology communication system, where one FFD acts as a PAN coordinator. In this star topology communication system, the PAN coordinator transmits data with one or more other devices; that is, multiple devices can establish a one-to-many or many-to-one data transmission architecture. Figure 1In system 102 shown in (B), multiple FFD devices and one RFD device form a peer-to-peer topology communication system, where one of the FFDs is a PAN coordinator. In the peer-to-peer topology communication system, a many-to-many data transmission architecture can be established between multiple different devices.

[0116] It should be understood that Figure 1 (A) and Figure 1 (B) in the diagram is a simplified illustration for ease of understanding and does not constitute a limitation on the application scenarios of this application. For example, other FFDs and / or RFDs may also be included in system 101 and / or system 102.

[0117] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, some terms or concepts that may be involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly described first.

[0118] 1. UWB technology: This is a wireless communication / ranging / sensing technology that utilizes nanosecond-level non-sinusoidal narrow pulse signals, thus occupying a wide spectrum. Due to its narrow pulse and extremely low radiation spectral density, UWB systems have advantages such as strong multipath resolution, low power consumption, and strong security, which facilitates coexistence with other systems, thereby improving spectrum utilization and system capacity.

[0119] With the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approving UWB technology for civilian use in 2002, ultra-wideband wireless communication has become one of the most popular physical layer technologies for short-range, high-speed wireless networks. Many world-renowned companies, research institutions, and standardization organizations have actively engaged in the research, development, and standardization of ultra-wideband wireless communication technology. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has incorporated UWB technology into its IEEE 802 series of wireless standards, and has released the UWB-based WPAN standard IEEE 802.15.4a, as well as its evolved version IEEE 802.15.4z. Currently, the development of the next-generation UWB WPAN standard 802.15.4ab is also on the agenda.

[0120] Because UWB technology does not use carrier waves as in traditional communication systems, but instead transmits data by sending and receiving extremely narrow pulses of nanoseconds or less, it places high demands on the time synchronization of transceiver equipment. At the same time, due to its large communication bandwidth, the power consumption and complexity of the equipment are high when using ultra-wideband channels to send and receive signals. Since most UWB communication equipment is battery powered, the next-generation standard aims to further reduce the power consumption of UWB systems. Therefore, a narrowband signal-assisted approach can be adopted, where all signals except for ranging and sensing reference signals are transmitted and received through the narrowband system, thereby reducing the overall power consumption.

[0121] 2. UWB signal power: Due to the large bandwidth of ultra-wideband systems, in order to reduce interference to other narrowband devices during operation, the FCC has imposed strict limits on the power spectral density of UWB signals. According to the Code Official Regulations (CFR), there are two main rules:

[0122] Rule 1: The average value of the maximum power spectral density (PSD) of the transmitted UWB signal within one millisecond cannot exceed 41.3 dBm per megahertz;

[0123] Rule 2: The maximum power of the transmitted UWB signal within any 50M bandwidth shall not exceed 1 milliwatt.

[0124] Rule 1 limits the total energy transmitted by UWB within 1 millisecond (e.g., 37 nJ under a 500 MHz bandwidth). However, by concentrating this energy into a shorter transmission time, the instantaneous power of the transmitted signal is increased, thereby expanding the signal coverage and improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal. Based on this, in scenarios requiring increased transmission power, the transmitter divides the UWB signal to be transmitted into multiple segmented signals, each segment having a duration of less than 1 millisecond, and then transmits only one segment within each millisecond.

[0125] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a UWB signal provided in an embodiment of this application. From Figure 2 As can be seen, the transmitter breaks down the UWB signal to be transmitted into multiple segmented signals (such as...). Figure 2 The UWB segmented signals shown are #1, #2, and #3, etc. Each segmented signal has a duration of less than 1 millisecond, and only one segmented signal is sent within each millisecond.

[0126] 3. Ranging or Sensing: For ranging or sensing scenarios, the accuracy of the measurement or sensing results is related to the signal bandwidth. The larger the signal bandwidth, the higher the accuracy of the sensing or ranging results. Therefore, it is possible to consider transmitting and receiving the reference signal used for ranging or sensing through a UWB system, while transmitting other reference signals and / or data through narrowband protocols. This ensures both the accuracy of ranging and sensing and saves power consumption. Here, the sensing involved in this application can be understood as the underlying sensing technology of the Internet of Things (IoT) architecture, which is the primary link in acquiring information and controlling objects in the IoT; ranging can be understood as the measurement of distance between devices, including but not limited to the distance measurement between two objects in the IoT.

[0127] For example, the UWB technology solution that combines narrow-band assisted multi-millisecond UWB and multi-millisecond transmission in this application can also be called narrow-band assisted multi-millisecond ultra-wideband (NBA-MMS UWB).

[0128] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the ranging and positioning system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 3 As shown, the ranging and positioning system includes multiple devices (such as...) Figure 3 The devices 1 and 2 shown can be the apparatuses involved in the embodiments of this application, and each device includes at least a UWB module. Further, the device may also include a narrowband communication module. The UWB modules of device 1 and device 2 can perform either ranging / positioning or communication. If the devices include narrowband communication modules, data transmission between the narrowband communication modules of device 1 and device 2 can be performed via a wireless link.

[0129] In this application, a UWB module can be understood as a device, chip, or system that implements UWB wireless communication technology; correspondingly, a narrowband communication module can be understood as a device, chip, or system that implements narrowband communication technology (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee). In a single device, the UWB module and the narrowband communication module can be different devices or chips; of course, they can also be integrated onto a single device or chip. The embodiments of this application do not limit the implementation method of the UWB module and the narrowband communication module in the device. UWB technology enables communication devices to have high data throughput and high-precision device positioning.

[0130] The equipment involved in this application can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal. For example, it can be a user terminal, user equipment, access device, subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station, user agent, or user equipment that supports Wi-Fi communication. The user terminal can include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, as well as various forms of user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), terminal, terminal equipment, portable communication devices, handheld devices, portable computing devices, entertainment devices, gaming devices or systems, GPS devices, or any other suitable device configured for network communication via wireless media. Furthermore, the equipment can support the 802.15.4ab standard or its next-generation standard. The device also supports multiple standards such as 802.15.4a, 802.15.4-2011, 802.15.4-2015, and 802.15.4z. Furthermore, it supports various wireless local area networks (WLANs) from the 802.11 family, including 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11be next-generation.

[0131] 4. Ranging Round: In the previous generation IEEE 802.15.4z standard, a single ranging process was defined as a ranging round. The minimum processing time unit for each ranging round is the ranging slot. A ranging round consists of three phases: the ranging control phase (also known as the initial synchronization phase), the ranging phase, and the ranging result reporting phase.

[0132] It should be noted that the communication method provided in this application can be applied not only to UWB ranging assisted by narrowband protocols, but also to UWB sensing or other measurement processes assisted by narrowband protocols. For example, when the communication method provided in this application is applied to a UWB sensing process assisted by narrowband protocols, the measurement control stage can be understood as the sensing control stage, the ranging stage can be understood as the sensing stage, and the ranging result reporting stage can be understood as the sensing result reporting stage.

