Communication method and device

Abstract

The present application is applicable to UWB-based wireless personal area network systems that support 802.15 series protocols, such as 802.15.4a, 802.15.4z, or 802.15.4ab; wireless local area network systems that support 802.11 series protocols, such as 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7, or next-generation Wi-Fi protocols such as IEEE 802.11ax, such as EHT; next-generation Wi-Fi protocols such as Wi-Fi 8; sensing systems; or the like. Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus. According to the present application, a transmitting end may transmit a first frame, and then a receiving end may determine an available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a NB signal based on the first frame. When the spectrum of a narrowband system overlaps with the spectrum of a Wi-Fi system, according to the method provided in this application, the NB signal transmitted by the receiving end can be prevented from being interfered with by Wi-Fi devices.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211080747.3 entitled "Communication Method and Apparatus," filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on September 5, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more particularly to communication methods and devices. [Background technology]

[0003] Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless communication (ranging, sensing, or similar) technology that uses nanosecond-level non-sinusoidal narrow impulse signals. Due to its narrow impulse and extremely low radiation spectral density, UWB systems have advantages such as strong multipath resolution, low power consumption, and high security.

[0004] In ranging or sensing scenarios, the accuracy of measurement or sensing results is strongly related to the signal bandwidth, and a larger signal bandwidth indicates a more accurate result obtained by sensing or ranging. Therefore, it may be considered that a reference signal for ranging or sensing is transmitted and received using an UWB system, and another reference signal and / or data is transmitted according to a narrowband protocol. Such a processing method can be understood as narrowband (NB)-assisted UWB ranging or sensing.

[0005] Currently, candidate spectrum for narrowband systems includes unlicensed national information infrastructure 3 (U-NII 3) and U-NII 5, which overlap with spectrum corresponding to Wi-Fi channels. In this case, NB signals exchanged between initiators and responders may be subject to interference from Wi-Fi devices. Summary of the Invention

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus for solving the problem of how narrowband systems and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems share spectrum.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a communication device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) of the communication device. This is not limited. For ease of explanation, an example in which the method is performed by a transmitting end device is used below for explanation.

[0008] The method includes: generating a first frame, the first frame being used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a narrowband (NB) signal, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and transmitting a first frame; a first field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit an NB signal; a second field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channels can be used to transmit NB signals, and each of the at least one narrowband channels includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and The at least one scaling factor field corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0009] The at least one available narrowband channel belongs to a plurality of candidate narrowband channels, and the plurality of candidate narrowband channels are obtained by performing channel division on a spectrum of the narrowband system.

[0010] At least one narrowband channel belongs to a plurality of reference narrowband channels, and the plurality of reference narrowband channels are obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum of the narrowband system using a predefined channel division scheme. The predefined channel division scheme may be the same as a target channel division scheme, or the predefined channel division scheme may be different from the target channel division scheme. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application. The target channel division scheme is used to perform channel division on the spectrum of the narrowband system to obtain a plurality of candidate narrowband channels. If the predefined channel division scheme is the same as the target channel division scheme, it can be understood that the plurality of reference narrowband channels are the same as the plurality of candidate narrowband channels. In other words, at least one narrowband channel belongs to a plurality of candidate narrowband channels.

[0011] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, a transmitting end device can transmit a first frame to a receiving end device, and then the receiving end device can determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal. When the spectrum of the narrowband system overlaps with the spectrum of the Wi-Fi system, according to the method provided in this embodiment of the present application, the transmitting end device can indicate to the receiving end device, by using the first frame, frequency domain resources that are not occupied by Wi-Fi devices, i.e., the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel determined by the receiving end device based on the first frame are not occupied by Wi-Fi devices. In this way, the NB signal transmitted by the receiving end device can be prevented from being interfered with by Wi-Fi devices.

[0012] Furthermore, in this embodiment of the present application, the first field indicates whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals. Because the bandwidth of a Wi-Fi channel is wide and relates to a segment of spectrum resources, the number of bits required to indicate a Wi-Fi channel is less than the number of bits required to indicate a narrowband channel. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment of the present application does not result in significant bit overhead.

[0013] In this embodiment of the present application, the second field further indicates whether the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals, and each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. In this way, when the spectrum resources of the narrowband system include frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, the spectrum resources of the narrowband system can be comprehensively indicated.

[0014] The first frame may further include at least one scaling factor field. Whether frequency domain resources of a Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals can be flexibly indicated by using the scaling factor field. If a device has both the capability to transmit NB signals and the capability to transmit Wi-Fi signals, a scaling factor greater than 1 can be indicated by using the at least one scaling factor field. In this way, the frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals are not adjacent to the frequency domain resources for transmitting Wi-Fi signals, thereby preventing in-band interference.

[0015] For example, the following relationship exists between multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel:

number

number

[0016] In another example, the plurality of reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel have the following relationship:

number

[0017] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a first field, and the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel; and If a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit may be used to transmit the NB signal; or If the value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel is the second value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0018] The correspondence between the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the at least one bit is not limited in the present application. For example, the correspondence between the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the at least one bit may be a one-to-one correspondence, or a many-to-one correspondence. It can be understood that when the correspondence between the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the at least one bit is a many-to-one correspondence, the number of bits in the first field is smaller, and therefore the number of bits in the first frame is smaller. In this way, excessively large bit overhead can be prevented.

[0019] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a first field; and if the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and frequency domain resources between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit NB signals; or A first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource may be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0020] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, whether a segment of frequency domain resources with a larger bandwidth can be used to transmit an NB signal can be indicated by using a smaller number of bits.

[0021] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a second field, and the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel; and If the value of a second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is the first value, the frequency-domain field of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit may be used to transmit the NB signal; or If the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0022] The correspondence between the at least one narrowband channel and the at least one bit is not limited in the present application. For example, the correspondence between the at least one narrowband channel and the at least one bit may be a one-to-one correspondence, or a many-to-one correspondence. It can be understood that when the correspondence between the at least one narrowband channel and the at least one bit is a many-to-one correspondence, the number of bits in the second field is smaller, and therefore the number of bits in the first frame is smaller. In this way, excessively large bit overhead can be prevented.

[0023] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a third field, and the third field indicates an offset value between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel, and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is a predetermined value.

[0024] According to the above technical solution, if the reference narrowband channel division scheme is different from the candidate narrowband channel division scheme, the first frame may include a third field, so that the receiving end device can determine the frequency of the available narrowband channel based on the third field and the frequency of the reference channel.

[0025] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame further includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0026] For example, the fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the usable narrowband channel, or the fourth field indicates a multiple relationship between the bandwidth of the usable narrowband channel and the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel, and the bandwidth of the reference narrowband signal is a fixed value.

[0027] Based on the above technical solution, if the reference narrowband channel division scheme is different from the candidate narrowband channel division scheme, the first frame may include a fourth field, so that the receiving end device can determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel based on the fourth field.

[0028] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a first field, and the first frame further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field indicates the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

[0029] Since the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel may not be fixed, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel can be indicated by using the fifth field.

[0030] With respect to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration and / or start of a time period during which an available narrowband channel may be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0031] For example, the sixth field may include a fourth subfield and / or a fifth subfield, where the fourth subfield indicates the interval between the start of the time period and the time the first frame is transmitted, and the fifth subfield indicates the duration between the times.

[0032] The duration indicated by the fourth subfield is in measurement slots or measurement durations, and the measurement duration is the duration required to perform one data measurement. That is, the fourth subfield indicates that the interval between the start of the time period and the time the first frame is transmitted is L measurement slots or L measurement durations. It can be understood that the interval between the start of the time period during which an available narrowband channel can be used to transmit an NB signal and the time the first frame is transmitted is typically not more than 1 second, and the duration of one measurement slot is not less than 1 ms. Therefore, if the unit of the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is measurement slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 1000 measurement slots. If there are a maximum of 1000 measurement slots, the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 10 bits. Similarly, if one measurement duration includes 10 measurement slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 100 measurement durations, i.e., the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 7 bits.

[0033] The unit of duration indicated by the fifth subfield is a measurement slot or a measurement duration.

[0034] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a seventh field, and the seventh field indicates whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, or a sixth field.

[0035] Based on the above technical solution, the receiving end device can determine the structure of the first frame based on the seventh field, which helps the receiving end device to correctly parse the first frame.

[0036] Regarding the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before the step of transmitting the first frame, the method further includes a step of receiving a second frame, wherein the second frame is used to determine a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal.

[0037] According to a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a communication device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) of the communication device. This is not limited. For ease of explanation, an example in which the method is performed by a receiving end device is used below for explanation.

[0038] The method includes the steps of: receiving a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the narrowband NB signal; a first field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit an NB signal; a second field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channels can be used to transmit NB signals, and each of the at least one narrowband channels includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and The at least one scaling factor field corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0039] For further explanations and beneficial effects of the second aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect, please refer to the first aspect.

[0040] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a first field, and the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel; and The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the narrowband NB signal includes: determining, if a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, that a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal, wherein the frequency domain resources of the at least one usable narrowband channel include the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit; or The method includes determining, when a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a second value, that the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0041] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a first field; and if the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, determining that a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit an NB signal; or Determine that a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0042] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a second field, the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel, and the step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the narrowband NB signal includes: or determining, if a value of a second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, that a frequency-domain field of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit an NB signal, wherein the frequency-domain resources of the at least one usable narrowband channel include the frequency-domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit; If the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0043] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a third field, the third field indicating an offset value between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel, the frequency of the reference narrowband channel being a preset value; The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal includes: determining available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit NB signals based on at least one of the following fields included in a first frame: the first field, the second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and Determining at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the third field.

[0044] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further includes a fourth field, the fourth field being used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal includes: determining available frequency-domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on at least one of the following fields included in the first frame: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and Determining at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the fourth field.

[0045] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a first field, and the first frame further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field indicates the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

[0046] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field, the sixth field being used to determine the duration and / or start of a time period during which an available narrowband channel may be used to transmit an NB signal, and the method includes: The method further includes determining, based on the first frame, the duration and / or start of a time period during which the available narrowband channels may be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0047] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame includes a seventh field, and the seventh field indicates whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, or a sixth field.

[0048] Regarding the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: a step of transmitting a second frame, wherein the second frame is used to determine a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal.

