Communication method and communication device in a wireless local area network

Abstract

A communication method and a communication device in a wireless local area network are provided, and are applicable to a wireless local area network system supporting 802.11 series protocols, such as next-generation Wi-Fi protocols such as IEEE 802.11ax, such as 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7, or EHT, and next-generation 802.11be protocols, such as Wi-Fi 8. The method includes an access point generating a trigger frame and transmitting the trigger frame to a station. The trigger frame includes resource allocation information and first instruction information. The first instruction information indicates a first bandwidth to the station, and the resource allocation information assigns a first distributed resource unit (RU) to the station, the first distributed resource unit (RU) corresponding to the first bandwidth. The first bandwidth is the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed resource unit (RU). According to the method, the station can determine a range of the distributed bandwidth of the assigned RU, for example, a bandwidth outside the maximum bandwidth supported by the station or a punctured bandwidth, in order to increase the station's transmission power.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210870094.2, entitled "Communication Method and Communication Device in Wireless Local Area Network," filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on July 22, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Technical Field This application relates to the field of wireless fidelity technology, and in particular to a communication method and device in a wireless local area network. [Background technology]

[0003] The actual transmission power of a device is limited by the maximum transmission power and maximum power spectral density supported by the device. In other words, the transmission power of a device cannot exceed the maximum power, and the transmission power spectral density of a device cannot exceed the maximum power spectral density. In low-power indoor scenarios in the 6 GHz frequency band, the actual transmission power of a device, limited by the maximum power spectral density, is usually lower than the maximum transmission power supported by the device. As the transmission bandwidth increases, the maximum transmission power supported by a device also increases accordingly. Therefore, the transmission bandwidth of a device may be extended to increase the transmission power of the device. Extending the transmission bandwidth means mapping the subcarriers contained in a resource unit (RU) to a larger bandwidth.

[0004] Currently, the range of bandwidths to which subcarriers included in one RU can be mapped is the entire bandwidth. If a portion of the entire bandwidth is punctured, some subcarriers included in the RU may be mapped to the punctured bandwidth. As a result, the RU cannot be used and the device's transmission power cannot be increased. Also, if the maximum bandwidth supported by a device is limited, some subcarriers included in the RU will be mapped to a bandwidth outside the bandwidth supported by the device. As a result, the RU cannot be used and the device's transmission power cannot be increased. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus in a wireless local area network for increasing the transmission power of a device.

[0006] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method in a wireless local area network. The method may be performed by a first communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus may be a communication device or a communication apparatus, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the communication device in performing functions required by the method. For example, the first communication apparatus may be a first communication device, a chip disposed within the first communication device, or another component configured to perform the functions of the first communication device. Hereinafter, the method will be described by using an example in which the first communication device is an access point (AP).

[0007] The method includes: an access point generating a trigger frame and transmitting the trigger frame to a station. The trigger frame includes resource allocation information and first instruction information, the first instruction information instructing the station of a first bandwidth, and the resource allocation information indicating a first distributed RU to be assigned to the station, the first distributed RU corresponding to the first bandwidth. The first distributed RU includes a plurality of non-contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain. The first bandwidth is the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU.

[0008] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method in a wireless local area network. The method may be performed by a second communication apparatus. The second communication apparatus may be a communication device or a communication apparatus, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the communication device in performing the functions required by the method. For example, the second communication apparatus may be a second communication device, a chip disposed within the second communication device, or another component configured to perform the functions of the second communication device. Hereinafter, the method will be described by using an example in which the second communication device is a station (STA).

[0009] The method includes: a station receiving a trigger frame transmitted by an access point; and transmitting a TB PPDU in a first distributed RU based on the trigger of the trigger frame. The trigger frame includes resource allocation information and first instruction information, where the first instruction information indicates a first bandwidth to the station, and the resource allocation information indicates a first distributed RU to be assigned to the station, the first distributed RU corresponding to the first bandwidth. The first distributed RU includes a plurality of discontinuous subcarriers in the frequency domain. The first bandwidth is the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU.

[0010] It should be noted that in this application, a distributed RU means that the subcarriers included in the RU are discretely distributed within a specific bandwidth range, or that the distributed RU includes multiple non-contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain, and the non-contiguous subcarriers occupy the bandwidth of at least one subchannel. In this application, the specific bandwidth range in which the distributed RUs assigned to a station are distributed, or the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the distributed RUs, is referred to as the first bandwidth. In short, the first bandwidth is the bandwidth range corresponding to the distributed RUs assigned to the station. The AP instructs the STA to use the first bandwidth to increase the STA's transmission power within the maximum bandwidth range supported by the STA, or to increase the STA's transmission power when preamble puncturing is performed on the PPDU bandwidth.

[0011] It should be noted that in this application, the access point indicates to the station the distributed RUs allocated to the station through resource allocation information in at least two ways.

[0012] The first method is indirect indication. In other words, the access point indicates a first bandwidth through first indication information and indicates consecutive RUs to the station through resource allocation information. After receiving the resource allocation information from the access point, the station discretizes the consecutive RUs indicated by the resource allocation information within the range of the first bandwidth, i.e., maps the consecutive RUs to distributed RUs to obtain distributed RUs allocated to the station.

[0013] The second method is direct indication. In other words, the access point indicates a first bandwidth through first indication information and directly indicates the distributed RUs allocated to the station through resource allocation information. After receiving the resource allocation information from the access point, the station directly knows the distributed RUs allocated to the station and the bandwidth of the sub-channels occupied by the subcarriers included in the distributed RUs.

[0014] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the trigger frame further includes second indication information, which indicates whether the RUs allocated to the station are distributed RUs or consecutive RUs. Based on the second indication information, the station can determine whether the RUs allocated to the station by the access point are consecutive RUs or distributed RUs, and can further determine the location of specific subcarriers within the RUs allocated to the station by analyzing the resource allocation information (i.e., the resource unit allocation subfield).

[0015] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first bandwidth is: the maximum bandwidth that can be supported by the station, the maximum distributed bandwidth that can be supported by the system, or PPDU bandwidth scheduled by the access point The maximum dispersion bandwidth supported by the system is the range of the maximum bandwidth of the dispersion RU allowed by the system. For example, the maximum dispersion bandwidth supported by the system is the maximum PPDU bandwidth defined in the standard. To increase the station's transmission power, taking into account cases such as bandwidth puncturing and limited station bandwidth, the first bandwidth cannot exceed the minimum bandwidth of at least two of the maximum bandwidth supportable by the station, the maximum dispersion bandwidth supported by the system, and the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the access point.

[0016] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, a first distributed RU is obtained by mapping a first contiguous RU to a first bandwidth, and a second contiguous RU in the first bandwidth is designated to another station. If subcarriers included in the second contiguous RU are mapped to the second distributed RU, the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the second distributed RU is also the first bandwidth. In other words, the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers separately included in the distributed RU obtained by discretizing multiple contiguous RUs in the first bandwidth is still the first bandwidth. Therefore, even if a uniform distribution method is used for multiple contiguous RUs, subcarriers included in multiple discretized contiguous RUs designated to different stations may not overlap with each other. This avoids resource contention and does not affect the discretization of contiguous RUs located outside the first bandwidth.

[0017] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, when a third consecutive RU located outside the first bandwidth and directed to another station is mapped to a third distributed RU, the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in the third distributed RU does not overlap with the first bandwidth. In other words, the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in the distributed RU obtained by discretizing the contiguous RUs outside the first bandwidth does not overlap with the first bandwidth, preventing the distributed RU to which the contiguous RUs outside the first bandwidth are mapped from occupying subcarriers in the first bandwidth, i.e., avoiding resource contention.

[0018] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information is located in a common field or a user information list field and indicates a first bandwidth.

[0019] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information includes an N-bit bitmap, where N is the number of subchannels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU, and one bit in the N-bit bitmap corresponds to one subchannel, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding subchannel is allowed to be distributed across the subchannel. In the present application, whether a subchannel is allowed to be distributed across the subchannel means whether one or more consecutive RUs in the subchannel are allowed to be distributed across the subchannel when they are mapped to a distributed RU, or whether the range of the subchannel bandwidth occupied by the subcarriers included in the distributed RU crosses the subchannel. In other words, in the present application, whether a subchannel is allowed to be distributed across the subchannel means whether the subchannel is allowed to form a larger distributed bandwidth together with another subchannel. For example, in the case of 20 MHz sub-channels, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each RU in a sub-channel that is not allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz is 20 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each RU in a sub-channel that is allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz may be a bandwidth that includes at least two sub-channels that are allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz. The bitmap indicates whether each sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channel, and indirectly indicates the range of the distribution bandwidth allowed by each sub-channel.

[0020] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information includes a P-bit bitmap, where one bit in the P-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and the sub-block includes multiple sub-channels. A bit indicates whether each sub-channel included in the corresponding sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channels. Each sub-channel within a sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block only if each sub-channel within the sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channels; alternatively, each of at least one sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block only if the sub-block includes at least one sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channels. In this solution, the first bandwidth is indicated in a manner indicating whether sub-channels within a sub-block are permitted to be distributed across multiple sub-block sets. For example, if at least one subchannel within a subblock is allowed to be distributed across subchannels and at least one subchannel is permitted to be distributed across subblocks, then one or more consecutive RUs in any one of the at least one subchannel can be distributed within the range of the at least one subchannel. In another example, each subchannel within a subblock is permitted to be distributed across subchannels only if all subchannels included in the subblock are permitted to be distributed across subchannels. In other words, if one subchannel within a subblock is not permitted to be distributed across subchannels, then no subchannel within the subblock is permitted to be distributed across subblocks.

[0021] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information includes an M-bit bitmap, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and each bit in the M-bit bitmap corresponds to a sub-block, where a sub-block includes multiple sub-channels. A bit in the M-bit bitmap indicates whether each sub-channel in the corresponding sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel. For example, for 20 MHz sub-channels, if the sub-block includes sub-channels that are not permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in the sub-block is 20 MHz. If all sub-channels included in the sub-block are permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz, the range of the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in the sub-block is the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block. The bit indicates whether the sub-blocks are allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz, and indirectly indicates whether the range of the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel is 20 MHz or the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block, saving indication overhead.

[0022] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication further indicates whether two or more sub-blocks are permitted to form a distributed bandwidth, and one of the two or more sub-blocks includes a sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel. Whether two or more sub-blocks are permitted to form a distributed bandwidth is indicated, which indirectly indicates whether each sub-block can be distributed across the sub-block.

[0023] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information further includes an S-bit bitmap, where one bit in the S-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-blocks. It should be understood that the range of distribution bandwidths corresponding to sub-channels included in a sub-block that are not permitted to be distributed across the sub-blocks is smaller than the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block. The range of distribution bandwidths corresponding to sub-channels included in a sub-block that are permitted to be distributed across the sub-blocks may be a bandwidth including at least two sub-channels permitted to be distributed across the sub-blocks. The bitmap indicates whether each sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across the sub-blocks, and indirectly indicates the range of distribution bandwidths corresponding to each sub-channel.

[0024] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information includes one or more first indexes, each of which corresponds to a sub-block and indicates a dispersion bandwidth range corresponding to each sub-channel included in the sub-block. In this solution, the dispersion bandwidth ranges corresponding to each sub-channel in the sub-block may be predefined or pre-set. One sub-block is associated with one index, and as a result, the index can indicate a dispersion bandwidth range corresponding to each sub-channel.

[0025] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, a sub-channel within a sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-blocks, and the first indication information indicates a range of a distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of a plurality of sub-blocks included in the bandwidth of the PPDU, and whether a sub-block can be distributed across the sub-block is indicated to indicate whether the sub-block can be distributed across a plurality of sub-blocks.

[0026] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information includes one or more second indices, where one second index corresponds to one sub-block, the sub-blocks corresponding to the second indices with the same value form a distribution bandwidth, and the sub-channels included in the sub-blocks corresponding to the second indices with different values ​​are allowed to be distributed only within the sub-block. The index may indicate whether the sub-block is capable of forming a distribution bandwidth together with another sub-block.

[0027] In a possible implementation of the first or second aspect, the first indication information includes a two-bit bitmap, which indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 80 MHz, or the bandwidth of the PPDU. In this solution, one bit in the two-bit bitmap can indicate whether all sub-channels are allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz, and the other bit in the two-bit bitmap can indicate whether all sub-blocks are allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz, thereby indirectly indicating the first bandwidth corresponding to the station. Therefore, signaling overhead is low.

[0028] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method in a wireless local area network. The method may be performed by a first communication apparatus. The first communication apparatus may be a communication device or a communication apparatus, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the communication device in performing the functions required by the method. For example, the first communication apparatus may be a first communication device, a chip disposed within the first communication device, or another component configured to perform the functions of the first communication device. Hereinafter, the method will be described by using an example in which the first communication device is an access point (AP).

[0029] The method includes: an access point generating a trigger frame and transmitting the trigger frame. The trigger frame includes third indication information. The third indication information indicates K resource units (RUs), where a first RU of the K RUs is mapped to a first distributed RU, and the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed RU is a first bandwidth. Subcarriers corresponding to a second RU other than the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU belong to subcarriers other than the subcarriers included in the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0030] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method in a wireless local area network. The method may be performed by a second communication apparatus. The second communication apparatus may be a communication device or a communication apparatus, such as a chip system, capable of supporting the communication device in performing the functions required by the method. For example, the second communication apparatus may be a second communication device, a chip disposed within the second communication device, or another component configured to perform the functions of the second communication device. Hereinafter, the method will be described by using an example in which the second communication device is a station (STA).

[0031] The method includes: a station receiving a trigger frame transmitted by an access point; and transmitting a TB PPDU based on the trigger frame, the trigger frame including third indication information, the third indication information indicating K RUs, a first RU of the K RUs being mapped to a first distributed RU, a bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed RU being a first bandwidth, a subcarrier corresponding to a second RU other than the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU belonging to a subcarrier other than the subcarriers included in the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU, and K being an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0032] The first bandwidth corresponding to the first RU is smaller than the bandwidth of the scheduled PPDU, i.e., the first RU of the K RUs is assigned to a bandwidth-limited station. In this solution, the remaining available subcarriers in the PPDU bandwidth, other than the subcarriers occupied by the RUs assigned to the bandwidth-limited STAs, are used as distributed resources and may be assigned to another STA, for example, a STA that supports full-bandwidth, in a unified manner. Therefore, even if the RUs assigned to the full-bandwidth STAs are located within the distribution bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STAs, the RUs of the full-bandwidth STAs can still be mapped outside the distribution bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STAs, thereby increasing the transmission power of the full-bandwidth STAs.

[0033] In a possible implementation of the third or fourth aspect, the first bandwidth corresponding to the first RU is a bandwidth that can be discretized into the smallest first bandwidth among the first bandwidths of the RUs allocated to the bandwidth-limited stations. In other words, the first bandwidth corresponding to the bandwidth-limited STA is a bandwidth that can be discretized into the smallest first bandwidth among the first bandwidths of the RUs allocated to the bandwidth-limited STAs. Thus, the resource unit allocation index can be reused to indicate the first bandwidth for each STA.