[0133] Furthermore, it should be noted that the names of the different stages in a single measuring wheel described above are merely examples and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of this application. For example, the measurement control stage described above can be understood as the stage for configuring the required parameters in the measuring wheel; the measurement stage described above can also be understood as the stage for performing the measurement; and the measurement result reporting stage described above can also be understood as the stage for reporting the measurement results, or it can be referred to as the end of the measurement stage.

[0134] Figure 4 The ranging procedure of narrowband assisted UWB is shown. Figure 4 This includes an initiator and a responder. As an example and not a limitation, the initiator can be a device with communication capabilities within the WPAN (such as...). Figure 1 The FFD or RFD shown in the image); similarly, the responding station can also be a device with communication capabilities in the WPAN (such as...). Figure 1 The FFD or RFD shown.

[0135] from Figure 4 As can be seen, a ranging block can include multiple ranging rounds, and a ranging round can include an initial synchronization phase, a measurement phase, and a measurement reporting phase. In the initial synchronization phase, the initiating station and the responding station exchange NB signals to complete the configuration and synchronization processes required for ranging. For example, the initiating station sends a narrowband poll signal (Poll), and the responding station responds with a response signal (Resp) to perform a handshake. The information carried by the Poll signal includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: ranging round parameter configurations, ranging signal preamble parameter configurations (preamble length, preamble sequence, etc.), UWB packet type, device role, slot duration, number of slots, etc. In the measurement phase, the initiating station uses segmented transmission on the UWB channel to schedule round-trip time with the responding station. In the measurement reporting phase, the responding station sends the measurement results to the initiating station via NB signals.

[0136] Currently, alternative spectrum options for narrowband systems include unlicensed national information infrastructure 3 (UNII-3) and U-NII-5, which overlap with the spectrum corresponding to Wi-Fi channels. In this case, the NB signal used for interaction between the initiating and responding stations may be interfered with by Wi-Fi devices.

[0137] In view of this, this application provides a communication method to solve the problem of how narrowband systems and Wi-Fi systems can share spectrum.

[0138] The embodiments shown below do not specifically limit the structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. As long as a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application can be run to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, for example, the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application can be a transceiver device, or a functional module in the transceiver device that can call and execute a program.

[0139] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points are provided.

[0140] First, in this application, "for instruction" can be understood as "enabling," and "enabling" can include direct enabling and indirect enabling. When describing information for enabling A, it can include whether the information directly enables A or indirectly enables A, but does not necessarily mean that the information carries A.

[0141] The information that enables the information is called the information to be enabled. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to enable the information to be enabled, such as, but not limited to, directly enabling the information to be enabled, such as the information to be enabled itself or its index. It can also be indirectly enabled by enabling other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be enabled. It can also enable only a part of the information to be enabled, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, enabling specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) arrangement of various pieces of information, thereby reducing enabling overhead to some extent. Simultaneously, common parts of various pieces of information can be identified and enabled uniformly to reduce the enabling overhead caused by individually enabling the same information.

[0142] Second, the terms "first," "second," and various designations (e.g., "a1," "a2," etc.) shown in this application are merely for descriptive convenience and to distinguish objects, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they distinguish different channels, etc., and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such described objects can be interchanged where appropriate to describe solutions other than those in the embodiments of this application.

[0143] Third, the term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0144] Fourth, the “protocol” involved in the embodiments of this application may refer to standard protocols in the field of communication, such as Wi-Fi protocols and related protocols applied in future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0145] Without loss of generality, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below using the interaction between the initiating device and the responding device as an example.

[0146] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific types of transmitting and receiving devices; any communication device capable of transmitting and receiving NB signals is acceptable.

[0147] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of this application. The method may include the following steps:

[0148] S510, the sending device generates the first frame.

[0149] The first frame is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit NB signals. This at least one available narrowband channel belongs to a plurality of candidate narrowband channels, which are obtained by dividing the spectrum of the narrowband system into channels.

[0150] Figure 6 This diagram illustrates several candidate narrowband channels obtained by channel partitioning the UNII-3 spectrum. The UNII-3 frequency band ranges from 5725MHz to 5850MHz, with a bandwidth of 125MHz. For example... Figure 6 As shown, if the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is 2.5MHz, and the boundary of the first candidate narrowband channel (i.e., channel a1) is aligned with the boundary of spectrum UNII-3, then dividing spectrum UNII-3 into channels yields 50 candidate narrowband channels, namely channels a1 to a50. The frequency of the nth channel among channels a1 to a50 is... It can be represented as: 1 ≤ n ≤ 50. If the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is 2.5 MHz, and the boundary of the first candidate narrowband channel (i.e., channel b1) is 5726.5 MHz, then dividing the spectrum UNII-3 into channels yields 49 candidate narrowband channels, namely channels b1 to b49. The frequency of the m-th channel among channels b1 to b49 is... It can be represented as: , 1≤m≤49.

[0151] It should be noted that the embodiments of this application do not limit the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels. For example, the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels can be 1.25MHz or 5MHz. The embodiments of this application do not limit the division method of the candidate narrowband channels. For example, the offset between the boundary of the first candidate narrowband channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels and the boundary of the candidate spectrum of the narrowband system can be 0.5MHz, 0.75MHz, 1MHz, or other values.

[0152] It should also be noted that, Figure 6 This example illustrates how channel partitioning of spectrum UNII-3 yields multiple candidate narrowband channels. If the narrowband system's spectrum differs from spectrum UNII-3, the method for partitioning other spectra can be referenced. Figure 6 As shown in the diagram.

[0153] The first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor (SF) field.

[0154] The first field indicates whether the frequency domain resources of each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting NB signals. At least one Wi-Fi channel is obtained by dividing the spectrum available for transmitting Wi-Fi signals.

[0155] For example, the first field may be referred to as the Wi-Fi channel field. It should be understood that the name of the first field is not limited in this embodiment.

[0156] Figure 7 This illustrates the Wi-Fi channels obtained by dividing the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 that can be used for Wi-Fi signal transmission. For example... Figure 7As shown, if the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 within the range of 5725MHz to 5730MHz can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, and the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20MHz, then dividing the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 available for Wi-Fi signal transmission into channels yields at least one Wi-Fi channel, including: channel 144, channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169. If the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 within the range of 5725MHz to 5730MHz cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, and the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20MHz, then dividing the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 available for Wi-Fi signal transmission into channels yields at least one Wi-Fi channel, including: channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169. If the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 40MHz, then dividing the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals into channels yields at least one Wi-Fi channel, including channels 151, 159, and 167. If the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 80MHz, then dividing the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals into channels yields at least one Wi-Fi channel, including channel 155.

[0157] For example, the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel. If the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel has a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit NB signals; or, if the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel has a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit NB signals. Wherein, the first value is 0 and the second value is 1, or the first value is 1 and the second value is 0.