[0049] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a communication device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) of the communication device. This is not limited. For ease of explanation, an example in which the method is performed by a receiving end device is used below for explanation.

[0050] The method includes: transmitting a second frame in a measurement control phase of an n-th measurement process, where the second frame is used to determine at least one recommended narrowband channel for transmitting an NB signal, where n is a positive integer; receiving an acknowledgement frame of the second frame in the measurement result reporting phase of the n-th measurement process; and The (n+1)th measurement process includes transmitting an NB signal via a recommended narrowband channel.

[0051] Based on the aforementioned technical solution, the receiving end device can use the second frame to indicate to the transmitting end device a first narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal. Furthermore, if the transmitting end device determines that the first narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, the transmitting end device replies to the receiving end device with an acknowledgement frame, so that the receiving end device determines based on the acknowledgement frame that the first narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal. Furthermore, in the next measurement process, the NB signal can be transmitted between the transmitting end device and the receiving end device via the first narrowband channel.

[0052] According to a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a communication device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) of the communication device. This is not limited. For ease of explanation, an example in which the method is performed by a transmitting end device is used below for explanation.

[0053] The method includes the steps of: generating a first frame, the first frame being used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal, the first frame including a first field, the first field indicating whether a frequency domain resource corresponding to each of the at least one first channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, and a bandwidth of the first channel being greater than a bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; and The method includes transmitting a first frame.

[0054] Based on the above technical solution, whether the frequency domain resource of the first channel can be used to transmit the NB signal is indicated, so that at least one available narrowband channel can be indicated to the receiving end device. Furthermore, the bandwidth of the first channel is larger than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel, and the number of bits required to indicate the first channel with respect to the segment of spectrum resource is less than the number of bits required to indicate the narrowband channel. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment of the present application does not cause significant bit overhead.

[0055] Regarding the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame includes a first field, and the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one first channel; and If the value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the first channel corresponding to the first bit may be used to transmit the NB signal; or If the value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0056] Regarding the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame includes a third field, and the third field indicates an offset value between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel, and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is a predetermined value.

[0057] According to the above technical solution, if the reference narrowband channel division scheme is different from the candidate narrowband channel division scheme, the first frame may include a third field, so that the receiving end device can determine the frequency of the available narrowband channel based on the third field and the frequency of the reference channel.

[0058] Regarding the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame further includes a fourth field, and the fourth field is used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0059] For example, the fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the usable narrowband channel, or the fourth field indicates a multiplicative relationship between the bandwidth of the usable narrowband channel and the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel, and the bandwidth of the reference narrowband signal is a fixed value.

[0060] Based on the above technical solution, if the reference narrowband channel division scheme is different from the candidate narrowband channel division scheme, the first frame may include a fourth field, so that the receiving end device can determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel based on the fourth field.

[0061] Regarding the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field indicates the bandwidth of the first channel.

[0062] Since the bandwidth of the first channel may not be fixed, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel can be indicated by using the fifth field.

[0063] With respect to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration and / or start of a time period during which an available narrowband channel may be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0064] For example, the sixth field may include a fourth subfield and / or a fifth subfield, where the fourth subfield indicates the interval between the start of the time period and the time the first frame is transmitted, and the fifth subfield indicates the duration between the times.

[0065] The duration indicated by the fourth subfield is in measurement slots or measurement durations, and the measurement duration is the duration required to perform one data measurement. That is, the fourth subfield indicates that the interval between the start of the time period and the time the first frame is transmitted is L measurement slots or L measurement durations. It can be understood that the interval between the start of the time period during which an available narrowband channel can be used to transmit an NB signal and the time the first frame is transmitted is typically not more than 1 second, and the duration of one measurement slot is not less than 1 ms. Therefore, if the unit of the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is measurement slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 1000 measurement slots. If there are a maximum of 1000 measurement slots, the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 10 bits. Similarly, if one measurement duration includes 10 measurement slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 100 measurement durations, i.e., the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 7 bits.

[0066] The unit of duration indicated by the fifth subfield is a measurement slot or a measurement duration.

[0067] Regarding the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frame includes a seventh field, and the seventh field indicates whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, or a sixth field.

[0068] Based on the above technical solution, the receiving end device can determine the structure of the first frame based on the seventh field, which helps the receiving end device to correctly parse the first frame.

[0069] According to a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be performed by a communication device, or may be performed by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit) of the communication device. This is not limited. For ease of explanation, an example in which the method is performed by a receiving end device is used below for explanation.

[0070] The method includes the steps of: receiving a first frame, the first frame including a first field, the first field indicating whether frequency domain resources corresponding to each of at least one first channel are available to transmit NB signals, and the bandwidth of the first channel is greater than the bandwidth of an available narrowband channel; and The method includes determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0071] For beneficial effects of the fifth aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the fifth aspect, please refer to the fourth aspect.

[0072] Regarding the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame includes a first field, and the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one first channel; and The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal includes: determining, if a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a first value, that a frequency-domain resource of the first channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit an NB signal, wherein the frequency-domain resources of the at least one usable narrowband channel include the frequency-domain resource of the first channel corresponding to the first bit; or The method includes determining, when a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a second value, that the frequency domain resource of the first channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0073] Regarding the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame includes a third field, the third field indicating an offset value between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel, the frequency of the reference narrowband channel being a preset value; The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal includes: determining available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame; and Determining at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the third field.

[0074] Regarding the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame further includes a fourth field, the fourth field being used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal includes: determining available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame; and Determining at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources and the fourth field.

[0075] Regarding the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame further includes a fifth field, and the fifth field indicates a bandwidth of the first channel.

[0076] Regarding the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame further includes a sixth field, the sixth field being used to determine a duration and / or a start time of a time period during which an available narrowband channel may be used to transmit an NB signal, and the method includes: The method further includes determining, based on the first frame, the duration and / or start of a time period during which the available narrowband channels may be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0077] Regarding the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the first frame includes a seventh field, and the seventh field indicates whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, or a sixth field.

[0078] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus configured to perform the method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. Specifically, the apparatus may include a unit and / or module configured to perform the method according to the first aspect or any one of the aforementioned implementations of the first aspect; or may include a unit and / or module, such as a processing unit and / or a transceiver unit, configured to perform the method according to the second aspect or any one of the aforementioned implementations of the second aspect; or may include a unit and / or module, such as a processing unit and / or a transceiver unit, configured to perform the method according to the fourth aspect or any one of the aforementioned implementations of the fourth aspect; or may be configured to perform the fifth aspect.

[0079] In some implementations, the apparatus is a device (e.g., a transmitting end device or a receiving end device). When the apparatus is a device, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver or an input / output interface, and the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.

[0080] In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device (e.g., a transmitting end device or a receiving end device). When the apparatus is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device, the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin, associated circuit, or the like in the chip, chip system, or circuit; and the processing unit may be at least one processor, processing circuit, logic circuit, or the like.

[0081] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided an apparatus, comprising: a memory configured to store a program; and at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to perform a method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0082] In implementation, the apparatus is a device (eg, a transmitting end device or a receiving end device).

[0083] In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, chip system, or circuit used in a device (e.g., a transmitting end device or a receiving end device).

[0084] According to an eighth aspect, the present application provides a processor configured to perform a method according to the previous aspect.

[0085] Operations such as transmitting and / or receiving related to a processor may be understood as operations such as output, reception, and input of the processor, or transmitting and receiving operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas, unless otherwise specified or provided that the operations do not contradict the actual function or internal logic of the operations in the relevant description, which is not limited in this application.

[0086] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing program code for execution by a device, the program code, when executed on a computer, performing a method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0087] According to a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform a method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0088] According to an eleventh aspect, there is provided a chip, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor reads instructions stored in a memory via the communication interface and executes the method according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0089] Optionally, in the implementation, the chip further includes a memory, the memory storing a computer program or instruction, and the processor configured to execute the computer program or instruction stored in the memory, which, when executed, causes the processor to perform the method of any one of the first to fifth aspects.

[0090] According to a twelfth aspect, there is provided a communication system including the above-mentioned transmitting end device and receiving end device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0091] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram of two application scenarios in which embodiments of the present application are applicable. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a UWB signal. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram of the architecture of a ranging / positioning system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of narrowband-assisted UWB ranging. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram of a narrowband channel division scheme applicable to embodiments of the present application. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram of a Wi-Fi channel division scheme applicable to embodiments of the present application. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a diagram of the relationship between narrowband channels and Wi-Fi channels. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows the relationship between narrowband channels and Wi-Fi channels. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram of the structure of the first frame according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating determining frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit NB signals based on the first frame. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram of an apparatus 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram of an apparatus 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram of a chip system 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0092] The technical solutions of the embodiments in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0093] Embodiments of the present application are applicable to wireless personal area networks (WPANs) based on ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. Currently, the standard for WPANs is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15 series. WPANs may be used for communication between digital auxiliary devices, such as phones, computers, and auxiliary devices, over a short range; the operating range of a WPAN is typically within 10 meters. Technologies supporting wireless personal area networks include Bluetooth, ZigBee, ultra-wideband, IrDA infrared connectivity technology, HomeRF, and the like. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the embodiments herein may be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), high performance radio LANs (HIPERLANs) (a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard, primarily used in Europe), wide area networks (WANs), or other networks currently known or developed in the future. From a network architecture perspective, a WPAN may be considered a short-range wireless communication network, as it lies at the lowest level of the overall network architecture and provides wireless connections between devices over a short range, i.e., point-to-point short-range connections. Based on different application scenarios, WPANs are further classified into high-rate (HR)-WPANs and low-rate (Low-Rate)-WPANs. HR-WPANs can be used to support various high-speed multimedia applications, including high-quality audio and video distribution, multi-megabit music, and image document transmission.The LR-WPAN may be for general services in daily life.

