Information indication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides an information indication method and an information indication device, which are used for solving the problem that some privatized designs carried out on a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) by a manufacturer may conflict with information of the PPDU defined by a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard. The method comprises: a first device generating and sending a PPDU, a first field in signaling fields of the PPDU being in a first value state, the first value state being used for indicating that the PPDU carries manufacturer customization information, and the first field being in a second value state; the first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of an unreasonable bit, a non-default state of a verification bit, an unreasonable state and a verification state. One or more states of the non-default state, the non-rational state and the confirmation state of the confirmation bit are used as the identification of the manufacturer customization information, so that the information of the PPDU defined by the original standard is not conflicted when the manufacturer privately customizes or the subsequent standard is improved.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202110185134.5, and the application date of the original application is February 10, 2021. The entire content of the original application is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to an information indication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0003] Wireless local area network (WLAN) standards have evolved from 802.11a / b / g through 802.11n, 802.11ac, to 802.11ax. The WLAN standards define the signaling format of the physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). However, in practice, manufacturers may make some proprietary designs, or manufacturer-specific designs, for the PPDU, such that the PPDU can carry some customized information proprietary to the manufacturer. The proprietary designs made by manufacturers for the PPDU may conflict with the information of the PPDU defined by the WLAN standards. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide an information indication method and apparatus, a chip, a computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, etc., for solving the problem that the proprietary designs made by manufacturers for the PPDU may conflict with the information of the PPDU defined by the WLAN standards.

[0005] In a first aspect, an information indication method provided by an embodiment of this application can be applied to a communication device, or a chip or chipset in the communication device. The method includes: a first device generates and sends a PPDU, where a first field in a signaling field of the PPDU is in a first value state, and the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information, and the first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of the ignore bit, non-default state of the acknowledgment bit, ignore state, acknowledgment state.

[0006] In the embodiments of the present application, by using one or more of the states of ignoring any value state of the bit, verifying the non-default state of the bit, ignoring state, and verifying state as the identifier of the manufacturer-customized information, that is, when the first field in the signaling field of the PPDU is in the first value state, devices supporting the transmission mechanism of "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can read the PPDU in the first value state and obtain the manufacturer-customized information in the PPDU. Among them, the transmission mechanism of "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can be referred to as the first transmission mechanism, which will not be elaborated below. Through the above method, it is possible to ensure that there is no conflict between the manufacturer's private customization or subsequent standard improvement and the information of the PPDU defined by the original standard.

[0007] In a possible design, the first field includes a PPDU type and a compression mode sub-field and a non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission user number sub-field; the first value state is indicated by the following verification state or ignoring state: the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1.

[0008] In the above design, the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicating single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicating that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 are used as a verification state or an ignoring state. By taking the value state where the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission and the non-OFDMA user number indicates more than 1 as the identifier of the manufacturer-customized information, the receiving end supporting the transmission mechanism of "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can determine the identifier of the PPDU carrying the manufacturer-customized information, and the subsequent user fields will appear in the corresponding number according to the indication of the non-OFDMA user number. And the manufacturer-customized information is read from these user fields. While the receiving end that does not support the transmission mechanism of "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can process the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicating single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicating that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 as a verification state or an ignoring state. In this way, it is possible to achieve the manufacturer's private customization without changing the information of the PPDU defined by the WLAN standard.

[0009] In a possible design, the manufacturer - customized information is the modulation method of N spatial streams in the non - balanced modulation mode, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two of the N spatial streams are different. Through the above design, the first device can identify the manufacturer - customized information through the first value state and carry the modulation methods of N spatial streams in the non - balanced modulation mode in the PPDU.

[0010] In a possible design, the non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field of the n user fields indicates the total number N of spatial streams, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams. In the above design, the non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, the PPDU can correspondingly include n user fields, and the modulation methods of N spatial streams can be indicated through the n user fields.

[0011] In a possible design, the station identifier sub - field of the first user field indicates the identifier of the target station, the spatial stream indicator sub - field of the first user field indicates the total number N of spatial streams, and the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) indicator sub - field of the first user field indicates the modulation method of the first spatial stream. In the above design, the first user field can adopt the signaling format of the user field defined by the WLAN standard, resulting in less modification to the WLAN standard.

[0012] In a possible design, the second to the Nth spatial streams among the N spatial streams are divided into K spatial stream groups. The non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field of the n user fields indicates the total number N of spatial streams, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the K spatial stream groups, where K is an integer and 1 ≤ K ≤ N - 1.

[0013] In a possible design, the N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ H; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the n user fields include the first user field, and the first user field indicates the total number H of spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams in each of the H spatial stream groups. The n - 1 user fields other than the first user field in the n user fields indicate the modulation methods of each of the H spatial stream groups. In the above design, the grouping information of the spatial streams can be indicated through the first user field, thereby improving the flexibility of spatial stream grouping.

[0014] In a possible design, the site identifier of the first user field is a specific value.

[0015] In a possible design, N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ H; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field among the n user fields indicates the total number of spatial stream groups H, the identifier of the target site, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream group, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Hth spatial stream groups. In the above design, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is n, and the PPDU can correspondingly include n user fields. Through the n user fields, the modulation methods of H spatial stream groups can be indicated.

[0016] In a possible design, N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is H; the PPDU includes H user fields, and the ith user field among the H user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the ith spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups, where i is an integer and 1 ≤ i ≤ H. In the above design, one user field indicates the modulation method of one spatial stream group. Therefore, the total number of spatial stream groups H can be indicated by the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0017] In a possible design, the MCS indication subfield of the ith user field indicates the modulation method of the ith spatial stream group, and the spatial stream allocation subfield of the ith user field indicates the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups. In the above design, the user field can adopt the signaling format of the user field defined by the WLAN standard for MU-MIMO user transmission, so that the modification to the WLAN standard is relatively small.

[0018] In a possible design, N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is H; the PPDU includes H user fields, and the ith user field among the H user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the ith spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams in the ith spatial stream group, where i is an integer and 1 ≤ i ≤ H. In the above design, one user field indicates the modulation method of one spatial stream group. Therefore, the total number of spatial stream groups H can be indicated by the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0019] In a possible design, the MCS indication sub-field of the i-th user field indicates the modulation method of the i-th spatial stream group, and the spatial stream indication sub-field of the i-th user field indicates the number of spatial streams of the i-th spatial stream group. In the above design, the user field can adopt the signaling format of the user field defined in the WLAN standard for non-MU-MIMO user transmission, so that the modification to the WLAN standard is relatively small.

[0020] In a possible design, the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users is N, the PPDU includes N user fields, and the j-th user field in the N user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the j-th spatial stream among the N spatial streams, where j is an integer and 1 ≤ j ≤ N.

[0021] In a possible design, the first field includes a user field; the first value state is indicated by the second confirmation state, and the second confirmation state is that the station identification sub-field of the user field takes a specific value. In the above design, the user field with the station identification being a specific value can be used as the identifier of the manufacturer-customized information.

[0022] In a possible design, the first value state is the confirmation state defined in the WLAN standard. For example, the first value state can be one or more confirmation states defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0023] In a possible design, the first value state can also be indicated by the confirmation state and the defined confirmation bit in the WLAN standard. For example, the first value state can be indicated by the confirmation state and the confirmation bit defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0024] In a second aspect, an information indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to a communication device, or a chip or a chipset in the communication device. The method includes: a second device receives a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, where the first field in the signaling field of the PPDU is in the first value state, and the first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of the ignore bit, non-default state of the confirmation bit, ignore state, confirmation state; if the second device supports the first transmission mechanism, the second device obtains manufacturer-customized information from the PPDU, and the first transmission mechanism is that the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information; or, if the second device does not support the first transmission mechanism, the second device processes the PPDU with the first value state as the confirmation state or the ignore state.

[0025] In the embodiments of the present application, by using one or more of the states of ignoring any value state of a bit, verifying a non-default state of a bit, an ignoring state, and a verifying state as an identifier of manufacturer-customized information, a device supporting a first transmission mechanism can read a PPDU with a first value state and obtain the manufacturer-customized information in the PPDU. In the above manner, it is possible to ensure that there is no conflict between the information of the PPDU defined by the original standard during manufacturer privatization customization or subsequent standard improvement.