[0158] This application does not limit the correspondence between at least one Wi-Fi channel and at least one bit. For example, at least one Wi-Fi channel may have a one-to-one correspondence with at least one bit. For example, if at least one Wi-Fi channel includes six channels: channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169, then at least one bit may include six bits that correspond one-to-one with these six channels. Alternatively, at least one Wi-Fi channel may have a many-to-one relationship with at least one bit. For example, if at least one Wi-Fi channel includes the aforementioned six channels, then at least one bit may include three bits, with each of the three bits corresponding to two of the at least one Wi-Fi channel channels.

[0159] For example, if the first field includes bits corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes bits corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel, then the first frequency domain resources corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resources corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resources between the first and second frequency domain resources cannot be used to transmit NB signals; or, the first frequency domain resources, the second frequency domain resources, and the frequency domain resources between the first and second frequency domain resources can be used to transmit NB signals; or, the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel, except for the following frequency domain resources, can be used to transmit NB signals: the first frequency domain resources, the second frequency domain resources, and the frequency domain resources between the first and second frequency domain resources; or, the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel, except for the following frequency domain resources, cannot be used to transmit NB signals: the first frequency domain resources, the second frequency domain resources, and the frequency domain resources between the first and second frequency domain resources.

[0160] For example, the first field includes at least one of the following subfields: a first subfield, a second subfield, or a third subfield.

[0161] The first subfield includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel with a bandwidth of bandwidth #1. If bit #1 in the first subfield has a first value, the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to bit #1 can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if bit #1 has a second value, the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to bit #1 cannot be used to transmit the NB signal. For example, bandwidth #1 is 20MHz.

[0162] The second subfield includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel with a bandwidth of bandwidth #2. If bit #2 in the second subfield has a first value, the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to bit #2 can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if bit #2 has a second value, the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to bit #2 cannot be used to transmit the NB signal. For example, bandwidth #2 is 40MHz.

[0163] The third subfield includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel with bandwidth #3. If bit #3 in the at least one bit of the third subfield has a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to bit #3 can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if bit #3 has a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to bit #3 cannot be used to transmit the NB signal. For example, bandwidth #3 is 80MHz.

[0164] The second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting NB signals, and the frequency domain resources of each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel include frequency domain resources that cannot be used for transmitting Wi-Fi signals.

[0165] For example, the second field may be referred to as the non-Wi-Fi occupied channel field. It should be understood that the name of the second field is not limited in this embodiment.

[0166] At least one narrowband channel belongs to multiple reference narrowband channels, which are obtained by dividing the spectrum of the narrowband system according to a predefined channel allocation method. The predefined channel allocation method may be the same as the target channel allocation method, or it may be different from the target channel allocation method; this application does not limit this. The target channel allocation method is used to divide the spectrum of the narrowband system to obtain multiple candidate narrowband channels. It can be understood that if the predefined channel allocation method is the same as the target channel allocation method, then the multiple reference narrowband channels are the same as the multiple candidate narrowband channels; that is, at least one narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels.

[0167] For example, a predefined channel partitioning method is as follows: the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel is 2.5MHz, and the boundary of the first narrowband channel among multiple reference narrowband channels is aligned with the boundary of the narrowband system's spectrum. For instance, if the spectrum of the narrowband system is spectrum UNII-3, then the multiple reference narrowband channels obtained by partitioning spectrum UNII-3 according to the predefined channel partitioning method include... Figure 6 Channels a1 to a50 in the middle.

[0168] like Figure 8 As shown, it is assumed that multiple reference narrowband channels include Figure 6 The channels a1 to a50 shown include at least one Wi-Fi channel. Figure 7 Channels 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, and 169 are shown. Since the frequency domain resources of each of channels a1 to a4 include those unusable for Wi-Fi signal transmission, at least one narrowband channel includes channels a1 to a4. If at least one Wi-Fi channel also includes channel 144, then the frequency domain resources of each of channels a1 and a2 can be used for Wi-Fi signal transmission, and therefore at least one narrowband channel does not include channels a1 and a2.

[0169] For example, a predefined channel partitioning method is as follows: the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel is 2.5MHz, and the offset between the boundary of the first narrowband channel among multiple reference narrowband channels and the boundary of the narrowband system's spectrum is 1.25MHz. For instance, if the spectrum of the narrowband system is spectrum UNII-3, then the multiple reference narrowband channels obtained by partitioning spectrum UNII-3 according to the predefined channel partitioning method include... Figure 6 Channels b1 to b49 in the middle.

[0170] like Figure 9 As shown, assuming multiple narrowband channels include Figure 6 Channels b1 to b49 shown, at least one Wi-Fi channel to Figure 7 Channels 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, and 169 are shown. Since the frequency domain resources of each of channels b1 to b4 include those unusable for Wi-Fi signal transmission, at least one narrowband channel includes channels b1 to b3. If at least one Wi-Fi channel also includes channel 144, then the frequency domain resources of channel b1 can be used for Wi-Fi signal transmission, and therefore at least one narrowband channel does not include channel b1.

[0171] For example, the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel. If the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel is a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or, if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel is a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0172] This application does not limit the correspondence between at least one narrowband channel and at least one bit. For example, at least one narrowband channel and at least one bit have a one-to-one correspondence. For example, if at least one narrowband channel includes four channels a1, a2, a3, and a4, then at least one bit includes four bits that correspond one-to-one with these four channels. Alternatively, at least one narrowband channel and at least one bit have a many-to-one relationship. For example, if at least one narrowband channel includes the aforementioned four channels, then at least one bit includes two bits, and each of the two bits corresponds to two narrowband channels in the at least one narrowband channel.

[0173] At least one scaling factor field corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor. The first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine the frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0174] For example, the first scaling factor is denoted as SF1, and the frequency point of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field is denoted as... The bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field is denoted as... The frequency domain resources available for transmitting the NB signal, determined based on the first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field, are expressed as follows: [ ]; or, expressed as: and , or, represented as Alternatively, the frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit the NB signal, determined based on the first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field, are represented as: [ ]; or, expressed as: and , or, represented as .

[0175] This application does not limit the correspondence between at least one scaling factor field and at least one Wi-Fi channel. For example, there may be a one-to-one correspondence between at least one scaling factor field and at least one Wi-Fi channel. Alternatively, there may be a many-to-one relationship between at least one scaling factor field and at least one Wi-Fi channel.

[0176] For example, if multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel satisfy the following relationship: The scaling factor is then M / 4, where M is a positive integer and 1 ≤ M < 8. 1 ≤ n' ≤ 6. This represents the frequency point of the 8n'th narrowband channel among multiple reference narrowband channels. This indicates the frequency of the Wi-Fi channel with channel number [149+4(n'-1)].

[0177] For example, if the scaling factor takes any of the following values: 1 / 4, 3 / 4, 1, 5 / 4, then the scaling factor field can include two bits. For instance, if the two bits in the scaling factor field are "00", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1 / 4; if the two bits in the scaling factor field are "01", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 2 / 4; if the two bits in the scaling factor field are "10", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1; and if the two bits in the scaling factor field are "11", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 5 / 4.