[0094] In a WPAN, devices can be classified as full-function devices (FFDs) and reduced-function devices (RFDs) based on their communication capabilities. FFD devices can communicate with each other, and FFD and RFD devices can communicate with each other. RFD devices cannot communicate directly with each other; they can only communicate with FFD devices or transfer data externally via an FFD device. The FFD device associated with an RFD is called the RFD coordinator. RFD devices are primarily intended for simple control applications such as optical switches and passive infrared sensors. They transmit small amounts of data and occupy few transmission and communication resources. Therefore, the cost of RFD devices is low. The coordinator is sometimes called a personal area network (PAN) coordinator or central control node. The PAN coordinator is the main control node for the entire network. Each ad hoc network can have only one PAN coordinator, which is responsible for member identity management, link information management, and packet forwarding. Optionally, devices in embodiments of the present application may be devices that support multiple WPAN standards, such as 802.15.4a, 802.15.4z, and the currently discussed version or later versions.

[0095] In embodiments of the present application, the device may be a communications server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, a home smart device, an in-vehicle communications device, or the like.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, a device includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on the hardware layer, and an application layer running on the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also referred to as main memory). The operating system may be any one or more types of computer operating systems that perform service processing through processes, such as the Linux® operating system, Unix® operating system, Android® operating system, iOS operating system, or Windows® operating system. The application layer includes applications such as a browser, an address book, word processing software, and instant messaging software. The specific structure of the entity that executes the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application, provided that a program recording the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may be performed by an FFD or RFD, or a functional module within the FFD or RFD that is capable of calling and executing programs.

[0097] Additionally, aspects or features of the present application may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein covers a computer program accessible from any computer-readable component, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage components (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical disks (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs)), smart cards, and flash storage components (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), cards, sticks, or key drives). Additionally, various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media configured to store information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0098] The embodiments of the present application are also applicable to wireless local area network systems, such as internet of things (IoT) networks or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks. Indeed, the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to other possible communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, fifth generation (5G) communication systems, and future sixth generation (6G) communication systems.

[0099] The above-mentioned communication systems to which the present application is applicable are merely examples for explanation, and the communication systems to which the present application is applicable are not limited thereto, which have been consistently mentioned in the present application, and the details will not be described again below.

[0100] FIG. 1 illustrates two application scenarios according to the present application. In system 101 shown in FIG. 1A, multiple FFD devices and multiple RFD devices form a communication system in a star topology, where one FFD serves as a PAN coordinator. In a star topology communication system, the PAN coordinator performs data transmission with one or more other devices. In other words, a one-to-many or many-to-one data transmission architecture can be established between multiple devices. In system 102 shown in FIG. 1B, multiple FFD devices and one RFD device form a communication system in a peer-to-peer topology, where one FFD serves as a PAN coordinator. In a peer-to-peer topology communication system, a many-to-many data transmission architecture can be established between multiple different devices.

[0101] It should be understood that Figures 1A and 1B are merely simplified diagrams as examples for ease of understanding, and do not constitute limitations on application scenarios of the present application. For example, system 101 and / or system 102 may further include another FFD and / or another RFD.

[0102] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, first, some terms or concepts that may be used in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly explained.

[0103] 1. UWB Technology: UWB technology is a wireless communication / ranging / sensing technology that uses non-sinusoidal narrow impulse signals at the nanosecond level, and therefore occupies a wide spectrum range. Due to its narrow impulse and extremely low radiation spectral density, the UWB system has advantages such as strong multipath resolution, low power consumption, high confidentiality, etc., which contributes to coexistence with other systems, thereby improving spectrum utilization and system capacity.

[0104] Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the commercialization of UWB technology in 2002, ultra-wideband wireless communications has become one of the prevalent physical layer technologies for short-range, high-speed wireless networks. Many globally renowned companies, research institutes, and standardization organizations are actively engaged in the research, development, and standardization of ultra-wideband wireless communications technology. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has incorporated UWB technology into the IEEE 802 series of wireless standards and released the UWB-based WPAN standard IEEE 802.15.4a and its advanced version IEEE 802.15.4z. The next-generation UWB-based WPAN standard 802.15.4ab is currently under discussion.

[0105] UWB technology transmits data by receiving and transmitting extremely narrow impulses at the nanosecond or sub-nanosecond level, rather than by using carrier waves as in conventional communication systems. This places high requirements on the time synchronization of transceiver devices. Furthermore, due to the wide communication bandwidth of UWB technology, devices consume a lot of power and are complex when signals are transmitted and received over ultra-wideband channels. Furthermore, most UWB communication devices are battery-powered. Next-generation standards are expected to further reduce the power consumption of UWB systems. Therefore, all signals, except for ranging and sensing reference signals, are received and transmitted over narrowband systems using narrowband signaling. This reduces the overall power consumption overhead.

[0106] 2. UWB signal power: Due to the large bandwidth of ultra-wideband systems, in order to reduce interference to other narrowband devices during operation, the FCC has imposed strict limits on the power spectral density of UWB signals. According to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), there are two main rules:

[0107] Rule 1: The maximum power spectral density (PSD) average of a UWB signal transmitted over a 1 millisecond period cannot be greater than 41.3 dBm per megahertz.

[0108] Rule 2: The maximum power of a UWB signal transmitted in any 50 MHz bandwidth cannot exceed 1 milliwatt.

[0109] Rule 1 limits the total energy transmitted by UWB in 1 millisecond (e.g., 37 nJ in a 500 MHz bandwidth). Energy is transmitted in a shorter time period. This increases the instantaneous power of the transmitted signal, expands signal coverage, and increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal received at the receiving end. Based on this, in some scenarios requiring increased transmission power, the transmitting end divides the UWB signal to be transmitted into multiple fragment signals, each fragment signal having a time length of less than 1 millisecond, and then transmits only one fragment signal in each millisecond.

[0110] 2 is a diagram of a UWB signal according to an embodiment of the present application. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that the transmitting end divides the UWB signal to be transmitted into multiple fragment signals (e.g., UWB fragment signal #1, UWB fragment signal #2, UWB fragment signal #3, ... shown in FIG. 2). The time length of each fragment signal is less than 1 millisecond, and one of the fragment signals is transmitted within each millisecond.

[0111] 3. Ranging or Sensing: In ranging or sensing scenarios, the accuracy of measurement or sensing results is related to the signal bandwidth. A larger signal bandwidth indicates that more accurate results can be obtained by sensing or ranging. Therefore, it may be considered that a reference signal for ranging or sensing is received and transmitted using an UWB system, and another reference signal and / or data is transmitted according to a narrowband protocol. This can ensure ranging and sensing accuracy and also reduce power consumption. Sensing in this application may be understood as the lowest-layer sensing technology in the architecture of Internet of Things technology and is a key step for obtaining information and implementing object control in the Internet of Things. Ranging may be understood as measuring the distance between devices, including but not limited to measuring the distance between two objects in the Internet of Things.

[0112] For example, in this application, a UWB technology solution that combines narrowband-assisted multi-millisecond UWB with multi-millisecond transmission may be referred to as narrowband-assisted multi-millisecond Ultra-wideband (NBA-MMS UWB).

[0113] 3 is a diagram of the architecture of a ranging / positioning system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the ranging / positioning system includes multiple devices (device 1 and device 2 shown in FIG. 3), which may be apparatuses in an embodiment of the present application. Each device includes at least an UWB module. In addition, the devices may further include a narrowband communication module. Any one of ranging, positioning, and communication can be performed between the UWB modules of device 1 and device 2. If the devices include narrowband communication modules, data transmission can be performed between the narrowband communication modules of device 1 and device 2 via a wireless link.

[0114] In this application, a UWB module may be understood as a device, chip, system, or the like that implements UWB wireless communication technology. Correspondingly, a narrowband communication module may be understood as a device, chip, system, or the like that implements narrowband communication technology (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or ZigBee (ZigBee protocol)). In one device, the UWB module and the narrowband communication module may be different devices or chips. Of course, the UWB module and the narrowband communication module may alternatively be integrated into one device or chip. The embodiments of this application do not limit the implementation of the UWB module and the narrowband communication module in a device. UWB technology enables communication devices to have high data throughput and high positioning accuracy.

[0115] The device in this application may be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal, such as a user terminal, user equipment, access device, subscriber station, subscriber unit, mobile station, user agent, or user equipment, supporting Wi-Fi communication capabilities. User terminals may include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or computing devices with wireless communication capabilities or another processing device connected to a wireless modem, various forms of user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), terminal, terminal device, portable communication device, handheld device, portable computing device, entertainment device, gaming device or system, global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to perform network communications over a wireless medium. The device may also support the 802.15.4ab standard or the next generation of the 802.15.4ab standard. The device may also support multiple standards, such as 802.15.4a, 802.15.4-2011, 802.15.4-2015, and 802.15.4z. The device may also support multiple wireless local area network (WLAN) standards in the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, and the next generation of 802.11be.

[0116] 4. Ranging Round: In the previous generation IEEE 802.15.4z standard, a single ranging process is defined as a ranging round. The minimum processing time unit of each ranging round is a ranging slot. A ranging round is divided into three phases: ranging control phase (also called initial synchronization phase), ranging phase, and measurement report phase.

[0117] It should be noted that the communication method provided in the present application may be applied to narrowband protocol-assisted UWB ranging, narrowband protocol-assisted UWB sensing, or another measurement procedure. For example, the communication method provided in the present application is applied to a narrowband protocol-assisted UWB sensing procedure. The measurement control phase may be understood as a sensing control phase, the ranging phase may be understood as a sensing phase, and the ranging result reporting phase may be understood as a sensing result reporting phase.

[0118] It should be further noted that the names of the various phases of a single measurement round mentioned above are merely examples and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of the present application. For example, a measurement control phase may be understood as a phase for setting parameters required in a measurement round; in another example, a measurement phase may be understood as a phase for measurement; and in yet another example, a measurement result reporting phase may be understood as a phase for reporting measurement results, and may also be referred to as the end of the measurement phase.

[0119] 4 illustrates a narrowband-assisted UWB ranging procedure. An initiator and a responder are included in FIG. 4. By way of example and not limitation, the initiator may be a device capable of communicating in a WPAN (e.g., an FFD or RFD shown in FIG. 1). Similarly, the responder may be a device capable of communicating in a WPAN (e.g., an FFD or RFD shown in FIG. 1).