[0026] In a possible design, the first field includes a PPDU type field, a compression mode sub-field, and a non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field; the first value state is indicated by the following verifying state or ignoring state: the PPDU type and compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1.

[0027] In the above design, the situation where the PPDU type and compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 is used as a verifying state or an ignoring state. By regarding the value state where the PPDU type and compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission and the non-OFDMA user number indicates more than 1 as an identifier of manufacturer-customized information, a receiving end supporting the transmission mechanism that "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can determine the identifier of the manufacturer-customized information carried in the PPDU. Subsequently, the user fields will appear in the corresponding number according to the indication of the non-OFDMA user number. And the manufacturer-customized information can be read from these user fields. While a receiving end that does not support the transmission mechanism that "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can handle the situation where the PPDU type and compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 as a verifying state or an ignoring state. In this way, it is possible to achieve manufacturer privatization customization without changing the information of the PPDU defined by the WLAN standard.

[0028] In a possible design, the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation method of N spatial streams in a non-uniform modulation mode, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two of the N spatial streams are different. Through the above design, the first device can identify the manufacturer-customized information through the first value state and carry the modulation method of N spatial streams in the non-uniform modulation mode in the PPDU.

[0029] In a possible design, the non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field in the n user fields indicates the total number of spatial streams N, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams. In the above design, the non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, the PPDU can correspondingly include n user fields, and the modulation methods of N spatial streams can be indicated through the n user fields.

[0030] In a possible design, the station identifier sub - field of the first user field indicates the identifier of the target station, the spatial stream indication sub - field of the first user field indicates the total number of N spatial streams, and the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) indication sub - field of the first user field indicates the modulation method of the first spatial stream. In the above design, the first user field can adopt the signaling format of the user field defined by the WLAN standard, resulting in less modification to the WLAN standard.

[0031] In a possible design, the second to the Nth spatial streams among the N spatial streams are divided into K spatial stream groups. The non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field in the n user fields indicates the total number of spatial streams N, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the K spatial stream groups, where K is an integer and 1 ≤ K ≤ N - 1.

[0032] In a possible design, the N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ H; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the n user fields include a first user field that indicates the total number of spatial stream groups H and the number of spatial streams in each of the H spatial stream groups, and the n - 1 user fields other than the first user field in the n user fields indicate the modulation methods of each of the H spatial stream groups. In the above design, the grouping information of the spatial streams can be indicated through the first user field, thereby improving the flexibility of spatial stream grouping.

[0033] In a possible design, the station identifier of the first user field is a specific value.

[0034] In a possible design, N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ H; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field in the n user fields indicates the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream group, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Hth spatial stream groups. In the above design, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is n, and the PPDU can correspondingly include n user fields, and the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups can be indicated through the n user fields.

[0035] In a possible design, N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is H; the PPDU includes H user fields, and the ith user field in the H user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the ith spatial stream group in the H spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group in the H spatial stream groups, where i is an integer and 1 ≤ i ≤ H. In the above design, one user field indicates the modulation method of one spatial stream group. Therefore, the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups can be indicated by the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0036] In a possible design, the MCS indication subfield of the ith user field indicates the modulation method of the ith spatial stream group, and the spatial stream allocation subfield of the ith user field indicates the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group in the H spatial stream groups. In the above design, the user field can adopt the signaling format of the user field defined by the WLAN standard for MU-MIMO user transmission, so that the modification to the WLAN standard is relatively small.

[0037] In a possible design, N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer and 1 < H ≤ N. The non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is H; the PPDU includes H user fields, and the ith user field in the H user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the ith spatial stream group in the H spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams of the ith spatial stream group, where i is an integer and 1 ≤ i ≤ H. In the above design, one user field indicates the modulation method of one spatial stream group. Therefore, the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups can be indicated by the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield, thereby reducing the signaling overhead.

[0038] In a possible design, the MCS indication sub-field of the i-th user field indicates the modulation method of the i-th spatial stream group, and the spatial stream indication sub-field of the i-th user field indicates the number of spatial streams of the i-th spatial stream group. In the above design, the user field may adopt the signaling format of the user field defined in the WLAN standard for non-MU-MIMO user transmission, resulting in a relatively small modification to the WLAN standard.

[0039] In a possible design, the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users is N, the PPDU includes N user fields, and the j-th user field among the N user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the j-th spatial stream among the N spatial streams, where j is an integer and 1 ≤ j ≤ N.

[0040] In a possible design, the first field includes a user field; the first value status is indicated by the following confirmation status or ignore status, and the second confirmation status is that the station identification sub-field of the user field takes a specific value. In the above design, the user field with the station identification as a specific value can be used as the identification of the manufacturer-customized information.

[0041] In a possible design, the first value status is the confirmation status defined in the WLAN standard. For example, the first value status can be one or more confirmation statuses defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0042] In a possible design, the first value status can also be indicated by the confirmation status defined in the WLAN standard and the defined confirmation bits. For example, the first value status can be indicated by the confirmation status and confirmation bits defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0043] In a third aspect, the present application provides an information indicating device, which may be a communication device, or a chip or chipset within a communication device. Among them, the communication device may be an access point (AP) or a station (STA). The device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit. When the device is a communication device, the processing unit may be a processor, and the transceiver unit may be a transceiver; the device may further include a storage module, and the storage module may be a memory; the storage module is used to store instructions, and the processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage module to execute the corresponding method in the above-mentioned first aspect or any design of the first aspect, or the processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage module to execute the corresponding method in the above-mentioned second aspect or any design of the second aspect. When the device is a chip or chipset within a communication device, the processing unit may be a processor, and the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface, a pin, a circuit, etc.; the processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage module to execute the corresponding method in the above-mentioned first aspect or any design of the first aspect, or the processing unit executes the instructions stored in the storage module to execute the corresponding method in the above-mentioned second aspect or any design of the second aspect. The storage module may be a storage module within the chip or chipset (such as a register, a cache, etc.), or a storage module outside the chip or chipset within the network device (such as a read-only memory, a random-access memory, etc.).

[0044] In a fourth aspect, an information indicating device is provided, including: a processor, a communication interface, and a memory. The communication interface is used for transmitting information, and / or messages, and / or data between the device and other devices. The memory is used to store computer-executable instructions. When the device runs, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the device executes the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect or any design in the first aspect, the second aspect or any design in the second aspect.

[0045] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored. When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect or any design in the first aspect, the second aspect or any design in the second aspect.

[0046] In a sixth aspect, the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions. When it runs on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect or any design in the first aspect, the second aspect or any design in the second aspect.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, the present application further provides a network system, which includes a first device and a second device. Among them, the first device can execute the method corresponding to the first aspect or any design in the first aspect above, and the second device can execute the method described in the second aspect or any design in the second aspect above.

[0048] In an eighth aspect, a chip provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a memory, at least one processor, and a communication interface. The processor is coupled to the memory and is configured to read a computer program stored in the memory to execute the method described in the first aspect or any design in the first aspect, the second aspect or any design in the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

[0049] In a ninth aspect, a chip provided by an embodiment of the present application includes a communication interface and at least one processor. The processor runs to execute the method described in the first aspect or any design in the first aspect, the second aspect or any design in the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

[0050] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect or any design in the first aspect, the second aspect or any design in the second aspect above.

[0051] It should be noted that "coupling" in the embodiments of the present application means that two components are directly or indirectly combined with each other. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a WLAN network provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 2 It is a schematic flowchart of a method for information indication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 4A It is a schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 4B It is a schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the signaling format of negotiation information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

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

[0060] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the format of a special user field provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the format of a PPDU provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the structure of an information indication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of the structure of an information indication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0066] To make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand, first, some descriptions involved in the embodiments of the present application are explained below. These explanations should not be regarded as limiting the protection scope required by the present invention.

[0067] Vendor specific information: Relevant information required by the vendor for private design.

[0068] Disregard bit, Validate bit, Disregard state, Validate state: In the WLAN standard, the reserved bits are divided into two types, namely the Disregard bit and the Validate bit. The reserved state of a field (or sub-field) is divided into two types, namely the Disregard state and the Validate state.

