Communication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device. The method comprises the steps that a first node determines M measurement time domain resources which are not overlapped in a first competition channel period; the first node determines a channel competition result of the first node in the first competition channel period according to a channel state measurement result on at least one measurement time domain resource in the M measurement time domain resources; the first competition channel period comprises L time domain resource units, each time domain resource unit comprises P continuous first symbols and Q continuous second symbols, and the P continuous first symbols are located before the Q continuous second symbols; each measurement time domain resource comprises N time domain resource units; m, P and Q are positive integers, L is an integer greater than N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2. According to the method, the first node can effectively perform channel measurement in a competition channel period, compete for a channel according to a channel measurement result, and use the channel obtained by competition for communication.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Existing short-range wireless communication technologies can no longer meet the evolving needs of emerging scenarios in terms of latency, reliability, synchronization accuracy, and security. Against this backdrop, the SparkLink Alliance was established to propose a new generation of short-range wireless communication technology, simply called "SparkLink." SparkLink supports two air interface access technologies: SparkLink Basic (SLB) access technology and SparkLink Low Energy (SLE) access technology. SLB supports high-speed, high-quality connections and is suitable for scenarios such as smart terminals and smart cars; while SLE is more suitable for low-power, lightweight connections, such as smart wearable products.

[0003] SLB (Single-Lane Broadcast) access technology is chosen as the foundation for StarLight technology due to its significant characteristics such as low latency, high reliability, precise synchronization, and high concurrency. Furthermore, SLB employs time-division duplex (TDD) mode, allowing two devices to transmit data simultaneously. TDD offers significant advantages in asymmetric networks (e.g., networks with unbalanced upload and download bandwidth). In addition, SLB access technology supports configurable uplink / downlink ratios in its radio frame structure, and current technology defines the configuration of SLB's radio frame structure and symbol configuration.

[0004] When SLB access technology is applied to unlicensed frequency bands, it faces the challenge of resolving the coexistence of multiple domains and systems. For example, when devices using SLB technology and devices using Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) use the same unlicensed frequency band, or when multiple SLB domains coexist, they need to compete for channel usage. Therefore, designing a channel contention mechanism suitable for Starlight Communication technology is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application proposes a communication method and apparatus, which provides a contention channel mechanism suitable for star-flash communication technology.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method. This method can be applied to a first node, or components of the first node (e.g., processors, chips, or chip systems), or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first node, or a device used in conjunction with the first node. Taking the application of this method to a first node as an example, the method includes: the first node determining M non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources in a first contention channel period; determining the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement result on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources; wherein the first contention channel period includes L time-domain resource units, each time-domain resource unit includes P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, the P consecutive first symbols being located before the Q consecutive second symbols; each measurement time-domain resource includes N time-domain resource units; M, P, and Q are positive integers, L is an integer greater than N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0007] In the embodiments of this application, the first node can be, but is not limited to, a management node, a master node, an access point, or a network device. For example, the first node can be an access point (AP), an AP multi-link device (MLD), or a base station, etc. The time-domain resource element can be, but is not limited to, a radio frame.

[0008] In this embodiment, to facilitate channel measurement, each measurement time-domain resource is configured to include an integer number of time-domain resource units, i.e., the value of N, the number of time-domain resource units in each measurement time-domain resource, is an integer. Since only some symbols in a time-domain resource unit may be used for communication, while other symbols are idle, in order to measure as accurately as possible whether the channel is occupied by other nodes for communication, it is necessary to continuously measure close to one time-domain resource unit. Considering the time delay required for node / device processing, each measurement time-domain resource is configured to include two or more integer number of time-domain resource units, i.e., N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0009] This application provides a method for contention-based channel communication. During a channel contention period, the first node can determine whether to temporarily occupy or release the channel based on channel state measurements obtained from time-domain resource measurements, and determine the result of the channel contention period. If the node successfully occupies the channel during a contention period, it can use the occupied channel for communication.

[0010] To achieve the above solution, this application designs a configuration method for time-domain resources during the contention channel period (i.e., the symbol configuration of each time-domain resource unit in the contention channel period) and a configuration method for measurement time-domain resources therein. This allows the first node to determine the measurement time-domain resources before the contention channel period and, during the contention channel period, to determine which time-domain resources are configured in the receiving state for measurement and which are configured in the transmitting state for transmitting a channel occupancy signal (hereinafter referred to as the occupancy signal) when in an occupied state, without having to temporarily change the transmitting / receiving state of resources based on the measurement results. This better adapts to device timing and is easy to implement. Therefore, this method enables the first node to effectively perform channel measurement during the contention channel period, compete for the channel based on the channel measurement results, and use the channel obtained through competition for communication.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the second symbol is used for uplink transmission.

[0012] In this implementation, the time-domain resource unit structure in the contention channel period can adopt a type of time-domain resource unit structure supported by the current technology (such as Star Flash SLB technology), that is, design the second symbol in each time-domain resource unit as a symbol for uplink transmission (hereinafter referred to as T symbol), which is easy to implement.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the value of N is equal to 2 or 3.

[0014] Consider a measurement time-domain resource where, from the beginning of the measurement symbol to the end, there are no resources available for transmitting a occupancy signal. This results in a large gap where occupancy signals cannot be transmitted, increasing the probability that other systems (such as WiFi) will preempt the channel during this gap. This implementation method aims to minimize the length of the measurement time-domain resources (e.g., each measurement time-domain resource includes 2 or 3 time-domain resource units), thereby reducing the gap where occupancy signals cannot be transmitted and lowering the probability of other systems preempting the channel. Furthermore, minimizing the length of each measurement time-domain resource also increases the randomness of the measurement time-domain resource location, reducing the probability that overlapping measurement resources between different nodes will prevent them from seeing each other's channel occupancy.

[0015] If the measurement resource contains at least two time-domain resource units, for one type of device architecture, the measurement results can only be reported to higher layers at the boundaries of the time-domain resource units. The higher layers determine whether to occupy or release the channel based on the measurement results, and whether to send or not send an occupation signal accordingly. Furthermore, the higher layers can only configure the lower layers at the boundaries of the time-domain resource units. This type of device can perform the reporting at the boundary between the second and third time-domain resource units of the measurement time-domain resource, and the configuration is completed at the tail boundary of the third time-domain resource unit. In this case, the measurement time-domain resource can include three time-domain resource units.

[0016] However, for devices without the above limitations, the measurement time-domain resources may include two time-domain resource units.

[0017] In one possible implementation, for each measurement time-domain resource, the N time-domain resource units include a first time-domain resource unit and a second time-domain resource unit, with the first time-domain resource unit preceding the second time-domain resource unit; the first symbol in the first time-domain resource unit is used for downlink transmission, and the first symbol in the second time-domain resource unit is used for uplink transmission. Optionally, in this implementation, the value of N can be equal to 2.

[0018] The first symbol in the first time domain resource unit is used for downlink transmission. When the measurement time domain resource is in an occupied state, the first symbol in the first time domain resource unit can be used to send an occupancy signal. The first symbol in the second time domain resource unit is used for uplink transmission and can be used to measure the channel state.

[0019] With this implementation, each measurement time-domain resource can be used for one measurement, and the duration of each measurement is at least two time-domain resource units to ensure the effective implementation of each channel measurement.

[0020] In one possible implementation, all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used for channel measurement.

[0021] For example, all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used to measure whether the channel is busy or idle. However, it is not excluded that there may be other symbols that can be used to measure the channel.

[0022] In this embodiment, only some symbols in a time-domain resource unit may be used for communication, while others are idle. To accurately determine whether the channel is occupied by other nodes, it is necessary to continuously measure for approximately one time-domain resource unit; that is, the number of symbols used for channel measurement must satisfy the condition that the total number of symbols in at least approximately one time-domain resource unit is met. Therefore, configuring all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit for channel measurement ensures that the number of symbols used for channel measurement satisfies the condition that the total number of symbols in at least approximately one time-domain resource unit is met.

[0023] This implementation not only ensures the validity of each channel measurement but also improves the randomness of the measurement time-domain resource location due to the shorter time-domain resource of each measurement. Furthermore, in each measurement time-domain resource, all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used for channel measurement, while other symbols (e.g., the first symbols in the first time-domain resource unit) can be used to transmit signals to indicate channel occupancy. This effectively avoids a situation where the first node is not transmitting signals in all its measurement time-domain resource units during a single measurement phase, thereby minimizing the probability of missed detections when other nodes need to occupy the same channel for communication.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the N time-domain resource units also include a third time-domain resource unit, which is located after the second time-domain resource unit. Optionally, in this implementation, the value of N can be equal to 3.

[0025] In one possible implementation, P consecutive first symbols in the third time-domain resource unit are used for uplink transmission.

[0026] In this implementation, each measurement time-domain resource is also configured with a third time-domain resource unit. Within the third time-domain resource unit, the higher layer can configure the lower layer to send or not send an occupancy signal based on the measurement results. Since this configuration has not yet been sent down to the lower layer within the third time-domain resource unit, no signal (e.g., an occupancy signal) should be sent within the third time-domain resource unit. Therefore, the first symbol of the third time-domain resource unit is not configured for downlink transmission, but rather for uplink transmission.

[0027] This implementation method allows the first node to refrain from sending signals (e.g., occupying signals) after completing a measurement and before the next non-measurement resource. This avoids the first node sporadically occupying the channel after the measurement channel has become busy, thus effectively preventing the situation where other nodes (or other SLB domains) compete for the channel and both parties simultaneously release the channel due to detecting each other's signals.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first contention channel period also includes other time-domain resources besides the measurement time-domain resources, and the first symbol of each time-domain resource unit in the other time-domain resources is used for downlink transmission.

[0029] With this implementation, for all time-domain resources other than the measurement time-domain resources in the first contention channel period, each time-domain resource unit has a symbol that can be used to transmit an occupancy signal. When the time-domain resource is occupied, an occupancy signal can be transmitted on the first symbol, thus avoiding missed detections when other nodes (or other SLB domains) perform channel state measurements.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the value of P is equal to 2, and the value of Q is equal to 5.

[0031] That is, each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is configured to include two consecutive first symbols (i.e., P=2) and five consecutive second symbols (Q=5).

[0032] Current technology supports configuring a maximum of two overhead symbols in a single time-domain resource unit (e.g., a radio frame), and the overhead symbols in different time-domain resource units can be configured for different transmission directions. Therefore, in this implementation, two consecutive first symbols in each time-domain resource unit during the first contention channel period can be configured as overhead symbols (hereinafter referred to as S symbols). Furthermore, the overhead symbols in different time-domain resource units can be configured for different transmission directions. The second symbol in each time-domain resource unit during the first contention channel period is a symbol used for uplink transmission (i.e., the second symbol is a T symbol). In this implementation, the structure of the time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is consistent with the structure of the time-domain resource unit currently supported by technology, making it easy to implement.

