Capability indication method and apparatus, and capability determination method and apparatus in wireless local area network

Abstract

The present application discloses a capability indication method and apparatus, and a capability determination method and apparatus in a wireless local area network. The capability indication method comprises: a first device determines capability information, and sends the capability information to a second device, wherein the capability information comprises a nominal packet padding sub-field indicating a nominal packet padding value corresponding to the second device when sending a physical layer data packet to the first device, the nominal packet padding value is allocated for all NSSs and all RUs supported by the first device, and at least two modulation modes are used for the second device on a configured frequency domain resource or a configured spatial stream. When the second device sends a PPDU to the first device by using the at least two modulation modes, by using the method, the nominal packet padding value determined by the second device can enable the first device to have sufficient time to process the PPDU received from the second device.

Description

Capability indication method, determination method and device in wireless local area network

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on May 29, 2023, with application number 202310621928.0 and application name “A Capability Indication Method, Determination Method and Device in a Wireless Local Area Network”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of wireless local area networks, and in particular to a capability indication method, determination method, and device in a wireless local area network. Background Art

[0004] To ensure that the receiver has sufficient processing time to process the physical protocol data unit (PPDU) sent by the transmitter, the receiver can indicate a nominal packet padding value to the transmitter. The transmitter then determines the duration of the packet extension (PE) field included in the PPDU based on this nominal packet padding value. The data in the packet extension is not required by the receiver, so other data can be processed within the packet extension processing time to ensure that the receiver has sufficient processing time for the received PPDU.

[0005] The minimum processing time (or nominal packet padding value) required by the receiver varies depending on the modulation scheme used by the transmitter. Currently, the receiver assumes that the nominal packet padding value indicates that the transmitter uses a single modulation scheme to send physical layer data packets to the receiver. There is no solution for indicating the nominal packet padding value when supporting multiple modulation schemes.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a capability indication method, determination method and device in a wireless local area network, which can indicate the nominal packet filling value corresponding to when a receiver supports a transmitter using at least two modulation modes to send a physical layer data packet to the receiver.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, embodiments of the present application provide four capability indication methods in a wireless local area network, and accordingly, four capability determination methods in a wireless local area network.

[0009] Any of the capability indication methods in a wireless local area network can be performed by a first communication device, which can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting a communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip system. The first communication device can be a receiving end at one of the two communicating ends. For example, in a case where the two communicating ends include a first device and a second device, with the first device being the receiving end and the second device being the transmitting end, the first communication device can be a unit, functional module, etc. within the first device. For example, the first communication device can be a chip disposed in the first device, or the first communication device can be another component used to implement the functions of the first device. Correspondingly, the capability determination method in a wireless local area network can be performed by a second communication device, which can be a communication device or a communication device capable of supporting a communication device to implement the functions required by the method, such as a chip system. The second communication device can be a transmitting end at one of the two communicating ends. For example, in a case where the two communicating ends include a first device and a second device, with the first device being the receiving end and the second device being the transmitting end, the second communication device can be a unit, functional module, etc. within the second device. For example, the second communication device can be a chip disposed in the second device, or the second communication device can be another component used to implement the functions of the second device.

[0010] For ease of description, the following describes the capability indication method in a wireless local area network by taking the first communication apparatus as the first device itself as an example, and describes the capability determination method in a wireless local area network by taking the second communication apparatus as the second device itself as an example.

[0011] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a first capability indication method in a wireless local area network. The capability indication method includes: a first device determines capability information, and sends the capability information to a second device. The capability information includes a nominal packet filling subfield, and the nominal packet filling subfield indicates the nominal packet filling value corresponding to when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device, so that the second device can determine the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU based on the nominal packet filling value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device to have enough time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. The nominal packet filling value is allocated for all spatial streams (NSS) and all resource units (RU) supported by the first device, and for the second device to use at least two modulation modes on the configured frequency domain resources or configured spatial streams.

[0012] In this method, the nominal packet padding value indicated by the nominal packet padding subfield is allocated for all NSSs and all RUs supported by the first device and for at least two modulation modes used by the second device on configured frequency resources or configured spatial streams. When the second device transmits a PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value determined by the second device using this method enables the first device to have sufficient time to process the PPDU received from the second device.

[0013] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a first capability determination method in a wireless local area network. The capability determination method includes: a second device receives capability information from a first device, and determines a nominal packet padding value based on the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, and determines the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU to be sent to the first device based on the nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. The capability information includes a nominal packet padding subfield, which indicates the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends the PPDU to the first device. The nominal packet padding value is allocated for all NSSs and all RUs supported by the first device, and for the second device using at least two modulation modes on the configured frequency domain resources or configured spatial streams.

[0014] Corresponding to the solution provided in the first aspect, the nominal packet padding value indicated by the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is intended for a case where the second device uses at least two modulation modes. When the second device transmits a PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value determined by the first device using the Nominal Packet Padding subfield may be used to determine the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU, thereby allowing the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0015] Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and a nominal packet filling subfield indicates the nominal packet filling value corresponding to when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device, and the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 0.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device uses at least two modulation modes may be increased by one or more levels by default based on the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device uses one modulation mode. For example, for all RU allocations and all NSSs, the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 0, and the nominal packet padding value is 8 microseconds; the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 1, and the nominal packet padding value is 16 microseconds; or the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 2, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds; or the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, and the second device uses at least two modulation modes to send a PPDU to the first device, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the second device determines the nominal packet padding value based on the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and the at least two modulation modes used, including: the second device determines the nominal packet padding value based on the number of configured spatial streams, the configured frequency domain resources, and the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes used. That is, when the second device uses at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value may be determined by default based on the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode of at least two modulation modes is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, and one or more of the following conditions are met, the nominal packet padding value is 16; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20: the size of the allocated RU or MRU is less than or equal to the size threshold, the size of the RU or MRU corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode is less than or equal to the size threshold, or the NSS is less than or equal to the spatial stream number threshold.

[0019] In this solution, the nominal packet padding value is related to the actual RU / MRU size, NSS, and highest-order modulation mode configured on the second device. The duration of the PE field determined by the nominal packet padding value based on the actual RU / MRU size, NSS, and highest-order modulation mode configured on the second device allows the first device sufficient time to parse the received PPDU while reducing processing complexity on the second device.

[0020] Optionally, the constellation index threshold is 5, the size threshold is 2×996-tone, and the spatial stream number threshold is 8 or 16.

[0021] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a second capability indication method in a wireless local area network. The capability indication method includes: a first device determining capability information, and sending the capability information to a second device. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, which includes an RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. The modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value used to send the PPDU to the first device. The nominal packet padding value supports the second device using at least two modulation modes when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. The value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], and N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. The value range of b is a subset of [M1,…,M2], where M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0022] In this method, the nominal packet padding value corresponding to the modulation threshold indicated by each packet extension threshold subfield set is intended for the case where the first device supports the second device's use of at least two modulation modes on configured frequency resources or configured spatial streams. When the second device uses at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value corresponding to this method allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0023] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a second capability determination method in a wireless local area network. The capability determination method includes: a second device receiving capability information from a first device, determining a nominal packet padding value based on the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, and determining the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU sent by the second device to the first device based on the nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. The capability information packet includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, which includes a RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n and the RU / MRU corresponding sequence number is b. The modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value used to send the PPDU to the first device. The nominal packet padding value supports, for the first device, at least two modulation modes used by the second device when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. Here, n is in the range of a subset of [N1, ..., N2], where N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. b is in the range of a subset of [M1, ..., M2], where M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0024] Corresponding to the solution provided in the third aspect, when the second device transmits a PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value may be determined based on the sequence number b corresponding to the configured RU / MRU, the configured NSS, and multiple Packet Extension Threshold subfield sets corresponding to the at least two modulation modes used in combination with multiple nominal packet padding values. This method allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0025] Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the physical layer packet extension threshold field is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet filling value used to send the PPDU to the first device. The value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1.

[0026] In a possible implementation, in each packet extension threshold subfield set: the nominal packet filling value corresponding to at least two modulation modes is the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the second modulation mode, the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is the sum of the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes and the first value, and the first value is not equal to 0.

[0027] In this solution, when the second device is configured with at least two modulation modes, the second modulation mode is configured by default. By following the design of the physical layer packet extension threshold information field in 802.11be, it is possible to implement the indication of the nominal packet fill value when supporting at least two modulation modes, which is relatively simple.

[0028] In a possible implementation, in each packet extension threshold subfield set: when NSS is n and the RU corresponding sequence number is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the modulation threshold when NSS is n and the RU corresponding sequence number is b', b' is the sum of b and the second value, and the second value is not equal to 0.

[0029] In this solution, when the second device is configured with at least two modulation modes and the RU actually used by the second device corresponds to sequence number b, the modulation threshold used to determine the nominal packet fill value is based on the modulation threshold corresponding to the RU sequence number b' when the NSS is n. This solution simplifies the design of the physical layer packet extension threshold information field in 802.11be without changing it.

[0030] In a possible implementation, in each packet extension threshold subfield set: when NSS is n and the corresponding sequence number of RU is b, the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS is n' and the corresponding sequence number of RU is b, and the n' is the sum of the n and the third value, and the third value is not equal to 0.

[0031] In this solution, when the second device is configured with at least two modulation modes and its actual configured NSS is n, the modulation threshold used to determine the nominal packet fill value is based on the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n' and the RU sequence number of b. This solution also does not require changes to the design of the physical layer packet extension threshold information field in 802.11be, making it easy to implement.

[0032] In a possible implementation, in each packet extension threshold subfield set, when the NSS is n and the sequence number of the RU is b, the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the modulation threshold is 20 microseconds.

[0033] When the second device is configured with at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet filling value that the second device needs to use by default is 20 microseconds, which is relatively simple.

[0034] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a third capability indication method in a wireless local area network. The capability indication method includes: a first device determining capability information, and sending the capability information to a second device. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, which includes a RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield, which indicates a first modulation threshold corresponding to a first space-time stream among n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the corresponding RU sequence number is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when sending a PPDU to the first device using a first modulation mode on the first space-time stream. The nominal packet padding value supports the second device's use of at least two modulation modes on the n configured spatial streams, as supported by the first device. The value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], where N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. The value range of b is a subset of [M1,…,M2], where M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0035] In this method, the corresponding modulation threshold is separately indicated for each spatial stream. For example, each packet extension threshold subfield set can be extended according to the number of spatial streams. For example, each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield and a second subfield. The first subfield is used to indicate the first modulation threshold corresponding to the first space-time stream among n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet padding value when sending a PPDU to the first device using the first modulation method on the first space-time stream. The second subfield is used to indicate the second modulation threshold corresponding to the second space-time stream among n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet padding value when sending a PPDU to the first device using the second modulation method on the second space-time stream. By separately indicating the corresponding modulation threshold for each spatial stream, the second device can be instructed to use the nominal packet padding value when using multiple modulation methods on multiple spatial streams. For example, the nominal packet filling value to be used by the second device is: when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b, the maximum nominal packet filling value among the nominal packet filling values ​​corresponding to the n space-time streams.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a third capability determination method in a wireless local area network. The capability determination method includes: a second device receiving capability information from a first device, determining a nominal packet padding value based on configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, and determining a duration of a PE field included in a PPDU sent by the second device to the first device based on the determined nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, which includes a RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple sets of packet extension threshold subfields corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each set of packet extension threshold subfields includes a first subfield, which indicates a first modulation threshold corresponding to a first space-time stream among n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the corresponding RU sequence number is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when sending a PPDU to the first device using a first modulation mode on the first space-time stream. The nominal packet padding value supports, for the first device, at least two modulation modes used by the second device on n configured spatial streams. The value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], where N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. The value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], where M1 and M2 are integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0037] Each packet extension threshold subfield set also includes a second subfield. The second subfield is used to indicate a second modulation threshold corresponding to a second space-time stream among the n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the corresponding RU sequence number is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value corresponding to the PPDU sent to the first device using the second modulation mode on the second space-time stream.

