Communication methods and communication equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of communication and a communication device, and relates to the field of communication technology. The method according to the invention comprises the following steps: an access point (AP) generates an activation frame, which includes a first user information field, part or all of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource allocation subfield in the fourth user information field preceding the first user information field on the primary 160 MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource allocation subfield in the fourth user information field following the first user information field on the secondary 160 MHz channel. The AP then sends the activation frame.According to the proposed solutions used to enable the resource allocation subfield in the user information field, it is possible to accurately allocate frequency domain resources to the station within the 320 MHz bandwidth without changing the structure of the user information field in the trigger frame.

Description

Communication method and apparatus TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] The 802.11 standard is a general standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN). At present, the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) is discussing the next generation 802.11be standard after 802.11ax. Compared with the previous 802.11ax standard, the 802.11be standard supports extremely high throughput (EHT) data transmission. In the following, the station supporting the 802.11ax standard but not supporting the 802.11be standard is referred to as a High Efficient (HE) station, and the station supporting the 802.11be standard is referred to as an EHT station.

[0003] In the 802.11ax standard, an access point (AP) can trigger a station to perform uplink transmission through a trigger frame. In the scenario of applying the next generation 802.11 standard, in order to maintain compatibility, the trigger frame should be able to trigger the HE station and the EHT station to perform uplink transmission at the same time.

[0004] In addition, the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11ax standard is 160 MHz, while the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11be standard is 320 MHz. In the scenario of applying the next generation 802.11 standard, in order to realize transmission with a larger bandwidth, the trigger frame should be able to trigger the EHT station to perform uplink transmission on a bandwidth larger than 160 MHz.

[0005] Therefore, how to make the trigger frame have the ability to trigger the station to perform uplink transmission on a bandwidth larger than 160 MHz while maintaining the compatibility of the trigger frame is a problem to be solved in the industry.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for ensuring the compatibility of the trigger frame and at the same time making the trigger frame have the ability to trigger the EHT station to perform uplink transmission on a bandwidth larger than 160 MHz.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: generating a trigger frame, the trigger frame comprising a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, the fourth user information field comprising a resource block allocation subfield, the resource block allocation subfield being used to indicate allocated frequency domain resources; wherein part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located before the first user information field are located within a primary 160MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located after the first user information field are located within a secondary 160MHz channel; the fourth user information field being used to trigger a station to send a response frame; and sending the trigger frame.

[0009] Based on the above scheme, on one hand, the first user information field in the user information list field of the trigger frame can be used to determine the specific 160MHz frequency domain on which the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield in the other user information fields are located, thereby achieving the purpose of the trigger frame allocating resource blocks to the first station on the 320MHz frequency domain. On the other hand, the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field does not need to increase a bit, thereby ensuring that the trigger frame provided by the present application can maintain compatibility with the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard.

[0010] In a possible design, the method further comprises: receiving an uplink MAC frame of one or more stations, wherein the MAC frame is sent on the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field; and then sending an acknowledgement frame.

[0011] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field takes a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0012] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field taking the value 4095 comprises a first indication field; when the first indication field takes a first numerical value, the user information field with the AID field taking the value 4095 is a user information field used to fill the trigger frame; and when the first indication field takes a second numerical value, the user information field with the AID field taking the value 4095 is the first user information field.

[0013] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, B1-B7 bits in the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate the frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit in the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by B1-B7 bits are located within a primary 80MHz channel or a secondary 80MHz channel.

[0014] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to the second station.

[0015] In a possible design, the trigger frame includes a third user information field, and the third user information field carries common information of the first station, and the first station supports an 802.11 standard later than the 802.11ax standard. In this way, the common information field of the trigger frame does not need to increase the number of bits because the trigger frame uses the third user information field to carry additional common information that needs to be read by the first station, thereby ensuring that the trigger frame provided in this application can be compatible with the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard. That is, the trigger frame provided in this application can trigger the first station to perform uplink transmission, and can also trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission.

[0016] In a possible design, the third user information field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield, used to indicate an uplink bandwidth in combination with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield, used to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield, used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield, used to indicate a spatial multiplexing parameter supporting 320 MHz bandwidth transmission.

[0017] In a possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in combination with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0018] In a possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in combination with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0019] In a possible design, the common information field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common information field of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0020] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: receiving a trigger frame, the trigger frame including a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, the fourth user information field including a resource block allocation subfield, the resource block allocation subfield being used to indicate allocated frequency domain resources; wherein part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located before the first user information field are located in a primary 160 MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located after the first user information field are located in a secondary 160 MHz channel; the fourth user information field being used to trigger a station to send a response frame; and parsing the trigger frame.

[0021] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending an uplink MAC frame; and receiving an acknowledgement frame, wherein the MAC frame is sent on the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field.

[0022] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0023] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 includes a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field used for padding the trigger frame; and when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0024] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, B1 to B7 bits in the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit in the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by B1 to B7 bits are located in a primary 80 MHz channel or a secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0025] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to a second station.

[0026] In a possible design, the trigger frame includes a third user info field, which carries common information of the first station, and the first station supports an 802.11 standard later than the 802.11ax standard.

[0027] In a possible design, the third user info field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield, which is used to indicate an uplink bandwidth in combination with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common info field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield, which is used to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield, which is used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield, which is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing parameter that supports a 320 MHz bandwidth transmission.

[0028] In a possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in combination with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has the value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0029] In a possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in combination with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has the value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has the value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has the value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0030] In a possible design, the common info field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common info field of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0031] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, including: generating a trigger frame, the trigger frame including: a third user info field, which carries common information of a first station, and the first station supporting an 802.11 standard later than the 802.11ax standard; and then transmitting the trigger frame.

[0032] In one possible design, the method further includes receiving one or more uplink MAC frames from the one or more stations, where the MAC frames are transmitted on the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user info field; and transmitting an acknowledgement frame.

[0033] In one possible design, the third user info field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield for indicating an uplink bandwidth in conjunction with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield for indicating a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield for indicating whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs or EHT PPDUs on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield for indicating spatial reuse parameters for 320 MHz bandwidth transmissions.

[0034] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in conjunction with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0035] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in conjunction with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0036] In one possible design, the common info field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common info field of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0037] In a possible design, the trigger frame includes a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, the fourth user information field includes a resource block allocation subfield, and the resource block allocation subfield is used to indicate allocated frequency domain resources; wherein part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located before the first user information field are located in the primary 160 MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located after the first user information field are located in the secondary 160 MHz channel; and the fourth user information field is used to trigger the station to send a response frame.

[0038] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0039] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 includes a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field used to fill the trigger frame; and when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0040] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, B1 to B7 bits in the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit in the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by B1 to B7 bits are located in the primary 80 MHz channel or the secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0041] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to a second station.

[0042] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: receiving a trigger frame, the trigger frame including a third user information field, the third user information field carrying common information of a first station, and the first station supporting an 802.11 standard later than the 802.11ax standard; and then parsing the trigger frame.

[0043] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending an uplink MAC frame; wherein the MAC frame is sent on frequency domain resources allocated by a resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field; and receiving an acknowledgement frame.

[0044] In one possible design, the third user info field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield to jointly indicate an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs or EHT PPDUs on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield to indicate spatial reuse parameters for 320 MHz bandwidth transmissions.

[0045] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0046] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0047] In one possible design, the common info field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common info field of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0048] In one possible design, the trigger frame includes a first user info field and one or more fourth user info fields, the fourth user info field includes a resource block allocation subfield to indicate allocated frequency domain resources, and a portion or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user info field before the first user info field are located within a primary 160 MHz channel and a portion or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user info field after the first user info field are located within a secondary 160 MHz channel. The fourth user info field is used to trigger a station to transmit a response frame.

[0049] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0050] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 includes a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field used for padding a trigger frame; and when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0051] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, and bits B1-B7 in the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate frequency domain resources used by the station, and bit B0 in the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by bits B1-B7 are located in a primary 80 MHz channel or a secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0052] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to a second station.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: generating a downlink PPDU, where the downlink PPDU includes one or more MAC frames corresponding to a first station; the MAC frame corresponding to the first station includes a TRS control field, and the TRS control field includes a control information field, and the control information field includes a resource block allocation subfield; and all or part of frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield are located in a 160 MHz channel of a MAC frame that carries the resource allocation field in the TRS control field. Then, the downlink PPDU is transmitted.

[0054] In a possible design, the method further includes: receiving a response frame sent by one or more stations.

[0055] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: receiving a downlink PPDU, where the downlink PPDU includes one or more MAC frames corresponding to a first station; the MAC frame corresponding to the first station includes a TRS control field, and the TRS control field includes a control information field, and the control information field includes a resource block allocation subfield; and all or part of frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield are located in a 160 MHz channel of a MAC frame that carries the resource allocation field in the TRS control field. Then, the downlink PPDU is parsed.

[0056] In a possible design, the method further includes: sending a response frame.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is configured to generate a trigger frame, wherein the trigger frame comprises a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, and the fourth user information field comprises a resource block allocation subfield, and the resource block allocation subfield is used to indicate allocated frequency domain resources; wherein the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field before the first user information field are partially or entirely located in a primary 160 MHz channel, and the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field after the first user information field are partially or entirely located in a secondary 160 MHz channel; and the fourth user information field is used to trigger a station to send a response frame. The communication unit is configured to send the trigger frame.

[0058] In a possible design, the communication unit is further configured to receive one or more uplink MAC frames from the station, wherein the MAC frame is sent on the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field; and then send an acknowledgement frame.

[0059] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0060] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 comprises a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field used for padding the trigger frame; and when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0061] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, and B1 bit to B7 bit in the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate the frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit in the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by B1 bit to B7 bit are located in a primary 80 MHz channel or a secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0062] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to a second station.

[0063] In one possible design, the trigger frame includes a third user info field that carries common information of the first station, which supports 802.11 standards later than 802.11ax.

[0064] In one possible design, the third user info field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield that is used to jointly indicate an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common info field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield that is used to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield that is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs or EHT PPDUs on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield that is used to indicate spatial reuse parameters for 320 MHz bandwidth transmissions.

[0065] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0066] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0067] In one possible design, the common info field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common info field of a trigger frame in 802.11ax.

[0068] In an eighth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit is configured to receive a trigger frame, the trigger frame including a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, the fourth user information field including a resource block allocation subfield, the resource block allocation subfield being configured to indicate allocated frequency domain resources; wherein a part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field before the first user information field are located in a primary 160MHz channel, and a part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field after the first user information field are located in a secondary 160MHz channel; the fourth user information field being configured to trigger a station to send a response frame. The processing unit is configured to parse the trigger frame.

[0069] In a possible design, the communication unit is further configured to send an uplink MAC frame; and receive an acknowledgement frame, wherein the MAC frame is sent on the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field.

[0070] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0071] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 includes a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field for padding a trigger frame; and when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0072] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, B1-B7 bits in the 8 bits are configured to jointly indicate frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit in the 8 bits is configured to indicate whether a part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by B1-B7 bits are located in a primary 80MHz channel or a secondary 80MHz channel.

[0073] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to a second station.

[0074] In a possible design, the trigger frame includes a third user information field, the third user information field carrying common information of a first station, and the first station supports an 802.11 standard later than 802.11ax.

[0075] In one possible design, the third user info field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield to jointly indicate an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs or EHT PPDUs on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield to indicate spatial reuse parameters for 320MHz bandwidth transmissions.

[0076] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320MHz.

[0077] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320MHz.

[0078] In one possible design, the common info field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common info field of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0079] In a ninth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is configured to generate a trigger frame, which includes a third user info field carrying common information of a first station, the first station supporting an 802.11 standard later than the 802.11ax standard. The communication unit is configured to transmit the trigger frame.

[0080] In one possible design, the communication unit is further configured to receive uplink MAC frames from one or more stations, where the MAC frames are transmitted on frequency domain resources allocated by a resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user info field, and then transmit an acknowledgement frame.

[0081] In one possible design, the third user info field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield to jointly indicate an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs or EHT PPDUs on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield to indicate spatial reuse parameters for 320 MHz bandwidth transmissions.

[0082] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0083] In one possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield jointly indicates an uplink bandwidth with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; and when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0084] In one possible design, the common info field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common info field of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0085] In one possible design, the trigger frame includes a first user info field and one or more fourth user info fields, the fourth user info field includes a resource block allocation subfield to indicate allocated frequency domain resources, and a portion or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user info field before the first user info field are located within a primary 160 MHz channel and a portion or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user info field after the first user info field are located within a secondary 160 MHz channel. The fourth user info field is used to trigger a station to transmit a response frame.

[0086] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0087] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 includes a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field for padding a trigger frame; and when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0088] In a possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, B1 bit to B7 bit in the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit in the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by B1 bit to B7 bit are located in a primary 80 MHz channel or a secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0089] In a possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as a user information field corresponding to a second station.

[0090] In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, including a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication unit is configured to receive a trigger frame, the trigger frame including a third user information field, the third user information field carrying common information of a first station, the first station supporting an 802.11 standard later than 802.11ax. The processing unit is configured to parse the trigger frame.

[0091] In a possible design, the communication unit is further configured to send an uplink MAC frame, and the MAC frame is sent on frequency domain resources allocated by a resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field; and receive an acknowledgement frame.

[0092] In a possible design, the third user information field includes one or more of the following: (1) a first subfield, the first subfield being used to jointly indicate an uplink bandwidth together with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common information field of the trigger frame; (2) a second subfield, the second subfield being used to indicate a puncturing pattern; (3) a third subfield, the third subfield being used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth; and (4) a fourth subfield, the fourth subfield being used to indicate a spatial multiplexing parameter supporting 320 MHz bandwidth transmission.