[0120] As can be seen from Figure 4, one ranging block may include multiple ranging rounds, and one ranging round may include an initial synchronization phase, a measurement phase, and a measurement report phase. In the initial synchronization phase, NB signals are exchanged between the initiator and the responder to complete processes such as ranging configuration and synchronization. For example, the initiator sends a narrowband Poll signal, and the responder replies with a Resp signal to perform a handshake. The information carried in the Poll signal may include one or more of the following: ranging round-related parameter settings, ranging signal preamble-related parameter settings (preamble length, sequence used by the preamble, and the like), UWB packet type, device role and slot duration, number of slots, and the like. During the measurement phase, the initiator measures the round-trip time with the responder over the UWB channel using fragment transmission. measurement In the measurement reporting phase, the responder transmits the measurement results to the initiator by using the NB signal.

[0121] Currently, candidate spectrum for narrowband systems includes unlicensed national information infrastructure 3 (UNII-3) and UNII-5, which overlap with spectrum corresponding to Wi-Fi channels. In this case, NB signals exchanged between initiators and responders may be interfered with by Wi-Fi devices.

[0122] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method to solve the problem of how narrowband systems and Wi-Fi systems share spectrum.

[0123] The specific structure of the entity that executes the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is not particularly limited in the following embodiments, provided that a program recording the code of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be executed to perform communication according to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be executed by a transceiver device or a functional module in the transceiver device that can call and execute a program.

[0124] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are provided.

[0125] First, in this application, "indicate" may be understood as "enable," and "enable" may include "directly enable" and "indirectly enable." If information is described as enabling A, the information may directly enable A or indirectly enable A, but it does not necessarily mean that the information conveys A.

[0126] Information enabled by information is referred to as to-be-enabled information. In a specific implementation process, the to-be-enabled information may be enabled in many ways, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-enabled information may be directly enabled, such as the to-be-enabled information or an index of the to-be-enabled information. Alternatively, the to-be-enabled information may be indirectly enabled by enabling other information, where an association relationship exists between the other information and the to-be-enabled information. Alternatively, only a portion of the to-be-enabled information may be enabled, and other portions of the to-be-enabled information are known or agreed upon in advance. For example, specific information may be enabled through a pre-agreed (e.g., specified in a protocol) sequence of all information, thereby reducing the enablement overhead to a certain extent. Also, common portions of all information may be identified and enabled in a unified manner, thereby reducing the enablement overhead caused by separately enabling the same information.

[0127] Second, the terms "first," "second," and various numbers (e.g., "a1" and "a2") used in the present application are merely for ease of description and are used to distinguish between objects, but are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, the numbers are used to distinguish between different channels, but are not used to describe a particular order or sequence. It should be understood that the multiple objects described in this manner are interchangeable in appropriate circumstances, thereby enabling solutions other than the embodiments of the present application to be described.

[0128] Third, the term "and / or" in the present specification merely describes a relation to describe related objects, and indicates that three relations may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. Also, the character " / " in the present specification generally indicates an "or" relation between related objects.

[0129] Fourth, the "protocol" in the embodiments of the present application may be a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, may include a Wi-Fi protocol and related protocols applied to future communication systems, which is not limited in the present application.

[0130] Without loss of generality, the following describes in detail the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application by using the interaction between an initiator device and a responder device as an example.

[0131] It should be understood that the specific types of the transmitting end device and the receiving end device are not limited in the present application, provided that the transmitting end device and the receiving end device are communication devices having NB signal receiving and transmitting functions.

[0132] 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may include the following steps:

[0133] S510: The transmitting end device generates a first frame.

[0134] The first frame is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal, the at least one available narrowband channel belonging to a plurality of candidate narrowband channels, the plurality of candidate narrowband channels being obtained by performing channel division on a spectrum of the narrowband system.

[0135] 6 shows multiple candidate narrowband channels obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum UNII-3. The frequency band range of UNII-3 is 5725 MHz to 5850 MHz, and the bandwidth of UNII-3 is 125 MHz. As shown in FIG. 6, if the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels is 2.5 MHz and the boundary of the first candidate narrowband channel (i.e., channel a1) is aligned with the boundary of the spectrum UNII-3, 50 candidate narrowband channels, i.e., channels a1 to a50, can be obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum UNII-3. The frequency f of the nth channel among channels a1 to a50 is n teeth,

number

number

[0136] It should be noted that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels may be 1.25 MHz or 5 MHz. The candidate narrowband channel division scheme is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the offset between the boundary of the first candidate narrowband channel in the plurality of candidate narrowband channels and the boundary of the candidate spectrum of the narrowband system may be 0.5 MHz, 0.75 MHz, 1 MHz, or another value.

[0137] It should be further noted that Fig. 6 is illustrated by using an example in which channel division is performed on spectrum UNII-3 to obtain multiple candidate narrowband channels. If the spectrum of the narrowband system is a spectrum different from spectrum UNII-3, refer to the scheme shown in Fig. 6 for the scheme of performing channel division on another spectrum.

[0138] The first frame includes at least one of a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor (SF) field.

[0139] The first field indicates whether each frequency domain resource of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals, where the at least one Wi-Fi channel is obtained by performing channel division on a spectrum that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals.

[0140] For example, the first field may be called a Wi-Fi channel field. It should be understood that the name of the first field is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0141] 7 shows Wi-Fi channels obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum within spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. As shown in FIG. 7, if spectrum within the range of 5725 MHz to 5730 MHz within spectrum UNII-3 can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals and the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20 MHz, at least one Wi-Fi channel obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum within spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals includes: channel 144, channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169. If the spectrum in the range of 5725 MHz to 5730 MHz in spectrum UNII-3 cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals and the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20 MHz, at least one Wi-Fi channel obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum in spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals includes: channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169. If the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 40 MHz, at least one Wi-Fi channel obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum within spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals includes channel 151, channel 159, and channel 167. If the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 80 MHz, at least one Wi-Fi channel obtained by performing channel division on spectrum within spectrum UNII-3 that can be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals includes channel 155.

[0142] For example, the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel. If the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit an NB signal; or, if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit an NB signal. The first value is 0 and the second value is 1; or, the first value is 1 and the second value is 0.

[0143] The correspondence between the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the at least one bit is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the at least one Wi-Fi channel has a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one bit. For example, if the at least one Wi-Fi channel includes six channels: channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169, the at least one bit includes six bits that have a one-to-one correspondence with the six channels. In another example, the at least one Wi-Fi channel has a many-to-one correspondence with the at least one bit. For example, the at least one Wi-Fi channel includes six channels, and the at least one bit includes three bits, each of which corresponds to two Wi-Fi channels in the at least one Wi-Fi channel.

[0144] In another example, if the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, The first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, the second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and the frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit NB signals; or The first frequency domain resource, the second frequency domain resource, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource may be used to transmit an NB signal; or Frequency domain resources other than the following frequency domain resources within the frequency domain resources of the at least one Wi-Fi channel: a first frequency domain resource, a second frequency domain resource, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource, may be used to transmit NB signals; or Frequency domain resources other than the following frequency domain resources within the frequency domain resources of the at least one Wi-Fi channel: a first frequency domain resource, a second frequency domain resource, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource, cannot be used to transmit NB signals.

[0145] In another example, the first field includes at least one of the following sub-fields: a first sub-field, a second sub-field, or a third sub-field.

[0146] The first subfield includes at least one bit that corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel having a bandwidth of Bandwidth #1. If the value of Bit #1 in the at least one bit included in the first subfield is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to Bit #1 can be used to transmit NB signals; alternatively, if the value of Bit #1 is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to Bit #1 cannot be used to transmit NB signals. For example, Bandwidth #1 is 20 MHz.

[0147] The second subfield includes at least one bit that corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel having a bandwidth of Bandwidth #2. If the value of Bit #2 in the at least one bit included in the second subfield is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to Bit #2 can be used to transmit NB signals; alternatively, if the value of Bit #2 is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to Bit #2 cannot be used to transmit NB signals. For example, Bandwidth #2 is 40 MHz.

[0148] The third subfield includes at least one bit that corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel having a bandwidth of Bandwidth #3. If the value of Bit #3 in the at least one bit included in the third subfield is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to Bit #3 can be used to transmit NB signals; alternatively, if the value of Bit #3 is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to Bit #3 cannot be used to transmit NB signals. For example, Bandwidth #1 is 80 MHz.

[0149] The second field indicates whether each frequency domain resource of the at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit an NB signal, and each frequency domain resource of the at least one narrowband channel includes a frequency domain resource that cannot be used to transmit a Wi-Fi signal.

[0150] For example, the second field may be referred to as a non-Wi-Fi occupied channel field. It should be understood that the name of the second field is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0151] At least one narrowband channel belongs to a plurality of reference narrowband channels, and the plurality of reference narrowband channels are obtained by performing channel division on the spectrum of the narrowband system using a predefined channel division scheme. The predefined channel division scheme may be the same as a target channel division scheme, or the predefined channel division scheme may be different from the target channel division scheme. This is not limited to this embodiment of the present application. The target channel division scheme is used to perform channel division on the spectrum of the narrowband system to obtain a plurality of candidate narrowband channels. If the predefined channel division scheme is the same as the target channel division scheme, it can be understood that the plurality of reference narrowband channels are the same as the plurality of candidate narrowband channels. In other words, at least one narrowband channel belongs to a plurality of candidate narrowband channels.

[0152] For example, in the predefined channel division scheme, the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel is 2.5 MHz, and the boundary of the first narrowband channel among the plurality of reference narrowband channels is aligned with the boundary of the spectrum of the narrowband system. For example, if the spectrum of the narrowband system is spectrum UNII-3, the plurality of reference narrowband channels obtained by performing channel division on spectrum UNII-3 using the predefined channel division scheme include channels a1 to a50 in FIG. 6.

[0153] As shown in Figure 8, it is assumed that the multiple reference narrowband channels include channels a1 through a50 shown in Figure 6, and that at least one Wi-Fi channel includes channels 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, and 169 shown in Figure 7. The at least one narrowband channel includes channels a1 through a4 because the frequency domain resources of each of channels a1 through a4 include frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. If the at least one Wi-Fi channel further includes channel 144, the frequency domain resources of each of channels a1 and a2 may be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, and the at least one narrowband channel does not include channel a1 or channel a2.

[0154] In another example, the predefined channel division scheme is such that the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel is 2.5 MHz, and the offset between the boundary of the first narrowband channel in the plurality of reference narrowband channels and the boundary of the spectrum of the narrowband system is 1.25 MHz. For example, if the spectrum of the narrowband system is spectrum UNII-3, the plurality of reference narrowband channels obtained by performing channel division on spectrum UNII-3 using the predefined channel division scheme include channels b1 to b49 in FIG. 6.

