Spatial reuse method and first device

Abstract

This application provides a spatial reuse method and a first device. The method is applicable to WLAN systems supporting EHT or 802.11be standards. The method includes the steps of receiving a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted by a second device, where the bandwidth of the PPDU includes a plurality of 20 megahertz MHz subchannels, and performing OBSS PD-based spatial reuse, where a first signal strength level of the received PPDU is less than an OBSS PD level, and the unit of the first signal strength level is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20MHz. According to the method provided in this application, it can be understood that when the first device cannot receive all 20 MHz subchannels of the entire bandwidth of the PPDU, or preamble puncturing occurs, or cannot obtain complete preamble puncturing information, it can still successfully measure the signal strength level. This increases the feasible scenarios in which OBSS PD-based spatial reuse can be performed, and improves the overall system throughput.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210164137.5, entitled “SPATIAL REUSE METHOD AND FIRST DEVICE,” filed with the China National Intellectual Property Office on February 22, 2022, and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a spatial reuse method and a first device. [Background technology]

[0003] Wireless local area network (WLAN) standards have evolved in many generations, including 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and the currently under discussion 802.11be. The 802.11n standard is referred to as high throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is referred to as very high throughput (VHT), the 802.11ax standard is referred to as high efficiency (HE), and the 802.11be standard is referred to as extremely high throughput (EHT).

[0004] WLAN devices in 802.11ax, such as access points and stations, only support half-duplex transmission. In other words, on the same spectrum bandwidth or channel, only one device can transmit information, and other devices can only receive signals but cannot transmit signals to avoid interference with the current transmitting device. However, as the density of WLAN devices increases, it is more common for a basic service set (BSS) to overlap with other BSSs. In other words, overlapping basic service sets (OBSSs) are becoming more common. When the traditional method is used, the transmission efficiency is very low. In this case, 802.11ax proposes a spatial reuse method. The transmission power is adaptively adjusted, so that devices in the overlapping basic service set can perform transmission simultaneously. This improves the transmission efficiency.

[0005] For example, assume that BSS1 includes an access point (AP) 1 and multiple stations (STAs) 1. BSS2 includes AP2 and STA2. BSS2 is an OBSS of BSS1. When AP1 transmits a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) 1 to STA1, AP2 may also receive the PPDU1 transmitted by AP1 because the basic service areas of BSS1 and BSS2 partially overlap. In the OBSS PD-based (PD: packet detection) spatial reuse method, one of the requirements for AP2 to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse is that the signal strength level of PPDU1 received by AP2 in the entire bandwidth is less than the OBSS PD level. However, the conventional technique for determining whether to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse based on the signal strength level on the bandwidth may result in the case that AP2 cannot determine whether to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse when AP2 cannot receive all 20 MHz subchannels of the entire bandwidth of PPDU1, or preamble puncturing occurs within PPDU1, or AP2 cannot obtain the complete preamble puncturing information of PPDU1, which reduces the throughput of the entire system. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of this application provide a spatial reuse method and a first device that increase the feasible scenarios in which OBSS PD-based spatial reuse can be implemented, and help improve the overall system throughput.

[0007] According to a first aspect, the application provides a spatial reuse method, the method includes: a first device receiving a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted by a second device, where the bandwidth of the PPDU includes a plurality of 20 megahertz MHz subchannels; and the first device performing overlapping basic service set packet detection OBSS PD based spatial reuse, where a first signal strength level of the PPDU received by the first device is less than an OBSS PD level, and the unit of the first signal strength level is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20MHz.

[0008] In the method described in the first aspect, it can be understood that the first device measures the first signal strength level of the PPDU in dBm / 20MHz. Compared with the technique that cannot be operated or implemented in these scenarios to measure the signal strength level based on the full bandwidth when the first device cannot receive all 20MHz subchannels of the full bandwidth of the PPDU, or when preamble puncturing occurs, or when the first device cannot obtain complete preamble puncturing information, the technique in this embodiment of the present application can be implemented in these scenarios to measure the signal strength level based on 20MHz granularity. This increases the feasible scenarios in which OBSS PD-based spatial reuse can be performed, and improves the overall system throughput.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of multiple nonpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU.

[0010] When the signal strength measurement results of the multiple 20 MHz subchannels are normalized to obtain a first signal strength level, it is assumed that the multiple 20 MHz subchannels include a punctured 20 MHz subchannel, and no energy may be transmitted on the punctured 20 MHz subchannel. In this case, the obtained first signal strength level is inaccurate. Alternatively, there may be other signals or interference on the punctured 20 MHz subchannel. As a result, the first signal strength level cannot be measured accurately. Therefore, in order to improve the accuracy of the determined first signal strength level and accurately trigger the first device to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse, the punctured 20 MHz subchannel needs to be excluded.