[0069] If a PPDU meets at least one of the following two conditions, the device can wait until the end of the PPDU, pass the information in the version-independent fields of the PPDU to the medium access control (MAC) layer to ensure coexistence, and terminate the reception of the PPDU: (1) The acknowledgment bit in the PPDU is not set to the default (or default) value specified in the standard, (2) The values of some sub-fields in the PPDU are set to the acknowledged state. For the ignore bit or sub-fields set to the ignore state, if the acknowledgment bit of a PPDU is set to the default (or default) value specified in the standard and there are no sub-fields set to the acknowledged state, the device can ignore the ignore bit or the sub-fields set to the ignore state and continue to read other fields.

[0070] For example, in the universal signal field (U-SIG) of a PPDU, there are 5 ignore bits and 3 acknowledgment bits. In the U-SIG overflow part of the extreme high throughput signal field (EHT-SIG), there are 4 ignore bits, and there is an acknowledged state in the combined indication of the PPDU type, compression mode sub-field, and uplink / downlink sub-field. For example, when any one of the acknowledgment bits is non-default (or non-default), the device can wait until the end of the PPDU, pass the information in the version-independent fields of the PPDU to the MAC layer, and terminate the reception of the PPDU. Another example is that when the combined indication of the PPDU type, compression mode sub-field, and uplink / downlink sub-field is in the acknowledged state, the device can wait until the end of the PPDU, pass the information in the version-independent fields of the PPDU to the MAC layer to ensure coexistence and terminate the reception of the PPDU. If the acknowledgment bit in the PPDU is the default value and there are no sub-fields set to the acknowledged state, the device can ignore the ignore bit or the sub-fields set to the ignore state and continue to receive other fields.

[0071] Space-Time Streams, Spatial Stream: Space-time streams take into account space-time block coding (STBC) in different spatial streams and time dimensions. When STBC is not used at the sending end, space-time streams can also be referred to as spatial streams. For the convenience of description, in the embodiments of this application, they are uniformly referred to as spatial streams.

[0072] Equalized Modulation: It means that the modulation methods of each spatial stream are the same.

[0073] Non-uniform modulation: It means that the modulation methods for different spatial streams can be different.

[0074] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] The embodiments of this application can be applicable to the scenario of a wireless local area network (WLAN), and can be applicable to the IEEE 802.11 system standard, such as the IEEE 802.11ax standard, or its next-generation or even more next-generation standards. Or the embodiments of this application can also be applicable to wireless local area network systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) network or the Vehicle to X (V2X) network. Of course, the embodiments of this application can also be applicable to other possible communication systems, such as the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, the LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, the LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, the 5G communication system, and future communication systems such as the 6G communication system.

[0076] The application scenario of the embodiments of this application can be the communication between an AP and one or more STAs, and is also equally applicable to the communication between APs and the communication between STAs. Exemplarily, please refer to Figure 1 which shows a network architecture diagram of a WLAN applicable to the embodiments of this application. Figure 1 Take the example that this WLAN includes two APs, namely AP1 and AP2, as well as STA1 and STA2 associated with AP1, and STA3 connected to STA2. Among them, AP1 can communicate with STA1 and STA2, AP1 and AP2 can communicate, and STA2 and STA can communicate. It should be understood that Figure 1 the number of APs and STAs in [[ ]] is only an example, and there can be more or fewer.

[0077] The STA involved in the embodiments of this application can be various user terminals, user devices with wireless communication functions, access devices, subscriber stations, subscriber units, mobile stations, user agents, user equipment, or other names. Among them, the user terminal can include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable 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 device, handheld device, portable computing device, entertainment device, gaming device or system, global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless medium, etc. Here, for the convenience of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as stations or STAs.

[0078] The AP involved in the embodiments of this application is a device deployed in a wireless communication network to provide wireless communication functions for its associated STAs. The AP can be used as the center of the communication system and can be a communication device such as a base station, router, gateway, repeater, communication server, switch, or bridge, etc. Among them, the base station can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. Here, for the convenience of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as access point AP. Specifically, the AP and STA involved in this application can be APs and STAs applicable to the IEEE 802.11 system standard.

[0079] In the embodiments of this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item)" or its similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item (item) or plural items (items). For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0080] Also, unless otherwise stated, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, time sequence, priority, or importance of multiple objects, etc. For example, the first data packet and the second data packet are just names given for the convenience of description, and these two data packets may be the same data packet or may be different data packets.

[0081] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0082] The present application provides an information indication method, which can be applied to a WLAN system. For example, as Figure 1 shown in the WLAN system. As Figure 2 shown, the method includes:

[0083] S201, a first device generates a PPDU. Among them, a first field in the signaling field of the PPDU is in a first value state, and the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information. The first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of the ignore bit, non-default state of the confirmation bit, ignore state, confirmation state.

[0084] Exemplarily, the manufacturer-customized information may include, but is not limited to: modulation methods of N spatial streams in a non-uniform modulation mode, where the modulation methods of at least two of the N spatial streams are different, and N is an integer greater than 1; information of HARQ; information indicating AP cooperation, etc. The manufacturer can design the manufacturer-customized information according to requirements, which will not be listed one by one here.

[0085] It should be noted that the first field may include one or more fields, and the present application does not limit this.

[0086] Optionally, the PPDU may be in the format of an extreme high throughput multiple user physical layer protocol data unit (EHT MU PPDU). Exemplarily, as Figure 3As shown, the PPDU may include a preamble part, a Data field, and a packet extension (PE). The preamble part includes legacy preambles, such as the legacy short training field (L-STF), the legacy long training field (L-LTF), and the legacy signal field (L-SIG). The legacy preambles can ensure the coexistence of new devices and legacy devices. The L-SIG may contain a length field, which can indirectly indicate the duration of the fields following the L-SIG in this PPDU. In addition, the L-SIG may also contain a repetition of the legacy signal field to enhance the reliability of the legacy signal field. Additionally, the L-SIG can also provide features such as allowing the receiving end to identify whether two symbols are the same and the remainder of the length in the L-SIG, enabling the receiving end to recognize that this PPDU is an EHT PPDU.

[0087] Optionally, the preamble part may further include a repeat legacy signal field (RL-SIG). The RL-SIG may be the RL-SIG field defined in 802.11ax.

[0088] In addition, the preamble part may further include a U-SIG. The U-SIG can indicate the version information of this PPDU. For an EHT MU PPDU, there may also be an EHT-SIG after the U-SIG. The U-SIG and the EHT-SIG can carry the signaling information required for demodulating the subsequent data field.

[0089] The U-SIG Overflow subfield in the common part of the U-SIG and the EHT-SIG is exemplarily described below, as shown in Table 1.

[0090] Table 1

[0091]

[0092]

[0093] The uplink / downlink subfield, the PPDU type, and the compression mode subfield in the U-SIG field are exemplarily described below, as shown in Table 2.

[0094] Table 2

[0095]

[0096] Optionally, in addition to the U-SIG overflow subfield, the EHT-SIG may further include other fields. Exemplarily, the fields included in the EHT-SIG may be as shown in Table 3.

[0097] Table 3

[0098]

[0099]

[0100] Optionally, the number of non-OFDMA transmission users may also be a subfield of the U-SIG overflow field.

[0101] It should be noted that the subfields included in the EHT-SIG shown in Table 3 and the corresponding number of bits are only an exemplary illustration and are not specifically limited.

[0102] The preamble part may further include an extreme high throughput short training field (EHT-STF) and an extreme high throughput long training field (EHT-LTF). Among them, the EHT-STF can be used for automatic gain control, and the EHT-LTF can be used for channel estimation.

[0103] The packet extension provides more time for the receiving end to process data.

[0104] S202, the first device sends a PPDU. Correspondingly, the second device receives the PPDU.

[0105] S203, if the second device supports the first transmission mechanism, the second device obtains the manufacturer-customized information from the PPDU, and the first transmission mechanism is that the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries the manufacturer-customized information; or, if the second device does not support the first transmission mechanism, the second device processes the PPDU with the first value state as the confirmation state or ignores it.