[0034] In a possible implementation of the third or fourth aspect, the third indication information includes K RU allocation indexes, where an allocation index of a first RU in the K RU allocation indexes corresponds to one of R types of first bandwidths, and one type of first bandwidth corresponds to multiple RU allocation indexes. Alternatively, the third indication information indicates user information field indexes corresponding to the K RUs separately, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Different types or quantities of first bandwidths are indicated, so that the resource unit allocation subfield can be reused to indicate the first bandwidth of each station based on the order of the R types of first bandwidths.

[0035] In a possible implementation of the third or fourth aspect, the third indication information further indicates whether the first bandwidth corresponding to each user information field is the distributed bandwidth of a bandwidth-limited station. In other words, the user information field indicates whether the station is a bandwidth-limited station, and this does not need to be indicated by a common information field in the trigger frame.

[0036] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has a function of implementing the behavior of the method embodiment in any one of the first to fourth aspects. For beneficial effects, please refer to the descriptions of the first to fourth aspects. Details will not be described again here.

[0037] The communication device may be an access point and configured to perform the method performed by the access point in the first or third aspect. Alternatively, the communication device may be a device, such as a chip or chip system, capable of implementing the method provided in the first or third aspect. In a possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means or modules configured to perform the method in the first or third aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes referred to as a processing module or processor) and / or a transceiver unit (sometimes referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, or the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be understood to be the same functional module. Alternatively, the transceiver unit may be understood as a general term for the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, and the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules. These units (modules) may perform corresponding functions in the example method of the first or third aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed description of the example method. The details will not be explained again here.

[0038] The communication device may be a station and configured to perform the method performed by the station in the second or fourth aspect. Alternatively, the communication device may be a device, such as a chip or chip system, capable of implementing the method provided in the second or fourth aspect. In a possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means or modules configured to perform the method in the second or fourth aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes referred to as a processing module or processor) and / or a transceiver unit (sometimes referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, or the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be understood to be the same functional module. Alternatively, the transceiver unit may be understood as a general term for the transmitting unit and the receiving unit, and the transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules. These units (modules) may perform corresponding functions in the example methods of the second or fourth aspect. For details, please refer to the detailed description of the example methods. The details will not be explained again here.

[0039] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device is capable of performing the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally further includes a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor loads the computer program or instructions, the communication device is capable of performing a communication method in a wireless local area network performed by a station or an access point. The communication interface can be realized by using an antenna, a feeder, a codec, and the like in the communication device. Alternatively, if the communication device is a chip disposed in an access point or a station, the communication interface can be an input / output interface, such as an input / output pin, of the chip. The communication device may further include a transceiver used by the communication device to communicate with another device. For example, if the communication device is an access point, the other device is a station. Alternatively, if the communication device is a station, the other device is an access point.

[0040] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device including an input / output interface and a logic circuit, the input / output interface configured to input and / or output information, and the logic circuit configured to perform the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0041] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor, and may further include a memory and / or a communication interface, and is configured to perform the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects. In a possible implementation, the chip system further includes a memory configured to store a computer program. The chip system may include a chip, or may include a chip and another distributed component. The communication interface may be an input / output interface of the chip, for example, an input / output pin.

[0042] According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system. The communication system includes at least one station and at least one wireless access point. The access point is configured to perform the method performed by the access point in the first aspect, and the station is configured to perform the method performed by the station in the second aspect. Alternatively, the access point is configured to perform the method performed by the access point in the third aspect, and the station is configured to perform the method performed by the station in the fourth aspect.

[0043] According to a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program product, which, when executed, performs the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0044] According to an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product, the computer program product comprising computer program code that, when executed, performs the method of any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0045] For the beneficial effects of the fifth to eleventh aspects and the implementation forms of the fifth to eleventh aspects, please refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first to fourth aspects and the implementation forms of the first to fourth aspects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0046] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network architecture of a wireless local area network (WLAN) to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram of RU distribution at 80 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3A] Figures 3A and 3B show the frame structure of the trigger frame in 802.11be. [Figure 3B] Figures 3A and 3B show the frame structure of the trigger frame in 802.11be. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram of a tone plan and RU distribution at 80 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a transmission based on preamble puncturing in the frequency domain according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram of 6 GHz channel division according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method in a wireless local area network according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram of RU distribution at 160 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9A] 9A and 9B are diagrams of a frame structure of a trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 9B] 9A and 9B are diagrams of a frame structure of a trigger frame according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 10A]10A, 10B, and 10C are diagrams of alternative frame structures of trigger frames according to embodiments of the present application. [Figure 10B] 10A, 10B, and 10C are diagrams of alternative frame structures of trigger frames according to embodiments of the present application. [Figure 10C] 10A, 10B, and 10C are diagrams of alternative frame structures of trigger frames according to embodiments of the present application. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram of a first bandwidth corresponding to sixteen 20 MHz sub-channels each contained in 320 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a first bandwidth corresponding to each of 24 20 MHz sub-channels included in 480 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram 1 of a first bandwidth corresponding to four 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 320 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram 1 of a first bandwidth corresponding to six 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 480 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram 2 of a first bandwidth corresponding to four 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 320 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram 2 of a first bandwidth corresponding to six 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 480 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram 3 of a first bandwidth corresponding to four 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 320 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram 3 of a first bandwidth corresponding to six 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 480 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram 4 of a first bandwidth corresponding to four 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 320 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram 4 of a first bandwidth corresponding to six 80 MHz sub-blocks contained in 480 MHz according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 21A] 21A, 21B, and 21C are diagrams of a trigger frame structure according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 21B] 21A, 21B, and 21C are diagrams of a trigger frame structure according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 21C] 21A, 21B, and 21C are diagrams of a trigger frame structure according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram of the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram of another structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0047] The technical solutions provided in the present application are applicable to WLAN scenarios, for example, IEEE 802.11 system standards such as the 802.11a / b / g standard, the 802.11n standard, the 802.11ac standard, the 802.11ax standard, the next-generation 802.11ax standard such as the 802.11be standard, Wi-Fi 7, or next-generation 802.11be standards such as extreme high throughput (EHT), Wi-Fi 8, or next-generation standards. Alternatively, the technical solutions provided in the present application are applicable to wireless local area network systems, for example, Internet of Things (IoT) networks or Vehicle to Everything (V2X) networks. It is evident that the technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to other possible communication systems, for example, other next generation mobile communication systems such as a long term evolution (LTE) system, a new radio (NR) system, a 6th generation (6G) communication system, or other similar communication systems.

[0048] Although embodiments of the present application are primarily described using examples of deployed WLAN networks, particularly networks employing the IEEE 802.11 system standard, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various aspects of the present application can be extended to other networks using different standards or protocols, such as Bluetooth, high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard and primarily used in Europe), wide area networks (WANs), personal area networks (PANs), or other known or later-developed networks. Accordingly, various aspects provided herein are applicable to any suitable wireless network, regardless of the coverage area and radio access protocol used.

[0049] The solution provided in the present application is applicable to communication between one or more APs and one or more STAs, as well as to communication between APs and between STAs. For example, FIG. 1 is a diagram of a network architecture of a WLAN to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied. FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which a WLAN includes two wireless access points (APs) and three stations (STAs). As shown in FIG. 1, the two APs are AP1 and AP2, and the three STAs are STA1, STA2, and STA3. One AP may be associated with one or more STAs. FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which AP1 is associated with two STAs. For example, the STAs associated with AP1 include STA1 and STA2. Any AP can schedule radio resources for the STAs associated with the AP and transmit data for the STAs over the scheduled radio resources. For example, AP1 can schedule radio resources for STA1 and STA2 and transmit data, including uplink data information and / or downlink data information for STA1 and STA2, over the scheduled radio resources. Any AP may alternatively schedule radio resources for STAs not associated with the AP and transmit data for the STAs on the scheduled radio resources. For example, AP1 may schedule radio resources for STA3 and transmit data, including uplink data information and / or downlink data information for STA3, on the scheduled radio resources. It may be understood that the number of APs and STAs in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and that there may be more or fewer APs and STAs.

[0050] In the embodiments of the present application, an AP is a device that provides wireless communication capabilities to STAs associated with the AP and may be deployed within a wireless communication network. It is clear that an AP may alternatively be deployed outdoors. An AP corresponds to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network. APs are primarily used to connect wireless network clients to each other and then connect the wireless network to an Ethernet. An AP may function as a hub in a communication system and may be a communication device with a Wi-Fi chip, such as a base station, router, gateway, repeater, communication server, switch, or bridge. Base stations may include various types of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, and the like. For ease of explanation, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as APs. Furthermore, APs may support WLAN standards such as the 802.11be standard or successors of 802.11be, such as Wi-Fi 8. The AP may also support WLAN standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0051] In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device configured to implement the functions of an AP may be an AP, or may be a device capable of supporting an AP in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. The device may be attached to an AP. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, an example in which the device configured to implement the functions of an AP is an AP is used to describe the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0052] In embodiments of the present application, an STA may be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a user terminal, user device, access device, subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station, user agent, user equipment, or another term having wireless communication capabilities. User terminals may include various devices having wireless communication capabilities, such as handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, computing devices, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, various forms of user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), terminals, terminal devices, portable communication devices, handheld devices, portable computing devices, entertainment devices, gaming devices or systems, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable devices configured to perform network communications over a wireless medium. For example, an STA may 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, or a computer supporting Wi-Fi communication. For example, an STA may be a router, a switch, a bridge, or the like. For ease of explanation, the above devices are collectively referred to as a station or STA. Optionally, an STA may support the 802.11be standard. Alternatively, a station may support multiple WLAN standards in the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi 8, or a Wi-Fi 8 next-generation standard. When the various STAs described above are located within a vehicle (e.g., located within or mounted on a vehicle), the STAs can all be considered terminal devices mounted on the vehicle.For example, an in-vehicle terminal device is also called an on-board unit (OBU). Alternatively, the STA in this application may be a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted assembly, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip, or a vehicle-mounted unit that is incorporated into a vehicle as one or more parts or units. The vehicle can perform the method in this application using the built-in STA.

[0053] In the embodiments of the present application, a communication device configured to implement the functions of an STA may be an STA, or may be a device capable of supporting an STA in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. The device may be attached to an STA. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, an example in which the device configured to implement the functions of an STA is an STA is used to describe the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that the STA in the embodiments of the present application is a non-access point STA (non-AP STA). An access point STA (AP STA) is considered to be an AP.

[0054] Due to the different capabilities of STAs, different STAs support different maximum bandwidths. For example, the maximum bandwidth supported by some STAs is 20 MHz, and the maximum bandwidth supported by some STAs is 80 MHz. A STA capable of supporting a maximum bandwidth of 20 MHz is also referred to as a 20 MHz-only STA. Similarly, a STA capable of supporting a maximum bandwidth of 80 MHz is also referred to as an 80 MHz-only STA. A STA capable of supporting a maximum bandwidth of 160 MHz is referred to as a 160 MHz-only STA. It should be noted that in addition to supporting the maximum bandwidth (i.e., 80 MHz), an 80 MHz-only STA also supports bandwidths smaller than 80 MHz, such as 20 MHz or 40 MHz. To save energy, a STA may actually operate at a bandwidth smaller than the maximum bandwidth it can support (referred to herein as its maximum operating bandwidth). For example, an 80 MHz-only STA may operate at a maximum operating bandwidth of 20 MHz during a particular time period. Correspondingly, the STAs in that time period are referred to as 20 MHz-only operating STAs. In the embodiments of the present application, a STA that supports a maximum bandwidth smaller than the bandwidth of the PPDU is referred to as a bandwidth-limited STA. Compared to a bandwidth-limited STA, a STA that supports a maximum bandwidth that reaches the bandwidth of the PPDU is referred to as a full-bandwidth STA. For example, if the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, an 80 MHz-only STA is a full-bandwidth STA, not a bandwidth-limited STA.

[0055] The IEEE 802.11ax protocol specifies that the spectrum bandwidth may be divided into multiple types of RUs with different sizes for 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and 160 MHz, including, for example, 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs (the maximum RU for a 20 MHz bandwidth), 484-tone RUs (the maximum RU for a 40 MHz bandwidth), 996-tone RUs (the maximum RU for an 80 MHz bandwidth), and 2*996-tone RUs (the maximum RU for a 160 MHz bandwidth). In addition to the 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, and the like, used to transmit data, the overall bandwidth also includes other subcarriers, such as one or more of guard subcarriers, null subcarriers, direct current (DC) subcarriers, and pilot subcarriers. For ease of explanation, RUs are collectively referred to in this application as X-tone RUs. X-tone RUy indicates that the X-tone RU is the y-th X-tone RU in the bandwidth of the PPDU. For example, Figure 2 shows the RU distribution in an 80 MHz bandwidth. In Figure 2, RUs with different sizes are numbered independently in ascending order of frequency. As shown in Figure 2, the 80 MHz bandwidth is 52-tone RU1, 52-tone RU2, 26-tone RU5, 106 Tone RU2, 242 tone RU2, 242-tone RU3, and 242 Tone RU4 are divided in order. 52-tone RU1 indicates the first 52-tone RU, 52-tone RU2 indicates the second 52-tone RU, 26-tone RU5 indicates the fifth 26-tone RU, 106-tone RU2 indicates the second 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU2 indicates the second 242-tone RU, The rest can be deduced by analogy.

[0056] The AP can instruct the STA on the RU assigned by the AP via a trigger frame, so that the STA performs data transmission in the assigned RU. Figures 3A and 3B are diagrams of the frame structure of a trigger frame in 802.11be. As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the trigger frame includes a common information field and a user information list field. The common information field includes common information that needs to be read by all STAs. The common information field may include an AP TX power field and an uplink spatial reuse field. The user information list field includes one or more user information fields, and each user information field includes information that needs to be read by one STA. In the User Information List field, the association identifier 12 (AID12) indicates the association identifier of the STA, and the resource unit allocation (RU allocation) subfield and the primary / secondary 160 (PS160) subfield together indicate the location of the specific resource unit allocated to the STA (the STA indicated by AID12).

[0057] After receiving the trigger frame from the AP, the STA parses the trigger frame to obtain the user information field that matches (or is the same as) the STA's association identifier, and then transmits an extremely high-throughput trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (EHT TB PPDU) in the RU indicated by the resource unit allocation subfield in the user information field. After receiving the EHT TB PPDU transmitted by the STA, the AP returns an acknowledgement frame to the STA.

