Resource configuration method and communication device

Abstract

This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a resource configuration method and a communication device. The solution is applicable to a WLAN system that supports 802.11 series protocols, such as the next-generation Wi-Fi protocol of IEEE 802.11ax like 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7 or EHT, and the next-generation protocol of 802.11be like Wi-Fi 8, and is also applicable to a UWB-based wireless personal area network system and a sensing system. In this method, the first resource unit indicated by the first station to the second station includes subcarriers within a difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range. A part of the subcarriers of the second resource unit is located in the first frequency range. Therefore, such a method avoids an intersection set between the indicated first resource unit and the subcarriers of the first frequency range, that is, avoids resource collision and can maintain normal communication between stations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] [Cross - reference to Related Applications] This application claims the priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 202210927210.X, titled "RESOURCE CONFIGURATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS", filed on August 3, 2022, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] [Technical Field] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and particularly to a resource configuration method and a communication apparatus.

Background Art

[0003] Since the development of wireless local area networks (WLANs), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology and multi - user multiple - input multiple - output (MU - MIMO) technology have been newly introduced. The entire bandwidth is classified into multiple resource units (RUs). In other words, the frequency - domain resources of a user are not allocated in units of resource units instead of channels. Resource units may be classified into continuous resource units and distributed resource units.

[0004] In some scenarios, the distributed resource units allocated to a station may collide with other resource units or channels. This affects the normal communication between stations.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a resource configuration method and communication device for avoiding resource collisions and maintaining normal communication between stations.

[0006] According to a first embodiment, a resource configuration method is provided, which may be performed by a first station. The first station may be a component (e.g., a chip, circuit, or module) configured in the first station.

[0007] The method includes the following: A first station generates first information, the first information indicates a first resource unit, the first resource unit includes subcarriers in a difference set between the subcarrier set of a second resource unit and the subcarrier set of a first frequency range, some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, the second resource unit is a distributed resource unit, and the first station transmits the first information to the second station.

[0008] Based on the above solution, the first station can present the first resource unit to the second station, the first resource unit containing subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, i.e., the first resource unit does not contain subcarriers of the first frequency range. Some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, and thus such a scheme can avoid cross-sets between the presented first resource unit and the subcarriers of the first frequency range, i.e., avoid resource collisions and maintain normal communication between the stations.

[0009] Referring to the first embodiment, some implementations of the first embodiment further include: the first station transmits second information to the second station, the second information either transmits data on the first resource unit or instructs the second station to transmit data on the second resource unit.

[0010] In this implementation, the subcarriers of the first resource unit include subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0011] For example, the first RU is a punctured distributed RU, and the second RU is an unpunctured distributed RU.

[0012] Optionally, the second piece of information may be understood to indicate whether the first RU is a punctured distributed RU or not.

[0013] Referring to the first embodiment, in some implementations of the first embodiment, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0014] Based on the above solution, it is possible to prevent the subcarrier of the first resource unit from being located in a punctured channel, and the resources can be properly configured.

[0015] Referring to the first embodiment, in some implementations of the first embodiment, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more continuous resource units.

[0016] Based on the above solution, collisions between the subcarriers of the first resource unit and the subcarriers of other resource units can be avoided, and the resources can be properly configured.

[0017] Referring to the first embodiment, in some implementations of the first embodiment, the first resource unit further includes subcarriers in the first subcarrier set, the number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set being less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0018] In other words, in this implementation, the subcarriers of the first resource unit consist of two parts. The first part is the subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the second part is the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set.

[0019] Based on the above solution, to help allocate more resources, the number of subcarriers in the first resource unit may be the same as, or close to, the number of subcarriers in the second resource unit.

[0020] Referring to the first embodiment, in some implementations of the first embodiment, the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set are located in the second subcarrier set, the second subcarrier set being the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit being a distributed resource unit.

[0021] Referring to the first embodiment, in some implementations of the first embodiment, the first frequency range is a frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

[0022] Referring to the first embodiment, in some implementations of the first embodiment, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

[0023] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the method further includes the following. The first station transmits third information to the second station, and the third information indicates whether the first resource unit includes subcarriers within the first subcarrier set.

[0024] For example, the first RU is a distributed RU with supplemented size, and the second RU is an undrilled distributed RU.

[0025] Optionally, the third information may be understood as indicating whether the first resource unit is a distributed RU with supplemented size.

[0026] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information is an index entry, and there is a correspondence between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0027] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information is carried in a triggered response scheduling control subfield (TRS control subfield) or a user info field within a trigger frame.

[0028] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first information includes first sub - information and second sub - information. The first sub - information indicates a first frequency range, and the second sub - information indicates a second resource unit.

[0029] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first sub - information is carried in a common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub - information is carried in a user information field within the trigger frame.

[0030] According to a second embodiment, a resource configuration method is provided, which may be performed by a second station. The second station may be a component (e.g., a chip, circuit, or module) configured in the second station.

[0031] The method includes the following: A second station receives first information, the first information indicates a first resource unit, the first resource unit includes subcarriers in a difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of a first frequency range, some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, the second resource unit is a distributed resource unit, and the second station transmits data on the first resource unit.

[0032] Referring to the second aspect, some implementations of the second aspect further include: the second station receives second information, and the second information transmits data on the first resource unit or instructs the second station to transmit data on the second resource unit.

[0033] For example, the first RU is a punctured distributed RU, and the second RU is an unpunctured distributed RU.

[0034] Optionally, the second piece of information may be understood to indicate whether the first RU is a punctured distributed RU or not.

[0035] Optionally, the second piece of information may be understood to indicate that the first RU is either an unpunctured distributed resource unit or a punctured distributed RU.

[0036] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0037] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more continuous resource units.

[0038] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first resource unit further includes subcarriers in the first subcarrier set, the number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set being less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0039] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set are located in the second subcarrier set, which is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit.

[0040] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first frequency range is a frequency range occupied by a first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

[0041] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then in ascending order of the frequencies corresponding to the subcarriers, the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

[0042] Referring to the second aspect, some implementations of the second aspect further include: the second station receives third information, the third information indicating whether the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set.

[0043] For example, the first RU is a distributed RU with size encapsulated, and the second RU is a distributed RU that is not punctured.

[0044] Optionally, the third piece of information may be understood to indicate whether the first resource unit is a size-supplemented distributed RU.

[0045] Optionally, the third piece of information may be understood to indicate that the first resource unit is a punctured distributed resource unit or a distributed RU with a supplemented size.

[0046] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first information is an index entry, and a correspondence exists between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0047] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first information is carried in a trigger response scheduling control subfield or user information field within the trigger frame.

[0048] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information indicating a first frequency range and the second sub-information indicating a second resource unit.

[0049] Referring to the second embodiment, in some implementations of the second embodiment, the first sub-information is carried in a common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub-information is carried in a user information field within the trigger frame.

[0050] For the beneficial effects of the second embodiment and the implementation of the second embodiment, it should be understood that one should refer to the first embodiment and the implementation of the first embodiment.

[0051] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The device may be operated by a first station. The first station may be a component (e.g., a chip, circuit, or module) configured in the first station.

[0052] The device includes a processing unit configured to generate first information, the first information indicating a first resource unit, the first resource unit including subcarriers in a difference set between the subcarrier set of a second resource unit and the subcarrier set of a first frequency range, some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit located in the first frequency range, and the second resource unit being a distributed resource unit; and a transceiver unit configured to transmit the first information to a second station.

[0053] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit second information to a second station, the second information instructing the second station to transmit data on the first resource unit or on the second resource unit.

[0054] Referring to the third embodiment, in some implementations of the third embodiment, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0055] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more continuous resource units.

[0056] Referring to the third embodiment, in some implementations of the third embodiment, the first resource unit further includes subcarriers in the first subcarrier set, the number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set being less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0057] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set are located in the second subcarrier set, the second subcarrier set being the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit.

[0058] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first frequency range is a frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

[0059] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

[0060] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit third information to a second station, the third information indicating whether the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set.

[0061] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first information is an index entry, and a correspondence exists between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0062] Referring to the third embodiment, in some implementations of the third embodiment, the first information is carried in a trigger response scheduling control subfield or user information field within the trigger frame.

[0063] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information indicating a first frequency range and the second sub-information indicating a second resource unit.

[0064] Referring to the third embodiment, in some implementations of the third embodiment, the first sub-information is carried in a common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub-information is carried in a user information field within the trigger frame.

[0065] According to a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which may be operated by a second station. The second station may also be a component (e.g., a chip, circuit, or module) configured in the second station.

[0066] The device includes a transceiver unit configured to receive first information, the first information indicating a first resource unit, the first resource unit including subcarriers in a difference set between the subcarrier set of a second resource unit and the subcarrier set of a first frequency range, some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit located in the first frequency range, and the second resource unit being a distributed resource unit, and the transceiver unit further configured to transmit data on the first resource unit.

[0067] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, the second information instructing a second station to transmit data on a first resource unit or on a second resource unit.

[0068] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0069] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more continuous resource units.

[0070] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first resource unit further includes subcarriers in the first subcarrier set, the number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set being less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0071] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set are located in the second subcarrier set, the second subcarrier set being the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit being a distributed resource unit.

[0072] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first frequency range is a frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

[0073] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then in ascending order of the frequencies corresponding to the subcarriers, the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

[0074] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive third information by a second station, the third information indicating whether the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set.

[0075] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information is an index entry, and there exists a correspondence between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0076] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information is carried in a trigger response scheduling control subfield or user information field within the trigger frame.

[0077] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information indicating a first frequency range and the second sub-information indicating a second resource unit.

[0078] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first sub-information is carried in a common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub-information is carried in a user information field within the trigger frame.

[0079] According to a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and memory. Optionally, the device may further include a transceiver. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is configured to call the computer program stored in the memory, execute the computer program, and control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals, so that the communication device performs a method according to any one of the first and second aspects or possible implementations thereof.

[0080] According to the sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive data and / or information and to transmit the received data and / or information to the processor. The processor processes the data and / or information. Furthermore, the communication interface is further configured to output the data and / or information obtained after processing by the processor, so that a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any possible implementation of these aspects is performed.

[0081] According to the seventh aspect, a chip is provided, including a processor and memory. The memory is configured to store a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the chip becomes capable of performing a method according to any one of the first and second aspects or possible implementations thereof.

[0082] According to the eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when a computer instruction is executed on a computer, a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any one of possible implementations thereof is performed.

[0083] According to the ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed on a computer, a method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or any possible implementation of these aspects is performed.