[0011] Optionally, multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are arranged on the primary channel. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs within the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0012] Optionally, the multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels may alternatively be 20 MHz subchannels that are unpunctured in the PPDU and pre-specified in the standard. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0013] Optionally, the first device first obtains puncturing information of the PPDU, determines which 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU are unpunctured subchannels based on the puncturing information, and then determines to measure the signal strength of the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0014] Optionally, the first device may alternatively determine through blind detection which 20 MHz subchannels are unpunctured subchannels, and then determine to measure the signal strength of the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0015] Optionally, the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are the plurality of 20 MHz subchannels in which the first device operates. Based on this optional implementation, when the preamble puncturing occurs within the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0016] Optionally, the first signal strength level is obtained by normalizing the signal strength measurement results of the multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU. Based on this possible implementation, the determined first signal strength level can be more accurate. Based on this optional implementation, the signal strength measurement results of the multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU can be normalized to obtain the first signal strength level of the PPDU in dBm / 20 MHz, and the OBSS_PD level This helps to reduce the computational complexity of

[0017] Optionally,

[0018]

number

[0019] Rx_PWR dBm / 20MHz is the first signal power level, Rx_PWR nonpuc-measured,total is the sum of the signal strength measurements of multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, and N nonpunc-measured is the number of measured unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on a signal strength measurement result of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, and the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel is a primary 20 MHz channel. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on a signal strength measurement result of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, where the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel is a 20 MHz subchannel that is not punctured in the PPDU and is pre-specified in the standard. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on a signal strength measurement result of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, where the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel is the 20 MHz channel in which the first device operates. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength level in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0023] In a possible implementation,

[0024]

number

[0025] OBSS_PD level is the OBSS PD level, and OBSS_PD min and OBSS_PD max are OBSS_PD, respectively. level The minimum and maximum values ​​of TX_PWR ref is the reference power, and TX_PWR is the transmission power at which the second device transmits the PPDU.

[0026] According to this possible implementation, the first signal strength is obtained through a measurement on an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel of the PPDU, or the first signal strength is obtained by normalizing the signal measurement results of a plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels of the PPDU, in other words, the unit of the first signal strength is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20 MHz. min and OBSS_PD max The unit of is also dBm / 20MHz, and in this case, for different bandwidths of PPDU, OBSS_PD level does not need to be further normalized. This means that OBSS_PD level This helps to reduce the computational complexity of

[0027] According to a second aspect, the application provides a first device, which may execute the method in the first aspect. The functions of the first device may be realized by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions. The units or modules may be software and / or hardware. For the operations performed by the communication device and their advantageous effects, please refer to the method in the first aspect and their advantageous effects.

[0028] According to a third aspect, the application provides a first device, the first device including a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, the memory configured to store a computer program, the transceiver configured to transmit and receive data, and the processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of the first aspect.

[0029] According to a fourth aspect, the application provides a chip. The chip includes a processor and an interface. The processor is coupled to the interface. The interface is configured to receive or output a signal. The processor is configured to execute code instructions, thereby performing the method of the first aspect.

[0030] According to a fifth aspect, the application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when invoked by a computer, enable the computer to execute the method in the first aspect.

[0031] According to a sixth aspect, the application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, the computer program product comprising computer program code, the computer program code, when executed on a computer, enabling the computer to perform the method of the first aspect. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture according to this application. [Figure 2(a)] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a frequency band in which a first device operates that does not fully overlap with a frequency band in which a second device operates, according to the present application. [Figure 2(b)] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a frequency band in which a first device operates that does not fully overlap with a frequency band in which a second device operates, according to the present application. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a spatial reuse method according to the present application. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of PPDU transmission according to this application; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a primary channel according to the present application. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device according to this application. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device according to this application. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a tip device according to this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] In the present specification, claims, and accompanying drawings, terms such as "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" are intended to distinguish between different objects, but do not indicate a particular order. In addition, the terms "comprise" and "have" and any other variations thereof are intended to cover a 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 recited steps or units, but optionally further includes unrecited steps or units, or optionally further includes other inherent steps or units of the process, method, product, or device.

[0035] An "embodiment" referred to in this application means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Phrases appearing in various places in the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor are they separate or alternative embodiments from other embodiments. It is understood, both explicitly and implicitly, by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described in the specification may be combined with other embodiments.

[0036] "Multiple" means two or more. The term "and / or" describes an association relationship between related objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate three cases: only A is present, both A and B are present, and only B is present. The symbol " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects.