[0058] In low power indoor (LPI) communication in the 6 GHz spectrum, the transmission power of devices is limited by both maximum power and maximum power spectral density. For example, Table 1 shows the correspondence between maximum transmission power and bandwidth for devices (including APs and STAs) in an LPI scenario. Table 1

[0059] [Table 1]

[0060] As shown in Table 1, as the bandwidth increases, the device's transmission power also increases accordingly. However, the actual transmission power of the device is lower because it is limited by the maximum power spectral density. Therefore, when the power spectral density is limited, the corresponding transmission bandwidth can be expanded to realize a larger transmission power of the device. Expanding the transmission bandwidth means mapping multiple subcarriers contained in consecutive RUs to a larger bandwidth. As a result, the subcarriers contained in the RUs are more widely distributed in the frequency domain, and the frequency range of the multiple subcarriers is larger than the frequency range occupied by the original consecutive RUs. Expanding the transmission bandwidth can actually be considered as a process of discretizing consecutive subcarriers.

[0061] In this application, the subcarriers included in one contiguous RU are mapped to distributed RUs, which means that there is a correspondence or mapping relationship between the contiguous RUs and the distributed RUs.

[0062] A contiguous RU is an RU that includes multiple contiguous subcarriers, where the subcarriers are spaced apart only by one or more of guard subcarriers, null subcarriers, or DC subcarriers. For example, a 26-tone RU that includes a group of 13 contiguous subcarriers and another group of 13 contiguous subcarriers is a contiguous RU. All RUs supported in 802.11ax may be understood as contiguous RUs. In this application, contiguous RUs that include K subcarriers may be referred to as contiguous K-tone RUs. For example, 26 contiguous RUs are contiguous RUs that include 26 subcarriers. That is, the concept of contiguous K-tone RUs is the same as the concept of K-tone RUs in the existing 802.11ax standard. Furthermore, contiguous RUs in this application include multiple resource units (MRUs). For simplicity, an MRU is considered to be a global RU in this application. In the following embodiments, RUs are mainly used as an example for explanation.

[0063] A distributed RU includes multiple subcarriers that are distributed in the frequency domain. In other words, a distributed RU includes multiple subcarrier groups, and any two subcarrier groups are distributed in the frequency domain. A subcarrier group includes one or more contiguous subcarriers. The name of the distributed RU is not limited in this application. For example, a distributed RU may be referred to as a distributed RU (DRU). In this application, a distributed RU that includes K subcarriers may be referred to as a distributed K-tone RU. For example, a distributed 26-tone RU is a distributed RU that includes 26 subcarriers. For the value of K, refer to the value of K for a contiguous RU. It is clear that the value of K may differ from the value of K for a contiguous RU. For example, if the bandwidth is 20 MHz, the 20 MHz bandwidth may include one or more combinations of distributed 26-tone RUs, distributed 52-tone RUs, distributed 106-tone RUs, or distributed 242-tone RUs.

[0064] The distributed RUs obtained by discretizing the consecutive RUs are distributed RUs having a mapping relationship with the consecutive RUs, and the distributed RUs may be referred to as distributed RUs corresponding to the consecutive RUs. Correspondingly, the consecutive RUs are consecutive RUs occupied by the distributed RUs.

[0065] The number of subcarriers allocated to a station is not increased, but distributed RUs are assigned to the station, or the station maps consecutive RUs designated for the station to distributed RUs. Therefore, the subcarriers allocated to the station are more widely distributed in the frequency domain, occupying a larger bandwidth, allowing the station to support greater transmit power. It should be understood that, in this application, the subcarriers included in an RU are distributed in the frequency domain, and the bandwidth of the subchannel occupied by the subcarriers is referred to as the distributed bandwidth. In this application, the distributed bandwidth may be referred to as the distributed bandwidth corresponding to a distributed RU, the distributed bandwidth of a distributed RU, or the distributed bandwidth occupied by a distributed RU.

[0066] For example, for a 26-tone RU at 20 MHz, the 26 consecutive subcarriers contained in the RU may be mapped to 40 MHz, the subchannel occupied by the distributed 26-tone RU is 40 MHz, and the distributed bandwidth occupied by the distributed 26-tone RU is 40 MHz.

[0067] For example, Figure 4 illustrates the distribution of RUs in an 80 MHz bandwidth. Figure 4 illustrates the case where the subcarriers of one 26-tone RU are discretized into two subcarrier groups. As shown in Figure 4, the 26-tone RU can be divided into two subRUs based on the subcarrier index: one subRU containing odd-numbered subcarriers and one subRU containing even-numbered subcarriers. The two subRUs are then distributed across different 20 MHz bandwidths to obtain distributed 26-tone RUs. In other words, the multiple consecutive RUs corresponding to the distributed 26-tone RU are a first consecutive 26-tone RU in a first 20 MHz bandwidth and a first consecutive 26-tone RU in a second 20 MHz bandwidth. The consecutive 26-tone RU occupies a bandwidth of approximately 2 MHz. After discretization, the 26-tone RU occupies a bandwidth of approximately 4 MHz.

[0068] In some scenarios, even if consecutive RUs are discretized based on a method similar to that in Figure 4, the device's transmit power cannot be increased. For example, for a bandwidth-limited STA, if consecutive RUs are mapped to distributed RUs and some subcarriers in the consecutive RUs are mapped to a bandwidth outside the bandwidth supported by the STA, the bandwidth-limited STA cannot use the RU and cannot increase the transmit power of the STA. In another example, a portion of the PPDU's bandwidth cannot be used. If subcarriers are mapped to distributed RUs and some subcarriers in consecutive RUs are mapped to a portion of the bandwidth, the RU cannot be used and the device's transmit power cannot be increased. The inability to use some bandwidth includes puncturing the bandwidth. For example, Figure 5 is a diagram of transmission based on preamble puncturing in the frequency domain. In Figure 5, four bandwidths are sorted in ascending order of frequency. As shown in FIG. 5, in an 80 MHz bandwidth, the second 20 MHz bandwidth is punctured and cannot be used, but the first 20 MHz bandwidth, the third 20 MHz bandwidth, and the fourth 20 MHz bandwidth, which are not punctured, may still be used.

[0069] In this application, a subchannel is a frequency range, and the bandwidth of a PPDU may include multiple subchannels. The bandwidth of a subchannel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or similar. Figure 6 shows a 6 GHz channel division diagram. In 802.11 systems, a 20 MHz subchannel (subchannel) is used as the basic unit of a channel. In other words, a 20 MHz bandwidth contains one subchannel, a 40 MHz bandwidth contains two subchannels, an 80 MHz bandwidth contains four subchannels, a 160 MHz bandwidth contains eight subchannels, and a 320 MHz bandwidth contains 16 subchannels. It is also clearly stipulated that 40 MHz channels in 5 GHz or 6 GHz do not overlap with each other to prevent excessive interference between different channels. In other words, the first 20 MHz channel and the second 20 MHz channel form the first 40 MHz channel, the third 20 MHz channel and the fourth 20 MHz channel form the second 40 MHz channel, and the rest can be inferred by analogy. The second 20 MHz channel and the third 20 MHz channel cannot form a 40 MHz channel. Because 320 MHz is scarce, the standard allows the first 160 MHz channel and the second 160 MHz channel to form a 320 MHz-1 channel, and the second 160 MHz channel and the third 160 MHz channel to form a 320 MHz-2 channel. In the embodiment of the present application, the bandwidth of at least one subchannel is the bandwidth occupied by at least one subchannel. For example, the bandwidth of one 20 MHz subchannel is 20 MHz, and the bandwidth of two 20 MHz subchannels is 40 MHz. In this application, an example is used in which the bandwidth of one sub-channel is 20 MHz.

[0070] In the present application, a sub-block is a set of multiple sub-channels, i.e., one sub-block may include multiple sub-channels. The number of sub-channels included in a sub-block is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, one sub-block may include four sub-channels. In ascending order of absolute frequency, four 20 MHz sub-channels form one 80 MHz sub-block.

[0071] In this application, the AP may indicate a bandwidth (e.g., referred to as a first bandwidth) to a STA, where the first bandwidth is a bandwidth range corresponding to the distributed RU assigned to the STA. The AP indicates the first bandwidth to the STA, so that the STA can determine the bandwidth range in which the subcarriers included in the allocated distributed RU are distributed. For example, for a bandwidth-limited STA, the first bandwidth may be the maximum bandwidth supported by the STA, i.e., the maximum bandwidth supportable by the station, within which the subcarriers included in the distributed RU assigned to the bandwidth-limited STA are distributed, and the transmit power of the bandwidth-limited STA may be increased within the supported bandwidth range. In another example, when the bandwidth of a PPDU is punctured, the first bandwidth may be a bandwidth outside the punctured bandwidth, preventing the subcarriers included in the STA's RU from being distributed within the punctured bandwidth. In this way, the transmit power of the STA may be increased when the bandwidth of a PPDU is punctured.

[0072] The first bandwidth may be determined based on one or more of the following bandwidths: the maximum bandwidth supported by the STA, the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system, and the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP. The maximum bandwidth supported by the STA is determined based on the capabilities of the STA. For example, the maximum bandwidth supported by a 20 MHz-only STA is 20 MHz, and the maximum bandwidth supported by an 80 MHz-only STA is 80 MHz. The maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system is at most the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in the distributed RUs supported by the system.

[0073] For example, the maximum bandwidth supported by the system is 80 MHz, but the system does not allow RUs within a sub-channel to be distributed over 20 MHz. In this case, the subcarriers contained in the discretized RU occupy at most 20 MHz of the sub-channel, and the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system is 20 MHz.

[0074] If a system allows sub-channels to be spread across 20 MHz but does not allow sub-channels to be spread across 80 MHz, then the maximum spread bandwidth supported by the system is 80 MHz. Note that in this application, whether RUs within a sub-channel are allowed to be spread across a sub-channel or a larger sub-channel is referred to as whether the sub-channel is allowed to be spread across a sub-channel or a larger sub-channel. For example, whether RUs within a sub-channel are allowed to be spread across 20 MHz is referred to as whether the sub-channel is allowed to be spread across 20 MHz. Whether RUs within a sub-channel can be spread across 80 MHz is referred to as whether the sub-channel is allowed to be spread across 80 MHz.

[0075] For example, the first bandwidth may be less than or equal to any one of the three bandwidths mentioned above. For example, the first bandwidth may be less than or equal to the maximum bandwidth supported by the STA, or the first bandwidth may be less than or equal to the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system, or the first bandwidth may be less than or equal to the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP. It should be understood that the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP may also be referred to as the bandwidth of a trigger-based PPDU (TB PPDU) transmitted by the STA triggered by the AP.

[0076] For example, the first bandwidth is less than or equal to the smaller of the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system and the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP; the first bandwidth is less than or equal to the smaller of the maximum bandwidth supported by the STA and the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system; The first bandwidth is less than or equal to the smaller of the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP and the maximum bandwidth supported by the system.

[0077] For example, the first bandwidth is less than or equal to the minimum bandwidth among the maximum bandwidth supported by the STA, the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system, and the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP.

[0078] Optionally, the first bandwidth is the maximum of the possible values, so that the STA obtains the maximum transmission power.

[0079] The bandwidth of the PPDU may be punctured, bandwidth-limited and full-bandwidth STAs may coexist, and to avoid overlapping of subcarriers contained in distributed RUs of different STAs, the AP may allocate RUs to STAs according to one or more of the following rules:

[0080] Rule 1: Multiple consecutive RUs are mapped separately to multiple distributed RUs, and the multiple distributed RUs correspond to the same distributed bandwidth, i.e., the sub-channel bandwidth occupied by the subcarriers included in each of the multiple distributed RUs is the same. For example, the distributed bandwidth supported by bandwidth-limited STA1 is a first bandwidth. A first consecutive RU is assigned to STA1, and the first consecutive RU is mapped to the first bandwidth to obtain the first distributed RU. A second consecutive RU within the first bandwidth is assigned to STA2. When the second consecutive RU is mapped to the second distributed RU, the second distributed RU is also distributed within the range of the first bandwidth. In other words, the first distributed RU and the second distributed RU correspond to the same distributed bandwidth. Even if a uniform distribution scheme is used for multiple consecutive RUs, the consecutive RUs are discretized within the same bandwidth range, so the subcarriers included in the multiple discretized consecutive RUs do not overlap with each other, and the discretization of consecutive RUs located outside the first bandwidth is not affected.

[0081] For example, the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz. As shown in Figure 2, the 80 MHz bandwidth is 52-tone RU1, 52-tone RU2, 26-tone RU5, 106 Tone RU2, 242 tone RU2, 242-tone RU3, and 242 Tone RU4 If the first 52-tone RU is assigned to a 20 MHz-only STA, the STA is instructed that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, indicating that the 52-tone RU1 assigned to the STA is distributed within a 20 MHz range. The 52-tone RU2, 26-tone RU5, and 106-tone RU2 within the 20 MHz bandwidth are also distributed within a 20 MHz range, i.e., the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the 52-tone RU2, 26-tone RU5, or 106-tone RU2 is also 20 MHz.

[0082] It should be understood that the sizes of the distribution bandwidths corresponding to different bandwidth-limited STAs may be the same or different. For example, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to bandwidth-limited STA1 may be bandwidth A1, the RU assigned to STA1 may be in the first 20 MHz bandwidth, and bandwidth A1 may be the first 20 MHz bandwidth. The distribution bandwidth corresponding to bandwidth-limited STA2 may be bandwidth A2, the RU assigned to STA2 may be in the second 20 MHz bandwidth, and bandwidth A2 may be the second 20 MHz bandwidth. The size of bandwidth A1 is the same as the size of bandwidth A2.

[0083] Rule 2: The bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in contiguous RUs located outside the distributed bandwidth supported by a bandwidth-limited STA and assigned to another STA must not overlap with the distributed bandwidth. For example, the distributed bandwidth of a bandwidth-limited STA is a first bandwidth, and the first contiguous RU is assigned to the bandwidth-limited STA. The first contiguous RU is mapped to the first bandwidth to obtain the first distributed RU. In this case, the first bandwidth must not overlap with the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a third contiguous RU located outside the first bandwidth and assigned to another STA. Continuing with the previous example, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to 242-tone RU2 cannot overlap with the first 20 MHz bandwidth. This can avoid collisions caused by overlapping subcarriers included in distributed RUs assigned to bandwidth-limited STAs and distributed RUs assigned to full-bandwidth STAs.

[0084] Rule 3: Contiguous RUs corresponding to a sub-channel are not allowed to be mapped to distributed RUs across the sub-channel. That is, the subcarriers included in the distributed RUs obtained by discretizing contiguous RUs across the sub-channel are distributed within the sub-channel. This is referred to as a sub-channel not being allowed to be distributed across the sub-channel. In this case, an example in which the sub-channel is 20 MHz is used. Even if the maximum bandwidth supported by a bandwidth-limited STA is greater than 20 MHz, if the contiguous RUs assigned to the STA belong to a 20 MHz sub-channel, the contiguous RUs are only distributed within the 20 MHz range, or the subcarriers included in the distributed RUs assigned to the STA are distributed within the 20 MHz range. That is, the distribution bandwidth of the STA is 20 MHz.