[0084] According to the tenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, which includes a first station according to the first aspect and a second station according to the second aspect. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0085] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating an application scenario to which the embodiments of this application may be applied. [Figure 2(a)] This shows the tone plan and continuous resource units currently defined in the 802.11be standard. [Figure 2(b)] This shows the tone plan and continuous resource units currently defined in the 802.11be standard. [Figure 2(c)] This shows the tone plan and continuous resource units currently defined in the 802.11be standard. [Figure 3(a)] This is a diagram of the tone plan for two distributed RUs. [Figure 3(b)] This is a diagram of the tone plan for two distributed RUs. [Figure 4] This is a diagram of the tone plan for other distributed RUs. [Figure 5] This is a diagram of channel puncture over an 80MHz bandwidth. [Figure 6] This is a diagram of the tone plan. [Figure 7] This is a schematic flowchart of the resource configuration method 200 according to an embodiment of this application. [Figure 8] This is a diagram of the tone plan according to an embodiment of this application. [Figure 9] Another diagram of the tone plan according to the embodiment of this application. [Figure 10] Another diagram of the tone plan according to the embodiment of this application. [Figure 11] Another diagram of the tone plan according to the embodiment of this application. [Figure 12] Another diagram of the tone plan according to the embodiment of this application. [Figure 13] Another diagram of the tone plan according to the embodiment of this application. [Figure 14] Another diagram of the tone plan according to the embodiment of this application. [Figure 15] This is a diagram of the user information list field in the trigger frame according to an embodiment of this application. [Figure 16] This is a diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. [Figure 17] This is another diagram showing the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. [Figure 18] This is another diagram showing the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0086] The technical solution of this application will be described below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0087] The technical solutions provided in embodiments of this application are applicable, for example, to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios supporting IEEE 802.11-related standards such as 802.11a / b / g standards, 802.11n standards, 802.11ac standards, 802.11ax standards, the next-generation Wi-Fi protocol of IEEE 802.11ax such as 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7, extremely high throughput (EHT), 802.11ad, 802.11ay or 802.11bf, and other examples such as the next-generation protocol of 802.11be or Wi-Fi 8; or to ultra-wideband (UWB) based wireless personal area network systems, such as the 802.15 series standards; or to sensing systems, such as the 802.11bf series standards. The 802.11n standard is called high throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is called very high throughput (VHT), the 802.11ax standard is called high efficiency (HE), and the 802.11be standard is called extremely high throughput (EHT).

[0088] While embodiments of this application are primarily described using examples in which a WLAN network, particularly a network to which the IEEE 802.11 system standard applies, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various aspects of embodiments of this application may be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as high-performance radio local area networks (HIPERLAN), wireless wide area networks (WWAN), wireless personal area networks (WPAN), or other known or future-developed networks. Accordingly, regardless of the coverage area used and the wireless access protocol used, various aspects provided in embodiments of this application are applicable to any suitable wireless network.

[0089] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application can be applied as alternatives to various communication systems, such as WLAN communication systems, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR), future 6th generation (6G) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, or vehicle-to-x (V2X) systems.

[0090] The above-mentioned communication systems to which this application is applicable are merely illustrative examples, and are not limited to these. This is uniformly described herein and further details are not described again below.

[0091] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating application scenarios to which embodiments of this application may be applied. As shown in Figure 1, the resource configuration method provided in this application is applicable to data communication between stations (STAs). A station may be an access point (AP) station or a non-access point station (non-AP STA). Access point stations and non-access point stations are abbreviated as APs and non-AP stations, respectively. Specifically, the solution in this application is applicable to data communication between an AP and one or more non-AP stations (e.g., data communication between AP1 and non-AP STA1 and non-AP STA2), or to data communication between APs (e.g., data communication between AP1 and AP2) and data communication between non-AP STAs (e.g., data communication between non-AP STA2 and non-AP STA3).

[0092] An access point may also be an access point used by a terminal (e.g., a mobile phone) to access a wired (or wireless) network, and is primarily deployed in homes, buildings, and campuses. Typical coverage radii are tens of meters or over 100 meters. Obviously, access points may also be deployed outdoors as an alternative. An access point acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks. The main function of an access point is to connect various wireless network clients to each other and then connect the wireless network to Ethernet.

[0093] Specifically, the access point may be a terminal or network device having a Wi-Fi chip. The network device may be a router, relay station, in-vehicle device, wearable device, network device in a 5G network, network device in a future 6G network, network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. This is not limited to the embodiments of this application. The access point may also be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. Alternatively, the access point may be a device that supports multiple WLAN standards of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, and the next-generation 802.11be. The access point in this application may be a high-efficiency (HE) AP, an extremely high-throughput (EHT) AP, or an access point applicable to future generations of Wi-Fi standards.

[0094] A non-AP station may be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, wireless communication terminal, etc., and may also be called a user, user equipment (UE), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment. A non-AP station may also be a cellular telephone, cordless telephone, session initiation protocol (SIP) telephone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device, other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle device, Internet of Things device, wearable device, terminal device in a 5G network, terminal device in a future 6G network, terminal device in a PLMN, etc. This is not limited to the embodiments of this application.

[0095] For example, a non-AP station may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, set-top box, smart TV, smart wearable device, in-vehicle communication device or computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, or an Internet of Things (IoT) node or sensor supporting Wi-Fi communication, or a smart camera, smart remote control, smart water or electricity meter in a smart home, or a sensor in a smart city supporting Wi-Fi communication. Optionally, a non-AP station may support the 802.11be standard. Alternatively, a non-AP station may support multiple WLAN standards in the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, and the next-generation 802.11be.

[0096] With the development of wireless local area networks (WLANs), APs and STAs may communicate with each other using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology, or they may perform wireless communication using multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology.

[0097] In OFDMA and MU-MIMO transmission scenarios, WLAN protocols classify spectral bandwidth into several resource units (RUs). For example, the 802.11ax protocol currently supports the following bandwidth configurations: 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 80 MHz + 80 MHz. The difference between 160 MHz and 80 MHz + 80 MHz is that the former is a continuous frequency band, while the two 80 MHz bands in the latter may be separated. In other words, the 160 MHz formed by 80 MHz + 80 MHz is discontinuous. In another example, the 802.11be protocol supports the following bandwidth configurations: 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz bandwidths.

[0098] According to the IEEE 802.11ax protocol, for bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and 160 MHz, the spectral bandwidth may be classified into several types of resource units. Resource units may be classified into continuous resource units and distributed resource units.

[0099] The following briefly describes some of the relevant concepts that may be present in the embodiments of this application.

[0100] 1. Continuous RU (CRU) In this application, a continuous resource unit is a RU containing multiple continuous subcarriers, or a continuous RU is a RU containing two continuous subcarrier groups, wherein the multiple subcarriers in each group of the continuous subcarrier groups are continuous, and the two groups of subcarrier groups are separated by only one or more of the following: guard subcarriers, null subcarriers, or direct current (DC) subcarriers. "Continuous" means that the subcarriers are continuous.

[0101] A continuous resource unit is also called a conventional resource unit or a regular resource unit. Obviously, a continuous resource unit may also have other names. The specific names of a continuous resource unit are not limited to the embodiments of this application.

[0102] In embodiments of this application, a continuous RU containing K subcarriers is referred to as a continuous K-tone RU. For example, a continuous 26-tone RU is a continuous RU containing 26 subcarriers. In other words, the concept of a continuous K-tone RU is the same as the concept of a K-tone RU in the existing 802.11ax standard.

[0103] It should be understood that the multiple subcarriers in a continuous RU may be continuous, or a continuous RU may contain two continuous subcarrier groups, and the two continuous subcarrier groups may be discontinuous. For example, a 26-tone RU containing a group of 13 continuous subcarriers and another group of 13 continuous subcarriers is a continuous RU. Similarly, a 996-tone RU containing a group of 484 continuous subcarriers and another group of 484 continuous subcarriers is a continuous RU. Such RUs may also be called special continuous RUs or general continuous RUs. In this application, continuous RUs also include special continuous RUs or general continuous RUs.

[0104] Figures 2(a) to 2(c) show the tone plan and continuous resource units as currently defined in the 802.11be standard. Continuous resource units include 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs (maximum RU in a 20 MHz bandwidth), 484-tone RUs (maximum RU in a 40 MHz bandwidth), 996-tone RUs (maximum RU in an 80 MHz bandwidth), and 2*996-tone RUs (maximum RU in a 160 MHz bandwidth). Each RU contains continuous subcarriers. For example, a 26-tone RU contains 26 continuous subcarriers. In this application, a 26-tone RU is shown as a 26-tone RU, a 52-tone RU is shown as a 52-tone RU, and the rest can be inferred by analogy. In Figures 2(a) to 2(c), the 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, 996-tone RU, etc., are all continuous resource units. As shown in Figures 2(a) to 2(c), in addition to the RU for data transmission, the total bandwidth further includes one or more of the guard subcarriers, null subcarriers, and DC subcarriers.

[0105] Figure 2(a) shows the tone plan and continuous resource unit distribution at 20 MHz. As shown in Figure 2(a), when the bandwidth is 20 MHz, the total bandwidth may include the total 242-tone RU, or it may include various combinations of 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, and 106-tone RU. In Figure 2(a), "3DC" represents three DC subcarriers, and "7DC" represents seven DC subcarriers.

[0106] Figure 2(b) shows the tone plan and continuous resource unit distribution over 40 MHz. As shown in Figure 2(b), when the bandwidth is 40 MHz, the total bandwidth is approximately equal to a duplicate of the tone plan over a 20 MHz bandwidth, and the total bandwidth may include the total 484-tone RU, or it may include various combinations of 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, and 242-tone RU. In Figure 2(b), "5DC" represents five DC subcarriers.

[0107] Figure 2(c) shows the tone plan and continuous resource unit distribution over 80 MHz. As shown in Figure 2(c), when the bandwidth is 80 MHz, the total bandwidth is approximately equal to the duplicate of the tone plan over two 40 MHz bandwidths, and the total bandwidth may include four 242-tone RUs, or the total 996-tone RUs, or various combinations of 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs, and 484-tone RUs. In Figure 2(c), "5DC" represents five DC subcarriers, and "23DC" represents 23 DC subcarriers.

[0108] When the bandwidth is 160 MHz, the total bandwidth may be considered a replica of the tone plan on two 80 MHz bandwidths, and the total bandwidth may include a total of 2 * 996-tone RUs, or various combinations of 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs, 484-tone RUs, and 996-tone RUs. Similarly, when the bandwidth is 320 MHz, the total bandwidth may be considered a replica of the tone plan on four 80 MHz bandwidths, and the total bandwidth may include resource units of four 996-tone RUs. For brevity, the tone plans and RU distributions on 160 MHz and 320 MHz will not be described separately again.

[0109] In the various tone plans shown in Figures 2(a) to 2(c), the 242-tone RU is used as the unit. The left side of Figures 2(a) to 2(c) can be considered as the lowest frequency, and the right side of Figures 2(a) to 2(c) can be considered as the highest frequency. From left to right, the 242-tone RUs can be numbered as the 1st, 2nd, ..., and 16th. It should be noted that in the data field, up to 16 242-tone RUs correspond one-to-one to 16 20MHz channels in ascending order of frequency.

[0110] From Figures 2(a) to 2(c), it can be seen that the bandwidth of one 26-tone RU is approximately 2 MHz, the bandwidth of one 52-tone RU is approximately 4 MHz, the bandwidth of one 106-tone RU is approximately 8 MHz, and the bandwidth of one 242-tone RU is approximately 20 MHz. The bandwidths of other RUs may be added or multiplied accordingly, details of which are not described herein.

[0111] 2. Distributed RU (DRU) Compared to a continuous RU, a RU containing multiple subcarrier groups dispersed in the frequency domain may be called a dispersed RU. In other words, a dispersed RU contains multiple subcarrier groups, any two of which are dispersed in the frequency domain. One subcarrier group contains one subcarrier, or one subcarrier group contains at least two continuous subcarriers. In other words, one subcarrier group contains one subcarrier, or multiple continuous subcarriers. Specifically, a dispersed RU may be understood as a subcarrier that does not belong to a resource unit and lies among all (or at least most) of the most similar data subcarriers belonging to a resource unit, and the subcarrier positions of the RU may be discontinuous in bandwidth.