[0178] For example, if the scaling factor takes any of the following values: 1 / 4, 1 / 2, 3 / 4, 1, 5 / 4, then the scaling factor field can include three bits. For instance, if the scaling factor field includes two bits of "000", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1 / 4; if the scaling factor field includes two bits of "001", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1 / 2; if the scaling factor field includes two bits of "010", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 3 / 4; if the scaling factor field includes two bits of "011", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1; and if the scaling factor field includes two bits of "100", then the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 5 / 4.

[0179] For example, if multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel satisfy the following relationship: If the scaling factor is N / 8, where N is a positive odd number and 1 ≤ N < 8.

[0180] For example, the scaling factor can take any of the following values: 3 / 8, 5 / 8, 7 / 8, 9 / 8, 11 / 8. Or, the scaling factor can take any of the following values: 3 / 8, 5 / 8, 7 / 8, 9 / 8.

[0181] Optionally, if the predefined channel allocation method described above differs from the target channel allocation method, i.e., the multiple candidate narrowband channels differ from the multiple reference narrowband channels, then the first frame may also include a third field and / or a fourth field. For example, if the frequency points of the multiple candidate narrowband channels differ from the multiple reference narrowband channels, then the first frame may include a third field. For example, if the bandwidths of the multiple candidate narrowband channels differ from the multiple reference narrowband channels, then the first frame may include a fourth field.

[0182] For example, the third field can be called the translation field, and the fourth field can be called the extended field. It should be understood that the names of the third and fourth fields are not limited in this embodiment.

[0183] The third field indicates the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel. As mentioned above, at least one available narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels; therefore, it can also be said that the third field indicates the offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel. Since the reference narrowband channel is determined according to a predefined channel allocation method, it can be said that the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is a preset value.

[0184] For example, the third field can indicate the offset value between the frequency of the first candidate narrowband channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels and the frequency of the first reference narrowband channel among multiple reference narrowband channels. As another example, the third field can indicate the offset value between the frequency of the last candidate narrowband channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels and the frequency of the last reference narrowband channel among multiple reference narrowband channels.

[0185] For example, the third field may include two bits. If the two bits of the third field are "00", the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 0. If the two bits of the third field are "01", the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is -1.25. If the two bits of the third field are "10", the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 1.25. Here, the offset value "-1.25" indicates that the difference between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is -1.25; the offset value "1.25" indicates that the difference between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 1.25.

[0186] The fourth field is used to determine the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel, or in other words, the fourth field is used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0187] For example, the fourth field is used to indicate the bandwidth of the alternative narrowband channel. The possible bandwidth values ​​of the alternative narrowband channel are 1.25MHz or 2.5MHz. The fourth field may include one bit. If the bit in the fourth field is "0", the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the alternative narrowband channel is 1.25MHz. If the bit in the fourth field is "1", the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the alternative narrowband channel is 2.5MHz.

[0188] For example, the fourth field is used to indicate the relationship between the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel and the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel. For instance, if the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel is 2.5MHz, and the possible bandwidth values ​​of the candidate narrowband channel are 1.25MHz or 2.5MHz, then the fourth field may include one bit. If the bit in the fourth field is "0", then the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is the same as the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel; if the bit in the fourth field is "1", then the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is half the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel.

[0189] Optionally, if the first frame includes the first field, it may also include a fifth field, which indicates the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel. For example, the fifth field may include two bits. If the two bits of the fifth field are "00", the fifth field indicates that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20MHz; if the two bits of the fifth field are "01", the fifth field indicates that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 40MHz; if the two bits of the fifth field are "10", the fifth field indicates that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 80MHz.

[0190] For example, the fifth field may be referred to as the bandwidth field. It should be understood that the name of the fifth field is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0191] Optionally, the first frame also includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration and / or start time of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals.

[0192] For example, the sixth field can be called the effective date field. It should be understood that the name of the sixth field is not limited in this embodiment.

[0193] For example, the sixth field includes a fourth subfield and / or a fifth subfield, the fourth subfield being used to indicate the duration of the interval between the start time of the time period and the time when the first frame was sent, and the fifth subfield being used to indicate the duration of the time period.

[0194] For example, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is in the form of a measurement time slot or a measurement duration, where the measurement duration is the time required to perform one data measurement. That is, the interval between the start time of the fourth subfield indicating the period and the time of transmitting the first frame is L measurement time slots or L measurement durations. It is understood that the start time of a period available for transmitting NB signals on a narrowband channel is generally no more than 1 second from the time of transmitting the first frame, and the duration of a measurement time slot is no less than 1 ms. Therefore, if the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is in the form of measurement time slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 1000 measurement time slots. With a maximum of 1000 measurement time slots, the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 10 bits. Similarly, if a measurement duration includes 10 measurement time slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 100 measurement durations, meaning the fourth subfield can include a maximum of 7 bits.

[0195] For example, the fifth subfield indicates the duration in units of measurement time slots or measurement duration.

[0196] Optionally, the first frame may also include a seventh field, which indicates whether the first frame includes the following fields: the first field, the second field, at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or the sixth field.

[0197] For example, the seventh field may be referred to as the field appearance indicator field. It should be understood that the name of the seventh field is not limited in this embodiment.

[0198] For example, the seventh field may include seven bits, which correspond one-to-one with the seven fields mentioned above. If the value of bit #A among the seven bits is the first value, it means that the first frame includes the field corresponding to bit #A; if the value of bit #A among the seven bits is the second value, it means that the first frame does not include the field corresponding to bit #A. For example, if the seven bits of the seventh field are "1110000", it can mean that the first frame includes the first field, the second field, and at least one scaling factor field.

[0199] For example, the seventh field may include three bits: one bit corresponds to the first field, one bit corresponds to the second field, and the last bit corresponds to at least one scaling factor field. If the value of bit #B is the first value, it means the first frame includes the field corresponding to bit #B; if the value of bit #B is the second value, it means the first frame does not include the field corresponding to bit #B. For example, if the three bits of the seventh field are "111", it means the first frame includes the first field, the second field, and at least one scaling factor field. Similarly, if the three bits of the seventh field are "100", it means the first frame includes the first field.

[0200] For example, the seventh field may include ten bits, each corresponding to one of the following fields: the first subfield, the second subfield, the third subfield, the second field, at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, the fourth subfield, and the fifth subfield.

[0201] For example, if the first frame includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field, then the structural diagram of the first frame can be as follows: Figure 10 As shown in (a) in the text, or, as in Figure 10 As shown in (b) in the figure, Figure 10 In the structure shown in (b), multiple Wi-Fi channels are combined to form the first field. If the first frame includes a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a third field, then the structural diagram of the first frame can be as follows: Figure 10 As shown in (c) above. If the first frame includes a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a fifth field, then the structural diagram of the first frame can be as follows: Figure 10 As shown in (d) in the diagram. If the first frame includes a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a seventh field, then the structural diagram of the first frame can be as follows: Figure 10As shown in (e) in the diagram. It should be noted that... Figure 10 This is merely an example; the structure of the first frame can also be in other forms, and this application does not limit this embodiment.