[0037] An embodiment of this application provides a spatial reuse method and a first device. The method provided in the embodiment of this application is applied to a wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may be a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a cellular network, and the method may be implemented by a first device in the wireless communication system or a chip or processor in the first device. In the wireless local area network, the first device supports communication performed using an IEEE 802.11 series protocol, and the IEEE 802.11 series protocol includes 802.11be, 802.11ax, or 802.11a / b / g / n / ac.

[0038] In the following, we first describe a system architecture to which the embodiments of this application can be applied.

[0039] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 1, the system architecture includes BSS1 and BSS2. BSS1 includes AP1 and multiple STA1. BSS2 includes AP2 and STA2. When a basic service set (BSS) unassociated with a station and a BSS associated with the station operate on the same frequency band (also referred to as a channel) and the unassociated BSS is (partially or entirely) within the basic service area of ​​the associated BSS, the unassociated BSS is referred to as the OBSS of the station. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, BSS1 and BSS2 are OBSSs with each other. Specifically, BSS2 is the OBSS of BSS1, and BSS1 is the OBSS of BSS2.

[0040] Since the basic service areas of BSS1 and BSS2 partially overlap, as shown in Fig. 1, when AP1 and STA1 in BSS1 perform data transmission, AP2 in BSS2 can receive information transmitted by AP1 and STA1. Similarly, when AP2 and STA2 in BSS2 perform data transmission, AP1 in BSS1 can receive information transmitted by AP2 and STA2.

[0041] An AP may be an AP used by a terminal device (e.g., a mobile phone) to access a wired (or wireless) network, and is mainly deployed in a house, a building, and a park. The typical coverage radius is tens of meters to a hundred meters. Of course, an access point may be deployed outdoors. An AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network. An AP is mainly used to connect wireless network clients to each other, and then connect the wireless network to Ethernet. Specifically, an AP may be an terminal device (e.g., a mobile phone) or a network device (e.g., a router) with a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip. An AP may be a device supporting the 802.11be standard. An AP may also be a device that supports multiple current and future wireless local area network (WLAN) 802.11 family standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0042] The STA may also be referred to as a non-Access Point Station (non-AP STA). For ease of explanation, the following uses the STA as an example for explanation. The STA may be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal. For example, the STA may be a mobile phone supporting a Wi-Fi communication function, a tablet computer supporting a Wi-Fi communication function, a set-top box supporting a Wi-Fi communication function, a smart TV supporting a Wi-Fi communication function, a smart wearable device supporting a Wi-Fi communication function, an in-vehicle communication device supporting a Wi-Fi communication function, or a computer supporting a Wi-Fi communication function. Optionally, the STA may support the 802.11be standard. The STA may also support multiple current or future wireless local area network (WLAN) 802.11 family standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0043] For example, the APs and STAs may be devices used in the Internet of Vehicles, Internet of Things nodes or sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), such as smart cameras, smart remote controls, or smart water or electricity meters in a smart home, or sensors in a smart city.

[0044] It should be understood that Figure 1 illustrates two APs and three STAs for illustrative purposes only, and embodiments of the present disclosure may be extended to apply to other numbers of APs that may communicate with any suitable number of other devices.

[0045] When AP1 transmits PPDU1 to STA1, AP2 may also receive PPDU1 sent by AP1 because the basic service areas of BSS1 and BSS2 partially overlap. In the OBSS PD-based (PD: packet detection) spatial reuse method, one of the requirements for AP2 to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse is that the signal strength level of PPDU1 received by AP2 over the full bandwidth is less than the OBSS PD level. The OBSS PD level may be determined according to the following formula (1):

[0046]

number

[0047] OBSS_PD level is the OBSS PD level. min and OBSS_PD max are OBSS_PD, respectively. level TX_PWR is the minimum and maximum value of TX_PWR, which is pre-specified in the standard or indicated by the AP. ref is the reference power. For STA, the reference power is 21 dBm. For AP, the reference power is 21 dBm or 25 dBm based on different cases. TX_PWR is the transmit power when AP2 transmits PPDU. PPDU_BW is the total bandwidth of PPDU1 received by AP2.

[0048] As shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), when the frequency band in which the first device operates does not overlap at all with the bandwidth range of the PPDU received by the first device, the first device cannot obtain the signal strength level of the entire bandwidth of the PPDU when receiving the PPDU transmitted by the second device. In addition, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU or the first device cannot obtain the complete preamble puncturing information of the first device, the first device cannot obtain the signal strength level of the entire bandwidth of the PPDU. In some of these cases, since AP2 cannot successfully measure the signal strength level of PPDU1 on the entire bandwidth, AP2 cannot determine whether to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse. This reduces the throughput of the entire system.

[0049] In this respect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved spatial reuse method. The spatial reuse method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below.