[0112] A distributed RU may also be called a distributed RU (DRU). Obviously, in other embodiments, a distributed RU may have a different name. The name of a distributed RU is not limited in this application. In this application, the number of subcarrier groups contained in a single distributed RU is two or more.

[0113] In embodiments of this application, a distributed RU containing K subcarriers may be called a distributed K-tone RU. For example, a distributed 26-tone RU is a distributed RU containing 26 subcarriers. For the value of K, refer to the value of K for a continuous RU. Obviously, the value of K may be different from the value of K used for a continuous RU. For example, when the bandwidth is 20 MHz, 20 MHz may include one or more combinations of distributed 26-tone RUs, distributed 52-tone RUs, distributed 106-tone RUs, and distributed 242-tone RUs. The subcarriers in "K subcarriers" include pilot subcarriers and data subcarriers.

[0114] In this application, one distributed RU and another distributed RU may form a distributed MRU. A distributed MRU can be assigned to one or more stations. For example, a distributed 242-tone RU and a distributed 484-tone RU may form a distributed 484+242-tone RU.

[0115] It should be noted that the special continuous RUs or general continuous RUs described above do not belong to the dispersed RUs in the embodiments of this application. For example, in the above example, the 26-tone RU, which includes a group of 13 continuous subcarriers and another group of 13 continuous subcarriers, is a special continuous RU, not a dispersed RU as defined in this application.

[0116] In some examples, the number of subcarriers in any two of the subcarrier groups included in a distributed RU may be the same or different. For example, the number of subcarriers in each subcarrier group may be 1. In other examples, the number of subcarriers in some subcarrier groups may be 1, and the number of subcarriers in other subcarrier groups may be 2. In other words, a distributed RU may contain four subcarrier groups, and the number of subcarriers in the four subcarrier groups may be 1, 1, 2, and 2, respectively.

[0117] In some examples, when the number of subcarrier groups in a distributed RU is three or more, the number of subcarriers between every two adjacent subcarrier groups in the multiple distributed subcarrier groups within the distributed RU may be the same or different. Every two adjacent subcarrier groups are two adjacent subcarrier groups within a single distributed RU.

[0118] For example, in a distributed RU containing three distributed subcarrier groups (represented as subcarrier group #1, subcarrier group #2, and subcarrier group #3), subcarrier group #1 and subcarrier group #2 are adjacent, subcarrier group #2 and subcarrier group #3 are adjacent, meaning that the frequencies of the subcarriers in subcarrier group #1 are lower than the frequencies of the subcarriers in subcarrier group #2, and the frequencies of the subcarriers in subcarrier group #2 are lower than the frequencies of the subcarriers in subcarrier group #3. Furthermore, the subcarrier with the highest frequency in subcarrier group #1 and the subcarrier with the lowest frequency in subcarrier group #2 are discontinuous in frequency (or the frequency domain), that is, the two subcarriers are separated by K1 (K1≧1) subcarriers, or there are K1 subcarriers between the two subcarriers. The subcarrier with the highest frequency in subcarrier group #2 and the subcarrier with the lowest frequency in subcarrier group #3 are discontinuous in frequency (or the frequency domain), that is, the two subcarriers are separated by K2 (K2≧1) subcarriers, or there are K2 subcarriers between the two subcarriers. K1 may be equal to K2, or it may not be equal to K2.

[0119] In another example, in a distributed RU containing four distributed subcarrier groups (represented as subcarrier group #1, subcarrier group #2, subcarrier group #3, and subcarrier group #4), subcarrier group #1 and subcarrier group #2 are adjacent, subcarrier group #2 and subcarrier group #3 are adjacent, and subcarrier group #3 and subcarrier group #4 are adjacent. Furthermore, the subcarrier with the highest frequency in subcarrier group #1 and the subcarrier with the lowest frequency in subcarrier group #2 are separated by K1 (K1≧1) subcarriers, the subcarrier with the highest frequency in subcarrier group #2 and the subcarrier with the lowest frequency in subcarrier group #3 are separated by K2 (K2≧1) subcarriers, and the subcarrier with the highest frequency in subcarrier group #3 and the subcarrier with the lowest frequency in subcarrier group #4 are separated by K3 (K3≧1) subcarriers. K1, K2, and K3 may be equal, or two of the three may be equal, or two of the three may not be equal.

[0120] To improve the flexibility of RU allocation and / or frequency utilization, it may be supported that multiple consecutive or discontinuous RUs be allocated to one or more users. In this specification, multiple consecutive or discontinuous RUs are referred to as multi-RUs (MRUs). It should be understood that an MRU is a RU formed by combining multiple RUs.

[0121] Optionally, if an MRU contains multiple consecutive RUs, it may be called a consecutive MRU. For example, multiple MRUs are introduced in the 802.11be protocol. One 52-tone RU and one 26-tone RU form a 52+26-tone RU, one 106-tone RU and one 26-tone RU form a 106+26-tone RU, one 484-tone RU and one 242-tone RU form a 484+242-tone RU, one 996-tone RU and one 484-tone RU form a 996+484-tone RU, one 242-tone RU, one 484-tone RU and one 996-tone RU form a 242+484+996-tone RU, two 996-tone RUs and one 484-tone RU form a 2*996+484-tone RU, three 996-tone RUs form a 3*996-tone RU, and three 996-tone RUs RU and one 484-tone RU form 3*996+484-tone RU, etc. MRU is a continuous MRU.

[0122] If an MRU optionally includes multiple distributed RUs, the MRU may be called a distributed MRU.

[0123] There may be two distributed RUs. One distributed RU does not correspond to a contiguous RU of the same size, while the other distributed RU corresponds to a contiguous RU of the same size.

[0124] Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are diagrams of tone plans for two distributed RUs. The distributed RUs shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) do not correspond to consecutive RUs of the same size. Figure 3(a) shows a 26-tone RU with distributed subcarriers. The distributed 26-tone RU contains 13 subcarriers provided by each of the two consecutive 26-tone RUs (RU#1 and RU#2 in Figure 3(a)), and the distributed 26-tone RU does not correspond to either of the consecutive 26-tone RUs, RU#1 and RU#2; that is, the distributed RU does not correspond to consecutive RUs of the same size. Furthermore, the distributed 26-tone RU has 24 data subcarriers and 2 pilot subcarriers, for a total of 26 subcarriers.

[0125] Figure 3(b) shows a 52-tone RU with distributed subcarriers. The distributed 52-tone RU contains 13 subcarriers provided by each of the four consecutive 52-tone RUs (RU#3, RU#4, RU#5, and RU#6 in Figure 3(b)), and the distributed 52-tone RU does not correspond to any of the consecutive 52-tone RUs RU#3, RU#4, RU#5, and RU#6; in other words, the distributed RU does not correspond to a consecutive RU of the same size. Furthermore, the distributed 52-tone RU has 48 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers, for a total of 52 subcarriers.

[0126] In Figures 3(a) and 3(b), 484L and 484R represent the left and right halves of the 484-tone RU, respectively, each containing 242 subcarriers. Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are other diagrams of the 484+5DC.

[0127] In Figures 3(a) and 3(b), it should be understood that the data subcarriers of these distributed RUs are designed in a manner that prevents pairs from being adjacent. This is merely one example of a distributed RU design scheme. Other designs may exist, but are not limited to this application.

[0128] For distributed RUs that do not correspond to consecutive RUs of the same size, if the distributed RUs need to be indicated, the RU index generally needs to be added again. For example, if four distributed RUs need to be indicated, four rows of indications need to be added, each row corresponding to one distributed RU.

[0129] Figure 4 shows the tone plan for other distributed RUs. The distributed RUs shown in Figure 4 correspond to consecutive RUs of the same size.

[0130] Specifically, Figure 4(a) includes four consecutive RUs, namely consecutive RU#1, consecutive RU#2, consecutive RU#3, and consecutive RU#4. Consecutive RU#1 contains 26 subcarriers, consecutive RU#2 contains 26 subcarriers, consecutive RU#3 contains 52 subcarriers, and consecutive RU#4 contains 106 subcarriers. The conversion from conventional RUs to distributed RUs may be implemented by using a two-row row-input column-output interleaver. The mapping scheme for the two-row row-input column-output interleaver is shown in Figure 4(b). Finally, the distributed RUs shown in Figure 3(c), namely distributed RU#1, distributed RU#2, distributed RU#3, and distributed RU#4, may be obtained. Distributed RU#1 contains 26 subcarriers, distributed RU#2 contains 26 subcarriers, distributed RU#3 contains 52 subcarriers, and distributed RU#4 contains 106 subcarriers. In other words, distributed RU#1 corresponds to continuous RU#1, distributed RU#2 corresponds to continuous RU#2, distributed RU#3 corresponds to continuous RU#3, and distributed RU#4 corresponds to continuous RU#4. To put it another way, distributed RUs correspond to continuous RUs of the same size.

[0131] It should be understood that Figure 4 simply illustrates an example of obtaining distributed RUs from consecutive RUs. In this example, the subcarrier spacing of each distributed RU is 1, meaning that there is one subcarrier that does not belong to the distributed RU between adjacent subcarriers of a distributed RU. In practical applications, the number of rows and columns of the interleaver is designed to allow for greater distribution of subcarriers within the obtained distributed RUs.

[0132] If a distributed RU needs to be indicated for a continuous RU of the same size, the indication method for the continuous RU may be reused, and the distributed RU corresponding to the continuous RU will be further indicated based on this. According to the correspondence specified in the protocol, the receiving end may know the frequency position of the distributed RU corresponding to the continuous RU.

[0133] In this application, it should be understood that the "correspondence" between continuous RUs and distributed RUs may be understood as a mapping relationship or correspondence between continuous RUs and distributed RUs, or as a mapping scheme between continuous RUs and distributed RUs. The mapping relationship, correspondence, or mapping scheme may be expressed by using interleavers.

[0134] The correspondence between continuous RUs and distributed RUs is unique, and is chosen at will.

[0135] Furthermore, the pilot portion of any of the distributed RUs described above is not limited; the method used in the continuous RU may be used, or other designs may be used.

[0136] It should be understood that the term "pilot" in this application may also be referred to as a pilot subcarrier. Specifically, both the data subcarrier and the pilot subcarrier are subcarriers that form a RU. The data subcarrier carries data information from the upper layer, while the pilot subcarrier is used to transfer fixed values, so that the receiving end can estimate the phase and perform phase correction.

[0137] 3. Preamble puncture Some channels may be unavailable for a period or at a specific time due to several possible reasons listed below.

[0138] (1) Radar signals are present. In the unlicensed spectrum, if a radar signal is detected, the WLAN user must actively avoid the radar signal.

[0139] (2) An authorized user exists. An authorized user may exist on certain channels. If an authorized user is discovered, the WLAN user must proactively avoid the authorized user.

[0140] (3) Interference from other users is present.

[0141] For these scenarios where subchannel transmission is not permitted, the 802.11ax protocol proposes a preamble puncture transmission method. In this method, the transmitting end can still transmit physical protocol data units (PPDUs) even when several 20 MHz subchannels are busy.

[0142] Figure 5 shows a diagram of channel puncture on an 80 MHz bandwidth. As shown in Figure 5, the 80 MHz bandwidth includes four 20 MHz subchannels, designated as subchannel 1 (CH1), subchannel 2 (CH2), subchannel 3 (CH3), and subchannel 4 (CH4) in ascending order of frequency. CH1 is the primary channel, and CH2, CH3, and CH4 are secondary channels. If CH2 of subchannel 1 (CH1) is punctured, CH2 becomes unusable, but CH1, CH3, and CH4 remain usable.