[0155] As shown in Figure 9, it is assumed that the multiple narrowband channels include channels b1 through b49 shown in Figure 6, and that at least one Wi-Fi channel includes channels 149, 153, 157, 161, 165, and 169 shown in Figure 7. The at least one narrowband channel includes channels b1 through b3 because the frequency domain resources of each of channels b1 through b4 include frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. If the at least one Wi-Fi channel also includes channel 144, the frequency domain resources of channel b1 may be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, and the at least one narrowband channel does not include channel b1.

[0156] For example, the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel, and if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or if the value of the second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0157] The correspondence between the at least one narrowband channel and the at least one bit is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the at least one narrowband channel has a one-to-one correspondence with the at least one bit. For example, if the at least one narrowband channel includes four channels: channel a1, channel a2, channel a3, and channel a4, the at least one bit includes four bits that have a one-to-one correspondence with the four channels. In another example, the at least one narrowband channel and the at least one bit have a many-to-one correspondence. For example, the at least one narrowband channel includes four channels, and the at least one bit includes two bits, each of which corresponds to two narrowband channels in the at least one narrowband channel.

[0158] The at least one scaling factor field corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0159] For example, the first scaling factor is denoted as SF1, and the frequency of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field is f Wi-Fi and the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field is B Wi-Fi In this case, the frequency domain resource determined based on the first scaling factor and the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field, which can be used to transmit the NB signal, is expressed as:

number

[0160] Alternatively, the frequency-domain resources determined based on the first scaling factor and the frequency-domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field, which cannot be used to transmit the NB signal, may be expressed as follows:

number

[0161] The correspondence between the at least one scaling factor field and the at least one Wi-Fi channel is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. For example, the at least one scaling factor field and the at least one Wi-Fi channel have a one-to-one correspondence. In another example, the at least one scaling factor field and the at least one Wi-Fi channel have a many-to-one correspondence.

[0162] For example, the following relationship exists between multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel:

number

number

[0163] For example, if the value of the scaling factor is any one of: 1 / 4, 3 / 4, 1, and 5 / 4, then the scaling factor field may contain two bits. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "00", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1 / 4. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "01", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 2 / 4. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "10", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "11", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 5 / 4.

[0164] For example, if the value of the scaling factor is any one of: 1 / 4, 1 / 2, 3 / 4, 1, and 5 / 4, then the scaling factor field may contain 3 bits. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "000", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1 / 4. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "001", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1 / 2. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "010", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 3 / 4. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "011", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 1. If the two bits included in the scaling factor field are "100", the value of the scaling factor indicated by the scaling factor field is 5 / 4.

[0165] In another example, the plurality of reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel have the following relationship:

number

[0166] For example, the value of the scaling factor is any one of: 3 / 8, 5 / 8, 7 / 8, 9 / 8, and 11 / 8. Alternatively, the value of the scaling factor is any one of: 3 / 8, 5 / 8, 7 / 8, and 9 / 8.

[0167] Optionally, if the predefined channel division scheme is different from the target channel division scheme, i.e., if the plurality of candidate narrowband channels are different from the plurality of reference narrowband channels, the first frame may further include a third field and / or a fourth field. For example, if the frequencies of the plurality of candidate narrowband channels are different from the frequencies of the plurality of reference narrowband channels, the first frame may include the third field. For example, if the bandwidths of the plurality of candidate narrowband channels are different from the bandwidths of the plurality of reference narrowband channels, the first frame may include the fourth field.

[0168] For example, the third field may be referred to as a shift field, and the fourth field may be referred to as an extension field. It should be understood that the names of the third field and the fourth field are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0169] The third field indicates an offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel. As described above, at least one available narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels. Therefore, the third field may be considered to indicate an offset value between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel. Since the reference narrowband channel is determined using a predefined channel division scheme, the frequency of the reference narrowband channel may be considered to be a preset value.

[0170] For example, the third field may indicate an offset value between the frequency of a first candidate narrowband channel in the plurality of candidate narrowband channels and the frequency of a first reference narrowband channel in the plurality of reference narrowband channels. In another example, the third field may indicate an offset value between the frequency of a last candidate narrowband channel in the plurality of candidate narrowband channels and the frequency of a last reference narrowband channel in the plurality of reference narrowband channels.

[0171] For example, the third field may contain two bits. If the two bits included in the third field are "00", the third field indicates that the offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 0. If the two bits included in the third field are “01”, the third field indicates that the offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is −1.25. If the two bits included in the third field are “10”, the third field indicates that the offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 1.25. An offset value of "-1.25" indicates that the difference between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is -1.25. An offset value of "1.25" indicates that the difference between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 1.25.

[0172] The fourth field is used to determine the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels. In other words, the fourth field is used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channels.

[0173] For example, the fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel. If the possible bandwidth values ​​of the candidate narrowband channel are 1.25 MHz or 2.5 MHz, the fourth field may contain 1 bit. If the bit contained in the fourth field is "0", the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is 1.25 MHz. If the bit contained in the fourth field is "1", the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel indicated by the fourth field is 2.5 MHz.

[0174] In another example, the fourth field indicates the relationship between the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel and the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel. For example, if the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel is 2.5 MHz and the possible bandwidth values ​​of the candidate narrowband channel are 1.25 MHz or 2.5 MHz, the fourth field may include one bit. If the bit included in the fourth field is "0," the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is the same as the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel. If the bit included in the fourth field is "1," the fourth field indicates that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is half the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel.

[0175] Optionally, when the first frame includes the first field, the first frame may further include a fifth field, where the fifth field indicates the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel. For example, the fifth field may include 2 bits. If the two bits included in the fifth field are "00", the fifth field indicates that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20 MHz. If the two bits included in the fifth field are "01", the fifth field indicates that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 40 MHz. If the two bits included in the fifth field are "10", the fifth field indicates that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 80 MHz.

[0176] For example, the fifth field may be called a bandwidth field. It should be understood that the name of the fifth field is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0177] Optionally, the first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration and / or start of a time period during which an available narrowband channel may be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0178] For example, the sixth field may be called a validity time field. It should be understood that the name of the sixth field is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0179] For example, the sixth field includes a fourth subfield and / or a fifth subfield, where the fourth subfield indicates an interval between the start of the time period and the time the first frame is transmitted, and the fifth subfield indicates the duration between the times.

[0180] For example, the unit of the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is a measurement slot or measurement duration, where the measurement duration is the duration required to perform one data measurement. That is, the fourth subfield indicates that the interval between the start of the time period and the time the first frame is transmitted is L measurement slots or L measurement durations. It can be understood that the interval between the start of the time period during which an available narrowband channel can be used to transmit an NB signal and the time the first frame is transmitted is typically not more than 1 second, and the duration of one measurement slot is not less than 1 ms. Therefore, if the unit of the duration indicated by the fourth subfield is a measurement slot, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 1000 measurement slots. If there are a maximum of 1000 measurement slots, the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 10 bits. Similarly, if one measurement duration includes 10 measurement slots, the duration indicated by the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 100 measurement durations, i.e., the fourth subfield includes a maximum of 7 bits.

[0181] For example, the unit of duration indicated by the fifth subfield is a measurement slot or a measurement duration.

[0182] Optionally, the first frame further includes a seventh field, the seventh field indicating whether the first frame includes at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, or a sixth field.

[0183] For example, the seventh field may be called a field presence indication field. It should be understood that the name of the seventh field is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0184] For example, the seventh field may include seven bits, and the seven bits have a one-to-one correspondence with the seven fields. If the value of bit #A of the seven bits is a first value, it indicates that the first frame includes a field corresponding to bit #A. If the value of bit #A of the seven bits is a second value, it indicates that the first frame does not include a field corresponding to bit #A. For example, if the seven bits included in the seventh field are "1110000," it may indicate that the first frame includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field.

[0185] In another example, the seventh field may include three bits, one corresponding to the first field, one corresponding to the second field, and the last corresponding to at least one scaling factor field. If bit #B of the three bits has a first value, it indicates that the first frame includes a field corresponding to bit #B. If bit #B of the three bits has a second value, it indicates that the first frame does not include a field corresponding to bit #B. For example, if the three bits included in the seventh field are “111,” it may indicate that the first frame includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field. In another example, if the three bits included in the seventh field are “100,” it may indicate that the first frame includes the first field.

[0186] In another example, the seventh field may include 10 bits in a one-to-one correspondence with the following fields: a first sub-field, a second sub-field, a third sub-field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, a fourth sub-field, and a fifth sub-field.

[0187] For example, if the first frame includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field, the structure of the first frame may be as shown in Figure 10(a) or as shown in Figure 10(b). In the structure shown in Figure 10(b), multiple Wi-Fi channels are combined to form the first field. When the first frame includes a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a third field, the structure of the first frame may be as shown in (c) of Figure 10. If the first frame includes a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a fifth field, the structure of the first frame may be as shown in (d) of Figure 10. When the first frame includes a first field, a second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a seventh field, the structure of the first frame may be as shown in (e) of Figure 10. It should be noted that Figure 10 is merely an example, and the structure of the first frame may alternatively be in another form, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0188] For example, if the structure of the first frame is as shown in (a) of Figure 10 and the relationship between the multiple reference narrowband channels and at least one Wi-Fi channel is as shown in Figure 8, the description of the fields included in the first frame will be as shown in Table 1. Table 1 [Table 1] TIFF2025531760000051.tif126170

[0189] Optionally, before S510, the method 500 further includes S540: the transmitting end device receives a second frame from the receiving end device, and the second frame is used to determine a first narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal. For the structure of the second frame, please refer to the above description of the first frame. Details will not be described again in this embodiment of the present application.

[0190] For example, the transmitting end device receives the second frame from the receiving end device in the measurement control phase, or receives the second frame from the receiving end device in the measurement result reporting phase.

[0191] Optionally, the transmitting end device may generate the first frame based on the second frame, for example, the frequency domain resource of the at least one narrowband channel determined based on the first frame generated by the transmitting end device belongs to the frequency domain resource of the first narrowband channel.

[0192] S520: The transmitting end device transmits a first frame to the receiving end device.

[0193] In response, the receiving end device receives the first frame from the transmitting end device.