[0050] FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a spatial reuse method according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 3, the spatial reuse method includes the following steps 301 and 302. The method shown in FIG. 3 can be performed by a first device. Alternatively, the method shown in FIG. 3 can be performed by a chip in the first device. FIG. 3 is described using an example in which the method is performed by a first device. It should be noted that the first device in this embodiment of this application can be AP2 or STA2 shown in FIG. 1, and the subsequent first device can be AP1 or STA1 shown in FIG. 1.

[0051] 301: A second device transmits a PPDU to a first device, where the bandwidth of the PPDU includes multiple 20 MHz subchannels. Correspondingly, the first device may receive the PPDU transmitted by the second device.

[0052] The second device may be one device or multiple devices, and the multiple second devices may transmit one PPDU simultaneously or may transmit multiple PPDUs each.

[0053] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the second device includes AP1 and STA1, and the first device is AP2.

[0054] 1. AP1 may transmit PPDU1 to STA1.

[0055] 2. AP2 may also receive PPDU1. After receiving PPDU1 transmitted by AP1, AP1 identifies that PPDU1 is from OBSS. The OBSS PD-based spatial reuse mechanism is triggered to perform a backoff (BO) process with maximum transmit power 1. The value of the backoff counter starts and decreases until PPDU1 is received.

[0056] 3. STA1 may transmit PPDU2 to AP1.

[0057] 4. AP2 may also receive PPDU2. After receiving PPDU2 sent by STA1, AP2 triggers the OBSS PD-based spatial reuse mechanism and performs a backoff process with maximum transmit power 2.

[0058] After receiving PPDU1 transmitted by AP1, AP2 may further detect a first signal strength 1 of PPDU1 to determine whether AP2 can perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse. After receiving PPDU2 transmitted by STA1, AP2 may further detect a first signal strength 2 of PPDU2 to determine whether AP2 can perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse. If the first signal strength 1 of PPDU1 is lower than OBSS PD level 1 and the first signal strength 2 of PPDU2 is lower than OBSS PD level 2, after the back-off counter reaches 0, AP2 transmits PPDU3 using the smaller value of maximum transmit power 1 and maximum transmit power 2 to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse.

[0059] 302: A first device performs OBSS PD-based spatial reuse, where a first signal strength level of a PPDU received by the first device is less than an OBSS PD level, and the unit of the first signal strength level is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20MHz.

[0060] The unit of the first signal strength level is dBm / 20MHz, which means that the first signal strength level is based on a granularity of 20MHz. For example, the first signal strength level is a signal strength level measured on a single 20MHz subchannel. Alternatively, the first signal strength level is a value obtained by normalizing multiple 20MHz signal strength measurements in units of 20MHz.

[0061] In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the PPDU transmitted by the second device, the first device may measure a first signal strength level of the PPDU. The PPDU may include one or more of the following fields for determining a physical layer clear channel access indication (PHY-CCA.indication): a legacy-short training field (L-STF field), a legacy-long training field (L-LTF field), a physical layer synchronization (PHY SYNC field), a short synchronization (short SYNC field), or a long physical layer synchronization (Long PHY SYNC field). The first device may measure the signal strength of one or more fields in the PPDU that are utilized for determining the physical layer clear channel access indication to determine a first signal strength level in dBm / 20MHz. (The English explanation is as follows: The received signal strength level, in dBm / 20 MHz, which is measured from the L-STF or L-LTF fields in at least one of the nonpunctured 20 MHz subchannels of the PPDU or the PHY SYNC field, shortSYNC field or Long PHY SYNC field, whichever exists(#24235) and which is used to determine PHY-CCA.indication, is below the non-SRG OBSS PD level.)

[0062] After the first device determines the first signal strength level in dBm / 20MHz, the first device can perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse only when the first signal strength level of the PPDU is less than the OBSS PD level, and the first device cannot perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse when the first signal strength level of the PPDU is equal to or greater than the OBSS PD level. The unit of the OBSS PD level is also dBm / 20MHz.

[0063] In the method described in Fig. 3, the first device measures the first signal strength level of the PPDU in dBm / 20MHz. When the first device cannot receive all 20MHz subchannels of the full bandwidth of the PPDU, or preamble puncturing occurs, or cannot obtain complete preamble puncturing information, the signal strength level of the PPDU can still be successfully measured. Compared with the technique for measuring the signal strength level based on the full bandwidth and cannot operate or be implemented in these scenarios, the technique for measuring the signal strength level based on the granularity of 20MHz in this embodiment of this application can be implemented in these scenarios. This increases the feasible scenarios in which OBSS PD-based spatial reuse can be implemented, and improves the overall system throughput. In addition, the IEEE 802.11be standard utilizes a mechanism that performs physical layer clear channel access (CCA) detection on the 20 MHz subchannels one by one to determine whether the channel is idle or busy, and the first signal strength level is also obtained by measuring one or more 20 MHz subchannels. Thus, the method described in FIG. 3 is compatible with the IEEE 802.11be standard.