[0038] Corresponding to the solution provided in the fifth aspect, when the second device uses at least two modulation modes on multiple spatial streams to send physical layer data packets to the first device, the second device can separately determine the nominal packet padding value corresponding to each spatial stream, and then determine the final nominal packet padding value to be used based on the nominal packet padding values ​​corresponding to all spatial streams.

[0039] Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the physical layer packet extension threshold field is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet filling value used to send the PPDU to the first device. The value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the nominal packet filling value used by the second device is: when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b, the maximum nominal packet filling value among the nominal packet filling values ​​used respectively on the n space-time streams, so as to ensure that there is enough time for the first device to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a fourth capability indication method in a wireless local area network. The capability indication method includes: a first device determining capability information, and sending the capability information to a second device. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, which includes a RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield, which indicates a first modulation threshold corresponding to a first subcarrier set in a frequency domain resource when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the frequency domain resource is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when sending a PPDU to the first device using a first modulation mode on the first subcarrier set. The nominal packet padding value is for the first device to support the second device's use of at least two modulation modes on the configured frequency domain resources. The value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], where N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. The value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], where M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0. The frequency domain resource includes a set of i subcarriers, where i is a positive integer.

[0042] Each packet extension threshold subfield set also includes a second subfield, which is used to indicate a second modulation threshold corresponding to a second subcarrier set in the frequency domain resource when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the frequency domain resource is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine a nominal packet padding value corresponding to when sending a PPDU to the first device using the second modulation method on the second subcarrier set.

[0043] In this method, the corresponding modulation threshold can be indicated separately for each subcarrier set. For example, each packet extension threshold subfield set can be extended according to the number of subcarrier sets. For example, each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield and a second subfield. By indicating the corresponding modulation threshold separately for each subcarrier set, the nominal packet filling value to be used when the second device uses multiple modulation methods on multiple subcarrier sets can be indicated. For example, the nominal packet filling value used by the second device on the frequency domain resources is: when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b, the maximum nominal packet filling value among the nominal packet filling values ​​used respectively on the i subcarrier sets.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a fourth capability determination method in a wireless local area network. The capability determination method includes: a second device receiving capability information from a first device, determining a nominal packet padding value based on configured frequency resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, and determining a duration of a PE field included in a PPDU sent by the second device to the first device based on the determined nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0045] The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, which includes an RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield, which is used to indicate the first modulation threshold corresponding to the first subcarrier set in the frequency domain resource when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the frequency domain resource is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet padding value when sending a PPDU to the first device using the first modulation method on the first subcarrier set. The nominal packet padding value supports the second device using at least two modulation methods on the configured frequency domain resources for the first device. The value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], where N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. The value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], where M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0. The frequency domain resources include a set of i subcarriers, where i is a positive integer.

[0046] Each packet extension threshold subfield set also includes a second subfield, which is used to indicate a second modulation threshold corresponding to a second subcarrier set in the frequency domain resource when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the frequency domain resource is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine a nominal packet padding value corresponding to when sending a PPDU to the first device using the second modulation method on the second subcarrier set.

[0047] Corresponding to the solution provided in the seventh aspect, the nominal packet filling value used by the second device on the frequency domain resources is: when the NSS is n and the serial number corresponding to the RU is b, the maximum nominal packet filling value among the nominal packet filling values ​​used respectively on the i subcarrier sets, so as to ensure that there is enough time for the first device to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0048] Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the physical layer packet extension threshold field is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet filling value used to send the PPDU to the first device. The value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1.

[0049] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which has the function of implementing the behavior in the method example of any aspect from the first aspect to the eighth aspect above. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the first aspect to the eighth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0050] The communication device may be the first communication device in the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspect, for example, the communication device may be a station. Alternatively, the communication device may be a device capable of supporting the first device in the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspect to implement the functions required by the method provided in the first, third, fifth, or seventh aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or chip system in the first device.

[0051] The communication device may also be the second communication device in the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspect, for example, the communication device may be an access point. The communication device may be a device capable of supporting the second device in the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspect to implement the functions required by the method provided in the second, fourth, sixth, or eighth aspect, for example, the communication device may be a chip or chip system in the second device.

[0052] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the method of any aspect from the first aspect to the eighth aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module or processor) and / or a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit can realize the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit realizes the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit realizes the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional unit, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional unit can realize the sending function and the receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional units, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional units. These units (modules) can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of any aspect from the first aspect to the eighth aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description in the method examples for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0053] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the communication device in the ninth aspect of the above-mentioned embodiment, or a chip or chip system provided in the communication device in the ninth aspect. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs, instructions, or data, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program, instructions, or data, the communication device executes the method performed by the first device or the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0054] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory and / or a communication interface for implementing the method described in any of the first to eighth aspects. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs (also referred to as codes, or instructions). The processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory so that the device equipped with the chip system executes any of the first to eighth aspects, and any possible implementation of any of the first to eighth aspects. The chip system can be composed of chips, and may also include chips and other discrete devices.

[0055] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising an input / output interface and a logic circuit. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information. The input / output interface can be an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or related circuits. The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in any one of aspects 1 to 8.

[0056] In a specific implementation, the communication device may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the logic circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit, respectively, at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the input and output interfaces and logic circuits.

[0057] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, wherein the communication system includes the communication device for implementing the function of the first aspect in the ninth aspect and the communication device for implementing the function of the second aspect in the ninth aspect. Alternatively, the communication system includes the communication device for implementing the function of the third aspect in the ninth aspect and the communication device for implementing the function of the fourth aspect in the ninth aspect. The communication system includes the communication device for implementing the function of the fifth aspect in the ninth aspect and the communication device for implementing the function of the sixth aspect in the ninth aspect. Alternatively, the communication system includes the communication device for implementing the function of the seventh aspect in the ninth aspect and the communication device for implementing the function of the eighth aspect in the ninth aspect.

[0058] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method in any of the above-mentioned first to eighth aspects is implemented.

[0059] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program code, which, when executed, enables the method in any of the above-mentioned first to eighth aspects to be executed.

[0060] The beneficial effects of the above-mentioned ninth to fifteenth aspects and their implementation methods can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first to eighth aspects, or the first to eighth aspects and their implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] FIG1 is a network architecture diagram of a WLAN applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 2 shows the filling process of the PPDU bits in the last coding symbol;

[0063] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a PPDU provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a HE physical layer capability information field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of HE capability elements provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG6 is another schematic diagram of the HE physical layer capability information field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a physical layer packet extension threshold field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a physical layer packet extension threshold information field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG9 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of determining a nominal packet fill value according to a constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used and a physical layer packet extension threshold field according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG10 is another structural diagram of the physical layer packet extension threshold field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG11 is another structural diagram of the physical layer packet extension threshold information field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] 12 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a first capability indication method in a wireless local area network according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] 13 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a second capability indication method in a wireless local area network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of a first principle for determining a nominal packet filling value based on FIG13 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of a second principle for determining a nominal packet filling value based on FIG13 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of a third principle for determining a nominal packet filling value based on FIG13 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG17 is a schematic flow chart of a third capability indication method in a wireless local area network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a packet extension threshold subfield in the method shown in FIG17 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG19 is another schematic diagram of the structure of the packet extension threshold subfield in the method shown in FIG17 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG20 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of determining the nominal packet filling value based on the method shown in FIG17 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG21 is a schematic flow chart of a fourth capability indication method in a wireless local area network provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG22 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a packet extension threshold subfield in the method shown in FIG21 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG23 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of determining the nominal packet filling value based on the method shown in FIG21 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG24 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG25 is another structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0086] The embodiments of the present application may be applicable to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios, or to IEEE 802.11 system standards. IEEE 802.11 systems, for example, include 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, or 802.11be or later generation standards. The embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to wireless local area network systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) network or the Vehicle to X (V2X) network. Of course, the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to other possible communication systems, such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the New Radio (NR) system, and future next generation communication systems.

[0087] The following takes the scenario in which the embodiments of the present application can be applied to WLAN as an example. It should be understood that WLAN started with the 802.11a / g standard and has gone through 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax and the 802.11be that is currently under discussion. Among them, 802.11n can also be called high throughput (HT); 802.11ac can also be called very high throughput (VHT); 802.11ax can also be called high efficiency (HE) or Wi-Fi 6; 802.11be can also be called extremely high throughput (EHT) or (Wi-Fi 7), and for standards before HT, such as 802.11a / b / g, they are collectively referred to as non-high throughput (Non-HT).

[0088] The network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application may include one or more access point (AP) type stations and one or more non-access point type stations (non-AP STA). For ease of description, the access point type stations are referred to as access points (APs) and the non-access point type stations are referred to as stations (STAs). Please refer to Figure 1, which shows a network architecture diagram of a WLAN applicable to the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1 takes the WLAN as an example, in which it includes one wireless access point (AP) and two stations (STAs). The physical layer in the WLAN can transmit information through physical layer data packets. The STA associated with the AP can receive the PPDU sent by the AP and can also send physical layer data packets to the AP. The physical layer data packet can be a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). The AP and STA involved in the embodiments of the present application can be APs and STAs applicable to the IEEE 802.11 system standard. The number of APs and STAs in Figure 1 is only an example and can be more or less.

[0089] The STA involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, or terminal that supports the media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) of the 802.11 system standard. The terminal may include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem with wireless communication capabilities, as well as various forms of user equipment (UE), mobile stations (MS), terminals, terminal equipment, portable communication devices, handheld devices, portable computing devices, entertainment devices, gaming devices or systems, global positioning system devices, or any other suitable devices configured to communicate over a wireless medium. For example, a STA may be a router, a switch, a bridge, etc. Here, for the sake of convenience, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as stations or STAs.

[0090] An AP is a device that provides wireless communication capabilities for its associated STAs. It is typically a network-side product that supports the MAC and PHY functions of the 802.11 system standard. For example, an AP can be a base station, router, gateway, repeater, communication server, switch, or bridge, among other communication devices. Base stations can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, and relay stations. For ease of description, the aforementioned devices are collectively referred to as APs.