[0033] In one possible implementation, in the first time-domain resource unit of N time-domain resource units, there is a guard interval between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval after the five consecutive second symbols; in the second time-domain resource unit of N time-domain resource units, there is no guard interval between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, a guard interval before the two consecutive first symbols, and a guard interval after the five consecutive second symbols.

[0034] The first time-domain resource unit consists of, in sequence, two consecutive first symbols, one guard interval (gap), five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap). The second time-domain resource unit consists of, in sequence, one guard interval (gap), two consecutive first symbols, five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap).

[0035] In the time-domain resources being measured, uplink symbols are configured for managing the G-node measurement channel, and downlink symbols are configured for transmitting occupancy signals. In the above, all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are configured for channel measurement. Based on this, in this implementation, five consecutive second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit are used for uplink transmission. Since overhead symbols can be configured for different transmission directions, two overhead symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are configured for uplink transmission. This effectively ensures that the number of symbols occupied for continuous measurement is close to one time-domain resource unit (currently, one time-domain resource unit contains seven symbols). In this implementation, the structure of the first and second time-domain resource units configured based on the above symbol transmission directions (including downlink and uplink) is consistent with the structure of time-domain resource units based on the same symbol transmission direction supported by current technology (i.e., the relative positions of symbols and guard intervals), making it easy to implement.

[0036] Furthermore, since each measurement time-domain resource can be used for one channel measurement, the configuration of Implementation Method 1 ensures that within each channel measurement duration, there are at most two consecutive guard intervals (gap) between the first and second time-domain resource units. That is, the longest interval during each measurement duration that is not measured is two guard intervals (gap). In this way, when other nodes (or other SLB domains) occupy the channel for communication, the first node will only miss the detection if there is only one symbol used for signal transmission in the time-domain resource unit measured by the other node and that symbol is exactly located within these two consecutive guard intervals (gap). Obviously, the probability of missed detection caused by this situation is relatively small.

[0037] When the first node (corresponding to the first SLB domain) competes for channel state with other nodes (corresponding to the second SLB domain), if both nodes have a first symbol (overhead symbol for downlink transmission) in their measurement time-domain resources to send a signal indicating channel occupancy, then as long as the position difference between the measurement time-domain resources of the first node and the other nodes is greater than one guard interval (gap) length, the node (or SLB domain) that measured first can detect that the node (or SLB domain) that measured later (or SLB domain) occupies the channel, thus effectively avoiding collisions. If the position difference between the measurement time-domain resources of the two nodes is less than one guard interval (gap) length, then a missed detection will occur. Generally, compared to the probability of the position difference between the measurement time-domain resources of the two nodes being greater than one guard interval (gap) length, the probability of a missed detection is lower.

[0038] In one possible implementation, in the third time-domain resource unit among the aforementioned N time-domain resource units, there is no guard interval between the two consecutive first symbols and the five consecutive second symbols, a guard interval is included before the two consecutive first symbols, and a guard interval is included after the five consecutive second symbols.

[0039] That is, the third time-domain resource unit includes, in chronological order, one guard interval (gap), two consecutive first symbols, five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap).

[0040] In this implementation, a third time-domain resource unit is configured in each measurement time-domain resource. No channel occupancy signals should be sent within this third time-domain resource unit. This ensures that no occupancy signal is sent before the next resource segment after channel measurement, preventing partial overlap of measurement resources between the first node and other nodes. This avoids situations where each node sees the other's occupancy signal during channel measurement, resulting in both nodes showing "channel busy" and ultimately releasing the channel. Therefore, the two overhead symbols in the third time-domain resource unit should be configured for uplink transmission to avoid occupancy signals. In this implementation, the structure of the third time-domain resource unit configured based on the above symbol transmission direction (including downlink and uplink) is consistent with the structure of time-domain resource units based on the same symbol transmission direction supported by current technology (i.e., the relative positions of symbols and guard intervals), making it easy to implement.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the first contention channel period also includes other time-domain resources besides the measurement time-domain resources. In each time-domain resource unit of the other time-domain resources, a guard interval is included between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval is included after the five consecutive second symbols.

[0042] Specifically, for other time-domain resources in the first contention channel period, each time-domain resource unit sequentially includes two consecutive first symbols, one guard interval (gap), five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap). Through this implementation, the allocation ratio of time-domain resource units in other time-domain resources during the first contention channel period is the same as that in the measurement time-domain resources, facilitating implementation. During the first contention channel period, the two overhead symbols in the time-domain resource units of other time-domain resources should be configured for downlink transmission to ensure that a occupancy signal can be transmitted on the overhead symbol when the corresponding time-domain resource is occupied. In this implementation, the structure of the time-domain resource units configured based on the above symbol transmission directions (including downlink and uplink) (i.e., the time-domain resource units in other time-domain resources during the first contention channel period) is consistent with the structure of time-domain resource units based on the same symbol transmission direction (i.e., the relative positions of symbols and guard intervals) supported by current technology, making it easy to implement.

[0043] In one possible implementation, in each time-domain resource unit of the first contention channel period, a guard interval is included between P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval is included after Q consecutive second symbols.

[0044] That is, in the first contention channel period, each time domain resource unit includes P consecutive first symbols, 1 guard interval (gap), Q consecutive T symbols (i.e., an example of the second symbol), and 1 guard interval (gap) in sequence.

[0045] In this implementation, the structure of each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is consistent with the structure of the time-domain resource unit (i.e., the relative position of the symbol and the guard interval) supported by current technology when the first symbol transmission direction is downlink, which is easy to implement.

[0046] In the embodiments of this application, each time-domain resource unit in the first contention period is configured with P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive T symbols. In order to ensure that channel measurement can be achieved (i.e., the number of symbols used for channel measurement is at least satisfied with the total number of symbols in one time-domain resource unit), for each measurement time-domain resource, some time-domain resource units can be configured for normal use (i.e., the first symbols are used for downlink transmission), and other time-domain resource units are configured so that all symbols are used for reception.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain resource unit is configured for normal reception and / or transmission, while all symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are configured for reception (i.e., the management node / device is set to receive mode on all symbols in the second time-domain resource unit). This implementation ensures the successful implementation of channel measurements.

[0048] Since all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit (used for uplink transmission) and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used for channel measurement, in the implementation, to enable the first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit to support this measurement, all symbols in the second time-domain resource unit can be configured to be used for reception. This ensures that only one guard interval (gap) between the first and second time-domain resource units is not used for channel measurement (i.e., no measurement is performed within one guard interval (gap) in a single channel measurement). Typically, at least one symbol in a time-domain resource unit transmits a signal to indicate that the channel is occupied. Since the length of one guard interval (gap) is less than one symbol, the above configuration can effectively avoid missed detections.

[0049] In one possible implementation, where each measurement time-domain resource in the first contention channel period also includes a third time-domain resource unit, P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols in the third time-domain resource unit are all used for reception. With this implementation, none of the symbols in the second and third time-domain resource units are used for signal transmission.

[0050] Of course, in other scenarios, the symbols in the third time domain resource unit are also used normally according to their configured transmission directions.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the method may further include: a first node determining M non-overlapping time-domain resources in a first contention channel period based on M measurement time-domain resources, each time-domain resource including an integer number of time-domain resource units, the M time-domain resources corresponding one-to-one with the M measurement time-domain resources, and a measurement time-domain resource located at the end of the time-domain resource corresponding to that measurement time-domain resource; when the first node determines that the state of the i-th time-domain resource in the M time-domain resources is occupied, a first signal is transmitted on the symbol used for downlink transmission in each time-domain resource unit of the i-th time-domain resource, the first signal being used to occupy the channel (the first signal may also have other functions), where i is a positive integer less than or equal to M.

[0052] With this implementation, in addition to measuring the second and third time-domain resource units in the time-domain resource, the first node can send a signal to occupy the channel in each time-domain resource unit in other occupied states, thereby reducing the probability of being missed by other management nodes.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the first node determines its channel contention result in the first contention channel period based on channel state measurement results on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources. This includes: the first node determining its channel contention result in the first contention channel period based on channel state measurement results on K time-domain resources out of the M time-domain resources, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to M. Through this implementation, the first node can effectively determine its own channel contention result within the first contention channel period.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the first node competes for the channel and successfully occupies the first time domain resource in the first contention channel period. The method may further include: the first node transmitting a second signal in a fourth time domain resource unit, where the fourth time domain resource unit is a time domain resource unit in which the first node does not transmit data in the first time domain resource, and the second signal is used to occupy the channel.

[0055] In this embodiment of the application, during normal communication of the first node, it is ensured that the first node can send signals on each radio frame, thereby avoiding missed measurements when another StarSpark SLB node performs channel state measurement during normal communication.

[0056] For example, the wireless frame length of the StarSignal SLB technology is 20.83µs. If each wireless frame (an example of a time-domain resource unit) has a symbol that can be used to send an occupancy signal, then the idle time during which the SLB device (an example of the first node) does not continuously send an occupancy signal is less than the length of the distributed inter-frame spacing (DIFS) of Wi-Fi (25µs). This can avoid missed detections when performing channel state measurements simultaneously with Wi-Fi nodes.

[0057] With this implementation, since each time-domain resource unit includes a symbol that can transmit signals, when the first node successfully competes for the channel and occupies any time-domain resource for communication during the first contention channel period, the first node can transmit a signal on the time-domain resource unit that does not transmit data in that time-domain resource to indicate that the channel is occupied. This can effectively prevent other nodes (or other SLB domains) from missing detection when measuring the channel status on that time-domain resource, thus avoiding collisions.

[0058] Secondly, this application also provides a communication device, which is a first node or a chip corresponding to the first node. The communication device has the functions of implementing the first aspect and any of the possible implementations described above. The communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0059] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in performing the corresponding functions of the first node in the method described above. The communication device may also include a memory coupled to the processor, which stores necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes interface circuitry for supporting communication between the communication device and other communication devices, such as the transmission and reception of data or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0060] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, each used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

[0061] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above method examples, as described in the method provided in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0062] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor is used to implement the methods in the first aspect and any of the possible implementations mentioned above through logic circuits or execution code instructions.

[0063] Fourthly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the methods described in the first aspect and any of the possible implementations thereof.

[0064] Fifthly, this application provides a computer program product storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the methods described in the first aspect and any of the possible implementations thereof.

[0065] Sixthly, a chip system is provided, comprising a processor and potentially a memory, for implementing the methods of the first aspect and any of its possible implementations. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication system, which includes at least the first node described in the first aspect.

[0067] Based on the implementation methods provided in the above aspects, this application can be further combined to provide more implementation methods.

