Resource and communication device indicator methods

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of wireless network technologies, and specifically to a method for indicating resources, access points, and stations. The method consists of: an access point generating a PPDU (physical layer protocol data unit), and transmitting a PPDU, wherein the PPDU includes a header punch information field; and wherein when the PPDU is in nonorthogonal frequency division multiple access (NODDMA) mode, the header punch information field is used to indicate the punch status of the entire bandwidth corresponding to the PPDU; when the PPDU is in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) mode, the header punch information field is used to indicate the punch status of the 80 MHz corresponding to the frequency domain segment. The invention also relates to a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a chip.

Description

A resource indication method, access point and site

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010569190.4, filed on June 19, 2020, entitled “A Resource Indication Method and Access Point and Site”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of wireless fidelity technology, and in particular to a resource indication method, access point, and site. Background Technology

[0004] To support orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) transmission, 802.11ax divides frequency band resources into several resource units, supporting the allocation of only one resource unit for one site or multiple users. However, future versions may support the allocation of multiple resource units for one site or multiple sites. If 802.11ax continues to use the resource unit subfield to indicate the allocated resources to users, the signaling overhead will become increasingly larger as bandwidth increases.

[0005] To reduce signaling overhead, a fragmented structure of Extremely High Throughput (EHT) physical protocol data units (PPDUs) is proposed to indicate the allocated resources to users. However, how to indicate the allocated resources to users through the EHT PPDU fragmented structure is a problem that urgently needs to be solved.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] This application provides a resource indication method, access point, and site. The EHT PPDU fragmentation structure can be used to indicate that the scheduled STAs within a certain frequency domain fragment are allocated full bandwidth, which can further reduce signaling overhead.

[0008] Firstly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a first device, such as a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, for example, a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is an access point. The method includes:

[0009] The access point generates a Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) and sends it. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. This preamble puncturing indication information indicates that a scheduled user within the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth. The first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU and includes the first frequency domain segment. In this embodiment, the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, which can also be considered the full bandwidth. The preamble puncturing indication information can be used to indicate that a scheduled STA within a certain frequency domain segment has been allocated full bandwidth, i.e., full bandwidth (unpunctured) resources have been allocated. It is not necessary to indicate this separately for each frequency domain segment divided into full bandwidth segments, thus reducing the overhead of fields used to carry the preamble puncturing indication information. For the site, the allocated resources can be determined by combining the preamble puncturing indication information with the full bandwidth indicated by the bandwidth field, without needing to read resource indications for all frequency domain segments, saving site power consumption.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the preamble puncture indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode. In this compressed mode, the PPDU length is shorter than the uncompressed mode PPDU. The compressed mode PPDU is either a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or a PPDU with a simplified resource allocation subfield. In this scheme, the preamble puncture indication information can be reused to indicate the compression mode. It should be understood that some fields in the compressed mode PPDU are omitted or deleted, or the length of some fields is reduced, such as by omitting or deleting the resource allocation subfield or user field. This way, the PPDU sent by the access point does not need to carry fewer or even no resource allocation subfields, thus further saving signaling overhead. For the station, if the PPDU compression mode is determined based on the preamble puncture indication information, the station does not need to continue reading fields such as the user field or resource allocation subfield after the U-SIG field, thus saving station power consumption.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0012] Secondly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a second device, such as a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, for example, a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is a station. The method includes:

[0013] The station receives a PPDU from the access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that the scheduled user within the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth. Thus, the station determines the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information. The first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0016] For the beneficial technical effects of the second aspect or its various implementations, please refer to the aforementioned first aspect or its various implementations; they will not be repeated here.

[0017] Thirdly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a first device, such as a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, for example, a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is an access point. The method includes:

[0018] The access point generates and transmits a PPDU (Programmable Component Distributed Unit). The PPDU includes preamble puncture indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. This preamble puncture indication information indicates that no resource units have been allocated to users within the first frequency domain segment. The channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment. In this embodiment, the preamble puncture indication information indicates that no resource units have been allocated to users within the first frequency domain segment. Here, "unallocated resource units" means that not only are resource units within the first frequency domain segment not allocated to users within that segment, but also resource units across the entire channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU are not allocated to users within that segment. For a station, if a station within a frequency domain segment is not allocated resources, then that station does not need to read subsequent data, such as the EHT-SIG field in the PPDU, thus saving energy.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0020] The technical effects of the various implementation methods of the third aspect can be referred to the beneficial technical effects of the various implementation methods of the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0021] Fourthly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a second device, the second device being a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, such as a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is a station. The method includes:

[0022] The station receives a PPDU from the access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that a user within the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated resource units. The channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment. Subsequently, the station determines the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0024] The technical effects of the fourth aspect or its various implementations can be referred to the beneficial technical effects of the aforementioned third aspect or its various implementations, and will not be repeated here.

[0025] Fifthly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a second device, the second device being a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, such as a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is a station. The method includes:

[0026] The access point generates and transmits a PPDU, which includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The PPDU is used in OFDMA transmission mode, where the preamble puncturing indication information indicates whether the first bandwidth of 80MHz is punctured or not; or, the PPDU is used in non-OFDMA transmission mode, where the preamble puncturing indication information indicates the puncturing status of the 80MHz segment corresponding to the first frequency domain segment. In this embodiment, for the full 80MHz bandwidth, the preamble puncturing information field carrying the preamble puncturing indication information can indicate both all puncturing scenarios supported by non-OFDMA transmission and the puncturing status of the 80MHz segment corresponding to each frequency domain segment under OFDMA transmission. Thus, the station can determine the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information and the bandwidth field. For example, if the bandwidth field indicates that the PPDU belongs to a non-OFDMA transmission mode, the preamble puncturing indication information indicates the puncturing status of the frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz in OFDMA transmission. If the bandwidth field indicates that the PPDU belongs to OFDMA transmission mode, then the preamble puncturing indication information indicates the full bandwidth configuration with or without puncturing within 80MHz in OFDMA mode. In this case, when the full bandwidth is greater than or equal to 160MHz, the station only needs to read the puncturing information within that 80MHz and does not need to read the bandwidth information outside of that 80MHz. Therefore, this scheme is actually compatible with the puncturing information of 80MHz OFDMA transmission indication while maintaining compatibility with the puncturing information of non-OFDMA transmission indication.

[0027] Sixthly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a second device, the second device being a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, such as a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is a station. The method includes:

[0028] The station receives a PPDU from the access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information indicates whether a first bandwidth of 80MHz is punctured or not. Alternatively, the PPDU is in non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information indicates the puncturing status of the corresponding 80MHz segment in the first frequency domain. The station then determines the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information and the bandwidth field.

[0029] The technical effects of the sixth aspect can be referred to the beneficial technical effects of the fifth aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0030] A seventh aspect provides a resource indication method, which can be executed by a second device, the second device being a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, such as a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is a station. The method includes:

[0031] The access point generates a PPDU and transmits the PPDU, which includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. This preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field. The first preamble puncturing information field is located in the U-SIG field, and the second preamble puncturing information field is located in the EHT-SIG field. The first preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or that the entire bandwidth is unpunctured. The second preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth, excluding the first frequency domain segment. The first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment. In this embodiment, for puncturing bandwidths greater than 80MHz, such as 160MHz, 240MHz, and 320MHz, two preamble puncturing information fields indicate the puncturing situation. For example, the first preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing situation within the corresponding 80MHz frequency domain segment, and the second preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing situation in the remaining frequency bands of the full bandwidth excluding that frequency domain segment. For a site, the allocated resources can be determined through the first and second preamble puncturing information fields. It should be understood that since only one puncturing can exist in the full bandwidth, the second preamble puncturing information field will have multiple reserved states (or entries) for other uses, allowing for more expandable indication content.

[0032] Eighthly, a resource indication method is provided, which can be executed by a second device, the second device being a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting the functions required for the communication device to implement the method, such as a chip system. Exemplarily, the communication device is a station. The method includes:

[0033] A station receives a PPDU from an access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The station determines the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information. The preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field. The first preamble puncturing information field is located in the U-SIG field, and the second preamble puncturing information field is located in the EHT-SIG field. The first preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or the entire bandwidth is unpunctured. The second preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth, excluding the first frequency domain segment. The first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0034] The technical effects of the eighth aspect can be referred to the beneficial technical effects of the seventh aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0035] A ninth aspect provides a communication device, such as an access point as described above or a device disposed within an access point. In some embodiments, the communication device can be used to perform the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or the communication device can be used to perform the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or the communication device can be used to perform the method in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or the communication device can be used to perform the method in the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication device may include a module for performing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or a module for performing the method in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or a module for performing the method in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or a module for performing the method in the seventh aspect or any possible implementation thereof, for example, including a processing module and a transceiver module coupled together. Exemplarily, the communication device is the aforementioned access point.

[0036] In some embodiments, the processing module is configured to generate a PPDU, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncturing indication information being used to indicate that a scheduled user within the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment; the transceiver module is configured to transmit the PPDU.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0039] In other embodiments, the processing module is configured to generate a PPDU, which includes preamble puncture indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncture indication information is used to indicate that a user within the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated resource units, wherein the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment; the transceiver module is configured to transmit the PPDU.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0042] In other embodiments, the processing module is configured to generate a PPDU, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate a puncturing or non-puncturing configuration of a first bandwidth of 80MHz; or, the PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate the puncturing status of the 80MHz corresponding to the first frequency domain segment;

[0043] The transceiver module is used to send the PPDU.

[0044] In other embodiments, the processing module is configured to generate a PPDU, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field, the first preamble puncturing information field being located in the U-SIG field and the second preamble puncturing information field being located in the EHT-SIG field; wherein the first preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or the entire bandwidth being unpunctured, and the second preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth other than the first frequency domain segment, the first bandwidth being the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth including the first frequency domain segment;

[0045] The transceiver module is used to send the PPDU.

[0046] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, such as a station or a device disposed within a station as described above. In some embodiments, the communication device is used to perform the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the communication device is used to perform the method in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the communication device is used to perform the method in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation thereof; or, the communication device is used to perform the method in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Specifically, the communication device may include a module for performing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or a module for performing the method in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or a module for performing the method in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or a module for performing the method in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, for example, including a processing module and a transceiver module coupled together. Exemplarily, the communication device is the aforementioned station.

[0047] In some embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncturing indication information indicating that a scheduled user within the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment; the processing module is configured to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0050] In other embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncture indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncture indication information indicating that a user within the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated resource units, wherein the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment; the processing module is configured to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble puncture indication information.

[0051] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0053] In other embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate whether the first bandwidth of 80MHz is punctured or not; or, the PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate the puncturing status of the 80MHz corresponding to the first frequency domain segment;

[0054] The processing module is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching indication information and the bandwidth field.

[0055] In other embodiments, the transceiver module is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. This preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field. The first preamble puncturing information field is located in the U-SIG field, and the second preamble puncturing information field is located in the EHT-SIG field. The first preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or that the entire bandwidth is unpunctured. The second preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth, excluding the first frequency domain segment. The first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0056] The processing module is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching instruction.