[0091] Figure 1 uses the embodiment of the present application as an example of communication between an AP and a STA. In some embodiments, the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to communication between APs. For example, APs can communicate with each other through a distributed system (DS). The embodiment of the present application is also applicable to communication between STAs.

[0092] To allow the receiver sufficient time to parse and process the PPDU received from the transmitter, 802.11ax specifies the addition of pre-FEC padding, post-FEC padding, and packet extension to the PPDU. The pre-FEC padding and excess information occupy approximately a quarter of the subcarriers (e.g., one-quarter, two-quarters, three-quarters, or all) in the last coded symbol, while the remaining subcarriers can be used to carry post-FEC padding.

[0093] For easier understanding, please refer to Figure 2. Figure 2 illustrates the padding process for PPDU bits in the last coded symbol. In Figure 2, a represents the number of extended information bits and pre-FEC padding bits occupying approximately a times one-quarter of the subcarriers within a symbol after scrambling and encoding. As shown in Figure 2, if a equals 1, the remaining information bits and pre-FEC padding bits occupy approximately a quarter of the subcarriers within a symbol after scrambling and encoding; a = 2, the remaining information bits and pre-FEC padding bits occupy approximately two-quarters of the subcarriers within a symbol after scrambling and encoding; a = 3, the remaining information bits and pre-FEC padding bits occupy approximately three-quarters of the subcarriers within a symbol after scrambling and encoding; and a = 3, the remaining information bits and pre-FEC padding bits occupy all subcarriers within a symbol after scrambling and encoding. Subcarriers other than the multiple of one-quarter subcarriers occupied by pre-FEC padding and remaining information are used to carry post-FEC padding.

[0094] When decoding the last coded symbol of a PPDU, the receiver can decode only the subcarriers occupied by the pre-FEC padding and the remaining information, without decoding the entire coded symbol. For example, the receiver does not need to decode the subcarriers occupied by the post-FEC padding, thus saving decoding time and reserving more time for parsing the PPDU.

[0095] Please continue to refer to Figure 2. Post-FEC padding fills the remaining subcarriers within a symbol so that the number of bits occupied by the data reaches N. CBPS bits, where N CBPS Indicates the number of bits coded per symbol (coded bits per symbol). However, due to the uncertainty of the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding and the limitation of the total duration, the time reserved for parsing the PPDU may not meet the minimum time required by the receiver (such as 8μs and 16μs). In order to make the time reserved for parsing the PPDU meet the minimum time required by the receiver, a field that may need to be added is introduced in the last symbol of the PPDU, namely the PE field. Based on the duration of the PE field, the time reserved for parsing the PPDU can meet the minimum time required by the receiver. The duration of the PE field can also be called the nominal packet extension time (nominal T PE The processing time provided by post-FEC padding and the nominal packet expansion time are added together to give the actual packet expansion time (T PE ). That is, the actual packet expansion time T PE Greater than or equal to the nominal packet extension time. Usually the actual packet extension time is the minimum value that meets the receiver requirements. PE ) is related to the nominal packet padding value and the value of a above. The nominal packet padding value may also be called the minimum packet padding value or the very small packet padding value.

[0096] For easier understanding, please refer to Figure 3, which is a schematic diagram of a PPDU. Figure 3 shows the duration of the PE field in the PPDU for the cases a = 1, a = 2, a = 3, and a = 4 in Figure 2. For the same nominal packet padding value, the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding varies depending on the value of a. Therefore, the transmitter can not add the PE field or add a PE field with different durations. When the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is longer, the duration of the PE field is shorter; when the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is shorter, the duration of the PE field is longer. For example, when a=1, the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is approximately 12μs, and 12μs is sufficient for the receiver to decode the subcarriers occupied by pre-FEC padding and the remaining information, so the transmitter does not need to add the PE field; when a=2, the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is approximately 8μs, and 8μs is sufficient for the receiver to decode the subcarriers occupied by pre-FEC padding and the remaining information, so the transmitter does not need to add the PE field; when a=3, the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is approximately 4μs, and 4μs is insufficient for the receiver to completely decode the subcarriers occupied by pre-FEC padding and the remaining information. At this time, the transmitter can add the PE field, and the duration of the PE field and 4μs enable the receiver to completely decode the subcarriers occupied by pre-FEC padding and the remaining information; when a=4, the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is approximately 0μs, and the duration corresponding to post-FEC padding is insufficient for the receiver to completely decode the subcarriers occupied by pre-FEC padding and the remaining information. The subcarriers occupied by the padding and the remaining information are fully decoded. At this time, the transmitter can add a PE field. The duration of the PE field and the duration corresponding to the post-FEC padding enable the receiver to fully decode the subcarriers occupied by the pre-FEC padding and the remaining information.

[0097] For example, the relationship between the nominal packet extension time, the value of a, and the nominal packet filling value satisfies Table 1.

[0098] Table 1 Nominal packet extension time value (nominal T PE value)

[0099] The second row (in bold) in Table 1 indicates the nominal packet padding value, which can be 0μs, 8μs, or 16μs. Rows 3 through 6 in Table 1 indicate the nominal packet extension time, or the duration of the PE field. The nominal packet extension time is not necessarily equal to the minimum time required by the receiver (i.e., the nominal packet padding value, such as 0μs, 8μs, or 16μs). Taking the nominal packet padding value of 8μs as an example, as mentioned above, when a = 1, 12μs is sufficient for the receiver to decode the subcarriers occupied by the pre-FEC padding and the remaining information, and no PE field is added. Therefore, the nominal packet extension time can be 0μs. When a = 3, 4μs is insufficient for the receiver to fully decode the subcarriers occupied by the pre-FEC padding and the remaining information. Therefore, the transmitter adds the PE field, and the duration of the PE field is 8μs - 4μs = 4μs, meaning that the nominal packet extension time can be 4μs.

[0100] To ensure that the receiver has sufficient time to parse a PPDU received from the transmitter, the receiver can indicate to the transmitter the nominal packet padding value to be used when sending the PPDU to the receiver. The transmitter can determine the duration of the PE field based on the nominal packet padding value indicated by the receiver and the aforementioned a. The transmitter then pads the packet extension included in the PPDU to be sent to the receiver according to the duration of the PE field. Since the data in the packet extension does not need to be parsed by the receiver, the receiver is guaranteed to have sufficient time to parse the received PPDU.

[0101] The following describes two schemes for a receiver to indicate the nominal packet padding value to a transmitter. These schemes are referred to as static and dynamic indication. The static indication scheme involves the receiver indicating the nominal packet padding value using the nominal packet padding subfield. The dynamic indication scheme involves the receiver indicating the nominal packet padding value using the modulation threshold in the physical packet extension (PPE) thresholds subfield. The static and dynamic indication schemes are distinguished by the physical packet extension (PPE) thresholds present subfield. When the value of the physical packet extension (PPE) thresholds present subfield is 0, it indicates that the physical packet extension threshold subfield does not exist, and the nominal packet padding subfield is used to indicate the nominal packet padding value. When the value of the physical packet extension thresholds present subfield is 1, it indicates that the physical packet extension threshold subfield exists, and the physical packet extension threshold subfield is used to indicate the nominal packet padding value. It can be considered that when the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1, the nominal packet filling subfield is no longer meaningful, and the nominal packet filling value is determined by the packet extension threshold subfield.

[0102] The static indication mode and the dynamic indication mode are respectively introduced below. For the convenience of description, the following takes the first device as a receiver and the second device as a transmitter as an example.

[0103] In static indication mode, when the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold present subfield is 0, the nominal packet padding value indicated by the nominal packet padding subfield is shown in Table 2. The STA in Table 2 can be an access point type station or a non-access point type station.

[0104] Table 2 Nominal packet padding subfield

[0105] The PPE Thresholds Present subfield and the Nominal Packet Padding subfield are carried in the HE PHY capabilities information field, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the HE PHY capabilities information field. The PPE Thresholds Present subfield (B55) occupies 1 bit. The Nominal Packet Padding subfield (B78-B79) occupies 2 bits. The HE PHY capabilities information field is included in the HE capabilities element, as shown in Figure 5. The HE capabilities element may include an element field, a length field, an element ID extension field, HE medium access control (MAC) capabilities information field, HE PHY capabilities information field, supported HE-MCS and NSS Set fields, and may also include a PPE thresholds field. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of bits occupied by each field or subfield included in the HE Capability Element. As shown in Figure 5, the Element field occupies 1 byte, the Length field occupies 1 byte, the Element Identifier Extension field occupies 1 byte, the HE Media Access Control Capability Information field occupies 6 bytes, the HE Physical Layer Capability Information field occupies 11 bytes, and the Physical Layer Packet Extension Threshold field occupies a variable number of bits. The Physical Layer Packet Extension Threshold field is optional, meaning it is not required.

[0106] It can be understood that when the value of the PPE Thresholds Present subfield in Figure 4 is 1, the nominal packet padding value is indicated by the PPE Thresholds field in Figure 5; when the value of the PPE Thresholds Present subfield in Figure 4 is 0, the nominal packet padding value is indicated by the Nominal Packet Padding subfield in Figure 4.

[0107] As the number of spatial streams supported by each device increases, for example, the number of spatial streams supported by each device increases from 8 streams to a maximum of 16 streams, the modulation mode supported by each device changes from 1K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) to 4KQAM, and the bandwidth supported by each device changes from 160MHz to 320MHz, so that the receiver requires more processing time in these cases. Based on this, a nominal packet filling value greater than 16μs is proposed. For example, in 802.11be, it is proposed to support a nominal packet filling value of 20μs. The NSS in the embodiment of the present application is interchangeable with the number of spatial and time streams (NSTS).

[0108] The nominal packet padding value of 20μs can be indicated by the Common Nominal Packet Padding subfield as shown in Figure 6. The Common Nominal Packet Padding subfield in Figure 6 and the Nominal Packet Padding subfield in Figure 4 are only different in name. Therefore, Table 2 also applies to the nominal packet padding value indicated by the Common Nominal Packet Padding subfield. Unlike the Nominal Packet Padding subfield, value 3 is no longer reserved in the Common Nominal Packet Padding subfield. When PPE Thresholds Presence is 0, the value of the Common Nominal Packet Padding subfield is 3. If the constellation supported by the STA is less than or equal to 1024, the NSTS is less than or equal to 8, and the allocated RU is less than or equal to 996*2, the corresponding nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. (Set to 3 if the nominal packet padding is 16μs for all modes with constellation <= 1024, NSTS <= 8 and RU <= 996*2, and 20μs for all other modes the STA supports, reserved if the PPE Thresholds Present subfield is 1). For example, if the STA is a receiver and the AP is a transmitter, when the value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode supported by the receiver is less than or equal to the constellation index corresponding to 1KQAM, the NSTS is less than or equal to 8, and the MRU / RU size allocated by the transmitter is less than or equal to 2*996, the nominal packet padding value is 16μs. Otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. The STA notifies the AP of the constellations it supports through capability information.