[0085] Rule 4: Contiguous RUs corresponding to a subchannel are allowed to be mapped to distributed RUs across subchannels, but contiguous RUs corresponding to a subchannel are not allowed to be distributed across subblocks. This is referred to as "subchannels are allowed to be distributed across subchannels, but subchannels are not allowed to be distributed across subblocks." In other words, the subcarriers included in the distributed RUs obtained by discretizing contiguous RUs in a subchannel can be distributed within the bandwidth range of the subblock. Similarly, an example is used in which the subchannel is 20 MHz and the subblock is 80 MHz. In this case, even if the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the STA is 80 MHz or more, the subcarriers included in the distributed RUs assigned to the STA cannot cross 80 MHz and can only be distributed within the 80 MHz range. For example, one subblock includes subchannel 1, subchannel 2, subchannel 3, and subchannel 4 in ascending frequency order. Sub-channel 1 is not allowed to be spread across 20 MHz. Sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, and sub-channel 4 are allowed to be spread across 20 MHz, but none of sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, and sub-channel 4 are allowed to be spread across 80 MHz, and the spread bandwidth corresponding to one or more RUs in sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, and sub-channel 4 may be 80 MHz.

[0086] Optionally, the protocol may agree on whether multiple sub-channels distributed across a sub-channel are permitted to jointly form a distribution bandwidth. Continuing with the previous example, if multiple sub-channels distributed across a sub-channel are permitted to jointly form a distribution bandwidth, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to one or more RUs in sub-channel 2 and sub-channel 3 may be 40 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to one or more RUs in sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, and sub-channel 4 may be 60 MHz.

[0087] Rule 5: Contiguous RUs corresponding to a subchannel are allowed to be mapped to distributed RUs across the subblock to which the subchannel belongs. In other words, the subcarriers included in the distributed RU obtained by discretizing consecutive RUs in a subchannel may be distributed across a bandwidth range larger than the bandwidth range of the subblock to which the subchannel belongs, which is referred to as the subchannel being allowed to be distributed across the subblock to which the subchannel belongs. For example, if the subblock is 80 MHz, when the RUs corresponding to the subchannel are allowed to be mapped to distributed RUs, the subcarriers included in the distributed RU are distributed across a distribution bandwidth larger than 80 MHz, for example, across a bandwidth range of 160 MHz or 320 MHz.

[0088] Rule 6: Consecutive RUs corresponding to a subchannel are allowed to be mapped to distributed RUs across a subblock set. This refers to whether a subchannel is allowed to be distributed across a subblock set or across multiple subblocks. For example, a subchannel within a subblock is allowed to be distributed across subblocks only if all subchannels contained in the subblock are allowed to be distributed across subchannels; otherwise, subchannels within a subblock are not allowed to be distributed across subblocks. For example, a subblock is 80 MHz and a subchannel is 20 MHz. The bandwidth of a PPDU includes subblock 1, subblock 2, subblock 3, and subblock 4 in ascending frequency order. Subblock 1 and Subblock 3 each contain subchannels that are not permitted to be spread across 20 MHz, all subchannels in Subblock 2 are permitted to be spread across 20 MHz, and all subchannels in Subblock 4 are also permitted to be spread across 20 MHz. Rule 6 indicates that when consecutive RUs within a subchannel in Subblock 1 are mapped to distributed RUs, the consecutive RUs are permitted to be spread only within Subblock 1, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the distributed RUs is the bandwidth of Subblock 1. The same is true for Subblock 3. When consecutive RUs within a subchannel in Subblock 2 or Subblock 4 are mapped to distributed RUs, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the distributed RUs may be 160 MHz, which is referred to as the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the subchannel being 160 MHz.

[0089] Rule 7: At least one sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across a sub-block, provided that the sub-block contains at least one sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-block, and the distributed bandwidth is the sum of the bandwidths of the sub-channels that are permitted to be distributed across the sub-block. For example, if a sub-block contains one or two sub-channels that are permitted to be distributed across the sub-block, then those one or two sub-channels are permitted to be distributed across the sub-block. For example, a sub-block is 80 MHz and a sub-channel is 20 MHz. The bandwidth of a PPDU contains sub-block 1, sub-block 2, sub-block 3, and sub-block 4 in ascending frequency order. All sub-channels in Sub-Block 1 and Sub-Block 2 are permitted to be spread across 20 MHz, none of the sub-channels in Sub-Block 3 are permitted to be spread across 20 MHz, one sub-channel in Sub-Block 4 is permitted to be spread across 20 MHz, and the other three sub-channels in Sub-Block 4 are permitted to be spread across 20 MHz. In this case, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the sub-channels permitted to be spread across 20 MHz may be 220 MHz.

[0090] Rule 8: Two or more sub-blocks are permitted to jointly form a distribution bandwidth, and one of the two or more sub-blocks includes a sub-channel permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz. This may be understood as whether RUs in at least one sub-channel permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz and included in a sub-block can be distributed together with RUs in another sub-block.

[0091] The AP can allocate distributed RUs to each STA based on Rules 1 to 8. As described above, the AP can directly or indirectly instruct the STA on the distributed RUs to be allocated to the STA. If the distributed RUs are allocated to the STA in a manner that indirectly indicates consecutive RUs, the STA needs to know the bandwidth range into which the consecutive RUs are discretized in order to obtain the distributed RUs. Therefore, the AP needs to instruct the STA on the distributed bandwidth (referred to as the first bandwidth in this application) corresponding to the distributed RUs allocated to the STA. It is clear that when the AP directly instructs the STA on the distributed RUs to allocate the distributed RUs to the STA, the AP may also instruct the STA on the distributed bandwidth corresponding to the distributed RUs. In this application, instructing the STA on the distributed bandwidth corresponding to the distributed RUs allocated to the station is referred to as instructing the STA on the distributed bandwidth (referred to as the first bandwidth in this application) corresponding to the station. In this application, an AP instructing a STA on a first bandwidth may also be referred to as an AP instructing a STA on a distributed bandwidth or distributed granularity, or an AP instructing a STA on an expanded bandwidth or expanded granularity.

[0092] To facilitate understanding of the solution provided in the present application, the following describes, with reference to the accompanying drawings, how an AP instructs a STA on a first bandwidth and a first distributed RU corresponding to the first bandwidth. The first distributed RU may be obtained by discretizing contiguous RUs allocated to the STA by the AP in the first bandwidth, or may be a distributed RU located in the first bandwidth and allocated to the STA by the AP. It can be understood that the first distributed RU includes multiple discontinuous subcarriers in the frequency domain. The first bandwidth is the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU.

[0093] 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method in a wireless local area network according to an embodiment of the present application. The steps are described below.

[0094] S701: An AP sends a trigger frame to a STA, and in response, the STA receives the trigger frame sent by the AP, the trigger frame including resource allocation information and first instruction information, the first instruction information instructing the station of a first bandwidth, and the resource allocation information is a first distributed RU allocated to the STA, which corresponds to the first bandwidth.

[0095] S702: The STA transmits a TB PPDU on the first distributed RU based on the trigger of the trigger frame. It should be noted that transmitting a TB PPDU on the first distributed RU broadly means transmitting a TB PPDU on the distributed RU and / or a sub-channel corresponding to the distributed RU.

[0096] The AP can still use the current RU indication method, i.e., it can use the resource unit allocation subfield to indicate to the STA the resource units allocated to the STA. For example, the resource allocation information is carried in the resource unit allocation subfield and indicates the first distributed RU allocated to the STA by the AP. The AP may directly indicate the first distributed RU through the resource unit allocation subfield, or may indirectly indicate the first distributed RU. The specific indication method is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The direct or indirect indication of the first distributed RU by the AP falls within the scope of "the resource allocation information indicates the first distributed resource unit RU allocated to the station, which corresponds to the first bandwidth" described in the present application.

[0097] In the direct indication method, the AP indicates a first bandwidth through the first indication information and indicates a first distributed RU to the STA through the resource allocation unit subfield.

[0098] A distributed RU may be represented by a subcarrier sequence number. In an embodiment of the present application, the subcarrier sequence number in the distributed RU may be predefined. For example, the subcarrier sequence number of the distributed RU is defined in a format similar to that in the attached Table 1. The AP can instruct the first distributed RU to the STA based on the defined subcarrier sequence number in the distributed RU. It should be noted that the sequence number of each subcarrier may be the subcarrier number of a subcarrier in the corresponding actual frequency band, or may be customized. In an embodiment of the present application, the specific implementation form of the subcarrier sequence number is not limited.

[0099] Alternatively, the subcarrier sequence numbers in a distributed RU may be obtained according to a mapping rule between consecutive RUs and distributed RUs. For example, the sequence of subcarrier sequence numbers corresponding to consecutive RUs (referred to as the original subcarrier sequence) is mapped to the sequence of subcarrier sequence numbers in the distributed RU (referred to as the target subcarrier sequence number sequence). In other words, the sequence numbers in the original subcarrier sequence number sequence are mapped one-to-one to the corresponding elements in the target subcarrier sequence number sequence. For example, if a distributed RU is distributed in 80 MHz, all subcarriers in the distributed RU are distributed sequentially with an interval of 13 subcarriers, i.e., the subcarriers in the distributed RU are mapped with an interval of 13 subcarriers. For example, the subcarrier sequence numbers are the subcarrier numbers of the subcarriers in the corresponding actual frequency band. The corresponding sequence numbers of the subcarriers in the first 26-tone RU in 80 MHz are [-499:-474], and there are a total of 26 subcarriers. For 26 subcarriers, the first subcarrier with a sequence number of -499 is mapped, followed by mapping at intervals of 13 subcarriers until all subcarriers in the first 26-tone RU are mapped. The second 26-tone RU is then mapped, and the corresponding sequence numbers of the subcarriers in the second 26-tone RU are [-473:-448]. The remaining subcarriers can be deduced by analogy. If a subcarrier exceeds the rightmost limit, e.g., 494, then a subcarrier with a sequence number of -498 is mapped. If there are null subcarriers between RUs, e.g., between the second and third 26-tone RUs at [-447, -446], mapping can also be performed at intervals of 13 subcarriers.

[0100] The AP can allocate RUs to a STA through the resource unit allocation subfield. The RUs may be consecutive RUs or distributed RUs. Therefore, when allocating resources to a STA, the AP can further inform the STA that the RUs allocated by the AP to the STA are consecutive RUs or distributed RUs. In other words, the AP informs the STA to analyze the resource unit allocation subfield according to the rule of consecutive RUs or distributed RUs. The AP informs the STA whether the RUs are consecutive RUs or distributed RUs by including second indication information in the trigger frame. The second indication information can indicate that the RUs allocated by the AP to the STA are consecutive RUs or distributed RUs. Alternatively, the second indication information can indicate to the STA that the RU allocation method is consecutive RUs or distributed RUs. The STA can determine that the RUs allocated by the AP to the STA are consecutive RUs or distributed RUs based on the second indication information, and can further determine the location of specific subcarriers in the RUs allocated to the STA by analyzing the resource unit allocation subfield. It is clear that in the present application, whether the RUs allocated to a STA by an AP are contiguous RUs or distributed RUs may be defined in advance, and is not required to be indicated by the second indication information. Furthermore, the AP may allocate distributed RUs to a STA, and the STA may determine that the RUs allocated to the STA by the AP are distributed RUs based on the specific subcarrier locations of the distributed RUs. In this case, the AP does not need to indicate to the STA that the RUs allocated to the STA are contiguous RUs or distributed RUs. Therefore, the second indication information is not required.

[0101] In the indirect indication method, the AP indicates a first bandwidth to the STA through first indication information and indicates a first consecutive RU through resource allocation information. After receiving the resource allocation information, the STA discretizes the first consecutive RU in the first bandwidth to obtain a first distributed RU.

[0102] For example, a mapping relationship (or mapping rule) between the consecutive RUs and the distributed RUs may be predefined, and the STA maps the first consecutive RU to the first bandwidth based on the mapping relationship to obtain the first distributed RU. In the indirect instruction method, the trigger frame sent by the AP to the STA may also include second instruction information, which instructs the STA to map the first consecutive RU allocated to the STA to the distributed RU.

[0103] According to the above eight rules, there are also multiple ways for the AP to instruct the STA of the first bandwidth. The specific ways are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The first indication information can be carried in a reserved bit in the common information field (as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B) or in a reserved bit in the uplink high efficiency signal field A2 (UL HE-SIG-A2). Alternatively, the first indication information can be carried in a trigger-dependent common field, a reserved bit in the special user information field, or a newly defined field. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that, given Rules 1 and 2, the AP can instruct the STA of the first bandwidth according to one or more of Rules 3 to 8.

[0104] Indication Method 1: The AP can indicate a first bandwidth from a predefined distributed bandwidth set. For example, the distributed bandwidth set includes one or more of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz. It should be noted that the number and size of the bandwidths actually included in the distributed bandwidth set are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the distributed bandwidth set may further include 60 MHz, 120 MHz, 240 MHz, 480 MHz, and 640 MHz.

[0105] Assume that it is specified that any RU cannot be distributed across sub-blocks, i.e., the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system is the bandwidth occupied by a sub-block. Considering the maximum bandwidth supported by a bandwidth-limited STA, e.g., the bandwidth occupied by one sub-channel, the distributed bandwidth set may include the maximum bandwidth supported by the bandwidth-limited STA and the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block. For example, the sub-channel is 20 MHz and the sub-block is 80 MHz. The distributed bandwidth set may include 20 MHz and 80 MHz. The first indication information may be 1-bit information, instructing the STA that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz. For example, a 1-bit value of "1" indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, and a 1-bit value of "0" indicates that the first bandwidth is 80 MHz (this is used as an example in this specification). Alternatively, a 1-bit value of "0" indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, and a 1-bit value of "1" indicates that the first bandwidth is 80 MHz. Alternatively, the distributed bandwidth set may include the maximum bandwidth supported by the bandwidth-limited STA and a bandwidth smaller than the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block. For example, the distributed bandwidth set may include 20 MHz and 40 MHz. The first indication information occupies 1 bit to indicate that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz or 40 MHz.

[0106] It should be noted that RUs / MRUs with a size of 996 tones or more may not be distributed by default. It can also be understood that the bandwidth occupied by a discretized RU / MRU with a size of 996 tones or more is equal to the bandwidth occupied by a continuous RU before discretization. In other words, a 996-tone RU being distributed within 80 MHz is equivalent to not being distributed. In other words, if the size of the RU / MRU (i.e., the number of subcarriers included in the RU / MRU) is equal to or greater than the number of subcarriers included in the distribution bandwidth, it indicates that the RU / MRU is not distributed by default. For RUs / MRUs with a size of 996 tones or more, the AP can instruct whether the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the RU / MRU is 80 MHz or the bandwidth of the PPDU. It should be noted that if it is instructed that continuous RUs are not distributed, or if it is instructed that the distribution bandwidth of continuous RUs is equal to the bandwidth occupied by the continuous RUs, the AP and STAs perform transmissions on the continuous RUs.