[0093] In a possible design, if the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield jointly indicates the uplink bandwidth together with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0094] In a possible design, if the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield jointly indicates the uplink bandwidth together with an uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame, including the following cases: when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; when the uplink bandwidth subfield has a value of 3 and the first subfield has an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

[0095] In a possible design, the common information field of the trigger frame occupies the same number of bits as the common information field of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0096] In a possible design, the trigger frame includes a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, and the fourth user information field includes a resource block allocation subfield used to indicate allocated frequency domain resources; wherein part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located before the first user information field are located in a primary 160 MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located after the first user information field are located in a secondary 160 MHz channel; the fourth user information field is used to trigger a station to send a response frame.

[0097] In a possible design, the AID subfield in the first user information field has a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2046 to 4095.

[0098] In a possible design, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 includes a first indication field; when the first indication field has a first value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is a user information field used to fill the trigger frame; when the first indication field has a second value, the user information field with the AID field having a value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0099] In one possible design, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, B1-B7 bits of the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate the frequency domain resources used by the station, and B0 bit of the 8 bits is used to indicate whether the frequency domain resources allocated by B1-B7 bits are partially or entirely within the primary 80 MHz channel or the secondary 80 MHz channel.

[0100] In one possible design, the first user information field occupies the same number of bits as the user information field corresponding to the second station.

[0101] In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is configured to generate a downlink PPDU, where the downlink PPDU includes one or more MAC frames corresponding to a first station, and each of the one or more MAC frames corresponding to the first station includes a TRS control field, and the TRS control field includes a control information field, and the control information field includes a resource block allocation subfield, and the resource block allocation subfield indicates that all or part of the frequency domain resources are within a 160 MHz channel of a MAC frame carrying the resource allocation field in the TRS control field. The communication unit is configured to transmit the downlink PPDU.

[0102] In one possible design, the communication unit is further configured to receive a response frame transmitted by one or more stations.

[0103] In a twelfth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit is configured to receive a downlink PPDU, where the downlink PPDU includes one or more MAC frames corresponding to a first station, and each of the one or more MAC frames corresponding to the first station includes a TRS control field, and the TRS control field includes a control information field, and the control information field includes a resource block allocation subfield, and the resource block allocation subfield indicates that all or part of the frequency domain resources are within a 160 MHz channel of a MAC frame carrying the resource allocation field in the TRS control field. The processing unit is configured to parse the downlink PPDU.

[0104] In one possible design, the processing unit is further configured to transmit a response frame.

[0105] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor and the communication interface are configured to implement any of the methods in the first aspect to the sixth aspect. The processor is configured to perform processing actions in the corresponding methods, and the communication interface is configured to perform receiving / transmitting actions in the corresponding methods.

[0106] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the methods provided in the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0107] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer program product containing computer instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any of the methods provided in the first aspect to the sixth aspect.

[0108] In a sixteenth aspect, a chip is provided, comprising: a processing circuit and a transceiver pin, the processing circuit and the transceiver pin being configured to implement any of the methods provided in the first aspect to the sixth aspect. The processing circuit is configured to perform the processing actions in the corresponding method, and the transceiver pin is configured to perform the receiving / sending actions in the corresponding method.

[0109] It should be noted that the technical effects brought by any of the seventh aspect to the sixteenth aspect can be seen from the technical effects brought by the corresponding design in the first aspect to the sixth aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0110] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of subcarrier distribution of an 80MHz frequency band under the 802.11ax standard;

[0111] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of subcarrier distribution of an 80MHz frequency band under the 802.11be standard;

[0112] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of channel distribution when the bandwidth is 160MHz;

[0113] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a scheduled uplink transmission method based on a trigger frame;

[0114] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the frame format of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard;

[0115] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the common information field of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard;

[0116] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the user information field of a trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard;

[0117] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a user information list field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIGS. 10-25 are schematic diagrams of small resource block combinations provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG. 26-FIG. 29 are schematic diagrams of large resource block combinations under 80MHz bandwidth according to embodiments of the present application;

[0121] FIG. 30-FIG. 41 are schematic diagrams of large resource block combinations under 160MHz bandwidth according to embodiments of the present application;

[0122] FIG. 42-FIG. 50 are schematic diagrams of large resource block combinations under 240MHz bandwidth according to embodiments of the present application;

[0123] FIG. 51-FIG. 62 are schematic diagrams of large resource block combinations under 320MHz bandwidth according to embodiments of the present application;

[0124] FIG. 63 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a user information list field according to embodiments of the present application;

[0125] FIG. 64 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a user information list field according to embodiments of the present application;

[0126] FIG. 65 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an uplink multi-user PPDU according to embodiments of the present application;

[0127] FIG. 66 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a control information field in 802.11ax standard;

[0128] FIG. 67 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to embodiments of the present application;

[0129] FIG. 68 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to embodiments of the present application;

[0130] FIG. 69 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to embodiments of the present application;

[0131] FIG. 70-FIG. 81 are schematic diagrams of another large resource block combination under 320MHz bandwidth according to embodiments of the present application;

[0132] FIG. 82-FIG. 85 are schematic diagrams of another small resource block combination according to embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0133] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this document only describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which means that there are three cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "First", "second", and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", and the like do not necessarily mean different.

[0134] In this application, the word "exemplary" or "for example" is used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design scheme described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present concepts in a particular manner.

[0135] The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to WLAN scenarios, and can be applied to IEEE 802.11 system standards, such as the next generation 802.11be or the next generation of standards of the IEEE 802.11ax standard. The scenarios to which the technical solutions of this application are applicable include communication between an access point (AP) and a station (STA), communication between APs, and communication between STAs, etc.

[0136] The STA involved in this application can be various user terminals, user devices, access devices, subscriber stations, subscriber units, mobile stations, user agents, user equipment, or other names, wherein the user terminal can include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, and various forms of user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), terminals, terminal equipment, portable communication devices, handsets, portable computing devices, entertainment devices, game devices or systems, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless medium. Here, for the sake of convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as stations or STAs.

[0137] The access point AP involved in this application is a device deployed in a wireless communication network to provide wireless communication functions for its associated STAs. The access point AP can be used as the hub of the communication system, and can be a base station, a router, a gateway, a repeater, a communication server, a switch, or a bridge, etc. The base station can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. Here, for the sake of convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as access points AP.

[0138] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of this application, the terms involved in this application will be briefly introduced as follows.

[0139] 1. Abbreviations of the terms involved in this application

[0140] Table 1

[0141]

[0142]

[0143] 2、802.11 standard

[0144] WLAN starts from 802.11a / g, goes through 802.11n, 802.11ac, and now discusses 802.11ax and 802.11be, which allows the bandwidth of transmission and the maximum data rate supported can refer to Table 2.

[0145] Table 2

[0146]

[0147] Among them, the name of the 802.11n standard is also called High Throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is called Very High Throughput (VHT), the 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) is called HE, the 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) is called Extremely High Throughput (EHT), and for the standards before HT, such as 802.11a / b / g, etc. collectively called Non-HT. Among them, 802.11b uses non-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, OFDM) mode, so it is not listed in Table 2.

[0148] 3、Channel

[0149] The channel is a kind of frequency domain resource. The channel can be named by other names, such as frequency band, frequency band, frequency domain, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. At present, the WLAN system defines the bandwidth size of multiple channels, such as 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 320MHz, etc. For ease of description, the channel with a bandwidth size of x can be simply referred to as xMHz channel. For example, the 320MHz channel refers to the channel with a bandwidth size of 320MHz.

[0150] The 320MHz bandwidth and the 160MHz bandwidth can also be composed of discontinuous frequency bands, such as one form of 320MHz bandwidth is 160+160MHz channel, and the 160+160MHz channel refers to a channel composed of two 160MHz sub-channels.

[0151] 4、RU

[0152] RU is a frequency domain resource, and an RU contains one or more tones. Currently, the WLAN system defines the following types of RUs: 26-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 26 tones), 52-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 52 tones), 106-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 106 tones), 242-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 242 tones), 484-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 484 tones), 996-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 996 tones), 2*996-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 2*996 tones), and 4*996-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 4*996 tones), etc. Optionally, there can also exist 3*996-tone RU (i.e., one RU contains 3*996 tones) in the WLAN system.

[0153] 5. Tone

[0154] A tone is a frequency domain resource. A tone includes null tone, data and pilot tone, guard tone, and DC tone.

[0155] 6. Subcarrier distribution of 80MHz band under 802.11ax standard

[0156] As shown in FIG. 1, an 80MHz channel under 802.11ax standard can support 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, and 996-tone RU. Specifically, the 80MHz channel can include one 996-tone RU. Alternatively, the 80MHz channel can include one or more 26-tone RUs, one or more 52-tone RUs, one or more 106-tone RUs, one or more 242-tone RUs, and / or one or more 484-tone RUs.

[0157] When FIG. 1 is placed vertically, the leftmost of FIG. 1 can be regarded as the lowest frequency, the rightmost of FIG. 1 can be regarded as the highest frequency, the 26-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right respectively to obtain RUs 1 to 37, the 52-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right respectively to obtain RUs 1 to 16, the 106-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right respectively to obtain RUs 1 to 8, the 242-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right respectively to obtain RUs 1 to 4, the 484-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right respectively to obtain RUs 1 and 2, and the 996-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right respectively to obtain RU 1. The above numbering can also be numbered from high frequency to low frequency.

[0158] In addition, the 80+80MHz / 160MHz channel under the 802.11ax standard can be considered as a combination of two 80MHz channels.

[0159] 7, Channel distribution when the bandwidth is 160MHz

[0160] As shown in FIG. 3, the 160MHz channel can be divided into 8 20MHz channels. The 8 20MHz channels can be sequentially numbered from high frequency to low frequency, or sequentially numbered from low frequency to high frequency. In FIG. 3, channel 1 can be regarded as a primary 20MHz channel, channel 2 can be regarded as a secondary 20MHz channel, channel 1 and channel 2 can be aggregated as a primary 40MHz channel, channel 3 and channel 4 can be aggregated as a secondary 40MHz channel, channel 1 to channel 4 can be aggregated as a primary 80MHz channel, and channel 5 to channel 8 can be aggregated as a secondary 80MHz channel.

[0161] It is worth noting that the primary 20MHz channel does not necessarily locate at the beginning of the 20MHz, for example, channel 3 can be regarded as a primary 20MHz channel, channel 4 can be regarded as a secondary 20MHz channel, channel 1 and channel 2 can be aggregated as a primary 40MHz channel, channel 1 and channel 2 can be aggregated as a secondary 40MHz channel, channel 1 to channel 4 can be aggregated as a primary 80MHz channel, and channel 5 to channel 8 can be aggregated as a secondary 80MHz channel.

[0162] The secondary channel can also have other names, such as a secondary channel, an auxiliary channel, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0163] 8, first station and second station

[0164] The first station supports an 802.11 standard after the 802.11ax standard. For example, the first station supports the 802.11be standard, or the first station supports a next generation 802.11 standard of the 802.11be standard. It can be understood that the first station can be backward compatible with a previous standard protocol, such as supporting the 802.11ax standard and the 802.11ax standard before the 802.11ax standard.

[0165] The second station does not support an 802.11 standard after the 802.11ax standard. For example, the second station does not support the 802.11be standard. It can be understood that the second station can support the 802.11ax standard and the 802.11ax standard before the 802.11ax standard.

[0166] The above is an introduction to the terms related to the embodiments of the present application, which will not be repeated below.

[0167] The 802.11ax standard introduces a triggered frame-based scheduled uplink transmission method, and the flow thereof is shown in FIG. 4.

[0168] First, the AP sends a trigger frame. The trigger frame contains resource scheduling information for one or more stations to send uplink sub-PPDUs and other parameters.

[0169] The station receives the trigger frame, parses the user information field matching the own AID from the trigger frame. Then, the station sends the HE modulation part of the high efficient trigger-based data packet (HE TB PPDU) on the RU indicated by the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field. The HE modulation part includes a high efficient-short training field (HE-STF), a high efficient-long training field (HE-LTF), and a data field. The encoding and modulation parameters of the data field are indicated by the MCS field in the corresponding user information field. As shown in FIG. 4, the common physical layer preamble of the high efficient trigger-based data packet is sent in one or more 20MHz channels where the RU indicated by the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field is located; wherein the common physical layer preamble includes: a legacy short training sequence field, a legacy long training sequence field, a legacy signaling field, a repeated legacy signaling field, and a high efficient signaling field A.

[0170] The AP receives the uplink multi-user PPDU, which is composed of uplink sub-PPDUs sent by one or more stations. Then, the AP replies with acknowledgement frames. The acknowledgement frames sent to one or more stations can be sent in downlink orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) form or in non-HT duplicate transmission form.

[0171] As shown in FIG. 5, it is the frame format of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard. The trigger frame includes a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving address (RA) field, a transmitting address (TA) field, a common info field, a user info list field, and a padding field, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field.

[0172] The common information field contains common information that all stations need to read. As shown in FIG. 6, the common information field includes a trigger type subfield, an UL length subfield, a more TF subfield, a CS required subfield, an UL bandwidth subfield, a GI and HE-LTF type subfield, a MU-MIMO HE-LTF mode subfield, a number of HE-LTF symbols and Midamble peridicity subfield, an UL STBC subfield, an LDPC extra symbol segment subfield, an AP TX power subfield, a Pre-FEC padding factor subfield, a PE disambiguilty subfield, an UL spatial reuse subfield, a Doppler subfield, an UL HE-SIG-A2 Reserved subfield, a reserved subfield, and a trigger dependent Common info field.