[0106] If the second device can support the transmission mechanism that "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer - customized information", then when the PPDU is in the first value state, the second device can determine that the PPDU carries manufacturer - customized information and obtain this manufacturer - customized information. If the second device does not support the transmission mechanism that "the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer - customized information", then it cannot read the PPDU in the first value state, and thus cannot obtain this manufacturer - customized information. That is to say, whether the PPDU carries manufacturer - customized information is indicated by the value state of the first field in the PPDU signaling field (i.e., the first value state). If the second device supports the mechanism of using the first value state to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer - customized information, when the second device receives a PPDU and finds that the first field of the PPDU is in the first value state, then the second device considers that the PPDU carries the relevant manufacturer - customized information and obtains this manufacturer - customized information; on the contrary, if the second device does not support the mechanism of using the first value state to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer - customized information, when the second device receives a PPDU and finds that the first field of the PPDU is in the first value state, then the second device cannot read this PPDU, and thus cannot obtain this manufacturer - customized information.

[0107] It can be understood that the first value state, which is used to indicate the confirmation state or the ignore state, also serves as an identifier for manufacturer - customized information. For devices that support this manufacturer - customized information, the first value state will not be processed as a confirmation state or an ignore state, but rather, specific manufacturer - customized information will be further obtained based on this first value state; for devices that do not support this manufacturer - customized information, the first value state will be regarded as a confirmation state or an ignore state, that is, the reception of the PPDU will be terminated, or the fields in the ignore state will be ignored and other fields will continue to be read.

[0108] Optionally, before step S202, the first device and the second device can conduct information interaction to determine whether the other party supports or does not support the first transmission mechanism. For example, the first device and the second device can interact during the association phase. For example, the STA sends an association request frame, and this association request frame contains an indication of whether the STA supports the first transmission mechanism. The AP sends an association response frame, and this association response frame contains an indication of whether the AP supports the first transmission mechanism. Here, the STA can be the first device and the AP can be the second device. Or, the STA is the second device and the AP is the first device.

[0109] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to factory private customization. The factory can determine that the PPDU carries factory customization information through the first value state. In addition, the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to the WLAN standard definition. It can be defined in the WLAN standard that the first value state can indicate certain information. For example, it can be defined in the WLAN standard that the first value state can indicate the modulation method of N spatial streams in the non-uniform modulation mode, where the modulation methods of at least two of the N spatial streams are different.

[0110] In the embodiments of the present application, by using any one of the value states of the ignore bit, the non-default state of the confirmation bit, the ignore state, and the confirmation state as the identifier of the non-uniform modulation information or the factory customization information, the device supporting the first transmission mechanism can read the PPDU with the first field in the first value state and obtain the non-uniform modulation information or the factory customization information in the PPDU. In the above manner, it can be ensured that there is no conflict between the factory private customization or subsequent standard improvement and the information of the PPDU defined in the original standard.

[0111] For the convenience of understanding the solution, the embodiments of the present application will be described by taking the first value state as an indication that the PPDU carries factory customization information as an example. Below, the present application will be described by taking the factory customization information as the modulation method of N spatial streams in the non-uniform modulation mode as an example, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two spatial streams are different.

[0112] Optionally, the data field of the PPDU includes N spatial streams, where the modulation methods of at least two spatial streams are different.

[0113] In a possible implementation manner, the first device can indicate that the PPDU carries factory customization information through the first value state, and indicate the type of the factory customization information through at least one ignore bit in the PPDU. For example, if the factory customization information is the non-uniform modulation method, the first device can indicate that the factory customization information is the non-uniform modulation method through at least one ignore bit in the PPDU.

[0114] After receiving the PPDU, if the second device supports the first transmission mechanism, the second device can determine that the PPDU carries factory customization information according to the first value state, and determine that the factory customization information is the non-uniform modulation method by reading the at least one ignore bit in the PPDU. The second device reads the PPDU to obtain the modulation methods of the N spatial streams.

[0115] Seven possible examples of the first value state will be described below. It should be understood that the seven examples below are only for illustration and do not specifically limit the first value state.

[0116] Example 1: The first field may include a PPDU type and a compression mode sub-field and a non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission user number sub-field. The first value state is that the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1.

[0117] In this Example 1, it is possible to take the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicating single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicating that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 as a confirmation state or an ignored state.

[0118] For single-user transmission with equalization modulation, when the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission, the non-OFDMA transmission user count subfield needs to indicate that the number of users is 1 so that the receiving end can read the only user field and thus obtain the number of spatial streams and the modulation method unified for all spatial streams. In the embodiments of the present application, when the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission, the non-OFDMA user count can indicate more than 1. Regarding the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicating single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user count subfield indicating that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 as a confirmation status or an ignored status. By regarding the value status where the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission and the non-OFDMA user count indicates more than 1 as an identifier of manufacturer-customized information, the receiving end that supports the transmission mechanism of "the first value status is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can determine the identifier of the PPDU carrying manufacturer-customized information, and subsequent user fields will appear in the corresponding number according to the indication of the non-OFDMA user count. And read the manufacturer-customized information from these user fields. While the receiving end that does not support the transmission mechanism of "the first value status is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information" can handle the situation where the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission and the non-OFDMA transmission user count subfield indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1 as a confirmation status or an ignored status. For example, if the second device regards the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicating single-user transmission and the non-OFDMA user count indicating more than 1 as a confirmation status, then the second device can wait until the PPDU ends, transfer the information in the version-independent field of the PPDU to the MAC layer to ensure coexistence, and terminate the reception of the PPDU. Or, if the second device regards the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicating single-user transmission and the non-OFDMA user count indicating more than 1 as an ignored status, then the second device can ignore the subfield of the ignored status and continue to read other fields. In this way, manufacturer-privatized customization can be achieved without changing the information of the PPDU defined by the WLAN standard.

[0119] Based on Example 1, the PPDU can indicate the modulation method of N spatial streams through multiple user fields. For example, the non-OFDMA transmission user count subfield can indicate that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N. The PPDU includes n user fields, and these n user fields are used to indicate the modulation method of N spatial streams.

[0120] The n user fields can indicate the modulation method of N spatial streams in any one of the following six ways:

[0121] Method 1: The first user field among the n user fields indicates the number of spatial streams, the identification of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams.

[0122] Exemplarily, the first user field may adopt the signaling format of the user field defined by the WLAN standard for non-MU-MIMO user transmission. For example, the first user field may include a station identification sub-field, a spatial stream indication sub-field, and an MCS indication sub-field. Among them, the station identification sub-field may indicate the identification of the target station, the spatial stream indication sub-field may indicate the number N of spatial streams, and the MCS indication sub-field may indicate the modulation method of the first spatial stream.

[0123] The second to the nth user fields may not adopt the signaling format of the user field defined by the WLAN standard for non-MU-MIMO user transmission and the signaling format of the user field for MU-MIMO user transmission. The second to the nth user fields may not have a fixed signaling format, and the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams are indicated by combining the bits of the second to the nth user fields. In this method, the second to the nth user fields may also be combined into one field to indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams.

[0124] For example, taking a user field including 22 bits and the modulation method of a spatial stream requiring 4 bits to indicate as an example, then except for the one spatial stream indicated by the first user field (i.e., the first spatial stream), each subsequent user field can additionally carry the modulation method information of 5 spatial streams, 2 user fields can additionally carry the modulation method information of 11 spatial streams, and these 2 user fields can also be combined into 1 field to carry the modulation method information of 11 spatial streams, 3 user fields can additionally carry the modulation method information of 15 spatial streams, and similarly, these 3 user fields can also be combined into 1 field to carry the modulation method information of 15 spatial streams.

[0125] Exemplarily, the PPDU may be as Figure 4A shown.

[0126] Optionally, the indication method of the modulation method of the first spatial stream may be as shown in Table 4.

[0127] Table 4

[0128] Value Indicated modulation method 0 BPSK, R = 1 / 2 1 QSPK, R = 1 / 2 2 QPSK, R = 3 / 4 3 16-QAM, R = 1 / 2 4 16-QAM, R = 3 / 4 5 64-QAM, R = 2 / 3 6 64-QAM, R = 3 / 4 7 64-QAM, R = 5 / 6 8 256-QAM, R = 3 / 4 9 256-QAM, R = 5 / 6 10 1024-QAM, R = 3 / 4 11 1024-QAM, R = 5 / 6 12 4096-QAM, R = 3 / 4 13 4096-QAM, R = 5 / 6 14 BPSK, dual-carrier modulation, repetition, R = 1 / 2 15 BPSK, dual-carrier modulation, R = 1 / 2

[0129] According to the indication method shown in Table 4, at least 4 bits are required to indicate the modulation method of the first spatial stream.