[0143] 4. Low Power Indoor (LPI) Currently, low-power indoor communication schemes (LPIs) are defined in WLANs, with strict limitations on maximum transmit power and maximum power spectral density. For APs, the maximum transmit power is 36 dBm (decibel-milliwatt), and the maximum power spectral density is 5 dBm / MHz (decibel-milliwatt / megahertz). For STAs, the maximum transmit power is 24 dBm, and the maximum power spectral density is -1 dBm / MHz. Table 1 shows the relationship between maximum transmit power and bandwidth in the LPI scenario. The transmit power of a device is limited by both the maximum power and the maximum power spectral density. Firstly, the transmit power cannot exceed the maximum power value, and secondly, the transmit power spectral density cannot exceed the maximum power spectral density. Compared to the limit on maximum power, the limit on maximum power spectral density is stricter, and the allowable maximum transmit power is generally more limited by the power spectral density. As shown in Table 1, as the transmission bandwidth increases, the maximum transmit power of a device increases accordingly. The specified maximum power limit can only be reached when the maximum bandwidth is 320 MHz. Below this bandwidth, only lower power can be transmitted due to the limitation of the maximum power spectral density. [Table 1]

[0144] In an LPI scenario, distributed RUs can increase subcarrier transmit power compared to continuous RUs. Specifically, since the number of subcarriers on each MHz decreases while the power requirements for each MHz remain constant, the transmit power that can be transmitted by the subcarriers on each MHz increases.

[0145] In low-power indoor scenarios, it is not always necessary for non-AP stations to support distributed RUs. In other words, some non-AP stations may support distributed RUs, while others may still only support continuous RUs.

[0146] In some other scenarios, some non-AP stations may support distributed RUs, while some non-AP stations may support only continuous RUs.

[0147] In the preamble puncture scenario, low-power indoor scenario, or other scenarios described above, resource units assigned to a station may conflict with other resource units or channels. An explanation is provided below using an example, with reference to Figure 6.

[0148] Figure 6 is a diagram of the tone plan. As shown in Figure 6, if the AP needs to assign a distributed 242-tone RU distributed over 80 MHz to the STA, some of the subcarriers within the distributed 242-tone RU will overlap with a continuous 242-tone RU or a punctured channel of 20 MHz, and a collision will occur if any one of the following cases exists.

[0149] Case 1: On an 80MHz bandwidth, there exists one continuous RU with 242 subcarriers on a second 20MHz, i.e., a continuous 242-tone RU. The possible cause of this case is that the continuous 242-tone RU was assigned to a non-AP station that only supports continuous RUs.

[0150] Case 2: On an 80MHz bandwidth, a second 20MHz is punctured, and a possible cause in this case is the presence of a radar signal on the 20MHz band.

[0151] Specifically, in Case 1, the subcarriers of the distributed 242-tone RU and the subcarriers of the continuous 242-tone RU overlap, so these overlapping subcarriers are assigned to two users. As a result, a collision occurs. In Case 2, some of the subcarriers of the distributed 242-tone RU enter the punctured 20MHz channel. As a result, a collision occurs.

[0152] When a resource unit assigned to a station conflicts with another resource unit or channel, that resource unit cannot perform normal data transmission. This affects normal communication between stations.

[0153] With this in mind, this application provides a resource configuration method and a communication device. A first station can present a first resource unit to a second station, the first resource unit including subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, i.e., the first resource unit does not include subcarriers of the first frequency range. A portion of the subcarriers of the second resource unit is located in the first frequency range, and thus such a configuration can avoid cross-sets between the presented first resource unit and the subcarriers of the first frequency range, i.e., avoid resource collisions and maintain normal communication between stations.

[0154] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of the resource configuration method 200 according to an embodiment of this application.

[0155] S210: The first station generates the first information, and the first information indicates the first resource unit.

[0156] The first station may be an AP or a non-AP STA. For a description of the first station, see the station description in Figure 1. Further details will not be provided in this specification.

[0157] The first resource unit includes subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range. In other words, the first resource unit does not include subcarriers in the intersection set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0158] Assume that A and B are two sets. In this specification, the term “different set” refers to a set containing all elements that belong to set A but not to set B, and the term “cross-set” refers to a set containing all elements that belong to both set A and set B. Subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range are subcarriers that belong to the subcarrier set of the second resource unit but not to the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0159] A portion of the subcarriers of the second resource unit lies within the first frequency range. In other words, there is an intersection set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0160] The first frequency range may be understood as the frequency range of the punctured subcarriers, or the position occupied by the punctured subcarriers.

[0161] Optionally, the first piece of information indicates a first resource unit. In other words, the first piece of information indicates that some of the subcarriers of a second resource unit located in a first frequency range are unavailable, or that subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range are unavailable.

[0162] In this application, “subcarrier set” represents one or more subcarriers in the frequency domain, and each subcarrier is an element of the subcarrier set. For example, the subcarrier set of a second resource unit represents all the subcarriers of the second resource unit. For example, the subcarrier set of a first frequency range represents all the subcarriers within the first frequency range.

[0163] For example, distributed RU#1 (an example of a second resource unit) includes subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21; in other words, the subcarrier set of distributed RU#1 includes subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21. Similarly, the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; in other words, the subcarrier set of the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. For example, if the subcarrier set of the second resource unit includes subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21, and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, then the cross-set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1 and 5, and the difference-set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range includes subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21. In other words, in this example, the first resource unit may include subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21, but not subcarriers 1 and 5.

[0164] It should be understood that after the subcarriers are sorted in ascending order of frequency, each subcarrier has a corresponding position in the frequency domain. For example, the subcarrier index (or sequence number) in this application is the sequence number of the subcarrier in the frequency domain after the subcarriers have been sorted in ascending order of frequency. A larger number indicates that the subcarrier is located at a higher frequency in the frequency domain. Optionally, other correspondences may exist between subcarrier sequence numbers and frequency domain positions. This is not limited to this application. For example, a subcarrier in an intermediate position in the frequency domain is used as subcarrier 0, and the subcarriers to the left of subcarrier 0 are sorted in ascending order by using negative sequence numbers, and the subcarriers to the left of subcarrier 0 are sorted in ascending order by using positive sequence numbers. For example, RU includes subcarriers -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, and 3.

[0165] It should be further understood that a subcarrier having a subcarrier index may include one or more of the following: pilot subcarriers, data subcarriers, null subcarriers, DC subcarriers, etc.

[0166] Furthermore, in this application, an example in which the RU contains six subcarriers is used for illustrative purposes. In practical applications, the number of subcarriers in the RU may be 26, 52, 106, 242, etc. This is not limited to this. The RU may also be an MRU.

[0167] Optionally, in this application, at least one of the first resource unit, the second resource unit, and the third resource unit (see below) is a distributed MRU, and at least one of the first continuous resource unit (see below) and the second continuous resource unit (see below) is a continuous MRU. In other words, one or more of the RUs provided in this application are MRUs.

[0168] Optionally, the second resource unit in this application is a distributed resource unit. Therefore, the first resource unit is also a distributed resource unit.

[0169] It should be understood that the statement "the second resource unit is a distributed resource unit" may be interpreted as follows: the second resource unit may be a distributed MRU, or the second resource unit may be a distributed resource unit containing multiple distributed resource units. Therefore, the first resource unit may also be a distributed MRU.

[0170] S220: The first station transmits the first information to the second station, and in response, the second station receives the first information.

[0171] The second station may be an AP or a non-AP STA. For a description of the second station, see the station description in Figure 1. Further details will not be provided in this specification.

[0172] Optionally, when the first station is an access point and the second station is a non-AP STA, the first station may add the first information to the trigger frame when it transmits the trigger frame to the second station.

[0173] Optionally, when transmitting a physical protocol data unit (PPDU) to a second station, the first station may add the first information to the PPDU.

[0174] Based on the above solution, the first station can present the first resource unit to the second station, the first resource unit containing subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, i.e., the first resource unit does not contain subcarriers of the first frequency range. Some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, and thus such a scheme can avoid cross-sets between the presented first resource unit and the subcarriers of the first frequency range, i.e., avoid resource collisions and maintain normal communication between the stations.

[0175] In the implementation, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0176] For example, due to channel puncture, subcarriers within the punctured channel are unable to perform data transmission, and the first frequency range may be the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0177] It should be understood that the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel, and that the frequency range indicated by the first frequency range may be greater than or equal to the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0178] In other implementations, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more consecutive resource units.

[0179] For example, since there is one or more continuous resource units and subcarriers are allocated within one or more continuous resource units, the first frequency range may include the frequency range occupied by one or more continuous resource units. In other words, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the continuous MRU.

[0180] It should be understood that the first frequency range may be greater than or equal to the frequency range occupied by one or more consecutive resource units.

[0181] In other implementations, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by subcarriers at a specified location.

[0182] For example, subcarriers at a specified location are punctured to allow a first resource unit to have a small number of subcarriers. In this case, the first frequency range may include the frequency range occupied by the subcarriers at the specified location. In another example, a single 20 MHz bandwidth is punctured in a 320 MHz range. If 4 bits represent the 320 MHz puncture, then 1 bit represents the 80 MHz puncture. In this case, 80 MHz may be understood as the specified frequency range.

[0183] For example, the first frequency range may be a range corresponding to any one of the following: 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 20MHz (or 242-tone RU), 40MHz (or 484-tone RU), 80MHz (or 996-tone RU), and 160MHz (or 2*996-tone RU).

[0184] In this application, “frequency range” refers to the frequency range in a WLAN protocol, and it should be understood that subcarriers are used as the smallest granularity of the frequency range. In a WLAN, multiple subcarriers may form a single RU or MRU.

[0185] Optionally, the first frequency range may include segments of continuous subcarriers. For example, the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in the frequency domain.

[0186] Optionally, the first frequency range may include multiple discontinuous subcarriers. For example, the first frequency range may include subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 in the frequency domain.

[0187] Optionally, method 200 further includes: S230: The second station transmits data on the first resource unit.

[0188] Specifically, since a portion of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, or in other words, since there is an intersection set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, the transmission of data by the second station over the first resource unit may be understood as follows: data is not transmitted on a portion of the subcarriers of the second resource unit located in the first frequency range, or data is not transmitted on subcarriers in the intersection set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, or the second station does not use a portion of the subcarriers of the second resource unit located in the first frequency range to transmit data, or the second station does not use subcarriers in the intersection set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range to transmit data.

[0189] In this embodiment, the subcarriers of the first resource unit include subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0190] In this embodiment, the subcarriers in the cross set are punctured on the second resource unit, and the remaining subcarriers are the first resource unit.

[0191] Optionally, in this embodiment, the second resource unit may be called an unpunctured distributed resource unit. Relatively, the first resource unit may be called a punctured distributed resource unit.

[0192] For example, in the term "punctured distributed resource unit," "punctured" refers to a punctured subcarrier, not a punctured channel. A punctured subcarrier indicates that the subcarrier does not belong to the primary resource unit.

[0193] The relationship between the first resource unit, the second resource unit, and the first frequency range in this embodiment will be described below.

[0194] The number of subcarriers in an unpunctured distributed resource unit (an example of a second resource unit) is x, and the number of data subcarriers is x. D The number of pilot subcarriers is x P And assume that the indices of the subcarriers of the unpunctured distributed resource units at their absolute positions in frequency may be represented as y(1), ..., y(2), ..., and y(x).