[0173] Some of the fields in the common information field of the trigger frame are briefly introduced as follows.

[0174] I. Trigger type subfield in the common information field

[0175] The trigger type subfield occupies 4 bits and is used to indicate the type of the trigger frame. In the prior art, the correspondence between the value of the trigger type subfield and the type of the trigger frame can refer to Table 3.

[0176] Table 3

[0177]

[0178]

[0179] II. UL bandwidth subfield in the common information field

[0180] The uplink bandwidth subfield occupies 2 bits, and is used to indicate the uplink bandwidth. In the prior art, the uplink bandwidth subfield takes a value of 0, indicating that the uplink bandwidth is 20 MHz; the uplink bandwidth subfield takes a value of 1, indicating that the uplink bandwidth is 40 MHz; the uplink bandwidth subfield takes a value of 2, indicating that the uplink bandwidth is 80 MHz; and the uplink bandwidth subfield takes a value of 3, indicating that the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz.

[0181] III. Number of HE-LTF symbols in the common information field, midamble period subfield and Doppler subfield

[0182] The number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield occupy 3 bits. The Doppler subfield occupies 1 bit. The number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield are used in combination with the Doppler subfield.

[0183] Specifically, when the value of the Doppler subfield is 0, the 3 bits in the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield are used to indicate the number of HE-LTF symbols. Specifically, the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield takes a value of 0, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 1; the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield takes a value of 1, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 2; the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield takes a value of 2, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 4; the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield takes a value of 3, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 6; the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield takes a value of 4, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 8; and other values of the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield are reserved values.

[0184] When the value of the Doppler subfield is 1, the first 2 bits in the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield are used to indicate the number of HE-LTF symbols, and the third bit in the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield is used to indicate the midamble period. Specifically, the first 2 bits take a value of 0, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 1; the first 2 bits take a value of 1, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 2; the first 2 bits take a value of 2, indicating that the number of HE-LTF symbols is 4; and the first 2 bits take a value of 3, which is a reserved value. The third bit in the number of HE-LTF symbols and the midamble period subfield takes a value of 0, indicating that the midamble period is 10 symbols; and the third bit takes a value of 1, indicating that the midamble period is 20 symbols.

[0185] The above is an introduction to some fields in the common information field of the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard, which will not be described below.

[0186] The user info list field of the trigger frame can include multiple user info fields. In the 802.11ax standard, the structure of the user info field can be as shown in FIG. 7. The user info field can include an AID subfield, a resource block allocation (RU allocation) subfield, an uplink forward error correction coding type (UL FEC coding type) subfield, an uplink modulation and coding strategy (UL HE-MCS) subfield, an uplink dual carrier modulation (UL DCM) subfield, a spatial stream allocation / random access RU information (SS allocation / RA-RU information) subfield, an uplink target received signal strength indication (UL target RSSI) subfield, a reserved subfield, and a trigger dependent user info subfield based on the type of the trigger frame.

[0187] Some of the subfields in the user info field are briefly introduced as follows.

[0188] I. The AID subfield in the user info field

[0189] In the 802.11ax standard, the values and meanings of the AID subfield can refer to Table 4.

[0190] Table 4

[0191]

[0192]

[0193] That is, in the 802.11ax standard, if the value of the AID subfield of a user info field is 0 or 2045, the user info field is used to allocate one or more contiguous random access RUs for managed stations. If the value of the AID subfield of a user info field is any value from 1-2007, the user info field is used to carry information that the station with the AID matching the value of the AID subfield needs to read. If the value of the AID subfield of a user info field is 2046, the user info field is used to indicate that no RU is allocated. If the value of the AID subfield of a user info field is 4095, the user info field is used as a padding field. In addition, in the 802.11ax standard, the values 2008-2044 and 2047-4094 of the AID subfield are also reserved values and are not defined.

[0194] The AID subfield can also be referred to as the AID12 field, which will not be described again below.

[0195] II. The resource block allocation subfield in the user info field

[0196] In 802.11ax standard, the resource block allocation subfield can be jointly indicated with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info field to indicate the size and location of the allocated RU. The 8 bits in the resource block allocation subfield can be numbered as B0 bit to B7 bit from low bit to high bit. Specifically, the encoding of B1-B7 bits (i.e., the second bit to the eighth bit) in the resource block allocation subfield can refer to Table 5. For example, the values of B1-B7 bits from 0 to 8 in the second column of Table 5 respectively correspond to 26-tone RU1 to RU9.

[0197] Table 5

[0198]

[0199]

[0200] The specific locations of various tone types and various numbered RUs on an 80MHz channel can refer to the foregoing description.

[0201] For example, if the uplink bandwidth indicated by the uplink bandwidth subfield is 80MHz, and the values of B1-B7 bits are 0, it indicates that 26-tone RU1 on the 80MHz channel is allocated.

[0202] In addition, the B0 bit (i.e., the first bit) in the resource block allocation subfield is used to indicate the 80MHz channel in which the resource block allocated by B1-B7 bits is located. Specifically, the value of B0 bit is 0, indicating that the resource block allocated by B1-B7 bits is in the primary 80MHz channel. The value of B0 bit is 1, indicating that the resource block allocated by B1-B7 bits is in the secondary 80MHz channel. If the uplink bandwidth is less than or equal to 80MHz, the B0 bit is set to 0 by default.

[0203] It is worth noting that in the OFDMA transmission of 802.11ax, the AP can only allocate one resource block to the station for transmission.

[0204] III. Spatial stream allocation / random access RU information subfield in user info field

[0205] If the value of the AID subfield in the user info field is 0 or 2045, the spatial stream allocation / random access RU information subfield actually serves as a random access RU information subfield, which is used to indicate random access RU information. If the value of the AID subfield in the user info field is not 0 or 2045, the spatial stream allocation / random access RU information subfield actually serves as a spatial stream allocation subfield, which is used to allocate spatial streams.

[0206] In the 802.11ax standard, the space stream allocation subfield occupies 6 bits. The space stream allocation subfield includes a space stream start sequence number field and a space stream number field. The space stream start sequence number field occupies 3 bits and is used to indicate a space stream start sequence number. The space stream number field occupies 3 bits and is used to indicate a number of space streams.

[0207] The above is an introduction to some fields in the user information field in the 802.11ax standard, which will not be repeated below.

[0208] The 802.11ax standard supports a maximum transmission bandwidth of 160MHz, while the 802.11be standard supports a maximum transmission bandwidth of 320MHz. The trigger frame of the 802.11ax standard cannot trigger the first station to perform uplink transmission in a larger bandwidth (for example, 240MHz, 320MHz). Therefore, the present application provides a trigger frame to enable the first station to trigger uplink transmission in a larger bandwidth. In addition, in order to support hybrid transmission of the first station and the second station, the trigger frame provided by the present application can maintain a certain compatibility with the trigger frame of the 802.11ax standard.

[0209] The frame format of the trigger frame provided by the present application and the use method will be specifically described below in combination with specific application scenarios.

[0210] As shown in FIG. 8, a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

[0211] S101, the AP generates a trigger frame.

[0212] Optionally, the trigger frame applies the type of the trigger frame under the existing 802.11ax standard. That is, the value of the trigger frame type field in the common information field of the trigger frame is one of {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}.

[0213] Optionally, the trigger frame mentioned in step S101 can also be generated by the STA. Then, the STA sends the trigger frame to the AP to trigger the AP to send a response frame.

[0214] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to support compatibility with 802.11ax, the common information field of the trigger frame provided by the present application occupies the same number of bits as the common information field of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

[0215] Optionally, the trigger frame provided by the present application can adopt one or more of the following implementation modes:

[0216] In a first implementation, as shown in FIG. 9, the user info list field of the trigger frame includes a first user info field and one or more fourth user info fields. The fourth user info field is used to trigger a station to send a response frame. The response frame can be a data frame, a management frame or a control frame. The AID subfield in the fourth user info field can have a value of an AID of an associated station, an AID (e.g., 0) used for random contention of multiple associated stations, or an AID (e.g., 2045) used for random contention of multiple unassociated stations.

[0217] Optionally, the trigger frame further includes one or more of a padding user info field and a user info field indicating unallocated resource blocks.

[0218] If the fourth user info field is located before the first user info field, part or all of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield included in the fourth user info field are located in the first 160 MHz channel. If the fourth user info field is located after the first user info field, part or all of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield included in the fourth user info field are located in the second 160 MHz channel.

[0219] Optionally, the first 160 MHz channel and the second 160 MHz channel can adopt one of the following designs, which are applicable to all embodiments of the present application.

[0220] Design 1: The first 160 MHz channel is a primary 160 MHz channel, and the second 160 MHz channel is a secondary 160 MHz channel.

[0221] Design 2: The first 160 MHz channel is a secondary 160 MHz channel, and the second 160 MHz channel is a primary 160 MHz channel.

[0222] Design 3: The first 160 MHz channel is the first 160 MHz channel in the order from low frequency to high frequency in a 320 MHz bandwidth, and the second 160 MHz channel is the second 160 MHz channel in the order from low frequency to high frequency in the 320 MHz bandwidth.

[0223] Design 4: The first 160 MHz channel is the first 160 MHz channel in the order from high frequency to low frequency in a 320 MHz bandwidth, and the second 160 MHz channel is the second 160 MHz channel in the order from high frequency to low frequency in the 320 MHz bandwidth.

[0224] The frequency domain resource can be composed of one or more RUs. In embodiments of the present application, if the frequency domain resource is composed of multiple RUs, the frequency domain resource can also be referred to as a resource block combination. Optionally, the resource block combination can be a first resource block combination, a second resource block combination, a third resource block combination, a fourth resource block combination, a fifth resource block combination, a sixth resource block combination, a seventh resource block combination, an eighth resource block combination, or a ninth resource block combination.

[0225] The first resource block combination is composed of one 26-tone RU and one 52-tone RU on a 20MHz bandwidth.

[0226] The second resource block combination is composed of one 242-tone RU and one 484-tone RU on an 80MHz bandwidth.

[0227] The third resource block combination is composed of one 484-tone RU and one 996-tone RU on a 160MHz bandwidth.

[0228] The fourth resource block combination is composed of one 242-tone RU, one 484-tone RU, and one 996-tone RU on a 160MHz bandwidth.

[0229] The fifth resource block combination is composed of one 484-tone RU and two 996-tone RUs on a 240MHz bandwidth.

[0230] The sixth resource block combination is composed of two 996-tone RUs on a 240MHz bandwidth.

[0231] The seventh resource block combination is composed of one 484-tone RU and three 996-tone RUs on a 320MHz bandwidth.

[0232] The eighth resource block combination is composed of three 996-tone RUs on a 320MHz bandwidth.

[0233] The ninth resource block combination is composed of one 106-tone RU and one 26-tone RU on a 20MHz bandwidth.

[0234] In embodiments of the present application, for ease of reference, the first resource block combination and the ninth resource block combination can be collectively referred to as a small resource block combination, and the second resource block combination to the eighth resource block combination can be collectively referred to as a large resource block combination.

[0235] It can be understood that the part or all of the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield located in the first 160MHz channel means: (1) if the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is less than or equal to the 160MHz bandwidth, all of the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is located in the first 160MHz channel; (2) if the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield spans a range greater than the 160MHz bandwidth, part of the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is located in the first 160MHz channel. For example, the frequency domain resource includes the first 996-tone RU in the primary 160MHz and the 2*996-tone RU in the secondary 160MHz.

[0236] It can be understood that the part or all of the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield located in the second 160MHz channel means: (1) if the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is less than or equal to the 160MHz bandwidth, all of the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is located in the second 160MHz channel; (2) if the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield spans a range greater than the 160MHz bandwidth, part of the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is located in the second 160MHz channel. For example, the frequency domain resource includes the first 996-tone RU in the secondary 160MHz and the 2*996-tone RU in the primary 160MHz.

[0237] Optionally, if the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field spans a range greater than the 160MHz bandwidth, it can be specified that the user information field can only be located before the first user information field; or it can be specified that the user information field can only be located after the first user information field; or it is not limited whether the user information field is located before the first user information field or after the first user information field.

[0238] In the case that the fourth user information field is the user information field corresponding to the first station, the fourth user information field can be parsed by the first station according to the 802.11be standard.

[0239] Optionally, the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field occupies 8 bits. Among them, the B0 bit in the resource block allocation subfield is used to indicate the 80MHz channel in which the resource blocks allocated by the B1-B7 bits are located. Specifically, the value of the B0 bit is 0, indicating that part or all of the frequency domain resource allocated by the B1-B7 bits is in the first 80MHz channel. The value of the B0 bit is 1, indicating that part or all of the frequency domain resource allocated by the B1-B7 bits is in the second 80MHz channel.

[0240] In another embodiment, the resource block allocation subfield of the fourth user info field further includes another bit, such as the reserved bit in FIG. 7, denoted as BS bit, which is used to indicate the 160MHz channel in which the resource blocks allocated by the B1-B7 bits are located. Specifically, the BS bit is set to 0 to indicate that part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the B1-B7 bits are within the first 160MHz channel. The BS bit is set to 1 to indicate that part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the B1-B7 bits are within the second 160MHz channel. In this case, the first user info field is not present, and the B1-B7 and BS bits occupied by the resource block allocation subfield can be used to indicate any one of the resource blocks, or combination of resource blocks, within the maximum bandwidth 320MHz.