[0057] Eleventhly, another communication device is provided, which is, for example, an access point as described above or disposed within an access point. Exemplarily, the communication device is a chip disposed within the access point. The communication device includes a processor and a transceiver for implementing the methods described in the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects, or various possible implementations of the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects. The transceiver is implemented, for example, through an antenna, feeder, and codec within the access point; or, if the communication device is a chip disposed within the access point, the transceiver is, for example, a communication interface within the chip connected to a radio frequency transceiver component within the access point to transmit and receive information via the radio frequency transceiver component.

[0058] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to generate a PPDU, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncturing indication information indicating that a scheduled user within the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment; the transceiver is configured to transmit the PPDU.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0061] In other embodiments, the processor is configured to generate a PPDU including preamble puncture indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncture indication information is used to indicate that a user within the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated resource units, wherein the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment; the transceiver is configured to transmit the PPDU.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0063] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0064] In other embodiments, the processor is configured to generate a PPDU, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate a puncturing or non-puncturing configuration of a first bandwidth of 80MHz; or, the PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate the puncturing status of the 80MHz corresponding to the first frequency domain segment;

[0065] The transceiver is used to transmit the PPDU.

[0066] In other embodiments, the processor is configured to generate a PPDU, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field, the first preamble puncturing information field being located in the U-SIG field and the second preamble puncturing information field being located in the EHT-SIG field; wherein the first preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or the entire bandwidth being unpunctured, and the second preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth other than the first frequency domain segment, the first bandwidth being the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth including the first frequency domain segment;

[0067] The transceiver is used to transmit the PPDU.

[0068] In a twelfth aspect, another communication device is provided, which is, for example, a station as described above or installed at a station. Exemplarily, the communication device is a chip installed in an access point. This communication device includes a processor and a transceiver for implementing the methods described in the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects, or various possible implementations of the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects. The transceiver is implemented, for example, through an antenna, feeder, and codec in the station; or, if the communication device is a chip installed in the station, the transceiver is, for example, a communication interface in the chip connected to a radio frequency transceiver component in the station to transmit and receive information via the radio frequency transceiver component.

[0069] In some embodiments, the transceiver is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncturing indication information indicating that a scheduled user within the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment; the processor is configured to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble puncturing indication information.

[0070] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0072] In other embodiments, the transceiver is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncture indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncture indication information indicating that a user within the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated resource units, wherein the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment; the processor is configured to determine the unallocated resources based on the preamble puncture indication information.

[0073] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0074] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the general field U-SIG.

[0075] In other embodiments, the transceiver is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate a puncturing or non-puncturing configuration of a first bandwidth of 80MHz; or, the PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate the puncturing status of 80MHz corresponding to the first frequency domain segment, the first bandwidth being the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth including the first frequency domain segment;

[0076] The processor is configured to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching indication information and the bandwidth field.

[0077] In other embodiments, the transceiver is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field, the first preamble puncturing information field being located in the U-SIG field and the second preamble puncturing information field being located in the EHT-SIG field; wherein the first preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or the entire bandwidth being unpunctured, and the second preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth other than the first frequency domain segment;

[0078] The processor is configured to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punch instruction.

[0079] In a thirteenth aspect, another communication device is provided. This communication device can be an access point in the above-described method design. Exemplarily, the communication device is a chip disposed in the access point. The communication device includes: a memory for storing computer-executable program code, and a processor coupled to the memory. The program code stored in the memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects, or any possible implementation of the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspects.

[0080] In some embodiments, the communication device may further include a communication interface, which may be a transceiver in the access point, such as an antenna, feeder, and codec in the access point. Alternatively, if the communication device is a chip located in the access point, the communication interface may be the chip's input / output interface, such as input / output pins.

[0081] In a fourteenth aspect, another communication device is provided. This communication device can be a station in the above-described method design. Exemplarily, the communication device is a chip disposed in the station. The communication device includes: a memory for storing computer-executable program code, and a processor coupled to the memory. The program code stored in the memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects, or any possible implementation of the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspects.

[0082] In some embodiments, the communication device may further include a communication interface, which may be a transceiver in the site, such as an antenna, feeder and codec in the site, or if the communication device is a chip located in the site, the communication interface may be the chip's input / output interface, such as input / output pins.

[0083] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which may include the communication device described in the ninth aspect, the communication device described in the eleventh aspect, or the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect, as well as the communication device described in the tenth aspect, the twelfth aspect, or the fourteenth aspect. It should be understood that the communication system may include more access points and / or sites.

[0084] In a sixteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip system including a processor and a memory, for implementing the methods executed by the access point in the first aspect, the station in the second aspect, the access point in the third aspect, the station in the fourth aspect, the access point in the fifth aspect, the station in the sixth aspect, or the access point in the seventh aspect, or the station in the eighth aspect. The chip system may be composed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0085] In a seventeenth aspect, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method executed by the access point in the first aspect or the station in the second aspect, or the access point in the third aspect or the station in the fourth aspect, or the access point in the fifth aspect or the station in the sixth aspect, or the access point in the seventh aspect or the station in the eighth aspect, to implement the functions implemented by the access point in the first aspect or the station in the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect or the seventh aspect or the station in the eighth aspect.

[0086] In an eighteenth aspect, this application also provides a computer program product, which stores instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method executed by the access point in the first aspect, the site in the second aspect, the access point in the third aspect, the site in the fourth aspect, the access point in the fifth aspect, or the site in the sixth aspect, thereby realizing the function implemented by the access point in the first aspect, the site in the second aspect, the access point in the third aspect, the site in the fourth aspect, the access point in the fifth aspect, the access point in the sixth aspect, the access point in the seventh aspect, or the site in the eighth aspect.

[0087] The beneficial effects of the aforementioned third to eighteenth aspects and their implementation methods can be referenced in the description of the beneficial effects of the first to eighth aspects and their various implementation methods. Attached Figure Description

[0088] Figure 1 shows a network architecture of a wireless local area network applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 2 is an internal structure diagram of an access point and a site provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0090] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of HE-SIG-B provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of 40MHz HE-SIG-B provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0092] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of the EHT PPDU provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0093] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the segmented structure of the EHT PPDU provided in the embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of 80MHz hole drilling provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating the resource indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0096] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0097] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of another structure of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0098] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0099] This application's embodiments can be applied to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios, and can be applied to IEEE 802.11 system standards, such as 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, or their next generation, such as 802.11be or even later. Alternatively, this application's embodiments can also be applied to WLAN systems such as Internet of Things (IoT) networks or Vehicle-to-X (V2X) networks. Of course, this application's embodiments can also be applied to other possible communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, and future 5G communication systems, etc.

[0100] For example, please refer to Figure 1, which illustrates a network architecture diagram of a WLAN to which this application embodiment applies. Figure 1 shows an example where the WLAN includes one access point (AP) and two stations (STAs) associated with the AP, namely STA1 and STA2. The AP can schedule radio resources for STA1 and STA2 and transmit data, including uplink data information and / or downlink data information, on the scheduled radio resources for STA1 and STA2. It should be understood that the number of APs and STAs in Figure 1 is only an example, and there may be more or fewer. The AP can communicate with STA1 or STA2, or the AP can communicate with both STA1 and STA2. It should be understood that if the WLAN includes multiple APs and multiple STAs, this application embodiment is also applicable to communication between APs. For example, the APs can communicate with each other through a distributed system (DS), and any AP can schedule radio resources for its associated STAs and / or unassociated STAs and transmit data for the STAs on the scheduled radio resources. This application embodiment is also applicable to communication between STAs.

[0101] The STA involved in the embodiments of this application can be various user terminals, user equipment, access devices, subscriber stations, subscriber units, mobile stations, user agents, user equipment, or other names with wireless communication functions. The user terminal can include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication functions, as well as various forms of user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), terminal, terminal equipment, portable communication devices, handheld devices, portable computing devices, entertainment devices, gaming devices or systems, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable device configured for network communication via wireless media. For example, the STA can be a router, switch, and bridge, etc. Here, for ease of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as a site or STA.

[0102] The Access Point (AP) involved in this application embodiment is a device deployed in a wireless communication network to provide wireless communication functions for its associated STAs. The AP can serve as the central hub of the communication system and can be a base station, router, gateway, repeater, communication server, switch, or bridge, etc. The base station can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, repeater stations, etc. For ease of description, the devices mentioned above are collectively referred to as APs.

[0103] For example, the AP and STA involved in this application can be APs and STAs applicable to the 802.11 system standard. As shown in Figure 2, it is an internal structure diagram of an AP and STA provided in an embodiment of this application. The 802.11 system standard focuses on the 802.11 physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) parts. Therefore, the STA provided in this embodiment of the application is usually a terminal product that supports the MAC and PHY of the 802.11 system standard, such as a mobile phone or a laptop. It should be noted that although only the structure diagrams of APs with multiple antennas and STAs with a single antenna are shown in Figure 2, in actual scenarios, both APs and STAs can be multi-antenna devices, and can be devices with more than two antennas. APs and STAs respectively include a PHY baseband module, a MAC layer module, a logical link control (LLC) layer module, and a radio frequency module (antenna) belonging to the lower layer, and an Internet Protocol (IP) processing module, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) / User Datagram Protocol (UDP) processing module, and an application layer module belonging to the upper layer. The lower and upper layers transmit information through the upper layer interface.

[0104] The Access Point (AP) communicates with the STA (Station). The AP can allocate resources to the STA, and the STA transmits data on the allocated resources. For example, WiFi protocols prior to 802.11ax, such as 802.11ac, require continuous bandwidth for transmission, including four types of bandwidth: 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, and 160MHz. One of these 20MHz bands is designated as the primary 20MHz. If a 20MHz band within this bandwidth is occupied by another station, the transmitted data bandwidth needs to be reduced. For instance, if the first 20MHz band in a continuous 80MHz bandwidth is the primary 20MHz, but the second 20MHz band is busy, according to the continuous bandwidth requirement, only the primary 20MHz band can be transmitted, thus wasting a free 40MHz band within the 80MHz band.

[0105] To aggregate more channels and create greater available bandwidth, the 802.11ax protocol introduces a preamble puncturing transmission method, allowing discontinuous channels to be aggregated. In the example above, this allows the AP to allocate 20MHz + 40MHz bandwidth, thus making more efficient use of idle channels. Specifically, the 802.11ax standard specifies four transmission bandwidths: 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, and 160MHz. Only the 80MHz and 160MHz bandwidths can support preamble puncturing. For example, a 20MHz band within the 160MHz band can be punctured to create a 140MHz band.

[0106] The Access Point (AP) communicates with the STA (STA). The AP can allocate resources to the STA, and the STA transmits data on the allocated resources. For example, prior to the 802.11ax standard, the AP and STA could communicate using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). The entire bandwidth could be allocated to one or a group of STAs for single-user (SU) transmission or downlink Multiple User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU MIMO) transmission. The 802.11ax standard introduced Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), meaning the AP and STA can now communicate using OFDMA.