[0109] Dynamic indication method, that is, indicating the nominal packet fill value through the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield and the physical layer packet extension threshold field (PPE thresholds field) in the PPDU. Compared with the static indication method, the dynamic indication method can indicate different nominal packet fill values ​​according to different NSTS, RU / multiple RU (multiple resource unit, MRU) size / size and modulation method, which is more flexible. In the embodiment of the present application, MRU refers to an RU composed of multiple RUs, and these multiple RUs can be multiple continuous RUs or multiple discontinuous RUs.

[0110] Please refer to Figure 7, which is a structural diagram of the physical layer packet extension threshold field. The physical layer packet extension threshold field includes the number of spatial and time streams (NSTS) subfield, the RU index mask subfield (RU Index Bitmask subfield), the physical layer packet extension threshold information (PPE Thresholds info) field and the physical layer packet extension padding (PPE padding) field. Among them, the NSTS subfield can be equivalently replaced by the NSS subfield, which can be used to indicate the number of spatial and time streams used to send the PPDU. For example, the NSTS subfield occupies 3 bits, and the value of the 3 bits is 0-7, which can indicate the 1st to 8th streams respectively. In other words, one value / state value of the 3 bits corresponds to one spatial and time stream number. The RU Index Bitmask subfield can be used to indicate the size of the RU. The relationship between the RU Index Bitmask subfield and the RU size is shown in Table 3.

[0111] Table 3

[0112] The RU Index Bitmask subfield is a bitmap. In Table 3, the RU allocation index indicates the bit in the bitmap. For example, Table 3 takes RU Index Bitmask occupying 4 bits as an example. The first row of Table 3 indicates that the first bit of the RU Index Bitmask is set to 1, so the corresponding RU indicated in Figure 7 is 242; similarly, the second row indicates that the second bit of the RU Index Bitmask is set to 1, so the corresponding RU indicated in Figure 7 is 484, and so on. Among them, the RU allocation index can also be called the sequence number (number) of the RU. The smaller the sequence number (number), the smaller the size of the corresponding RU. In this article, the size of the RU is based on the granularity of subcarriers. For example, 242 refers to 242 subcarriers, 484 refers to 484 subcarriers, and so on.

[0113] It should be understood that if one or more of the NSTS, RU size, and modulation mode used by the transmitter are different, the minimum processing time (or the corresponding nominal packet filling value) required by the corresponding receiver will also be different. In one implementation, the NSTS from the first stream to the Nth stream and the modulation thresholds corresponding to RUs of different sizes starting from the smallest granularity are given exhaustively or ergodicly. The value of N can be the maximum value of the bits used by the NSTS subfield + 1. For example, the NSTS subfield uses 3 bits and its maximum value is 7, then the maximum number of streams that the NSTS subfield can indicate is 8 streams (7+1=8); for example, the NSTS subfield uses 6 bits and its maximum value is 15, then the maximum number of streams that the NSTS subfield can indicate is 16 streams (15+1=16). In this article, the value set of the NSTS subfield can be recorded as [1,...NSTN+1]. Then the Nth stream is the NSTS+1th stream.

[0114] The modulation threshold can be used to indicate the modulation mode. The modulation threshold can be understood as the constellation index threshold corresponding to the modulation mode. The relationship between the modulation mode and the corresponding constellation index is shown in Table 4.

[0115] Table 4 Constellation Index

[0116] For each RU, the NSTS from the first stream to the Nth stream, as well as the modulation thresholds corresponding to RUs of different sizes indicated starting from the smallest granularity, can be traversally given through the PPE thresholds info field. The PPE thresholds info field includes a set of packet extension threshold subfields for indicating the modulation thresholds corresponding to different nominal packet filling values. In other words, the PPE thresholds info field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values, each of which includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfields, each of which is used to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to the sequence number b when the NSS is n and the RU corresponds to the sequence number b. It should be understood that the value range of n is [1, ..., N]. Here, the sequence number b can be considered as the RU allocation index, which is used to indicate the RU size. For example, the value range of b is [x, ..., m], [x, ..., m] is a bit list formed in sequence by all bits set to 1 in the RU index mask subfield, and x is the lowest bit in the bit list. (where b belongs to the set of RU allocation indices equal to the ordered list of bit positions of all bits that are set to 1 in the RU Index Bitmask subfield, with y being the lowest value). Taking Table 3 as an example, if all bits in the RU Index Bitmask subfield are set to 1, the value range of b is [0, …, 3], that is, x is equal to 0 and m is equal to 3; if the second and fourth bits in the RU Index Bitmask subfield are set to 1, the value range of b is [1, 3].

[0117] For example, see Figure 8, which illustrates the structure of the PPE thresholds info field. Figure 8 illustrates the PPE thresholds info field, which includes a set of packet extension threshold subfields for indicating the modulation threshold corresponding to a nominal packet fill value of 8 μs, and a set of packet extension threshold subfields for indicating the modulation threshold corresponding to a nominal packet fill value of 16 μs. In this document, the set of packet extension threshold subfields for indicating the modulation threshold corresponding to a nominal packet fill value of 8 μs is referred to as the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields. Any subfield within the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields is referred to as a PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfield, which indicates the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSTS value n and the RU sequence number b. For example, if the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfield occupies three bits, the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields can be used to indicate eight modulation thresholds. Similarly, the set of packet extension threshold subfields corresponding to the modulation threshold for a nominal packet padding value of 16 μs is referred to as the PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfields. Any subfield within the PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfield is referred to as the PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfield, which indicates the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSTS value n and the RU sequence number b. The PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfield can also be abbreviated as PPET8, meaning that PPET8 represents a PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfield. Similarly, the PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfield can also be abbreviated as PPET16.

[0118] In Figure 8 , n ranges from 1 to N, i.e., n is an element in [1, …, N], and b ranges from x to m. It can be considered that Figure 8 exhaustively or ergodicly indicates the order from the first stream to the Nth stream and exhaustively or ergodicly indicates the RU size starting from the smallest granularity. That is, the PPET16 NSTSn RUb and PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields are present for all values ​​of n and b where 1≤n≤(N) and where b=[x, …, m] is the set of integers equal to the ordered list of bit positions of all bits that are set to 1 in the RU Index Bitmask subfield, with m being the lowest value.

[0119] Based on the indication in Figure 8 , the nominal packet padding value to be used by the second device is determined by the combination of the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfield and the PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfield. Specifically, the second device may determine the nominal packet padding value based on Table 5. That is, if the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields, and the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfields, meet the conditions of a row in Table 5, then the nominal packet padding value is the value corresponding to that row.

[0120] Table 5 PE thresholds per PPET8 and PPET16

[0121] It should be noted that the modulation mode in Table 5 refers to the modulation mode corresponding to DCM, adjusted one level above the modulation mode corresponding to RUb. "None" in Table 5 can be understood as not considering the corresponding condition. For example, if the PPET8 subfield is set to None, the nominal packet fill value is determined without reference to the indication of the PPET8 subfield.

[0122] As shown in Table 5, the comparison result of the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 subfield meets condition one, and the comparison result of the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET16 subfield meets condition two, then the nominal packet filling value is the value corresponding to condition one and condition two.

[0123] For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 9, which illustrates how the second device determines the nominal packet padding value based on the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation scheme used, as well as the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 subfield (i.e., A1) and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET16 subfield (i.e., A2). The abscissa of Figure 9 represents RU, and the ordinate represents NSS. Each dot in Figure 9 corresponds to an NSS and an RU / MRU. Taking the dot in row 2, column 3 of Figure 9 as an example, if the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation scheme used by the second device is less than A1, the nominal packet padding value is 0μs. If the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation scheme used by the second device is greater than or equal to A1, the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation scheme used by the second device is less than A2, or the PPET16 subfield is set to null, the nominal packet padding value is 8μs. If the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation scheme used by the second device is greater than A1, or the PPET8 subfield is set to null, and the constellation index x corresponding to the modulation scheme used by the second device is greater than or equal to A2, the nominal packet padding value is 16μs.

[0124] As the number of spatial streams supported by a device increases, as do the modulation schemes and bandwidth supported, a larger nominal packet padding value needs to be indicated. For example, 802.11be proposes supporting a nominal packet padding value of 20 μs.

[0125] For the nominal packet padding value of 20μs, the structure of the PPET Thresholds field is shown in Figure 10. The PPET Thresholds field includes the NSS extension (NSS_PE) field, the RU Index Bitmask subfield, the PPE thresholds info field, and the PPE padding field. The difference from Figure 7 is that the NSS_PE field is used to indicate the number of space-time streams used to send the PPDU. The NSS_PE field can occupy 4 bits, so the value range of NSS_PE+1 is [1,…,N], where N is 16. The RU Index Bitmask subfield can occupy 5 bits. In this case, the maximum RU granularity indicated by the RU Index Bitmask subfield is 3*996. For another example, the RU Index Bitmask subfield can occupy 6 bits. In this case, the maximum RU granularity indicated by the RU Index Bitmask subfield is 4*996. Of course, the RU Index Bitmask subfield can occupy more bits, with RU sizes of 242+484, 484+996, 242+484+996, 2*996+484, 2*996+996, or 3*996+484. The value range of b is [y, …, m], where [y, …, m] is a bit list consisting of all bits set to 1 in the RU Index Mask subfield, and y is the least significant bit in this bit list. Taking Table 6 as an example, if all bits in the RU Index Mask subfield are set to 1, the value range of b is [0, …, 4], meaning y is 0 and m is 4.

[0126] Table 6

[0127] Accordingly, in 802.11be, the structure of the PPE thresholds info field is shown in Figure 11. The PPET8 NSSn RUb subfield in Figure 11 is the 8μs PPET subfield when the NSS is n and the RU's corresponding sequence is b. The PPETmax NSSn RUb subfield is the 16μs or 20μs PPET subfield when the NSS is n and the RU's corresponding sequence is b. The value of n ranges from 1 to NSS_PE+1, that is, n is an element in [1, …, NSS_PE+1]. The value of b ranges from y to m. b = [y, …, m].

[0128] Based on the PPE thresholds info field in Figure 11, the second device can determine the nominal packet padding value according to Table 7. Similar to Table 5, if the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields, and the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields meet the conditions of a row in Table 7, then the nominal packet padding value is the value corresponding to that row.

[0129] Table 7 PPE thresholds for PPET8 and PPET16

[0130] As the bandwidth increases, the channel quality of different space-time streams in multiple space-time streams is also different. For example, the channel quality of the first stream is better, and the channel quality of other streams is poor. If multiple space-time streams use the same modulation method, then a smaller signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) needs to be accommodated to meet the use of a smaller modulation method. Therefore, different space-time streams can use different modulation methods to make the SNR of each space-time stream larger. For a receiver that supports a transmitter to send PPDU to a receiver using multiple modulation methods on a configured frequency domain resource or space-time stream, how does the transmitter determine the nominal packet extension time? There is no corresponding solution. Alternatively, for a receiver that supports a transmitter to send PPDU to a receiver using multiple modulation methods on a configured frequency domain resource or space-time stream, how does the receiver indicate the nominal packet filling value? There is no corresponding solution.