[0068] It should be noted that the technical effects that can be achieved by any of the second to seventh aspects or any of the second to seventh aspects can be referred to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by any of the first aspects and any of the first aspects, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0069] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication protocol architecture for a star-flash communication technology provided in this application embodiment;

[0070] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a network architecture that can be applied to the embodiments of this application;

[0071] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow of Embodiment 1 of this application;

[0073] Figure 5A A schematic diagram of the structure of time-domain resources and radio frames in a contention channel period provided in Embodiment 1 of this application;

[0074] Figure 5B A schematic diagram of the structure of time-domain resources and radio frames in another contention channel period provided in Embodiment 1 of this application;

[0075] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a time-domain resource corresponding to a measurement time-domain resource provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow of Embodiment 2 of this application;

[0077] Figure 8A This is a schematic diagram of the structure of time-domain resources and radio frames in a contention channel period provided in Embodiment 2 of this application;

[0078] Figure 8B A schematic diagram of the structure of time-domain resources and radio frames in another contention channel period provided in Embodiment 2 of this application;

[0079] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0080] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0081] Figure 11 This application provides a schematic diagram of a chip device structure. Detailed Implementation

[0082] The scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0083] The terms and terminology used in the embodiments of this application will be explained below. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of this application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0084] 1) Channel contention:

[0085] Channel contention refers to the competition among multiple terminal devices for a single communication channel during network transmission. However, when the number of terminal devices is large or the communication concurrency is high, channel contention can become extremely intense, impacting communication quality and causing data delays, packet loss, and other issues. Channel contention parameters are used to control the channel contention capabilities of each terminal device, such as the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) parameters in wireless communication networks based on the 802.11 protocol. Appropriate channel contention parameters can optimize the channel contention capabilities of terminal devices, ensuring that the level of contention meets requirements.

[0086] 2) Occupy signal (or preamble signal):

[0087] In this embodiment of the application, an occupation signal (or preamble signal) is sent during channel contention to indicate that the current channel is occupied.

[0088] 3) Time unit:

[0089] The time units involved in the embodiments of this application may include superframes, radio frames, and symbols. Among them, a superframe is a time unit composed of multiple radio frames, a radio frame is a smaller time unit than a superframe, and a symbol is a smaller time unit than a radio frame.

[0090] In the embodiments of this application, "time domain resource unit" is used instead of "wireless frame" to describe the scheme of the embodiments of this application. Of course, "time domain resource unit" can also refer to other time units, and there is no limitation on this.

[0091] 4) Several states of nodes / devices participating in channel contention in this application embodiment:

[0092] Idle State: In the idle state, the SLB system's superframes do not transmit any signals. For example, in the first contention channel period, if the first node determines that the channel is idle, then no signal indicating channel occupancy will be transmitted on any time-domain resource element during the first contention channel period.

[0093] Contention Channel State: When the SLB system needs to contend for the channel before it can transmit a signal, it enters the contention channel state. For example, in the first contention channel period, before the first node transmits a signal to occupy the channel, the first node needs to contend for the channel, and thus enters the contention channel state.

[0094] Communication Status: When the SLB system successfully acquires a channel, it enters the communication status and will send data based on superframes. For example, in the first channel contention period, after the first node successfully acquires the channel, it will engage in normal communication, meaning the first node can send data on the time domain resources according to the time domain resource configuration.

[0095] All of the above states can be switched using superframes as the smallest unit. Of course, in practical applications, it is not necessary to limit the switching to superframes as the smallest unit.

[0096] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0097] Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, the ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," or "1," "2," etc. (except in special cases indicating numerical values) mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects. For example, "first information" and "second information" are only used to distinguish different phase information, and do not indicate that the size, priority, or importance of these two pieces of information are different.

[0098] It should be noted that, in this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being described as an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0099] The terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, used in the following description of embodiments of this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include other steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. Furthermore, the term "for indicating" used in the description of embodiments of this application can include both direct and indirect indication. When describing an indication message for indicating A, it may include whether the indication message directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but does not necessarily mean that the indication message carries A.

[0100] The preceding text introduced some of the terms / terms used in the embodiments of this application. The following text introduces the technologies, applications and devices involved in the embodiments of this application.

[0101] (1) Sparklink technology:

[0102] Starlight technology is a high-speed transmission technology mainly composed of a starlight transmitter and a starlight receiver. Its basic principle is to communicate by transmitting and receiving electronic signals, achieving high-speed and efficient data transmission. The principle of starlight technology is primarily based on wireless protocols; employing special wireless protocols can achieve even higher transmission speeds. Through efficient signal coding, physical layer HARQ retransmission, and discrete single-subcarrier scheduling, starlight technology achieves highly reliable transmission, meeting the requirements of high-reliability applications exceeding 99.999%. Furthermore, starlight technology features low power consumption, multi-domain collaboration, minimalist design, and high-security information characteristics, enabling ultra-low latency applications and meeting high-security application requirements. The continuous development of starlight technology will bring greater breakthroughs and progress to the field of short-range wireless applications.

[0103] In networking, SparkLink technology can be used for point-to-point (P2P) or point-to-multipoint (P2MP) connections. Depending on their role in the access layer, SparkLink devices / nodes are divided into grant (G) nodes and terminal (T) nodes. Each G node can manage a certain number of T nodes and provide access layer services such as connection management, resource allocation, and information security to the T nodes it covers. A single G node and its connected T nodes together form a communication domain. Furthermore, to meet the communication needs of different scenarios, SparkLink technology provides two wireless communication interfaces: SparkLink Basic (SLB) and SparkLink Low Energy (SLE). SLB supports high-speed, high-quality connections and is suitable for scenarios such as smart terminals and smart cars; while SLE is more suitable for low-power, lightweight connections, such as smart wearable products.

[0104] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the communication protocol architecture of the Starflash communication technology involved in the embodiments of this application. See also Figure 1 As shown, the protocol architecture includes: a basic application layer, a basic service layer, and a StarSpeed ​​access layer. The basic application layer implements various application functions, serving different scenarios including automotive, home, and audio-visual applications. The basic service layer comprises many basic functional units, providing support for upper-layer application functions and system management and maintenance. The basic application layer and basic service layer can be referred to as the StarSpeed ​​upper layer. The StarSpeed ​​access layer, also known as the StarSpeed ​​lower layer, provides two communication interfaces: SLB and SLE, which can respectively correspond to the needs of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth network scenarios.

[0105] It is understandable that the above Figure 1 The illustrated communication protocol architecture is only one possible example, and it may include more or fewer protocol layers. This application does not limit this.

[0106] (2) SLB (Simplified Baseline Access) technology:

[0107] SLB technology uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms, supports extremely low latency wireless frames, and achieves a one-way air interface data transmission latency of less than 20.833µs (the lowest latency in the industry). A single carrier supports a bandwidth of 20MHz, with a maximum support of 16 carriers for a total bandwidth of 320MHz. The highest supported data rates include channel coding at a coding rate of 0.92, 1024QAM modulation, and 8-stream parallel transmission. The deepest coverage supports channel coding at a coding rate of 1 / 8 and QPSK modulation. SLB supports data link layer data pass-through mode, significantly reducing system overhead and increasing the system's multi-node access capacity. Furthermore, SLB supports optimized access resource configuration, enabling low-latency access for multiple users. SLB is primarily used for service scenarios such as vehicle-mounted active noise cancellation, wireless projection, and industrial machinery motion control, and its significant characteristics include low latency, high reliability, precise synchronization, and high concurrency. Furthermore, SLB uses time-division duplex mode, which allows two devices to transmit data to each other simultaneously. Time-division duplex has significant advantages in asymmetric networks (such as networks with unbalanced upload and download bandwidth).

[0108] SLB superframe format: In an SLB superframe, each superframe contains 48 radio frames, each superframe lasts 1ms, and each radio frame lasts 20.833μs. Here, G symbols represent symbols transmitted from the G node to the T node, and T nodes represent symbols transmitted from the T node to the G node. SG / ST represent the symbol resources available for overhead symbols in the G / T symbols, respectively. The overhead symbol resources for each radio frame can be flexibly configured to 0, 1, or 2 symbols. Furthermore, the direction in which the G node transmits signals or data to the T node can be called downlink (DL), and the corresponding downlink can also be called the G link; the direction in which the T node transmits signals or data to the G node can be called uplink (UL), and the corresponding uplink can also be called the T link. The guard interval (gap) is the switching interval between G link symbols and T link symbols.

[0109] Currently, the SLB defines two radio frame structure configuration methods: using a regular cyclic prefix and using an extended cyclic prefix. When using a regular cyclic prefix, the radio frame supports 14 G / T symbol ratios. When using an extended cyclic prefix, the radio frame supports 12 G / T symbol ratios. This flexible G / T symbol ratio can meet the service rate requirements of different link directions in different application scenarios.

[0110] When SLB access technology is applied to unlicensed frequency bands, it faces the challenge of resolving the coexistence of multiple domains and systems. For example, when devices using SLB technology and devices using Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) use the same unlicensed frequency band, or when multiple SLB domains coexist, they need to compete for channel usage. Therefore, designing a channel contention mechanism suitable for Starlight Communication technology is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed.

[0111] To address the aforementioned problems, this application proposes a communication method and apparatus. The method provides a contention channel mechanism suitable for star-flash communication technology, enabling devices employing this mechanism to compete for the channel and achieve communication. The method and apparatus are based on the same inventive concept. Since the principles underlying the problems solved by the method and apparatus are similar, their implementations can be mutually referenced, and repeated details will not be elaborated further.

[0112] This application mainly uses the deployment of a StarFlash communication network as an example, especially an SLB communication network, for illustration. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the various aspects involved in this application can be extended to other networks that adopt various standards or protocols, such as high-performance radio local area networks (HIPERLAN), wireless wide area networks (WWAN), wireless personal area networks (WPAN), or other networks that are currently known or will be developed in the future.

[0113] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can also be applied to various communication systems or networks, such as: WLAN communication systems, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, 5th generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR) systems, future communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, etc. The communication systems applicable to this application described above are merely illustrative examples; the application is not limited to these examples. They are uniformly described here and will not be elaborated upon further below.

[0114] This application supports IEEE protocols, such as IEEE 802.11be / Wi-Fi 7 / EHT, IEEE 802.11bn / UHR / Wi-Fi 8, IEEE Integrated mmWave / IMMW, IEEE 802.15 / UWB, or IEEE 802.11bf / sensing; this application may also support Spark Link / NearLink standard protocols.

[0115] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a WLAN network architecture applicable to embodiments of this application is shown. See also... Figure 2As shown, the network architecture includes: access point AP1, access point AP2, and sites STA1, STA2, and STA3 associated with access point AP1, and sites STA4, STA5, and STA6 associated with access point AP2. Access point AP1 and sites STA1, STA2, and STA3 constitute a basic service set BSS1; access points AP2, STA4, STA5, and STA6 constitute a basic service set BSS2. In one example, the first link can be an uplink or downlink between AP1 and a site associated with AP1; the second link can be an uplink or downlink between AP2 and a site associated with AP2, or a D2D link between any two sites within BSS2, such as a D2D link between STA4 and STA5. It should be noted that this embodiment can also be applied to communication between APs, for example, APs can communicate with each other through a distributed system (DS), and this embodiment can also be applied to communication between STAs. It should be understood that... Figure 2 The number of access points (APs) and station STAs shown is for illustrative purposes only. In actual applications, the number of APs and / or station STAs may be more or less. Furthermore, the network architecture may include other devices or nodes, which are not listed here.