[0107] In OFDMA and MU-MIMO technologies, WLAN protocols divide the spectrum bandwidth into several resource units (RUs). For example, the 802.11ax protocol supports bandwidth configurations including 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz. The difference between 160MHz and 80+80MHz is that the former is a continuous frequency band, while the latter's two 80MHz bands can be separated; that is, the 160MHz band composed of 80+80MHz is not continuous. The 802.11ax protocol specifies that for 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, and 160MHz, the spectrum bandwidth can be divided into multiple types of RUs, including 26-subcarrier RUs, 52-subcarrier RUs, 106-subcarrier RUs, 242-subcarrier RUs (maximum RU within a 20MHz bandwidth), 484-subcarrier RUs (maximum RU within a 40MHz bandwidth), 996-subcarrier RUs (maximum RU within an 80MHz bandwidth), and 2*996-subcarrier RUs (maximum RU within a 160MHz bandwidth). Each RU consists of consecutive subcarriers; for example, a 26-subcarrier RU consists of 26 consecutive subcarrier RUs. In the following text, a 26-subcarrier RU is referred to as a 26-tone RU, a 52-subcarrier RU as a 52-tone RU, and so on.

[0108] The AP allocates resources to the STA on a per-RU (Resource Provider) basis, and can inform the STA of the allocated resources through a Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). Specifically, the AP can indicate the allocated RU to the STA by carrying resource allocation information in the signal field (SIG) included in the PPDU. For example, this signal field can be a high efficient signal field-B (HE-SIG-B) or an extremely high throughput signal field (EHT-SIG).

[0109] Figure 3 illustrates the HE-SIG-B field format proposed in the 802.11ax protocol. HE-SIG-B is divided into two parts. The first part is the common field, containing 1 to N Resource Unit Allocation subfields, a Center 26-Tone Resource Unit Indicator field (if the bandwidth is greater than or equal to 80MHz), followed by a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) for verification and a Tail subfield for cyclic decoding. Additionally, in the User Specific field, there are 1 to M user fields, arranged in the order of resource unit allocation. The M user fields are typically grouped in pairs, with each pair of user fields followed by a CRC and a Tail field. However, the last group should be excluded. In the last group, there may be one or two user fields, so one user field in the last group is indicated by a dashed line. The Tail field in the last group of user fields may be followed by a padding field.

[0110] Each resource unit allocation subfield is a resource unit allocation index, indicating the size and location of one or more resource units within a 20MHz range. The order of at least one site field corresponds to the allocation order of the resource unit. Each site field indicates the site information of the STAs allocated within the RUs included in the resource unit allocation.

[0111] Resource unit allocation indexes are indicated by one or more 8-bit sequences, where each 8-bit corresponds to a 20MHz segment of the bandwidth spectrum. For example, in the 802.11ax standard, an index table for a resource unit allocation subfield is shown in Table 1. Since this index table is used to indicate the allocated resources, it can also be called a resource allocation information table.

[0112] Table 1 Resource Allocation Information Table

[0113]

[0114]

[0115] In Table 1, the first column represents an 8-bit sequence, and the middle columns #1 to #9 represent different resource units. The numbers in the table represent the number of subcarriers contained in that resource unit. For example, the sequence "00111 y2y1y0" indicates that the entire 242-tone RU is divided into four RUs: 52-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 26-tone RU, and 106-tone RU. The number in the third column indicates the number of entries allocated to the same resource unit, that is, the number of different sequences corresponding to the same resource unit arrangement. For the sequence "00111 y2y1y0", there are 8 entries because, while indicating the allocation method of the 242-tone RU resource unit, y2y1y0 is also used to indicate the number of SU / MU-MIMO transmission users contained in the 106-tone RU, corresponding to 1 to 8 users. That is, the 3 bits of y2y1y0 indicate the 1 to 8 users supported in the 106-tone RU. The eight entries can be viewed as eight independent rows in the table. These eight rows correspond to the same resource unit allocation method, and each row corresponds to a different number of users supported within a 106-tone RU. When a resource unit allocation subfield indicates a permutation of resource units that includes resource units consisting of 106 or more subcarriers, the resource unit allocation index is also used to indicate the number of MU MIMO users supported by a resource unit consisting of 106 or more subcarriers.

[0116] It should be understood that when the bandwidth is 20MHz, the entire bandwidth can consist of a single 242-tone RU, or various combinations of 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, and 106-tone RUs. Similar to the subcarrier distribution of 20MHz, when the bandwidth is 40MHz, the entire bandwidth can consist of a single 484-tone RU, or various combinations of 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, and 242-tone RUs. Likewise, when the bandwidth is 80MHz, the entire bandwidth can consist of a single 996-tone RU, or various combinations of 26-tone RUs, 52-tone RUs, 106-tone RUs, 242-tone RUs, and 484-tone RUs. For example, an 80MHz bandwidth can be composed of four resource units of 242-tone RUs. When the bandwidth is 160MHz or 80+80MHz, the entire bandwidth can be regarded as a replication of the distribution of two 80MHz subcarriers. The entire bandwidth can be composed of a single 2*996-tone RU, or it can be composed of various combinations of 26-tone RU, 52-tone RU, 106-tone RU, 242-tone RU, 484-tone RU, and 996-tone RU.

[0117] The 802.11ax standard also introduces the concept of Content Channel (CC). When the bandwidth is only 20MHz, HE-SIG-B contains only one CC, which includes a Resource Unit Allocation (RU) subfield to indicate the allocated RUs within the 20MHz bandwidth. This 8-bit subfield can be indexed to indicate all possible RU permutations within the 20MHz bandwidth. For RUs with a size of 106-tone or greater, the number of users performing SU / MU-MIMO transmissions within that RU, or the number of user information fields (e.g., letters x or y in Table 1), must also be indicated. Please refer to the 802.11ax protocol for details.

[0118] If the transmission bandwidth is greater than 20MHz, the PPDU includes the legacy preamble (L-preamble), the repeated legacy signal (RL-SIG), and the HE-SIG-A field, which are copied and transmitted every 20MHz. HE-SIG B uses a "1212" transmission method, meaning HE-SIG B includes two CCs. One CC is transmitted on each odd 20MHz segment of the transmission bandwidth, containing resource allocation information for those odd 20MHz segments and station information for transmission on those segments. The other CC is transmitted on each even 20MHz segment of the transmission bandwidth, containing resource allocation information for those even 20MHz segments and station information for transmission on those even 20MHz segments. It should be understood that the content of the resource unit allocation subfield will be displayed in separate portions in each of the two CCs. By reading these two CCs, the STA can determine the RUs (Resource Units) into which the bandwidth spectrum resources are divided.

[0119] For example, please refer to Figure 4, which shows the structure of HE-SIG-B at 40MHz. When the bandwidth is 40MHz, there are two CCs, namely CC1 and CC2. CC1 contains the resource unit allocation subfield within the odd-numbered 20MHz range (that is, the first 20MHz) and the corresponding user-specific field; CC2 contains the resource unit allocation subfield within the even-numbered 20MHz range (that is, the second 20MHz) and the corresponding user-specific field.

[0120] For example, when the bandwidth is 80MHz, there are still two CCs, namely CC1 and CC2. CC1 contains the resource element allocation subfield and the corresponding user-specific field within the range of 242 subcarrier RUs with odd-numbered indices (that is, the first 20MHz and the third 20MHz); CC2 contains the resource element allocation subfield and the corresponding user-specific field within the range of 242 subcarrier RUs with even-numbered indices (that is, the second 20MHz and the fourth 20MHz).

[0121] Although the Resource Unit Allocation subfield shown in Table 1 sets various RU allocation modes, in OFDMA transmission, to reduce the complexity of transmission and reception, some embodiments only support allocating one RU to a single user, and do not support allocating multiple RUs to a single user. That is, it does not support assigning multiple consecutive or non-consecutive RUs to a single user. For example, consider three RUs: RU1, RU2, and RU3. The channel conditions for RU1 and RU3 are better than those for RU2. Ideally, RU1 and RU3 could be allocated to the same user. However, currently, only assigning either RU1 or RU3 to the same user is supported; assigning both RU1 and RU3 to the same user is not supported. This demonstrates low flexibility in RU allocation and low spectrum utilization.

[0122] To improve spectrum utilization, next-generation protocols of 802.11ax, such as 802.11be, allow the allocation of multiple consecutive or non-consecutive Resource Units (RUs) to one or more users. This means supporting Sub-Unit (SU) and Mutual-Mixed Memory (MU-MIMO) transmissions on multiple non-consecutive RUs. SU and MU-MIMO transmissions are relative to OFDMA transmissions; therefore, in some embodiments, SU and MU-MIMO transmissions can be collectively referred to as non-OFDMA transmissions. For non-OFDMA transmissions, if the resource allocation method corresponding to OFDMA transmissions is used, with the increase in bandwidth, more resource unit allocation subfields and more user-specific fields are required, resulting in significant signaling overhead. For example, if there is 320MHz and this 320MHz is allocated to 40 users, then at least 16 resource allocation subfields and corresponding user fields are needed. Each resource allocation subfield occupies at least 8 bits, which obviously results in significant signaling overhead.

[0123] To reduce signaling overhead, in some embodiments, the allocated resources are indicated to the user via an EHT PPDU. Figure 5 illustrates one structure of an EHT PPDU. This EHT PPDU may include three parts: a legacy preamble (L-preamble), a high-efficiency preamble (HE-preamble), and a physical layer convergence protocol service data unit (PSDU). The L-preamble portion includes the L-STF, L-LTF, and L-SIG fields; the HE-preamble portion includes the RL-SIG field, the universal SIG (U-SIG) field, the Extremely High Throughput Signaling (EHT-SIG) field, the Extremely High Throughput Short Training Field (EHT-STF) field, and the Extremely High Throughput Long Training Field (EHT-LTF) field; the PSDU portion includes data fields, etc. The U-SIG field occupies two OFDM symbols, as shown in Figure 5 as U-SIG SYM1 and U-SIG SYM1. The universal SIG field may include version-independent info fields, version-dependent info fields, a CRC field, and a tail field. The version-independent info field may contain a 3-bit WiFi version field, a 1-bit downlink / uplink field, at least a 6-bit BSS color field, and at least a 7-bit TxOP field. Furthermore, the version-independent info field may also include a bandwidth field. The version-dependent info field may include PPDU format fields, and may also include one or more of the following fields: modulation and coding scheme field, spatial stream field, encoding field, etc. The CRC field occupies at least 4 bits, and the tail field occupies at least 6 tail bits.

[0124] In one possible implementation, the EHT-SIG field includes a common EHT-SIG field and a user-specific EHT-SIG field. The common EHT-SIG field can be used to carry resource allocation information assigned to the STA, while the user-specific EHT-SIG field can be used to carry user information. For example, to allocate 320MHz bandwidth, if the structure in 802.11ax is used, the user only needs to read the content of the primary 80MHz channel within the 320MHz range to know the allocated resources. That is, all user resource allocation information is carried on the primary 80MHz channel, resulting in significant overhead on the primary 80MHz channel.

[0125] However, to further reduce overhead (e.g., reducing the length of the EHT-SIG), the 802.11be standard discussion proposed fragmenting the entire bandwidth based on the EHT PPDU, or it can be understood as proposing a new PPDU structure. For example, see Figure 6, which shows one example of this new PPDU structure. Figure 6 uses a channel bandwidth (referred to herein as the full bandwidth or full frequency band) of 320MHz as an example. Figure 6 shows that 320MHz is divided into four frequency domain segments, each 80MHz, with the first 80MHz being the main 80MHz. Since each frequency domain segment is 80MHz, in some embodiments, the frequency domain segment can also be referred to as an 80MHz segment. Using the structure shown in Figure 6, the U-SIG field can be repeated only within each frequency domain segment (80MHz), and different frequency domain segments can use different U-SIG and EHT-SIG. It should be understood that for frequency domain segments greater than or equal to 40MHz, the EHT-SIG in each frequency domain segment can have two or more content channels. Each frequency domain slice can contain only its own 80MHz punch indication in the U-SIG section. Since this architecture effectively distributes the overhead of the U-SIG and EHT-SIG fields on the original main 80MHz channel across four frequency domain slices, it can save overhead.