[0241] It is worth noting that the designed resource block subfield of the present application can be applied to the trigger frame for scheduling single-user transmission, and also can be applied to the trigger frame for MU-MIMO transmission with full bandwidth or full bandwidth puncturing.

[0242] Optionally, the trigger frame provided by the present application can not include the first user info field, and includes the fourth user info field. Further, the trigger frame can further include the third user info field mentioned below.

[0243] Optionally, the first 80MHz channel and the second 80MHz channel can adopt one of the following designs, which are applied to all embodiments of the present application:

[0244] Design 1: The first 80MHz channel is the primary 80MHz channel, and the second 80MHz channel is the secondary 80MHz channel.

[0245] Design 2: The first 80MHz channel is the secondary 80MHz channel, and the second 80MHz channel is the primary 80MHz channel.

[0246] Design 3: The first 80MHz channel is the first 80MHz channel in the order from low frequency to high frequency in the 160MHz bandwidth, and the second 80MHz channel is the second 80MHz channel in the order from low frequency to high frequency in the 160MHz bandwidth.

[0247] Design 4: The first 80MHz channel is the first 80MHz channel in the order from high frequency to low frequency in the 160MHz bandwidth, and the second 80MHz channel is the second 80MHz channel in the order from high frequency to low frequency in the 160MHz bandwidth.

[0248] Optionally, the encoding of the B1-B7 bits of the resource block allocation subfield can refer to Table 6. In Table 6, the first row is used to represent the value of the B1-B7 bits, the second row is used to indicate the uplink bandwidth, the third row is used to indicate the bandwidth size of the frequency domain resource indicated by the B1-B7 bits, and the fourth row is used to indicate the number of the frequency domain resource indicated by the B1-B7 bits. It can be understood that Table 6 is only an example, and the encoding of the B1-B7 bits in the resource block allocation subfield can also have other implementation manners.

[0249] Table 6

[0250]

[0251]

[0252] As shown in FIG. 2, the 80MHz channel under the 802.11be standard can support 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs, 484-tone RUs, and 996-tone RUs. For example, when FIG. 2 is placed vertically, the leftmost side of FIG. 2 can be regarded as the lowest frequency, and the rightmost side of FIG. 2 can be regarded as the highest frequency. The 26-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right as RU1 to RU36, respectively; the 52-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right as RU1 to RU16, respectively; the 106-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right as RU1 to RU8, respectively; the 242-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right as RU1 to RU4, respectively; the 484-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right as RU1 and RU2, respectively; and the 996-tone RUs in the 80MHz channel can be numbered from left to right as RU1, respectively. The above numbering can also be numbered from high frequency to low frequency.

[0253] In the embodiments of the present application, the 80MHz channel can be divided into a first 20MHz channel, a second 20MHz channel, a third 20MHz channel and a fourth 20MHz channel in the order from low frequency to high frequency (or from high frequency to low frequency). The small resource block combination allocated to one station in the 20MHz frequency band includes one 26-tone RU and one 52-tone RU. The small resource block combination also includes one 106-tone RU and one 26-tone RU. For example, FIG. 10, FIG. 14, FIG. 18 and FIG. 22 show the small resource block combination that can exist in the first 20MHz channel; FIG. 11, FIG. 15, FIG. 19 and FIG. 23 show the small resource block combination that can exist in the second 20MHz channel; FIG. 12, FIG. 16, FIG. 20 and FIG. 24 show the small resource block combination that can exist in the third 20MHz channel; and FIG. 13, FIG. 17, FIG. 21 and FIG. 25 show the small resource block combination that can exist in the fourth 20MHz channel.

[0254] As shown in FIG. 26-FIG. 29, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in the 80MHz frequency band includes one 242-tone RU and one 484-tone RU.

[0255] As shown in FIG. 30-FIG. 33, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in the 160MHz frequency band includes one 484-tone RU and one 996-tone RU. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 34-FIG. 41, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in the 160MHz frequency band includes one 242-tone RU, one 484-tone RU and one 996-tone RU. As shown in FIG. 42-FIG. 47, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in the 240MHz frequency band includes one 484-tone RU and two 996-tone RUs. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 48-FIG. 50, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in the 240MHz frequency band includes two 996-tone RUs. Alternatively, the above two 996-tone RUs can be replaced by one 2*996-tone RU. Alternatively, the 240MHz frequency band can be in the 320MHz bandwidth.

[0256] As shown in FIGS. 51-58, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in a 320MHz band includes one 484-tone RU and three 996-tone RUs. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 59-62, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in a 320MHz band includes three 996-tone RUs. Alternatively, the three 996-tone RUs can be replaced by one 3*996-tone RU. Alternatively, the three 996-tone RUs can be replaced by one 2*996-tone RU and one 996-tone RU.

[0257] The above embodiments can also be:

[0258] As shown in FIGS. 30-33, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in a 160MHz band includes one 484-tone RU and one 996-tone RU, and the specific 160MHz band can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS bits, in which case there are four 996+484 resource block combinations, and the 484 resource blocks of the 996+484 resource block combination can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield B0 bits, in which case the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 only need to indicate two 996+484 resource block combinations, such as FIGS. 30 and 32, or FIGS. 31 and 33.

[0259] As shown in FIGS. 34-41, the large resource block combination allocated to one station in a 160MHz band includes one 242-tone RU, one 484-tone RU and one 996-tone RU, and the specific 160MHz band can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS bits, in which case there are eight 996+484+242 resource block combinations, and the 242 resource blocks of the 996+484+242 resource block combination can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield B0 bits, in which case the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 only need to indicate four 996+484+242 resource block combinations. Such as FIGS. 34, 35, 36 and 37, or FIGS. 38, 39, 40 or 41.

[0260] As shown in FIGS. 51-58, the large resource block combinations allocated to a station within a 320MHz band includes one 484-tone RU and three 996-tone RUs, in which case there are 8 combinations of 3*996+484 resource blocks, which can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS and B0 bits to indicate the 484 resource blocks within an 80MHz of the 320MHz, in which case then the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 only need to indicate 2 of the 3*996+484 resource block combinations, such as FIGS. 51 and 52, or FIGS. 53 and 54, or FIGS. 55 and 56, or FIGS. 57 and 58.

[0261] As shown in FIGS. 59-62, the large resource block combinations allocated to a station within a 320MHz band includes three 996-tone RUs. In this case, there are 4 combinations of 3*996 resource blocks, which can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS and B0 bits to indicate the 996 resource blocks within an 80MHz of the 320MHz, in which case based on the resource block spectrum division the 996 resource blocks cannot be combined with other 996 resource blocks to form a 2*996 resource block, in which case then the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 only need to indicate 1 of the 3*996 resource block combinations, such as FIG. 59, or FIG. 60, or FIG. 61, or FIG. 62.

[0262] As shown in FIGS. 70-81, the large resource block combinations allocated to a station within a 320MHz band includes two 996-tone RUs and one 484 resource block. In this case, there are 12 combinations of 2*996+484 resource blocks, which can be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS and B0 bits to indicate the 484 resource blocks within an 80MHz of the 320MHz, in which case then the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 only need to indicate 4 of the 2*996+484 resource block combinations, such as FIGS. 70, 71, 76 and 77, or FIGS. 72, 73, 78 and 79, or FIGS. 74, 75, 78 and 79.

[0263] As shown in FIGS. 10-17 and 82-85, the large resource block combinations allocated to a station within an 80MHz band includes one 52-tone RU and one 26-tone resource block. In this case, there are 12 combinations of 52+26 resource blocks, in which case the 80MHz band needs to be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS and B0 bits, in which case then the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 need to indicate 12 of the 52+26 resource block combinations.

[0264] As shown in FIGS. 18-25, the resource block combination of a large resource block group given to one station in an 80MHz frequency band includes one 106-tone RU and one 26-tone resource block. At this time, the 106+26 resource block combination has 8 kinds, and the 80MHz frequency band needs to be indicated by the resource block allocation subfield BS and B0 bits. At this time, the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 need to indicate 8 kinds of 106+26 resource block combinations.

[0265] Further, the above method can summarize the resource block allocation subfields B1-B7 into a 7-bit table (table B7-B1 is recorded in the table): the information indicated by B1-B7 can be seen from the following description.

[0266] The following further introduces the advantages of the master-slave position indication method: the two bits in the master-slave indication method are represented by BS and B0 (other letters can also be used, such as B0B1 in the foregoing embodiment, which is only an example here), where B can be understood as a bit, and S can be understood as a 160MHz segment. BS here represents the master 160MHz or the slave 160MHz, and B0 represents the 80MHz with a lower frequency and the 80MHz with a higher frequency in the P160MHz, and B0 represents the 80MHz with a lower frequency and the 80MHz with a higher frequency in the S160MHz.

[0267] The embodiment of the present application provides the design of the corresponding relationship in Table 7(1) as follows. Table 7(1), 2 bits indicate 4 kinds of master-slave cases (a, b, c, d) of the position of the master 80MHz in 320MHz, and 2 bits indicate the 80MHz at the absolute frequency. The absolute frequency here is the absolute position of a certain 80MHz in the entire 320MHz bandwidth. Case a is consistent with the position distribution of the absolute frequency, that is, the master 80MHz is on the lowest 80MHz of the absolute frequency, in Case b, the master 80MHz is on the second-lowest 80MHz of the absolute frequency, in Case c, the master 80MHz is on the second-highest 80MHz of the absolute frequency, and in Case d, the master 80MHz is on the highest 80MHz of the absolute frequency. Each row in Table 7(1) represents the value of the 80MHz at the absolute frequency indicated under the corresponding four master-slave distribution cases, such as the first row: 00 of the absolute frequency corresponds to a0, b1, c2, and d2 (that is, when the value of Case a is 00, it corresponds to the position 00, when the value of Case b is 01, it corresponds to the absolute position 00, when the value of Case c is 10, it corresponds to the absolute position 00, and when the value of Case d is 10, it corresponds to the absolute position 00). It should be noted that the values of the two bits and their meanings are only examples, and other corresponding relationships can also be implemented in specific implementations, but there is a mapping relationship between the master-slave distribution cases and the values of the 80MHz at the absolute frequency.

[0268] Thus at the receiving end device, in the case that it is known which Case it is, such as Case c, when the received two-bit indication is c3 (11), it only needs to correspond c3 to 01 in the absolute position, and then combine the aforementioned 7-bit resource unit indication to look up Table 4 to know the final allocated RU / MRU. It is equivalent to the receiving end device having an operation of converting from the relative position to the absolute position. The receiving end device here can be a non-AP STA.

[0269] The 2-bit correspondence table of the master-slave indication and the absolute frequency indication 7 (1) is shown as follows:

[0270] Table 7 (1)

[0271]

[0272] Explanation: BS and B0 here can indicate the 80MHz in which the smallest RU in the MRU or RU is located, using the master-slave position indication method. For example, 3*996 is composed of 2*996+996, which can indicate the position of the 80MHz in which 996 is located; for example, 3*996+484, which can indicate the position of the 80MHz in which 484 is located.

[0273] The present application embodiment further provides specific indications of B1-B7, which are shown in Table 7 (2) below.

[0274] Table 7 (2)

[0275]

[0276]

[0277]

[0278]

[0279] Optionally, the above Table 7 (2) can be designed as four tables. According to the correspondence relationship of Table 7 (1) above, Table 7 (2) can also be divided into the following four tables, namely Table 7 (2a), Table 7 (2b), Table 7 (2c), and Table 7 (2d), which only contain case a or case b or case c or case d, and one table does not need to involve the BS and B0 indications of other cases.

[0280] When it is Case a, the following Table 7 (2a) is read:

[0281] Table 7 (2a)

[0282]

[0283]

[0284]

[0285]

[0286] When Case b, the following Table 7 (2b) is used:

[0287]

[0288]

[0289]

[0290]

[0291] When Case c, the following Table 7 (2c) is used:

[0292] Table 7 (2c)

[0293]

[0294]

[0295]

[0296]

[0297] When Case d, the following Table 7 (2d) is used:

[0298] Table 7 (2d)

[0299]

[0300]

[0301]

[0302]

[0303] The embodiments of the present application further provide a 2-bit position indication + 7-bit table indication method.

[0304] This is another technical solution for implementing RU allocation subfield table indication, i.e., only using a 7-bit table indication method to indicate specific RUs / MRUs in the 80MHz position determined by bits BS, B0. Taking 3*996+484 as an example, when the 7-bit indication is 105 (B7-B1), there are four MRU cases as follows:

[0305] - MRU1 : RU2(484T) + RU2(996T) + RU2(2x996T)

[0306] - MRU3 : RU4(484T) + RU1(996T) + RU2(2x996T)

[0307] - MRU5 : RU6(484T) + RU4(996T) + RU1(2x996T)

[0308] - MRU7 : RU8(484T) + RU3(996T) + RU1(2x996T)

[0309] According to the 2 bits of BS, B0, it can be determined to select MRU1 or MRU3 or MRU5 or MRU7. That is, the idea of the method is to determine a specific MRU in a RU / MRU set corresponding to a given 7-bit value of BS, B0.

[0310] It should be noted that MRUx or RUx corresponding to the resource unit size can represent a specific RU / MRU position.

[0311] The 2 bits of BS-B0 use the master-slave position indication method, where the 2 bits of indication can indicate the position of a minimum RU in the 80MHz. As shown in Table 7(3):

[0312] Table 7(3)

[0313]

[0314]

[0315]

[0316]

[0317] The meaning of MRU in the above table can be seen from the appendix MRU index as shown in Table 7(4a) and Table 7(4b).