[0130] Optionally, the modulation order and / or coding rate of different spatial streams may be different. Therefore, the modulation method of the second to the Nth spatial stream needs to indicate the modulation order and coding rate. The indication method of the modulation method of the second to the Nth spatial stream may be the same as that of the first spatial stream. Therefore, at least 4 bits are required to indicate the modulation method of one spatial stream among the second to the Nth spatial streams. Taking a user field including 22 bits and 4 bits being required to indicate the modulation method of one spatial stream as an example, except for the one spatial stream indicated by the first user field (i.e., the first spatial stream), one subsequent user field can additionally carry the modulation method information of 5 spatial streams, 2 user fields can additionally carry the modulation method information of 11 spatial streams, and 3 user fields can additionally carry the modulation method information of 15 spatial streams.

[0131] Alternatively, the coding rate of the second to the Nth spatial streams may be the same as that of the first spatial stream. Therefore, the modulation method of the second to the Nth spatial streams can indicate the modulation order. The indication method of the modulation method of the second to the Nth spatial streams can be as shown in Table 5.

[0132] Table 5

[0133] Value Indicated modulation method 0 BPSK 1 QPSK 2 16-QAM 3 64-QAM 4 256-QAM 5 1024-QAM 6 4096-QAM 7 Reserved

[0134] According to the indication method shown in Table 5, at least 3 bits are required to indicate the modulation method of any one spatial stream among the second to the Nth spatial streams. Taking a user field including 22 bits and 3 bits being required to indicate the modulation method of one spatial stream as an example, except for the one spatial stream indicated by the first user field (i.e., the first spatial stream), one subsequent user field can additionally carry the modulation method information of 7 spatial streams, 2 user fields can additionally carry the modulation method information of 14 spatial streams, and 3 user fields can additionally carry the modulation method information of 22 spatial streams.

[0135] According to the indication method shown in Table 5 above, the second device can determine the modulation order and coding rate of the first spatial stream by reading the first user field of the PPDU, and determine the modulation order of the second to the Nth spatial streams by reading the second to the nth user fields of the PPDU. Since the coding rate of the second to the Nth spatial streams can be the same as that of the first spatial stream, the second device can determine the coding rate of the second to the Nth spatial streams according to the coding rate of the first spatial stream.

[0136] Through the above-mentioned first method, the first device can flexibly adjust the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield according to the number of spatial streams in the above manner, thereby flexibly adjusting the number of user fields, and further reducing the signaling overhead. For example, taking a user field consisting of 22 bits and the modulation method of one spatial stream requiring 4 bits for indication as an example, if the number of spatial streams is 3, i.e., N = 3, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield can indicate 2 users, and the PPDU includes two user fields. Among them, the first user field can indicate the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second user field can indicate the modulation methods of the second and third spatial streams. If the number of spatial streams is 9, i.e., N = 9, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield can indicate 3 users, and the PPDU includes 3 user fields. Among them, the first user field can indicate the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second user field can indicate the modulation methods of the second to ninth spatial streams.

[0137] Optionally, the first device can also determine the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield according to the maximum number of achievable spatial streams, thereby determining the number of user fields. For example, taking a user field consisting of 22 bits and the modulation method of one spatial stream requiring 3 bits for indication as an example, the maximum number of achievable spatial streams of the first device is 16, and it can be determined that the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield can indicate 4 users, and the PPDU includes 4 user fields. Among them, the first user field can indicate the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to fourth user fields can indicate the modulation methods of the remaining spatial streams. In this way, the length of the PPDU is fixed, and the processing at the receiving end is simple.

[0138] Alternatively, the PPDU can also include a fixed number of user fields. When the number of spatial streams exceeds the number of spatial streams that can be indicated by the fixed number of user fields, one or more spatial streams can be combined into a spatial stream group. For example, assuming that the PPDU includes 3 user fields, taking a user field consisting of 22 bits and the modulation method of one spatial stream requiring 3 bits for indication as an example, the first user field can indicate 1 spatial stream, and the second and third user fields can indicate a total of 14 spatial streams. Therefore, the 3 user fields can indicate a total of 15 spatial streams. When the total number of spatial streams N ≤ 15, the 44 bits of the second and third user fields can respectively indicate the modulation methods of the second to Nth spatial streams. When N = 16, assuming that the modulation method of the 16th spatial stream is the same as that of the 15th spatial stream, the 15th and 16th spatial streams can be combined into a group. Or, other combination methods can also be used to combine any two spatial streams into a group.

[0139] In addition to the bits used to indicate the modulation method of the spatial stream in the user field of the PPDU, there may be remaining bits. In one implementation, the type of manufacturer-customized information can be indicated by these remaining bits. Taking the remaining 2 bits as an example, assume that 00 indicates that the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation method of unevenly modulating each spatial stream, 01 indicates that the manufacturer-customized information is a HARQ-related indication, 10 indicates that the manufacturer-customized information is an AP cooperation-related indication, and 11 is reserved. If the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation method of unevenly modulating each spatial stream, these remaining 2 bits can take the value of 00. If the manufacturer-customized information is a HARQ-related indication, these remaining 2 bits can take the value of 01. If the manufacturer-customized information is an AP cooperation-related indication, these remaining 2 bits can take the value of 10. It can be understood that the embodiments of this application are described by taking the manufacturer-customized information as the modulation method of unevenly modulating each spatial stream as an example. Therefore, these remaining 2 bits can take the value of 00 to indicate that the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation method of unevenly modulating each spatial stream.

[0140] If the embodiments of this application are applied to the WLAN standard definition, multiple functions can be indicated by these remaining bits and the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield. For example, taking the remaining 2 bits as an example, when the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is greater than 1, 00 of the remaining bits can indicate that the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation method of unevenly modulating each spatial stream, 01 indicates that the manufacturer-customized information is a HARQ-related indication, 10 indicates that the manufacturer-customized information is an AP cooperation-related indication, and 11 is reserved.

[0141] Method 2: The first user field among the n user fields indicates the number of spatial streams, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream. The second to the Nth spatial streams are divided into K spatial stream groups, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the K spatial stream groups, where K is an integer and 0 < K ≤ N - 1.

[0142] Exemplarily, the PPDU can be as Figure 4B shown.

[0143] In one implementation, the grouping method of the K spatial stream groups can be fixed. The grouping method corresponding to each value of the total number of spatial streams (NSS) is fixed, that is, the number of spatial stream groups corresponding to each value of NSS and the number of spatial streams in each group are fixed. Exemplarily, when NSS = 2, the grouping method is: divided into two groups, and each spatial stream group includes 1 spatial stream. When NSS = 3, the grouping method is: divided into 3 groups, and each spatial stream group includes 1 spatial stream. When NSS = 4, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and each spatial stream group includes 1 spatial stream. When NSS = 5, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 2; 1; 1; 1. When NSS = 6, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 2; 2; 1; 1. When NSS = 7, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 2; 2; 2; 1. When NSS = 8, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 2; 2; 2; 2. When NSS = 9, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 3; 2; 2; 2. When NSS = 10, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 3; 3; 2; 2. When NSS = 11, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 3; 3; 3; 2. When NSS = 12, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 3; 3; 3; 3. For example, the 1st to 3rd spatial streams are in one group, the 4th to 6th spatial streams are in one group, and so on. When NSS = 13, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 4; 3; 3; 3. When NSS = 14, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 4; 4; 3; 3. When NSS = 15, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 4; 4; 4; 3. When NSS = 16, the grouping method is: divided into 4 groups, and the number of spatial streams included in the 4 spatial stream groups are: 4; 4; 4; 4.

[0144] It should be understood that the above grouping method is only an exemplary illustration, and the specific number of groups divided when grouping the spatial streams and the number of spatial streams in each group are not specifically limited here.

[0145] It can be understood that when each spatial stream group includes 1 spatial stream respectively, the number of divided spatial stream groups is equal to the total number of spatial streams, that is, K = N - 1. In this case, the second method indicates the 2nd to Nth spatial streams through the 2nd to nth user fields, and the implementation method of the second method and the first method can be the same.