[0126] For example, consider allocating a 320MHz bandwidth to 40 users. If the PPDU structure shown in Figure 6 is not used, and the 802.11ax structure is adopted instead, the PPDU would require at least 16 EHT-SIG fields, and the EHT-SIG fields would require at least 40 user fields. By reading the contents of the primary 80MHz segment within the 320MHz band, it would be possible to determine which 20MHz bands within the 320MHz band have been punctured, and by reading the EHT-SIG fields, the allocated resources could be identified. However, if the PPDU structure shown in Figure 6 is used, because the 320MHz band is segmented in the frequency domain, each frequency domain segment (80MHz) contains a primary 20MHz band. With the same 40 users, some are parked in the first of the four frequency domain segments, some in the second, some in the third, and some in the fourth. Correspondingly, the U-SIG field can be repeated only within each frequency domain segment (80MHz), with different U-SIG and EHT-SIG fields used for different frequency domain segments. Since the overhead of the original EHT-SIG on the main 80MHz channel can be distributed across the four frequency domain segments, the user fields corresponding to the 40 users can also be transmitted separately on each of the four frequency domain segments. This results in fewer than 40 user fields in the EHT-SIG field per frequency domain segment, thus saving overhead. Using the example above, if each frequency domain segment hosts 10 users, then the EHT-SIG field in each frequency domain segment only needs about 10 user fields, which obviously reduces overhead.

[0127] It should be noted that Figure 6 only uses the example where each frequency domain segment has the same size. However, the embodiments of this application do not limit the size of each frequency domain segment, and the bandwidth of each frequency domain segment is variable. For example, 320MHz can be divided into 3 frequency domain segments, which are 80MHz, 80MHz, and 160MHz respectively.

[0128] It should be understood that multiple discontinuous RUs can be considered as being formed after preamble puncturing across the entire bandwidth. Therefore, for non-OFDMA transmission, the resources allocated to the user that are part of the full bandwidth are equivalent to the preamble puncturing combinations supported by non-OFDMA transmission.

[0129] Therefore, in some embodiments, for STAs in non-OFDMA transmissions, the bandwidth allocated to the STA can be indicated by the U-SIG field, and the puncturing status on that bandwidth can be indicated by the U-SIG and / or EHT-SIG fields. Since both the U-SIG and EHT-SIG fields can be used to indicate puncturing status, for ease of distinction, in this embodiment, the field in the U-SIG used to carry the puncturing status is called the preamble puncturing information field A, and the field in the EHT-SIG used to carry the puncturing status is called the preamble puncturing information field B. It should be understood that the preamble puncturing information field A or preamble puncturing information field B can be used not only to indicate bandwidth puncturing status. From another perspective, bandwidth puncturing status can also indicate resources allocated to the user, so the preamble puncturing information field A or preamble puncturing information field B can also be considered as indicating resource allocation status. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the specific names of the fields used to carry the puncturing status; that is, the aforementioned preamble puncturing information field A and / or preamble puncturing information field B can also have other names in some embodiments. In this paper, the field used to carry the punching information is called the preamble punching information field.

[0130] In one possible implementation, the EHT PPDU may include a preamble puncture information field A and a preamble puncture information field B. That is, preamble puncture information field A and preamble puncture information field B indicate puncture information in non-OFDMA transmission (also known as puncture indication method one in non-OFDMA transmission). Preamble puncture information field A can be used to carry puncture information corresponding to 80MHz for each frequency domain segment as shown in Figure 6. Users can know the puncture status of their own frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz by reading preamble puncture information field A, and thus complete the reading from preamble puncture information field B in the EHT-SIG field. Preamble puncture information field B can contain puncture information for the entire frequency band (e.g., puncture information for 320MHz).

[0131] For example, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy 3 bits, which can indicate the puncture status within an 80MHz bandwidth. For instance, the 80MHz bandwidth can be divided into four 20MHz segments in 20MHz granularity. It should be understood that puncturing within the 80MHz bandwidth refers to puncturing one or more 20MHz segments within the 80MHz bandwidth. The four 20MHz segments within the 80MHz bandwidth are sorted from low to high frequency. If none of the four 20MHz segments within the 80MHz bandwidth are punctured, it can be recorded as [1 1 1 1], where 1 indicates no puncturing, corresponding to the transmission of PPDU information on the channel. If the first 20MHz segment within the 80MHz bandwidth is punctured, it can be recorded as [x 1 1 1], and if the second 20MHz segment within the 80MHz bandwidth is punctured, it can be recorded as [1 x 1 1]. Similarly, the puncturing patterns within an 80MHz bandwidth can be [1 1 1 1], [x 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1], [1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 x], [xx 1 1], [1 1 xx]. It should be understood that "x" indicates a puncture, corresponding to no PPDU information being transmitted on the channel. Of course, this embodiment only uses "x" to indicate puncturing; in some embodiments, puncturing can also be indicated in other ways, such as using "0". For example, [1 0 1 1] indicates that the second 20MHz band within the 80MHz is punctured. It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the way puncturing is indicated; puncturing can be indicated using "x" or "0", or other possible symbols, as long as the indication of puncturing and non-puncturing can be distinguished. In this article, puncturing is indicated using "x" as an example.

[0132] It should be noted that for a total bandwidth of 80MHz, as shown in Figure 7, the 80MHz bandwidth includes a primary 20MHz (denoted as P20), a secondary 20MHz (denoted as S20), and a secondary 40MHz (denoted as S40). S40 is further divided into S40-L (the left 20MHz of S40) and S40-R (the right 20MHz of S40). The corresponding perforation pattern within this 80MHz bandwidth is shown in Figure 7. In Figure 7(a), only S20 is perforated within this 80MHz bandwidth. In Figure 7(b) and (c), only one 20MHz segment within S40 is perforated within this 80MHz bandwidth. In other words, in order of frequency from low to high, 80MHz includes the first 20MHz, the second 20MHz, the third 20MHz, and the fourth 20MHz. The puncturing situation corresponding to this 80MHz includes no puncturing or only one 20MHz being punctured. That is, the puncturing situation of the 80MHz bandwidth can include [1 1 1 1], [x 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1], [1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 x].

[0133] However, in this embodiment, the preamble puncture information field A can be used to carry the puncture information for each frequency domain slice corresponding to 80MHz as shown in Figure 6. That is, the 80MHz bandwidth in this embodiment may be a frequency domain slice, not the full bandwidth of 80MHz. For example, the full bandwidth is 160MHz, which can be divided into two frequency domain slices, each of which is 80MHz. Since 40MHz can be punctured within this 160MHz, the puncture situation of the 160MHz bandwidth may include [xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 xx 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 xx 1 1], and [1 1 1 1 1 1 xx]. From this perspective, for the 80MHz frequency domain slice, the puncture situation may also include [xx 1 1] and [1 1 xx].

[0134] In another possible implementation, the EHT PPDU includes a preamble puncture information field A but does not include a preamble puncture information field B. That is, preamble puncture information field A indicates puncture information in non-OFDMA transmissions (also known as puncture indication method two in non-OFDMA transmissions). In this case, preamble puncture information field A can be used to indicate all possible puncture situations across the entire bandwidth at 320MHz and below. Since preamble puncture information field A can already indicate all supported puncture situations, it is not necessary to use preamble puncture information field B for indication.

[0135] Using the example above, it should be understood that for an 80MHz bandwidth, it may not be punched, or 20MHz may be punched. Punching scenarios for an 80MHz bandwidth may include [1 1 1 1], [x 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1], [1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 x].

[0136] Similarly, for a 160MHz bandwidth, it can be left un-punched, or 20MHz or 40MHz can be punched out. If it is left unpunched, the punching configuration for the 160MHz bandwidth can include [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1]. If 20MHz is punched out, the punching configuration for the 160MHz bandwidth can include: [x 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 x 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 x 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 x 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 x 1], and [1 1 1 1 1 1 x]. If 40MHz is punched out, then the punching scenarios for the 160MHz bandwidth can include [xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 xx 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 xx 1 1] and [1 1 1 1 1 1 xx].

[0137] Similarly, for 240MHz, it can be left un-punched, or 40MHz or 80MHz can be punched out. If it is left unpunched, the punching configuration for the 240MHz bandwidth can include [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1]. If 40MHz is punched out, the punching configuration for the 240MHz bandwidth can include: [xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 xx 1 1], and [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx]. If 80MHz is blocked, then the puncturing scenarios for the 240MHz bandwidth can include: [1 1 1 1 xxxx 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xxxx].

[0138] Similarly, for 320MHz, it may not be punched, or it may have 80MHz or 120MHz punched. If it is not punched, then the punching situation for the 320MHz bandwidth can include [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1]. If 80MHz is punctured, the puncturing scenarios for the 320MHz bandwidth can include: [xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx 1 1] and [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xx]. If 120MHz is punched out, then the punching scenarios for the 360MHz bandwidth can include: [1 1 1 1 xxxx 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xxxx 1 1 1 1] and [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 xxxx].

[0139] As can be seen from the above, under each bandwidth, since there are at most 16 puncturing situations, the preamble puncturing information field A only needs to occupy 4 bits to indicate the resource unit allocated to the STA in non-OFDMA.

[0140] Although the PPDU structure shown in Figure 6 can perform frequency domain fragmentation of the entire bandwidth, and can save signaling overhead by distributing the overhead of the EHT-SIG field to multiple frequency domain fragments, there is no further solution on how to indicate the allocated resources to the user using the PPDU structure shown in Figure 6, that is, there is no corresponding design scheme for the EHT-SIG field.

[0141] To address the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of this application provide a resource indication method. In this method, the AP can reuse fields from the U-SIG field and / or the EHT-SIG field to indicate multiple consecutive or non-consecutive RUs allocated to the user. Alternatively, embodiments of this application can be considered to provide a new design scheme for the U-SIG field and the EHT-SIG field, which can further reduce signaling overhead compared to using the resource allocation subfield in 802.11ax to indicate the allocated resources to the user.

[0142] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are applicable to the scenario shown in Figure 1, and of course, they can also be applied to other possible communication scenarios or communication systems. The embodiments of this application are not limited here. It should be understood that the execution entities involved in the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application include transmitting devices and receiving devices. In the description herein, the transmitting device is also referred to as the transmitting end, and the receiving device is also referred to as the receiving end. In the following text, the transmitting end is taken as AP and the receiving end is STA.

[0143] Please refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic flowchart of a resource indication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes the following steps:

[0144] S801, AP generates PPDU, which includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in the first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that the scheduled user in the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0145] S802, AP sends the PPDU, STA receives the PPDU;

[0146] S803 and STA determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching instruction information.