[0318] MRU Index, that is, MRU index, note that MRU index does not represent the value obtained by 7 bits or 9 bits in the resource unit allocation subfield, but can be understood as MRU pattern, as shown in the following Table 7(4a) and Table 7(4b) are MRU index for 160MHz and 320MHz:

[0319] Table 7(4a)

[0320]

[0321] Table 7(4b)

[0322]

[0323]

[0324] It should be understood that the mapping relationship between the index and the RU / MRU involved in the above Table 7(1), Table 7(2), Table 7(2a), Table 7(2b), Table 7(2c), Table 7(2d), Table 7(3), Table 7(4a), Table 7(4b) and the like provided in the embodiments of the present application is only illustrative, and in specific implementation, other table forms can be derived based on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, and all of them belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0325] The AID subfield included in the first user information field has a first preset value. The first preset value can be 2046, 4095, or a reserved value. The reserved value can be any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2047 to 4094.

[0326] In a possible design, the first preset value is a reserved value, for example, 2044, and in this case, the remaining bits in the first user information field except the AID subfield are not used.

[0327] In another possible design, the first preset value is 4095, and there are two ways as follows:

[0328] In the first way, the first user information field can include a first indication subfield, and the first indication subfield has a first value. In this case, the remaining bits in the first user information field except the AID subfield and the first indication subfield are not used.

[0329] It can be understood that, in the prior art, the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095 is defined as a field for filling the trigger frame. However, the present application further defines that the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095 can also be used as the first user information field. Therefore, in order to avoid the confusion of the first station about the function of the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095, the present application proposes the following solution: the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095 includes a first indication subfield, and the first indication subfield is used to indicate the function of the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095. Specifically, if the first indication subfield has a first value, for example, 0, the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095 is a user information field for filling the trigger frame; if the first indication subfield has a second value, for example, 1, the user information field with the AID subfield having the value of 4095 is the first user information field.

[0330] The second station can consider the first user information field as a user information field used for padding the trigger frame. That is, after the second station reads the first user information field, the second station will not parse the user information field after the first user information field, so that the second station can reduce energy consumption.

[0331] In the case that the first preset value is 4095 and the first user information field adopts the design 1, the second station can consider the first user information field as a user information field used for padding the trigger frame. That is, after the second station reads the first user information field, the second station will not parse the user information field after the first user information field, so that the second station can reduce energy consumption.

[0332] In another possible design, the first preset value is 2046, and the first user information field can include a second indication subfield, and the second indication subfield has a third value. The second indication subfield can reuse the resource block allocation subfield, and the third value is a reserved value of the resource block allocation subfield in the prior art, that is, the third value can be any integer value from 121 to 127. For example, the third value can be 127. In this case, the remaining bits in the first user information field except the AID subfield and the second indication subfield are not used.

[0333] It can be understood that, in the prior art, the user information field with the AID subfield value of 2046 is defined as a user information field used for indicating unallocated resource blocks. However, the present application defines that the user information field with the AID subfield value of 2046 can be the first user information field. Therefore, in order to avoid the first station confusing the function of the user information field with the AID subfield value of 4095, the present application proposes the following solution: the user information field with the AID subfield value of 2046 includes a second indication subfield, and the second indication subfield is used for indicating the function of the user information field with the AID subfield value of 2046. Specifically, the second indication subfield has a third value, and the second indication subfield is used for indicating that the user information field with the AID subfield value of 2046 is the first user information field. The second indication subfield has a value other than the third value, and the second indication subfield is used for indicating that the user information field with the AID subfield value of 2046 is a user information field used for indicating unallocated resource blocks.

[0334] If the second indication subfield reuses the resource block allocation subfield, when the resource block allocation subfield has a value other than the third value, the resource block allocation subfield is used for indicating the frequency domain resource in the corresponding bandwidth.

[0335] The resource allocation subfield of the fourth user information field can be used to indicate the resource allocation indication subfield in the user information field of the unallocated resource block.

[0336] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of bits occupied by the first user information field is the same as the number of bits occupied by the user information field corresponding to the second station under the 802.11ax standard.

[0337] In the embodiments of the present application, if the trigger frame also includes the user information field corresponding to the second station, the second station can parse the user information field corresponding to itself according to the rules defined in the 802.11ax standard.

[0338] The maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11ax standard is 160MHz, and the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11be standard is 320MHz. In the case of an uplink bandwidth of 320MHz, the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field of the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard cannot accurately indicate which 160MHz frequency domain the resource block is in on the 320MHz bandwidth. In order to solve this problem, the prior art proposes to add one bit to the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field of the trigger frame. The added bit is used to indicate the 160MHz frequency domain where the resource block is located. However, adding bits to the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field means increasing the bits of the user information field, thereby changing the frame structure of the trigger frame. The modified trigger frame does not have compatibility with the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard. The second station cannot correctly parse the modified trigger frame, resulting in the modified trigger frame being unable to trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission. Therefore, how to ensure that the trigger frame can allocate resource blocks to the first station on the 320MHz channel and ensure that the trigger frame can normally trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission is a problem that needs to be solved in the industry.

[0339] The trigger frame adopts the above implementation manner one, which can solve this technical problem. Specifically, on the one hand, since the user information list field of the trigger frame includes the first user information field, and the first user information field can be used to determine which 160MHz frequency domain the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource block allocation subfield in the other user information field is located in, thereby achieving the purpose of the trigger frame allocating resource blocks to the first station on the 320MHz frequency domain. On the other hand, the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field does not need to add one bit, which ensures that the trigger frame provided by the present application can maintain compatibility with the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard.

[0340] Optionally, as shown in FIG. 63, the user info list field of the trigger frame can further include a second user info field. In the user info list field, the second user info field is located before the first user info field. If a fourth user info field is located before the first user info field and after the second user info field, part or all of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield included in the fourth user info field is located in the first 160MHz channel. If the fourth user info field is located after the first user info field, part or all of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield included in the fourth user info field is located in the second 160MHz channel.

[0341] Optionally, the AID subfield included in the second user info field has a second preset value. The second preset value is different from the first preset value. The second preset value can be a reserved value. The reserved value can be any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2047 to 4094.

[0342] In the embodiments of the present application, the second user info field occupies the same number of bits as the user info field corresponding to the second station under the 802.11ax standard. The remaining bits in the second user info field except the AID subfield are not used.

[0343] Implementation manner two, as shown in FIG. 64, the user info list field of the trigger frame includes a third user info field. The third user info field carries common information of the first station. Alternatively, the third user info field contains common information that needs to be read by the first station. The common information is used to support the first station to implement data transmission under a larger bandwidth (greater than 160MHz bandwidth).

[0344] Optionally, the third user info field includes one or more of the following:

[0345] (1) A first subfield. The first subfield is used to indicate an uplink bandwidth in combination with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info subfield of the trigger frame. The uplink bandwidth is the transmission bandwidth of the uplink PPDU.

[0346] In an optional design, the first subfield occupies 1 bit in the third user info field. In this case, the first subfield indicates the uplink bandwidth in combination with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common info subfield of the trigger frame, which can be specifically implemented as:

[0347] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 0, the first subfield is a reserved value, and the uplink bandwidth is 20MHz;

[0348] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 1, the first subfield is a reserved value, and the uplink bandwidth is 40MHz;

[0349] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 2, the first subfield is a reserved value, and the uplink bandwidth is 80MHz;

[0350] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3, and the value of the first subfield is a fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160MHz.

[0351] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3, and the value of the first subfield is a fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320MHz.

[0352] The fourth value is 0, and the fifth value is 1. Alternatively, the fourth value is 1, and the fifth value is 0.

[0353] In another alternative design, the first subfield occupies 2 bits in the third user information field. In this case, the first subfield jointly triggers the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information sub-section of the frame to indicate the uplink bandwidth, which can be specifically implemented as:

[0354] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 0, the first subfield is a reserved value, and the uplink bandwidth is 20MHz;

[0355] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 1, the first subfield is a reserved value, and the uplink bandwidth is 40MHz;

[0356] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 2, the first subfield is a reserved value, and the uplink bandwidth is 80MHz;

[0357] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3, and the value of the first subfield is a sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160MHz.

[0358] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3, and the value of the first subfield is a seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240MHz.

[0359] When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3, and the value of the first subfield is an eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320MHz.

[0360] The sixth value, the seventh value, and the eighth value are all different from each other. The sixth value, the seventh value, and the eighth value can be selected from the set {0, 1, 2, 3}. For example, the third value is 0, the fourth value is 1, and the fifth value is 2.

[0361] Alternatively, the first subfield can have other names, such as an uplink bandwidth extension field, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0362] (2) The second subfield is used to indicate a puncturing pattern. It can be understood that the puncturing pattern is used to determine the punctured subchannels and the non-punctured subchannels in the 320MHz channel. The punctured subchannels will not transmit signals, including the preamble and the data field. Optionally, the bandwidth granularity of the subchannels can be 20MHz.

[0363] In a possible design, the second subfield includes an index of the puncturing pattern. In other words, the value of the second subfield is the index of the puncturing pattern.

[0364] It can be understood that the protocol can predefine M puncturing patterns, which are in one-to-one correspondence with M values of the second subfield, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Therefore, the first station can determine the corresponding puncturing pattern through the value of the second subfield.

[0365] In another possible design, the second subfield includes a bitmap. The bitmap includes K bits, where K is an integer greater than 1. The K bits are in one-to-one correspondence with (320 / K) subchannels in the 320MHz channel, and the value of the bit is used to indicate whether the (320 / K) subchannel corresponding to the bit is punctured.

[0366] For example, the bitmap included in the second subfield occupies 16 bits. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to a 20MHz subchannel in the 320MHz channel. The value of the bit is 0, indicating that the 20MHz subchannel corresponding to the bit is punctured; and the value of the bit is 1, indicating that the 20MHz subchannel corresponding to the bit is not punctured.

[0367] Optionally, the second subfield can have other names, such as a preamble puncturing indication field, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0368] (3) The third subfield is used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on one or more frequency segments in the uplink bandwidth.

[0369] It can be understood that the second station can only send an HE PPDU. The first station can send an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU.

[0370] Design I, if it is defined that only the primary 160 MHz channel can be used to transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 80 MHz, the third subfield can occupy 2 bits, the first bit of the two bits corresponds to the first 80 MHz channel, and the second bit corresponds to the second 80 MHz channel. The value of the first bit is used to indicate whether the first 80 MHz channel in the primary 160 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU. The value of the second bit is used to indicate whether the second 80 MHz channel in the primary 160 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU.

[0371] The definitions of the first 80 MHz and the second 80 MHz can refer to the above, and will not be repeated here.

[0372] For example, the value of the first bit is 0, indicating that the first 80 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU; the value of the first bit is 1, indicating that the first 80 MHz transmits an EHT PPDU.

[0373] Alternatively, the value of the first bit is 0, indicating that the first 80 MHz channel transmits an EHT PPDU; the value of the first bit is 1, indicating that the first 80 MHz transmits an HE PPDU.

[0374] For example, the value of the first bit is 0, indicating that the first 80 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU; the value of the first bit is 1, indicating that the first 80 MHz transmits an EHT PPDU.

[0375] Design II, if it is defined that only the primary 160 MHz channel can be used to transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 160 MHz, the third subfield can occupy 1 bit, which is used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU in the primary 160 MHz.

[0376] Design III, if it is defined that only the primary 160 MHz channel can be used to transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 20 MHz, the third subfield can occupy 8 bits, which correspond to 8 20 MHz channels in the primary 160 MHz channel one by one. The value of each bit is used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on the 20 MHz channel corresponding to the bit.

[0377] Based on the above design one to design three, the first station can default to transmit EHT PPDU on the 160MHz channel.

[0378] Design four, if 320MHz channel can be used to mix HE PPDU and EHT PPDU, and the bandwidth granularity of uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 80MHz, the third subfield can occupy 4 bits. The 4 bits correspond to the 4 80MHz channels under the 320MHz bandwidth one by one. The value of each bit is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDU or EHT PPDU on the 80MHz channel corresponding to the bit. It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320MHz, the bits corresponding to the 80MHz channels not within the uplink bandwidth can be ignored or not used.

[0379] Design six, if 320MHz channel can be used to mix HE PPDU and EHT PPDU, and the bandwidth granularity of uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 160MHz, the third subfield can occupy 2 bits. The 2 bits correspond to the 2 160MHz channels under the 320MHz bandwidth one by one. The value of each bit is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDU or EHT PPDU on the 160MHz channel corresponding to the bit. It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320MHz, the bits corresponding to the 160MHz channels not within the uplink bandwidth can be ignored or not used.

[0380] Design five, if 320MHz channel can be used to mix HE PPDU and EHT PPDU, and the bandwidth granularity of uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 20MHz, the third subfield can occupy 16 bits, and the 16 bits correspond to the 16 20MHz channels under the 320MHz bandwidth one by one. The value of each bit is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDU or EHT PPDU on the 20MHz channel corresponding to the bit. It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320MHz, the bits corresponding to the 20MHz channels not within the uplink bandwidth can be ignored or not used.

[0381] It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320MHz, the bits corresponding to the 20MHz channels not within the uplink bandwidth can be ignored or not used.

[0382] Design seven,

[0383] 1) If it is defined that only the primary 160 MHz channel can be used to mix transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 80 MHz, the third subfield can include 2 PHY PPDU version fields, the first of which corresponds to the first 80 MHz channel, and the second of which corresponds to the second 80 MHz channel. The first PHY PPDU version field takes a value to indicate whether the first 80 MHz channel within the primary 160 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU, an EHT PPDU, or other next-generation type of PPDU. The value of the PHY PPDU version field indicates whether the second 80 MHz channel within the primary 160 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU, an EHT PPDU, or other next-generation PPDU. Where the next-generation type of PPDU is not yet determined, the value of the corresponding field is reserved.