[0146] In another implementation, the grouping method of the K spatial stream groups can also be determined through prior negotiation between the first device and the second device. The first device and the second device can negotiate in advance the grouping information corresponding to the total number of spatial streams under different total numbers of spatial streams. The grouping information includes at least one of the following information: the total number of groups K of the spatial stream groups, and the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group among the K spatial stream groups. Exemplarily, the first device and the second device can negotiate the grouping method through the negotiation information in the signaling format shown in Figure 5 . The negotiation information can include an element identifier field for indicating the element identifier, a length field for indicating the length, a UEQM field for indicating whether unequal modulation (UEQM) is supported, and can also include the grouping information corresponding to each total number of spatial streams. Among them, when NSS = 1, the grouping information includes the number of spatial streams in each of the M1 spatial stream groups. It can be understood that when NSS = 1, only 1 spatial stream group is included, and this spatial stream group includes 1 spatial stream. Therefore, the negotiation information may not include the grouping information when NSS = 1; when NSS = 2, the grouping information includes the number of spatial streams in each of the M2 spatial stream groups. Optionally, the negotiation information may not include the grouping information when NSS = 2 either; and so on. When NSS = R, the grouping information includes the number of spatial streams in each of the M R spatial stream groups, where R can be the maximum number of spatial streams supported by the first device. Optionally, the negotiation information can be carried in the information element of the management frame, where the information element is the unit carrying information in the management frame.

[0147] Optionally, the first device and the second device can negotiate the grouping method of the spatial streams during the association process. For example, the AP can carry the corresponding negotiation information in the beacon frame, and the STA can carry the corresponding negotiation information in the association request frame or the re-association request frame, where the AP can be the first device and the STA can be the second device, or the AP is the second device and the STA is the first device. Or, the first device and the second device can also negotiate the grouping information of the spatial streams through the management frame during the data interaction process.

[0148] When the first device and the second device negotiate the grouping method of the spatial streams, it can be that the first device determines the grouping method of the spatial streams and notifies the second device of this grouping method. Or, it can also be that the first device sends a request message to the second device, and the request message is used to request negotiation of the grouping information of the spatial streams. The second device feeds back whether it accepts the request message to the first device. If the second device does not accept the request message, the second device can send indication information to the first device, and the indication information is used to indicate the grouping information desired by the second device.

[0149] Method 3: The N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups. It can be understood that when N = 1, H can be equal to the number of groups M1 of the spatial stream group corresponding to 1 spatial stream; when N = 2, H can be equal to the number of groups M2 of the spatial stream group corresponding to 2 spatial streams; when N = 3, H can be equal to the number of groups M3 of the spatial stream group corresponding to 3 spatial streams, and so on. When N = R, H can be equal to the number of groups M of the spatial stream group corresponding to R spatial streams. R , where R can be the maximum number of spatial streams supported by the first device. One of the n user fields indicates the modulation method of a spatial stream group, and the modulation methods of the spatial streams included in each spatial stream group are the same.

[0150] In Method 3, the number of users n indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield is equal to the number of spatial stream groups H into which the N spatial streams are divided. That is, the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield is H, and the PPDU indicates the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups through H user fields.

[0151] In one implementation, the H user fields can adopt the signaling format of the user fields defined by the WLAN standard for MU-MIMO user transmission. For example, the user field can include a station identification subfield, a spatial stream allocation subfield, and an MCS indication subfield. Among them, the station identification subfield is used to indicate the identification of the target station, the spatial stream allocation subfield is used to indicate the number of spatial streams in each of the H spatial stream groups, and the MCS indication subfield is used to indicate the modulation method of the spatial stream group.

[0152] Among them, the station identification subfield of the i-th user field indicates the identification of the target station, the spatial stream allocation subfield indicates the number of spatial streams in each of the H spatial stream groups, and the MCS indication subfield is used to indicate the modulation method of the i-th spatial stream group, where i is an integer greater than 0 and not greater than H.

[0153] Exemplarily, the PPDU can be as Figure 6 shown.

[0154] In another implementation, the H user fields can adopt the signaling format of the user fields defined by the WLAN standard for non-MU-MIMO user transmission. For example, the user field can include a station identification subfield, a spatial stream indication subfield, and an MCS indication subfield. Among them, the station identification subfield is used to indicate the identification of the target station, the spatial stream indication subfield is used to indicate the number of spatial streams in the spatial stream group, and the MCS indication subfield is used to indicate the modulation method of the spatial stream group.

[0155] Among them, the station identification sub-field of the i-th user field indicates the identification of the target station, the spatial stream allocation sub-field indicates the number of spatial streams of the i-th spatial stream group, the MCS indication sub-field is used to indicate the modulation method of the i-th spatial stream group, and i is an integer greater than 0 and not greater than H.

[0156] Exemplarily, the PPDU can be as Figure 7 shown.

[0157] Optionally, the indication method of the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups can refer to the relevant description in Method 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0158] In Method 3, one user field indicates the modulation method of one spatial stream group. Therefore, the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups can be indicated by the number of users indicated by the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field.

[0159] Method 4: N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups. The first user field among the n user fields can indicate the grouping information of the spatial streams, such as the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams of each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups. The n-1 user fields other than the first user field among the n user fields can indicate the modulation information of the H spatial stream groups. Among them, the first user field can be any one of the n user fields.

[0160] In one implementation, the first user field can be a user field including a specific value in the station identification sub-field. The user field including a specific value in the station identification sub-field can indicate the grouping information of the spatial streams, such as the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams of each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups. For the convenience of description, the user field including a specific value in the station identification sub-field will be referred to as a special user field below. The n-1 user fields other than the special user field among the n user fields specifically indicate the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups.

[0161] Exemplarily, the special user field can include an NSS group number indication sub-field and a spatial stream allocation sub-field. The NSS group number indication sub-field can indicate the total number of groups H of the spatial stream groups, and the spatial stream allocation sub-field can indicate the number of spatial streams of each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups. The special user field can be as Figure 8 shown.

[0162] Optionally, the spatial stream allocation sub-field in the special user field can be similar to the spatial stream allocation sub-field in the 802.11be standard. The spatial stream allocation sub-field in the 802.11be standard is used to indicate the spatial stream allocation indication among the users in MU-MIMO transmission. The spatial stream allocation sub-field in the 802.11be standard traverses the number of spatial streams of each user in an indexing manner based on the number of non-OFDMA transmission users.

[0163] The spatial stream allocation subfield in the special user field can traverse the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group in an indexed manner based on the number of spatial stream groups. Taking the number H of spatial stream groups as 2 or 3 as an example, as shown in Table 6.

[0164] Table 6

[0165]

[0166]

[0167] Optionally, the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups indicated by n - 1 user fields can be similar to the way the 2nd to the nth user fields indicate the 2nd to the Nth spatial streams in the above Method 1. The difference is that in the above Method 1, it is indicated by taking one spatial stream as a unit, while in Method 3, it is indicated by taking one spatial stream group as a unit. The specific modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups indicated by n - 1 user fields can refer to the relevant descriptions in the above Method 1, which will not be repeated here. Exemplarily, the PPDU can be as Figure 9 shown.

[0168] Or, the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups indicated by n - 1 user fields can be similar to the way the 2nd to the nth user fields indicate K spatial stream groups in the above Method 2. The specific details can refer to the relevant descriptions in the above Method 2, which will not be repeated here. Exemplarily, the PPDU can be as Figure 10 shown.

[0169] Or, the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups indicated by n - 1 user fields can be similar to the way the H user fields indicate H spatial stream groups in the above Method 3. The specific details can refer to the relevant descriptions in the above Method 3, which will not be repeated here. Exemplarily, the PPDU can be as Figure 11 shown.

[0170] Method 5: N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups. The 1st user field in the n user fields indicates the total number of spatial stream groups H, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the 1st spatial stream group. The 2nd to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the 2nd to the Hth spatial stream groups.

[0171] Optionally, the modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups indicated by n user fields can be similar to the way the n user fields indicate N spatial streams in the above Method 1. The difference is that in the above Method 1, it is indicated by taking one spatial stream as a unit, while in Method 5, it is indicated by taking one spatial stream group as a unit. The specific modulation methods of the H spatial stream groups indicated by n user fields can refer to the relevant descriptions in the above Method 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0172] Method 6: One of the n user fields indicates the modulation method of one spatial stream. In this method, the number n of user fields can be equal to the number N of spatial streams. The PPDU includes N user fields, and the j-th user field among the N user fields is used to indicate the modulation method of the j-th spatial stream among the N spatial streams, where j is an integer and 1 ≤ j ≤ N.