[0116] It should be noted that, Figure 2 The communication system shown is not intended to limit the communication systems to which the embodiments of this application can be applied. Therefore, the methods provided in the embodiments of this application are applicable to various wireless communication systems, such as Wi-Fi systems, 5th generation (5G) communication systems, or various future mobile communication systems, and this application does not limit them.

[0117] Access points, which connect terminal devices (such as mobile phones) to wired (or wireless) networks, are primarily deployed in homes, buildings, and campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. They can also be deployed outdoors. An access point acts as a bridge between wired and wireless networks, connecting various wireless network clients and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, access points can be terminal devices (such as mobile phones) or network devices (such as routers) with Wi-Fi chips, or wireless communication chips, wireless sensors, or wireless communication terminals with access point functionality. Access points can be devices supporting the 802.11be standard. They can also be devices supporting various 802.11 family of wireless local area networks (WLANs), including 802.11ax and 802.11be next-generation standards.

[0118] A site can be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, or wireless communication terminal, and can also be referred to as a user. For example, a site can be a mobile phone supporting Wi-Fi communication, a tablet computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, a set-top box supporting Wi-Fi communication, a smart TV supporting Wi-Fi communication, a smart wearable device supporting Wi-Fi communication, an in-vehicle communication device supporting Wi-Fi communication, and a computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, etc. Optionally, the site can support the 802.11be standard. The site can also support various WLAN standards of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax and 802.11be next generation.

[0119] For example, access points and sites can be devices used in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities.

[0120] The AP and STA involved in the embodiments of this application can be APs and STAs that comply with the IEEE 802.11 system standard. An AP is a device deployed in a wireless communication network to provide wireless communication functions for its associated STAs. The AP can serve as the hub of the communication system and is typically a network-side product that supports the MAC and PHY of the 802.11 system standard. Examples include base stations, routers, gateways, repeaters, communication servers, switches, or bridges. The base station can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, repeater stations, etc. For ease of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as APs. STAs are typically terminal products that support the media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) of the 802.11 system standard, such as mobile phones and laptops.

[0121] In this embodiment of the application, the G node can be, but is not limited to, the above-mentioned... Figure 2 In the communication system shown, the access point (AP) and node T can be, but are not limited to, those mentioned above. Figure 2 The stations in the communication system shown. Furthermore, the communication method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to communication between G-node devices and T-node devices, communication between G-node devices, or communication between T-node devices; no specific limitation is made.

[0122] The communication system architecture or network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of communication system or network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to similar technical problems.

[0123] Unless otherwise specified in this article, the "first node" will be used as the subject of the description.

[0124] The "first node" can be a management G node. In one possible implementation, the "first node" can be a network device, a device with a network device, or a device that implements the functions of a network device. For example, the "first node" can be an access network device (e.g., AP, AP multi-link device (MLD)), or a module (e.g., chip or circuit) in an access network device (e.g., AP, AP MLD). It can also be a module or unit (e.g., CU, DU, or RU), logic module, or software that fully or partially implements an access network device (e.g., AP, AP MLD).

[0125] In some embodiments, the "first node" may also be a T node. In one possible implementation, the "first node" can be a terminal (e.g., Non-AP STA, Non-AP MLD), or a device with terminal (e.g., Non-AP STA, Non-AP MLD) functionality, or a device implementing terminal (e.g., Non-AP STA, Non-AP MLD) functionality. Alternatively, the "first node" may also be a core network device, a server (e.g., a cloud server), etc.

[0126] In this application, the number of nodes or devices participating in the channel contention may be one or more. The following uses the "first node" competing for the channel as an example to introduce the scheme of the embodiment of this application. In addition, "first node" can be replaced by "first device", or "first communication device", or "management node", etc.

[0127] In this application, "send" and "receive" refer to the direction of data / signal / information transmission. For example, "send a signal to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, and "send a signal" can include direct transmission or indirect transmission through other units or modules. "Receive a signal from YY" can be understood as the source of the signal being YY, and "receive a signal" can include direct reception from YY or indirect reception from YY through other units or modules. Furthermore, "send" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receive" can be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. In other words, "send" or "receive" can occur between devices, such as a base station and a terminal transmitting or receiving data via an air interface, or it can occur within a device, such as transmitting or receiving data between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface.

[0128] It should be understood that the terms or names used in the following processes in this application are merely examples. As communication technology evolves, the terms or names used in the following processes may change. However, regardless of how the names change, as long as their meanings are the same as the functions or meanings of the terms or names used in this application, they all fall within the protection scope of this application. For example, "time domain resource unit" can be replaced with "wireless frame".

[0129] The solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below.

[0130] This application provides a communication method, which can be applied to, but is not limited to, other methods. Figure 2 The network architecture is shown. This method can be executed by a first node, a module of the first node (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first node. Furthermore, this application does not specifically limit the structure and number of the execution subject (first node) of the method provided in the embodiments of this application, as long as communication can be performed according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0131] For ease of description, the first node will be used as an example in the following text, for example, the first node is... Figure 2 The AP in the network architecture shown below. The order of steps in the following processes is just an example. In actual applications, the execution order of the steps in each process can be adjusted, and all or some of the steps below can be executed adaptively.

[0132] See Figure 3 As shown, the method provided in this application embodiment may include the following:

[0133] S301: The first node determines M non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources in the first contention channel period.

[0134] In the embodiments of this application, the first node can be, but is not limited to, a management node, a master node, an access point, or a network device. For example, the first node can be a base station, an access point (AP), or an AP MLD, etc.

[0135] In the above, the first contention channel period includes L time-domain resource units, each time-domain resource unit includes P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, with the P consecutive first symbols preceding the Q consecutive second symbols; each measurement time-domain resource includes N time-domain resource units; M, P, and Q are positive integers, L is an integer greater than N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0136] In this embodiment, the contention channel period is configured with L time-domain resource units. By reasonably selecting / configuring the value of L, the contention channel period is made an integer multiple of the transmission direction configuration period. This allows for the configuration of contention measurement time-domain resources in the contention channel period before the current contention channel period, without altering the existing device timing. Furthermore, each time-domain resource unit in the contention channel period includes two sets of consecutive symbols in the time domain (e.g., P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols). In one possible implementation, each time-domain resource unit in the contention channel period maintains the same time-domain resource unit structure supported by current technologies (e.g., Starlight SLB technology).

[0137] For ease of implementation, each measurement time-domain resource includes an integer number of time-domain resource units, where N is an integer. Furthermore, only a portion of the symbols in a time-domain resource unit may be used for communication, while the others are idle. To accurately measure whether the channel is being used for communication by other nodes, it is necessary to continuously measure approximately one time-domain resource unit. Considering the time delay (one time-domain resource unit) required for the device to process the measurement data, each measurement time-domain resource includes two or more integer numbers of time-domain resource units, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0138] In this embodiment of the application, in order to facilitate the implementation of the scheme, the time-domain resource unit structure in the contention channel period can adopt a type of time-domain resource unit structure supported by the current technology (such as Star Flash SLB technology), that is, the second symbol in each time-domain resource unit is designed as a symbol for uplink transmission (hereinafter referred to as T symbol).

[0139] In one possible implementation, each measurement time-domain resource comprises N time-domain resource units, including a first time-domain resource unit and a second time-domain resource unit, with the first time-domain resource unit preceding the second time-domain resource unit. The first symbol in the first time-domain resource unit is used for downlink transmission, and the first symbol in the second time-domain resource unit is used for uplink transmission. Optionally, in this implementation, the value of N may be equal to 2.

[0140] In this implementation, the first symbol in the first time domain resource unit is used for downlink transmission. When the measurement time domain resource is in an occupied state, the first symbol in the first time domain resource unit can be used to send an occupancy signal. The first symbol in the second time domain resource unit is used for uplink transmission and can be used to measure the channel state.

[0141] In one possible implementation, all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used for channel measurement. For example, measuring whether the channel is busy or idle. However, other symbols that can be used for channel measurement are not excluded.

[0142] In this embodiment, only some symbols in a time-domain resource unit may be used for communication, while others are idle. To accurately determine whether the channel is occupied by other nodes, it is necessary to continuously measure for approximately one time-domain resource unit; that is, the number of symbols used for channel measurement must satisfy the condition that the total number of symbols in at least approximately one time-domain resource unit is met. Therefore, configuring all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit for channel measurement ensures that the number of symbols used for channel measurement satisfies the condition that the total number of symbols in at least approximately one time-domain resource unit is met.

[0143] In the embodiments of this application, channel measurement can refer to measuring whether the channel is busy or idle. The method for measuring channel busy / idle can refer to the current idle channel assessment (CCA) detection method, and can also support various methods such as signal detection threshold or energy detection threshold, and is not limited thereto.

[0144] In one possible implementation, each of the N time-domain resource units for measuring a time-domain resource also includes a third time-domain resource unit, which is located after the second time-domain resource unit. Optionally, in this implementation, the value of N may be equal to 3.

[0145] In one possible implementation, P consecutive first symbols in the aforementioned third time-domain resource unit are used for uplink transmission.

[0146] In this implementation, each measurement time-domain resource is also configured with a third time-domain resource unit. Within the third time-domain resource unit, the higher layer can configure the lower layer to send or not send an occupancy signal based on the measurement results. Since this configuration has not yet been sent down to the lower layer within the third time-domain resource unit, no signal (e.g., an occupancy signal) should be sent within the third time-domain resource unit. Therefore, the first symbol of the third time-domain resource unit is not configured for downlink transmission, but rather for uplink transmission.

[0147] However, it cannot be ruled out that in other scenarios, P consecutive first symbols in the third time-domain resource unit can be used for downlink transmission.

[0148] This implementation method allows the first node to refrain from sending signals (e.g., occupying signals) after completing a measurement and before the next non-measurement resource. This avoids the first node sporadically occupying the channel after the measurement channel has become busy, thus effectively preventing the situation where other nodes (or other SLB domains) compete for the channel and both parties simultaneously release the channel due to detecting each other's signals.

[0149] In one possible implementation, the first contention channel period also includes other time-domain resources besides the measurement time-domain resources, and the first symbol of each time-domain resource unit in the other time-domain resources is used for downlink transmission.

[0150] With this implementation, for all time-domain resources other than the measurement time-domain resources in the first contention channel period, each time-domain resource unit has a symbol that can be used to transmit an occupancy signal. When the time-domain resource is occupied, an occupancy signal can be transmitted on the first symbol, thus avoiding missed detections when other nodes (or other SLB domains) perform channel state measurements.

[0151] For example, the wireless frame length of the StarSignal SLB technology is 20.83µs. If each wireless frame (an example of a time-domain resource unit) has a symbol that can be used to send an occupancy signal, then the idle time during which the SLB device (an example of the first node) does not continuously send an occupancy signal is less than the length of the Wi-Fi Distributed Coordination Function Inter-Frame Spacing (DIFS) (25µs). This can avoid missed detections when performing channel state measurements simultaneously with Wi-Fi nodes.