[0202] For example, if the structure of the first frame is as follows Figure 10 As shown in (a), the relationship between multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel is as follows: Figure 8 As shown in Table 1, the descriptions of the fields included in the first frame are as follows.

[0203] Table 1

[0204]

[0205] Optionally, before S510, method 500 further includes S540, whereby the transmitting device receives a second frame from the receiving device. The second frame is used to determine a first narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal. The structure of the second frame can be referred to the description of the first frame above, and will not be described in detail in the embodiments of this application.

[0206] For example, the transmitting device receives a second frame from the receiving device during the measurement control phase, or during the measurement result reporting phase.

[0207] Optionally, the transmitting device can generate the first frame based on the second frame. For example, the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel determined by the first frame generated by the transmitting device belong to the frequency domain resources of the first narrowband channel.

[0208] S520, the sending device sends the first frame to the receiving device.

[0209] Correspondingly, the receiving device receives the first frame from the sending device.

[0210] In one possible implementation, the information element (IE) number of the first frame sent by the sending device differs depending on its structure. For example, if the first frame includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field, then the IE number corresponding to the first frame is IE#1. If the first frame includes the first field and the second field, then the IE number corresponding to the first frame is IE#2. If the first frame includes the first field, the second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a sixth field, then the IE number corresponding to the first frame is IE#3. Accordingly, after receiving the first frame, the receiving device can determine the structure of the first frame based on its corresponding IE number.

[0211] In one possible implementation, if the first frame includes a seventh field, the receiving device can determine which other fields the first frame also includes based on the seventh field.

[0212] S530, the receiving device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0213] For example, the receiving device directly determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame, or the receiving device determines available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit NB signals based on the first frame, and then determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources.

[0214] The following example, using the first frame received by the receiving device as an example, which includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field, illustrates how the receiving device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0215] If the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel, the receiving device can determine whether the frequency domain of each Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals based on the first field. That is, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit NB signals; if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit NB signals.

[0216] Alternatively, if the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, then the receiving device may determine that the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first and second frequency domain resources cannot be used to transmit NB signals; or, determine that the first frequency domain resource, the second frequency domain resource, and the frequency domain resource between the first and second frequency domain resources can be used to transmit NB signals; or, determine that the frequency domain resources of the at least one Wi-Fi channel, except for the following frequency domain resources, can be used to transmit NB signals: the first frequency domain resource, the second frequency domain resource, and the frequency domain resource between the first and second frequency domain resources; or, determine that the frequency domain resources of the at least one Wi-Fi channel, except for the following frequency domain resources, cannot be used to transmit NB signals: the first frequency domain resource, the second frequency domain resource, and the frequency domain resource between the first and second frequency domain resources.

[0217] For example, if at least one Wi-Fi channel includes channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169, then these six channels can be indicated using three bits. For example, "000" indicates channel 149, "001" indicates channel 153, "010" indicates channel 157, "011" indicates channel 161, "100" indicates channel 165, and "101" indicates channel 169. Furthermore, if the first field includes six bits, and these six bits are "000010", then the receiving device can determine that the first field includes the bits corresponding to channel 149 and the bits corresponding to channel 157. Furthermore, the receiving device can determine whether the frequency domain resources of each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting NB signals.

[0218] As mentioned earlier, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel can be 20MHz, 40MHz, or 80MHz. If the first frame also includes a fifth field, the receiving device can determine the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel based on the fifth field. If the first frame does not include a fifth field, the receiving device defaults to a Wi-Fi channel bandwidth of 20MHz, or a default Wi-Fi channel bandwidth of 40MHz, or a Wi-Fi channel bandwidth of 80MHz.

[0219] It should be noted that if the first frame does not include the first field, the receiving device may assume that the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting NB signals, or it may assume that the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel are not available for transmitting NB signals. Alternatively, the receiving device may determine whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting NB signals based on the first field included in the previously received first frame.

[0220] After the receiving device determines whether each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals based on the first field, it continues to determine the frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit NB signals based on the scaling factor field.

[0221] For example, if the receiving device determines, based on the first field, that the frequency domain resources of the first Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are unavailable for transmitting NB signals, then the receiving device determines the frequency domain resources available for transmitting NB signals based on the frequency domain resources of the first Wi-Fi channel and the scaling factor field corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel. The method by which the receiving device determines the frequency domain resources available for transmitting NB signals based on the frequency domain resources of the first Wi-Fi channel and the scaling factor field corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel can be found in the description in S510 above.

[0222] like Figure 11As shown in (a), assuming the receiving device determines, based on the first field, that the frequency domain resources of channels 149 and 153 are unusable for transmitting NB signals, while the frequency domain resources of channels 157, 161, 165, and 169 are usable for transmitting NB signals, and the receiving device determines, based on at least one scaling factor field, that the scaling factor corresponding to channels 149 and 153 is 3 / 4, then the receiving device can determine the frequency domain resources unusable for transmitting NB signals as follows: The frequency domain resources of channel 149 unusable for transmitting NB signals are […]. The frequency domain resources of channel 153 that cannot be used to transmit NB signals are [ Furthermore, after excluding frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit NB signals from the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel, the receiving device can determine the frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel that can be used to transmit NB signals. That is, the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources in the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel that can be used to transmit NB signals include: 5735MHz-5737.5MHz, 5772.5MHz-5777.5MHz, and 5792.5MHz-5780MHz.

[0223] like Figure 11 As shown in (b), assuming the receiving device determines, based on the first field, that the frequency domain resources of channels 149 to 169 are unavailable for transmitting NB signals, and the receiving device determines, based on at least one scaling factor field, that the scaling factor corresponding to channels 149 to 169 is 1 / 2, then the receiving device can determine the frequency domain resources available for transmitting NB signals as follows: i.e., the frequency domain resources unavailable for transmitting NB signals are [ ], where t is a positive integer and 1≤t≤6, that is, the frequency domain resources that the receiving device determines can be used to transmit NB signals include: 5730MHz-5740MHz, 5750MHz-5760MHz, 5770MHz-5780MHz, 5790MHz-5800MHz, 5810MHz-5820MHz, 5830MHz-5840MHz.

[0224] It should be noted that if the first frame does not include at least one scaling factor field, the receiving device can determine that the scaling factor is a preset value, for example, a value of 1. Alternatively, the receiving device can determine the scaling factor value based on the scaling factor resources included in the previously received first frame.

[0225] Then, the receiving device determines, based on the second field, the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel that can be used to transmit NB signals.

[0226] If the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel, the receiving device can determine whether the frequency domain of each narrowband channel in the at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals based on the second field. That is, if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit NB signals; if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit NB signals.

[0227] like Figure 11 As shown in (a), assuming that the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources of channel a3 and channel a4 can be used to transmit NB signals based on the second field, the available frequency domain resources finally determined by the receiving device include: 5730MHz-5737.5MHz, 5772.5-5777.5MHz, and 5792.5MHz-5780MHz.