[0384] The definitions of the first 80 MHz and the second 80 MHz can refer to the above and will not be repeated here.

[0385] For example, the first PHY PPDU version field is 3 bits, and the value 0 (binary 000) indicates that the first 80 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU; the value 1 (binary 001) of the first bit indicates that the first 80 MHz transmits an EHT PPDU.

[0386] Alternatively, the value of the first PHY PPDU version field is 0, indicating that the first 80 MHz channel transmits an EHT PPDU; the value of the first bit is 7, indicating that the first 80 MHz transmits an HE PPDU.

[0387] For example, the first PHY PPDU version field is 3 bits, and the value 0 (binary 000) indicates that the first 80 MHz channel transmits an HE PPDU; the value 1 (binary 001) of the first bit indicates that the first 80 MHz transmits an EHT PPDU.

[0388] 2) If it is defined that only the primary 160 MHz channel can be used to mix transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 160 MHz, the third subfield can include 1 PHY PPDU version field, which is used to indicate whether the first station transmits an HE PPDU, an EHT PPDU, or other next-generation PPDU within the primary 160 MHz.

[0389] 3) If only the primary 160 MHz channel can be used to mix transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 20 MHz, the third subfield can include 8 PHY PPDU version fields, which one-to-one correspond to the 8 20 MHz channels within the primary 160 MHz channel. The value of each PHY PPDU version field is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs, EHT PPDUs, or other next generation PPDUs on the 20 MHz channel corresponding to the PHY PPDU version field.

[0390] Based on the above 1) to 3), the first station can default to transmit EHT PPDUs on the 160 MHz channel.

[0391] 4) If all the 320 MHz channels can be used to mix transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 80 MHz, the third subfield can include 4 PHY PPDU version fields. The 4 PHY PPDU version fields one-to-one correspond to the 4 80 MHz channels under the 320 MHz bandwidth. The value of each PHY PPDU version field is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs, EHT PPDUs, or next generation PPDUs on the 80 MHz channel corresponding to the PHY PPDU version field. It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320 MHz, the PHY PPDU version field corresponding to the 80 MHz channel not within the uplink bandwidth can be ignored / omitted or not used.

[0392] 6) If all the 320 MHz channels can be used to mix transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 160 MHz, the third subfield can include 2 PHY PPDU version fields. The 2 PHY PPDU version fields one-to-one correspond to the 2 160 MHz channels under the 320 MHz bandwidth. The value of each PHY PPDU version field is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs, EHT PPDUs, or next generation PPDUs on the 160 MHz channel corresponding to the PHY PPDU version field. It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320 MHz, the PHY PPDU version field corresponding to the 160 MHz channel not within the uplink bandwidth can be ignored / omitted or not used.

[0393] 5) If all 320MHz channels can be used to mix transmit HE PPDUs and EHT PPDUs, and the bandwidth granularity of the uplink sub-PPDU transmission is 20MHz, the third subfield can include 16 PHY PPDU version fields, which one-to-one correspond to the 16 20MHz channels under the 320MHz bandwidth. The value of each PHY PPDU version field is used to indicate whether the first station transmits HE PPDUs, EHT PPDUs or next generation PPDUs on the 20MHz channel corresponding to the PHY PPDU version field. It can be understood that if the uplink bandwidth is less than 320MHz, the PHY PPDU version field corresponding to the 20MHz channel outside the uplink bandwidth can be ignored / omitted or not used.

[0394] Devices of 802.11be can be divided into a first version and a second version. In order to implement the first version of the station simply, it is proposed that the first version of the EHT AP does not support sending a mixed scheduling trigger frame, that is, the uplink PPDU scheduled by the trigger frame is an uplink HE PPDU (or referred to as an HE TB (trigger based) PPDU) or an uplink EHT TB PPDU (or referred to as an EHT TB (trigger based) PPDU), but not a mixed PPDU or an aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU) thereof. The second version of the EHT AP supports sending a mixed scheduling trigger frame, that is, the uplink PPDU scheduled by the trigger frame can be an aggregated PPDU (A-PPDU), can be the above-mentioned uplink HE PPDU, or can be the above-mentioned uplink EHT PPDU.

[0395] In the first version of the 802.11be standard:

[0396] If the uplink PPDU scheduled by the trigger frame is an uplink HE PPDU, the third subfield in the trigger frame indicates that all frequency segments are used to transmit uplink HE PPDUs. For example, in design one, the 2 bits in the third subfield are set to “00” (where 0 represents an uplink HE PPDU and 1 represents an uplink EHT PPDU), indicating that the first station transmits uplink HE PPDUs in the main 160MHz; for example, in design two, the 1 bit in the third subfield is set to “0” (where 0 represents an uplink HE PPDU and 1 represents an uplink EHT PPDU), indicating that the first station transmits uplink HE PPDUs in the main 160MHz.

[0397] If the uplink PPDU scheduled by the trigger frame is an uplink EHT PPDU, the third subfield needs to be set to the value of transmitting an uplink EHT PPDU on all frequency segments, and in addition, the trigger frame cannot include the user info field of the HE station at this time (that is, schedule the HE station to transmit an uplink HE PPDU, avoid the uplink PPDU being an A-PPDU). For example, in design one, the 2 bits in the third subfield are set to "11" (where 0 represents an uplink HE PPDU and 1 represents an uplink EHT PPDU), indicating that the first station transmits an uplink EHT PPDU in the primary 160 MHz; for example, in design two, the 1 bit in the third subfield is set to "1" (where 0 represents an uplink HE PPDU and 1 represents an uplink EHT PPDU), indicating that the first station transmits an uplink EHT PPDU in the primary 160 MHz.

[0398] In the second version of the 802.11be standard, the uplink PPDU scheduled by the trigger frame can be an uplink HE PPDU, an uplink EHT PPDU, or an A-PPDU, and at this time the third subfield in the trigger frame can be set to any value and does not need to be limited.

[0399] On the station side, the first station determines whether it is an uplink HE PPDU or an uplink EHT PPDU according to the resource allocation subfield in the user info field matching its AID in the received trigger frame and the third subfield, where the resource block allocation subfield determines the frequency segment where the resource block / multi-resource block combination allocated to the first station is located, and the resource block allocation subfield includes 9 bits, specifically BS bits, B0 bits, and other 7 bits.

[0400] Consider the existing 160MHz 802.11ax station or 802.11ac station may combine the legacy preamble on each 20MHz of 160MHz, such as L-SIG field, or may combine the duplicated transmission of non-legacy preamble on each 20MHz of 160MHz, such as HE-SIG-A field in 802.11ax, or VHT-SIG-A field in 802.11ac, propose that the uplink PPDU of primary 160MHz transmission does not allow mixed transmission, otherwise it will cause the preamble to be incorrectly received by the 802.11ax station or 802.11ac station supporting 160MHz. At this time, the size of the third subfield frequency segmentation (bandwidth granularity of uplink sub-PPDU transmission) needs to be 160MHz, that is, corresponding to the above design two, six, and seven (2) and (6). Further, the first station determines whether to transmit an uplink HE PPDU or an uplink EHT PPDU according to the BS bit in the resource allocation subfield in the user information field matching its AID in the received trigger frame and the third subfield, wherein the BS bit is used to indicate the primary 160MHz or the secondary 160MHz. Specifically, the BS bit is:

[0401] (I) If the BS bit in the resource block allocation subfield is "0", that is, the primary 160MHz, the first station determines which uplink PPDU to transmit according to the value of the bit in the third subfield, such as the 1 bit in the third subfield is set to "1" (where 0 indicates an uplink HE PPDU and 1 indicates an uplink EHT PPDU), the first station transmits an uplink EHT PPDU; for example, the 1 bit in the third subfield is set to "0" (where 0 indicates an uplink HE PPDU and 1 indicates an uplink HE PPDU), the first station transmits an uplink HE PPDU.

[0402] (II) If the BS bit in the resource block allocation subfield is "1", that is, the secondary 160MHz, the first station transmits an uplink EHT PPDU. It is worth noting that the uplink HE PPDU is limited to transmission on the primary 160MHz, and is also to be compatible with the transmission capability of the existing HE station - that is, only on the primary 160MHz.

[0403] The BS bit can also be used to indicate the primary 160 MHz or the secondary 160 MHz when the resource block / multiple resource block combination size indicated by the resource allocation subfield (9 bits) is less than or equal to 160 MHz. The BS bit can no longer be used to indicate the primary 160 MHz or the secondary 160 MHz when the resource block / multiple resource block combination size indicated by the resource allocation subfield (9 bits) is greater than 160 MHz. In this case, the BS bit can be combined with the B0 bit of the resource allocation subfield, and optionally, one or more other bits of the resource allocation subfield can be used to indicate the allocated resource block / multiple resource block combination, including the multiple resource block combinations in FIG. 7(4b) and the 4*996 subcarrier resource block.

[0404] In case (1), the first station determines which uplink PPDU (the type of uplink PPDU, including uplink HE PPDU and uplink EHT PPDU) to transmit by the description of (I) and (II) above.

[0405] In case (2), considering that only EHT PPDU supports transmission on resource block / multiple resource block combination greater than 160 MHz (uplink HE PPDU does not support transmission on resource block / multiple resource block combination greater than 160 MHz), the first station transmits uplink EHT PPDU on the allocated resource block / multiple resource block combination at this time. However, the first station needs to determine whether the size of the allocated resource block / multiple resource block combination is greater than 160 MHz by the resource block allocation subfield, including the BS bit, the B0 bit, and one or more bits in the other 7 bits, that is, to distinguish between case (1) and case (2), to determine which uplink PPDU to transmit according to the method in case (1) and case (2).

[0406] In order to facilitate the first station to simply determine the type of uplink PPDU to be transmitted, the first station determines whether it is an uplink HE PPDU or an uplink EHT PPDU according to the BS bit in the resource allocation subfield and the third subfield in the user information field matching its AID in the received trigger frame, without distinguishing between case (1) and case (2). Specifically:

[0407] In case (1), the first station still determines the type of uplink PPDU to be transmitted by the description of (I) and (II) above.

[0408] In case (2), considering that the BS bit can indicate that the allocated resource block / multi-resource block combination must include the resource block of the main 160MHz within the 320MHz bandwidth, when the BS bit is "0", the first station can further determine the transmission uplink PPDU type according to the bits of the third subfield in design two, which conforms to the description of (I); if the BS bit is "1", the size of the allocated resource block is greater than 160MHz, the first station transmits the uplink EHT PPDU, which conforms to the description of (II). That is, in this case, the first station still determines the type of the transmitted uplink PPDU according to the descriptions of (I) and (II) above.

[0409] Therefore, without distinguishing between cases (1) and (2), after the first station receives the trigger frame, the type of the transmitted uplink PPDU is determined according to the descriptions of (I) and (II) above.

[0410] Optionally, the third user information field of the trigger frame can not include the third subfield. In the case where the third user information field does not include the third subfield, the station transmits the PPDU according to its latest capability. For example, the first station can transmit the EHT PPDU by default. At this time, the first station transmits the EHT PPDU, wherein the PHY version identification number field in the general field in the physical layer preamble is set to the value corresponding to the EHT PPDU, such as "0". For another example, whether the first station enhanced version transmits the uplink EHT PPDU or the uplink HE PPDU is scheduled to be transmitted, and the specific method is described in the third subfield.

[0411] Optionally, the third subfield can have other names, such as an EHT / HE indication field, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0412] In addition, after the AP sends the trigger frame, the trigger frame can include a user info field for the HE station to send the HE PPDU, and one or more of the user info fields in the EHT / HE PPDU sent by the EHT station, such as including the user info fields for scheduling the HE station and the EHT station at the same time. The stations respond to the uplink multi-user PPDU, which includes the uplink EHT PPDU (such as the EHT PPDU part in FIG. 65) physical layer preamble general field (or general signaling field) parameters are obtained from the received trigger frame, such as the uplink bandwidth. In addition, the general field of the uplink EHT PPDU includes the PHY (physical layer) version identification number, TXOP (transmit opportunity), BSS (basic service set) color, cyclic redundancy check code, tail bit, etc. The PHY version identification number field in the general field of the uplink EHT PPDU (or sub-EHT PPDU) physical layer preamble sent by the EHT station (the first station) in response to the trigger frame can be obtained from the third subfield in the trigger frame. Specifically:

[0413] 1) For the trigger frame, one of designs 1-6 is adopted. If the third subfield of the trigger frame indicates that one of the frequency segments transmits the HE PPDU, at this time the EHT station transmits the HE PPDU on the frequency segment, the physical layer preamble, such as the high-efficiency signaling field A, does not carry the PHY version identification number; if the third subfield of the trigger frame indicates that one of the frequency segments transmits the EHT PPDU, at this time the EHT station transmits the HE PPDU on the frequency segment, carries the PHY version identification number field (such as 3 bits), and the PHY version identification number field is set to the value corresponding to the EHT PPDU, such as “0”;

[0414] For example, in design 1, combined with FIG. 65, it is assumed that the bit value is 0, indicating that the HE PPDU is transmitted; the bit value is 1, indicating that the EHT PPDU is transmitted. The third subfield is 01, indicating that the first station transmits the HE PPDU on the primary 80MHz channel in the primary 160MHz, and the physical layer preamble does not include the PHY version identification number field. The first station transmits the EHT PPDU on the secondary 80MHz subchannel in the primary 160MHz, and the general field in the physical layer preamble includes the PHY version identification number field, which is set to the value corresponding to the EHT PPDU, such as “0”.