[0131] In the embodiment of the present application, the transmitter uses multiple modulation modes, including the transmitter using multiple modulation modes on multiple space-time streams / spatial streams. For example, the transmitter uses BPSK on the first spatial stream and 16-QAM on the second stream. The transmitter uses multiple modulation modes also includes using multiple modulation modes on one or more RUs. For example, the first RU includes a first subcarrier set and a second subcarrier set, and the transmitter uses BPSK on the first subcarrier set and 16-QAM on the second subcarrier set. The embodiment of the present application does not limit how the transmitter uses multiple modulation modes.

[0132] The transmitter uses one modulation method to send PPDU to the receiver, which can be replaced by the transmitter using equal MCS to send PPDU to the receiver. Similarly, the transmitter uses multiple modulation methods to send PPDU to the receiver, which can be replaced by the transmitter using unequal MCS to send PPDU to the receiver. In other words, the transmitter uses one modulation method, which can be understood as the transmitter using equal MCS; the transmitter uses multiple modulation methods, which can be understood as the transmitter using unequal MCS. The "modulation method" in the embodiment of the present application can be replaced by "MCS". Moreover, in the embodiment of the present application, "unequal MCS" includes "different modulation methods" and / or "different code rates".

[0133] The ability of a receiver to support a transmitter to use multiple modulation methods on configured frequency domain resources or space-time streams can be considered as a capability of the receiver. This capability is related to the nominal packet fill value, and the nominal packet fill values ​​associated with different capabilities may be different. The receiver can inform the transmitter of its capabilities, so that the transmitter can determine and adapt the nominal packet fill value based on the capabilities of the receiver. The receiver notifying the transmitter of its capabilities can also be understood as the receiver indicating the nominal packet fill value to the transmitter through capability information. The embodiment of the present application can indicate the nominal packet fill value to the transmitter in a static indication manner similar to the aforementioned, or can indicate the nominal packet fill value to the transmitter in a dynamic indication manner similar to the aforementioned.

[0134] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0135] The communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application involves interaction between two communication devices, which are, for example, a first device and a second device. For example, the first device is a receiver and the second device is a transmitter. The first device can indicate to the second device the nominal packet padding value to be used by the second device to send a physical layer data packet to the first device. The second device determines the nominal packet extension time based on the nominal packet padding value indicated by the first device and sends the physical layer data packet to the first device. The steps performed by the first device can be implemented by the first device itself, or by a component in the first device (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module). For example, the first device can be site 1 in Figure 1, or it can be a chip (system) in site 1 in Figure 1. The steps performed by the second device can be implemented by the second device itself, or it can be implemented by a component in the second device (such as a chip, a processing unit, or a processor module). The second device can be the AP shown in Figure 1, or it can be a chip (system) in the AP in Figure 1.

[0136] In the embodiments of the present application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device performing corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, nor do they require that the device must perform a judgment action when implemented, nor do they imply the existence of other limitations. "If" and "if" are interchangeable. Unless otherwise specified, "when" and "under the circumstances" are interchangeable. Steps indicated by dashed lines in the flowcharts involved in the embodiments of the present application are optional steps, that is, steps that may not be executed.

[0137] In the embodiments of the present application, "the second device uses at least two modulation modes" means that the second device uses at least two modulation modes to send a PPDU to the first device. Furthermore, the nominal packet padding value in the embodiments of the present application includes multiple, successively increasing levels. For example, the nominal packet padding value may include four levels: 0us, 8us, 16us, and 20us. Of course, the nominal packet padding value may also have more levels, for example, a nominal packet padding value of 24us or 28us.

[0138] In the embodiments of this application, "NSTS" and "NSS" are interchangeable. For example, "PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields" are interchangeable with "PPET8 NSSn RUb subfields"; "PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfields" are interchangeable with "PPET16 NSSn RUb subfields"; "PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields" are interchangeable with "PPETmax NSSn RUb subfields." "PPET16 NSTSn RUb subfields" are interchangeable with "PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields." In the embodiments of this application, "*" and "×" in formulas are interchangeable.

[0139] Please refer to Figure 12, which illustrates a first capability indication method in a wireless local area network provided by an embodiment of the present application. Method 1200 illustrated in Figure 12 is applicable to the scenario illustrated in Figure 1. For example, the first device may be Site 1 in Figure 1, and the second device may be the AP in Figure 1. In method 1200, the first device may indicate to the second device, via the Nominal Packet Padding subfield, the nominal packet padding value to be used when the second device sends a physical layer data packet to the first device. Method 1200 includes the following steps.

[0140] S1201. A first device sends capability information to a second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the capability information. The capability information includes a nominal packet padding subfield. The nominal packet padding subfield indicates a nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device.

[0141] The capability information may indicate the nominal packet padding value to be used when the second device sends a physical layer data packet to the first device. For example, the capability information includes a nominal packet padding subfield, which indicates the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device. Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield. In this case, the nominal packet padding subfield indicates the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device, and the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 0. Alternatively, when the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1, the nominal packet padding subfield indicates the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device.

[0142] The capability information may be included in a physical layer data packet, such as a PPDU, sent by the first device to the second device. For example, the capability information may be carried in a physical layer capability information field. For details, please refer to the relevant content in Figures 4-6 above and will not be repeated here.

[0143] In method 1200, the nominal packet padding value applies to all NSSs and all RU allocations supported by the first device, and to the case where the second device uses at least two modulation modes on configured frequency domain resources or configured spatial streams. In this embodiment of the present application, the second device uses two modulation modes, which means that the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device includes at least two constellation indexes; or the second device uses a modulation mode corresponding to at least two constellation indexes.

[0144] The following uses multiple examples to describe how the nominal packet padding subfield indicates the nominal packet padding value to be used by the second device when the second device uses at least two modulation modes. In the following cases 1 to 3, allocation is performed for all NSSs and all RUs.

[0145] Case 1: When the second device uses a first nominal packet padding value to send a PPDU to the first device using one modulation method, the second device may default to using a second nominal packet padding value when sending a PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation methods. The second nominal packet padding value has a higher level than the first nominal packet padding value. For example, the second nominal packet padding value is one level higher than the first nominal packet padding value. For example, the first nominal packet padding value is 0μs and the second nominal packet padding value is 8μs; or the first nominal packet padding value is 8μs and the second nominal packet padding value is 16μs; or the first nominal packet padding value is 16μs and the second nominal packet padding value is 20μs, and so on.

[0146] For scenario 1, a mapping relationship can be defined between at least one status value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield and at least one nominal packet padding value, so that the first device indicates the nominal packet padding value to be used by the second device using the status value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield. For example, the nominal packet padding value indicated by the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is shown in Table 8.

[0147] Table 8 Nominal packet padding subfield

[0148] As shown in Table 8, the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 0, and the nominal packet padding value is 8 μs; the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 1, and the nominal packet padding value is 16 μs; or, the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 2, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 μs.

[0149] It should be noted that, compared to Table 2, Table 8 uses the example of the second nominal package fill value being one level higher than the first nominal package fill value. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the relationship between the second nominal package fill value and the first nominal package fill value. For example, the second nominal package fill value may be the sum of the first nominal package fill value and a fixed value.

[0150] It should be noted that the mapping relationship between the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield and the nominal packet padding value in the above example is merely illustrative. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific mapping relationship between the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield and the size of the nominal packet padding value. For example, the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is the first status value, and the nominal packet padding value is the first microsecond. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific values ​​of the first status value and the first microsecond. For example, the first status value can be 2 or other possible values, and the first microsecond can be 24μs or 28μs, etc.

[0151] Case 2: When the first device supports the second device to send PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet filling value used by the second device by default is related to the highest-order modulation mode (for example, the first modulation mode) among the at least two modulation modes. For example, the nominal packet filling value used by the second device is related to one or more of the following: the first modulation mode, the size of the frequency domain resources corresponding to the first modulation mode, or the NSS / NSTS corresponding to the first modulation mode. The frequency domain resources corresponding to the first modulation mode can be RU or MRU. The frequency domain resources corresponding to the first modulation mode can be understood as using the first modulation mode on the frequency domain resources.

[0152] Case 2 can follow the design of the nominal packet padding subfield with a status value of 3 in 802.11be. For example, if the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, and one or more of the following conditions are met, the nominal packet padding value is 16 μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20 μs:

[0153] 1) The size of the allocated RU / MRU is less than or equal to the size threshold;

[0154] 2) The size of the RU / MRU corresponding to the first modulation mode is less than or equal to the size threshold;

[0155] 3) NSS is less than or equal to the NSS threshold.

[0156] The constellation index threshold, size threshold, and NSS threshold may be predefined or (pre)configured. For example, the constellation index threshold may be 1024-QAM, the size threshold may be 2*996-tone, and the NSS threshold may be 8 or 16.

[0157] For ease of understanding, the following uses a specific example to illustrate how the nominal packet padding subfield indicates the nominal packet padding value. It should be noted that the following example uses the nominal packet padding value status value as 3. In some embodiments, the nominal packet padding value status value may also have other values.

[0158] Example 1: It can be stipulated that when the status value of the nominal packet filling subfield is 3, when the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode of at least two modulation modes configured for the second device is <= constellation index threshold, and the allocated RU / MRU is <= size threshold, the nominal packet filling value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet filling value is 20μs.

[0159] Example 2: When the status value of the nominal packet filling subfield is 3, when the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode of at least two modulation modes configured for the second device is <= constellation index threshold, the configured NSS is less than or equal to the NSS threshold, and the allocated RU / MRU is <= size threshold, the nominal packet filling value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet filling value is 20μs.

[0160] Example 3: The status value of the nominal packet filling subfield may be specified as 3. When the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode of at least two modulation modes configured for the second device is <= constellation index threshold, and the RU / MRU corresponding to the first modulation mode is <= size threshold, the nominal packet filling value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet filling value is 20μs.

[0161] Example 4: The status value of the nominal packet filling subfield may be specified as 3. When the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode of at least two modulation modes configured for the second device is <= the constellation index threshold, the configured NSS is less than or equal to the NSS threshold, and the RU / MRU corresponding to the first modulation mode is <= the size threshold, the nominal packet filling value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet filling value is 20μs.

[0162] In the above examples 1-4, the constellation index thresholds in different examples may be the same or different; the size thresholds in different examples may be the same or different; and the NSS thresholds in different examples may be the same or different.