[0195] A punctured distributed resource unit (an example of a first resource unit) means that data is not transmitted on some of the subcarriers in the subcarrier set of an unpunctured distributed resource unit. In other words, a punctured distributed resource unit contains only some of the subcarriers of an unpunctured distributed resource unit, and the number of elements in the subcarrier set corresponding to the punctured distributed resource unit is reduced. The reduced subcarriers, or subcarriers on which data is not transmitted, may be any one of the following: (1) Subcarriers assigned to continuous resource units, (2) Subcarriers belonging to the punctured channel range and (3) Subcarrier at the specified position.

[0196] Therefore, if the number of reduced subcarriers or subcarriers from which data is not transmitted is x1, the number of subcarriers in a punctured distributed resource unit is x-x1, and the positions of the x-x1 subcarriers in the frequency domain remain unchanged compared to those in an unpunctured distributed resource unit.

[0197] The first resource unit in this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

[0198] Figure 8 is a diagram of the tone plan according to this embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the second resource unit is a distributed 242-tone RU distributed over 80 MHz. In a distributed 242-tone RU, N1 subcarriers are distributed over a first 20MHz bandwidth and are denoted as subcarriers 1, 2, 3, ..., and N1; N2 subcarriers are distributed over a second 20MHz bandwidth and are denoted as subcarriers N1+1, N1+2, N1+3, ..., and N1+N2; N3 subcarriers are distributed over a third 20MHz bandwidth and are denoted as subcarriers N1+N2+1, N1+N2+2, N1+N2+3, ..., and N1+N2+N3; and N4 subcarriers are distributed over a fourth 20MHz bandwidth and are denoted as subcarriers N1+N2+N3+1, N1+N2+N3+2, N1+N2+N3+3, ..., and N1+N2+N3+N4, where N1+N2+N3+N4 = 242. Optionally, N1, N2, N3, and N4 are not equal, or at least two of N1, N2, N3, and N4 are equal. The first frequency range is a second 20 MHz above 80 MHz. For example, the second 20 MHz is punctured, or a continuous 242-tone RU is assigned to the second 20 MHz. In this case, data is not transmitted on the subcarriers N1+1, N1+2, N1+3, ..., and N1+N2 of the distributed 242-tone RU. Specifically, the subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range are the subcarriers of the second resource unit distributed over the first 20 MHz, the third 20 MHz, and the fourth 20 MHz, i.e., the subcarriers of the first resource unit are the distributed 242-tone RU subcarriers 1, 2, 3, ..., and N1, N1+N2+1, N1+N2+2, N1+N2+3, ..., and N1+N2+N3, N1+N2+N3+1, N1+N2+N3+2, N1+N2+N3+3, ..., and N1+N2+N3+N4.

[0199] It should be understood that a distributed 242-tone RU has multiple tone plan schemes on 80 MHz. This is not limited to this application.

[0200] Figure 9 is another diagram of the tone plan according to this embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the second resource unit is a distributed 52-tone RU distributed over 20 MHz. Thirteen subcarriers are distributed over the 52-tone RU and are shown as subcarriers 1-13, thirteen subcarriers are distributed over the second 52-tone RU and are shown as subcarriers 14-26, thirteen subcarriers are distributed over the third 52-tone RU and are shown as subcarriers 27-39, and thirteen subcarriers are distributed over the fourth 52-tone RU and are shown as subcarriers 40-52. The first frequency range is the second 52-tone RU over 20 MHz. For example, the second 52-tone RU is an allocated continuous RU. In this case, data is not transmitted over subcarriers 14-26 of the distributed 52-tone RU. Specifically, the subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range are the subcarriers of the second resource unit distributed over the first 52-tone RU, the third 52-tone RU, and the fourth 52-tone RU; that is, the subcarriers of the first resource unit are subcarriers 1-13, 27-39, and 40-52 of the distributed 242-tone RU.

[0201] It should be understood that the distributed 52-tone RU has multiple tone plan schemes on 20 MHz. The above description in Figure 9 is merely an example and is not intended to limit this application.

[0202] Figure 10 is another diagram of the tone plan according to this embodiment of the application. The above embodiment is described by using an example with reference to the interleaver mapping scheme in Figure 10. In Figures 10(a), (c), and (e), the horizontal axis represents frequency or subcarrier sort order.

[0203] As shown in Figure 10(a), we assume there are a total of four consecutive RUs, each containing six subcarriers, and the distribution of consecutive RUs in the frequency domain is as shown in Figure 10(a). Subcarriers 1-6 form consecutive RU#1, subcarriers 7-12 form consecutive RU#2, subcarriers 13-18 form consecutive RU#3, and subcarriers 19-24 form consecutive RU#4.

[0204] Figure 10(b) shows the process of realizing distributed RUs by using the concept of a row-input column-output interleaver. After four row-input column-output interleavers are used, four distributed RUs may be output. As shown in Figure 10(c), distributed RU#1 includes subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 and 21; distributed RU#2 includes subcarriers 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 and 22; distributed RU#3 includes subcarriers 3, 7, 11, 15, 19 and 23; and distributed RU#4 includes subcarriers 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24. Furthermore, the four distributed RUs correspond to the four consecutive RUs shown in Figure 10(a). Distributed RU#1, distributed RU#2, distributed RU#3 and distributed RU#4 shown in Figure 10(c) are examples of second resource units, respectively.

[0205] If a frequency range in which six lowest frequency subcarriers are located (an example of a first frequency range) is punctured or occupied by a continuous RU (an example of a first continuous resource unit), then the subcarrier set of the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Figure 10(d) shows the process of realizing a punctured distributed RU by using the concept of a row-input column-output interleaver. The distribution of four punctured distributed RU outputs in the frequency domain after a four-row row-input column-output interleaver has been used is shown in Figure 10(e). Punctured distributed RU#1, indicated by the first station, includes subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21; punctured distributed RU#2 includes subcarriers 10, 14, 18, and 22; punctured distributed RU#3 includes subcarriers 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23; and punctured distributed RU#4 includes subcarriers 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. In Figure 10 (e), the punctured distributed RU#1 is the difference set between distributed RU#1 and the first frequency range, the punctured distributed RU#2 is the difference set between distributed RU#2 and the first frequency range, the punctured distributed RU#3 is the difference set between distributed RU#3 and the first frequency range, and the punctured distributed RU#4 is the difference set between distributed RU#4 and the first frequency range. Punctured distributed RU#1, punctured distributed RU#2, punctured distributed RU#3, and punctured distributed RU#4 are each examples of the first resource unit.

[0206] Based on the solution in the above embodiment, the first station may indicate a punctured distributed resource unit to the second station. This avoids crossovers between the indicated resource unit and subcarriers in the first frequency range, i.e., avoids resource collisions and maintains normal communication between the stations.

[0207] In other embodiments, the first resource unit includes not only subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, but also subcarriers in the first subcarrier set.

[0208] In this embodiment, it should be understood that the first resource unit may be called a size-supplemented distributed resource unit, a size-supplemented punctured distributed resource unit, or a subcarrier-supplemented punctured resource unit. A size-supplemented distributed resource unit includes the subcarriers of a punctured distributed resource unit and the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set. "Size-supplemented" means that the number of subcarriers in a size-supplemented resource unit is the same as or close to the number of subcarriers in an unpunctured distributed resource unit, but does not necessarily mean that the two numbers are the same. Optionally, the number of subcarriers in a size-supplemented resource unit may be greater than the number of subcarriers in an unpunctured distributed resource unit.

[0209] The number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set is less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range. In other words, the number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set is less than or equal to the number of punctured subcarriers in the second resource unit.

[0210] Specifically, the subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range are punctured subcarriers. After the subcarriers in the crossover set are punctured, subcarriers from the second subcarrier set may be selected as supplementary subcarriers for the first resource unit, and the selected subcarriers form the first subcarrier set. In other words, the first subcarrier set may be a subset of the second subcarrier set.

[0211] The second subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range. The second subcarrier set may also be understood as a set formed by subcarriers that can be used as supplemental subcarriers.

[0212] The third resource unit may be any resource unit. For example, the third resource unit may be one or more continuous resource units. In another example, the third resource unit may be one or more distributed resource units. In another example, the third resource unit may be an MRU, which may be a continuous MRU or a distributed MRU. There is no crossover set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the second resource unit. Therefore, some or all of the subcarriers of the third resource unit may be used as the second subcarrier set. Some or all of the subcarriers of the third resource unit represent subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range. It should be understood that the difference set herein may be equal to the subcarrier set of the third resource unit.

[0213] In one example, the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit designated by the first station.

[0214] In another example, the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit, and the frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit is the first frequency range.

[0215] Specifically, assuming that the first frequency range is the frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit, the second subcarrier set may include some of the subcarriers of the third resource unit. For example, the second subcarrier set may be the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range. In other words, the second subcarrier set includes subcarriers in the third resource unit other than the subcarriers of the first frequency range. Furthermore, the subcarriers of the first subcarrier set may occupy the positions of the second subcarrier set in the frequency domain.

[0216] In this application, it should be understood that the remaining subcarriers in the third resource unit, other than the subcarriers in the first frequency range, are used as supplementary subcarriers for other resource units. The third resource unit may also be understood as a “sacrificial” resource unit, used to supplement the size of other resource units.

[0217] Furthermore, the positional order of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set within the second subcarrier set refers to the positional order of subcarriers of the second resource unit within the third subcarrier set. The third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit. Specifically, the third subcarrier set may be understood as the subcarrier set that needs to be supplemented or the punctured subcarrier set, and includes a portion of the subcarriers in the first frequency range in the frequency domain. This portion of subcarriers is the remaining subcarriers in the first frequency range, excluding those occupied by the third resource unit.

[0218] In this implementation, the positional order of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set within the second subcarrier set may be the same as the positional order of subcarriers in the second resource unit within the third subcarrier set. In other words, after the subcarriers are sorted in ascending order of frequency, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is also the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, where i is a positive integer.

[0219] In this application, it should be understood that the positional order of the subcarriers of the second resource unit within the third subcarrier set is the sequence number of the subcarriers of the second resource unit after the multiple subcarriers within the third subcarrier set have been arranged in ascending order of frequency. Similarly, the positional order of the subcarriers within the first subcarrier set within the second subcarrier set is the sequence number of the subcarriers within the first subcarrier set after the multiple subcarriers within the second subcarrier set have been arranged in ascending order of frequency.

[0220] Optionally, method 200 further includes: the first station transmits third information to the second station, the third information indicating whether the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set.

[0221] Specifically, the third piece of information may be just one bit. If the third piece of information indicates that the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set, then the first resource unit is a size-supplemented distributed resource unit; or if the third piece of information indicates that the first resource unit does not contain a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set, then the first resource unit is a punctured distributed resource unit.

[0222] In this application, the third piece of information may be understood, alternatively, to indicate that the first resource unit is a punctured distributed resource unit or a distributed resource unit whose size has been supplemented.

[0223] In one example, the first station may transmit the third information in the process of transmitting the first information to the second station, that is, the third information and the first information are carried in the same frame. In this case, S220 may be understood as the first station transmitting the first information and the third information to the second station, and the second station correspondingly receiving the first information and the third information.

[0224] In other examples, the first station may, alternatively, transmit the third information and the first information separately, i.e., the opportunity to transmit the third information may be before or after S220. If the opportunity to transmit the third information is before S220, the opportunity to transmit the third information may be before or after S210. This is not limited in this application. Optionally, if the first station transmits the third information and the first information separately, the third information may be transmitted to the second station before S230.