[0194] In a possible implementation, for first frames with different structures, the information element (IE) numbers corresponding to the first frames transmitted by the transmitting end device are different. For example, if the first frame includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field, the IE number corresponding to the first frame is IE#1. If the first frame includes the first field and the second field, the IE number corresponding to the first frame is IE#2. If the first frame includes the first field, the second field, at least one scaling factor field, and a sixth field, the IE number corresponding to the first frame is IE#3. Accordingly, after receiving the first frame, the receiving end device can determine the structure of the first frame based on the IE numbers corresponding to the first frame.

[0195] In a possible implementation, if the first frame includes a seventh field, the receiving end device can determine the fields further included in the first frame based on the seventh field.

[0196] S530: The receiving end device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0197] For example, the receiving end device directly determines at least one usable narrowband channel based on the first frame, or the receiving end device determines usable frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame, and then determines at least one usable narrowband channel based on the usable frequency domain resources.

[0198] Hereinafter, by using an example in which the first frame received by the receiving end device includes a first field, a second field, and at least one scaling factor field, a manner in which the receiving end device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame will be described.

[0199] When the first field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel, the receiving end device can determine, based on the first field, whether the frequency domain of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal. That is, when the value of the first bit of the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving end device determines that the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or when the value of the first bit of the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving end device determines that the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0200] Alternatively, when the first field includes a bit corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, and the first field includes a bit corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, the receiving end device: It may be determined that a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and frequency domain resources between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit NB signals; or It may be determined that the first frequency domain resource, the second frequency domain resource, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource may be used to transmit the NB signal; or It is possible to determine that frequency domain resources other than the following frequency domain resources within the frequency domain resources of the at least one Wi-Fi channel: a first frequency domain resource, a second frequency domain resource, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource, can be used to transmit the NB signal; or It may be possible to determine that frequency domain resources other than the following frequency domain resources within the frequency domain resources of the at least one Wi-Fi channel: a first frequency domain resource, a second frequency domain resource, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource, cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0201] For example, if at least one Wi-Fi channel includes channel 149, channel 153, channel 157, channel 161, channel 165, and channel 169, the six channels may be represented by three bits. For example, "000" indicates channel 149, "001" indicates channel 153, "010" indicates channel 157, "011" indicates channel 161, "100" indicates channel 165, and "101" indicates channel 169. Furthermore, if the first field includes six bits and the six bits are "000010," the receiving end device may determine that the first field includes a bit corresponding to channel 149 and a bit corresponding to channel 157. Furthermore, the receiving end device may determine whether the frequency domain resources of each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0202] As mentioned above, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel may be 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz. If the first frame further includes a fifth field, the receiving end device can determine the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel based on the fifth field. If the first frame does not include the fifth field, the receiving end device defaults to assuming that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 20 MHz, or that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 40 MHz, or that the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel is 80 MHz.

[0203] It should be noted that if the first frame does not include the first field, the receiving end device may assume by default that the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, or may assume by default that the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel cannot be used to transmit the NB signal. Alternatively, the receiving end device determines whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first field included in the last received first frame.

[0204] After determining whether each of the at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first field, the receiving end device continues to determine frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the scaling factor field.

[0205] For example, if the receiving end device determines based on the first field that the frequency domain resource of a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel cannot be used to transmit the NB signal, the receiving end device determines the frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the frequency domain resource of the first Wi-Fi channel and the scaling factor field corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel. For the manner in which the receiving end device determines the frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the frequency domain resource of the first Wi-Fi channel and the scaling factor field corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, see the description in S510.

[0206] 11(a), it is assumed that the receiving end device determines, based on the first field, that the frequency domain resources of channels 149 and 153 cannot be used to transmit NB signals, and that the frequency domain resources of channels 157, 161, 165, and 169 can be used to transmit NB signals, and the receiving end device determines, based on at least one scaling factor field, that the scaling factor corresponding to channels 149 and 153 is 3 / 4. In this case, the receiving end device can determine the frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit NB signals in the following manner. Specifically, the frequency domain resources that are within the frequency domain resources of channel 149 and cannot be used to transmit NB signals are:

number

number

[0207] 11(b), it is assumed that the receiving end device determines based on the first field that the frequency domain resources of channels 149 to 169 cannot be used to transmit NB signals, and based on at least one scaling factor field, the receiving end device determines that the scaling factors corresponding to channels 149 to 169 are 1 / 2. In this case, the receiving end device can determine the frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit NB signals in the following manner, that is, the frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit NB signals are:

number

[0208] It should be noted that if the first frame does not include at least one scaling factor field, the receiving end device may determine the value of the scaling factor to be a preset value, for example, determine the value of the scaling factor to be 1. Alternatively, the receiving end device determines the value of the scaling factor based on a scaling factor resource included in the last received first frame.

[0209] Further, the receiving end device determines, based on the second field, frequency domain resources within the frequency domain resources of the at least one narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0210] When the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to at least one narrowband channel, the receiving end device can determine, based on the second field, whether each frequency domain of the at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal. That is, when the value of the second bit in the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving end device determines that the frequency domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal; or when the value of the second bit in the at least one bit is a first value, the receiving end device determines that the frequency domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0211] As shown in FIG. 11(a), it is assumed that the receiving end device has determined based on the second field that the frequency domain resources of channel a3 and channel a4 can be used to transmit the NB signal. The available frequency domain resources finally determined by the receiving end device are: 5730 MHz to 5737.5 MHz, 5772.5 MHz to 5777.5 MHz, and 5792.5 MHz to 5780 MHz Includes.

[0212] As shown in FIG. 11(b), it is assumed that the receiving end device has determined based on the second field that the frequency domain resources of channel a3 and channel a4 can be used to transmit the NB signal. The available frequency domain resources finally determined by the receiving end device are:

number

[0213] It should be noted that if the first frame does not include the second field, the receiving end device may assume by default that the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals, or may assume by default that the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel cannot be used to transmit NB signals. Alternatively, the receiving end device determines whether the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals based on the second field included in the last received first frame.

[0214] After determining the available frequency domain resources, the receiving end device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources. As described above, the at least one available narrowband channel belongs to multiple candidate narrowband channels. The receiving end device's determination of at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources is equivalent to the receiving end device determining at least one available narrowband channel from the multiple candidate narrowband channels based on the available frequency domain resources. Specifically, if the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel is within the available frequency domain resource range, the receiving end device determines that the candidate narrowband channel is a available narrowband channel. It can be seen that the receiving end device can determine at least one available narrowband channel based on the available frequency domain resources only after determining the frequency of each of the multiple candidate narrowband channels.

[0215] For example, if the first frame further includes a third field, the receiving end device can determine an offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel based on the third field. Furthermore, the receiving end device can determine the frequencies of the multiple candidate narrowband channels when determining the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels. Assume that the spectrum of the narrowband system is spectrum UNII-3, the third field indicates that the offset value between the frequency of a first candidate narrowband channel among the multiple candidate narrowband channels and the frequency of a first reference narrowband channel among the multiple reference narrowband channels is -1.25, and the receiving end device determines, based on a predefined channel division scheme, that the frequency of the first reference narrowband signal is 5727.5 MHz and that the frequency of the first candidate narrowband channel is 5726.25 MHz. If the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channels is 2.5 MHz, the frequency f of the nth channel among the multiple candidate narrowband channels determined by the receiving end device is n teeth,

number

[0216] For example, if the first frame further includes a fourth field, the receiving end device may determine the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel based on the fourth field, and then the receiving end device may determine the frequencies of the multiple candidate narrowband channels based on the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel.

[0217] If the first frame does not include the third field, the receiving end device may assume by default that the offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel is 0. If the first frame does not include the fourth field, the receiving end device may assume by default that the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel is the same as the bandwidth of the reference narrowband channel. If the first frame does not include the third field and the fourth field, the receiving end device may determine that the multiple candidate narrowband channels are the same as the multiple reference narrowband channels.

[0218] After determining the frequencies of the plurality of candidate narrowband channels, the receiving end device may determine at least one usable narrowband channel based on the frequencies of the plurality of candidate narrowband channels and the available frequency domain resources.

[0219] The available frequency domain resources are 5730 MHz to 5737.5 MHz, 5772.5 MHz to 5777.5 MHz, and 5792.5 MHz to 5780 MHz The frequency f of the nth channel among multiple candidate narrowband channels is n teeth,

number

[0220] The available frequency domain resources are

number

number

number

[0221] AllowList[n]=1 indicates that the n-th channel among the multiple candidate narrowband channels is an available narrowband channel. According to the above algorithm, the at least one available narrowband channel determined by the receiving end device is as shown in Figure 6: Channel a3 to channel a6, Channel a19 to channel a22, Channel a27 to channel a30, Channel a35 to channel a38, and Channel a43 to Channel a46 Includes.

[0222] Optionally, if the first frame further includes a sixth field, the receiving end device may further determine, based on the sixth field, a duration and / or a starting point during which at least one available narrowband channel may be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0223] For example, if the sixth field includes a fourth subfield, the unit of duration indicated by the fourth subfield is the measurement duration, and the seven bits included in the fourth subfield are "0000011", the receiving end device can determine, based on the fourth subfield, that there is an interval of four measurement durations between the start of the time period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal and the time when the first frame is received.

[0224] For example, if the sixth field includes a fifth subfield, the unit of the duration indicated by the fifth subfield is the measurement duration, and the three bits included in the fifth subfield are "011", the receiving end device can determine, based on the fifth subfield, that the duration of the time period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal includes four measurement durations.

[0225] After determining at least one available narrowband channel, the receiving end device can transmit the NB signal via the at least one available narrowband channel.

[0226] In this embodiment of the present application, a transmitting end device may transmit a first frame to a receiving end device, and then the receiving end device may determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal. When the spectrum of the narrowband system overlaps with the spectrum of the Wi-Fi system, according to the method provided in this embodiment of the present application, the transmitting end device may use the first frame to indicate to the receiving end device frequency domain resources that are not occupied by Wi-Fi devices, i.e., the frequency domain resources of the at least one available narrowband channel determined by the receiving end device based on the first frame are not occupied by Wi-Fi devices. In this way, the NB signal transmitted by the receiving end device can be prevented from being interfered with by Wi-Fi devices.