[0147] It should be understood that when the AP notifies each STA to send data, it needs to inform each STA of the RU allocated by the AP for each STA. In this embodiment, the first bandwidth can be considered as the full bandwidth, that is, the bandwidth configuration supported by the system, such as 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 240MHz, and 320MHz. To save signaling overhead, this embodiment can use the frequency domain sharding structure of the EHT PPDU shown in Figure 6 to notify the STA of the allocated resources. It should be understood that in the frequency domain sharding scenario, the first bandwidth is greater than or equal to 80MHz, and the first bandwidth can be divided into one or more frequency domain shards. This embodiment does not limit the number of frequency domain shards, that is, the sizes of different frequency domain shards can be the same or different. For example, for a 320MHz bandwidth, it can be divided into four 80MHz frequency domain shards, or it can be divided into two 80MHz frequency domain shards and one 160MHz frequency domain shard.

[0148] The preamble puncture information field can be used to indicate the resource allocation status within each frequency domain segment. It should be understood that this resource allocation status pertains to users parked within each frequency domain segment. In other words, the preamble puncture information field can be used to indicate the resource allocation status of users within each frequency domain segment. For example, an STA within a frequency domain segment may be allocated resource units or may not. If an STA within a frequency domain segment is not allocated resources, then that STA does not need to read the EHT-SIG field in the EHT PPDU, thus saving energy. Therefore, in some embodiments, the preamble puncture information field can be used to indicate that a user within a frequency domain segment has not been allocated any resource units.

[0149] In a possible implementation, the preamble puncture information field can be carried within a field of the U-SIG field. For ease of description, this field is referred to as the first field in this embodiment. The first field can be a field already defined in the U-SIG or a newly added field in the U-SIG field. Since this embodiment can utilize the frequency domain segmentation structure of the EHT PPDU, the first field can be the preamble puncture information field A as described above.

[0150] It should be understood that the preamble puncture information field A can occupy multiple bits and can be used to indicate the resource allocation within a frequency domain slice. For example, for an 80MHz frequency domain slice, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy 3 bits; for a frequency domain slice greater than or equal to 160MHz, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy at least 3 bits. Please refer to Table 2, which shows the content that the preamble puncture information field A can indicate for an 80MHz frequency domain slice.

[0151] Table 2. Meaning of Field A in U-SIG's Preamble Punch Information

[0152] Status Content (Resource Allocation) 000(0)[1 1 1 1](No 20MHz within 80MHz) 001(1)[x 1 1 1](The first 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 010(2)[1 x 1 1](The second 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 011(3)[1 1 x 1](The third 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 100(4)[1 1 1 x](The fourth 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 101(5)[xx 1 1](The first and second 20MHz within 80MHz are punctured) 110(6)[1 1 xx](The third and fourth 20MHz within 80MHz are punctured) 111(7) Reserved

[0153] It should be understood that the 3-bit sequence carried by the preamble puncture information field A in Table 2 represents a resource allocation situation. It should be noted that Table 2 only illustrates one correspondence between the 3-bit sequence value and the resource allocation situation; the specific correspondence between the 3-bit sequence value and the resource allocation situation is not limited in this application embodiment. For example, when the 3-bit sequence is "111", it can indicate that 80MHz has not been punctured (i.e., corresponding to [1 1 1 1]); when the 3-bit sequence is "110", it can indicate that the first 20MHz within 80MHz has been punctured (i.e., corresponding to [x 1 1 1]), and so on. Taking the correspondence shown in Table 2 as an example, in this application embodiment, an entry for "unallocated resource unit" can be added to Table 2. That is, the reserved entry in Table 2 represents "unallocated resource unit". If a STA within a certain 80MHz has not been allocated a resource unit, then "111" can be carried by the preamble puncture information field A. For a STA, since it needs to read the 80MHz main 20MHz, it will read the U-SIG field. When the STA determines through the preamble puncture information field A that it has not been allocated resource units, it does not need to continue reading the EHT-SIG and other fields following U-SIG, thus saving the STA's power consumption. Since the STA has not been allocated resource units, it naturally does not need to read the user field in EHT-SIG to confirm which resources are allocated to it. Alternatively, it can be considered that in this case, the user field in EHT-SIG is unnecessary. Therefore, by using the preamble puncture information field A to indicate that users within the frequency domain segment have not been allocated resource units, the EHT-SIG field may not include the user field, in order to minimize signaling overhead.

[0154] It should be understood that when the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field indicates a bandwidth of 80MHz, and the current preamble puncture information field A indicates the presence of puncture, only one puncture is allowed in non-OFDMA transmission mode, meaning only one channel can be punctured. If the punctured channel has already been indicated in the preamble puncture information field A, the STA within the frequency domain slice can determine the resource allocation for non-OFDMA transmission mode through the indication in the bandwidth field of the U-SIG field. Since the other channels are not punctured, there is no need for additional indication in the preamble puncture information field B, in order to minimize signaling overhead.

[0155] Of course, if the bandwidth indicated by the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field is less than or equal to 80MHz, since the preamble puncture information field A can indicate all puncture situations of 80MHz, there is no need for additional indication by the preamble puncture information field B, which can save signaling overhead.

[0156] If the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field indicates a bandwidth greater than 80MHz, and if the preamble puncture information field A only includes the puncture information corresponding to each 80MHz frequency domain segment, the STA can know the puncture information of its own frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz through the preamble puncture information field A, and thus complete the reading on the channel where the EHT-SIG field carries the preamble puncture information field B. In this case, the preamble puncture information field can be carried in both preamble puncture information field A and preamble puncture information field B. Preamble puncture information field A can occupy multiple bits, and preamble puncture information field B also occupies multiple bits. When the preamble puncture information field A indicates the puncture information within the corresponding 80MHz frequency domain segment as shown in Table 2 above, the content indicated by the preamble puncture information field B can be as shown in Table 3.

[0157] Table 3. Meaning of Field B in the EHT-SIG Field (Preamble Punch Information)

[0158]

[0159]

[0160] Table 3 can be considered a design for preamble puncture information field B, used for puncture cases with bandwidths greater than 80MHz. It should be understood that puncture cases with bandwidths greater than 80MHz, such as 160MHz, 240MHz, and 320MHz, are indicated by preamble puncture information fields A and B. Preamble puncture information field A indicates the puncture situation within the corresponding 80MHz frequency domain segment, while preamble puncture information field B indicates the puncture situation in the remaining frequency bands of the full bandwidth excluding that specific frequency domain segment.

[0161] For example, in Table 3, the preamble puncture information field A occupies 3 bits, and the preamble puncture information field B occupies 4 bits. The index of the preamble puncture information field B can be considered as the value of the preamble puncture information field B, which indicates the puncture situation in the remaining frequency bands of the full bandwidth excluding this frequency domain segment. It should be noted that Table 3 only illustrates one correspondence between the values ​​of the preamble puncture information fields A and B and the puncture situation. This application embodiment does not limit the specific correspondence between the values ​​of the preamble puncture information fields A and B and the puncture situation. For example, the current precode punching information field A carries "111", which can indicate that the first 80MHz within 160MHz has not been punched (i.e., corresponding to [1 1 1 1]), the current precode punching information field B carries "111", which can indicate that the second 80MHz within 160MHz has not been punched (i.e., corresponding to [1 1 1 1]), and so on, which will not be listed here.

[0162] Taking the correspondence shown in Table 3 as an example, for instance, the total bandwidth is 160MHz, including two 80MHz segments. The preamble puncture information field A indicates [1 1 1 1], meaning that the corresponding 80MHz segment is not punctured. If the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 0, it indicates that the other 80MHz segment in the 160MHz segment is also not punctured. If the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 5, it indicates that the first and second 20MHz segments of the other 80MHz segment in the 160MHz segment are punctured. It should be understood that the value of the preamble puncture information field B, which is 7-15, can be reserved bits for other uses.

[0163] It should be understood that if the preamble puncture information field A indicates [x 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1], [1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 x], [xx 1 1], or [1 1 xx], it corresponds to a punctured area on the 80MHz band. Since only one puncture can exist across the entire bandwidth, the other 80MHz band in the 160MHz band must be unpunctured. Therefore, the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 0, indicating that the other 80MHz band in the 160MHz band has not been punctured. The value of the preamble puncture information field B is 1-15, which can be reserved bits for other uses.

[0164] Similarly, if the total bandwidth is 240MHz, including three 80MHz segments, the preamble puncture information field A indicates [1 1 1 1], meaning that the corresponding 80MHz segment is not punctured. If the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 0, it indicates that the other 160MHz in the 240MHz segment is also not punctured. If the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 5, it indicates that the fifth and sixth 20MHz segments in the other 160MHz segment of the 240MHz segment are punctured. It should be understood that the value of the preamble puncture information field B, which is 7-15, can be reserved bits for other uses.

[0165] It should be understood that if the preamble puncture information field A indicates [xx 1 1] or [1 1 xx], it corresponds to a punctured area on 80MHz. Since the remaining 160MHz in the 240MHz range can only be unpunctured, the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 0, indicating that the remaining 160MHz in the 240MHz range has not been punctured. The value of the preamble puncture information field B is 1-15, which can be reserved bits for other uses.

[0166] Similarly, if the total bandwidth is 320MHz, including four 80MHz bands, the preamble puncture information field A indicates [1 1 1 1], meaning that the corresponding 80MHz bands are not punctured. If the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 0, it indicates that the other 240MHz bands in the 320MHz band are also not punctured. If the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 9, it indicates that the 11th and 12th 20MHz bands in the other 240MHz bands in the 320MHz band are punctured. It should be understood that the value of the preamble puncture information field B, which is 10-15, can be reserved bits for other uses.

[0167] It should be understood that if the preamble puncture information field A indicates [xx 1 1] or [1 1 xx], it corresponds to a punctured area on 80MHz. Since the remaining 240MHz in 320MHz can only be unpunctured, the value of the preamble puncture information field B is 0, indicating that the remaining 240MHz in 320MHz has not been punctured. The value of the preamble puncture information field B is 1-15, which can be reserved bits for other uses.

[0168] It should be understood that one or more STAs may be allocated the full bandwidth, or the full bandwidth may be allocated to one or more STAs. If the full bandwidth is allocated to one or more STAs, the frequency domain slicing structure of the EHT PPDU shown in Figure 6 above is used to notify the STAs of the allocated resources. For each frequency domain slice, the allocated resources need to be indicated. That is, the preamble puncture information field A in the U-SIG field corresponding to each frequency domain slice needs to indicate [1 1 1 1], which obviously has a large overhead. Therefore, in some embodiments, the preamble puncture information field can be used to indicate that the scheduled STAs in a certain frequency domain slice are allocated full bandwidth (unpunctured) resources. In this way, the STA can determine the allocated resources by combining the full bandwidth size indicated by the bandwidth field in the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field with the preamble puncture information field. Which STAs in a specific frequency domain slice are allocated full bandwidth resources can be determined by reading the user field in the user-specific field in the EHT-SIG field after the U-SIG field. It should be noted that the scheduled STAs here refer to the STAs that have been allocated resources. For example, if there are 10 STAs on a frequency domain slice, all 10 STAs will read the U-SIG field, but 8 of them will be allocated resources. These 8 STAs are the scheduled STAs.

[0169] In a possible implementation, the preamble puncture information field can be carried in the preamble puncture information field A within the aforementioned U-SIG field. It should be understood that the preamble puncture information field A can occupy multiple bits and can be used to indicate the resource allocation within a frequency domain slice. For example, for an 80MHz frequency domain slice, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy 3 bits; for a frequency domain slice greater than or equal to 160MHz, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy at least 4 bits. See Table 4, which shows the content that the preamble puncture information field A can indicate for an 80MHz frequency domain slice.