[0173] Optionally, the indication of the modulation methods of the N spatial streams by the n user fields can be similar to the method in which the n user fields indicate the H spatial stream groups in Method 3 above. The difference is that in Method 3 above, the indication is in units of one spatial stream group, while in Method 6, the indication is in units of one spatial stream. For the specific indication of the modulation methods of the N spatial streams by the n user fields, reference can be made to the relevant description in Method 3 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0174] Example 2: The first field may also include a PPDU type and compression mode subfield, a non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield, and a user field. The first value state is that the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1, and there is a user field with a site identification subfield being a specific value (that is, there is a special user field).

[0175] In this Example 2, the situation where the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1, and there is a user field with a site identification subfield being a specific value can be regarded as a confirmation state or an ignored state.

[0176] Example 3: The first field may also include a non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield and a user field. The first value state is that the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1, and there is a user field with a site identification subfield being a specific value (that is, there is a special user field).

[0177] In this Example 3, the situation where the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1, and there is a user field with a site identification subfield being a specific value can be regarded as a confirmation state or an ignored state.

[0178] Example 4: The first field may also include a PPDU type and compression mode subfield and a user field. The first value state is that the PPDU type and compression mode subfield indicate single-user transmission, and there is a user field with a site identification subfield being a specific value (that is, there is a special user field).

[0179] In the fourth example, the PPDU type and compression mode sub-fields can indicate single-user transmission, and a user field with a site identification sub-field having a specific value can be used as a confirmation status or an ignored status.

[0180] Example five, the first field can also include only the user field. The first value status is a user field with a site identification sub-field having a specific value (i.e., there is a special user field).

[0181] In the fifth example, a user field with a site identification sub-field having a specific value can be used as a confirmation status or an ignored status.

[0182] Optionally, in the above Examples 3 to 5, the indication method of the modulation method of N spatial streams can refer to the above Method 4, where the total number of spatial stream groups H indicated by the special user field and the number of spatial streams in each of the H spatial stream groups are indicated, and the indication method of the modulation method of the H spatial stream groups is specifically indicated by the n - 1 user fields other than the special user field in the n user fields, which will not be repeated here.

[0183] Example six, the first value status can also be a confirmation status defined in the WLAN standard. For example, the first value status can be one or more confirmation statuses defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0184] For example, the first value status can be that the uplink / downlink sub-field takes the value 0 (or the uplink / downlink sub-field indicates downlink), and the PPDU type and compression mode sub-fields take the value 3. Or, the first value status can also be that the uplink / downlink sub-field takes the value 1 (or the uplink / downlink sub-field indicates uplink), and the PPDU type and compression mode sub-fields take the value 3.

[0185] For example, the first value status can be as shown in Table 7.

[0186] Table 7

[0187]

[0188]

[0189] Example seven, the first value status can also be indicated by a confirmation status defined in the WLAN standard and a defined confirmation bit. For example, the first value status can be indicated by a confirmation status and a confirmation bit defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0190] For example, the first value state may be that the uplink / downlink subfield has a value of 0 (or the uplink / downlink subfield indicates downlink), the PPDU type and compression mode subfields have a value of 3, and one acknowledgement bit of the U-SIG field is 0. Alternatively, the first value state may also be that the uplink / downlink subfield has a value of 1 (or the uplink / downlink subfield indicates uplink), the PPDU type and compression mode subfields have a value of 3, and one acknowledgement bit of the U-SIG field is 0.

[0191] For example, the first value state may be as shown in Table 8.

[0192] Table 8

[0193]

[0194] Optionally, in the above Examples 6 and 7, the indication method of the modulation method of N spatial streams may refer to the indication method of the modulation method of N spatial streams in the above Example 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0195] In a possible implementation, after receiving the PPDU, the second device may perform checksum encoding on the first user field in the PPDU together with the common part, and for the subsequent user fields, they may be grouped in pairs for checksum encoding. If the last group includes only one user field, then this user field may be checksum encoded alone.

[0196] In the embodiments of the present application, by defining one or more of the ignore state, acknowledgement state, any state of the ignore bit, and non-default state of the acknowledgement bit as the identifier of the manufacturer-customized information, the device supporting the first transmission mechanism can read the corresponding manufacturer-customized information according to the first value state. For a device that does not support this first transmission mechanism, this state will be regarded as the ignore state or the acknowledgement state, thus not affecting the interoperability between devices.

[0197] For any state other than the first value state among the acknowledgement state, ignore state, non-default state of the acknowledgement bit, and ignore bit, since it is not used by each manufacturer, it can be used for the expansion of subsequent standards to support more extended features, and will not conflict with manufacturer-specific features and will not cause interoperability problems.

[0198] In addition, the WLAN standard has evolved from 802.11a / b / g through 802.11n, 802.11ac, to 802.11ax. Among them, 802.1a / b / g only supports single spatial stream and does not support MIMO. 802.11n supports MIMO with up to 4 spatial streams, and each spatial stream can adopt different MCSs to adapt to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of different spatial streams. This method is called UEQM. Based on the number of spatial streams, each case can be traversed in an indexed manner. For example, the MCS field can include 7 bits. Depending on whether the CBW indicates 20MHz or 40MHz, the MCS field can be as shown in Table 9.

[0199] Table 9

[0200]

[0201] In one implementation, the MCS can simultaneously implement the encoding and modulation strategy and the indication of the number of spatial streams. In the non-uniform modulation mode, taking 20MHz and 2 spatial streams as an example, the way the MCS indicates the implementation of the encoding and modulation strategy and the number of spatial streams can be as shown in Table 10.

[0202] Table 10

[0203]

[0204] In the non-uniform modulation mode, taking 20MHz as an example, the way the MCS indicates the implementation of the encoding and modulation strategy and the number of spatial streams can be as shown in Table 11.

[0205] Table 11

[0206]

[0207]

[0208] For MCS 53 - 76, refer to the relevant description in the WLAN standard 802.11n, which will not be elaborated here.

[0209] However, as the number of supported spatial streams increases and the number of supported MCS types increases, the number of entries in the table will increase exponentially, consuming a large amount of storage and computing power. It is obviously unrealistic to traverse each case in an indexed manner.

[0210] In the embodiments of the present application, the modulation mode of each spatial stream (or each spatial stream group) is indicated by user fields, and the number of user fields can be adjusted according to the number of spatial streams (or spatial stream groups), so that the indication of the modulation modes of multiple spatial streams can be realized in the scenario of multiple spatial streams. Compared with the method of traversing each case by using an index, the implementation mode of the embodiments of the present application is relatively simple. Moreover, by designing that some user fields may not include sub-fields such as a station identification sub-field and a spatial stream indication sub-field, the user fields can use more bits to indicate the modulation mode of the spatial stream. Compared with the user fields adopting a fixed signaling format, where each user field needs to indicate redundant information such as the identification of the target station and spatial stream information, the embodiments of the present application can improve the bit utilization rate, thereby reducing the signaling overhead and increasing the throughput gain.

[0211] Based on the same technical concept as the method embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide an information indication device. The structure of the device may be as Figure 12 shown, including a processing unit 1201 and a transceiver unit 1202.

[0212] In one implementation manner, the information indication device may specifically be used to implement Figures 2 to 11 the method executed by the first device in the embodiments of, the device may be the first device itself, or a chip or a chip group or a part in the chip of the first device for executing relevant method functions. The first device may be an AP or a STA. Among them, the processing unit 1201 is used to generate a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU. Among them, the first field in the signaling field of the PPDU is in a first value state, and the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information. The first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of ignoring bits, non-default state of the confirmation bit, ignoring state, confirmation state; the transceiver unit 1202 is used to send the PPDU.

[0213] Exemplarily, the first field includes a PPDU type and a compression mode sub-field and a non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field; the first value state is indicated by the following confirmation state or ignoring state: the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1.

[0214] Optionally, the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation mode of N spatial streams in the non-uniform modulation mode, N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation modes of at least two of the N spatial streams are different.

[0215] Exemplarily, the non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field in the n user fields indicates the total number of spatial streams N, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams.