[0227] In addition, in this embodiment of the present application, the first field indicates whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit NB signals. Because the bandwidth of a Wi-Fi channel is wide and relates to a segment of spectrum resources, the number of bits required to indicate a Wi-Fi channel is less than the number of bits required to indicate a narrowband channel. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment of the present application does not result in significant bit overhead.

[0228] In this embodiment of the present application, the second field further indicates whether the frequency domain resources of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit NB signals, and each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals. In this way, when the spectrum resources of the narrowband system include frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals, the spectrum resources of the narrowband system can be comprehensively indicated.

[0229] Additionally, the first frame may further include at least one scaling factor field. If the device has both the capability to transmit NB signals and the capability to transmit Wi-Fi signals, a scaling factor greater than 1 may be indicated by using the at least one scaling factor field. In this way, the frequency domain resources for transmitting NB signals are not adjacent to the frequency domain resources for transmitting Wi-Fi signals, thereby preventing in-band interference.

[0230] The first frame may further include a fourth subfield, whose duration unit is a measurement slot or a measurement duration. Therefore, the fourth subfield may include a maximum of 10 bits or 7 bits, which does not cause excessive bit overhead.

[0231] 12 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 1200 according to another embodiment of the present application. The method may include the following steps.

[0232] S1210: The receiving end device transmits a second frame to the transmitting end device.

[0233] In response, the transmitting end device receives a second frame from the receiving end device.

[0234] The second frame indicates a first narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal. For the structure of the second frame, see the description of the first frame in the preceding method 500. The first narrowband channel may also be referred to as a preferred narrowband channel.

[0235] Note that the second frame does not include the sixth field.

[0236] For example, as shown in FIG. 13(a), in the measurement control phase of the n-th measurement process, the receiving end device transmits a second frame to the transmitting end device.

[0237] For example, as shown in FIG. 13(b), in the measurement result reporting phase of the n-th measurement process, the receiving end device transmits a second frame to the transmitting end device.

[0238] S1220: The transmitting end device transmits an acknowledgement frame to the receiving end device.

[0239] In response, the receiving end device receives an acknowledgement frame from the transmitting end device.

[0240] The acknowledgement frame is an acknowledgement frame for the second frame.

[0241] After receiving the acknowledgement frame, the receiving end device may determine, based on the acknowledgement frame, that the first narrowband channel indicated by the second frame can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0242] For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 13, when the transmitting end device receives a second frame in the measurement control phase of the nth measurement process, the transmitting end device may send an acknowledgement frame to the receiving end device in the measurement result reporting phase of the nth measurement process.

[0243] For example, as shown in FIG. 13(b), when the transmitting end device receives the second frame in the measurement result reporting phase of the n-th measurement process, the transmitting end device receives the second frame in the measurement result reporting phase of the n-th measurement process. 1 During the measurement control phase of the second measurement process, an acknowledgement frame may be sent to the receiving end device.

[0244] S1230: An NB signal is transmitted between a transmitting end device and a receiving end device via a first narrowband channel.

[0245] For example, if the transmitting end device sends an acknowledgement frame to the receiving end device in the nth measurement process, the NB signal is transmitted between the transmitting end device and the receiving end device via the first narrowband channel in the (n+1)th measurement process.

[0246] When the transmitting end device sends an acknowledgement frame to the receiving end device in the (n+1)th measurement process, the NB signal is transmitted between the transmitting end device and the receiving end device via the first narrowband channel in the (n+2)th measurement process.

[0247] In this embodiment of the present application, if the receiving end device is capable of performing a Wi-Fi service whose spectrum is the same as that of the narrowband system, the receiving end device can generate a second frame based on the service performed by the receiving end device and indicate to the transmitting end device a first narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal by using the second frame. Furthermore, if the transmitting end device determines that the first narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, the transmitting end device replies with an acknowledgement frame to the receiving end device, so that the receiving end device determines based on the acknowledgement frame that the first narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal. Furthermore, the NB signal can be transmitted between the transmitting end device and the receiving end device via the first narrowband channel in the next measurement process.

[0248] 14 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may include the following steps:

[0249] S1410: The transmitting end device generates a first frame.

[0250] The first frame is used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the narrowband NB signal, the first frame includes a first field, the first field indicates whether frequency domain resources corresponding to each of the at least one first channel are available to be used to transmit the NB signal, and the bandwidth of the first channel is greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

[0251] For example, the bandwidth of the first channel is twice the bandwidth of the narrowband channel, or the bandwidth of the first channel is three times the bandwidth of the narrowband channel, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0252] For example, the first field may include at least one bit corresponding to at least one first channel; if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a first value, the frequency domain resource of the first channel corresponding to the first bit may be used to transmit an NB signal; or if the value of the first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one first channel is a second value, the frequency domain resource of the first channel corresponding to the first bit may not be used to transmit an NB signal. The first value may be 0 and the second value may be 1; or the first value may be 1 and the second value may be 0.

[0253] Optionally, the first frame further includes at least one scaling factor field, the at least one scaling factor field corresponding to at least one Wi-Fi channel, wherein a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and frequency domain resources of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

[0254] Optionally, the first frame further includes a third field and / or a fourth field, where the third field indicates an offset value between the frequency of the candidate narrowband channel and the frequency of the reference narrowband channel, and the fourth field indicates the bandwidth of the candidate narrowband channel.

[0255] Optionally, the first frame further includes a fifth field, where the fifth field indicates the bandwidth of the first channel.

[0256] Optionally, the first frame further includes a sixth field, which is used to determine the duration and / or start of a time period during which an available narrowband channel may be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0257] Optionally, the first frame further includes a seventh field, which indicates whether the first frame includes the following fields: a first field, at least one scaling factor field, a third field, a fourth field, a fifth field, or a sixth field.

[0258] S1420: The transmitting end device transmits a first frame to the receiving end device.

[0259] In response, the receiving end device receives the first frame from the transmitting end device.

[0260] S1430: The receiving end device determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0261] Please refer to the description of method 500 above for further description of method 1400. For the sake of brevity, details will not be described in this embodiment of the present application.

[0262] In this embodiment of the present application, whether the frequency domain resource of the first channel can be used to transmit the NB signal is indicated, thereby enabling at least one available narrowband channel to be indicated to the receiving end device. Furthermore, the bandwidth of the first channel is larger than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel, and the number of bits required to indicate the first channel with respect to the segment of spectrum resource is less than the number of bits required to indicate the narrowband channel. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment of the present application does not result in significant bit overhead.

[0263] 15 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 15, the apparatus 1500 may include a transceiver unit 1510 and a processing unit 1520. The transceiver unit 1510 is capable of communicating with the outside, and the processing unit 1520 is configured to perform data processing. The transceiver unit 1510 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0264] Optionally, the apparatus 1500 may further include a storage unit configured to store instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 1520 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit, such that the apparatus performs the method embodiments described above.

[0265] In the first design, the apparatus 1500 may be the transmitting end device in the aforementioned embodiments, or may be a component (e.g., a chip) of the transmitting end device. The apparatus 1500 may implement steps or processes performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments. The transceiver unit 1510 may be configured to perform transmission / reception-related operations performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processing unit 1520 may be configured to perform processing-related operations performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0266] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1520 is configured to generate a first frame, the first frame being used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the NB signal, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; The first field indicates whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel each can be used to transmit NB signals; a second field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channels can be used to transmit NB signals, and each of the at least one narrowband channels includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal; and The transceiver unit 1510 is configured to transmit a first frame.

[0267] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 1520 is configured to generate a first frame, the first frame being used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal, the first frame including a first field, the first field indicating whether frequency domain resources corresponding to each of the at least one first channel are available to be used to transmit the NB channel, the bandwidth of the first channel being greater than the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; and the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to transmit the first frame.

[0268] In the second design, the apparatus 1500 may be the receiving end device in the aforementioned embodiments, or may be a component (e.g., a chip) of the receiving end device. The apparatus 1500 may implement steps or processes performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments. The transceiver unit 1510 may be configured to perform transmission / reception-related operations performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processing unit 1520 may be configured to perform processing-related operations performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0269] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and The first field indicates whether the frequency domain resources of at least one Wi-Fi channel each can be used to transmit NB signals; a second field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of the at least one narrowband channels can be used to transmit NB signals, and each of the at least one narrowband channels includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and The at least one scaling factor field corresponds to at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field in the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal; and The processing unit 1520 is configured to determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit the narrowband NB signal.

[0270] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1510 is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame including a first field, the first field indicating whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one first channel can be used to transmit an NB channel, the bandwidth of the first channel being greater than the bandwidth of an available narrowband channel; and the processing unit 1520 is configured to determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal.

[0271] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit 1510 transmits a second frame in a measurement control phase of the n-th measurement process, where the second frame is used to determine at least one first narrowband channel for transmitting an NB signal, where n is a positive integer; receiving an acknowledgement frame of the second frame in the measurement result reporting phase of the n-th measurement process; and transmitting an NB signal through a first narrowband channel in the (n+1)th measurement process; The device is configured to:

[0272] It should be understood that the specific processes by which the units perform the corresponding steps described above have been described in detail in the above method embodiments, and will not be described in detail here for the sake of brevity.

[0273] It should be understood that the device 1500 in this specification is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" in this specification may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor) configured to execute one or more software or firmware programs, a memory, a merge logic circuit, and / or another suitable component supporting the described functionality. In an optional example, the device 1500 may specifically be a transmitting end device in the aforementioned embodiments and configured to perform processes and / or steps corresponding to those of the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments; or, those skilled in the art will understand that the device 1500 may specifically be a receiving end device in the aforementioned embodiments and configured to perform processes and / or steps corresponding to those of the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments. To avoid repetition, details will not be described again here. The transceiver unit 1510 may alternatively be a transceiver circuit (e.g., may include a receiver circuit and a transmitter circuit), and the processing unit 1520 may be a processing circuit. The apparatus in FIG. 15 may be the device in the above-described embodiments, or may be a chip or a chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit may be a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on a chip. This is not limited in the present case.

[0274] The device 1500 in the above solution has functions to perform corresponding steps performed by a transmitting end device or a receiving end device in the above method. The functions may be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software may include one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver (e.g., a transmitting unit in a transceiver unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and a receiving unit in a transceiver unit may be replaced by a receiver), and another unit, such as a processing unit, may be replaced by a processor to separately perform transmitting and receiving operations and related processing operations in the method embodiments.