[0064] In a possible implementation, the bandwidth of the transmitted PPDU includes a plurality of 20 MHz subchannels, none of the plurality of 20 MHz subchannels are punctured, and a first channel strength level is obtained through measurements based on the signal strength of the plurality of 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU.

[0065] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of a number of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU.

[0066] In this possible implementation, the first device may specifically measure the signal strength of a field on the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU and utilized to determine the physical layer clear channel access indication to obtain signal strength measurements of the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, which may be all or a portion of the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU.

[0067] For example, it is assumed that the bandwidth of the PPDU received by the first device is 160 MHz, the PPDU has six unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels, and the first device receives three unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels of the PPDU in the 80 MHz channel in which the first device operates. In this case, the first device may measure the signal strength of the three received unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels. Alternatively, the first device may measure the signal strength of a portion of the three received unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels.

[0068] When the signal strength measurement results of the multiple 20 MHz subchannels are normalized to obtain a first signal strength level, the multiple 20 MHz subchannels may include a punctured 20 MHz subchannel, and energy may not be transmitted on the punctured 20 MHz subchannel, and the obtained first signal strength level may be inaccurate, or other signals or interference may exist on the punctured 20 MHz subchannel. As a result, the first signal strength level cannot be measured accurately. Therefore, to accurately trigger the first device to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse, the punctured 20 MHz subchannel needs to be excluded.

[0069] In the above formula (1), OBSS_PD level is the threshold for the total bandwidth of PPDU1. level When is determined, the +log 10 (PPDU_BW / 20MHz) is for performing normalization when the bandwidth of PPDU1 is greater than 20MHz, i.e., the value of the right hand side of equation (1) is +log 10 (PPDU_BW / 20MHz) for the entire bandwidth of PPDU1. Preamble puncturing is not taken into account in this normalization. For example, the bandwidth of PPDU1 is 80MHz. If preamble puncturing is performed on one of the 20MHz subchannels, three of the four 20MHz subchannels have energy for transmission, and one 20MHz subchannel is punctured. In this case, the number of subchannels that need to be normalized is 3, not 4. In this example, it is clear that in equation (1), the number of subchannels to be normalized is 4. Therefore, according to equation (1), AP2 cannot be accurately triggered to perform OBSS PD-based spatial reuse. In addition, equation (1) is inaccurate. The log value should be multiplied by 10.

[0070] Optionally, the first signal strength level is obtained by normalizing the signal strength measurement results of multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU. Based on this possible implementation, the determined first signal strength level can be more accurate.

[0071] Optionally, the first signal strength level satisfies the following formula:

[0072]

number

[0073] Rx_PWR dBm / 20MHz is the first signal power level, Rx_PWR nonpunc-measured,total is the sum of the signal strength measurements of multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, and N nonpunc-measured is the number of measured unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels.

[0074] For example, it is assumed that the first signal power level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel 1 and unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel 2 in the PPDU. The signal strength measurement of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel 1 is 10 dBm / 20 MHz, and the signal strength measurement of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel 2 is 20 dBm / 20 MHz. In this case, Rx_PWR nonpunc-measured,total is 30dBm / 20MHz. nonpunc-measured is 2.

[0075] The condition for performing the OBSS PD-based spatial reuse transmission may also be inferred according to each formula. For example, another condition for performing the OBSS PD-based spatial reuse transmission may be that the following formula (3) is satisfied.

[0076]

number

[0077] Optionally, the first device first obtains puncturing information of the PPDU, determines which 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU are unpunctured subchannels based on the puncturing information, and then determines to measure the signal strength of the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0078] For example, when the PPDU is an HE MU (multiple user) PPDU, the puncturing information of the HE MU PPDU may be implicitly carried in the bandwidth field in the HE MU PPDU. Since only a portion of the puncturing information is carried, the puncturing information of the full bandwidth cannot be provided. The puncturing information is not carried in the HE SU PPDU and the HE TB PPDU.

[0079] When the PPDU is an EHT MU PPDU, in a non-OFDMA transmission of the EHT MU PPDU, the full-bandwidth puncturing information is present in a punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of the EHT MU PPDU.

[0080] When the PPDU is an EHT MU PPDU, in the OFDMA transmission of the EHT MU PPDU, the puncturing information in the 80 MHz frequency sub-block in which the PPDU is located is present in the punctured channel information field in the U-SIG field of the EHT MU PPDU, and the puncturing information of the full bandwidth is present in the EHT-SIG field of the EHT MU PPDU.

[0081] When the PPDU is a beacon frame, a Disabled subchannel bitmap exists in the beacon frame, indicating information about some subchannels that need to be punctured.