[0228] like Figure 11 As shown in (b), assuming the receiving device determines that the frequency domain resources of channels a3 and a4 are available for transmitting NB signals based on the second field, the available frequency domain resources finally determined by the receiving device are expressed as: [ ], where t is a positive integer and 1≤t≤6.

[0229] It should be noted that if the first frame does not include the second field, the receiving device may assume that the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting NB signals, or it may assume that the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel are not available for transmitting NB signals. Alternatively, the receiving device may determine whether the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting NB signals based on the second field included in the previously received first frame.

[0230] After determining the available frequency domain resources, the receiving device then determines at least one available narrowband channel based on those resources. As mentioned earlier, at least one available narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels. The receiving device's determination of at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources is equivalent to determining at least one available narrowband channel from among the multiple candidate narrowband channels based on those resources. Specifically, if the frequency of a candidate narrowband channel falls within the available frequency domain resources, the receiving device determines that candidate narrowband channel is an available narrowband channel. Therefore, it can be seen that the receiving device can only determine at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources after determining the frequency of each of the multiple candidate narrowband channels.

[0231] For example, if the first frame also includes a third field, the receiving device can determine the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel based on the third field. Therefore, when the receiving device determines the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel, it can determine the frequency of multiple candidate narrowband channels. Assuming the spectrum of the narrowband system is spectrum UNII-3, and the third field indicates that the offset between the frequency of the first candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the first reference narrowband channel is -1.25, and the receiving device determines the frequency of the first reference narrowband signal to be 5727.5MHz according to a predefined channel allocation method, then the receiving device determines the frequency of the first candidate narrowband channel to be 5726.25MHz. If the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is 2.5MHz, then the receiving device determines the frequency of the nth channel among the multiple candidate narrowband channels. It can be represented as: 1≤n≤50, meaning multiple candidate narrowband channels are Figure 6 Channels a1 to a50 are shown.

[0232] For example, if the first frame also includes a fourth field, the receiving device can determine the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel based on the fourth field, and then the receiving device can determine the frequency points of multiple candidate narrowband channels based on the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel.

[0233] If the first frame does not include the third field, the receiving device can assume that the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 0. If the first frame does not include the fourth field, the receiving device can assume that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is the same as the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel. If the first frame does not include both the third and fourth fields, the receiving device can determine that multiple candidate narrowband channels are the same as multiple reference narrowband channels.

[0234] After the receiving device determines the frequency points of multiple candidate narrowband channels, it can determine at least one available narrowband channel based on the frequency points of the multiple candidate narrowband channels and the available frequency domain resources.

[0235] Assuming available frequency domain resources include: 5730MHz-5737.5MHz, 5772.5-5777.5MHz, and 5792.5MHz-5780MHz, the frequency point of the nth channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels. It can be represented as: The receiving device determines at least one available narrowband channel, including: Figure 6 Channels a3 to a5, a12 and a13, and a20 to a50 are shown.

[0236] Assume that available frequency domain resources are represented as: [ ], where t is a positive integer and 1≤t≤6, is the frequency of the nth channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels. It can be represented as: Then the receiving device can use the following algorithm to determine at least one available narrowband channel:

[0237] For all 1≤n≤6, 1≤t≤6

[0238] If ,

[0239] AllowList[n]=1.

[0240] Where AllowList[n]=1, it indicates that the nth channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels is an available narrowband channel. According to the above algorithm, the at least one available narrowband channel determined by the receiving device includes: Figure 6 Channels a3 to a6, a19 to a22, a27 to a30, a35 to a38, and a43 to a46 are shown.

[0241] Optionally, if the first frame also includes a sixth field, the receiving device can also determine the duration and / or start time of at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the sixth field.

[0242] For example, the sixth field includes the fourth subfield, which indicates the duration in units of measurement duration. The seven bits in the fourth subfield are "0000011". The receiving device can determine, based on the fourth subfield, that the interval between the start time of the available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals and the time of receiving the first frame is 4 measurement durations.

[0243] For example, the sixth field includes the fifth subfield, and the unit of duration indicated by the fifth subfield is the measurement duration. The third subfield includes three bits that are "011". The receiving device can determine from the fifth subfield that the duration of the available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals includes four measurement durations.

[0244] Once the receiving device determines at least one available narrowband channel, it can transmit the NB signal through at least one available narrowband channel.

[0245] In this embodiment, the transmitting device can send a first frame to the receiving device, which can then determine at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame. When the spectrum of the narrowband system overlaps with the spectrum of the Wi-Fi system, according to the method provided in this embodiment, the transmitting device can indicate to the receiving device via the first frame the frequency domain resources not occupied by Wi-Fi devices. That is, the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel determined by the receiving device based on the first frame are not occupied by Wi-Fi devices, thereby preventing interference from Wi-Fi devices on the NB signals transmitted by the receiving device.

[0246] Furthermore, the embodiments of this application indicate whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals through the first field. Since the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is relatively large, the number of bits required to indicate the Wi-Fi channel is less than the number of bits required to indicate the narrowband channel for a spectrum resource. Therefore, the method provided by the embodiments of this application will not cause a large bit overhead.

[0247] The embodiments of this application also indicate whether the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals through a second field. Each narrowband channel in the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. Thus, when the spectrum resources of the narrowband system include frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, a comprehensive indication of the spectrum resources of the narrowband system can be achieved.

[0248] In addition, the first frame may also include at least one scaling factor field. If a device has the ability to transmit both NB signals and Wi-Fi signals, it can indicate a scaling factor with a value greater than 1 through at least one scaling factor field, thereby ensuring that the frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals and the frequency domain resources for transmitting Wi-Fi signals are not adjacent, thus avoiding in-band interference.

[0249] In addition, the first frame may also include a fourth subfield, which indicates the duration in units of measurement time slots or measurement duration. Therefore, the fourth subfield may include a maximum of 10 bits or 7 bits without incurring too much bit overhead.

[0250] Figure 12 This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 1200 provided in another embodiment of this application, which may include the following steps:

[0251] S1210, the receiving device sends the second frame to the sending device.

[0252] Correspondingly, the sending device receives the second frame from the receiving device.

[0253] The second frame is used to indicate the first narrowband channel that can be used to transmit NB signals. The structure of the second frame can be referred to the description of the first frame in Method 500 above. The first narrowband channel can also be called the recommended narrowband channel.

[0254] It should be noted that the second frame does not include the sixth field.

[0255] For example, such as Figure 13 As shown in (a), during the measurement control phase of the nth measurement process, the receiving device sends the second frame to the sending device.

[0256] For example, such as Figure 13 As shown in (b), during the measurement result reporting phase of the nth measurement process, the receiving device sends the second frame to the sending device.

[0257] S1220, the sending device sends an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device.

[0258] Correspondingly, the receiving device receives an acknowledgment frame from the sending device.

[0259] The acknowledgment frame is an acknowledgment frame for the second frame.