[0152] Based on the above, the specific configuration of each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period in this application embodiment may include the following implementation methods.

[0153] Implementation Method 1: The value of P equals 2, and the value of Q equals 5. That is, each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is configured to include 2 consecutive first symbols (i.e., P=2) and 5 consecutive second symbols (Q=5).

[0154] Current technology supports configuring a maximum of two overhead symbols in a single time-domain resource unit (e.g., a radio frame), and the overhead symbols in different time-domain resource units can be configured for different transmission directions. Therefore, in this implementation, two consecutive first symbols in each time-domain resource unit during the first contention channel period can be configured as overhead symbols (hereinafter referred to as S symbols). Furthermore, the overhead symbols in different time-domain resource units can be configured for different transmission directions. The second symbol in each time-domain resource unit during the first contention channel period is a symbol used for uplink transmission (i.e., the second symbol is a T symbol). In this implementation, the structure of the time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is consistent with the structure of the time-domain resource unit currently supported by technology, making it easy to implement.

[0155] Based on implementation method one, one possible implementation method configures the N time-domain resource units in each measurement time-domain resource as follows:

[0156] In the first time-domain resource unit of N time-domain resource units, there is a guard interval between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval after the five consecutive second symbols; in the second time-domain resource unit of N time-domain resource units, there is no guard interval between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, a guard interval before the two consecutive first symbols, and a guard interval after the five consecutive second symbols.

[0157] The first time-domain resource unit consists of, in sequence, two consecutive first symbols, one guard interval (gap), five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap). The second time-domain resource unit consists of, in sequence, one guard interval (gap), two consecutive first symbols, five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap).

[0158] In the time-domain resources being measured, uplink symbols are configured for managing the G-node measurement channel, and downlink symbols are configured for transmitting occupancy signals. In the above, all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are configured for channel measurement. Based on this, in this implementation, five consecutive second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit are used for uplink transmission. Since overhead symbols can be configured for different transmission directions, two overhead symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are configured for uplink transmission. This effectively ensures that the number of symbols occupied for continuous measurement is close to one time-domain resource unit (currently, one time-domain resource unit contains seven symbols). In this implementation, the structure of the first and second time-domain resource units configured based on the above symbol transmission directions (including downlink and uplink) is consistent with the structure of time-domain resource units based on the same symbol transmission direction supported by current technology (i.e., the relative positions of symbols and guard intervals), making it easy to implement.

[0159] Furthermore, since each measurement time-domain resource can be used for one measurement, the configuration of the above-mentioned implementation method ensures that within each measurement duration, there are at most two consecutive guard intervals (gap) between the first and second time-domain resource units. That is, the longest interval during each measurement duration that is not measured is two guard intervals (gap). In this way, when other nodes (or other SLB domains) occupy the channel for communication, the first node will only miss the detection if there is only one symbol used for signal transmission in the time-domain resource unit measured by the other node and that symbol is exactly located within these two consecutive guard intervals (gap). Obviously, the probability of missed detection caused by this situation is relatively small.

[0160] When the first node (corresponding to the first SLB domain) competes for channel state with other nodes (corresponding to the second SLB domain), if both nodes have a first symbol (overhead symbol for downlink transmission) in their measurement time-domain resources to send a signal indicating channel occupancy, and if the position difference between the measurement time-domain resources of the first node and other nodes is greater than one guard interval (gap) length, then the node (or SLB domain) that measured first can detect that the node (or SLB domain) that measured later (or SLB domain) occupies the channel, thus effectively avoiding collisions. If the position difference between the measurement time-domain resources of the two nodes is less than one guard interval (gap) length, then a missed detection will occur. Generally, compared to the probability of the position difference between the measurement time-domain resources of the two nodes being greater than one guard interval (gap) length, the probability of a missed detection is lower.

[0161] In one possible implementation, in the third time-domain resource unit among the aforementioned N time-domain resource units, if two consecutive first symbols are used for uplink transmission, then there is no guard interval (gap) between the two consecutive first symbols and the five consecutive second symbols in the third time-domain resource unit. A guard interval is included before the two consecutive first symbols and after the five consecutive second symbols. That is, the third time-domain resource unit sequentially includes one guard interval (gap), two consecutive first symbols, five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap).

[0162] In this implementation, a third time-domain resource unit is configured in each measurement time-domain resource. No channel occupancy signals should be sent within this third time-domain resource unit. This ensures that no occupancy signal is sent before the next resource segment after channel measurement, preventing partial overlap of measurement resources between the first node and other nodes. This avoids situations where each node sees the other's occupancy signal during channel measurement, resulting in both nodes showing "channel busy" and ultimately releasing the channel. Therefore, the two overhead symbols in the third time-domain resource unit should be configured for uplink transmission to avoid occupancy signals. In this implementation, the structure of the third time-domain resource unit configured based on the above symbol transmission direction (including downlink and uplink) is consistent with the structure of time-domain resource units based on the same symbol transmission direction supported by current technology (i.e., the relative positions of symbols and guard intervals), making it easy to implement.

[0163] Based on implementation method one, in one possible implementation method, the first contention channel period also includes other time-domain resources besides the measurement time-domain resources. In each time-domain resource unit of the other time-domain resources, there is a guard interval between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval is included after the five consecutive second symbols.

[0164] That is, for other time-domain resources in the first contention channel period, each time-domain resource unit includes two consecutive first symbols, one guard interval (gap), five consecutive second symbols, and one guard interval (gap) in sequence.

[0165] In this implementation, during the first contention channel period, the allocation of time-domain resource units in other time-domain resources is the same as that in the measurement time-domain resources, facilitating implementation. During the first contention channel period, two overhead symbols in the time-domain resource units of other time-domain resources should be configured for downlink transmission to ensure that a occupancy signal can be transmitted on the overhead symbol when the corresponding time-domain resource is occupied. In this implementation, the structure of the time-domain resource units configured based on the above symbol transmission directions (including downlink and uplink) (i.e., the time-domain resource units in other time-domain resources during the first contention channel period) is consistent with the structure of time-domain resource units based on the same symbol transmission direction (i.e., the relative positions of symbols and guard intervals) supported by current technology, making it easy to implement.

[0166] Implementation Method 2: The first symbol is used for downlink transmission. The value of P is an integer not less than 2.

[0167] Based on implementation method two, in one possible implementation, the symbol configuration for each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is as follows:

[0168] A guard interval is included between P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval is included after Q consecutive second symbols.

[0169] For example, in the first contention channel period, each time domain resource unit includes, in sequence, P consecutive first symbols, 1 guard interval (gap), Q consecutive T symbols (i.e., an example of the second symbol), and 1 guard interval (gap).

[0170] In this implementation, the structure of each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period is consistent with the structure of the time-domain resource unit (i.e., the relative position of the symbol and the guard interval) supported by current technology when the first symbol transmission direction is downlink, which is easy to implement.

[0171] In the embodiments of this application, each time-domain resource unit in the first contention period is configured with P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive T symbols. In order to ensure that channel measurement can be achieved (i.e., the number of symbols used for channel measurement is at least satisfied with the total number of symbols in one time-domain resource unit), for each measurement time-domain resource, some time-domain resource units can be configured for normal use (i.e., the first symbols are used for downlink transmission), and other time-domain resource units are configured so that all symbols are used for reception.

[0172] In one possible implementation, the first time-domain resource unit is configured for normal reception and / or transmission, while all symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are configured for reception (i.e., the management node / device is set to receive mode on all symbols in the second time-domain resource unit). This implementation ensures the successful implementation of channel measurements.

[0173] Since all second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit (used for uplink transmission) and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used for channel measurement, in the implementation, to enable the first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit to support this measurement, all symbols in the second time-domain resource unit can be configured to be used for reception. This ensures that only one guard interval (gap) between the first and second time-domain resource units is not used for channel measurement (i.e., no measurement is performed within one guard interval (gap) in a single channel measurement). Typically, at least one symbol in a time-domain resource unit transmits a signal to indicate that the channel is occupied. Since the length of one guard interval (gap) is less than one symbol, the above configuration can effectively avoid missed detections.

[0174] In one possible implementation, where each measurement time-domain resource in the first contention channel period also includes a third time-domain resource unit, P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols in the third time-domain resource unit are all used for reception. With this implementation, none of the symbols in the second and third time-domain resource units are used for signal transmission.

[0175] Of course, in other scenarios, the symbols in the third time domain resource unit are also used normally according to their configured transmission directions.

[0176] S302: The first node determines the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement result on at least one of the M measurement time domain resources.

[0177] In one possible implementation, the method of this application embodiment may further include: a first node determines M non-overlapping time-domain resources in a first contention channel period based on M measurement time-domain resources. Each time-domain resource segment includes an integer number of time-domain resource units (the number of which is an integer greater than or equal to N). The M time-domain resources correspond one-to-one with the M measurement time-domain resources, and a measurement time-domain resource is located at the end of the time-domain resource segment corresponding to that measurement time-domain resource. When the first node determines that the state of the i-th time-domain resource in the M time-domain resources is occupied, it transmits a first signal on the symbol used for downlink transmission in each time-domain resource unit of the i-th time-domain resource segment. The first signal is used to occupy the channel, and i is a positive integer less than or equal to M. In this application embodiment, it is not excluded that the first signal may have other functions.

[0178] In this implementation, since the first node can send a signal to occupy the channel in each time domain resource unit in other occupied states, except for the second and third time domain resource units in the measurement time domain resources, the probability of being missed by other management nodes is reduced.

[0179] In one possible implementation, when the first node executes S302 (determining the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources), it may include: the first node determining its channel contention result in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on K time-domain resources out of the M time-domain resources, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to M. Through this implementation, the first node can effectively determine its own channel contention result in the first contention channel period.

[0180] In one possible implementation, the first node competes for the channel and successfully occupies the first time-domain resource during the first contention channel period. The method in this embodiment may further include: the first node transmitting a second signal in a fourth time-domain resource unit, where the first node does not transmit data in the first time-domain resource. The second signal is used to occupy the channel (the second signal may also have other functions). With this implementation, since each time-domain resource unit includes symbols that can transmit signals, when the first node successfully competes for the channel and occupies any time-domain resource for communication during the first contention channel period, the first node can transmit a signal in a time-domain resource unit where no data is transmitted to indicate that the channel is occupied. This effectively avoids missed detections and collisions when other nodes (or other SLB domains) measure the channel status in that time-domain resource.

[0181] In this embodiment of the application, during normal communication of the first node, it is ensured that the first node can send signals on each radio frame, thereby avoiding missed measurements when another StarSpark SLB node performs channel state measurement during normal communication.