[0107] For example, Figure 8 shows the RU distribution in 160 MHz. The 160 MHz bandwidth is divided into the following order of increasing frequency: 26-tone RU1, 26-tone RU2, 52-tone RU2, (106+26) Tone RU1, 242 tone RU2, 484-tone RU2, and 996 Tone RU2 (Guard subcarriers, DC subcarriers, and the like are not shown in FIG. 8). (106+26)-tone RU1 (shown by a dashed line in FIG. 8) is an MRU with a size of 106 tones. 26-tone RU1, i.e., the first 26-tone RU, is assigned to a 20 MHz-only STA. According to Rules 1, 2, and 4, the AP can use the first indication information to instruct a 20 MHz-only STA that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz. For example, the value indicated by the first indication information is "1," indicating that the first bandwidth corresponding to the STA is 20 MHz. For the STA, the 20 MHz bandwidth can be considered by default as the 20 MHz where the first 26-tone RU is located, i.e., the first 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0108] Rule 1 allows STA2 to know that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to other RUs in the first 20 MHz bandwidth (i.e., 26-tone RU2, 52-tone RU2, and (106+26)-tone RU) is also 20 MHz. If three other RUs in the 20 MHz bandwidth are further allocated to another STA, the AP instructs the other STA that the distribution bandwidth is also 20 MHz according to Rule 1. Rule 2 allows STA2 to know that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to 242-tone RU2 cannot overlap with the first 20 MHz bandwidth. If 242-tone RU2 is allowed to be distributed within a bandwidth range outside the first 20 MHz bandwidth, the AP instructs STA2 that the distribution bandwidth may be a 60 MHz bandwidth. If STA2 is a bandwidth-limited STA, e.g., a 20 MHz-only STA, and RUs in 242-tone RU2 are allocated to STA2, the AP instructs STA2 that the distribution bandwidth is the 20 MHz bandwidth to which the RU belongs, i.e., the second 20 MHz bandwidth. In this case, it can be understood that the 242-tone RU2 may be considered not to be distributed. It can be known from Rules 1, 2, and 4 that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the 484-tone RU2 is 40 MHz. The AP can instruct a STA that is assigned an RU in the 484-tone RU2 that the distribution bandwidth is 40 MHz. The distribution bandwidth corresponding to the 996-tone RU2 is 80 MHz, and the AP can instruct a STA that is assigned an RU in the 996-tone RU2 that the distribution bandwidth is 80 MHz.

[0109] It is specified that any RU can be distributed across sub-blocks, i.e., it is assumed that the maximum distribution bandwidth supported by the system is the PPDU bandwidth. Considering the maximum bandwidth supported by a bandwidth-limited STA, e.g., the bandwidth occupied by one sub-channel, the distribution bandwidth set may include the maximum bandwidth supported by the bandwidth-limited STA and the PPDU bandwidth. For example, the sub-channel is 20 MHz. The distribution bandwidth set may include 20 MHz and the PPDU bandwidth. The first indication information may occupy one bit to indicate that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz or the PPDU bandwidth. If the PPDU bandwidth is 20 MHz, the first bandwidth is 20 MHz by default. The first indication information may occupy at least one bit, and at least one bit may be reserved or indicate some value. In other words, the first bandwidth is 20 MHz by default.

[0110] It is clear that the first indication information may alternatively occupy multiple bits to indicate a larger size of the dispersion bandwidth. For example, if the predefined dispersion bandwidth set includes 20 MHz, 40 MHz, and 80 MHz, the first indication information may occupy two bits, and one status value of the two bits corresponds to one dispersion bandwidth. In another example, if the predefined dispersion bandwidth set includes all possible bandwidths, such as 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz, the first indication information may occupy three bits, and one status value of the three bits corresponds to one dispersion bandwidth.

[0111] It can be understood that in the case where discretization cannot be performed on the bandwidth of the PPDU due to puncturing, the above-mentioned method for indicating the first bandwidth to the STA through the first indication information can also be applied. For example, 320 MHz is 242 Tone 1-x-484 Tone 2-996 Tone 3-996 Tone 4-996 Tone 5 where x indicates the punctured 242-tone RU or 20 MHz sub-channel. Assume that 242-tone RU1 is distributed across the first 20 MHz bandwidth, 484-tone RU2 is distributed across 40 MHz, 996-tone RU3 is distributed across the corresponding 80 MHz bandwidth, and 996-tone RU4 and 996-tone RU5 are distributed across the corresponding 80 MHz + 80 MHz bandwidth. In this case, the distribution bandwidths corresponding to the RUs are 20 MHz (no distribution), 40 MHz (no distribution), 80 MHz (no distribution), 160 MHz, and 160 MHz, respectively.

[0112] If multiple sub-channels allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz jointly form a distributed bandwidth, the AP may further indicate which sub-channels form the distributed bandwidth. For example, a sub-channel is 20 MHz. If three sub-channels are allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz, the AP may indicate that the distributed bandwidth is 60 MHz. In this case, the AP must further indicate which 20 MHz bandwidths are included in the 60 MHz. For example, the bandwidth of the PPDU is 80 MHz, i.e., there are four sub-channels. Four status values ​​(or entries) can indicate different types of 60 MHz bandwidths. For example, there are four cases: "0111," "1011," "1101," and "1110." 1 indicates that the 60 MHz bandwidth includes three 20 MHz sub-channels, and 0 indicates another 20 MHz sub-channel.

[0113] Indication Method 2: The AP can indirectly indicate the first bandwidth to the STA by indicating the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel. For example, if a sub-channel is not allowed to be distributed across the sub-channel, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to consecutive RUs in the sub-channel is the bandwidth occupied by the sub-channel. If consecutive RUs assigned to the STA belong to the sub-channel, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the STA is the bandwidth occupied by the sub-channel. Similarly, the AP can indirectly indicate the first bandwidth to the STA by indicating whether a sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-block. Below, a specific example is used to explain how the AP instructs the STA about the first bandwidth. Below, an example is used in which the sub-channel is 20 MHz and the sub-block is 80 MHz.

[0114] Example 1: According to Rules 3 and 4, the first indication information may include an N-bit bitmap, where N is the number of sub-channels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU, one bit in the N-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-channel, and a sub-channel corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the N-bit bitmap is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and a sub-channel corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the N-bit bitmap is not allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels (this is used as an example in the present specification). Alternatively, conversely, a sub-channel corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the N-bit bitmap is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and a sub-channel corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the N-bit bitmap is not allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels. In Indication Scheme 1 shown in Figures 10A, 10B, and 10C, the first indication information may include an N-bit bitmap indicating whether a sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels.

[0115] The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the multiple sub-channels corresponding to multiple "1s" may be a bandwidth including one or more of the multiple sub-channels. For example, the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to any one of two 20 MHz sub-channels corresponding to two "1s" may be 20 MHz or 40 MHz. Optionally, four 20 MHz sub-channels are allowed to be an 80 MHz sub-block and dispersed across 20 MHz. The multiple sub-channels within a sub-block may form a dispersion bandwidth of 40 MHz, 60 MHz, or 80 MHz. Specifically, the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the multiple sub-channels corresponding to multiple "1s" may be specified. For example, the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the multiple sub-channels corresponding to multiple "1s" may be specified as 20 MHz. The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the multiple sub-channels corresponding to multiple "1s" may be specified as the bandwidth occupied by the multiple sub-channels. For example, the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to any one of two 20 MHz sub-channels corresponding to two "1s" is 40 MHz, and the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to three "1s" is 40 MHz. 3 The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to any one of the four 20 MHz sub-channels is 60 MHz.

[0116] It is assumed that the agreed distribution bandwidth types include 20 MHz and 80 MHz. For example, FIG. 11 shows distribution bandwidths corresponding to 16 20 MHz sub-channels included in 320 MHz. In FIG. 11, an example is used in which four sub-blocks are included and each sub-block includes four sub-channels. As shown in FIG. 11, N is 16, that is, the first indication information may be a 16-bit bitmap, and the 16-bit bitmap is "0111 1111 0000 1111" The first instruction information is The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to the first sub-channel is 20 MHz, The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the second to fourth sub-channels is 20 MHz. a dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the fifth sub-channel through the eighth sub-channel may be 80 MHz; The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the 9th to 12th sub-channels is shown to be 20 MHz. The distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the 13th to 16th subchannels may be 80 MHz. If the RU assigned to the STA is located on the first subchannel, the first indication information instructs the STA that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz. If the RU assigned to the STA is located on the second subchannel, the first indication information instructs the STA that the first bandwidth may be 20 MHz. If the RU assigned to the STA is located on the fifth subchannel, the first indication information instructs the STA that the first bandwidth may be 80 MHz.

[0117] As another example, FIG. 12 shows the distribution bandwidths corresponding to 24 20 MHz sub-channels included in 480 MHz. In FIG. 10A, FIG. 10B, and FIG. 10C, an example is used in which four sub-blocks are included and each sub-block includes four sub-channels. As shown in FIG. 12, N is 24, that is, the first indication information may be a 24-bit bitmap, and the 24-bit bitmap is "0111 1111 0000 1111 1011 0000" The first instruction information is The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to the first sub-channel is 20 MHz, The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the second to fourth sub-channels is 20 MHz. The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the fifth to eighth sub-channels is 80 MHz, The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the 9th to 12th sub-channels is 20 MHz. The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the 13th to 16th sub-channels is 80 MHz, The dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of the 17th to 20th sub-channels is 20 MHz, The distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the 21st to 24th subchannels is 80 MHz. Similarly, the STA can determine the location and size of the first bandwidth based on the location of the assigned RU.

[0118] Assume that the agreed-upon types of distribution bandwidth include 20 MHz, 40 MHz, and 80 MHz. For example, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the second sub-channel and the third sub-channel may be 40 MHz. If the AP instructs the STA through the first instruction information that the first bandwidth is 40 MHz, the AP may further instruct the STA on the sub-channels included in 40 MHz. Similarly, assume that the agreed-upon types of distribution bandwidth include 20 MHz, 60 MHz, and 80 MHz. For example, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the second sub-channel and the third sub-channel may be 60 MHz. If the AP instructs the STA through the first instruction information that the first bandwidth is 60 MHz, the AP may further instruct the STA on the sub-channels included in 60 MHz. Specifically, for how the AP instructs the STA on the sub-channels included in 40 MHz or 60 MHz, please refer to the method for instructing the sub-channels included in 60 MHz in the above-mentioned instruction method 1.

[0119] Example 2: According to Rules 3 and 4, the first instruction information may include an M-bit bitmap, where one bit in the M-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block. Each sub-channel in the sub-block corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the M-bit bitmap is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and each sub-channel in the sub-block corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the M-bit bitmap is not allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels (this is used as an example in the present specification). Alternatively, each sub-channel in the sub-block corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the M-bit bitmap is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and each sub-channel in the sub-block corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the M-bit bitmap is not allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels. Continuing with the example of FIG. 11, M=4, the first instruction information is a 4-bit bitmap, and the 4-bit bitmap is "0101". Correspondingly, the first instruction information indicates that both sub-block 2 and sub-block 4 are permitted to be distributed over 20 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 2 and sub-block 4 is 80 MHz. The distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 1 and sub-block 3 is 20 MHz. Continuing with the example of FIG. 12, M=6, the first indication information is a 6-bit bitmap, and the 6-bit bitmap is "010101." Correspondingly, the first indication information indicates that sub-block 2, sub-block 4, and sub-block 6 are permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel of sub-block 2, sub-block 4, and sub-block 6 is 80 MHz. The distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel of sub-block 1, sub-block 3, and sub-block 5 is 20 MHz. For example, if the RU assigned to the STA belongs to the sub-channel of sub-block 1, the first indication information instructs the STA that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz. If the RU assigned to the STA belongs to the sub-channel of sub-block 2, the first indication information instructs the STA that the first bandwidth is the bandwidth of sub-block 2, i.e., 80 MHz. In this indication method, M is the number of sub-blocks, so the first indication information occupies a small number of bits and occupies a small overhead.

[0120] In Examples 1 and 2, according to Rule 5, the AP may indirectly indicate the first bandwidth to the STA by indicating whether sub-channels are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks. For example, the first indication information may further include an S-bit bitmap, where one bit in the S-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks. In Indication Scheme 1 shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C, the first indication information may include an S-bit bitmap indicating whether sub-blocks are allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. Sub-channels corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the S-bit bitmap are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks, and sub-channels corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the S-bit bitmap are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks. do not have(This is used as an example in this specification.) Alternatively, sub-channels corresponding to a value 0 of a bit in the S-bit bitmap are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks, and sub-channels corresponding to a value 1 of a bit in the S-bit bitmap are not allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks. Still using the example of Figure 11, the first indication information is "0111 1111 0000 1111 0101" For an explanation of the first 16 bits in the first indication, please refer to the explanation in Example 1. The last 4 bits indicate that the subchannels of Subblock 1 and Subblock 3 are not allowed to be distributed across subblocks, and the subchannels of Subblock 2 and Subblock 4 are allowed to be distributed across subblocks. If the RU assigned to the STA belongs to the second subchannel, the first indication indicates to the STA that the first bandwidth may be the bandwidth occupied by the second to fourth subchannels, i.e., 60 MHz.

[0121] Example 3: According to Rule 8, the AP may indirectly indicate the first bandwidth to the STA by further indicating whether two or more sub-blocks are permitted to form a distributed bandwidth, where one of the two or more sub-blocks includes a sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz. For example, the first indication information may further include a 4-bit bitmap, where one bit corresponds to one sub-block, and the bit indicates whether RUs in at least one sub-channel that are permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel, which are included in the sub-block, and RUs in another sub-block, can be jointly distributed.

[0122] Example 4: According to Rules 4, 6, and 7, an AP can indirectly indicate a first bandwidth to a STA by indicating whether subchannels are allowed to be distributed across a set of subblocks. For example, the first indication information may include an N-bit bitmap, where one bit corresponds to one subchannel and the bit indicates whether the corresponding subchannel is allowed to be distributed across the subchannels. Furthermore, the first indication information may further include a P-bit bitmap, where one bit corresponds to one subblock and the bit indicates whether each subchannel included in the corresponding subblock is allowed to be distributed across the subchannels. Each subchannel of a subblock corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the P-bit bitmap is allowed to be distributed across the subblocks, and each subchannel of a subblock corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the P-bit bitmap is not allowed to be distributed across the subblocks (this is used as an example in this specification). Alternatively, each sub-channel of a sub-block corresponding to a bit value of 0 in the P-bit bitmap is allowed to be distributed across the sub-block, and each sub-channel of a sub-block corresponding to a bit value of 1 in the P-bit bitmap is not allowed to be distributed across the sub-block.