[0260] After receiving the acknowledgment frame, the receiving device can determine from the acknowledgment frame that the first narrowband channel indicated by the second frame can be used to transmit NB signals.

[0261] For example, such as Figure 13 As shown in (a), if the transmitting device receives the second frame during the measurement control phase of the nth measurement process, the transmitting device can send an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device during the measurement result reporting phase of the nth measurement process.

[0262] For example, such as Figure 13 As shown in (b), if the transmitting device receives the second frame during the measurement result reporting stage of the nth measurement process, the transmitting device can send an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device during the measurement control stage of the n+th measurement process.

[0263] S1230, the transmitting and receiving devices transmit the NB signal through the first narrowband channel.

[0264] For example, if the transmitting device sends an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device during the nth measurement, then the transmitting device and the receiving device transmit the NB signal through the first narrowband channel during the (n+1)th measurement.

[0265] If, during the (n+1)th measurement, the transmitting device sends an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device, then the transmitting device and the receiving device will transmit the NB signal through the first narrowband channel during the (n+2)th measurement.

[0266] In this embodiment, if the receiving device can operate a Wi-Fi service on the same spectrum as the narrowband system, it can generate a second frame based on its operating service and use this second frame to indicate to the transmitting device a first narrowband channel suitable for transmitting NB signals. Furthermore, if the transmitting device determines that the first narrowband channel is suitable for transmitting NB signals, it can reply with an acknowledgment frame to the receiving device, allowing the receiving device to confirm that the first narrowband channel is suitable for transmitting NB signals. Subsequently, both the transmitting and receiving devices can transmit NB signals through the first narrowband channel during the next measurement.

[0267] Figure 14 This is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 1400 provided in an embodiment of this application. The method may include the following steps:

[0268] S1410, the sending device generates the first frame.

[0269] The first frame is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit narrowband NB signals. The first frame includes a first field, which indicates whether the frequency domain resources corresponding to each of the at least one first channel are available for transmitting the NB signals. The bandwidth of the first channel is greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0270] For example, the bandwidth of the first channel is twice the bandwidth of the narrowband channel, or the bandwidth of the first channel is three times the bandwidth of the narrowband channel; however, this application does not limit this.

[0271] For example, the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one first channel. If the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit NB signals; or, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a second value, then the frequency domain resources of the first channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit NB signals. Wherein, the first value is 0 and the second value is 1, or the first value is 1 and the second value is 0.

[0272] Optionally, the first frame also includes at least one scaling factor field, which corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel. A first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine the frequency domain resources available for transmitting the NB signal.

[0273] Optionally, the first frame may also include a third field and / or a fourth field. The third field indicates the offset between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel. The fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel.

[0274] Optionally, the first frame may also include a fifth field, which indicates the bandwidth of the first channel.

[0275] Optionally, the first frame also includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration and / or start time of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals.

[0276] Optionally, the first frame may also include a seventh field, which indicates whether the first frame includes the following fields: the first field, at least one scaling factor field, the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or the sixth field.

[0277] S1420, the sending device sends the first frame to the receiving device.

[0278] Correspondingly, the receiving device receives the first frame from the sending device.

[0279] S1430, the receiving device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0280] For a more detailed description of method 1400, please refer to the description in method 500 above. For the sake of brevity, the embodiments of this application will not be described in detail.

[0281] In this embodiment, by indicating whether the frequency domain resources of the first channel can be used to transmit NB signals, at least one available narrowband channel can be indicated to the receiving device. Furthermore, since the bandwidth of the first channel is greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel, the number of bits required to indicate the first channel is less than the number of bits required to indicate the narrowband channel for a given spectrum resource. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment does not incur significant bit overhead.

[0282] Figure 15 This is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 15 As shown, the device 1500 may include a transceiver unit 1510 and a processing unit 1520. The transceiver unit 1510 can communicate with the outside world, and the processing unit 1520 is used for data processing. The transceiver unit 1510 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0283] Optionally, the device 1500 may further include a storage unit for storing instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 1520 may read the instructions and / or data from the storage unit to enable the device to implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0284] In the first design, the device 1500 can be the transmitting end device in the aforementioned embodiments, or it can be a component of the transmitting end device (such as a chip). The device 1500 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those executed by the transmitting end device in the above method embodiments, wherein the transceiver unit 1510 can be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the transmitting end device in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 1520 can be used to perform the processing-related operations of the transmitting end device in the above method embodiments.

[0285] In one possible implementation, processing unit 1520 is configured to generate a first frame, which is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit NB signals. The first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field. The first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals; the second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals, wherein each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor. The first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine the frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit NB signals; transceiver unit 1510 is configured to transmit the first frame.

[0286] In one possible implementation, processing unit 1520 is used to generate a first frame, which is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit NB signals. The first frame includes a first field, which is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources corresponding to each of the at least one first channel can be used to transmit the NB channel. The bandwidth of the first channel is greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel. Transceiver unit 1510 is used to transmit the first frame.

[0287] In the second design, the device 1500 can be the receiving end device in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a component of the receiving end device (such as a chip). The device 1500 can implement the steps or processes corresponding to those executed by the receiving end device in the above method embodiments, wherein the transceiver unit 1510 can be used to perform the transceiver-related operations of the receiving end device in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 1520 can be used to perform the processing-related operations of the receiving end device in the above method embodiments.

[0288] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field. The first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channels are available for transmitting NB signals; the second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channels are available for transmitting NB signals, each of the at least one narrowband channels includes frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting Wi-Fi signals; the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, the first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine the frequency domain resources available for transmitting NB signals; the processing unit 1520 is configured to determine at least one available narrowband channel available for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame.

[0289] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1510 is used to receive a first frame, the first frame including a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one first channel are available for transmitting the NB channel, the bandwidth of the first channel being greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; the processing unit 1520 is used to determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0290] In one possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to send a second frame during the measurement control phase of the nth measurement process, the second frame being used to determine at least one first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal, where n is a positive integer; receive an acknowledgment frame of the second frame during the measurement result reporting phase of the nth measurement process; and transmit the NB signal through the first narrowband channel during the (n+1)th measurement process.

[0291] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0292] It should also be understood that the device 1500 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuitry, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a proprietary processor, or a group processor, etc.) and memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, combined logic circuitry, and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions. In an alternative example, those skilled in the art will understand that device 1500 may specifically be a transmitting end device in the above embodiments, used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the transmitting end device in the above method embodiments; or, device 1500 may specifically be a receiving end device in the above embodiments, used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the receiving end device in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here. The transceiver unit 1510 may also be a transceiver circuit (e.g., it may include a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit 1520 may be a processing circuit. Figure 15 The device mentioned can be the equipment described in the foregoing embodiments, or it can be a chip or a chip system, such as a system-on-a-chip (SoC). The transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitations are imposed here.

[0293] The apparatus 1500 of each of the above-described schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the transmitting or receiving device in the above-described methods. The function can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as processing units, can be replaced by processors, each executing the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0294] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of the apparatus 1600 provided in the embodiments of this application. The apparatus 1600 includes a processor 1610, which is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory 1620, or to read data / instructions stored in a memory 1620, in order to execute the methods in the above method embodiments. Optionally, there may be one or more processors 1610.