[0082] Optionally, the first device may alternatively determine through blind detection which 20 MHz subchannels are unpunctured subchannels, and then measure the signal strength of the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0083] Optionally, the multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are arranged on a primary channel, which may be a primary 20 MHz channel, a primary 40 MHz channel, a primary 80 MHz channel, or a primary 160 MHz channel. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0084] The primary 20 MHz channel can be any channel within the total bandwidth, there is no fixed relationship. For example, the bandwidth is 320 MHz. As shown in Figure 5, a 40 MHz channel that includes a primary 20 MHz channel is referred to as a primary 40 MHz channel. An 80 MHz channel that includes a primary 20 MHz channel is referred to as a primary 80 MHz channel. A 160 MHz channel that includes a primary 20 MHz channel is referred to as a primary 160 MHz channel.

[0085] Optionally, the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels may alternatively be unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU and pre-specified in the standard. Based on this optional implementation, when preamble puncturing occurs in the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0086] Optionally, the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are a plurality of 20 MHz channels in which the first device operates. Based on this optional implementation, the first signal strength level obtained through measurement can be more accurate.

[0087] For example, it is assumed that the bandwidth of the PPDU received by the first device is 160 MHz, the PPDU has six unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels, and the first device receives three unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels of the PPDU in the 80 MHz channel in which the first device operates. In this case, the first device may measure the signal strength of the three received unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels, or the first device may measure the signal strength of a portion of the three received unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel being the primary 20 MHz channel.

[0089] Since the primary 20 MHz channel is not punctured, the first signal strength level is obtained based on measurements of the primary 20 MHz channel. When preamble puncturing occurs within the PPDU, the first device can obtain the first signal strength in an accurate / feasible manner.

[0090] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels being 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU that are not punctured and that are pre-specified in the standard.

[0091] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on a signal strength measurement result of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel being the 20 MHz channel in which the first device operates.

[0092] In this embodiment of the application, the specific unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels on which the signal strength is measured are determined based on the specific implementation, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0093] In a possible implementation, the OBSS PD level satisfies the following formula:

[0094]

number

[0095] OBSS_PD level is the OBSS PD level. min and OBSS_PD max are OBSS_PD, respectively. level TX_PWR is the minimum and maximum value of TX_PWR, which is pre-specified in the standard or indicated by the AP. ref is the reference power. For STA, the reference power is 21 dBm. For AP, the reference power is 21 dBm or 25 dBm based on different cases. TX_PWR is the transmission power when the first device transmits the PPDU.

[0096] According to this possible implementation, the first signal strength is obtained through a measurement on an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel of the PPDU, or the first signal strength is obtained by normalizing the signal measurement results of multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels of the PPDU. In other words, the unit of the first signal strength is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20 MHz. In addition, the OBSS_PD min and OBSS_PD max The unit of is also dBm / 20MHz, and in this case, for different bandwidths of PPDU, OBSS_PD level does not need to be further normalized. This means that OBSS_PD level This helps to reduce the computational complexity of

[0097] In a possible implementation, TX_PWR satisfies the following formula:

[0098]

number

[0099] OBSS_PD in Eq. (5) level is defined in this solution of the present invention and has the unit dBm / 20MHz. level It is.

[0100] It should be noted here that in the absence of limitations, transmitting devices must also comply with maximum transmission power limits imposed by regulations.

[0101] It should be noted that OBSS PD based spatial reuse can be further classified into two types: non-spatial reuse group (SRG) OBSS PD level and SRG OBSS PD level. Different OBS PD levels are utilized depending on whether an SR group is set up. However, the transmission process of different OBS PD levels is basically the same, and the above method can be utilized in different cases.

[0102] It should be noted that in all the embodiments of this application, an example in which the unit bandwidth is 20 MHz is used for explanation, and the unit of the first signal strength level is dBm / 20 MHz. When the unit bandwidth is another value, for example, X MHz, the unit of the first signal strength level in all the embodiments of this application can be replaced with dBm / X MHz at the same time. For example, in the IEEE802.11ah standard, X=2MHz; in the IEEE802.11ad / ay standard, X=2160MHz.

[0103] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device shown in FIG. 6 may be configured to perform some or all of the functions of the first device in the method embodiment described in FIG. 3. The device may be the first device, a device in the first device, or a device that can be used together with the first device. Alternatively, the communication device may be a chip system. The communication device shown in FIG. 6 may include a communication unit 601 and a processing unit 602. The processing unit 602 is configured to process data. The communication unit 601 is integrated with a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit 601 may also be referred to as a transceiver unit. Alternatively, the communication unit 601 may be divided into a receiving unit and a transmitting unit.