[0123] For example, still using the example of FIG. 11, the first indication information may include two bitmaps: a 16-bit bitmap and a 4-bit bitmap. In the 16-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 20 MHz sub-channel and indicates whether the sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz. In the 4-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 80 MHz sub-block and indicates whether all sub-channels included in the sub-block are allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. In the 16-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 20 MHz sub-channel and indicates whether all sub-channels included in the sub-block are allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. "0111 1111 0000 1111" and a 4-bit bitmap is "0101" If the first indication is "160 MHz", all subchannels in Subblock 2 and Subblock 4 are allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each subchannel in Subblock 2 and Subblock 4 may be 160 MHz. The subchannels in Subblock 1 and Subblock 3 are not allowed to be distributed across the 80 MHz set. For example, if an RU assigned to a STA by the AP is located in a subchannel belonging to Subblock 2, the first indication instructs the STA that the first bandwidth is 160 MHz. It is possible to know from Rule 4 that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the second to fourth subchannels in Subblock 1 may be 60 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the four subchannels in Subblock 3 is 20 MHz. If an RU assigned to a STA by the AP belongs to the second subchannel in Subblock 1, the first indication instructs the STA that the first bandwidth is 60 MHz. Still using the example of FIG. 12, the first indication information may include two bitmaps: a 24-bit bitmap and a 6-bit bitmap. In the 24-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 20 MHz sub-channel and indicates whether the sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz. In the 6-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 80 MHz sub-block and indicates whether all sub-channels included in the sub-block are allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. The 24-bit bitmap "0111 1111 0000 1111 1011 1111" and a 6-bit bitmap is "010101" indicates that all subchannels in Subblock 2, Subblock 4, and Subblock 6 are allowed to be spread across 80 MHz, and the spread bandwidth corresponding to each subchannel in Subblock 2, Subblock 4, and Subblock 6 may be 240 MHz. The subchannels in Subblock 1, Subblock 3, and Subblock 5 are not allowed to be spread across the 80 MHz set. Similarly, the STA may determine the location and size of the first bandwidth based on the assigned RU.

[0124] It is defined that if a sub-block includes at least one sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-block, then each of the at least one sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block. Still using the example of FIG. 11, the first indication information includes a 16-bit bitmap and a 4-bit bitmap. In the 16-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 20 MHz sub-channel and indicates whether the sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz. In the 4-bit bitmap, one bit corresponds to one 80 MHz sub-block and indicates whether the sub-block includes sub-channels that are permitted to be distributed across 20 MHz. The 16-bit bitmap is "0111 1111 0000 1111" and a 4-bit bitmap is "1101" 11, which indicates that the sub-channels in FIG. 11 are allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz, that is, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the 11 sub-channels may be the bandwidth occupied by the 11 sub-channels, that is, 220 MHz. For example, if the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to any one of the 11 sub-channels, the first indication information instructs the STA that the first bandwidth is 220 MHz.

[0125] Example 5: According to Rules 3 and 4, the first indication information may include a 2-bit bitmap, which indicates that the distributed bandwidth is a bandwidth corresponding to a sub-channel, a bandwidth corresponding to a sub-block, or a bandwidth of a PPDU. It can be understood that the sub-channel is, for example, a 20 MHz sub-channel to which the RU assigned to the STA belongs, and the sub-block is, for example, an 80 MHz sub-block to which the RU assigned to the STA belongs.

[0126] For example, a two-bit bitmap may include a first bit (b0) and a second bit (b1), where b0 indicates whether all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-channels, and b1 indicates whether all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks. For example, b0 equal to 1 indicates that all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and correspondingly, b0 equal to 0 indicates that not all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels (this is used as an example in this specification). Alternatively, b0 equal to 0 indicates that all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and correspondingly, b0 equal to 1 indicates that not all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels. b1 being 1 indicates that all sub-channels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks, and correspondingly, b1 being 0 indicates that not all sub-channels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks (this is used as an example in this specification). Alternatively, 1b1 indicates that not all sub-channels included in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across the sub-blocks, and correspondingly, 0 b1 indicates that all sub-channels contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across the sub-blocks.

[0127] If all sub-channels contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-channels and all sub-blocks contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks, the distribution bandwidth of the STA is the bandwidth of the PPDU. If all sub-channels contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-channels, but not all sub-blocks contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks, the distribution bandwidth of the STA is 80 MHz. If not all sub-channels contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-channels, and not all sub-blocks contained in the PPDU bandwidth are allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks, the distribution bandwidth of the STA is 20 MHz. For example, the sub-channel is 20 MHz and the sub-block is 80 MHz. If the first indication information is "11", it indicates that the first bandwidth is the bandwidth of the PPDU. If the first indication information is "10", it indicates that the first bandwidth is 80 MHz. If the first indication information is "00", it indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz. It can be understood that the first indication information cannot be "01" because "01" may be reserved.

[0128] Optionally, the 2-bit bitmap can be an index, where different indices correspond to different dispersion bandwidths. For example, the index corresponding to "00" is 0, and when the index is 0, the dispersion bandwidth is 20 MHz. The index corresponding to "10" is 2, and when the index is 2, the dispersion bandwidth is 80 MHz. The index corresponding to "11" is 3, and when the index is 3, the dispersion bandwidth is the bandwidth of the PPDU.

[0129] Example 6: An index may indicate a dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel within a sub-block. For example, for each of a plurality of sub-blocks, a dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of a plurality of sub-channels included in the sub-block may be predefined, and the sub-block is associated with an index. The AP may indicate the sub-block via the index and further indicate the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of a plurality of sub-channels included in the sub-block. In indication method 4 shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C, the first indication information may include an index corresponding to each sub-block to indicate the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel within each sub-block.

[0130] For example, one sub-block corresponds to a 4-bit index. Table 2 shows the mapping relationship between various indexes in one sub-block and the distribution bandwidths corresponding to the sub-channels in the sub-block. It should be noted that Table 2 uses an example in which one index corresponds to a 4-bit bitmap corresponding to one sub-block. The specific implementation of the index is not limited to the embodiments of the present application. In Table 2, "1" indicates that the sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz, and "0" indicates that the sub-channel is not allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz. Table 2

[0131] [Table 2]

[0132] The first indication information may include one or more first indexes, where each first index corresponds to one sub-block and indicates a distributed bandwidth range corresponding to each sub-channel included in the sub-block. For example, it can be known from Table 2 that the first indication information includes "1100 1111", the RU assigned to the STA belongs to a sub-channel in the second sub-block, and the first bandwidth of the STA is 80 MHz.

[0133] As shown in Table 2, only whether a sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channel is taken into consideration, not whether a sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-block. If the sub-channel in the sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-block, the first indication information further indicates distribution bandwidths corresponding to the respective sub-blocks included in the bandwidth of the PPDU.

[0134] For example, according to Rule 8, a reserved index (entry) in Table 2 may indicate the distribution bandwidth corresponding to the RUs in a sub-block. For example, multiple sub-blocks with the same index may be distributed across an 80 MHz set. If two sub-blocks have different indices, neither of the two sub-blocks is allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. For example, if two sub-blocks correspond to the same index, it indicates that the two sub-blocks may form one group, and the corresponding distribution bandwidth is 160 MHz. If three sub-blocks correspond to the same index, it indicates that the three sub-blocks may form one group, and the corresponding distribution bandwidth is 240 MHz. If four sub-blocks correspond to the same index, it indicates that the four sub-blocks may form one group, and the corresponding distribution bandwidth is 320 MHz. If four sub-blocks correspond to different indices, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each of the four sub-blocks is 80 MHz.

[0135] For example, Table 3 shows a mapping relationship between multiple indexes and multiple sub-blocks. It should be noted that Table 3 uses an example in which one index corresponds to a 4-bit bitmap corresponding to one sub-block. The specific implementation of the index is not limited to the embodiments of the present application. In Table 3, "1" indicates that the sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz, and "0" indicates that the sub-channel is not allowed to be distributed across 20 MHz. Table 3

[0136] [Table 3]

[0137] It should be noted that the order, quantity, and values ​​of the indexes in Table 2 and Table 3 are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, Table 2 may have only some indexes, or the indexes of Table 3 may be merged into Table 2.

[0138] The first indication information may include one or more second indexes, and one second index corresponds to one sub-block. It can be understood that the sub-blocks corresponding to the second indexes having the same value form a distribution bandwidth, and the sub-channels included in the sub-blocks corresponding to the second indexes having different values ​​are allowed to be distributed only within the sub-block.

[0139] Table 3 is used as an example. For example, FIG. 13 shows four sub-blocks included in 320 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 13, the first indication information may be a 16-bit bitmap, and the 16-bit bitmap is "1111 1111 0010 0010" Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that the indexes of sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 (i.e., index 1) are "1111", and sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 can form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 is 160 MHz. The indexes of sub-block 3 and sub-block 4 (i.e., index 2) are "0010", and sub-block 3 and sub-block 4 can form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 3 and sub-block 4 is 160 MHz. For example, if the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to sub-block 1, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 160 MHz.

[0140] FIG. 14 is a diagram of six sub-blocks included in 480 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 14, the first indication information may be a 24-bit bitmap, and the 24-bit bitmap is "1111 1111 1111 0010 0010 0010" Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that the indexes (i.e., index 1) of sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 3 are "1111," and that sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 3 can form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 3 is 240 MHz. The indexes (i.e., index 2) of sub-block 4, sub-block 5, and sub-block 6 are "0010," and that sub-block 4, sub-block 5, and sub-block 6 can form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 4, sub-block 5, and sub-block 6 is 240 MHz. For example, if the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to sub-block 1, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 240 MHz.

[0141] For example, FIG. 15 is another diagram of four sub-blocks included in 320 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 15, the first indication information may be a 16-bit bitmap, and the 16-bit bitmap is "1111 0001 0010 0100" In other words, The index of sub-block 1 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of sub-block 2 (i.e., index 2) is "0001", The index of sub-block 3 (i.e., index 3) is "0010", The index of sub-block 4 (i.e., index 4) is "0100". Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in the four sub-blocks is 80 MHz, that is, each sub-block is not allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. For example, if the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to sub-block 4, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 80 MHz.

[0142] FIG. 16 is another diagram of six sub-blocks included in 480 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 16, the first indication information may be a 24-bit bitmap, and the 24-bit bitmap is "1111 0001 0010 0100 1111 1111" In other words, The index of sub-block 1 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of sub-block 2 (i.e., index 2) is "0001", The index of sub-block 3 (i.e., index 3) is "0010", The index of sub-block 4 (i.e., index 4) is "0100", The index of sub-block 5 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of subblock 6 (i.e., index 1) is "1111". Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each subchannel in subblock 1, subblock 2, subblock 3, and subblock 4 is 80 MHz, and the distribution bandwidth corresponding to each subchannel in subblock 5 and subblock 6 is 160 MHz. For example, if the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to subblock 4, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 80 MHz. If the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to subblock 5, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 160 MHz.

[0143] For example, FIG. 17 is another diagram of four sub-blocks included in 320 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 17, the first indication information may be a 16-bit bitmap, and the 16-bit bitmap is "1111 0001 0010 0010" In other words, The index of sub-block 1 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of sub-block 2 (i.e., index 2) is "0001", The index of sub-block 3 (i.e., index 3) is "0010", The index of sub-block 4 (i.e., index 3) is "0010". Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 is 80 MHz, i.e., each sub-block is not allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. Sub-block 3 and sub-block 4 may form a distribution bandwidth. In other words, the distribution bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 3 and sub-block 4 is 160 MHz. For example, if the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to sub-block 4, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 160 MHz.

[0144] FIG. 18 is another diagram of six sub-blocks included in 480 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 18, the first indication information may be a 24-bit bitmap, and the 24-bit bitmap is "1111 1111 0001 0010 0010 0001" In other words, The index of sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of sub-block 3 and sub-block 6 (i.e., index 2) is "0001", The indexes of sub-block 4 and sub-block 5 (i.e., index 3) are "0010". Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 may form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 1 and sub-block 2 is 160 MHz. Sub-block 3 and sub-block 6 may form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 3 and sub-block 6 is 160 MHz. Sub-block 4 and sub-block 5 may form a distributed bandwidth. In other words, the distributed bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 4 and sub-block 5 is 160 MHz. If the RU allocated to the STA by the AP belongs to sub-block 4, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 160 MHz.

[0145] For example, FIG. 19 is another diagram of four sub-blocks included in 320 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 19, the first indication information may be a 16-bit bitmap, and the 16-bit bitmap is "1111 1111 0000 1111" In other words, The index of sub-block 1 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of sub-block 2 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The index of sub-block 3 (i.e., index 3) is "0000", The index of sub-block 4 (i.e., index 1) is "1111". Correspondingly, the first indication indicates that the distribution bandwidth corresponding to sub-block 3 is 80 MHz, i.e., the sub-block is not allowed to be distributed across 80 MHz. The distribution bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 4 is 240 MHz. For example, if the RU assigned to the STA by the AP belongs to any sub-channel in sub-block 2, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 240 MHz.

[0146] FIG. 20 is another diagram of six sub-blocks included in 480 MHz. Corresponding to FIG. 20, the first indication information may be a 24-bit bitmap, and the 24-bit bitmap is "1111 1111 0000 1111 0000 0000" In other words, The index of sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 4 (i.e., index 1) is "1111", The indexes of sub-block 3, sub-block 5, and sub-block 6 (i.e., index 3) are "0000". Correspondingly, the first indication information is Sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 4 may form a dispersion bandwidth, and the dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in sub-block 1, sub-block 2, and sub-block 4 is 240 MHz; and The first indication indicates that Sub-Block 3, Sub-Block 5, and Sub-Block 6 may form a distributed bandwidth, and the distributed bandwidth corresponding to each sub-channel in Sub-Block 3, Sub-Block 5, and Sub-Block 6 is 240 MHz. For example, if an RU allocated to a STA by an AP belongs to some sub-channel in Sub-Block 2, the first indication indicates that the first bandwidth may be 240 MHz.

[0147] In the above embodiment, the bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STA and the bandwidth of the PPDU are considered to be punctured. The AP can instruct the STA on the first bandwidth and the first distributed RU. This can ensure that the first distributed RU is within the maximum bandwidth range supported by the STA, and ensure that the first distributed RU is within a bandwidth range outside the punctured bandwidth, thereby increasing the transmission power of the STA.

[0148] In an alternative solution, the remaining available subcarriers in the bandwidth of the PPDU, other than the subcarriers occupied by the RUs assigned to the bandwidth-limited STAs, may be used as distributed resources and assigned to the full-bandwidth STAs in a unified manner. In other words, the subcarriers of the distributed RUs assigned to the full-bandwidth STAs belong to subcarriers other than those included in the distributed RUs assigned to the bandwidth-limited STAs. Therefore, even if the consecutive RUs indicated to the full-bandwidth STAs are located in the distributed bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STAs, when mapping the consecutive RUs to the distributed RUs, the full-bandwidth STAs can still map the consecutive RUs to areas other than the distributed bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STAs to maximize the transmission power of the full-bandwidth STAs.