[0295] Optional, such as Figure 16As shown, the device 1600 also includes a memory 1620 for storing computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 1620 may be integrated with the processor 1610 or may be disposed separately. Optionally, there may be one or more memories 1620.

[0296] Optional, such as Figure 16 As shown, the device 1600 also includes a transceiver 1630 for receiving and / or transmitting signals. For example, a processor 1610 is used to control the transceiver 1630 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0297] As one option, the device 1600 is used to implement the operations performed by the sending device in the above method embodiments.

[0298] For example, processor 1610 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 1620 to implement relevant operations of the transmitting device in the method embodiments described above. For example, Figure 5 , Figure 12 or Figure 14 The method executed by the transmitting device in the illustrated embodiment.

[0299] As an alternative, the device 1600 is used to implement the method executed by the receiving device in the above method embodiments.

[0300] For example, processor 1610 is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in memory 1620 to implement relevant operations of the receiving device in the method embodiments described above. For example, Figure 5 , Figure 12 or Figure 14 The method executed by the receiving device in the illustrated embodiment.

[0301] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0302] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0303] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0304] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0305] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram of a chip system 1700 provided in an embodiment of this application. The chip system 1700 (or may also be referred to as a processing system) includes logic circuitry 1710 and an input / output interface 1720.

[0306] The logic circuit 1710 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1700. The logic circuit 1710 can be coupled to a memory unit, calling instructions from the memory unit, enabling the chip system 1700 to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application. The input / output interface 1720 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1700, outputting information processed by the chip system 3000, or inputting data or signaling to be processed into the chip system 1700 for processing.

[0307] Specifically, for example, if the transmitting device has the chip system 1700 installed, and the logic circuit 1710 is coupled to the input / output interface 1720, the logic circuit 1710 can transmit a first frame through the input / output interface 1720, and this first frame can be generated by the logic circuit 1710. As another example, if the receiving device has the chip system 1700 installed, and the logic circuit 1710 is coupled to the input / output interface 1720, the logic circuit 1710 can receive a first frame through the input / output interface 1720, and the logic circuit 1710 determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0308] As one option, the chip system 1700 is used to implement the operations performed by the transmitting device in the above method embodiments.

[0309] For example, logic circuit 1710 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the transmitting device in the above method embodiments, such as... Figure 5 , Figure 12 or Figure 14 The transmitting device in the illustrated embodiment performs processing-related operations; the input / output interface 1720 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the transmitting device in the above method embodiment, such as... Figure 5 , Figure 12 or Figure 14 The processing-related operations performed by the transmitting device in the illustrated embodiment.

[0310] As an alternative, the chip system 1700 is used to implement the operations performed by the receiving device in the above method embodiments.

[0311] For example, logic circuit 1710 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the receiving device in the above method embodiments, such as... Figure 5 , Figure 12 or Figure 14 The receiving device in the illustrated embodiment performs processing-related operations; the input / output interface 1720 is used to implement the sending and / or receiving-related operations performed by the receiving device in the above method embodiment, such as... Figure 5 , Figure 12 or Figure 14The receiving device in the illustrated embodiment performs processing-related operations.

[0312] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by the device in the above method embodiments.

[0313] For example, when the computer program is executed by the computer, it enables the computer to implement the method executed by the sending device in the above method embodiments.

[0314] For example, when the computer program is executed by the computer, it enables the computer to implement the method executed by the receiving device in the above method embodiments.

[0315] This application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, implement the method described above, performed by a device (such as a transmitting device or a receiving device).

[0316] This application also provides a communication system, including the aforementioned transmitting device and receiving device.

[0317] The explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the devices provided above can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0318] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of apparatus or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0319] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs). For example, the aforementioned available media include, but are not limited to, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks, and other media capable of storing program code.

[0320] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application shall be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: include: A first frame is generated, which is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit narrowband NB signals. The first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field and a second field. Send the first frame; The first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting the NB signal; The second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, wherein each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting Wi-Fi signals; The first frame includes the first field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel; If the first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel takes the value of a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first frame includes the first field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel; If the first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel takes the value of the second value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first frame includes the first field. If the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, then the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit the NB signal; or, The first frequency domain resources corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resources corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resources between the first and second frequency domain resources can be used to transmit the NB signal.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first frame includes the second field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel; If the value of the second bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, then the frequency domain field of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first frame includes the second field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel; If the second bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel takes the value of the second value, then the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first frame includes a third field, which indicates the offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of which is a preset value.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a fourth field, which is used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first frame includes the first field, and the first frame also includes a fifth field, which is used to indicate the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Before sending the first frame, the method further includes: Receive a second frame, which is used to determine a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field; Based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel is determined that can be used to transmit narrowband NB signals; The first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting the NB signal; The second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, wherein each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting Wi-Fi signals; The first frame includes the first field, the first field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the step of determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: If the first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel takes a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit are determined to be available for transmitting the NB signal, and the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel include the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first frame includes the first field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel. If the first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel takes the value of the second value, then it is determined that the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first frame includes the first field. If the first field includes a bit corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, then it is determined that the first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit the NB signal. or, The first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource are determined to be available for transmitting the NB signal.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame includes the second field, the second field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel, and the step of determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: If the value of the second bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit are determined to be available for transmitting the NB signal, and the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel include the frequency domain resources of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame includes the second field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel. If the second bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel takes the value of a second value, then the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame includes a third field, which indicates the offset between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of which is a preset value.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame also includes a fourth field, which is used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; The step of determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: The available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal are determined based on at least one of the following fields included in the first frame: the first field, the second field; The at least one available narrowband channel is determined based on the available frequency domain resources and the fourth field.

18. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame includes the first field, and the first frame also includes a fifth field, which is used to indicate the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

19. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period; the method further includes: The duration of the period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and / or the start time of the period are determined based on the first frame.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: A second frame is sent, which is used to determine a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The processing unit is used to generate a first frame, which is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit narrowband NB signals. The first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field and a second field. The transceiver unit is used to send the first frame; The first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting the NB signal; The second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, wherein each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting Wi-Fi signals; The first frame includes the first field, which includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel; If the first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel takes the value of a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit is used to receive a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field; The processing unit is used to determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit narrowband NB signals; The first field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each Wi-Fi channel in at least one Wi-Fi channel are available for transmitting the NB signal; The second field is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources of each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel are available for transmitting the NB signal, wherein each narrowband channel in at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that are not available for transmitting Wi-Fi signals; The first frame includes the first field, the first field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the step of determining at least one available narrowband channel for transmitting NB signals based on the first frame includes: If the first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel takes a first value, then the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit are determined to be available for transmitting the NB signal, and the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel include the frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processor for executing computer instructions stored in memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, or to cause the apparatus to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 20.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Used to store a computer program, the computer program including instructions for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, or including instructions for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 20.

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