[0170] Table 4. Meaning of Field A in U-SIG Preamble Punch Information

[0171] Status content (resource allocation status) 000(0)[1 1 1 1](No 20MHz within 80MHz) 001(1)[x 1 1 1](The first 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 010(2)[1 x 1 1](The second 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 011(3)[1 1 x 1](The third 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 100(4)[1 1 1 x](The fourth 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured)

[0172] 101(5)[xx 1 1](The first and second 20MHz within 80MHz are punched) 110(6)[1 1 xx](The third and fourth 20MHz within 80MHz are punched) 111(7)Reserved

[0173] It should be understood that the 3-bit sequence carried by the preamble puncture information field A in Table 4 represents a resource allocation situation. It should be noted that Table 4 only illustrates one correspondence between the value of the 3-bit sequence and the resource allocation situation; the specific correspondence between the value of the 3-bit sequence and the resource allocation situation is not limited in this application embodiment. For example, when the 3-bit sequence is "111", it can indicate that 80MHz has not been punctured (i.e., corresponding to [1 1 1 1]); when the 3-bit sequence is "110", it can indicate that the first 20MHz within 80MHz has been punctured (i.e., corresponding to [x 1 1 1]), and so on.

[0174] Taking the correspondence shown in Table 4 as an example, in this embodiment, an entry for "Full Bandwidth (Unpunctured)" can be added to Table 3. That is, the reserved entry in Table 4 represents "users within the frequency domain slice are allocated full bandwidth (unpunctured) resources". Taking a full bandwidth resource of 320MHz as an example, the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field indicates a resource of 320MHz. If a STA within an 80MHz range is allocated a full bandwidth (unpunctured) resource unit, then "111" can be carried through the preamble punctured information field A. For a STA, when it is allocated full bandwidth resources through the preamble punctured information field A, reading the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field can determine that it has been allocated 320MHz of unpunctured resources. Which STAs within a specific frequency domain slice are allocated full bandwidth resources can be determined by reading the user field in the user-specific field of the EHT-SIG field following the U-SIG field. In this scheme, the indication of the full bandwidth (without puncturing) can be achieved by indicating the preamble puncturing information field A of a frequency domain segment, without needing to indicate it through the preamble puncturing information field A corresponding to each frequency domain segment of the full bandwidth, which can save overhead.

[0175] To further reduce signaling overhead, in some embodiments, a compression mode can be indicated in the U-SIG field or the EHT-SIG field. The compression mode refers to the common field in the EHT-SIG field, meaning that the length of the common field is reduced.

[0176] For example, certain fields in the common field can be simplified, such as reducing their length or deleting them. For instance, the Resource Allocation (RU) subfield can be simplified, for example, by reducing its number, omitting, or deleting it. If the common field includes a simplified RU subfield or does not include one, the corresponding EHT PPDU is a compressed EHT PPDU. In other words, compressed mode refers to a simplified version of the EHT PPDU format; for example, the RU subfield in the common field is simplified, or even omitted or deleted. Uncompressed mode EHT PPDUs are non-simplified versions; for example, the RU subfield in the common field is not simplified. Similarly, deleting some or all of the User fields in the common field also results in a compressed EHT PPDU. It should be understood that because the compressed EHT PPDU format is simpler, it saves overhead.

[0177] Because in compressed modes, for example, the RU Allocation subfield is simplified or even deleted, the preamble puncture information field A and the aforementioned preamble puncture information field B are needed to indicate the resources allocated to the STA. It should be understood that in OFDMA transmission, the resource unit allocated to the STA is indicated by the RU Allocation subfield; in non-OFDMA transmission, the resources allocated to the STA can be indicated by the preamble puncture information field A and / or the preamble puncture information field B. Furthermore, non-OFDMA transmission includes the allocation of non-OFDMA resource units with full-bandwidth puncturing and the allocation of non-OFDMA resources without full-bandwidth puncturing. To distinguish the allocation of resources in the above-mentioned transmission modes, in this embodiment, multiple compression modes can be defined, and the compression mode can be indicated by carrying a compression indication field in U-SIG or EHT-SIG.

[0178] For example, the embodiments of this application can define the following modes:

[0179] 1. OFDMA transmission mode, which is the resource indication in OFDMA transmission including the unsimplified version of the RU Allocation subfield;

[0180] 2. A simplified version of the OFDMA transmission mode, which includes a simplified version of the RU Allocation subfield resource indication in OFDMA transmission;

[0181] 3. Non-OFDMA puncturing transmission mode, that is, in non-OFDMA transmission, the allocated resources are full-bandwidth puncturing resource units.

[0182] 4. Non-OFDMA unpunctured transmission mode, that is, in non-OFDMA transmission, the allocated resources are full-bandwidth unpunctured resource units.

[0183] It should be understood that the first transmission mode is an uncompressed mode relative to the other three transmission modes; in other words, the other three transmission modes are compressed modes relative to the first transmission mode. In some embodiments, a compressed mode can be indicated by the U-SIG field, i.e., a compressed mode indicator field is set in the U-SIG field. This compressed mode indicator field can occupy multiple bits to indicate a compressed mode (including uncompressed mode and compressed mode). For example, this compressed mode indicator field can occupy 2 bits, and the content indicated by this compressed mode indicator field can be as shown in Table 5.

[0184] Table 5. Meaning of the Compression Indication Field in U-SIG

[0185] Status Content (Compression Mode) 00 (0) OFDMA Transmission Mode 01 (1) Non-OFDMA Punched Transmission Mode 10 (2) Simplified Version of OFDMA Transmission Mode 11 (3) Non-OFDMA Unpunched Transmission Mode

[0186] It should be understood that each value of the compression indicator field in Table 5 corresponds to a compression mode. The specific correspondence between values ​​and compression modes is merely illustrative. This application does not limit the specific correspondence between the values ​​of the compression indicator field and compression modes. For example, when the compression indicator field carries "00", it indicates a non-OFDMA unpunctured transmission mode; when the compression indicator field carries "11", it indicates an OFDMA transmission mode. These are not listed individually here. It should be noted that since the 1-bit Space-time Block Coding (STBC) field in HE-SIG-A of 11ax is only meaningful in non-MU-MIMO transmissions, the STBC field can be reused if a MU-MIMO compression mode exists. For example, this 1-bit STBC field can be used to indicate two MU-MIMO compression modes, or to participate in indicating the number of MU-MIMO users.

[0187] It should be understood that, as mentioned in Table 4 above, an entry for "Full Bandwidth (Unpunctured)" has been added. In this case, if the STA determines from the compression indication field that the compression mode is a non-OFDMA unpunctured transmission mode, then the STA does not need to continue reading the preamble punctured information field A, thus saving energy. The reserved entry in Table 4 represents "users within the frequency domain are allocated full bandwidth (unpunctured) resources," which can also be considered a non-OFDMA unpunctured transmission mode (a compression mode). Therefore, the reserved entry in Table 4 can also be used to indicate a non-OFDMA unpunctured transmission mode or a compression mode. It should be understood that in this compression mode, it is not necessary to indicate the resource allocation status through the resource allocation subfield. Therefore, the number of resource allocation subfields in the common fields of the EHT-SIG field can be reduced or the resource allocation subfields can be deleted to save signaling overhead as much as possible. It should be noted that the four modes illustrated in Table 5 are only illustrative examples, and the embodiments of this application do not limit the types of compression modes. For example, the reserved entry in Table 4 may indicate other compression modes in other embodiments.

[0188] Similarly, the "Unallocated Resource Units" entry added to Table 2 (i.e., multiplexing reservation entries) can also be considered as a transmission mode or a compression mode. This defines a transmission mode or compression mode as the absence of any resource units allocated to the user being called within the frequency domain slice. If the reservation entry in Table 3 indicates this transmission mode or compression mode, the user being served within the frequency domain slice can be determined to have not been allocated any resource units. It should be understood that since the STA has not been allocated resource units, there is naturally no need to read the user field in EHT-SIG; in other words, the user field in EHT-SIG is unnecessary. Therefore, in this compression mode, the EHT-SIG field may not include the user field to minimize signaling overhead. It should be noted that the four modes illustrated in Table 5 are merely illustrative examples, and this application does not limit the types of compression modes. For example, the reservation entries in Table 2 may indicate other compression modes in other embodiments.

[0189] As mentioned earlier, for non-OFDMA transmissions, in some embodiments, the resource allocation can be indicated by the preamble puncture information field A in the U-SIG field of the EHT PPDU. For example, for an 80MHz bandwidth, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy 3 bits, and the resource allocation indicated includes: [1 1 1 1], [x 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1], [1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 x], that is, 5 cases. For a 160MHz bandwidth, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy 4 bits, indicating the following resource allocation: [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [x 1 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 x 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 x 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 x 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 x 1 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 1 1 1 1 x], [xx 1 1 1 1 1 1], [1 1 xx 1 1 1 1], [1 1 1 1 xx 1 1] and [1 1 1 1 1 1]. [xx], which refers to 13 cases. In this case, by combining the preamble puncturing information field A with the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field, it is possible to indicate whether full bandwidth puncturing or full bandwidth non-puncturing is used in non-OFDMA transmission.

[0190] It should be understood that if the EHT PPDU frequency domain segmentation structure shown in Figure 6 is used, for an 80MHz frequency domain segment, seven resource allocation scenarios can be indicated through the preamble puncture information field A: [1 1 1 1], [x 1 1 1], [1 x 1 1], [1 1 x 1], [1 1 1 x], [xx 1 1], [1 1 xx]. In this case, by combining the preamble puncture information field A with the bandwidth field in the U-SIG field, the puncturing indication for each frequency domain segment under OFDMA transmission can be achieved.

[0191] To minimize signaling overhead, in this embodiment, the preamble puncture information field A can be defined to indicate all puncture cases supported by non-OFDMA transmission, or to indicate the puncture cases for each frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz under OFDMA transmission. In other words, the preamble puncture information field A can indicate both all puncture cases supported by non-OFDMA transmission and the puncture cases for each frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz under OFDMA transmission.

[0192] In one possible implementation, when a field in the U-SIG field indicates that the EHT PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, the preamble puncture information field A indicates the content of the aforementioned five cases. That is, an 80MHz configuration in OFDMA mode represents a punctured or non-punctured configuration within 80MHz (i.e., full bandwidth configuration). Alternatively, when a field in the U-SIG field indicates that the EHT PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, the preamble puncture information field A indicates the content of the aforementioned seven cases. That is, an 80MHz configuration represents the punctured configuration within 80MHz corresponding to that frequency domain segment. In other words, if the bandwidth field indicates a bandwidth of 80MHz, and when a field in the U-SIG field indicates that the EHT PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, then the preamble puncture information field A indicating an 80MHz configuration in OFDMA mode represents a punctured or non-punctured configuration within 80MHz. If the bandwidth field indicates a bandwidth of 80MHz, and a field in the U-SIG field indicates that the EHT PPDU belongs to OFDMA transmission mode, then the preamble puncture information field A, indicating the 80MHz configuration, represents the puncturing situation for the corresponding 80MHz frequency segment. Therefore, for 80MHz, the preamble puncture information field A simultaneously indicates all puncturing situations supported in non-OFDMA transmission, as well as the puncturing situation for the corresponding 80MHz frequency segment in OFDMA transmission.