[0216] Exemplarily, the station identifier sub - field of the first user field indicates the identifier of the target station, the spatial stream indication sub - field of the first user field indicates the total number of spatial streams N, and the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) indication sub - field of the first user field indicates the modulation method of the first spatial stream.

[0217] Exemplarily, the first field includes a user field; the first value state is indicated by the following confirmation state or ignore state, and the second confirmation state is that the value of the station identifier sub - field of the user field is a specific value.

[0218] Optionally, the manufacturer - customized information is the modulation methods of N spatial streams in a non - uniform modulation mode, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two spatial streams are different.

[0219] Exemplarily, the non - OFDMA transmission user number sub - field indicates that the number of users is m, where m is an integer greater than 1; the N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer greater than 1, the PPDU includes m user fields, the first user field in the m user fields indicates the total number of spatial stream groups H and the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups, and the m - 1 user fields other than the first user field in the m user fields indicate the modulation methods of each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups.

[0220] Optionally, the first user field is a user field whose value of the station identifier sub - field is a specific value.

[0221] In another implementation manner, the information indication device can be specifically used to implement Figures 2 to 11Method executed by a second device in an embodiment. The device may be the second device itself, or a chip, chipset, or a part of the chip in the second device for executing relevant method functions. The second device may be an AP or a STA. Among them, the transceiver unit 1202 is used to receive a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). Among them, the first field in the signaling field of the PPDU is in a first value state, and the first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of the ignore bit, non-default state of the confirmation bit, ignore state, confirmation state; the processing unit 1201 is used to: if the first transmission mechanism is supported, obtain manufacturer-customized information from the PPDU, and the first transmission mechanism is that the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information; or, if the first transmission mechanism is not supported, process the PPDU with the first value state as the confirmation state or the ignore state.

[0222] Exemplarily, the first field includes a PPDU type, a compression mode sub-field, and a non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field; the first value state is indicated by the following confirmation state or ignore state. The first confirmation state is that the PPDU type and the compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1.

[0223] Optionally, the manufacturer-customized information is the modulation method of N spatial streams in a non-uniform modulation mode, N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two of the N spatial streams are different.

[0224] Exemplarily, the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users is n, n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; the PPDU includes n user fields. Among them, the first user field among the n user fields indicates the total number of spatial streams N, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to the nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to the Nth spatial streams.

[0225] Exemplarily, the station identifier sub-field of the first user field indicates the identifier of the target station, the spatial stream indication sub-field of the first user field indicates the total number of spatial streams N, and the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) indication sub-field of the first user field indicates the modulation method of the first spatial stream.

[0226] Exemplarily, the first field includes a user field; the first value state is indicated by the following confirmation state or ignore state. The second confirmation state is that the value of the station identifier sub-field of the user field is a specific value.

[0227] Optionally, the manufacturer customization information is the modulation method of N spatial streams in the non-uniform modulation mode, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two spatial streams are different.

[0228] Exemplarily, the non-OFDMA transmission user number subfield indicates that the number of users is m, where m is an integer greater than 1; the N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer greater than 1, the PPDU includes m user fields, the first user field in the m user fields indicates the total number of spatial stream groups H and the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups, and the m−1 user fields other than the first user field in the m user fields indicate the modulation method of each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups.

[0229] Optionally, the first user field is a user field whose value of the station identification subfield is a specific value.

[0230] In the embodiments of the present application, the division of modules is illustrative, merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Additionally, in each embodiment of the present application, the various functional modules may be integrated in one processor, may exist separately physically, or two or more modules may be integrated in one module. The above integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It can be understood that the functions or implementations of the various modules in the embodiments of the present application may be further referred to the relevant descriptions of the method embodiments.

[0231] In a possible manner, the information indicating device may be as Figure 13 shown. This device may be a communication device or a chip in a communication device. Among them, the communication device may be the first device or the second device. Among them, the first device may be an AP or a STA, and the second device may be an AP or a STA. This device may include a processor 1301, a communication interface 1302, and a memory 1303. Among them, the processing unit 1201 may be the processor 1301. The transceiver unit 1202 may be the communication interface 1302.

[0232] The processor 1301 can be a central processing unit (CPU), or a digital processing unit, etc. The communication interface 1302 can be a transceiver, or an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver chip, etc. The device further includes: a memory 1303 for storing programs executed by the processor 1301. The memory 1303 can be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or can also be a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory 1303 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0233] The processor 1301 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 1303, specifically for performing the actions of the above-mentioned processing unit 1201, which will not be elaborated herein in this application. The communication interface 1302 is specifically used to perform the actions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1202, which will not be elaborated herein in this application.

[0234] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the communication interface 1302, the processor 1301, and the memory 1303 is not limited. In the embodiments of the present application Figure 13 it is shown that the memory 1303, the processor 1301, and the communication interface 1302 are connected through a bus 1304. The bus is Figure 13 shown as a thick line. The connection manners between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 13 only a thick line is shown herein, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0235] The embodiments of the present invention further provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing computer software instructions required to be executed by the above-mentioned processor, which includes a program required to be executed by the above-mentioned processor.

[0236] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted 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 by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as an SSD), etc.

[0237] This application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, and the combination of processes and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate a device for implementing the functions specified in Figure 1 one process or multiple processes and / or blocks Figure 1 one block or multiple blocks.

[0238] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory generate a manufactured article including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in Figure 1 one process or multiple processes and / or blocks Figure 1 one block or multiple blocks.

[0239] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, so that a series of operation steps are executed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for implementing the steps specified in one process or a plurality of processes and / or blocks Figure 1 one process or a plurality of processes and / or blocks Figure 1 in a block or a plurality of blocks.

[0240] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An information indication method, characterized in that, Including: A second device receives a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU), where a first field in a signaling field of the PPDU is in a first value state, and the first value state is indicated by one or more of the following states: any value state of an ignore bit, a non-default state of an acknowledgement bit, an ignore state, an acknowledgement state; The second device obtains the manufacturer-customized information from the PPDU.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The second device supports a first transmission mechanism, and the first transmission mechanism is that the first value state is used to indicate that the PPDU carries manufacturer-customized information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The method further includes: If the second device does not support the first transmission mechanism, the second device processes the PPDU with the first value state as an acknowledgement state or an ignore state.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first field includes a PPDU type, a compression mode sub-field, and a non-orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission user number sub-field; The first value state is indicated by the following acknowledgement state or ignore state: the PPDU type and compression mode sub-field indicate single-user transmission, and the non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users participating in non-OFDMA transmission is greater than 1.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The manufacturer-customized information is a modulation method of N spatial streams in a non-uniform modulation mode, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two of the N spatial streams are different.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users is n, where n is an integer and 1 < n ≤ N; The PPDU includes n user fields, where the first user field among the n user fields indicates the total number N of spatial streams, the identifier of the target station, and the modulation method of the first spatial stream, and the second to nth user fields indicate the modulation methods of the second to Nth spatial streams.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The station identifier sub-field of the first user field indicates the identifier of the target station, the spatial stream indicator sub-field of the first user field indicates the total number N of spatial streams, and the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) indicator sub-field of the first user field indicates the modulation method of the first spatial stream.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first field includes user fields; The first value state is indicated by the following acknowledgement state or ignore state: the value of the station identifier sub-field of the user field is a specific value.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The manufacturer-customized information is a modulation method of N spatial streams in a non-uniform modulation mode, where N is an integer greater than 1, and the modulation methods of at least two spatial streams are different.

10. The method according to claim 5 or 9, characterized in that, The non-OFDMA transmission user number sub-field indicates that the number of users is m, where m is an integer greater than 1; The N spatial streams are divided into H spatial stream groups, where H is an integer greater than 1, the PPDU includes m user fields, the first user field among the m user fields indicates the total number H of spatial stream groups and the number of spatial streams in each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups, and the m - 1 user fields other than the first user field among the m user fields indicate the modulation methods of each spatial stream group among the H spatial stream groups.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A program or instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the program or the instructions are read and executed by one or more processors, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10 can be implemented.

12. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product runs on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive computer program code or instructions and transmit them to the processor; the processor runs the computer program code or instructions so that the apparatus implements the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

14. A chip, characterized in that, The chip is coupled to a memory and is configured to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10.

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