[0149] Specifically, the AP generates a trigger frame and transmits the trigger frame. The trigger frame includes third instruction information, and the third instruction information can indicate K allocated RUs to indicate RUs allocated to one or more bandwidth-limited STAs. It can be understood that, for any one of the K RUs (e.g., referred to as a first RU), the first RU is mapped to a first distributed RU, and the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed RU is smaller than the bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the AP. The bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed RU to which the first RU is mapped is referred to as the distributed bandwidth corresponding to the first RU. The distributed bandwidth corresponding to the STA is the distributed bandwidth corresponding to the RU assigned to the STA. For example, the first RU is assigned to a first bandwidth-limited STA, and the distributed bandwidth corresponding to the first bandwidth-limited STA (referred to as the first bandwidth in this application) is the distributed bandwidth corresponding to the first RU.

[0150] In the embodiment of the present application, the AP may instruct the full-bandwidth STA of the first bandwidth of the full-bandwidth STA through the third instruction information.

[0151] For example, it may be specified that the first bandwidth corresponding to a bandwidth-limited STA is a bandwidth that can be discretized into the smallest first bandwidth in the first bandwidth of the RU assigned to the bandwidth-limited STA. For example, the values ​​(sizes) of the first bandwidth supported by the system are 20 MHz, 80 MHz, and 160 MHz. In this case, the first bandwidth corresponding to a 26-tone RU may be 20 MHz, the first bandwidth corresponding to a 242-tone RU, a 484-tone RU, or a 484+242-tone MRU may be 80 MHz, and the first bandwidth corresponding to a 996-tone RU or a 996+484-tone MRU is 160 MHz. It is clear that if the system supports a first bandwidth of 40 MHz, the first bandwidth corresponding to a 242-tone RU may be 40 MHz.

[0152] In this case, the AP may indicate the first bandwidth of the full-bandwidth STA via a resource unit allocation index. It can be understood that one RU allocation index (a 9-bit index) may specify the size and location of one RU. For example, the third indication information may be K RU allocation indexes, and the first bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STA may be discretized to the smallest first bandwidth of the K RUs. For example, Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C are diagrams of trigger frame structures. Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C illustrate an example in which the third indication information is carried by reserved bits in the common information field. Indication Scheme 1 in Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C, an example in which the first indication information includes K RU allocation indexes is used. It is assumed that the multiple first bandwidths corresponding to the K RUs include 20 MHz and 80 MHz. The first bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STA is 20 MHz (this is used as an example in Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C). It should be noted that the first bandwidth corresponding to each of the K RUs may be assumed as the first bandwidth in which each RU is located by default. It can be understood that the same resource allocation index corresponds to the same STA. Therefore, each STA can determine the assigned RU and the corresponding first bandwidth.

[0153] In another example, multiple first bandwidths, e.g., R types of first bandwidths, may be predefined, and the R types of first bandwidths may be sorted based on the size of the bandwidth. In this case, the AP may indicate the quantity of the R types of first bandwidths and indicate K RU allocation indexes based on the order of the R types of first bandwidths. Please continue to refer to Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C. For example, Indication Method 2 in Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C uses an example in which the third indication information includes K RU allocation indexes. Also, Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C use an example in which the R types of first bandwidths include a 20 MHz bandwidth, an 80 MHz bandwidth, and a 160 MHz bandwidth. As shown in Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C, the R types of first bandwidths are sorted in ascending order of bandwidth. It is assumed that, among the K RUs, the first bandwidth corresponding to N1 RUs is 20 MHz, the first bandwidth corresponding to N2 RUs is 80 MHz, and the first bandwidth corresponding to N3 RUs is 160 MHz. The third indication information includes N1 RU allocation indexes corresponding to 20 MHz, N2 RU allocation indexes corresponding to 80 MHz, and N3 RU allocation indexes corresponding to 160 MHz. 2 RU allocation indexes and N corresponding to 160 MHz 3 The STA may determine the first bandwidth corresponding to the STA based on the allocation index of the RU to be allocated.

[0154] Alternatively, the third indication information may indicate that it carries an order index of the user information fields of the RUs of the corresponding bandwidth-limited STAs. The order index corresponds to the order of the R types of first bandwidths and may indicate the first bandwidths corresponding to the K RUs, respectively. For example, if the third user information field, the fifth user information field, and the seventh user information field are user information fields carrying corresponding bandwidth-limited STAs, the third indication information may indicate 3, 5, and 7. It is clear that the common information field may alternatively indicate the quantity of user information fields carrying corresponding bandwidth-limited STAs.

[0155] Optionally, the third indication information may further indicate whether the first bandwidth corresponding to each user information field is the distributed bandwidth of a bandwidth-limited STA. For example, for each user information field, one bit may indicate whether the user information field is a user information field of a bandwidth-limited STA, so that the common information field does not need to indicate whether the STA is a bandwidth-limited STA. Please continue to refer to Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C. For example, Figures 21A, 21B, and 21C use an example in which the third indication information is further carried in the B25 field. The B25 field indicates whether the user information field is a user information field of a bandwidth-limited STA. It may also be understood that the B25 field may indicate whether the RU is a bandwidth-limited RU.

[0156] In an embodiment of the present application, the remaining available subcarriers in the bandwidth of the PPDU, other than the subcarriers occupied by the RUs allocated to the bandwidth-limited STAs, are used as distributed resources and allocated to the full-bandwidth STAs in a unified manner, so that the full-bandwidth STAs map the allocated contiguous RUs outside the distributed bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STAs, which can thus maximize the transmission capability of the full-bandwidth STAs.

[0157] In the foregoing embodiments of the present application, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are described separately from the perspectives of the AP, the STA, and the interaction between the AP and the STA. To implement the functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the AP and the STA may include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the aforementioned functions by using the hardware structures, the software modules, or a combination of the hardware structures and the software modules. Whether the functions among the aforementioned functions are implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or both a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0158] Hereinafter, a communication device in an embodiment of the present application configured to implement the above-mentioned method will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, all of the above content may be used in the following embodiment. Repeated content will not be described again.

[0159] FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a communication device 2200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2200 may correspondingly perform functions or steps of an STA or AP in the method embodiments. The communication device may include a processing module 2210 and a transceiver module 2220. Optionally, the communication device may further include a storage unit. The storage unit may be configured to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module 2210 and the transceiver module 2220 may be coupled to the storage unit. For example, the processing module 2210 may read instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage unit to perform the corresponding method. The aforementioned units may be independently located or partially or fully integrated.

[0160] For example, the communication device 2200 may correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of an AP in the above-described method embodiments. For example, the communication device 2200 may be an AP or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in an AP. The transceiver module 2220 may be configured to perform all receiving or transmitting operations performed by an AP in embodiments of the present application, such as S701 and S702 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and / or support other processes of the techniques described herein. The processing module 2210 may be configured to perform all operations performed by an AP other than the transmitting and receiving operations in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, such as generating trigger frames and / or supporting other processes of the techniques described herein.

[0161] In one possible implementation, the processing module 2210 is configured to generate a trigger frame. The trigger frame includes resource allocation information and first instruction information. The first instruction information indicates a first bandwidth to a STA, and the resource allocation information indicates a first distributed RU to be assigned to the STA, the first distributed RU corresponding to the first bandwidth. The first distributed RU includes multiple non-contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain, and the first bandwidth is the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU.

[0162] In another example, the communication device 2200 may correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of an STA in the above-described method embodiments. For example, the communication device 2200 may be an STA or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) used in an STA. The transceiver module 2220 may be configured to perform all receiving or transmitting operations performed by an STA in embodiments of the present application, such as S701 and S702 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, and / or support other processes of the techniques described herein. The processing module 2210 may be configured to perform all operations performed by an STA other than the transmitting and receiving operations in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, such as generating trigger frames and / or supporting other processes of the techniques described herein.

[0163] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 2220 is configured to receive a trigger frame transmitted by the AP. The trigger frame includes resource allocation information and first instruction information. The first instruction information indicates a first bandwidth to the STA, and the resource allocation information indicates a first distributed RU assigned to the STA, the first distributed RU corresponding to the first bandwidth. The first distributed RU includes a plurality of non-contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain, and the first bandwidth is the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU. The transceiver module 2220 is further configured to transmit a TB PPDU in the first distributed RU based on the triggering instruction of the trigger frame.

[0164] In an optional implementation, the trigger frame includes second indication information, which indicates whether the RUs allocated to the STA are distributed RUs or contiguous RUs.

[0165] In an optional implementation, the first bandwidth is the following bandwidth: The maximum bandwidth that can be supported by the STA, the maximum distributed bandwidth supported by the system, or AP-scheduled PPDU bandwidth is less than or equal to any one of

[0166] In an optional implementation, a first distributed RU is obtained by mapping a first contiguous RU to a first bandwidth, the first bandwidth being the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a second contiguous RU that is within the first bandwidth and assigned to another STA.

[0167] In an optional implementation, the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a third consecutive RU located outside the first bandwidth and assigned to another STA does not overlap with the first bandwidth.

[0168] In an optional implementation, the first indication information is located in a common field or a user information list field and indicates a first bandwidth.

[0169] In an optional implementation, the first indication information includes an N-bit bitmap, where N is the number of sub-channels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU, one bit in the N-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-channel, and a bit in the N-bit bitmap indicates whether the corresponding sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels.

[0170] In an optional implementation, the first indication information includes a P-bit bitmap, where one bit in the P-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and the bits indicate whether each sub-channel included in the corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, where P is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Each sub-channel within a sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block if and only if each sub-channel within the sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels; alternatively, each of at least one sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the bandwidth occupied by the sub-block if and only if the sub-block includes at least one sub-channel that is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels.

[0171] In an optional implementation, the first indication information includes an M-bit bitmap, where one bit in the M-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and a bit in the M-bit bitmap indicates that each sub-channel in the corresponding sub-block is permitted to be distributed across sub-channels, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0172] In an optional implementation, the first indication further indicates whether two or more sub-blocks are permitted to form a distributed bandwidth, where one of the two or more sub-blocks includes a sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel.

[0173] In an optional implementation, the first indication information further includes an S-bit bitmap, where one bit in the S-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and a bit in the S-bit bitmap indicates whether the corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across sub-blocks.

[0174] In an optional implementation, the first indication information includes one or more first indices, each of which corresponds to one sub-block and indicates a range of a respective dispersion bandwidth corresponding to a plurality of sub-channels included in the sub-block.

[0175] In an optional implementation, sub-channels within a sub-block are allowed to be distributed across the sub-blocks, and the first indication information further indicates the range of each distribution bandwidth corresponding to a plurality of sub-blocks included in the bandwidth of the PPDU.

[0176] In an optional implementation, the first indication information includes one or more second indices, each second index corresponding to one sub-block, and the sub-blocks corresponding to the second indices with the same value form a distribution bandwidth, and the sub-channels included in the sub-blocks corresponding to the second indices with different values ​​are allowed to be distributed only within the sub-block.

[0177] In an optional implementation, the first indication information includes a 2-bit bitmap, and the 2-bit bitmap indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 80 MHz, or the bandwidth of the PPDU.

[0178] For another example, the communication device 2200 may correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the AP in the above-described method embodiments. In a possible implementation, the processing module 2210 is configured to generate a trigger frame. The trigger frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information indicates K RUs, where a first RU among the K RUs is mapped to a first distributed RU, and the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed RU is a first bandwidth. A subcarrier corresponding to a second RU other than the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU belongs to a subcarrier other than the subcarriers included in the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The transceiver module 2220 is configured to transmit the trigger frame to the STA.

[0179] For another example, the communication device 2200 may correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the STA in the above-described method embodiment. In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 2220 is configured to receive a trigger frame transmitted by an AP. The trigger frame includes third indication information, where the third indication information indicates K RUs, where a first RU among the K RUs is mapped to a first distributed RU, and the bandwidth of at least one subchannel occupied by subcarriers included in the first distributed RU is a first bandwidth. A subcarrier corresponding to a second RU other than the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU belongs to a subcarrier other than the subcarriers included in the K RUs in the bandwidth of the PPDU, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The processing module 2210 is configured to determine the trigger frame, and the transceiver module 2220 is further configured to transmit a TB PPDU to the AP based on the trigger of the trigger frame.

[0180] In an optional implementation, the first bandwidth corresponding to the first RU is a bandwidth that can be discretized into the smallest first bandwidth among the first bandwidths of RUs assigned to bandwidth-limited stations.

[0181] In an optional implementation, the third indication information includes K RU allocation indexes, where an allocation index of a first RU among the K RU allocation indexes corresponds to one of R types of first bandwidths, and one type of first bandwidth may correspond to multiple RU allocation indexes. Alternatively, the third indication information indicates user information field indexes corresponding to the K RUs separately, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0182] In an optional implementation, the third indication information further indicates whether the first bandwidth corresponding to each user information field is the distributed bandwidth of the bandwidth-limited STA.

[0183] It should be understood that the processing module 2210 in this embodiment of the present application may be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components, and the transceiver module 2220 may be realized by a transceiver, transceiver-related circuit components, or a communication interface.

[0184] FIG. 23 illustrates a communication device 2300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2300 may be an AP and may implement the functions of an AP in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application. Alternatively, the communication device 2300 may be an STA and may implement the functions of an STA in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application. Alternatively, the communication device 2300 may be a device capable of supporting an AP in implementing corresponding functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, or a device capable of supporting an STA in implementing corresponding functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application. The communication device 2300 may be a chip or a chip system. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may include a chip or may include a chip and other distributed components. In a hardware implementation, the transceiver module 2220 may be a transceiver 2310. The communication device 2300 includes at least one processor 2320 configured to implement or support the communication device 2300 in implementing the functions of an STA or an AP in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application. The processor 2320 is primarily configured to process communication protocols and communication data, control communication devices, execute software programs, and process data from the software programs. For example, the processor 2320 generates a trigger frame. The processor 2320 may include a trigger frame identification component, which may further include a common information field identification component, a user information list field identification component, and the like. When the trigger frame includes the common information field and / or the user information list field, the communication device 2300 indicates a first bandwidth through the common information field, and the communication device 2300 indicates a first distributed RU corresponding to the first bandwidth through the common information field and / or the user information list field. Specifically, the trigger frame identification component may be configured to use a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0185] The communication device 2300 may further include at least one memory 2330 configured to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 2330 is coupled to the processor 2320. A coupling in the embodiments of the present application refers to an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and may be electrical, mechanical, or in another form, used for exchanging information between the devices, units, or modules. The processor 2320 may cooperate with the memory 2330. The processor 2320 may execute the program instructions and / or data stored in the memory 2330, such that the communication device 2300 performs a corresponding method. At least one of the at least one memory may be located within the processor.