[0163] The second device may use different modulation modes on different spatial streams, or use different modulation modes on different subcarrier sets. It is understandable that the second device uses at least two modulation modes (for example, modulation mode 1 and modulation mode 2) to send a PPDU, which includes both content modulated by modulation mode 1 and content modulated by modulation mode 2. In this case, a larger nominal packet fill value is preferred, and accordingly, the constellation index threshold should correspond to a larger nominal packet fill value, the RU allocation index should correspond to a larger nominal packet fill value, or the NSS should correspond to a larger nominal packet fill value. In other words, in this case, one or more of the following should be selected: a smaller constellation index threshold, a PPDT corresponding to a larger RU allocation index, or a PPET corresponding to more NSSs.

[0164] For example, when the second device uses one modulation mode to send a PPDU to the first device, as shown in Table 7 above, if the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used by the second device is less than or equal to 5 (i.e., the constellation index threshold), and the RU allocation is less than or equal to 2×996-tone (i.e., the size threshold), then the nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. However, in an embodiment of the present application, when the second device uses at least two modulation modes to send a PPDU to the first device, the constellation index threshold may be less than 5, for example, the constellation index threshold is equal to 4; similarly, the size threshold of the RU / MRU may be less than 2×996-tone (corresponding to the RU allocation index of 3), for example, the size threshold of the RU / MRU may be 484-tone, that is, the RU allocation index is equal to 2.

[0165] Alternatively, considering that although the second device uses at least two modulation schemes, processing complexity increases, some spatial streams use a lower-order modulation scheme, while others use a higher-order modulation scheme; or some subcarrier sets use a lower-order modulation scheme, while others use a higher-order modulation scheme. Compared to the second device using a higher-order modulation scheme for all spatial streams or all subcarrier sets, the second device processes fewer bits per unit time using at least two modulation schemes. Therefore, the first device can complete reception of the PPDU sent by the second device more quickly. In this case, a smaller nominal packet padding value is preferred. Accordingly, the constellation index threshold should correspond to a smaller nominal packet padding value, the RU allocation index should correspond to a smaller nominal packet padding value, or the NSS should correspond to a smaller nominal packet padding value. In other words, in this case, one or more of the following should be selected: a larger constellation index threshold, a PPET corresponding to a smaller RU allocation index, or a PPET corresponding to a smaller NSS.

[0166] For example, when the second device uses one modulation mode to send a PPDU to the first device, as shown in Table 7 above, if the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode is less than or equal to 5 (i.e., the constellation index threshold), and the RU allocation is less than or equal to 2*996-tone (i.e., the size threshold), then the nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. However, in an embodiment of the present application, when the second device uses at least two modulation modes to send a PPDU to the first device, the constellation index threshold may be greater than 5, for example, the constellation index threshold is equal to 6; similarly, the size threshold of the RU / MRU may be greater than 2×996-tone, for example, the size threshold of the RU / MRU may be 4×996-tone, that is, the RU allocation index is equal to 4.

[0167] Case 3: When the first device supports the second device to send PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value to be used by the second device may be set to 20 μs by default.

[0168] In this case, the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield corresponding to the nominal packet padding value of 20 μs may be defined, for example, the status value is 2. When the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 2, the second device may determine that the nominal packet padding value indicated by the first device is 20 μs.

[0169] Alternatively, the meaning of the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield being 3 is retained, that is, the modulation order supported by the second device is less than 1024, the allocated RU / MRU is less than or equal to 2×996-tone, and the nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. Here, "otherwise the nominal packet padding value is 20μs" includes the case where the second device uses at least two MCSs to send a PPDU to the first device. In other words, if the second device uses at least two modulation methods to send a PPDU to the first device, the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold present subfield included in the PPDU sent by the first device to the second device is 0, and the status value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, then the nominal packet padding value indicated by the nominal packet padding subfield is 20μs.

[0170] S1202: The second device determines a nominal packet filling value according to the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used.

[0171] Resources, such as frequency resources and spatial streams, can be configured for the second device to send a PPDU to the first device. Frequency resources can be allocated to the second device in RUs / MRUs. Frequency resource information and spatial stream information can be sent to the second device together in the same configuration message or separately.

[0172] The second device may determine a nominal packet padding value based on the configured frequency resources and spatial streams and the at least two modulation modes used. For example, when the second device transmits a PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation modes, the second device may determine a corresponding nominal packet padding value based on the state value indicated by the Nominal Packet Padding subfield in the capability information, or determine a default nominal packet padding value.

[0173] For example, the meaning of the nominal packet filling subfield is as in the aforementioned case 1. Then as long as the second device uses at least two modulation modes, when the status value of the nominal packet filling subfield is 0, the second device determines that the nominal packet filling value is 8μs; when the status value of the nominal packet filling subfield is 1, the second device determines that the nominal packet filling value is 16μs; when the status value of the nominal packet filling subfield is 2, the second device determines that the nominal packet filling value is 20μs.

[0174] If the meaning of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is as in Case 2 above. When the status value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is 3, and the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes used by the second device is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, and the allocated RU / MRU is less than or equal to the size threshold, the nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. Alternatively, when the status value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is 3, and the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes used by the second device is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, the configured NSS is less than or equal to the NSS threshold, and the allocated RU / MRU is less than or equal to the size threshold, the nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. Alternatively, when the status value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is 3, and the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes used by the second device is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, and the RU / MRU corresponding to the first modulation mode is less than or equal to the size threshold, the nominal packet padding value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20μs. Alternatively, when the status value of the nominal packet filling subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode of at least two modulation modes used by the second device is <= constellation index threshold, the configured NSS is less than or equal to the NSS threshold, and the RU / MRU corresponding to the first modulation mode is <= size threshold, the nominal packet filling value is 16μs; otherwise, the nominal packet filling value is 20μs.

[0175] If the meaning of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is the same as that of the aforementioned case 3, when the status value of the Nominal Packet Padding subfield is 3, as long as the second device uses at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet padding value is 20 μs.

[0176] S1203: The second device determines, according to the nominal packet padding value, a duration of a PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device.

[0177] After determining the nominal packet padding value, the second device determines the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device based on the nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. For details on how the second device determines the duration of the PE field based on the nominal packet padding value, please refer to Table 1 and Figure 3 above and will not be further described here.

[0178] Method 1200 illustrates a scheme for all NSSs and all RU allocations supported by a first device, and for supporting a second device using at least two modulation schemes on configured frequency resources or configured spatial streams, in which the first device indicates a nominal packet padding value through the nominal packet padding subfield. Method 1200 enables the second device to specify the duration of the PE field included in a PPDU when transmitting the PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation schemes, thereby allowing the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0179] It is understandable that the nominal packet padding subfield may also indicate the nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the first device supports all NSSs and all RU allocations and one modulation mode. In a possible implementation, in order to reduce overhead, there is no need to increase the number of bits occupied by the nominal packet padding subfield. In this case, the second device may determine the meaning of the nominal packet padding subfield based on sending the PPDU to the first device using one modulation mode or at least two modulation modes. Alternatively, additional bit information may be used to indicate that the meaning of the nominal packet padding subfield corresponds to one modulation mode or at least two modulation modes.

[0180] As mentioned above, the first device may also indirectly indicate the nominal packet filling value through the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield and the physical layer packet extension threshold field, which will be described in detail below.

[0181] Please refer to Figure 13, which shows a second capability indication method in a wireless local area network provided by an embodiment of the present application. Method 1300 shown in Figure 13 is applicable to the scenario shown in Figure 1. For example, the first device may be site 1 in Figure 1, and the second device may be the AP in Figure 1. In method 1300, the first device indirectly indicates the nominal packet padding value to be used when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device using at least two MCSs through the physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield and the physical layer packet extension threshold field. Method 1300 includes the following steps.

[0182] S1301. The first device sends capability information to the second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the capability information. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field. The physical layer packet extension threshold field includes an RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values.

[0183] Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield. When the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield is 1, the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a set of multiple packet extension threshold subfields corresponding to different nominal packet fill values; or, when the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a set of multiple packet extension threshold subfields corresponding to different nominal packet fill values, the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield is 1.

[0184] This capability information may be included in a physical layer data packet, such as a PPDU, sent by the first device to the second device. For example, this capability information may be carried in a physical layer capability information field. For details, please refer to the relevant content in Figures 7-8 and Figures 9-10 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0185] In some embodiments, the design of the physical layer packet extension threshold field may follow the design of the physical layer packet extension threshold field in 802.11be. For example, the physical layer packet extension threshold field includes an RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet fill values. For example, the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a first packet extension threshold subfield set corresponding to a first nominal packet fill value and a second packet extension threshold subfield set corresponding to a second nominal packet fill value. Optionally, the first nominal packet fill value can be 8μs, and the second nominal packet fill value can be 16μs or 20μs. In this case, the first packet extension threshold subfield set can be PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields, and the second packet extension threshold subfield set can be PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields. That is, the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields and PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields. For details, please refer to the relevant content of Figure 10 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0186] In method 1300, each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. The modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet filling value used to send a physical layer data packet to the first device. The nominal packet filling value supports the second device to use at least two modulation modes when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b for the first device. The value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], and N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1. The value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], and M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0187] When the first device supports the second device to use at least two modulation modes, one or more of the following may be specified: the relationship between the NSS corresponding to the modulation threshold indicated by each packet extension threshold subfield set and the NSS configured for the second device, the relationship between the RU / MRU corresponding to the modulation threshold indicated by each packet extension threshold subfield set and the RU / MRU configured for the second device, or the constellation index compared with the modulation threshold indicated by each packet extension threshold subfield set, so that the second device determines the nominal packet filling value indicated by the first device based on multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to the multiple nominal packet filling values.

[0188] For easier understanding, a specific example is given below.

[0189] Example 1: When the second device is configured to adopt at least two modulation modes, the nominal packet filling value is determined by default based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by each packet extension threshold subfield set. The constellation index of the second modulation mode may be the sum of the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode (for example, the first modulation mode) among the at least two modulation modes and the first value. For example, the second device may determine the nominal packet filling value based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields, and based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields. For details, please refer to the relevant contents of Table 5 or Table 7 above.

[0190] For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 14, which illustrates the principle of determining the nominal packet padding value. Each dot in Figure 14 corresponds to a certain NSS and a RU / MRU. The first modulation mode is the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes configured for the second device. The constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is the sum of the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode and the first value, if the first value is a positive number. Taking the dot in the second row and third column of Figure 14 as an example, the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode is greater than A1 and less than A2. If the nominal packet padding value is determined based on the comparison results of the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode with A1 and A2 respectively, the nominal packet padding value is 8μs. However, in the embodiment of the present application, the nominal packet padding value is determined based on the comparison results of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode with A1 and A2 respectively. If the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is greater than A1 and greater than A2, the nominal packet padding value is 16μs or 20μs accordingly.