[0415] For example, in the design two, it is assumed that the bit value is 0, indicating the transmission of HE PPDU; the bit value is 1, indicating the transmission of EHT PPDU. For example, the third subfield is 0, the first station transmits HE PPDU on the main 160MHz channel, and the physical layer preamble does not include the PHY version identification number field. For example, the third subfield is 1, the first station transmits EHT PPDU on the main 160MHz channel, and the general field in the physical layer preamble includes the PHY version identification number field, and the value is set to the value corresponding to the EHT PPDU, such as "0".

[0416] 2) For the trigger frame, design seven is adopted. If the third subfield of the trigger frame carries the PHY version identification number field corresponding to each frequency segment, the EHT station transmits the PPDU type indicated by the PHY version identification number field on the frequency segment. If it is indicated as HE PPDU, the HE PPDU physical layer preamble, such as the high-efficiency signaling field A, does not carry the PHY version identification number, which is the same as 802.11ax. If it is indicated as EHT PPDU, the EHT station transmits EHT PPDU on the frequency segment at this time, directly copying the PHY version identification number field (such as 3 bits) corresponding to the frequency segment in the trigger frame, such as "0". If it is indicated as the next-generation PPDU of EHT PPDU, the next-generation EHT station transmits the next-generation PPDU of EHT on the frequency segment at this time, directly copying the PHY version identification number field (such as 3 bits) corresponding to the frequency segment in the trigger frame, such as "1".

[0417] (4) The fourth subfield. The fourth subfield is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing parameter supporting 320MHz bandwidth transmission.

[0418] Optionally, the fourth subfield can have other names, such as an uplink spatial multiplexing extension field, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0419] It can be understood that the third user information field can also carry other fields, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0420] In the embodiments of the present application, the third user information field further includes an AID subfield. The value of the AID subfield is a third preset value. The third preset value can be a reserved value of the AID subfield in the prior art. That is, the third preset value can be any one of 2008 to 2044 or 2047 to 4094.

[0421] Optionally, the third user information field can be the first user information field in the user information field list. In this way, after receiving the trigger frame, the first station can first parse the common information to be read from the third user information field, which is beneficial to reducing the processing delay of the first station.

[0422] Optionally, in the case that the first user information field and the third user information field are the same user information field, the first preset value is equal to the third preset value. Otherwise, the first preset value is not equal to the third preset value.

[0423] It can be understood that, in the case that the first user information field and the third user information field are implemented by one user information field, the bits in the user information field other than the AID subfield are used to carry the signaling required to be carried by the first user information field and the third user information field, so as to realize the functions of the first user information field and the third user information field.

[0424] Optionally, in the case that the second user information field and the third user information field are the same user information field, the second preset value is equal to the third preset value. Otherwise, the second preset value is not equal to the third preset value.

[0425] It can be understood that, in the case that the second user information field and the third user information field are implemented by one user information field, the bits in the user information field other than the AID subfield are used to carry the signaling required to be carried by the second user information field and the third user information field, so as to realize the functions of the first user information field and the third user information field.

[0426] Optionally, the third user information field can be the first user information field in the list of user information fields. In this way, after receiving the trigger frame, the first station can first parse the common information required to be read from the third user information field, which is beneficial to reduce the processing delay of the first station.

[0427] It can be understood that, multiplexing the first user information field or the second user information field by the third user information field can reduce the signaling overhead.

[0428] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of bits occupied by the third user information field is the same as the number of bits occupied by the user information field corresponding to the second station under the 802.11ax standard.

[0429] The maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11ax standard is 160MHz, and the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11be standard is 320MHz. It is required in the 802.11be standard that the trigger frame can provide the first station with common information supporting 320MHz bandwidth transmission. However, there are not enough reserved bits in the common information field of the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard to carry more common information. This results in the need to increase the number of bits of the common information field of the trigger frame. However, increasing the number of bits of the common information field of the trigger frame is equivalent to modifying the structure of the trigger frame. In this way, the modified trigger frame does not have compatibility with the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard, resulting in the modified trigger frame being unable to trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission. Therefore, how to make the trigger frame carry more common information that the first station needs to read without increasing the number of bits occupied by the common information field of the trigger frame is a technical problem that needs to be solved by the industry.

[0430] The trigger frame adopts the above-mentioned implementation manner two, which can solve this technical problem. Specifically, since the trigger frame uses the third user information field to carry the additional common information of the first station that needs to be read, the common information field of the trigger frame does not need to increase the number of bits, thereby ensuring that the trigger frame provided by the present application can be compatible with the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard. That is, the trigger frame provided by the present application can trigger the first station to perform uplink transmission, and can also trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission.

[0431] Optionally, the common information of the first station carried by the third user information field can also not be carried by the third user information field, but by the 9-bit uplink HE-SIG A2 reserved field in the trigger frame. Based on this scheme, the number of bits of the common information field of the trigger frame provided by the present application is consistent with that of the common information field of the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard. In this way, except for the reserved values of the reserved field or some fields, the trigger frame provided by the present application does not change the meaning of the existing fields.

[0432] Implementation manner three, the user information list field in the trigger frame includes a user information field corresponding to the first station, the user information field corresponding to the first station includes a spatial stream allocation subfield, for application to MU-MIMO, the spatial stream allocation subfield includes a spatial stream start sequence number field and a spatial stream number field. Wherein, the number of streams of limiting single user participating in MU-MIMO is limited, such as a maximum of 4, then the spatial stream allocation subfield occupies 4 bits, used to indicate the starting sequence number of the spatial stream used by the station. The spatial stream number field occupies 2 bits, used to indicate the number of spatial streams used by the station. For application to SU or SU-MIMO, the spatial stream allocation subfield is used to indicate the number of spatial streams.

[0433] The 802.11ax standard supports a maximum of 8 spatial streams, while the 802.11be standard supports a maximum of 16 spatial streams. The spatial stream start sequence number field in the spatial stream allocation subfield under the 802.11ax standard occupies 3 bits, which cannot support indicating 16 spatial stream sequence numbers. Thus, the spatial stream allocation subfield under the 802.11ax standard cannot support spatial stream allocation under 16 spatial streams.

[0434] Based on the third implementation, the spatial stream start sequence number field is increased from 3 bits to 4 bits, so that the 4-bit spatial stream start sequence number field can indicate any starting position of 16 spatial streams; the spatial stream number field is reduced from 3 bits to 2 bits to limit the maximum number of streams of users participating in MU-MIMO to 4. In this way, under the premise that the number of bits occupied by the spatial stream allocation subfield remains unchanged, the spatial stream allocation subfield can support spatial stream allocation under 16 spatial streams.

[0435] The fourth implementation, the common information field in the trigger frame includes a Doppler subfield and a HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield. The Doppler subfield occupies 1 bit. The HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield occupies 3 bits. The Doppler subfield and the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number field are used in the following manner:

[0436] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0 and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 0, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number is 1;

[0437] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0 and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 1, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number is 2;

[0438] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0 and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 2, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number is 4;

[0439] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0, and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 3, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number is 6.

[0440] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0, and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 4, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number is 8.

[0441] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0, and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 5, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the EHT-LTF symbol number is a ninth value; or the value 5 of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is a reserved value.

[0442] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0, and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 6, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the EHT-LTF symbol number is a tenth value; or the value 6 of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is a reserved value.

[0443] If the value of the Doppler subfield is 0, and the value of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is 7, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is used to indicate that the EHT-LTF symbol number is an eleventh value; or the value 7 of the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and midamble period subfield is a reserved value.

[0444] The ninth value, the tenth value and the eleventh value are mutually different.

[0445] In design 1, the ninth value, the tenth value and the eleventh value can be selected from the set {10, 12, 14, 16}. For example, the ninth value is 10, the tenth value is 12, and the eleventh value is 16. Alternatively, the ninth value is 10, the tenth value is 16, and the eleventh value does not exist.

[0446] In design 2, the ninth value is 10, the tenth value is 12, and the eleventh value is an integer greater than or equal to 14.

[0447] Based on the design 2, an EHT-LTF symbol number extension field needs to be added in the trigger frame. Specifically, when the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and the midamble period subfield value are less than 7, the EHT-LTF symbol number extension field is not used. When the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and the midamble period subfield value are 7, when the EHT-LTF symbol number extension field takes the twelfth value, the EHT-LTF symbol number extension field is used to indicate that the EHT-LTF symbol number is 14; when the EHT-LTF symbol number extension field takes the thirteenth value, the EHT-LTF symbol number extension field is used to indicate that the EHT-LTF symbol number is 16.

[0448] For example, the twelfth value is 0 and the thirteenth value is 1; or the twelfth value is 1 and the thirteenth value is 1.

[0449] Optionally, the EHT-LTF symbol number extension field can be carried in the third user information field described above, or can be carried in the 9-bit uplink HE-SIG A2 reserved field in the trigger frame.

[0450] It can be understood that the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and the midamble period subfield in the trigger frame provided by the present application are similar to the HE-LTF symbol number and the midamble period subfield in the trigger frame under the 802.11ax standard.

[0451] If the trigger frame provided by the present application contains the user information field corresponding to the second station, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and the midamble period subfield value is less than or equal to 4 when the Doppler subfield value is 0. If the trigger frame provided by the present application contains only the user information field corresponding to the first station and does not contain the user information field corresponding to the second station, the HE-LTF / EHT-LTF symbol number and the midamble period subfield can take any value from 0-7 when the Doppler subfield value is 0.

[0452] S102, the AP sends a trigger frame. Correspondingly, the station receives the trigger frame.

[0453] The trigger frame is used to schedule one or more stations to send a response frame, and the response frame can be a data frame, a management frame or a control frame.

[0454] S103, the station parses the trigger frame.

[0455] If the station is the second station, and the trigger frame includes the user info field corresponding to the second station, the second station parses the common info field and the user info field corresponding to the second station in the trigger frame according to the parsing manner defined in the 802.11ax standard. If the station is the first station, and the trigger frame includes the user info field corresponding to the first station, the first station parses the common info field and the user info field corresponding to the first station in the trigger frame according to the parsing manner defined in the 802.11be standard.

[0456] If the AID in the user info field in the trigger frame matches the AID of the station, the station sends a response frame according to the common info field in the trigger frame and the user info field matching the AID of the station, wherein the response frame is sent on the frequency domain resource indicated by the resource allocation subfield in the user info field matching the AID of the station.

[0457] Correspondingly, the AP receives the response frames sent by the one or more stations, and sends a confirmation frame. The confirmation frame for the one or more stations can be sent in the form of downlink OFDMA or in the form of non-HT duplication transmission. The confirmation frame includes an Ack frame, a Block Ack frame, wherein the Block Ack frame includes a compressed Block Ack frame and a Multi-STA Block Ack frame. The Ack frame and the Block Ack frame are confirmation information for the information sent to one station, and the Multi-STA Block Ack is confirmation information for the information sent to one or more stations.

[0458] Based on the method shown in FIG. 8, the trigger frame provided by the present application can be compatible with the trigger frame under the 802.11 standard. Thus, the trigger frame provided by the present application can trigger the first station to perform uplink transmission, and can also trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission.

[0459] Under the 802.11ax standard, the AP can send a downlink multi-user PPDU, such as OFDMA, full-bandwidth MU-MIMO, or a mixture of OFDMA and MU-MIMO. The downlink multi-user PPDU can include MAC frames corresponding to multiple stations. The MAC frame corresponding to a station includes a TRS control field, and the TRS control field includes a control information field. As shown in FIG. 66, the control information field includes an uplink data symbol number (UL data symbols) field, a resource block allocation subfield, an AP uplink transmission power (AP TX power) field, an uplink target received signal strength index (UL target RSSI) field, an uplink modulation and coding strategy (UL MCS) field, and a reserved bit.

[0460] The control information field includes a resource block allocation subfield. The implementation of the resource block allocation subfield in the control information field can refer to the resource block allocation subfield in the user information field in the 802.11ax standard.

[0461] Since the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11ax standard is 160 MHz, and the maximum transmission bandwidth supported by the 802.11be standard is 320 MHz. In the case of an uplink bandwidth of 320 MHz, the resource block allocation subfield in the control information field under the 802.11ax standard cannot accurately indicate whether the resource block is on the main 160 MHz channel or the slave 160 MHz channel. In order to ensure compatibility with the 802.11ax standard, the control information field cannot increase the number of bits. Therefore, how to make the resource block allocation subfield in the control information field be used for resource allocation under the 320 MHz bandwidth without increasing the number of bits of the control information field is a technical problem to be solved in the industry.

[0462] To solve this technical problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. As shown in FIG. 67, the method comprises the following steps:

[0463] S201, the AP generates a downlink PPDU. The downlink PPDU includes a downlink multi-user PPDU, including an OFDMA PPDU, a MU-MIMO PPDU

[0464] The downlink PPDU includes one or more MAC frames corresponding to the first station. The MAC frame corresponding to the first station includes a TRS control field, the TRS control field includes a control information field, the control information field includes a resource block allocation subfield, and the resource block allocation subfield is used to allocate the resource block used by the first station.

[0465] In the embodiment of the present application, the resource block allocation subfield includes the following two implementation modes:

[0466] Implementation mode one, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits in the control information field. Specifically, the resource block allocation subfield occupies B5 bits to B12 bits in the control information field.