[0193] This scheme can also be understood as being compatible with the aforementioned puncturing indication method two in non-OFDMA transmission, capable of indicating puncturing information in 80MHz OFDMA transmission. For ease of understanding, Table 6 illustrates this below. Please refer to Table 6, which shows the content indicated by the preamble puncturing information field A in U-SIG, where Figure 6 uses an example with a full bandwidth of 80MHz and the preamble puncturing information field A occupying 3 bits.

[0194] Table 6. Meaning of Field A in U-SIG Preamble Punch Information

[0195] Status Content (Resource Allocation) 000(0)[1 1 1 1](No 20MHz within 80MHz) 001(1)[x 1 1 1](The first 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 010(2)[1 x 1 1](The second 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 011(3)[1 1 x 1](The third 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 100(4)[1 1 1 x](The fourth 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 101(5)[xx 1 1](The first and second 20MHz within 80MHz are punctured) 110(6)[1 1 xx](The third and fourth 20MHz within 80MHz are punctured) 111(7) Reserved

[0196] It should be understood that in Table 6, each value of the preamble punch information field A corresponds to a specific punching situation. The specific correspondence between each value and each punching situation is merely illustrative. This application does not limit the specific correspondence between the values ​​of the preamble punch information field A and the punching situations. For example, if the current preamble punch information field A carries "111", it can indicate that no punching has been performed within 80MHz (i.e., corresponding to [1 1 1 1]); if the current preamble punch information field A carries "110", it can indicate that the first 20MHz within 80MHz has been punched (i.e., corresponding to [x 1 1 1]). These are not listed individually here.

[0197] It should be understood that, taking Table 6 as an example, if a field in the U-SIG field indicates that the EHT PPDU belongs to a non-OFDMA transmission mode, then the preamble puncturing information field A indicates the full bandwidth configuration of puncturing or not puncturing within 80MHz in the non-OFDMA case. In this case, for the station, if the full bandwidth is determined to be greater than or equal to 160MHz based on the bandwidth field, the STA only needs to read the puncturing situation within that 80MHz and does not need to read the bandwidth information outside of that 80MHz. If a field in the U-SIG field indicates that the EHT PPDU belongs to an OFDMA transmission mode, the preamble puncturing information field A indicates the puncturing situation of the frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz in OFDMA transmission. It can be seen that, for the full bandwidth of 80MHz, the preamble puncturing information field A has the ability to indicate all puncturing situations supported in non-OFDMA transmission, as well as the puncturing situation of the frequency domain segment corresponding to 80MHz in OFDMA transmission.

[0198] It should be understood that this scheme is compatible with the aforementioned puncturing indication method two in non-OFDMA transmission. Therefore, for frequencies greater than or equal to 160MHz, the preamble puncturing information field A indicates the puncturing situation in non-OFDMA transmission. In this case, it should be understood that the preamble puncturing information field A occupies at least 4 bits. When the preamble puncturing information field A occupies at least 4 bits, there are at least 9 reserved cases for puncturing indication in 80MHz frequency domain segments. In this case, the preamble puncturing information field A can be reused to indicate the compression mode, thus eliminating the need to set a compression indication field in the U-SIG or EHT-SIG fields, thereby minimizing signaling overhead.

[0199] For ease of understanding, Table 7 illustrates the following. Please refer to Table 7, which shows the content indicated by the preamble puncture information field A in U-SIG. Figure 7 uses an example where the full bandwidth is greater than or equal to 160MHz, the preamble puncture information field A occupies 4 bits, and the compression mode is a certain compression mode, such as compression mode one. It should be understood that there are 9 reserved cases for the puncture indication of the 80MHz frequency domain segment, and Table 7 also addresses the puncture cases for the 80MHz frequency domain segment.

[0200] Table 7. Meaning of Field A in U-SIG Preamble Punch Information

[0201] Status content (resource allocation status) 0000(0)[1 1 1 1](No puncturing within 80MHz) 0001(1)[x 1 1 1](The first 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 0010(2)[1 x 1 1](The second 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured) 0011(3)[1 1 x 1](The third 20MHz within 80MHz is punctured)

[0202] 0100(4)[1 1 1 x](The fourth 20MHz within 80MHz is punched) 0101(5)[xx 1 1](The first and second 20MHz within 80MHz are punched) 0110(6)[1 1 xx](The third and fourth 20MHz within 80MHz are punched) 0111(7)Reserved 1000(8)[1 1 1 1](Compression mode one, no punched within 80MHz) 1001(9)[x 1 1 1](Compression mode one, the first 20MHz within 80MHz is punched) 1010(10)[1 x 1 1](Compression mode one, the second 20MHz within 80MHz is punched) 1011(11)[1 1 x 1](Compression mode one, the third 20MHz within 80MHz is punched) 1100(12)[1 1 1 [x](Compression mode 1, the fourth 20MHz within 80MHz is punched) 1101(13) [xx 1 1](Compression mode 1, the first and second 20MHz within 80MHz are punched) 1110(14) [1 1 xx](Compression mode 1, the third and fourth 20MHz within 80MHz are punched) 1111(15) Reserved

[0203] It should be understood that in Table 7, each value of the preamble puncture information field A corresponds to a specific puncture situation. The specific correspondence between each value and each puncture situation is merely illustrative in Table 7. This application does not limit the specific correspondence between the values ​​of the preamble puncture information field A and the puncture situations. For example, if the current preamble puncture information field A carries "1000", it can indicate that the first 20MHz within 80MHz was punctured (i.e., corresponding to [x 1 1 1]); if the current preamble puncture information field A carries "0001", it can indicate compression mode one, where no punctures were performed within 80MHz (i.e., corresponding to [1 1 1 1]). These are not listed individually here.

[0204] Taking Table 7 as an example, it can be seen from Table 7 that in the embodiments of this application, the preamble puncture information field A has the ability to indicate all puncture cases supported in non-OFDMA transmission, as well as the ability to indicate the puncture case corresponding to 80MHz in frequency domain segmentation in OFDMA transmission. It also has the ability to indicate the compressed transmission mode in OFDMA transmission.

[0205] As can be seen from Tables 6 and 7, the preamble puncture information field A simultaneously indicates all puncture scenarios supported in non-OFDMA transmission, as well as the puncture scenario corresponding to 80MHz in frequency domain segmentation in OFDMA transmission, targeting the full 80MHz bandwidth. In this case, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy at least 3 bits. If compatible with puncture indications in non-OFDMA transmissions greater than or equal to 160MHz, the preamble puncture information field A can occupy at least 4 bits. Therefore, in some embodiments, the OFDMA transmission puncture indication can be separated from the non-OFDMA transmission puncture indication. In other words, using the non-OFDMA transmission puncture indication, the preamble puncture information field A is defined to occupy at least M bits, where M is greater than or equal to 4. For the OFDMA transmission puncture indication, 3 of these M bits are used for indication. The remaining M-3 bits can be used to indicate the compressed or uncompressed mode under OFDMA transmission.

[0206] It should be understood that in this case, it is necessary to distinguish whether the preamble puncture information field A indicates OFDMA transmission or non-OFDMA transmission. In this embodiment, an additional 1-bit indication information can be used to indicate whether the preamble puncture information field A indicates OFDMA transmission or non-OFDMA transmission. It should be understood that this 1-bit indication information is carried on the PPDU.

[0207] For the STA, upon receiving a PPDU from the AP, it first determines, using a 1-bit indication, whether the M-bit preamble puncture information field A indicates OFDMA or non-OFDMA transmission. If the M-bit preamble puncture information field A indicates non-OFDMA, the STA can determine the puncturing status of the allocated bandwidth. If the M-bit preamble puncture information field A indicates OFDMA transmission, the STA can determine the puncturing status of the corresponding 80MHz frequency domain segment based on 3 bits of these M bits, and determine whether the OFDMA transmission mode is compressed or uncompressed based on M-3 bits.

[0208] The resource indication method provided in this application includes a new UIS field and an EHT-SIG field. Fields in the U-SIG field and / or EHT-SIG field can be reused to indicate multiple consecutive or non-consecutive RUs allocated to a user. Compared with the method of indicating the allocated resources to the user through the resource allocation subfield in 802.11ax, the signaling overhead can be further reduced.

[0209] It should be noted that the resource indication methods in this paper all implement resource indication using the EHT PPDU fragmentation structure. In other words, the resource indication methods in this paper are applicable to scenarios where the entire bandwidth is divided into one or more frequency domain fragments. It should be understood that this resource indication method can also be applied to unfragmented scenarios. For example, if the channel bandwidth for transmitting PPDUs is 320MHz, the first 80MHz (i.e., the main 80MHz) of this 320MHz can be indicated first, and then the entire 320MHz can be indicated. However, the indication of the main 80MHz can follow the resource indication method in this paper, i.e., the indication of 80MHz frequency domain fragmentation.

[0210] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided by the embodiments of this application have been described from the perspectives of AP, STA, and the interaction between AP and STA. To implement the functions of the methods provided in the embodiments of this application, AP and STA may include hardware structures and / or software modules, and the above functions may be implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or a combination of hardware structures and software modules.

[0211] The communication device used to implement the above method in the embodiments of this application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the content above can be used in subsequent embodiments, and repeated content will not be described again.

[0212] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device 900. This communication device 900 can correspondingly implement the functions or steps implemented by the transmitting end (e.g., AP) or the receiving end (e.g., STA) in the various method embodiments described above. The communication device may include a transceiver module 910 and a processing module 920. Optionally, it may also include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions (code or program) and / or data. The transceiver module 910 and the processing module 920 can be coupled to the storage unit; for example, the processing module 920 can read the instructions (code or program) and / or data from the storage unit to implement the corresponding method. The aforementioned units can be set independently, or partially or completely integrated; for example, the transceiver module 910 can be integrated from the transmitting unit and the receiving unit.

[0213] In some possible implementations, the communication device 900 can correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the STA in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 900 can be the STA or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) applied in the STA. The transceiver module 910 can be used to execute all the receive or transmit operations performed by the STA in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, such as S802 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein. The processing module 920 is used to execute all operations performed by the STA in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 other than the receive / transmit operations, such as S803 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 910 is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncturing indication information being used to indicate that a scheduled user in the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0215] Processing module 920 is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching instruction information.

[0216] As an optional implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0217] As an optional implementation, the preamble punching indication information is carried in a first preamble punching information field, which is located in the U-SIG field.

[0218] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 910 is used to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncture indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain segment, the preamble puncture indication information being used to indicate that a user in the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated a resource unit, wherein the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0219] The processing module 920 is used to determine unallocated resources based on the preamble punching instruction information.

[0220] As an optional implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0221] As an optional implementation, the preamble punching indication information is carried in a first preamble punching information field, which is located in the U-SIG field.

[0222] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 910 is used to receive a PPDU from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment, wherein the PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate a puncturing or non-puncturing configuration of a first bandwidth of 80MHz; or, the PPDU is in a non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate the puncturing status of the 80MHz corresponding to the first frequency domain segment;

[0223] The processing module 920 is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching indication information and the bandwidth field.