[0191] It is understandable that the first value is not equal to 0, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific value of the first value. As mentioned above, considering that the second device uses at least two modulation methods to send PPDU to the first device, the processing complexity is increased. In this case, a constellation index threshold corresponding to a larger nominal packet filling value can be selected. That is, the first value is a negative number, for example, the first value can be -1, -2 or -3, etc. Considering that the second device uses at least two modulation methods to send PPDU to the first device, the number of bits processed per unit time is reduced, which can enable the first device to complete the reception of the PPDU from the second device faster. In this case, a constellation index threshold corresponding to a smaller nominal packet filling value can be selected. That is, the first value is a positive number, for example, the first value can be 1, 2 or 3, etc.

[0192] Example 2: In a packet extension threshold subfield set, when NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU / MRU is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the modulation threshold corresponding to when NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU / MRU is b', b' is the sum of y and the second value, and the second value is not equal to 0.

[0193] Accordingly, when the second device is configured with an NSS of n and a sequence number of b for the RU / MRU, and uses at least two modulation modes to send a PPDU to the first device, the second device may determine the nominal packet padding value based on a comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to one of the at least two modulation modes (e.g., the second modulation mode) and the modulation threshold corresponding to the case where the NSS is n and the sequence number of b' is corresponding to the RU / MRU. Continuing with the example of Table 7, the second device may determine the nominal packet padding value based on a comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RU b subfields, and based on a comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RU b subfields. The modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RU b subfields is the modulation threshold corresponding to the case where the NSS is n and the sequence number of b' is corresponding to the RU. The modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RU b subfields is the modulation threshold corresponding to the case where the NSS is n and the sequence number of b' is corresponding to the RU. For details, please refer to the relevant contents of Table 5 or Table 7 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0194] For easier understanding, please refer to Figure 15, which illustrates the principle of determining the nominal packet padding value. Each dot in Figure 15 corresponds to a specific NSS and a RU / MRU. The starting sequence number of the RU indicated on the abscissa in Figure 15 can start from 0 or 1. For example, the starting sequence number of the RU indicated on the abscissa in Figure 15 starts from 0, and taking the dot in row 2, column 2 as an example, RU1 is the RU configured by the second device, and its sequence number is 1. If the second value is 1, the second device can determine the nominal packet padding value based on the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS of n and the RU sequence number of 2. As shown in Figure 15, if the second device determines the nominal packet padding value based on the comparison of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields, and based on the comparison of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields, the determined nominal packet padding value is 8μs. However, in an embodiment of the present application, according to Example 2, the second device determines the nominal packet filling value based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub'subfields, and based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RUb'subfields. Then, the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is greater than A1 and greater than A2, and accordingly, the nominal packet filling value is 16μs or 20μs.

[0195] It should be noted that the second modulation mode in Example 2 can be the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes, or the lowest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes. Similar to the first value, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific value of the second value. For example, the second value can be a positive number, such as 1, 2, or 3; the second value can also be a negative number, such as -1, -2, or -3.

[0196] Example 3: In a packet extension threshold subfield set, when NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU / MRU is b, the modulation threshold corresponding to NSS is n' and the sequence number corresponding to RU / MRU is b, and n' is the sum of n and the third value, and the third value is not equal to 0.

[0197] Accordingly, when the second device is configured with an NSS of n and a sequence number of b corresponding to the RU / MRU, and uses at least two modulation modes to send a PPDU to the first device, the second device may determine the nominal packet padding value based on a comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to one of the at least two modulation modes (e.g., the second modulation mode) and the modulation threshold corresponding to the case where the NSS is n' and the sequence number of the RU / MRU is b. Continuing with the example of Table 7, the second device may determine the nominal packet padding value based on a comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields, and based on a comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields. The modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn RUb subfields is the modulation threshold corresponding to the case where the NSS is n' and the sequence number of the RU is b. The modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields is the modulation threshold corresponding to the case where the NSS is n and the sequence number of the RU is b. For details, please refer to the relevant contents of Table 5 or Table 7 above.

[0198] For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 16, which shows the principle of determining the nominal packet filling value. A dot in Figure 16 corresponds to a certain NSS and corresponds to an RU / MRU. The starting sequence number of the RU indicated by the horizontal axis in Figure 16 can start from 0 or from 1. Taking the starting sequence number of the RU indicated by the horizontal axis in Figure 16 as starting from 0, and taking the dot in the second row and second column as an example, RU1 is the RU configured by the second device, the sequence number of RU1 is 1, and the NSS configured for the second device is the number of streams indicated in the second row, for example, n. If the sum of n and the third value is n', then the second device can determine the nominal packet filling value based on the modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n' and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is 1. As shown in Figure 16, if the second device determines the nominal packet padding value based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields, and based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields, then the determined nominal packet padding value is 8μs. However, in an embodiment of the present application, according to Example 3, the second device determines the nominal packet padding value based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn'Rub subfields, and based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn'RUb subfields. If the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is greater than A1 and greater than A2, then the nominal packet padding value is 16μs or 20μs accordingly.

[0199] It should be noted that the second modulation mode in Example 3 can be the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes, or the lowest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes. Similar to the first value, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific value of the third value. For example, the third value can be a positive number, such as 1, 2, or 3; the third value can also be a negative number, such as -1, -2, or -3.

[0200] Example 4: When the second device uses at least two modulation modes, the default nominal packet filling value corresponding to the PPETmax NSTSn RUb subfields is greater than or equal to 20 μs.

[0201] Multiple examples in Examples 1-4 above can be combined. For example, combining Examples 2 and 3, in a packet extension threshold subfield set, when the NSS is n and the RU / MRU sequence number is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS being n' and the RU / MRU sequence number being b'. b' is the sum of b and the second value, and n' is the sum of n and the third value.

[0202] S1302: The second device determines a nominal packet filling value according to the physical layer packet extension threshold information field, the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams, and at least two modulation modes used.

[0203] The second device may compare the modulation threshold indicated by the set of multiple packet extension threshold subfields included in the physical layer packet extension threshold information field based on the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams, as well as the constellation index corresponding to one of the at least two modulation modes used, and determine a corresponding nominal packet padding value based on the comparison result. The specific manner in which the second device determines the nominal packet padding value can be found in Examples 1 to 4 of S1301 and is not further described here.

[0204] S1303: The second device determines, according to the nominal packet padding value, a duration of a PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device.

[0205] After determining the nominal packet padding value, the second device determines the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device based on the nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. For details on how the second device determines the duration of the PE field based on the nominal packet padding value, please refer to Table 1 and Figure 3 above and will not be further described here.

[0206] Method 1300 illustrates the use of the design of the physical layer packet extension threshold field in 802.11be to indicate the nominal packet padding value to be used when a second device transmits a PPDU to a first device using at least two modulation schemes. Method 1300 enables the second device to specify the duration of the PE field included in a PPDU transmitted to a first device using at least two modulation schemes, thereby allowing the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0207] It is understood that the physical layer packet extension threshold field in method 1300 may also indicate the nominal packet padding value corresponding to a modulation mode supported by the first device. In a possible implementation, to reduce overhead, there is no need to increase the number of bits occupied by the physical layer packet extension threshold field. In this case, the second device may determine the meaning of the physical layer packet extension threshold field based on the use of one modulation mode or at least two modulation modes. Alternatively, additional bits may be used to indicate that the meaning of the physical layer packet extension threshold field corresponds to one modulation mode or at least two modulation modes.

[0208] As an alternative to method 1300, a modulation threshold can be specified for each spatial stream. In this case, the second device can determine the nominal packet padding value to use based on the modulation thresholds corresponding to all spatial streams. Accordingly, see Figure 17, which illustrates a third solution provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0209] Method 1700 shown in Figure 17 is applicable to the scenario shown in Figure 1. For example, the first device may be site 1 in Figure 1, and the second device may be the AP in Figure 1. In method 1700, the first device uses the Physical Layer Packet Extension Threshold Present subfield and the Physical Layer Packet Extension Threshold field in the PPDU to indicate to the second device the nominal packet padding value to be used when transmitting the PPDU to the first device using at least two modulation schemes. In method 1700, each set of Packet Extension Threshold subfields may be expanded based on the number of spatial streams. For example, each set of Packet Extension Threshold subfields may include multiple subfields, one of which may indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to one of n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the RU corresponds to sequence number b. For example, a Packet Extension Threshold subfield set may include a first subfield and a second subfield. The first subfield may indicate the first modulation threshold corresponding to the first of n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the RU corresponds to sequence number b. This first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value when transmitting the PPDU to the first device using the first modulation scheme on the first space-time stream. Similarly, the second subfield can be used to indicate the second modulation threshold corresponding to the second space-time stream in n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet padding value when sending the PPDU to the first device using the second modulation method on the second space-time stream. Wherein, the value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0.

[0210] Taking the PPETmax NSSn RUb subfields as an example, when the NSS supported by the first device is 4, the structure of the PPETmax NSSn RUb subfields may be as shown in Figure 18. "PPETmax NSS4 Rub SS=i" in Figure 18 is a subfield, where i = 1, 2, 3, or 4. When the NSS supported by the first device is 5, the structure of the PPETmax NSSn RUb subfields may be as shown in Figure 19. "PPETmax NSS4 Rub SS=i" in Figure 19 is a subfield, where i = 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.

[0211] Accordingly, method 1700 includes the following steps.

[0212] S1701. The first device sends capability information to the second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the capability information. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field. The physical layer packet extension threshold field includes an RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield. The first subfield can be used to indicate the first modulation threshold corresponding to the first space-time stream among n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet padding value when sending a PPDU to the first device using the first modulation method on the first space-time stream.

[0213] Each packet extension threshold subfield set also includes a second subfield that can be used to indicate the second modulation threshold corresponding to the second space-time stream among the n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet filling value when sending the PPDU to the first device using the second modulation method on the second space-time stream.

[0214] Among them, the capability information may be included in a physical layer data packet sent by the first device to the second device, such as a PPDU. For example, the capability information may be carried in a physical layer capability information field. For details, please refer to the relevant contents in the aforementioned Figures 7-8 and Figures 9-10, which will not be repeated here. Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield. When the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1, the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values; or, when the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values, the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1.

[0215] S1702: The second device determines a nominal packet filling value according to the physical layer packet extension threshold information field, the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams, and at least two modulation modes used.

[0216] For any space-time stream when the NSS is n and the RU corresponds to sequence number b, the corresponding nominal packet padding value can be determined based on the constellation index corresponding to the modulation scheme used on each space-time stream and the modulation threshold corresponding to the space-time stream. After the second device determines the nominal packet padding values ​​corresponding to each of the n spatial streams, it determines the nominal packet padding value to be used for the PPDU sent to the first device based on the nominal packet padding values ​​corresponding to each of the n spatial streams. For example, the nominal packet padding value to be used by the second device is the maximum nominal packet padding value among the nominal packet padding values ​​used for each of the n space-time streams when the NSS is n and the RU corresponds to sequence number b.