[0225] The first resource unit in this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 11 to 14.

[0226] Figure 11 is another diagram of the tone plan according to an embodiment of this application. In (a), (c), (e), (g), and (i) of Figure 11, the horizontal axis represents frequency or subcarrier sort order.

[0227] As shown in Figure 11(a), we assume there are a total of four consecutive RUs, each containing six subcarriers, and the distribution of consecutive RUs in the frequency domain is as shown in Figure 11(a). Subcarriers 1-6 form consecutive RU#1, subcarriers 7-12 form consecutive RU#2, subcarriers 13-18 form consecutive RU#3, and subcarriers 19-24 form consecutive RU#4.

[0228] Figure 11(b) shows the process of realizing distributed RUs by using the concept of a row-input column-output interleaver. After the interleaver is used, four distributed RUs may be output. As shown in Figure 11(c), distributed RU#1, indicated by the first station, includes subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21; distributed RU#2 includes subcarriers 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22; distributed RU#3 includes subcarriers 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23; and distributed RU#4 includes subcarriers 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. Furthermore, the four distributed RUs correspond to the four consecutive RUs shown in Figure 11(a). Distributed RU#1, distributed RU#2, distributed RU#3, and distributed RU#4 shown in Figure 11(c) are examples of a second resource unit, respectively.

[0229] If the frequency range in which the six lowest frequency subcarriers are located is occupied by a continuous RU (an example of a first continuous resource unit, and also an example of a first frequency range), then the continuous RU includes subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Figure 11(d) shows the process of realizing a punctured distributed RU by using the concept of a row-input column-output interleaver. The distribution of four punctured distributed RU outputs in the frequency domain after a four-row row-input column-output interleaver has been used is shown in Figure 11(e). Punctured distributed RU#1, indicated by the first station, includes subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21; punctured distributed RU#2 includes subcarriers 10, 14, 18, and 22; punctured distributed RU#3 includes subcarriers 7, 11, 15, 19, and 23; and punctured distributed RU#4 includes subcarriers 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24. In Figure 11 (e), the punctured distributed RU#1 is the difference set between distributed RU#1 and the first frequency range, the punctured distributed RU#2 is the difference set between distributed RU#2 and the first frequency range, the punctured distributed RU#3 is the difference set between distributed RU#3 and the first frequency range, and the punctured distributed RU#4 is the difference set between distributed RU#4 and the first frequency range. The subcarriers of punctured distributed RU#1, punctured distributed RU#2, punctured distributed RU#3, and punctured distributed RU#4 are part of the first resource unit.

[0230] A comparison between Figure 11(a) and Figure 11(c) shows that the punctured distributed RU#1 has two fewer subcarriers than the unpunctured distributed RU#1, the punctured distributed RU#2 has two fewer subcarriers than the unpunctured distributed RU#2, the punctured distributed RU#3 has one fewer subcarrier than the unpunctured distributed RU#3, and the punctured distributed RU#4 has one fewer subcarrier than the unpunctured distributed RU#4. Therefore, the first station may use one of the subcarriers from the punctured distributed RU#1, punctured distributed RU#2, punctured distributed RU#3, and punctured distributed RU#4 as a supplemental subcarrier and present some of the subcarriers within the supplemental subcarrier to the second station. Thus, subcarriers are supplemented in the other three punctured distributed RUs, resulting in a size that is as close as possible to the size of the unpunctured distributed RUs.

[0231] Specifically, a punctured dispersion RU#1 needs to capture two subcarriers, a punctured dispersion RU#2 needs to capture two subcarriers, a punctured dispersion RU#3 needs to capture one subcarrier, and a punctured dispersion RU#4 needs to capture one subcarrier. It may be understood that for any punctured dispersion RU, the number of subcarriers that need to be captured (i.e., the first set of subcarriers) is less than or equal to the number of punctured subcarriers (i.e., the crossover set between unpunctured dispersion RUs and continuous RUs in the first frequency range).

[0232] The following describes methods for supplementing subcarriers.

[0233] The distributed resource unit (i.e., the third resource unit) corresponding to the consecutive RUs in the first frequency range includes subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21, i.e., the third resource unit is the unpunctured distributed RU #1. Thus, the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range is subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21 (an example of the second subcarrier set). In this embodiment, subcarriers in the second subcarrier set may be used as supplemental subcarriers. Figure 11(f) shows the process of realizing the supplemental subcarriers by using the concept of a row-input column-output interleaver, with a 4-row row-input column-output interleaver being used. The frequency domain distribution of the three punctured distributed RUs and the supplemental subcarrier output by the interleaver is shown in Figure 11(g). From the figure, it can be seen that the supplemental subcarrier includes subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21.

[0234] Furthermore, supplemental subcarriers may be separately supplemented to punctured distributed RU#2, punctured distributed RU#3, and punctured distributed RU#4 to form size-supplemented distributed RU#2, size-supplemented distributed RU#3, and size-supplemented distributed RU#4. Specifically, for distributed RU#x, the subcarrier that needs to be supplemented may be selected from the supplemental subcarriers. The selection method is as follows: After the subcarriers are sorted in ascending order of frequency, if the i-th subcarrier belonging to the unpunctured distributed RU#x is among the remaining subcarriers (i.e., the third set of subcarriers) excluding those occupied by the third resource unit within the first frequency range, then the subcarrier that needs to be supplemented is the i-th subcarrier in ascending order of frequency among the supplemental subcarriers.

[0235] Specifically, as shown in (g) in Figure 11, the remaining subcarriers other than those occupied by the third resource unit within the first frequency range are subcarriers 2, 3, 4, and 6 (an example of the third subcarrier set). For a punctured distributed RU#2, the subcarriers originally belonging to the unpunctured distributed RU#2 are the first and fourth subcarriers in subcarriers 2, 3, 4, and 6 (i.e., subcarriers 2 and 6). For a punctured distributed RU#3, the subcarrier originally belonging to the unpunctured distributed RU#3 is the second subcarrier in subcarriers 2, 3, 4, and 6 (i.e., subcarrier 3). For a punctured distributed RU#4, the subcarrier originally belonging to the unpunctured distributed RU#4 is the third subcarrier in subcarriers 2, 3, 4, and 6 (i.e., subcarrier 4). In this case, the first station may capture the first and fourth subcarriers (i.e., subcarriers 9 and 21) in subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21 into a punctured distributed RU#2 to form a size-capped distributed RU#2, capture the second subcarrier (i.e., subcarrier 13) in subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21 into a punctured distributed RU#3 to form a size-capped distributed RU#3, and capture the third subcarrier (i.e., subcarrier 17) in subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21 into a punctured distributed RU#3 to form a size-capped distributed RU#3. Figure 11(h) shows the process of capping the size of the distributed RU by using the concept of a row-input column-output interleaver. After a 4-row row-input column-output interleaver has been used, the frequency domain distribution of the three size-capped output distributed RUs is shown in Figure 11(i).From the figure, it can be seen that distributed RU#2, whose size is supplemented and indicated by the first station, includes subcarriers 9, 10, 14, 18, 21, and 22; distributed RU#3, whose size is supplemented, includes subcarriers 7, 11, 13, 15, 19, and 23; and distributed RU#4, whose size is supplemented, includes subcarriers 8, 12, 16, 17, 20, and 24. In (i) of Figure 11, distributed RU#2, distributed RU#3, and distributed RU#4, whose size is supplemented, are examples of the first resource unit. Furthermore, if the first resource unit is distributed RU#2, the set including subcarriers 9 and 21 is an example of the first subcarrier set. If the first resource unit is distributed RU#3, the set including subcarrier 13 is an example of the first subcarrier set. If the first resource unit is a size-supplemented distributed RU#4, then the set containing subcarrier 17 is an example of the first subcarrier set.

[0236] It should be understood that the supplementary methods in this application may be predefined in the standard or may be indicated to the second station by the first station. The above supplementary methods are merely examples and are not limited to the embodiments of this application.

[0237] Based on the solution in the above embodiment, the first station may indicate a size-supplemented distributed resource unit to the second station. This avoids crossovers between the indicated resource unit and subcarriers in the first frequency range, i.e., avoids resource collisions and maintains normal communication between the stations.

[0238] In the example in Figure 11, the first frequency range is just completely occupied by the first consecutive RU, i.e., the number of subcarriers in the first frequency range is equal to the number of subcarriers in the third resource unit, and it should be further understood that the number of subcarriers in the second subcarrier set is the same as the number of subcarriers in the third subcarrier set. Thus, the number of subcarriers in size-supplemented distributed RU#2, the number of subcarriers in size-supplemented distributed RU#3, and the number of subcarriers in size-supplemented distributed RU#4 are the same as the number of unpunctured distributed RU#2, the number of unpunctured distributed RU#3, and the number of unpunctured distributed RU#4, respectively. In other words, the number of subcarriers in punctured distributed RU#2, the number of subcarriers in punctured distributed RU#3, and the number of subcarriers in punctured distributed RU#4 may all be supplemented.

[0239] In another example, the number of subcarriers in the first frequency range is greater than the number of subcarriers in the third resource unit, resulting in the number of subcarriers in the second subcarrier set being less than the number of subcarriers in the third subcarrier set. For example, the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit designated by the first station, the first frequency range is the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel, and the number of subcarriers in the first frequency range is greater than the number of subcarriers in the third resource unit. In this case, the subcarriers of a distributed RU that is partially punctured in the frequency domain cannot be captured to the same size as the unpunctured distributed RU. In this case, the capture method in Figure 11 may still be used. Only one or more subcarriers with high frequencies that need to be captured cannot be captured; that is, for one or more occupied subcarriers with high frequencies, the corresponding resource cannot be found. An explanation is provided below by using examples with reference to Figures 12 and 13.

[0240] For example, Figure 12 is another diagram of the tone plan according to this embodiment of the present application. In (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) in Figure 12, the horizontal axis represents frequency or subcarrier sort order.

[0241] For (a) and (b) in Figure 12, refer to (a) and (c) in Figure 11, respectively. Further details will not be explained again in this specification.

[0242] As shown in Figure 12(c), assume that the punctured subcarrier consists of seven consecutive subcarriers, occupying subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 (another example in the first frequency range). The third resource unit is the same as in the example in Figure 11, still an unpunctured distributed RU#1, i.e., containing subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21. In this case, the second subcarrier set still contains four subcarriers, i.e., subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21. Unlike the example in Figure 11, as shown in Figure 12(d), the third subcarrier set contains five subcarriers, i.e., subcarriers 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Therefore, as shown in (e) in Figure 12, the punctured distributed RU#3 indicated by the first station includes subcarriers 11, 15, 19, and 23, while the size-captured distributed RU#3 includes subcarriers 11, 13, 15, 19, and 23. In other words, the punctured distributed RU#3 is not fully captured.

[0243] In another example, Figure 13 is another diagram of the tone plan according to this embodiment of the present application. In (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of Figure 13, the horizontal axis represents frequency or subcarrier sort order.

[0244] For (a) and (b) in Figure 13, refer to (a) and (c) in Figure 11, respectively. Further details will not be explained again in this specification.