[0182] For example, the wireless frame length of the StarSignal SLB technology is 20.83µs. If each wireless frame (an example of a time-domain resource unit) has a symbol that can be used to send an occupancy signal, then the idle time during which the SLB device (an example of the first node) does not continuously send an occupancy signal is less than the length of the distributed inter-frame spacing (DIFS) of Wi-Fi (25µs). This can avoid missed detections when performing channel state measurements simultaneously with Wi-Fi nodes.

[0183] In the above scheme, the first node competing for the channel is used as an example for introduction. In practical applications, the other nodes (or devices) participating in the channel competition may also include one or more other nodes (or devices). Similarly, each of the other nodes (or devices) can refer to the first node in the above scheme to compete for the channel. This application will not describe them in detail.

[0184] In summary, this application provides a communication method comprising: when a first node enters a contention channel state (or random access channel), determining M non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources in a first contention channel period; and determining the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period based on channel state measurement results on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources; wherein each time-domain resource unit in the first contention channel period includes P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, the P consecutive first symbols preceding the Q consecutive second symbols; and each measurement time-domain resource includes at least two time-domain resource units. Therefore, this method enables the first node to effectively perform channel measurement in the contention channel period, compete for the channel based on the channel measurement results, and communicate using the channel obtained through contention.

[0185] The above will be explained through several specific implementation methods. Figure 3 The proposed scheme will be described in detail.

[0186] Implementation Method 1:

[0187] In Implementation Method 1, the above is described in detail. Figure 3 The configuration method of implementation method one described in S301 of the scheme shown below takes AP1 as the first node and radio frames as the time-domain resource unit. Let the first contention channel period be the duration of a superframe (hereinafter referred to as the first superframe). The superframe includes L radio frames, with each radio frame including 2 consecutive overhead S symbols (i.e., the above-mentioned...). Figure 3 The example shown is P consecutive first symbols in the scheme and 5 consecutive T symbols for uplink transmission (i.e., the above). Figure 3 The example of Q consecutive second symbols in the scheme shown is presented as an example.

[0188] See Figure 4 As shown, the method flow of Implementation Method 1 includes the following:

[0189] S401: AP1 determines two non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources in the first superframe. Each radio frame in the first superframe includes two consecutive S symbols and five consecutive T symbols. Each measurement time-domain resource includes N radio frames.

[0190] The first superframe consists of L radio frames, which include 2 measurement time-domain resources (i.e., 2*N radio frames); L is an integer greater than or equal to 2*N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0191] In this first implementation, the following configuration options can be included for each measurement time-domain resource:

[0192] Configuration 1: Each measurement time-domain resource must include at least radio frame 1 (as described above). Figure 3 Example of the first time-domain resource unit in the scheme shown), radio frame 2 (as described above) Figure 3 (Example of the second time-domain resource unit in the illustrated scheme). Radio frame 1 precedes radio frame 2. The two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 1 are used for downlink (i.e., G direction) transmission. In the following text, these two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 1 can be referred to as SG symbols. The two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 2 are used for uplink (i.e., T direction) transmission. In the following text, these two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 2 can be referred to as ST symbols.

[0193] In the measurement time-domain resources, from the beginning of the symbol used for measurement to the end of the measurement time-domain resources, there are no resources for transmitting occupancy signals. The larger the gap in which occupancy signals cannot be transmitted, the higher the probability that other systems (such as WiFi) will preempt the channel in that gap. Therefore, in this configuration one, configuring each measurement time-domain resource to be as short as possible (for example, each measurement time-domain resource should include at least radio frame 1 and radio frame 2) can reduce the gap in which occupancy signals cannot be transmitted.

[0194] Specifically, the structures of wireless frame 1 and wireless frame 2 are as follows:

[0195] In radio frame 1, two consecutive SG symbols (i.e., the above) Figure 3 The example shown in the scheme (for the first symbol used for downlink transmission) includes a guard interval (gap) between five consecutive T symbols and five consecutive T symbols. After the five consecutive T symbols, there is a guard interval (gap). That is, radio frame 1 includes, in sequence: two consecutive SG symbols, one guard interval (gap), five consecutive T symbols, and one guard interval (gap).

[0196] In radio frame 2, there is no guard interval between two consecutive ST symbols (i.e., S symbols used for uplink transmission) and five consecutive T symbols. There is a guard interval before the two consecutive ST symbols and a guard interval after the five consecutive T symbols. That is, radio frame 2 includes the following in sequence: 1 guard interval, 2 consecutive ST symbols, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 guard interval.

[0197] For example, assuming each measurement time-domain resource includes 2 (i.e., N=2) radio frames, Figure 5A Figure (1) shows the structure of the first superframe of the first contention channel period, which includes two non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources, namely measurement time-domain resource 1 and measurement time-domain resource 2; measurement time-domain resource 1 includes radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 in sequence. Among them, the S symbol in radio frame 1 is used for transmission in the G direction, and the S symbol in radio frame 2 is used for transmission in the T direction. Similarly, measurement time-domain resource 2 is the same as measurement time-domain resource 1, and can be referred to the description of measurement time-domain resource 1, so it will not be repeated.

[0198] Furthermore, taking the measurement of time-domain resource 1 as an example, Figure 5A Figure (2) shows the detailed structure of radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 in the measurement time-domain resource 1. See Figure (2). Figure 5A As shown in (2), the configurations of wireless frame 1 and wireless frame 2 are as follows:

[0199] Radio frame 1 includes, in sequence: 2 consecutive SG symbols, 1 gap, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 gap.

[0200] Radio frame 2 includes, in sequence: 1 gap, 2 consecutive ST symbols, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 gap.

[0201] Configuration 2: Each measurement time-domain resource includes at least radio frame 1, radio frame 2, and radio frame 3 (as described above). Figure 3 (Example of the third time-domain resource unit in the scheme shown), where the structures of radio frames 1 and 2 are the same as those in configuration 1 above, and will not be repeated here. The two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 3 can be used for downlink transmission or uplink transmission.

[0202] For some device architectures, the device's measurement results are reported to higher layers at the boundary of the radio frame. The higher layers determine whether to occupy or release the channel and whether to send or not send the corresponding occupation signal based on the measurement results, and this can only be configured to the lower layers at the boundary of the radio frame. Therefore, in this embodiment, configuring each measurement time-domain resource also includes radio frame 3. Radio frame 3 can be used for internal processing after AP1 measurement is completed and / or for the aforementioned reporting and other processing. Therefore, the two S symbols in radio frame 3 are not used to send the occupation signal.

[0203] For devices without the above restrictions, each measurement time-domain resource may include at least two radio frames (e.g., radio frame 1 and radio frame 2).

[0204] Specifically, the symbol structures in radio frame 1, radio frame 2, and radio frame 3 are as follows:

[0205] The specific structure of wireless frame 1 and wireless frame 2 can be referred to in the above configuration 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0206] In radio frame 3, two consecutive S symbols can be used for downlink transmission (i.e., represented as SG symbols) or for uplink transmission (i.e., represented as ST symbols).

[0207] If two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 3 are configured as ST symbols (i.e., S symbols are used for uplink transmission), then there is no guard interval between the two consecutive ST symbols and the five consecutive T symbols. There is a guard interval before the two consecutive ST symbols and a guard interval after the five consecutive second symbols. That is, radio frame 3 includes the following in sequence: 1 guard interval, 2 consecutive ST symbols, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 guard interval.

[0208] For example, assuming each measurement time-domain resource includes 3 (i.e., N=3) radio frames, Figure 5B Figure (1) shows the structure of the first superframe in the first contention channel period. See also Figure 5B As shown in Figure (1), the first superframe includes two non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources, namely measurement time-domain resource 1 and measurement time-domain resource 2; measurement time-domain resource 1 includes radio frame 1, radio frame 2, and radio frame 3. Specifically, two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 1 are used for transmission in the G direction, two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 2 are used for transmission in the T direction, and two consecutive S symbols in radio frame 3 are used for transmission in either the G direction or the T direction. Similarly, measurement time-domain resource 2 is the same as measurement time-domain resource 1, and can be referred to the description of measurement time-domain resource 1, without further elaboration.

[0209] Furthermore, taking the measurement of time-domain resource 1 as an example, Figure 5B Figure (2) shows the details of three radio frames in measurement time-domain resource 1, namely radio frame 1, radio frame 2, and radio frame 3. See Figure 3. Figure 5B As shown in (2), the configurations are as follows:

[0210] Radio frame 1 includes, in sequence: 2 consecutive SG symbols, 1 gap, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 gap.

[0211] Radio frame 2 includes, in sequence: 1 gap, 2 consecutive ST symbols, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 gap.

[0212] In radio frame 3, two consecutive symbols are configured as ST symbols, which in turn include: 1 gap, 2 consecutive ST symbols, 5 consecutive T symbols, and 1 gap.

[0213] Based on the above configuration 1 (or configuration 2), in each measurement time domain resource (such as measurement time domain resource 1, measurement time domain resource 2), all T symbols in radio frame 1 and all S symbols in radio frame 2 are used for channel measurement (e.g., measuring whether the channel is busy or idle).

[0214] However, in the first superframe, time-domain resources other than measurement time-domain resource 1 and measurement time-domain resource 2 can be called other time-domain resources (time-domain resources not used for channel measurement). The S symbols in the radio frames of other time-domain resources (time-domain resources not used for channel measurement) are used for downlink transmission, that is, the S symbols in the radio frames of other time-domain resources (time-domain resources not used for channel measurement) are configured as SG symbols.

[0215] S402: AP1 determines the channel contention result in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on at least one of the two measurement time domain resources.

[0216] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: AP1 determines two non-overlapping time-domain resources in the first contention channel period (i.e., the first superframe) based on the two measurement time-domain resources. Each time-domain resource includes an integer number of time-domain resource units. The two time-domain resources correspond one-to-one with the two measurement time-domain resources, and each measurement time-domain resource is located at the end of the corresponding time-domain resource.

[0217] When AP1 determines that the i-th time-domain resource of these two time-domain resource segments is in an occupied state, it sends an occupancy signal on the symbol used for downlink transmission in each time-domain resource unit of the i-th time-domain resource segment (as described above). Figure 3 (Example of the first signal in the scheme shown), where i is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0218] For example, see Figure 6 As shown, AP1 determines its corresponding time domain resource 1 (which can be called the first time domain resource) based on measurement time domain resource 1 (which can be called the first measurement time domain resource), and determines its corresponding time domain resource 2 (which can be called the second measurement time domain resource) based on measurement time domain resource 2 (which can be called the second measurement time domain resource). Measurement time domain resource 1 is located at the end of time domain resource 1, and measurement time domain resource 2 is located at the end of time domain resource 2.

[0219] When AP1 determines that the first time-domain resource (i.e., time-domain resource 1) of these two time-domain resources is in an occupied state, then in the radio frame containing the SG symbol, it transmits an occupied signal or a preamble signal on the SG symbol (as described above). Figure 4 (Example of the first signal in the illustrated scheme).