[0467] In one possible design, all or part of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is located within the 160 MHz channel of the MAC frame carrying the resource allocation field in the TRS control field. If the frequency domain resources of the MAC frame carrying the resource allocation field in the TRS control field is larger than 160 MHz, part of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource allocation field is located within 80 MHz or part of the frequency domain resources is located within 160 MHz. It is noted that the 8-bit resource block allocation subfield can indicate any frequency domain resources within a 320 MHz bandwidth that is located within 80 MHz, i.e., if the MAC frame is transmitted over a first 160 MHz channel, all or part of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield carried by the MAC frame is located within the first 160 MHz channel. If the MAC frame is transmitted over a second 160 MHz channel, all or part of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield carried by the MAC frame is located within the second 160 MHz channel.

[0468] In another possible design, all or part of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource block allocation subfield is located within the 80 MHz channel of the MAC frame carrying the resource allocation field in the TRS control field. If the frequency domain resources of the MAC frame carrying the resource allocation field in the TRS control field is larger than 80 MHz, part of the frequency domain resources indicated by the resource allocation field is located within 80 MHz.

[0469] Based on implementation one, the resource block allocation subfield can be implemented as described above for the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field.

[0470] In implementation two, the resource block allocation subfield occupies 9 bits in the control information field. Specifically, the resource block allocation subfield occupies bits B5-B12 and bits B25 or other bits such as bits B39 in the control information field.

[0471] The resource block allocation subfield can be divided into two parts. The first part of the resource block allocation subfield includes 8 bits. The second part of the resource block allocation subfield includes 1 bit. For example, the first part of the resource block allocation subfield can occupy bits B5-B12 in the control information field and the second part of the resource block allocation subfield can occupy bits B25 or other bits in the control information field, which is just an example and is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0472] In one possible design, the first part of the resource block assignment subfield is used to assign frequency domain resources. The second part is used to indicate whether the assigned frequency domain resources are located in the first 160 MHz or the second 160 MHz. If the assigned frequency domain resources are partially located in one 160 MHz, i.e., the range of the frequency domain resources is larger than 160 MHz, there are three ways. Way 1: default to the first 160 MHz; way 2: default to the second 160 MHz; and way 3: no restriction, i.e., the frequency domain resources can be considered as the first 160 MHz or the second 160 MHz.

[0473] For example, if the second part of the resource block assignment subfield is set to 0, the frequency domain resources indicated by the first part of the resource block assignment subfield are partially or entirely located in the first 160 MHz channel. If the second part of the resource block assignment subfield is set to 1, the frequency domain resources indicated by the first part of the resource block assignment subfield are partially or entirely located in the second 160 MHz channel.

[0474] Based on the second implementation, the first part of the resource block assignment subfield can be implemented as described above for the resource block assignment subfield in the user info field corresponding to the first station.

[0475] Optionally, the downlink PPDU can further include one or more MAC frames corresponding to the second station.

[0476] At S202, the AP transmits a downlink PPDU. Correspondingly, the station receives the downlink PPDU.

[0477] At S203, the station transmits a response frame according to the TRS field of the MAC frame in the received PPDU.

[0478] The response frame can be a data frame, a management frame, or a control frame, e.g., an acknowledgement frame.

[0479] In addition, taking the second station as an example, in the case that the downlink PPDU carries the MAC frame corresponding to the second station, the second station parses the MAC frame corresponding to the second station carried by the downlink PPDU according to the parsing manner defined by the 802.11ax standard. Thus, the second station can determine the frequency domain resource allocated to itself according to the resource block allocation subfield carried by the MAC frame corresponding to itself. Taking the first station as an example, in the case that the downlink PPDU carries the MAC frame corresponding to the first station, the first station parses the MAC frame corresponding to the second station carried by the downlink PPDU according to the parsing manner defined by the 802.11be standard. Thus, the first station can determine the frequency domain resource allocated to itself according to the resource block allocation subfield carried by the MAC frame corresponding to itself. After the station determines the frequency domain resource allocated to itself, the station can send an uplink sub-PPDU on the allocated frequency domain resource. Thus, the AP can receive an uplink multi-user PPDU composed of multiple uplink sub-PPDUs.

[0480] Based on the method shown in FIG. 67, on the one hand, the number of bits occupied by the control information field provided in the present application is the same as the number of bits occupied by the control information field under the 802.11ax standard, which ensures compatibility with the 802.11ax standard. On the other hand, the resource block allocation subfield in the control information field provided in the present application can realize resource block allocation under a 320MHz bandwidth.

[0481] In an embodiment of the present application, the frequency domain resource part is located in an X MHz frequency band, which means that the range of the frequency domain resource span is greater than the X MHz frequency band, where X = 20, 40, 80, 160, etc.

[0482] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of the communication device. It can be understood that the communication device contains the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function in order to realize the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in combination with the embodiments disclosed in the present text can be realized in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0483] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functions of the device according to the above method examples, for example, each function module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one function module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software function module. The division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division mode can be used. The following will be described taking the example of dividing each function module according to each function:

[0484] As shown in FIG. 68, the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application includes a processing module 101 and a communication module 102.

[0485] In the case of the communication device as an AP, the processing module 101 is configured to perform the step S101 in FIG. 8 or the step S201 in FIG. 67. The communication module 102 is configured to perform the step S102 in FIG. 8 or the step S202 in FIG. 67.

[0486] In the case of the communication device as a station, the processing module 101 is configured to perform the step S103 in FIG. 8 or the step S203 in FIG. 67. The communication module 102 is configured to perform the step S102 in FIG. 8 or the step S202 in FIG. 67.

[0487] FIG. 69 is a structural diagram of a possible product form of the communication device according to the embodiments of the present application.

[0488] As a possible product form, the communication device according to the embodiments of the present application can be a communication device including a processor 201 and a transceiver 202. Optionally, the communication device further includes a storage medium 203.

[0489] In the case of the communication device as an AP, the processor 201 is configured to perform the step S101 in FIG. 8 or the step S201 in FIG. 67. The transceiver 202 is configured to perform the step S102 in FIG. 8 or the step S202 in FIG. 67.

[0490] In the case of the communication device as a station, the processor 201 is configured to perform the step S103 in FIG. 8 or the step S203 in FIG. 67. The transceiver 202 is configured to perform the step S102 in FIG. 8 or the step S202 in FIG. 67.

[0491] As another possible product form, the communication device according to the embodiments of the present application can also be realized by a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, that is, a chip. The chip includes a processing circuit 201 and a transceiver pin 202. Optionally, the chip can further include a storage medium 203.

[0492] As another possible product form, the communication apparatus described in embodiments of the present application can also be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuitry, or any combination thereof, capable of implementing the various functionality described throughout this application.

[0493] It should be understood that the computer instructions can be stored in or transmitted across one or more computer readable media, such as one or more websites, computers, servers, or data centers over a distribution system that is wired, such as a coaxial cable, fiber optics, a digital subscriber line, or the like, or wireless, such as infrared, wireless, or microwave, or a combination thereof. Computer readable media can be any available media or memory that can be accessed by a computer, such as one or more databases, servers, or data centers, or the like. By way of example, computer readable media can include a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an optical disk, a hard disk, a solid state drive, or the like.

[0494] From the above description of the embodiments, it is apparent that for the convenience and conciseness of description, only the division of the above functional modules is taken as an example for description, and in actual application, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0495] It should be understood that the apparatus and method disclosed in the several embodiments provided in the present application can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner. For example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units or components shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0496] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may be a physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or also can be distributed to multiple different places. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment scheme.

[0497] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0498] The integrated unit, if realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical scheme of the embodiments of the present application essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or the whole or part of the technical scheme can be embodied in the form of a software product. The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing an apparatus (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0499] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any change or replacement within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be covered in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, It is characterized in that The method comprises: Generate a trigger frame, the trigger frame comprising a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, the fourth user information field comprising a resource block allocation subfield, the resource block allocation subfield being used to indicate allocation of frequency domain resources; wherein part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located before the first user information field are located within the primary 160 MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located after the first user information field are located within the secondary 160 MHz channel; the fourth user information field is used to trigger the station to send a response frame; The trigger frame is sent.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving an uplink MAC frame of one or more stations, wherein the MAC frame is sent on a frequency domain resource allocated by a resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field; Send an acknowledgement frame.

3. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The value of the AID subfield in the first user information field is a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044, or 2046 to 4095.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The user information field whose AID field value is 4095 includes a first indication field; if the value of the first indication field is a first numerical value, the user information field whose AID field value is 4095 is a user information field used to fill the trigger frame; if the value of the first indication field is a second numerical value, the user information field whose AID field value is 4095 is the first user information field.

5. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, It is characterized in that The resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, and the B1 bit to the B7 bit of the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate the frequency domain resources used by the site, and the B0 bit of the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the B1 bit to the B7 bit are located in the main 80MHz channel or in the slave 80MHz channel.

6. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, It is characterized in that The number of bits occupied by the first user information field is the same as the number of bits occupied by the user information field corresponding to the second site.

7. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, It is characterized in that The trigger frame includes a third user information field, where the third user information field carries public information of the first station, and the first station supports the 802.11 standard after the 802.11ax standard.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The third user information field includes one or more of the following: A first subfield, where the first subfield is used to indicate an uplink bandwidth in conjunction with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common information field of the trigger frame; a second subfield, the second subfield being used to indicate a puncture pattern; A third subfield, the third subfield being used to indicate whether the first station transmits a HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on one or more frequency segments in an uplink bandwidth; The fourth subfield is used to indicate spatial multiplexing parameters supporting 320 MHz bandwidth transmission.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that If the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield is combined with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame to indicate the uplink bandwidth, including the following situations: When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

10. The communication method according to claim 8, It is characterized in that If the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield is combined with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame to indicate the uplink bandwidth, including the following situations: When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

11. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, It is characterized in that The number of bits occupied by the common information field of the trigger frame is the same as the number of bits occupied by the common information field of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

12. A communication method, It is characterized in that The method comprises: Receive a trigger frame, the trigger frame comprising a first user information field and one or more fourth user information fields, the fourth user information field comprising a resource block allocation subfield, the resource block allocation subfield being used to indicate allocation of frequency domain resources; wherein part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located before the first user information field are located within a primary 160 MHz channel, and part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field located after the first user information field are located within a secondary 160 MHz channel; the fourth user information field is used to trigger the station to send a response frame; The trigger frame is parsed.

13. The communication method according to claim 12, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending an uplink MAC frame; wherein the MAC frame is sent on the frequency domain resources allocated by the resource block allocation subfield in the fourth user information field; Receive acknowledgment frame.

14. The communication method according to claim 12 or 13, It is characterized in that The value of the AID subfield in the first user information field is a first preset value, and the first preset value is any one of 2008 to 2044, or 2046 to 4095.

15. The communication method according to claim 14, It is characterized in that The user information field whose AID field value is 4095 includes a first indication field; if the value of the first indication field is a first numerical value, the user information field whose AID field value is 4095 is a user information field used to fill the trigger frame; if the value of the first indication field is a second numerical value, the user information field whose AID field value is 4095 is the first user information field.

16. The communication method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, It is characterized in that The resource block allocation subfield occupies 8 bits, and the B1 bit to the B7 bit of the 8 bits are used to jointly indicate the frequency domain resources used by the site, and the B0 bit of the 8 bits is used to indicate whether part or all of the frequency domain resources allocated by the B1 bit to the B7 bit are located in the main 80MHz channel or in the slave 80MHz channel.

17. The communication method according to any one of claims 12 to 16, It is characterized in that The number of bits occupied by the first user information field is the same as the number of bits occupied by the user information field corresponding to the second site.

18. The communication method according to any one of claims 12 to 17, It is characterized in that The trigger frame includes a third user information field, where the third user information field carries public information of the first station, and the first station supports the 802.11 standard after the 802.11ax standard.

19. The communication method according to claim 18, It is characterized in that The third user information field includes one or more of the following: A first subfield, where the first subfield is used to indicate an uplink bandwidth in conjunction with an uplink bandwidth subfield in a common information field of the trigger frame; a second subfield, the second subfield being used to indicate a puncture pattern; A third subfield, the third subfield being used to indicate whether the first station transmits a HE PPDU or an EHT PPDU on one or more frequency segments in an uplink bandwidth; The fourth subfield is used to indicate spatial multiplexing parameters supporting 320 MHz bandwidth transmission.

20. The communication method according to claim 19, It is characterized in that If the first subfield occupies one bit, the first subfield is combined with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame to indicate the uplink bandwidth, including the following situations: When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the fourth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the fifth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

21. The communication method according to claim 19, It is characterized in that If the first subfield occupies two bits, the first subfield is combined with the uplink bandwidth subfield in the common information field of the trigger frame to indicate the uplink bandwidth, including the following situations: When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the sixth value, the uplink bandwidth is 160 MHz; When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the seventh value, the uplink bandwidth is 240 MHz; When the value of the uplink bandwidth subfield is 3 and the value of the first subfield is the eighth value, the uplink bandwidth is 320 MHz.

22. The communication method according to any one of claims 12 to 21, It is characterized in that The number of bits occupied by the common information field of the trigger frame is the same as the number of bits occupied by the common information field of the trigger frame in the 802.11ax standard.

23. A communication device, It is characterized in that The communication device comprises a unit for executing each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

24. A communication device, It is characterized in that The communication device comprises means for executing the steps of the method according to any one of claims 12 to 22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, It is characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions for executing any one of the methods of claims 1-22.

26. A chip, It is characterized in that The chip includes a processing unit and transceiver pins; the processing unit is used to perform the processing operations in the method involved in any one of claims 1 to 22, and the transceiver pins are used to perform the transceiver operations in the method involved in any one of claims 1 to 22.

27. A computer program, It is characterized in that The computer program comprises instructions for executing any one of the methods of claims 1-22.

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