[0245] As shown in Figure 13(c), assume that the punctured subcarrier consists of seven subcarriers, occupying subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 (another example in the first frequency range). The third resource unit is the same as in the example in Figure 11, and is still an unpunctured distributed RU#1, i.e., containing subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21. In this case, the third subcarrier set still contains four subcarriers, i.e., subcarriers 2, 3, 4, and 6. Unlike the example in Figure 11, as shown in Figure 13(d), the second subcarrier set contains three subcarriers, i.e., subcarriers 13, 17, and 21. Therefore, as shown in (e) in Figure 13, the size-filled distributed RU#2, indicated by the first station, includes subcarriers 10, 13, 14, 18, and 22; the size-filled distributed RU#3 includes subcarriers 7, 11, 15, 17, 19, and 23; and the size-filled distributed RU#4 includes subcarriers 8, 12, 16, 20, 21, and 24. In other words, the punctured distributed RU#2 is not fully filled.

[0246] It should be understood that "size supplementation" in this application indicates that the number of subcarriers in a size-supplemented resource unit is close to or equal to the number of subcarriers in an unpunctured distributed resource unit, and does not necessarily indicate that the two numbers are the same. Optionally, the number of subcarriers in a size-supplemented resource unit may be greater than the number of subcarriers in an unpunctured distributed resource unit.

[0247] In yet another example, the number of subcarriers in the first frequency range is less than the number of subcarriers in the third resource unit, resulting in a number of subcarriers in the second subcarrier set being greater than the number of subcarriers in the third subcarrier set. For example, the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit designated by the first station, the first frequency range is the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel, and the number of subcarriers in the first frequency range is less than the number of subcarriers in the third resource unit. In this case, the subcarriers of a distributed RU that is completely punctured in the frequency domain can be supplemented to the same size as the unpunctured distributed RU. In this case, the supplementation method in Figure 11 may still be used. Only one or more supplementation subcarriers with high frequencies are not used. An explanation is provided below by using an example with reference to Figure 14.

[0248] For example, Figure 14 is another diagram of the tone plan according to this embodiment of the present application. In (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of Figure 14, the horizontal axis represents frequency or subcarrier sort order.

[0249] For (a) and (b) in Figure 14, refer to (a) and (c) in Figure 11, respectively. Further details will not be explained again in this specification.

[0250] As shown in (c) of Figure 14, assume that the punctured subcarrier consists of five subcarriers, occupying subcarriers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (another example in the first frequency range). The third resource unit is the same as in the example in Figure 11, and is still an unpunctured distributed RU#1, i.e., containing subcarriers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21. In this case, the second subcarrier set still contains four subcarriers, i.e., subcarriers 9, 13, 17, and 21. Unlike the example in Figure 11, the third subcarrier set contains three subcarriers, i.e., subcarriers 2, 3, and 4. Therefore, the punctured distributed RU#2 indicated by the first station includes subcarriers 6, 9, 10, 14, 18 and 22; the size-supplemented distributed RU#3 still includes subcarriers 7, 11, 13, 15, 19 and 23; and the size-supplemented distributed RU#4 still includes subcarriers 8, 12, 16, 17, 20 and 24. In other words, subcarrier 21 in the second set of subcarriers is not used.

[0251] It should be further understood that the above example is illustrated by using an example where the third resource unit is an unpunctured distributed RU#1. However, the third resource unit may alternatively be any one of the unpunctured distributed RU#2, unpunctured distributed RU#3, or unpunctured distributed RU#4, used as a supplemental subcarrier to the other three punctured distributed RUs. This is not limited to this application.

[0252] In possible implementations, when selecting supplemental subcarriers, the first station may select as many distributed RUs as possible that have a greater number of subcarriers within the cross-set of the first frequency range. This can reduce the positional changes of subcarriers in the size-supplemented distributed RU compared to the positional changes of subcarriers in the unpunctured distributed RU.

[0253] Furthermore, in this application, the second resource unit may be considered as a distributed resource unit corresponding to the second continuous resource unit. When the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource, the mapping scheme between the third resource unit and the first continuous resource unit may be the same as the mapping scheme between the second resource unit and the second continuous resource unit.

[0254] In this implementation, the first piece of information is an index entry, and a correspondence exists between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0255] Specifically, the index entry corresponding to the first resource unit may be added directly, and the first station may indicate the first resource unit to the second station by using the index entry.

[0256] In this application, an index entry may also be called an index or index value and may be understood as an index value in an index table. For example, if field #A is 2 bits, the value of field #A may be 0, 1, 2, or 3, and the four values ​​represent different meanings, and the index entry represents the value of field #A, and the meaning represented by the index entry may be obtained by using the index entry.

[0257] Optionally, in this implementation, the first information may be carried in the user info field within the trigger frame. For example, the first information may be located in the resource unit allocation (RU Allocation) subfield and / or the principal and subordinate (PS) 160MHz instruction subfield.

[0258] Figure 15 is a diagram of the user information list field in a trigger frame according to this embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the trigger frame includes resource unit allocation information and other parameters used by one or more second stations to transmit an extremely high throughput trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (EHT TB PPDU). After receiving the trigger frame, the second station obtains the user information field that matches the second station's association identifier (AID) through parsing, and then transmits the EHT TB PPDU on the resource unit indicated by the resource unit allocation subfield and / or PS 160MHz instruction subfield in the user information field.

[0259] Optionally, in this implementation, the first information may be carried in a triggered response scheduling control subfield (TRS control subfield) carried by the PPDU.

[0260] In other implementations, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, where the first sub-information indicates a first frequency range and the second sub-information indicates a second resource unit.

[0261] In one example, the first sub-information may be a 16-bit bitmap, and the first sub-information may indicate whether one or more 20MHz subcarriers are punctured within a 320MHz bandwidth, with each of the 16 bits indicating whether a 20MHz subcarrier is punctured or not. This scheme may cover the entire bandwidth. Puncture as used herein indicates the range over which distributed subcarriers need to be punctured, and it should be understood that this range may be greater than or equal to the channel puncture range.

[0262] In other examples, the first sub-information may be a 4-bit bitmap, and the first sub-information may indicate whether one or more 20MHz subcarriers are punctured within an 80MHz bandwidth. This scheme may be used in scenarios where distributed RUs are distributed within a maximum of 80MHz.

[0263] In yet another example, the first piece of information may be a fixed z-bit, where z-bit indicates the puncture state within the overall PPDU bandwidth. For example, z=4. For a 320MHz PPDU, each of the four bits indicates whether one 80MHz subcarrier is punctured or not. For a 160MHz PPDU, each of the four bits indicates whether one 40MHz subcarrier is punctured or not.

[0264] Furthermore, the first frequency range may be expressed in combination with a field related to channel puncture, or it may be expressed directly by the field related to channel puncture. For example, the disabled sub-channel bitmap field indicates the static puncture state of the channel, and the first sub-information may be expressed directly by using the disabled sub-channel bitmap field. In this case, the first frequency range is the channel puncture range. The granularity of the channel puncture may be defined by the protocol or specified by the AP or STA, for example, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, or 80 MHz. The granularity of the channel puncture is the bandwidth corresponding to each bit in the disabled sub-channel bitmap field.

[0265] When the first station indicates a first frequency range to the second station, the second station may obtain a punctured distributed resource unit (an example of a first resource unit) based on the instruction for an unpunctured distributed resource unit. The instruction method for an unpunctured distributed resource unit may be as follows:

[0266] Method 1: Unpunctured distributed resource units are directly identified by index entries.

[0267] Method 2: The corresponding continuous resource unit (information #A) is shown, and the assigned distributed resource unit (information #B) is shown.

[0268] Method 1 may be understood as follows: The second sub-information is an index entry. Method 2 may be understood as follows: The second information includes information #A and information #B, where information #A indicates a contiguous resource unit and information #B indicates the use of the contiguous resource unit or the use of a distributed resource unit corresponding to the contiguous resource unit. For example, information #B is 1 bit. The correspondence between contiguous resource units and distributed resources may be defined in the standard.

[0269] In this implementation, the first sub-information may be carried in the common information field within the trigger frame. For example, the first sub-information may be carried in newly added bits of the common information field. The second sub-information may be carried in the user information field within the trigger frame. For example, the second sub-information may be carried in the resource unit allocation subfield and / or the PS 160MHz instruction subfield.

[0270] Optionally, the contents of the common information field may be transported in a special user information field instead. For example, if the length of the common information field is insufficient, the AID of the special user information field may be set to a special value, so that the special user information field may be used as an extension of the common information field.

[0271] Optionally, method 200 further includes: the first station transmits second information to the second station, which instructs the second station to transmit data on the first resource unit or on the second resource unit.

[0272] Specifically, when the first station instructs the second station to transmit data on the second resource unit for the second information, the first station transmits data on an undensed resource unit that is not punctured, or when the first station instructs the second station to transmit data on the first resource unit for the second information, the first station transmits data on a punctured distributed resource unit or a distributed resource unit with supplemented size.

[0273] In an implementation manner, information #B, the second information, and the third information may be carried in the same field. For example, the field is 2 bits, and the four values of the field are shown in Table 2.

Table 2

[0274] Information #B may include indexes 0 and 1, the second information may include indexes 1 and 2, and the third information may include indexes 2 and 3.

[0275] Optionally, Table 2 is merely an implementation manner. The sequence in which the meaning corresponding to the index appears is not limited in this application. In other words, the correspondence between the index and the meaning may alternatively be in other manners. For example, when the index is 0, this may indicate that the first resource unit is a punctured distributed resource unit, or when the index is 1, this may indicate that the first resource unit is a punctured distributed resource unit with supplemented size.

[0276] According to the method provided in the above embodiment, the first resource unit and the continuous resource unit may coexist within the first frequency range, and no collision will occur. For example, the first station may allocate a first 20 MHz bandwidth above 80 MHz to a user as a continuous 242-tone RU, or may allocate a punctured distributed 242-tone RU or a punctured distributed 242-tone RU with supplemented size to other users, and no collision will occur.

[0277] Optionally, the following restrictions may exist. After the RU is allocated to a user as continuous RU#A, a distributed RU that satisfies the following rules cannot be allocated. The subcarriers of the continuous RU corresponding to the distributed RU overlap with continuous RU#A.

[0278] The above describes an embodiment of the method in the embodiments of this application. Next, an embodiment of the corresponding device will be described. The description of the embodiment of the device corresponds to the description of the embodiment of the method. Therefore, it should be understood that for parts not described in detail, reference may be made to the above embodiment of the method.

[0279] FIG. 16 is a diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in FIG. 16, the device 400 may include a transceiver unit 410 and / or a processing unit 420. The transceiver unit 410 may communicate with the outside, and the processing unit 420 is configured to process data / information. The transceiver unit 410 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0280] In possible implementations, the device 400 may be the first station in the method 200 described above, or a chip configured to implement the functions of the first station in the method 200 described above. The device 400 may implement the procedures performed by the first station in the method 200 described above. The processing unit 420 is configured to perform the processing-related operations of the first station in the method 200 described above, and the transceiver unit 410 is configured to perform the receiving and transmitting-related operations of the first station in the method 200 described above.

[0281] For example, the processing unit 420 is configured to generate first information, which indicates a first resource unit, the first resource unit includes subcarriers in the difference set between the subcarrier set of a second resource unit and the subcarrier set of a first frequency range, some of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, the second resource unit is a distributed resource unit, and the transceiver unit 410 is configured to transmit the first information to a second station.

[0282] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to transmit second information to a second station, which instructs the second station to transmit data on the first resource unit or on the second resource unit.

[0283] Optionally, the first frequency range includes the frequency range occupied by the punctured channel.

[0284] Optionally, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more consecutive resource units.