[0220] In one possible implementation, when AP1 executes S402 (i.e., determines the channel contention result of AP1 in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on at least one of the two measurement time domain resources), it may include: AP1 determining the channel contention result of AP1 in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on one or both of the two time domain resources.

[0221] If AP1 successfully occupies a time-domain resource during the first contention channel period, it will send an occupancy signal in a radio frame on that time-domain resource where no data is transmitted. That is, when AP1 is in communication mode, on time-domain resources that do not transmit service data and contain the SG symbol, AP1 (in the example of a G node) can send an occupancy signal (padding) or a preamble signal (as described above). Figure 3 (Example of the second signal in the scheme shown) to indicate / represent that the channel currently used by AP1 is occupied.

[0222] For example, see Figure 6 As shown, AP1 determines whether it has successfully acquired the channel in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on time domain resource 1 and / or time domain resource 2. If AP1 successfully acquires the channel and occupies time domain resource 1 in the first contention channel period, then AP1 transmits an occupancy signal or a preamble signal through the SG symbol in a radio frame that does not transmit data in time domain resource 1 and contains the SG symbol.

[0223] In Implementation Method 1, the above configuration is performed for each radio frame in the measurement time domain resource during the first contention channel period. This ensures that each measurement duration is at least 2 radio frames (e.g., radio frame 1 and radio frame 2), and that there is a radio frame in the measurement time domain resource with a symbol (e.g., the SG symbol in radio frame 1) that can be used to transmit a signal (e.g., an occupancy signal or a preamble signal). This avoids AP1 from being in a non-transmitting signal state during a single measurement phase, thereby minimizing the probability of missed detection when other channel competitors (or other SLB domains) occupy the channel for communication.

[0224] Furthermore, the longest interval during each measurement period that is not measured is two consecutive guard intervals (gap), such as the two consecutive guard intervals (gap) between radio frame 1 and radio frame 2. When other channel competitors (or other SLB domains) occupy the channel for communication, only one symbol in their measured radio frame is used for signal transmission, and that symbol is located within these two consecutive guard intervals (gap). Only then will AP1 experience a missed detection. However, it is clear that the probability of this happening is small, and therefore the probability of a missed detection is low.

[0225] Furthermore, when other channel competitors (or other SLB domains) exist, the above-described configuration of measurement time-domain resources ensures that the front end of the measurement time-domain resources has SG symbols capable of transmitting occupancy signals. Thus, as long as the positional difference between the two measurement time-domain resources is greater than one gap length, the SLB domain measured first can detect the channel occupancy of the SLB domain measured later, effectively avoiding collisions. A missed detection only occurs if the positional difference between the two measurement time-domain resources is less than one gap length, clearly indicating a low probability of missed detection.

[0226] AP1 does not send a occupancy signal on radio frame 3 after each measurement is completed and before the next non-measurement resource. This avoids sending an occupancy signal due to sporadic channel occupancy after the measurement channel is busy, thus avoiding the situation where other channel competitors (or other SLBs) release the channel at the same time because they see each other's occupancy signals.

[0227] Implementation Method Two:

[0228] In the second implementation method, the above is described in detail. Figure 3 In the scheme shown, the configuration method of the second implementation method described in S301 is different from the first implementation method described above. In the second implementation method, the first symbol used for downlink transmission is the G symbol (i.e. used for downlink transmission) as an example. In each radio frame in the first contention channel period, if the number of G symbols is not less than 2, the ratio of the number of G symbols and T symbols is not specifically limited.

[0229] The first contention channel period is used as a superframe (hereinafter referred to as the first superframe). Each radio frame in this superframe includes four consecutive G symbols for downlink transmission (i.e., the above-mentioned G symbols). Figure 3 The example shown is P consecutive first symbols in the scheme and 3 consecutive T symbols for uplink transmission (i.e., the above). Figure 3 The example shown (Q consecutive second symbols in the illustrated scheme) will be used to illustrate this concept; see [link / reference]. Figure 7 As shown, the method flow of Implementation Method Two includes the following:

[0230] S701: AP1 determines two non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources in the first superframe. Each radio frame in the superframe includes four consecutive G symbols and three consecutive T symbols, and each measurement time-domain resource includes N radio frames.

[0231] The first superframe consists of L radio frames, which include 2 measurement time-domain resources (i.e., 2*N radio frames); L is an integer greater than or equal to 2*N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, where "*" is a multiplication sign.

[0232] In this second implementation, the following configuration options can be included for each measurement time-domain resource:

[0233] Configuration 1: Each measurement time-domain resource must include at least radio frame 1 (as described above). Figure 3 Example of the first time-domain resource unit in the scheme shown), radio frame 2 (as described above) Figure 3 (Example of the second time-domain resource unit in the scheme shown), radio frame 1 is located before radio frame 2.

[0234] Specifically, the structures of wireless frame 1 and wireless frame 2 are as follows:

[0235] In radio frame 1, a guard interval (gap) is included between four consecutive G symbols and three consecutive T symbols, and a guard interval (gap) is included after the three consecutive T symbols. That is, radio frame 1 includes, in the following order: four consecutive G symbols, one guard interval (gap), three consecutive T symbols, and one guard interval (gap). The symbol configuration in radio frame 2 is the same as that in radio frame 1.

[0236] In this second implementation, a portion of the time domain resources in each measurement time domain resource are configured for normal reception and / or transmission, while the other portion of the time domain resources are entirely used for reception.

[0237] In one possible implementation, for each of the N radio frames in the time domain of the measurement, radio frame 1 is configured as a normal radio frame (i.e., used normally according to the symbol configuration), and radio frame 2 is configured as a full-reception radio frame, meaning that all symbols in radio frame 2 are used for node / device reception.

[0238] For example, assuming each measurement time-domain resource includes 2 (i.e., N=2) radio frames, Figure 8A Figure (1) shows the structure of the first superframe of the first contention channel period, which includes two non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources, namely measurement time-domain resource 1 and measurement time-domain resource 2; measurement time-domain resource 1 includes radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 in sequence. Further, see... Figure 8A As shown in (2), both radio frame 1 and radio frame 2 contain, in sequence, four consecutive G symbols, one gap, three consecutive T symbols, and one gap. Furthermore, AP1 can normally perform reception and / or transmission on radio frame 1, but AP1 only performs reception on radio frame 2.

[0239] Configuration 2: Each measurement time-domain resource includes at least radio frame 1, radio frame 2, and radio frame 3 (as described above). Figure 3 (Example of the third time-domain resource unit in the illustrated scheme), radio frame 3 is located after radio frame 2. The symbol configurations of radio frames 1, 2, and 3 are all the same, and can be referred to the description of radio frame 1 in configuration 1 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0240] The functions of wireless frames 1 and 2 correspond one-to-one with those of wireless frames 1 and 2 described in configuration 1 above, and will not be elaborated further here. Wireless frame 3 can be a full receive wireless frame (i.e., the node / device performs reception on wireless frame 3), or wireless frame 3 can be a normal wireless frame (i.e., the node / device performs reception and / or transmission on wireless frame 3).

[0241] In this embodiment of the application, wireless frame 3 can be a wireless frame used by AP1 for internal processing after the measurement is completed, and the G symbol in wireless frame 3 is not used to send occupancy signals.

[0242] For example, assuming each measurement time-domain resource includes 2 (i.e., N=2) radio frames, Figure 8B Figure (1) shows the structure of the first superframe of the first contention channel period, which includes two non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources, namely measurement time-domain resource 1 and measurement time-domain resource 2; measurement time-domain resource 1 includes radio frame 1, radio frame 2 and radio frame 3 in sequence. Further, see... Figure 8B As shown in (2), each of the wireless frames in wireless frame 1, wireless frame 2 and wireless frame 3 includes 4 consecutive G symbols, 1 gap, 3 consecutive T symbols and 1 gap in sequence.

[0243] For example, AP1 can perform normal reception and / or transmission on the symbols in radio frame 1, but AP1 only performs reception on all symbols in radio frame 2. AP1 can perform normal reception and / or transmission on the symbols in radio frame 3, or AP1 can perform reception on all symbols in radio frame 3.

[0244] Based on the above configuration 1 (or configuration 2), in each measurement time domain resource (such as measurement time domain resource 1 and measurement time domain resource 2), all T symbols in radio frame 1 and all G symbols in radio frame 2 can be used for channel measurement (such as measuring whether the channel is busy or idle).

[0245] For example, such as Figure 8B As shown in (2), four consecutive T symbols in radio frame 1 and three consecutive G symbols in radio frame 2 are used for channel measurement.

[0246] However, see Figure 8A and 8B As shown, in the first superframe, time-domain resources other than measurement time-domain resource 1 and measurement time-domain resource 2 can be referred to as other time-domain resources (time-domain resources not used for channel measurement). Radio frames of other time-domain resources (time-domain resources not used for channel measurement) are all normal radio frames, that is, nodes / devices can normally perform reception and / or transmission according to the symbol configuration in the radio frame described in Embodiment 2.

[0247] S702: AP1 determines the channel contention result in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on at least one of the two measurement time-domain resources.

[0248] S702 can be referred to the content described in S402 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0249] However, unlike S402, in S702, when AP1 is in a communication state, AP1 (an example of a G node) sends a padding signal on time-domain resources that do not transmit service data and contain G symbols.

[0250] In the second implementation method, during the first contention channel period, each radio frame is configured with a uniform format (e.g., 4 G symbols, 1 gap, 3 T symbols, 1 gap). This ensures that the longest interval between non-measurements in each measurement is 1 GAP. Since a radio frame requires at least 1 symbol to send the occupancy signal, and the length of the GAP is less than 1 symbol, this can effectively avoid missed detections.

[0251] Furthermore, when AP1 (corresponding to the first SLB domain) competes for channel state with other nodes (corresponding to the second SLB domain), if both nodes have S-symbols (SG) for downlink transmission in their measurement time-domain resources to indicate channel occupancy, the node (or SLB domain) that measured first can detect the later-measured node (or SLB domain) occupying the channel, effectively avoiding collisions, as long as the difference in the positions of the measurement time-domain resources between the two nodes is greater than one guard interval (gap) length. A missed detection will only occur if the difference in the positions of the measurement time-domain resources is less than one guard interval length. Compared to the probability of the difference in the positions of the measurement time-domain resources being greater than one guard interval length, the probability of the difference being less than one guard interval length is generally lower, thus reducing the probability of a missed detection.

[0252] AP1 does not send an occupation signal after the measurement is completed and before the next time domain resource is available. This is to avoid sporadic occupation of the channel after the measurement channel is busy, thus avoiding the situation where both SLB domains see each other's occupation signals and release the channel when they are competing.

[0253] Furthermore, compared to Implementation 1, the configuration shown in Implementation 2 results in a shorter time-domain resource that cannot be transmitted continuously due to measurement, thereby reducing the probability that other nodes (e.g., nodes using Wi-Fi technology) will occupy the channel for measurement time-domain resources.