[0104] The communication unit 601 is configured to receive a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU transmitted by a second device, where the bandwidth of the PPDU includes a plurality of 20 megahertz MHz subchannels. The communication unit 601 is further configured to perform overlapping basic service set packet detection OBSS PD based spatial reuse, where a first signal strength level in the PPDU received by the first device is less than an OBSS PD level, and the unit of the first signal strength level is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20MHz.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of a number of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU.

[0106] In a possible implementation, multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are placed onto the primary channel.

[0107] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained by normalizing signal strength measurements of multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU.

[0108] In a possible implementation,

[0109]

number

[0110] Rx_PWR dBm / 20MHz is the first signal power level, Rx_PWR nonpuc-measured,total is the sum of the signal strength measurements of multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, and N nonpunc-measured is the number of measured unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels.

[0111] In a possible implementation, the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel being a primary 20 MHz channel or a 20 MHz channel in which the first device operates.

[0112] In a possible implementation,

[0113]

number

[0114] OBSS_PDlevel is the OBSS PD level, and OBSS_PD min and OBSS_PD max are OBSS_PD, respectively. level The minimum and maximum values ​​of TX_PWR ref is the reference power, and TX_PWR is the transmission power at which the second device transmits the PPDU.

[0115] 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device. The communication device 700 may be the first device in the above method embodiment, or may be a chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc., that supports the first device in implementing the above method. The communication device may be configured to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

[0116] The communication device 700 includes one or more processors 701. The processor 701 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, or the like. For example, the processor 701 may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be configured to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit may be configured to control a communication device (e.g., a base station, a baseband chip, a terminal, a terminal chip, a DU, or a CU), execute a software program, and process data of the software program.

[0117] Optionally, the communication device 700 may include one or more memories 702. The memories may store instructions 704, which may be executed on the processor 701, such that the communication device 700 performs the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memory 702 may further store data. The processor 701 and the memory 702 may be located separately or integrated together.

[0118] Optionally, the communication device 700 may further include a transceiver 705 and an antenna 706. The transceiver 705 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, etc., and is configured to realize a transceiver function. The transceiver 705 may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver may be referred to as a receiver machine, a receiver circuit, etc., and is configured to realize a receiving function. The transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter machine, a transmitter circuit, etc., and is configured to realize a transmitting function. The processing unit 602 shown in FIG. 6 may be a processor 701. The communication unit 601 may be a transceiver 705.

[0119] The communication apparatus 700 is a first device, and the processor 701 is configured to perform the data processing operations of the first device in the above method embodiments. The transceiver 705 is configured to perform the data receiving and transmitting operations performed by the first device in the above method embodiments. For example, the transceiver 705 may be configured to perform the data receiving and transmitting operations performed by the first device in FIG. 3.

[0120] In another possible design, the processor 701 may include a transceiver configured to implement receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit configured to implement receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated together. The transceiver circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit may be configured to read and write code / data. Alternatively, the transceiver circuit, the interface, or the interface circuit may be configured to transmit or forward signals.

[0121] In yet another possible design, the processor 701 may optionally store instructions 703, which, when executed on the processor 701, enable the communication device 700 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The instructions 703 may be fixed within the processor 701. In this case, the processor 701 may be realized by hardware.

[0122] In yet another possible design, the communication device 700 may include a circuit. The circuit may realize the transmitting, receiving, or communication function in the above method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in this embodiment of the application may be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed signal IC, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), or an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver may alternatively be fabricated using various IC technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), nMetal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), pMetal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), and gallium arsenide (GaAs).

[0123] The communication device described in the above embodiment may be a first device. However, the scope of the communication device described in this embodiment of the application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited by FIG. 7. The communication device may be an independent device or a part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) an independent integrated circuit IC, chip, or chip system or subsystem; (2) a set of one or more ICs, optionally, the IC set may further include a storage component configured to store data and instructions; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem (MSM); (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal, an intelligent terminal, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, or an artificial intelligence device, etc.; or (6) others.

[0124] When the communication device can be a chip or a chip system, please refer to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip shown in Figure 8. The chip 800 shown in Figure 8 includes a processor 801 and an interface 802. Optionally, the chip may further include a memory 803. There may be one or more processors 801, and there may be multiple interfaces 802.

[0125] In one design, in the case where the chip is configured to realize the function of the first terminal device in the embodiment of this application, the interface 802 is configured to receive or output a signal. For example, the interface 802 may be configured to perform the signal receiving or output operation of the first device in FIG.

[0126] The processor 801 is configured to perform data processing operations of the first device.

[0127] It can be understood that in some scenarios, some optional features in the embodiments of this application may be independently realized to solve corresponding technical problems and achieve corresponding effects without relying on other features, for example, the solutions on which the optional features are currently based. Alternatively, in some scenarios, optional features are combined with other features based on requirements. Correspondingly, the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application may also realize these features or functions. Details will not be described again here.