[0285] Optionally, the first resource unit further includes subcarriers within the first subcarrier set, the number of subcarriers within the first subcarrier set being less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0286] Optionally, subcarriers in the first subcarrier set are located in the second subcarrier set, the second subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit.

[0287] Optionally, the first frequency range is the frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

[0288] Optionally, in ascending order of the frequencies corresponding to the subcarriers, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

[0289] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to transmit a third piece of information to a second station, which indicates whether the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set.

[0290] Optionally, the first piece of information is an index entry, and a correspondence exists between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0291] Optionally, the first piece of information is carried in the trigger response scheduling control subfield or user information field within the trigger frame.

[0292] Optionally, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information indicating a first frequency range, and the second sub-information indicating a second resource unit.

[0293] Optionally, the first sub-information is transported in the common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub-information is transported in the user information field within the trigger frame.

[0294] The above should be understood to be used merely as an example for comprehension purposes. Apparatus 400 may further implement other steps, actions, or methods relating to the first station in method 200. Details are not described herein.

[0295] In other possible implementations, the device 400 may implement the procedures performed by the second station in embodiment 200 of the above method, and the transceiver unit 410 may be configured to perform the receive and transmit operations of the second station in embodiment 200 of the above method.

[0296] Optionally, in this implementation, the device 400 may further include a processing unit 420. The processing unit 420 is configured to perform the processing-related operations of the second station in embodiment 200 of the method described above.

[0297] For example, the transceiver unit 410 is configured to receive first information, the first information indicates a first resource unit, the first resource unit includes subcarriers within a difference set between a subcarrier set of a second resource unit and a subcarrier set of a first frequency range, a part of the subcarriers of the second resource unit is located in the first frequency range, and the second resource unit is a distributed resource unit. The transceiver unit 410 is further configured to transmit data on the first resource unit.

[0298] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to receive second information, and the second information instructs a second station to transmit data on the first resource unit or to transmit data on the second resource unit. [[ID=�]]

[0299] Optionally, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by a punctured channel.

[0300] Optionally, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more contiguous resource units.

[0301] Optionally, the first resource unit further includes subcarriers within a first subcarrier set, and the number of subcarriers within the first subcarrier set is not more than the number of subcarriers within an intersection set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

[0302] Optionally, the subcarriers within the first subcarrier set are located in a second subcarrier set, the second subcarrier set is a difference set between the subcarrier set of a third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit.

[0303] Optionally, the first frequency range is the frequency range occupied by the first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

[0304] Optionally, in ascending order of the frequencies corresponding to the subcarriers, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

[0305] Optionally, the transceiver unit 410 is further configured to receive third information from a second station, the third information indicating whether the first resource unit contains a subcarrier in the first subcarrier set.

[0306] Optionally, the first piece of information is an index entry, and a correspondence exists between the index entry and the first resource unit.

[0307] Optionally, the first piece of information is carried in the trigger response scheduling control subfield or user information field within the trigger frame.

[0308] Optionally, the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information indicating a first frequency range, and the second sub-information indicating a second resource unit.

[0309] Optionally, the first sub-information is transported in the common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub-information is transported in the user information field within the trigger frame.

[0310] The above should be understood to be used merely as an example for comprehension purposes. Apparatus 400 may further implement other steps, actions, or methods relating to the second station in method 200. Details are not described herein.

[0311] It should be understood that the apparatus 400 described herein is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term “unit” as used herein may refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor configured to run one or more software or firmware programs (e.g., a shared processor, a dedicated processor, or a group processor), memory, merged logic circuits, and / or other suitable components that support the described functions.

[0312] Device 400 has a function to implement a corresponding step performed by the first station in the above method, or device 400 has a function to implement a corresponding step performed by the second station in the above method. The function may be implemented by hardware, or by hardware running corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above function. In order to separately perform the receive / transmit operations and associated processing operations in an embodiment of the method, for example, a transceiver unit may be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the transmitting unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit may be replaced by a receiver machine), and other units, for example, a processing unit may be replaced by a processor.

[0313] Furthermore, the transceiver unit may alternatively be a transceiver circuit (for example, including a receiving circuit and a transmitting circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit. In embodiments of this application, the apparatus in Figure 16 may be the first station or the second station in the above embodiments, or it may be a chip or chip system, for example, a system on a chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processing unit is a processor, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit on a chip. This is not limited herein.

[0314] Figure 17 is another diagram showing the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 17, the communication device 500 includes at least one processor 510 and a transceiver 520. The processor 510 is coupled to memory and configured to execute instructions stored in memory and control the transceiver 520 to transmit and / or receive signals. Optionally, the communication device 500 further includes memory 530 configured to store instructions.

[0315] It should be understood that the processor 510 and memory 530 may be integrated into a single processing unit. The processor 510 is configured to execute program code stored in memory 530 to perform the above functions. In a particular implementation, the memory 530 may, alternatively, be integrated into the processor 510 or be independent of the processor 510.

[0316] It should be further understood that transceiver 520 may include a receiver (also called a receiver machine) and a transmitter (also called a transmitter machine). Transceiver 520 may further include an antenna. One or more antennas may be present. Transceiver 1020 may be a communication interface or interface circuit.

[0317] When the communication device 500 is a chip, the chip includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit. 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 the chip.

[0318] Embodiments of this application further provide a processing apparatus including a processor and an interface. The processor may be configured to perform the method in the embodiment of the method described above.

[0319] It should be understood that the processing unit can be a chip. For example, the processing unit may be a field programmable gate array (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), system on chip (SoC), central processing unit (CPU), network processor (NP), digital signal processor (DSP), microcontroller unit (MCU), programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chip.

[0320] In the implementation process, the steps of the above method may be implemented by using instructions in the form of hardware integrated logic circuits or software within the processor. The steps of the method disclosed with reference to embodiments of this application may be performed directly by a hardware processor or by using a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor. The software modules may reside in a mature storage medium in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, or registers. The storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in combination with the processor's hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, further details are not described herein.

[0321] Figure 18 is another diagram showing the structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 18, the device 600 includes a processing circuit 610 and a transceiver circuit 620. The processing circuit 610 and the transceiver circuit 620 communicate with each other through an internal connection path. The processing circuit 610 is configured to execute commands to control the transceiver circuit 620 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0322] Optionally, the device 600 may further include a storage medium 630. The storage medium 630 communicates with the processing circuit 610 and the transceiver circuit 620 through an internal connection path. The storage medium 630 is configured to store instructions, and the processing circuit 610 may execute instructions stored in the storage medium 630.

[0323] In a possible implementation, the device 600 is configured to perform the procedure corresponding to the first station in the embodiment of the method described above.

[0324] In other possible implementations, the device 600 is configured to implement the procedure corresponding to the second station in the embodiment of the method described above.

[0325] According to the methods provided in embodiments of this application, this application further provides a computer program product, the computer program product comprising computer program code, when the computer program code is executed on a computer, the computer becomes capable of performing the methods in the embodiments shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b).

[0326] According to the method provided in embodiments of this application, the application further provides a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium stores program code, and when the program code is executed on a computer, the computer is able to perform the method in the embodiments of the above method.

[0327] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application further provides a system including the first station and / or second station described above.

[0328] In this specification, the term "at least one of..." refers to all or any combination of the listed items. For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" may refer to the following six cases: that only A is present, that only B is present, that only C is present, that both A and B are present, that both B and C are present, and that all of A, B, and C are present. In this specification, "at least one" means one or more. "Multiple" means two or more.

[0329] In this specification, the term "and / or" describes only the association relationship for describing the related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent the following three cases: that only A exists, that both A and B exist, and that only B exists. Furthermore, the letter " / " in this specification generally indicates an "or" relationship between the related objects.

[0330] In embodiments of this application, “B corresponding to A” should be understood to indicate that B is associated with A and that B may be determined based on A. However, it should be further understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A. The terms “including,” “having,” and variations thereof all mean “including, but not limited to,” unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0331] In the various embodiments of this application, it should be understood that the first, second, and various other designations are merely for illustrative purposes and not to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, different information is distinguished.

[0332] Those skilled in the art will recognize, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this specification, that the units and algorithmic steps may be implemented by electronic hardware, or by a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are performed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the functions described for each specific application, but the implementation methods should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0333] For the purpose of convenience and concise explanation, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the detailed operating processes of the above systems, apparatuses, and units are described by referring to the corresponding processes in the embodiments of the above methods. Further details are not described herein.

[0334] In some embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatus and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the embodiments of the described apparatus are merely examples. For example, the division into units is merely a logical functional division, and other divisions may be used in actual implementations. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into other systems, or some features may be ignored or not performed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communication connection indicated or discussed may be implemented by using some interfaces. Indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatus or units may be implemented electronically, mechanically or in other forms.

[0335] Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on the actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solution of the embodiment.

[0336] Furthermore, the functional units in the embodiments of this application may be integrated into a single processing unit, each unit may exist physically independently, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit.

[0337] When a function is implemented in the form of a software function unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, or a portion of the technical solution that contributes to the prior art, may be implemented in the form of a software product. A computer software product is stored on a storage medium and includes several instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in embodiments of this application. The storage medium includes any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, removable hard disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0338] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modification or substitution that is readily conceivable by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the art disclosed in this application shall fall within the scope of protection of this application. Accordingly, the scope of protection of this application shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for configuring resources, Steps include: generating first information by a first station, wherein the first information indicates a first resource unit, the first resource unit includes subcarriers in a difference set between the subcarrier set of a second resource unit and the subcarrier set of a first frequency range, a portion of the subcarriers of the second resource unit are located in the first frequency range, the first frequency range includes a frequency range occupied by one or more consecutive resource units, and the second resource unit is a distributed resource unit; The first station transmits the first information to the second station. A method that includes this.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting second information from the first station to the second station, the second information either transmitting data on the first resource unit or instructing the second station to transmit data on the second resource unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first resource unit further includes subcarriers in a first subcarrier set, the number of subcarriers in the first subcarrier set being less than or equal to the number of subcarriers in the crossover set between the subcarrier set of the second resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the subcarriers in the first subcarrier set are located in a second subcarrier set, the second subcarrier set is a difference set between the subcarrier set of a third resource unit and the subcarrier set of the first frequency range, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first frequency range is a frequency range occupied by a first continuous resource unit, and the third resource unit is a distributed resource unit corresponding to the first continuous resource unit.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein, in ascending order of frequencies corresponding to subcarriers, if the subcarrier of the second resource unit is the i-th subcarrier in the third subcarrier set, then the subcarrier in the first subcarrier set is the i-th subcarrier in the second subcarrier set, and the third subcarrier set is the difference set between the subcarrier set of the first frequency range and the subcarrier set of the third resource unit, where i is a positive integer.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first information is an index entry, and a correspondence exists between the index entry and the first resource unit.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first information is conveyed in a trigger response scheduling control subfield or user information field within a trigger frame.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first information includes first sub-information and second sub-information, the first sub-information indicating a first frequency range and the second sub-information indicating a second resource unit.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first sub-information is transported in a common information field within the trigger frame, and the second sub-information is transported in a user information field within the trigger frame.

11. A communication device, Memory configured to store computer instructions, A processor configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory, thereby enabling the communication device to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 10. A device that includes this.

12. A chip including a processor and memory, The memory is configured to store a program or instruction, and when the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the chip becomes capable of performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

13. A computer-readable storage medium for storing computer programs or instructions, A computer-readable storage medium that, when the computer program or instruction is executed, enables the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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