[0186] The communication device 2300 may further include a transceiver 2310 configured to communicate with another device via a transmission medium, such that a device used in the communication device 2300 can communicate with the other device. For example, if the communication device is an AP, the other device is a STA; or if the communication device is a STA, the other device is an AP. The processor 2320 can transmit or receive data via the transceiver 2310. The transceiver 2310 may specifically be a transceiver and may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is mainly configured to: perform conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and process radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly configured to receive or transmit radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device, such as a touchscreen, display, or keyboard, is mainly configured to: receive data input by a user and output data to a user. The radio frequency unit may be separate from the communication device 2300 or may be integrated into the communication device 2300. The antenna may be a remote antenna separate from the communication device 2300 or may be an antenna integrated into the communication device 2300 .

[0187] The communications device 2300 may be a stand-alone device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communications device 2300 may be a stand-alone integrated circuit (IC), chip, chip system, or subsystem; a set including one or more ICs, optionally including a memory element configured to store data and instructions; an ASIC, such as a modem; a module that can be incorporated into another device; a receiver, an intelligent terminal, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, or the like.

[0188] The specific connection medium between the transceiver 2310, the processor 2320, and the memory 2330 is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. In this embodiment of the present application, the memory 2330, the processor 2320, and the transceiver 2310 are connected via a bus 2340 in FIG. 23, and the bus is represented by a thick line in FIG. 23. The connection scheme between other components is described schematically and is not limited thereto. The bus can be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, or the like. For simplicity of representation, the bus is represented by only one thick line in FIG. 23. However, this does not indicate that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0189] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 2320 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a distributed gate or transistor logic device, or a distributed hardware component, and may implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or similar. The steps of the methods disclosed with reference to the embodiments of the present application may be performed directly by a hardware processor, or may be performed by using a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

[0190] In embodiments of the present application, memory 2330 may be a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or a volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM). Memory may also be any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code, in the form of instructions or data structures, that can be accessed by a computer. However, this is not limited thereto. Memory in embodiments of the present application may alternatively be a circuit or any other device capable of performing a storage function and configured to store program instructions and / or data.

[0191] It should be noted that the communication device in the above embodiments may be a terminal, a circuit, a chip used in a terminal, or other combined device, component, or the like, having terminal functionality. When the communication device is a terminal, the transceiver module may be a transceiver and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like. The processing module may be a processor, for example, a central processing unit (CPU). When the communication device is a component having terminal functionality, the transceiver module may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module may be a processor. When the communication device is a chip or chip system, the transceiver module may be an input / output interface of the chip or chip system, and the processing module may be a processor of the chip or chip system.

[0192] As a possible product form, the AP or STA described in the embodiments of this application may be further implemented using the following components: one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, distributed hardware components, any other suitable circuitry, or any combination of circuitry capable of performing the various functions described in this application.

[0193] It should be understood that the AP in various product forms has any function of the AP in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and the details will not be described again here. The STA in various forms has some function of the STA in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and the details will not be described again here.

[0194] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system. Specifically, the communication system may include an STA and an AP, or may further include more APs and more STAs. For example, an AP is configured to perform the functions of an associated AP in an embodiment of the present application, and an STA is configured to perform the functions of an associated STA in an embodiment of the present application. For example, an STA may perform S701 and S702 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. An AP may perform S701 and S702 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7.

[0195] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, which, when executed in a computer, enable the computer to perform the method performed by the AP or STA in the embodiment of the present application.

[0196] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including computer program code, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to perform the method performed by the AP or STA in an embodiment of the present application.

[0197] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip system. The chip system includes a processor and may further include memory, and is configured to perform the functions of an AP or STA in the above-described method. The chip system may include a chip or may include a chip and other distributed components. The processor may be configured, for example, but not limited to, to perform baseband-related processing; the transceiver may be configured, for example, but not limited to, to perform radio frequency transmission or reception. The above components may be individually located on separate chips, or all or at least some of the components may be located on the same chip. For example, the processor may be classified into an analog baseband processor and a digital baseband processor. The analog baseband processor and the transceiver may be integrated on the same chip, and the digital baseband processor may be located on a separate chip. With the continuous development of integrated circuit technology, more and more components may be integrated on the same chip. For example, a digital baseband processor may be integrated on the same chip as multiple application processors (e.g., but not limited to, a geometric processor and a multimedia processor). A chip may also be referred to as a system on chip. Whether the components are located independently on different chips or integrated and located on one or more chips depends on the specific requirements of the product design. The specific implementation of the aforementioned components is described in this specification. Application The embodiments are not limited to the above.

[0198] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device including a processor and an interface. The processor is configured to execute the data processing method in any one of the above-mentioned method embodiments. It should be understood that the communication device may be a chip. The processor may be implemented by hardware or software. If the processor is implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. If the processor is implemented by software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor. The general-purpose processor is implemented by reading software code stored in a memory. The memory may be integrated into the processor or may be located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0199] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system including at least one AP and at least one STA, wherein any AP is configured to perform the functions performed by the AP in any one of the aforementioned method embodiments, and any STA is configured to perform the functions performed by a first STA in any one of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0200] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the execution sequence in various embodiments of the present application, and the execution sequence of the processes should be determined based on the functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0201] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the quantities of nouns refer to "singular or plural nouns," i.e., "one or more." "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. The term "and / or" describes a relational relationship between related objects and can indicate three relationships. For example, A and / or B can indicate the following cases: only A is present, both A and B are present, or only B is present, and A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects. For example, A / B indicates A or B. At least one of the following items (pieces) or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of singular items (pieces) or multiple items (pieces). For example, at least one of a, b, or c refers to a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural.

[0202] Ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish between multiple objects and are not intended to limit the size, content, order, time sequence, application scenario, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, the first consecutive RU and the second consecutive RU may be the same RU or different RU. Furthermore, the names do not indicate that the priorities, application scenarios, importance, or the like of the two RUs are different. In this specification, "an embodiment of the present application" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to the embodiment is different from that of the present application. Application It means that the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0203] The term "for example" in the embodiments of the present application is used to express giving an example or illustration. Any embodiment or implementation solution described as an "example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be described as preferred over another embodiment or implementation solution. In other words, the use of the word "example" is intended to describe a concept in a particular way.

[0204] All or part of the foregoing methods in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement the embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded into and executed by a computer, the method ApplicationThe steps or functions according to the embodiments occur, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium or 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 via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave) transmission. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server or 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., digital video discs (DVDs)), semiconductor media (e.g., SSDs), or similar.

[0205] It is obvious that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application, and the present application is intended to cover these modifications and variations of the present application, provided that they fall within the scope of protection defined by the following claims and their equivalent technologies.

[0206] Appendix 1: RU-related data and pilot subcarrier index in 80 MHz EHT PPDUs Data and pilot subcarrier index for RU in 80 MHz EHT PPDU

[0207]

Table 4

Claims

1. 1. A method of communicating in a wireless local area network, comprising: an access point generating a trigger frame, the trigger frame including resource allocation information and first instruction information, the first instruction information indicating a first bandwidth to a station, the resource allocation information being a first distributed resource unit (RU) to be allocated to the station, the first distributed resource unit (RU) corresponding to the first bandwidth, the first distributed RU including a plurality of non-contiguous subcarriers in a frequency domain, the first bandwidth being a bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU; and the access point transmitting the trigger frame to the station; A method comprising:

2. 1. A method of communicating in a wireless local area network, comprising: receiving, by a station, a trigger frame transmitted by an access point, the trigger frame including resource allocation information and first instruction information, the first instruction information indicating a first bandwidth to the station, the resource allocation information being a first distributed resource unit (RU) allocated to the station, the first distributed resource unit (RU) corresponding to the first bandwidth, the first distributed RU including a plurality of non-contiguous subcarriers in a frequency domain, and a bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU being the first bandwidth; and the station transmitting a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first distributed RU based on the trigger of the trigger frame; A method comprising:

3. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the trigger frame further includes second indication information indicating whether the RUs allocated to the station are distributed RUs or contiguous RUs.

4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first bandwidth is: the maximum bandwidth that can be supported by said station; the maximum distributed bandwidth that can be supported by the system, or The bandwidth of the PPDU scheduled by the access point A method that is less than or equal to any one of

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first distributed RU is obtained by mapping a first consecutive RU to the first bandwidth, and the first bandwidth is a bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a second consecutive RU that is within the first bandwidth and assigned to another station.

6. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first bandwidth does not overlap with the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a third consecutive RU located outside the first bandwidth and assigned to another station.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first indication information is located in a common field or a user information list field and indicates the first bandwidth.

8. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first indication information includes an N-bit bitmap, where N is the number of sub-channels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU, and one bit in the N-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-channel, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channel.

9. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first indication information includes a P-bit bitmap, where one bit in the P-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, where the sub-block includes multiple sub-channels, and where the bit indicates whether each sub-channel included in the corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, where P is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and a method in which each sub-channel within a sub-block is permitted to be distributed across a bandwidth occupied by the sub-block only if each sub-channel within the sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel; or, alternatively, each of at least one sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across a bandwidth occupied by a sub-block only if the sub-block contains at least one sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel.

10. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first indication information includes an M-bit bitmap, where one bit in the M-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, where one sub-block includes multiple sub-channels, and where each bit indicates whether each sub-channel in its corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channels, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

11. 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the first indication information further indicates whether two or more sub-blocks are permitted to form a distributed bandwidth, and one of the two or more sub-blocks includes a sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel.

12. 11. The method of claim 7, 9, or 10, wherein the first indication information further includes an S-bit bitmap, where one bit in the S-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-blocks, and S is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

13. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information includes one or more first indices, each of which corresponds to a sub-block and indicates a range of a dispersion bandwidth corresponding to each of a plurality of sub-channels included in the sub-block.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein sub-channels within a sub-block are permitted to be distributed across the sub-block, and the first indication information indicates a range of a respective distribution bandwidth corresponding to a plurality of sub-blocks included in the bandwidth of the PPDU.

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first indication information includes one or more second indices, each second index corresponding to a sub-block, sub-blocks corresponding to second indices of the same value form a distribution bandwidth, and sub-channels included in sub-blocks corresponding to second indices of different values ​​are allowed to be distributed only within the sub-block.

16. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first indication information includes a two-bit bitmap, and the two-bit bitmap indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 80 MHz, or the bandwidth of the PPDU.

17. 1. A communication device including a processing module and a transceiver module, The processing module is configured to generate a trigger frame, the trigger frame including resource allocation information and first instruction information, the first instruction information indicating a first bandwidth to a station, the resource allocation information including a first distributed resource unit (RU) to be allocated to the station, the first distributed resource unit (RU) corresponding to the first bandwidth, the first distributed RU including a plurality of non-contiguous subcarriers in a frequency domain, the first bandwidth being a bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU; and The apparatus, wherein the transceiver module is configured to transmit the trigger frame to the station.

18. 1. A communication device including a processing module and a transceiver module, the transceiver module is configured to receive a trigger frame transmitted by an access point, the trigger frame including resource allocation information and first instruction information, the first instruction information instructing the communication device of a first bandwidth, the resource allocation information including a first distributed resource unit (RU) to be assigned to the communication device, the first distributed resource unit (RU) corresponding to the first bandwidth, the first distributed RU including a plurality of non-contiguous subcarriers in a frequency domain, the first bandwidth being a bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by the subcarriers included in the first distributed RU; the processing module is configured to determine the trigger frame; and The apparatus, wherein the transceiver module is further configured to transmit a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first distributed RU based on a trigger of the trigger frame.

19. 19. The apparatus according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the trigger frame further includes second indication information indicating whether the RUs allocated to the station are distributed RUs or contiguous RUs.

20. 20. The device according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the first bandwidth is: the maximum bandwidth that can be supported by said station; the maximum distributed bandwidth that can be supported by the system, or a bandwidth of a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) scheduled by said access point; A device that is less than or equal to any one of the following:

21. 21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first distributed RU is obtained by mapping a first consecutive RU to the first bandwidth, and the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a second consecutive RU that is within the first bandwidth and assigned to another station is the first bandwidth.

22. 22. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first bandwidth does not overlap with the bandwidth of at least one sub-channel occupied by subcarriers included in a third consecutive RU located outside the first bandwidth and assigned to another station.

23. 20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the first indication information is located in a common field or a user information list field and indicates the first bandwidth.

24. 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first indication information includes an N-bit bitmap, where N is the number of sub-channels included in the bandwidth of the PPDU, and one bit in the N-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-channel, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding sub-channel is allowed to be distributed across the sub-channel.

25. 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first indication information includes a P-bit bitmap, where one bit in the P-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, where the sub-block includes multiple sub-channels, and where the bit indicates whether each sub-channel included in the corresponding sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel, where P is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and an apparatus, wherein each sub-channel within a sub-block is permitted to be distributed across a bandwidth occupied by the sub-block if and only if each sub-channel within the sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel; or wherein each of at least one sub-channel is permitted to be distributed across a bandwidth occupied by a sub-block if and only if the sub-block contains the at least one sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel.

26. 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first indication information includes an M-bit bitmap, where one bit in the M-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, where one sub-block includes multiple sub-channels, and where each bit indicates that each sub-channel within its corresponding sub-block is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channels, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

27. 27. An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein the first indication information further indicates whether two or more sub-blocks are permitted to jointly form a distribution bandwidth, one of the two or more sub-blocks including a sub-channel that is permitted to be distributed across the sub-channel.

28. 27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the first indication information further includes an S-bit bitmap, where one bit in the S-bit bitmap corresponds to one sub-block, and the bit indicates whether the corresponding sub-block is allowed to be distributed across the sub-blocks, and S is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

29. 20. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first indication information includes one or more first indices, each of which corresponds to a sub-block and indicates a range of a respective dispersion bandwidth corresponding to a plurality of sub-channels included in the sub-block.

30. 30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein sub-channels within a sub-block are permitted to be distributed across the sub-block, and the first indication information indicates a range of distribution bandwidths corresponding to each of a plurality of sub-blocks included in the bandwidth of the PPDU.

31. 31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the first indication information includes one or more second indices, each second index corresponding to a sub-block, sub-blocks corresponding to second indices of the same value form a distribution bandwidth, and sub-channels included in sub-blocks corresponding to second indices of different values ​​are allowed to be distributed only within the sub-block.

32. 20. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the first indication information includes a two-bit bitmap, and the two-bit bitmap indicates that the first bandwidth is 20 MHz, 80 MHz, or the bandwidth of the PPDU.

33. 17. A communications device comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory, thereby enabling the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 16.

34. 17. A chip including at least one processor and an interface, the processor configured to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, the execution of which enables the chip to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

35. 17. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program including program instructions that, when executed by a computer, enable the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 16.

36. 17. A computer program product having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 to 16.

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