[0275] 16 is a diagram of an apparatus 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 1600 includes a processor 1610. The processor 1610 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in a memory 1620, or to read data or instructions stored in the memory 1620, to perform the method in the aforementioned method embodiments. Optionally, there may be more than one processor 1610.

[0276] Optionally, as shown in Figure 16, the device 1600 further includes a memory 1620. The memory 1620 is configured to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The memory 1620 and the processor 1610 may be integrated or located separately. Optionally, there may be more than one memory 1620.

[0277] 16, the apparatus 1600 may further include a transceiver 1630 configured to receive and / or transmit signals. For example, the processor 1610 may be configured to control the transceiver 1630 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0278] In the solution, the apparatus 1600 is configured to perform the operations performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0279] For example, the processor 1610 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1620 to perform relevant operations of the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the methods performed by the transmitting end device in the embodiments shown in Figures 5, 12, or 14.

[0280] In another solution, the apparatus 1600 is configured to implement the method performed by the receiving end device in the above method embodiments.

[0281] For example, the processor 1610 is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 1620 to perform the relevant operations of the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the methods performed by the receiving end device in the embodiments shown in Figures 5, 12, or 14.

[0282] It should be understood that the processor referred to in the embodiments of this application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may also be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or the like. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, or the like.

[0283] It should be further understood that the memory referred to in the embodiments of the present application may be volatile and / or nonvolatile memory. Nonvolatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM may be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes several forms such as static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM, DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct Rambus random access memory (direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM).

[0284] It should be noted that the memory (storage module) may be incorporated into the processor if the processor is a general-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component.

[0285] It should be further noted that memory as described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0286] 17 is a diagram of a chip system 1700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 1700 (or may alternatively be referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 1710 and an input / output interface 1720.

[0287] The logic circuit 1710 may be a processing circuit within the chip system 1700. The logic circuit 1710 is coupled and connected to a storage unit and can invoke instructions in the storage unit to enable the chip system 1700 to implement the methods and functions in the embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 1720 may be an input / output circuit within the chip system 1700, and outputs information processed by the chip system 3000 or inputs data or signaling to be processed into the chip system 1700 for processing.

[0288] Specifically, for example, when chip system 1700 is installed in a transmitting end device, logic circuit 1710 is coupled to input / output interface 1720, and logic circuit 1710 may transmit a first frame via input / output interface 1720, where the first frame may be generated by logic circuit 1710. In another example, when chip system 1700 is installed in a receiving end device, logic circuit 1710 is coupled to input / output interface 1720, and logic circuit 1710 may receive a first frame via input / output interface 1720, where logic circuit 1720 determines at least one available narrowband channel based on the first frame.

[0289] In the solution, the chip system 1700 is configured to perform the operations performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0290] For example, the logic circuit 1710 is configured to perform processing-related operations performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the processing-related operations performed by the transmitting end device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 12, or FIG. 14; and the input / output interface 1720 is configured to perform transmission-related operations and / or reception-related operations performed by the transmitting end device in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the processing-related operations performed by the transmitting end device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 12, or FIG. 14.

[0291] In another solution, the chip system 1700 is configured to perform the operations performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0292] For example, the logic circuit 1710 is configured to perform processing-related operations performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the processing-related operations performed by the receiving end device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 12, or FIG. 14; and the input / output interface 1720 is configured to perform transmission-related operations and / or reception-related operations performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments, such as the processing-related operations performed by the receiving end device in the embodiments shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 12, or FIG. 14.

[0293] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions for implementing the method executed by the device in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0294] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to implement the method performed by the transmitting end device in the method embodiments described above.

[0295] In another example, the computer program, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by the receiving end device in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0296] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a computer, perform the method performed by a device (e.g., a transmitting end device, or in another example, a receiving end device) in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0297] An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system including the aforementioned transmitting end device and receiving end device.

[0298] For the description of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any one of the devices provided above, please refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and the details will not be described again here.

[0299] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical division of function, and other divisions may be used in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not implemented. Furthermore, the illustrated or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented via some interface. Indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

[0300] All or part of the above-described embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used to implement an embodiment, all or part of the embodiment 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 a computer and executed, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are performed, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. For example, the computer may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like. The computer instructions may be stored in 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, microwave, or the like) transmission. A 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., DVDs), semiconductor media (e.g., solid state drives (SSDs)), or the like.For example, usable media may include, but are not limited to, any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0301] The above description is merely a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications or substitutions that can be easily understood by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method of communication comprising: generating a first frame, the first frame being used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a narrowband NB signal, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and transmitting the first frame; wherein the first field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one wireless fidelity Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal; The second field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, and each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

2. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frame includes the first field, the first field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel; and or if a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit may be used to transmit the NB signal; or When a value of a first bit in at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a second value, a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

3. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frame includes the first field; and when the first field includes bits corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the first field includes bits corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and frequency domain resources between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit the NB signal; or a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource can be used to transmit the NB signal.

4. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frame includes the second field, the second field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel; and or if a value of a second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, a frequency-domain field of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit may be used to transmit the NB signal; or When a value of a second bit among at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, a frequency domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first frame includes a third field, the third field indicating an offset value between the frequency of the available narrowband channel and the frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of the reference narrowband channel being a preset value.

6. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first frame further includes a fourth field, the fourth field being used to determine the bandwidth of the available narrowband channel.

7. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first frame includes the first field, and the first frame further includes a fifth field, wherein the fifth field indicates a bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

8. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first frame further includes a sixth field, the sixth field being used to determine the duration and / or starting point of a time period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal.

9. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first frame includes a seventh field, the seventh field being configured to determine whether the first frame includes the following fields: the first field, the second field, said at least one scaling factor field; the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or The sixth field A method that indicates whether the method contains at least one of the following:

10. 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, before the step of transmitting the first frame, the method comprises: receiving a second frame, the second frame being used to determine a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal; The method further comprises:

11. 1. A method of communication comprising: receiving a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a narrowband NB signal; wherein the first field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one wireless fidelity Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal; The second field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, and each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first frame includes the first field, the first field including at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel; and The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal includes: determining, if a value of a first bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a first value, that a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit can be used to transmit the NB signal, wherein frequency domain resources of the at least one usable narrowband channel include the frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit; or determining, when a value of a first bit among the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one Wi-Fi channel is a second value, that a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal; A method comprising:

13. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first frame includes the first field; and when the first field includes bits corresponding to a first Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel and the first field includes bits corresponding to a second Wi-Fi channel in the at least one Wi-Fi channel, determining that a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and frequency domain resources between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource cannot be used to transmit the NB signal; or determining that a first frequency domain resource corresponding to the first Wi-Fi channel, a second frequency domain resource corresponding to the second Wi-Fi channel, and a frequency domain resource between the first frequency domain resource and the second frequency domain resource can be used to transmit the NB signal.

14. 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first frame includes the second field, and the second field includes at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel, and the step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal, comprises: or determining, if a value of a second bit in the at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a first value, that a frequency-domain field of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit can be used to transmit the NB signal, wherein frequency-domain resources of the at least one usable narrowband channel include the frequency-domain resource of the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit; When a value of a second bit among at least one bit corresponding to the at least one narrowband channel is a second value, the narrowband channel corresponding to the second bit cannot be used to transmit the NB signal.

15. 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first frame includes a third field, the third field indicating an offset value between a frequency of the available narrowband channel and a frequency of a reference narrowband channel, the frequency of the reference narrowband channel being a preset value; The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal includes: determining available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on at least one of the following fields included in the first frame: the first field, the second field, or the at least one scaling factor field; and determining the at least one usable narrowband channel based on the usable frequency domain resources and the third field; A method comprising:

16. 16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first frame further includes a fourth field, the fourth field being used to determine a bandwidth of the available narrowband channel; The step of determining, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit an NB signal includes: determining available frequency domain resources that can be used to transmit the NB signal based on at least one of the following fields included in the first frame: the first field, the second field, or the at least one scaling factor field; and determining the at least one usable narrowband channel based on the usable frequency domain resources and the fourth field; A method comprising:

17. 17. The method of claim 11, wherein the first frame includes the first field, and the first frame further includes a fifth field, wherein the fifth field indicates a bandwidth of the Wi-Fi channel.

18. 18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first frame further includes a sixth field, the sixth field being used to determine the duration and / or start of a time period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, the method comprising: determining a duration and / or a start time of a time period during which the available narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal based on the first frame; The method further comprises:

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first frame includes a seventh field, the seventh field being configured to determine whether the first frame includes the following field: the first field, the second field, said at least one scaling factor field; the third field, the fourth field, the fifth field, or The sixth field A method that indicates whether the method contains at least one of the following:

20. 20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 19, transmitting a second frame, the second frame being used to determine a first narrowband channel for transmitting the NB signal; The method further comprises:

21. 1. An apparatus including a transceiver unit and a processing unit, The processing unit is configured to generate a first frame, the first frame being used to determine at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a narrowband NB signal, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and the transceiver unit is configured to transmit the first frame; The first field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one wireless fidelity Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal; The second field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, and each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

22. 1. An apparatus including a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame including at least one of the following fields: a first field, a second field, or at least one scaling factor field; and The processing unit is configured to determine, based on the first frame, at least one available narrowband channel that can be used to transmit a narrowband NB signal; The first field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one wireless fidelity Wi-Fi channel can be used to transmit the NB signal; The second field indicates whether frequency domain resources of each of at least one narrowband channel can be used to transmit the NB signal, and each of the at least one narrowband channel includes frequency domain resources that cannot be used to transmit Wi-Fi signals; and the at least one scaling factor field corresponds to the at least one Wi-Fi channel, a first scaling factor field within the at least one scaling factor field indicates a first scaling factor, and the first scaling factor and a frequency domain resource of the Wi-Fi channel corresponding to the first scaling factor field are used to determine a frequency domain resource that can be used to transmit the NB signal.

23. 21. An apparatus comprising a processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in a memory, said apparatus being capable of performing a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or said apparatus being capable of performing a method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

24. A computer readable storage medium configured to store a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or comprising instructions for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 11 to 20.

25. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to carry out a method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 20.

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