[0224] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 910 is used to receive a PPDU from an access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field. The first preamble puncturing information field is located in the U-SIG field, and the second preamble puncturing information field is located in the EHT-SIG field. The first preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or that the entire bandwidth is not punctured, and the second preamble puncturing information field is used to indicate the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth other than the first frequency domain segment.

[0225] The processing module 920 is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching indication information and the bandwidth field.

[0226] In some possible implementations, the communication device 900 can correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the STA in the above method embodiments. For example, the communication device 900 can be an AP, or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit) applied in the AP. The transceiver module 910 can be used to execute all the receive or transmit operations performed by the AP in the embodiment shown in FIG8, such as S802 in the embodiment shown in FIG8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein. The processing module 920 is used to execute all operations performed by the AP in the embodiment shown in FIG8 except for the receive and transmit operations, such as S801 in the embodiment shown in FIG8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0227] For example, processing module 920 is used to generate PPDU, which includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that a scheduled user in the first frequency domain segment has been allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0228] The transceiver module 910 is used to send the PPDU.

[0229] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0230] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the U-SIG field.

[0231] In another example, the processing module 920 is used to generate a PPDU, which includes preamble puncture indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain segment. The preamble puncture indication information is used to indicate that a user in the first frequency domain segment has not been allocated a resource unit, wherein the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0232] The transceiver module 910 is used to send the PPDU.

[0233] In one possible implementation, the preamble punching indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, wherein the length of the PPDU in the compression mode is less than the length of the PPDU in the uncompressed mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the user field or resource allocation subfield omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with the resource allocation subfield simplified.

[0234] In one possible implementation, the preamble punch indication information is carried in a first preamble punch information field, which is located in the U-SIG field.

[0235] For example, the transceiver module 910 is used to receive a PPDU from an access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. The PPDU is in OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate whether the first bandwidth of 80MHz is punctured or not. Alternatively, the PPDU is in non-OFDMA transmission mode, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate the puncturing status of the 80MHz corresponding to the first frequency domain segment.

[0236] The processing module 920 is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching indication information and the bandwidth field.

[0237] For example, the transceiver module 910 is configured to receive a PPDU from an access point. The PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain segment. This preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field and a second preamble puncturing information field. The first preamble puncturing information field is located in the U-SIG field, and the second preamble puncturing information field is located in the EHT-SIG field. The first preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing status of the first frequency domain segment or that the entire bandwidth is unpunctured. The second preamble puncturing information field indicates the puncturing status of the remaining frequency domain segments within the first bandwidth, excluding the first frequency domain segment. The first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain segment.

[0238] Processing module 920 is used to determine the allocated resources based on the preamble punching instruction.

[0239] Figure 10 shows a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1000 can be a STA (Stationary Targeting Unit), capable of implementing the functions of the STA in the method provided in this application embodiment; or, the communication device 1000 can be an AP (Application Processing Unit), capable of implementing the functions of the AP in the method provided in this application embodiment. The communication device 1000 can also be a device that supports the STA in implementing the corresponding functions in the method provided in this application embodiment, or a device that supports the AP in implementing the corresponding functions in the method provided in this application embodiment. The communication device 1000 can be a chip system. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0240] In some embodiments, the communication device 1000 may include a communication interface 1010 for communicating with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling devices in the communication device 1000 to communicate with other devices. For example, when the communication device is a STA (Standard Access Device), the other device is an AP (Access Point); or, when the communication device is an AP, the other device is a STA. Specifically, the communication interface 1010 may be a transceiver. In hardware implementation, the communication interface 1010 may be a transceiver integrated into the communication device 1000 to form the communication interface 1010.

[0241] The communication device 1000 further includes at least one processor 1020, which can send and receive data using the communication interface 1010 to implement or support the communication device 1000 in implementing the functions of the STA or AP in the methods provided in the embodiments of this application. For example, the communication device 1000 can correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0242] The communication interface 1010 can be used to perform all receive or transmit operations performed by the STA in the embodiment shown in FIG8, such as S802 in the embodiment shown in FIG8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein. At least one processor 1020 is used to perform all operations performed by the STA in the embodiment shown in FIG8, except for the transmit and receive operations, such as S803 in the embodiment shown in FIG8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0243] For example, the communication device 1000 can correspondingly implement the behavior and functions of the AP in the above method embodiments. The communication interface 1010 can be used to execute all the receive or transmit operations performed by the AP in the embodiment shown in FIG8, such as S802 in the embodiment shown in FIG8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein. At least one processor 1020 is used to execute all operations performed by the AP in the embodiment shown in FIG8, except for the receive and transmit operations, such as S801 in the embodiment shown in FIG8, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0244] In other embodiments, the communication device 1000 may further include at least one memory 1030 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1030 is coupled to the processor 1020. The coupling in these embodiments is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1020 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1030. The processor 1020 may execute program instructions and / or data stored in the memory 1030 to cause the communication device 1000 to implement a corresponding method. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0245] This embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the communication interface 1010, processor 1020, and memory 1030. In Figure 10, the memory 1030, processor 1020, and communication interface 1010 are connected via a bus 1040, which is represented by a thick line. The connection methods between other components are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The bus can be classified as an address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 10, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0246] In the embodiments of this application, the processor 1020 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, capable of implementing or executing the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware processor, or being executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0247] In this embodiment, the memory 1030 can be non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or it can be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM). Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in this embodiment can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions, used to store program instructions and / or data.

[0248] It should be noted that the communication device in the above embodiments can be a STA or AP, a circuit, a chip applied in a STA or AP, or other combined devices or components with the above-mentioned STA or AP functions. When the communication device is a STA or AP, the transceiver module 910 can be a transceiver, which may include an antenna and radio frequency circuits, etc., and the processing module can be a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU). When the communication device is a component with the above-mentioned STA or AP functions, the transceiver module 910 can be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module can be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the transceiver module 910 can be the input / output interface of the chip system, and the processing module can be the processor of the chip system.

[0249] As a possible product form, the AP and STA described in the embodiments of this application can also be implemented using one or more FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0250] It should be understood that the APs of the various product forms described above have any of the functions of the APs in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here; the STAs of the various product forms described above have any of the functions of the STAs in the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0251] This application also provides a communication system, specifically, the communication system includes STAs and APs, or may include more APs and access network devices. For example, the communication system includes STAs and APs for implementing the relevant functions of Figures 6 or 9 above.

[0252] The APs are used to implement the functions of the network components in Figure 8. The STAs are used to implement the functions of the STAs in Figure 8. For example, the STA can execute S802 and S803 in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, and the AP can execute S801 and S802 in the embodiment shown in Figure 8.

[0253] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium including instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method executed by AP or STA in FIG8.

[0254] This application also provides a computer program product, including computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method executed by AP or STA in Figure 8.

[0255] This application provides a chip system including a processor and potentially a memory, for implementing the functions of the AP or STA in the aforementioned method. The chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0256] This application also provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the information processing method described in any of the above method embodiments.

[0257] It should be understood that the aforementioned communication device can be a chip, and the processor can be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented in software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that reads software code stored in a memory. The memory can be integrated into the processor or located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0258] The methods provided in this application can be implemented entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, they can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this invention are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (e.g., digital video disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (e.g., SSD), etc.

[0259] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A resource indication method, characterized in that, include: The access point generates a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, wherein the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain slice, wherein the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that a user scheduled in the first frequency domain slice is allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is a channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain slice; The access point sends the PPDU.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, where the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU in which a user field or a resource allocation subfield is omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU in which a resource allocation subfield is simplified.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field, and the first preamble puncturing information field is located in a universal field U-SIG field.

4. A resource indication method, characterized in that, include: The station receives a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU from an access point, wherein the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain slice, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that a user scheduled in the first frequency domain slice is allocated a first bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is a channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain slice; The station determines the allocated resources according to the preamble puncturing indication information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is also used to indicate a compression mode, where the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU in which a user field or a resource allocation subfield is omitted, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU in which a resource allocation subfield is simplified.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field, and the first preamble puncturing information field is located in a universal field U-SIG field.

7. A resource indication method, characterized in that, include: The access point generates a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU, wherein the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain slice, wherein the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that a user in the first frequency domain slice is not allocated a resource unit, wherein a channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain slice; The access point sends the PPDU.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is also used to indicate a compressed mode, where the PPDU in the compressed mode is a PPDU in which a user field or a resource allocation subfield is omitted, or the PPDU in the compressed mode is a PPDU in which a resource allocation subfield is simplified.

9. A resource indication method, characterized in that, include: The station receives a generated physical layer protocol data unit PPDU from an access point, wherein the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted in a first frequency domain slice, wherein the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that a user in the first frequency domain slice is not allocated a resource unit, wherein a channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain slice; The station determines unallocated resources according to the preamble puncturing indication information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is further used to indicate a compression mode, where the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU that omits the user field or the resource allocation subfield, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with a simplified resource allocation subfield.

11. An access point, characterized in that, The access point includes a communication device, and the communication device includes: a processor, configured to generate a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), where the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain shard, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that the user scheduled within the first frequency domain shard is allocated a first bandwidth, where the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes at least the first frequency domain shard; a transceiver, configured to transmit the PPDU.

12. The access point according to claim 11, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is further used to indicate a compression mode, where the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU that omits the user field or the resource allocation subfield, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with a simplified resource allocation subfield.

13. The access point according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field, and the first preamble puncturing information field is located in the common field U-SIG field.

14. A station, characterized in that, The station includes a communication device, and the communication device includes: a transceiver, configured to receive a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an access point, where the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain shard, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that the user scheduled within the first frequency domain shard is allocated a first bandwidth, where the first bandwidth is the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU, and the first bandwidth includes the first frequency domain shard; a processor, configured to determine the allocated resources according to the preamble puncturing indication information.

15. The station according to claim 14, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is further used to indicate a compression mode, where the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU that omits the user field or the resource allocation subfield, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with a simplified resource allocation subfield.

16. The site according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is carried in a first preamble puncturing information field, and the first preamble puncturing information field is located in the common field U-SIG field.

17. An access point, characterized in that, The access point includes a communication device, and the communication device includes: a processor, configured to generate a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), where the PPDU includes preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain shard, and the preamble puncturing indication information is used to indicate that the user within the first frequency domain shard is not allocated a resource unit, where the channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain shard; a transceiver, configured to transmit the PPDU.

18. The site according to claim 17, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is further used to indicate a compression mode, where the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU that omits the user field or the resource allocation subfield, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU with a simplified resource allocation subfield.

19. A site, characterized in that, The station includes a communication device, and the communication device includes: A transceiver for receiving a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an access point, the PPDU including preamble puncturing indication information transmitted within a first frequency domain shard, the preamble puncturing indication information being used to indicate that a user within the first frequency domain shard has not been allocated resource units, wherein a channel bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU includes the first frequency domain shard; A processor for determining unallocated resources according to the preamble puncturing indication information.

20. The site according to claim 19, characterized in that, The preamble puncturing indication information is further used to indicate a compression mode, and the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU that omits a user field or a resource allocation subfield, or the PPDU in the compression mode is a PPDU that simplifies a resource allocation subfield.

21. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes at least one processor and an interface, the processor being configured to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are run, causing the chip to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-3 or 4-6 or 7-8 or 9-10.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, the computer program including program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, causing the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-3 or 4-6 or 7-8 or 9-10.

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