[0128] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be an integrated circuit chip and has signal processing capabilities. In one implementation process, the steps in the above method embodiments may be completed using hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or using instructions in the form of software. The above processor 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 device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.

[0129] It may be understood that the memory in this embodiment of the application may be volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM) and is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM may be used, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that memory in the systems and methods described herein is not limited to and includes these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0130] This application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a communication device, the functions of any one of the above method embodiments are realized.

[0131] This application further provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which when read and executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the functions of any one of the above method embodiments.

[0132] All or part of the above embodiments may be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, all or part of the embodiments may be realized in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of this application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or may be transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio wave, or microwave) methods. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer, or may be a data storage device, such as a server or a data center, that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid state disks (SSDs)).

[0133] The above description is merely a specific implementation of this application, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any variation or replacement that is immediately understood by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should fall within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for spatial reuse, comprising: receiving, by a first device, a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted by a second device, the bandwidth of the PPDU comprising a plurality of 20 megahertz (MHz) subchannels; performing overlapping basic service set packet detection OBSS PD based spatial reuse by the first device, wherein a first signal strength level of the PPDU received by the first device is less than an OBSS PD level, and the first signal strength level has units of decibels / milliwatts dBm / 20 MHz; A spatial reuse method, comprising:

2. the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of a plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU. The method of claim 1.

3. the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are arranged on a primary channel. The method of claim 2.

4. the first signal strength level is obtained by normalizing the signal strength measurements of the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU. The method according to claim 2 or 3. 【Request 5】 【Number 1】 and Rx_PWR ｄＢｍ／２０ＭＨｚ is the first signal power level, and Rx_PWR ｎｏｎｐｕｎｃ－ｍｅａｓｕｒｅｄ，ｔｏｔａｌ is the sum of the signal strength measurements of the multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, and N ｎｏｎｐｕｎｃ－ｍｅａｓｕｒｅｄ is the number of the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels measured; The method according to claim 4.

6. the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel being a primary 20 MHz channel or a 20 MHz channel in which the first device operates; The method of claim 1. 【Request 7】 【Number 2】 and OBSS_PD ｌｅｖｅｌ is the OBSS PD level, and OBSS_PD ｍｉｎ and OBSS_PD ｍａｘ are OBSS_PD, respectively. ｌｅｖｅｌ and TX_PWR ｒｅｆ is a reference power, and TX_PWR is a transmission power at which the second device transmits the PPDU; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A first device, the first device comprising: a communication unit configured to receive a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmitted by a second device, the bandwidth of the PPDU including a plurality of 20 megahertz (MHz) subchannels; The communication unit is further configured to perform overlapping basic service set packet detection OBSS PD based spatial reuse, wherein a first signal strength level of the PPDU received by the first device is less than an OBSS PD level, and the unit of the first signal strength level is decibel milliwatt dBm / 20 MHz. The first device.

9. the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of a plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU. The first device according to claim 8 .

10. the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels are arranged on a primary channel. The first device according to claim 9.

11. the first signal strength level is obtained by normalizing the signal strength measurements of the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels within the PPDU. A first device according to claim 9 or 10. 【Request 12】 【Number 3】 and Rx_PWR ｄＢｍ／２０ＭＨｚ is the first signal power level, and Rx_PWR ｎｏｎｐｕｎｃ－ｍｅａｓｕｒｅｄ，ｔｏｔａｌ is the sum of the signal strength measurements of the multiple unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels in the PPDU, and N ｎｏｎｐｕｎｃ－ｍｅａｓｕｒｅｄ is the number of the plurality of unpunctured 20 MHz subchannels measured; The first device according to claim 11.

13. the first signal strength level is obtained based on signal strength measurements of an unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel in the PPDU, the unpunctured 20 MHz subchannel being a primary 20 MHz channel or a 20 MHz channel in which the first device operates; The first device according to claim 8 . 【Request 14】 【Number 4】 and OBSS_PD ｌｅｖｅｌ is the OBSS PD level, and OBSS_PD ｍｉｎ and OBSS_PD ｍａｘ are OBSS_PD, respectively. ｌｅｖｅｌ and TX_PWR ｒｅｆ is a reference power, and TX_PWR is a transmission power at which the second device transmits the PPDU; A first device according to any one of claims 8 to 13.

15. A first device, the first device including a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, the memory configured to store a computer program, the transceiver configured to receive and transmit data, and the processor configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

16. A chip, the chip including a processor and an interface, the processor coupled to the interface; A chip, wherein the interface is configured to receive or output signals and the processor is configured to execute code instructions, thereby performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

17. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when invoked by a computer, enable the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.

18. A computer program product comprising computer program code which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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