[0254] Regarding the above-described implementation methods one and two, it should be noted that:

[0255] (1) The above-mentioned implementation method one and implementation method two can be implemented separately or in combination, and no specific limitation is made in this regard.

[0256] (2) The above focuses on describing the differences between Implementation Method 1 and Implementation Method 2. Apart from the differences, Implementation Method 1 and Implementation Method 2 can be referred to each other.

[0257] (3) The step numbers of the flowcharts described in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 above are merely examples of the execution flow and do not constitute a restriction on the order of execution of the steps. There are no temporal dependencies between the steps in the various implementations of this application, and there is no strict execution order between them. In addition, not all the steps shown in the flowcharts are mandatory steps, and some steps can be added or deleted based on the actual needs of each flowchart.

[0258] The above-described embodiments one and two use AP1 as the first node participating in the channel contention as an example. In practical applications, the nodes or devices participating in the channel contention with the first node are not limited to AP1. There may be other APs, nodes, or devices, etc. Similarly, they can all refer to AP1 and use the configuration and method shown in embodiments one and two to compete for the channel. This application will not describe them in detail.

[0259] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided by the embodiments of this application are described from the perspective of interaction between various devices. To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments or implementations of this application, the first node may include a hardware structure and / or a software module, implementing the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. Whether a particular function is executed in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0260] The module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; in actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments or implementations of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0261] Similar to the above concept, such as Figure 9As shown, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 900 for implementing the function of the first node in the above method. For example, the communication device 900 can be a software module or a chip system. In this application embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices. The communication device 900 may include: a communication unit 901 and a processing unit 902.

[0262] In this embodiment, the communication unit 901, also known as the transceiver unit, may include a sending unit and / or a receiving unit, respectively used to execute the sending and receiving steps of the first node in the method embodiment described above. The processing unit 902 may be used to read instructions and / or data from the storage module so that the communication device 900 implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0263] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage unit 903, which is equivalent to a storage module and can be used to store instructions and / or data.

[0264] The following, combined with Figure 9 and Figure 10 This application provides a detailed description of the communication device provided in its embodiments. It should be understood that the descriptions of the device embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the method embodiments; therefore, any content not described in detail can be found above. Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 The method shown is used to achieve this, and for the sake of simplicity, it will not be described in detail here.

[0265] The communication unit 901 can also be called a transceiver, transceiver, or transceiver device. The processing unit can also be called a processor, processing board, processing module, or processing device. Optionally, the device in the communication unit 901 used to implement the receiving function can be considered a receiving unit, and the device in the communication unit 901 used to implement the transmitting function can be considered a transmitting unit; that is, the communication unit 901 includes both a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit can sometimes also be called a transceiver, transceiver circuit, or transceiver unit. The receiving unit can sometimes be called a receiver, receiver, or receiving circuit. The transmitting unit can sometimes be called a transmitter, transmitter, or transmitting circuit.

[0266] When the communication device 900 performs the above embodiment Figure 3 The first node in the process shown:

[0267] The communication unit 901 can be used to send and / or receive data, signals, etc.

[0268] The processing unit 902 is configured to determine M non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources in the first contention channel period; the processing unit 902 is further configured to determine the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement result on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources; wherein, the first contention channel period includes L time-domain resource units, each time-domain resource unit includes P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, the P consecutive first symbols are located before the Q consecutive second symbols; each measurement time-domain resource includes N time-domain resource units; M, P and Q are positive integers, L is an integer greater than N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

[0269] The above is just an example. Processing unit 902 and communication unit 901 can also perform other functions. For a more detailed description, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 The relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown are not repeated here.

[0270] like Figure 10 The image shown is a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 10 The communication device shown can be Figure 9 The diagram illustrates one hardware circuit implementation of the communication device 1000. This communication device 1000 can be applied to the flowchart shown above to perform the functions of the first or second device in the method embodiments described. For ease of explanation, Figure 10 Only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0271] like Figure 10 As shown, the communication device 1000 includes a communication interface 1001 and a processor 1002. The communication interface 1001 and the processor 1002 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the communication interface 1001 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface, or an interface circuit such as a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1003 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1002, or storing input data required by the processor 1002 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1002 executes instructions.

[0272] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 In the method shown, the communication interface 1001 is used to implement the functions of the communication unit 901, and the processor 1002 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 902.

[0273] This application embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the communication interface 1001, processor 1002, and memory 1003. This application embodiment... Figure 10 The memory 1003, processor 1002, and communication interface 1001 are connected via a communication bus 1004. The communication bus 1004 is in... Figure 10 The connections between other components are shown in bold lines only and are not intended to be limiting. The communication bus 1004 can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 10 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0274] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip. Figure 11 A simplified schematic diagram of a chip device structure is shown. The chip 1100 includes interface circuitry 1101 and one or more processors 1102. Optionally, the chip 1100 may also include a bus. Wherein:

[0275] Processor 1102 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the method for determining the service node information described above can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the hardware of processor 1102 or by instructions in software form. The processor 1102 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods and steps disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0276] The interface circuit 1101 can be used to send or receive data, instructions or information. The processor 1102 can use the data, instructions or other information received by the interface circuit 1101 to process the data, instructions or other information, and can send the processed information out through the interface circuit 1101.

[0277] Optionally, chip 1100 also includes memory 1103, which may include read-only memory and random access memory, and provides operation instructions and data to the processor. A portion of memory 1103 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

[0278] Optionally, the memory stores executable software modules or data structures, and the processor can execute corresponding operations by calling the operation instructions stored in the memory (which may be stored in the operating system).

[0279] Optionally, the chip can be used in the first node involved in the embodiments of this application. Optionally, the interface circuit 1101 can be used to output the execution result of the processor 1102. For the communication methods provided by one or more embodiments of this application, please refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0280] It should be noted that the functions of the interface circuit 1101 and the processor 1102 can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software; no restrictions are imposed here.

[0281] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the first node in the above method embodiments.

[0282] For example, when the computer program is executed by the computer, it enables the computer to implement the method executed by the first node in the above method embodiment.

[0283] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to implement the method executed by the first node in the above method embodiments.

[0284] This application also provides a chip, including a processor, for calling computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor executes the above-mentioned... Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 The communication method shown is a specific implementation method.

[0285] In one possible implementation, the chip's input corresponds to the above... Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 The receiving operation shown in the implementation corresponds to the output of the chip described above. Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 The sending operation in the implementation shown.

[0286] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0287] Optionally, the chip also includes a memory that stores computer programs or computer instructions.

[0288] The processor mentioned above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more devices used to control the above. Figure 3 and Figure 4 as well as Figure 7 The illustrated embodiment / implementation is an integrated circuit for program execution of a communication method. The memory mentioned above can be read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions, such as random access memory (RAM).

[0289] It should be noted that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant content in any of the communication devices provided above can be referred to the corresponding service node information determination method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0290] In this application, the communication devices may further include a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer may include hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also known as main memory). The operating system layer may be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux, Unix, Android, iOS, or Windows. The application layer may include applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software.

[0291] The module division in this embodiment is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in each embodiment of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0292] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the above functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium accessible to a computer. For example, but not limited to, computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage media, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible to a computer. Furthermore, any connection can suitably be a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used in embodiments of this application, disks and discs include compact discs (CDs), laser discs, optical discs, digital video discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, wherein disks typically magnetically copy data, while discs optically copy data using lasers. The combinations above should also be included within the scope of protection for computer-readable media.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method is applied to a first node or a chip of the first node, including: Determine M non-overlapping measurement time-domain resources during the first contention channel period; Based on the channel state measurement results on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources, the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period is determined; The first contention channel period includes L time-domain resource units, each of which includes P consecutive first symbols and Q consecutive second symbols, with the P consecutive first symbols preceding the Q consecutive second symbols; each measurement time-domain resource includes N time-domain resource units; M, P, and Q are positive integers, L is an integer greater than N, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second symbol is used for uplink transmission.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The value of N is equal to 2 or 3.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The N time-domain resource units include a first time-domain resource unit and a second time-domain resource unit, wherein the first time-domain resource unit is located before the second time-domain resource unit; The first symbol in the first time domain resource unit is used for downlink transmission, and the first symbol in the second time domain resource unit is used for uplink transmission.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, All second symbols in the first time-domain resource unit and all first symbols in the second time-domain resource unit are used for channel measurement.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The N time-domain resource units also include a third time-domain resource unit, which is located after the second time-domain resource unit.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The P consecutive first symbols in the third time-domain resource unit are used for uplink transmission.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first contention channel period also includes other time-domain resources besides measurement time-domain resources, and the first symbol of the time-domain resource unit in the other time-domain resources is used for downlink transmission.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The value of P is 2, and the value of Q is 5.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, In the first time-domain resource unit among the N time-domain resource units, a guard interval is included between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols; In the second time-domain resource unit among the N time-domain resource units, there is no guard interval between the two consecutive first symbols and the five consecutive second symbols, a guard interval is included before the two consecutive first symbols, and a guard interval is included after the five consecutive second symbols.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, In the third time-domain resource unit among the N time-domain resource units, there is no guard interval between the two consecutive first symbols and the five consecutive second symbols, a guard interval is included before the two consecutive first symbols, and a guard interval is included after the five consecutive second symbols.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The first contention channel period also includes other time-domain resources besides measurement time-domain resources. In each time-domain resource unit of the other time-domain resources, there is a guard interval between two consecutive first symbols and five consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval after the five consecutive second symbols.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, In each of the time-domain resource units in the first contention channel period, a guard interval is included between the P consecutive first symbols and the Q consecutive second symbols, and a guard interval is included after the Q consecutive second symbols.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the M measurement time-domain resources, M non-overlapping time-domain resources are determined in the first contention channel period. Each time-domain resource segment includes an integer number of time-domain resource units. The M time-domain resources correspond one-to-one with the M measurement time-domain resources. A measurement time-domain resource is located at the end of a time-domain resource segment corresponding to the measurement time-domain resource. When the state of the i-th time-domain resource in the M-segments of time-domain resources is determined to be occupied, a first signal is transmitted on the symbol used for downlink transmission in each time-domain resource unit of the i-th time-domain resource. The first signal is used to occupy the channel, where i is a positive integer less than or equal to M.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The step of determining the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period based on the channel state measurement results on at least one of the M measurement time-domain resources includes: Based on the channel state measurement results on K time-domain resources out of the M time-domain resources, the channel contention result of the first node in the first contention channel period is determined, where K is a positive integer less than or equal to M.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, In the first contention channel period, the method further includes competing for the channel and successfully occupying the first time-domain resource. A second signal is transmitted in the fourth time domain resource unit, which is the time domain resource unit in which the first node does not transmit data in the first time domain resource. The second signal is used to occupy the channel.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes units or modules for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store program instructions, the processor causing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16 to be performed when executing the program instructions.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer-readable program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16 to be performed.

20. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

21. A chip, characterized in that, The chip is used to read and execute computer programs or instructions in a memory to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 16.

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