[0217] For the method of determining the nominal packet filling value corresponding to any space-time flow, please refer to the contents of Table 5 or Table 7 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0218] For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 20, which shows the principle of determining the nominal packet padding value. Each dot in Figure 20 corresponds to a spatial stream number and corresponds to a RU / MRU. Figure 20 takes three spatial streams as an example. The RU configured for the second device is RU1, and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b. The second device uses the first modulation method on the first spatial stream, the second modulation method on the second spatial stream, and the first modulation method on the third spatial stream to send a PPDU to the first device. As shown in Figure 20, the second device determines the nominal packet padding value corresponding to the first spatial stream based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation method with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields. Accordingly, if the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation method is greater than A1 and less than A2, the nominal packet padding value is 8μs. The second device determines the nominal packet padding value for the second spatial stream based on a comparison of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields. If the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is greater than A1 and less than A2, the nominal packet padding value is 8 μs. The second device determines the nominal packet padding value for the third spatial stream based on a comparison of the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields. If the constellation index corresponding to the third modulation mode is greater than A2, the nominal packet padding value is 16 μs or 20 μs. Finally, the second device may determine the maximum nominal packet padding value corresponding to the first to third spatial streams as the nominal packet padding value to be used, namely, 16 μs or 20 μs.

[0219] S1703: The second device determines, according to the nominal packet padding value, a duration of a PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device.

[0220] After determining the nominal packet padding value, the second device determines the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device based on the nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. For details on how the second device determines the duration of the PE field based on the nominal packet padding value, please refer to Table 1 and Figure 3 above and will not be further described here.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first device supports the second device to use at least two modulation modes on at least one RU / MRU. For example, a certain RU / MRU includes i subcarrier sets, i is greater than or equal to 2, and the second device uses at least two modulation modes on the i subcarrier sets. In this case, the corresponding modulation threshold can be indicated separately for each subcarrier set, and the second device can determine the nominal packet filling value to be used based on the modulation thresholds corresponding to all subcarrier sets. Accordingly, please refer to Figure 21, which shows the fourth solution provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0222] Method 2100 shown in Figure 21 is applicable to the scenario shown in Figure 1. For example, the first device may be station 1 in Figure 1, and the second device may be the AP in Figure 1. In method 2100, the first device indirectly indicates to the second device the nominal packet padding value to be used when transmitting a physical layer data packet to the first device using at least two modulation schemes, using the physical layer packet extension threshold present subfield and the physical layer packet extension threshold field in the PPDU. Method 2100 includes the following steps.

[0223] S2101. The first device sends capability information to the second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the capability information. The capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field. The physical layer packet extension threshold field includes an RU index mask subfield, an NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field. The physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet padding values. Each packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield. The first subfield is used to indicate a first modulation threshold corresponding to a first subresource set in the frequency domain resources when the NSS is n and the corresponding sequence number of the frequency domain resource is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet padding value to be used when sending a PPDU to the first device using a first modulation mode on a first subcarrier set.

[0224] Optionally, the capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield. When the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield is 1, the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a set of multiple packet extension threshold subfields corresponding to different nominal packet fill values; or, when the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a set of multiple packet extension threshold subfields corresponding to different nominal packet fill values, the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold presence subfield is 1.

[0225] The difference between S2101 and S1701 is that each packet extension threshold subfield set can be extended according to the subcarrier set. For example, each packet extension threshold subfield set includes multiple subfields, and one subfield can be used to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to a subcarrier set in the RU / MRU when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. For example, a packet extension threshold subfield set includes a first subfield and a second subfield. The first subfield can be used to indicate the first modulation threshold corresponding to the first subcarrier set in the RU / MRU when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. The first modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet fill value when sending a PPDU to the first device using the first modulation method on the first subcarrier set. Similarly, the second subfield can be used to indicate the second modulation threshold corresponding to the second subcarrier set in the RU / MRU when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b. The second modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the corresponding nominal packet fill value when sending a PPDU to the first device using the second modulation method on the second subcarrier set.

[0226] Taking the PPETmax NSSn RUb subfields as an example, when the MRU used by the second device is 484+996, the MRU includes RU A and RU B. When 64QAM is used on RU A and 16QAM is used on RU B, the structure of the PPETmax NSSn RUb subfields may be as shown in FIG. 22 .

[0227] S2102. The second device determines a nominal packet filling value according to a physical layer packet extension threshold field, configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams, and at least two modulation modes used.

[0228] The nominal packet filling value corresponding to a subcarrier set can be determined according to the modulation threshold corresponding to the RU composed of the subcarrier set. The specific determination method can refer to the contents of Table 5 or Table 7 above, which will not be repeated here. In a possible implementation method, a new RU allocation index can be introduced to indicate the RU composed of the subcarrier set. Alternatively, the RU allocation index defined in Table 6 can be reused, combined with an additional bit to indicate the RU composed of the subcarrier set. The additional bit can be used to distinguish whether the indicated RU is the RU in Table 6 or the RU composed of the subcarrier set.

[0229] For the i subcarrier sets included in the configured frequency domain resources, the second device can determine the corresponding nominal packet filling value based on the constellation index corresponding to the modulation mode used on the i subcarrier sets and the modulation threshold corresponding to the space-time stream. After the second device determines the nominal packet filling values ​​corresponding to the i subcarrier sets, it determines the nominal packet filling value to be used for the PPDU sent to the first device based on the nominal packet filling values ​​corresponding to the i subcarrier sets. For example, the nominal packet filling value to be used by the second device is the maximum nominal packet filling value among the nominal packet filling values ​​used on the i subcarrier sets when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b.

[0230] For ease of understanding, see Figure 23, which illustrates the principle of determining the nominal packet padding value. Each dot in Figure 23 corresponds to a spatial stream number and a RU / MRU. Figure 23 uses the example of RU1 configured on the second device, with the RU corresponding to sequence number b, and RU1 including three subcarrier sets (i.e., subcarrier set 1 through subcarrier set 3).

[0231] The second device uses the first modulation scheme on subcarrier set 1, the first modulation scheme on subcarrier set 2, and the second modulation scheme on subcarrier set 3. As shown in Figure 23, the second device determines the nominal packet padding value corresponding to subcarrier set 1 based on the comparison results of the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation scheme with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET16 NSTSn Rub subfields. Accordingly, if the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation scheme is greater than A1 and less than A2, the nominal packet padding value is 8 μs. The second device determines the nominal packet padding value corresponding to subcarrier set 2 based on the comparison results of the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation scheme with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields. Accordingly, if the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation scheme is less than A1, the nominal packet padding value is 0 μs. The second device determines the nominal packet padding value corresponding to subcarrier set 3 based on the comparison result of the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode with the modulation threshold indicated by the PPET8 NSTSn Rub subfields and the modulation threshold indicated by the PPETmax NSTSn Rub subfields. Accordingly, if the constellation index corresponding to the first modulation mode is greater than A2, the nominal packet padding value is 16 μs or 20 μs. Finally, the second device may determine the maximum nominal packet padding value corresponding to subcarrier sets 1 to 3 as the nominal packet padding value to be used, namely, 16 μs or 20 μs.

[0232] S2103: The second device determines, according to the nominal packet padding value, a duration of a PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device.

[0233] After determining the nominal packet padding value, the second device determines the duration of the PE field included in the PPDU sent to the first device based on the nominal packet padding value. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device. For details on how the second device determines the duration of the PE field based on the nominal packet padding value, please refer to Table 1 and Figure 3 above and will not be further described here.

[0234] In the case where a first device supports a second device sending a PPDU to the first device using multiple modulation methods, the above embodiments provide four solutions: method 1200, method 1300, method 1700, and method 2100. Based on any of these four solutions, the first device can indicate to the second device the nominal packet padding value to be used when the second device sends a PPDU to the first device using multiple modulation methods. Based on the indication from the first device, the second device determines the nominal packet padding value to be used and, in turn, the duration of the PE field included in the transmitted PPDU. The duration of the PE field allows the first device sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

[0235] In the embodiments of the present application, "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. "Multiple" refers to two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be one or more, for example, at least one is one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then the included ones may be A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is similar. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character “ / ”, unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an “or” relationship.

[0236] Unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to define the order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. Furthermore, the descriptions of "first" and "second" do not necessarily define the objects as being different. For example, "first modulation mode" and "second modulation mode" represent two modulation modes, but do not define the priority or importance of the two modulation modes.

[0237] In the embodiments provided above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are described from the perspective of the interaction between the first device and the second device. In order to implement the various functions in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first device and the second device may include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. Whether a function of the above functions is executed in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0238] Figure 24 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 2400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2400 can implement the functions or steps implemented by the first device or the second device in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication device 2400 may include a functional unit for executing the method performed by the first device or the second device in Figure 12, Figure 13, Figure 17 or Figure 21. For example, the communication device 2400 may include a processing module 2410 and a transceiver module 2420. Optionally, a storage unit may be further included, which can be used to store instructions (code or program) and / or data. The processing module 2410 and the transceiver module 2420 can be coupled to the storage unit. For example, the processing module 2410 can read the instructions (code or program) and / or data in the storage unit to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned units can be set independently or partially or fully integrated.

[0239] Among them, the processing module 2410 can be a processor or controller, for example, a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processing (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and so on. The transceiver module 2420 is an interface circuit of the device, used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 2420 is an input / output interface, pin or interface circuit for the chip to exchange signals with other chips or devices.

[0240] In one possible design, when the communication device 2400 implements the functions or steps implemented by the first device in each of the above-mentioned method embodiments, the communication device 2400 can be the first device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, or a chip or functional module for implementing the functions of the first device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The processing module 2410 is used to perform processing-related operations of the first device in each of the above-mentioned method embodiments, for example, generating capability information. The transceiver module 2420 is used to perform transceiver-related operations of the first device in each of the above-mentioned method embodiments, for example, S1201, S1301, S1701, or S2101. The specific process of each functional module included in the communication device 2400 performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been introduced in the above-mentioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0241] In one possible design, when the communication device 2400 implements the functions or steps implemented by the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, the communication device 2400 can be the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, or a chip or functional module for implementing the functions of the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiments. The processing module 2410 is used to perform processing-related operations of the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, for example, S1202 and S1203, S1302 and S1303, S1702 and S1703, or S2102 and S2103. The transceiver module 2420 is used to perform transceiver-related operations of the second device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, for example, S1201, S1301, S1701, or S2101. The specific process of each functional module included in the communication device 2400 performing the above-mentioned corresponding steps has been introduced in the above-mentioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0242] As shown in Figure 25, a communication device 2500 provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown. The communication device 2500 may be an AP or a STA, capable of implementing the functions of the first device or the second device in the method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2500 may also be a device capable of supporting the first device to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided in an embodiment of the present application, or a device capable of supporting the second device to implement the corresponding functions in the method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 2500 may be a chip or a chip system. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0243] The communication device 2500 includes at least one processor 2520, which is used to implement or support the communication device 2500 in implementing the functions of the first device or the second device in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, such as determining the aforementioned capability information or determining the nominal packet padding value. The communication device 2500 may also include at least one memory 2530 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 2530 is coupled to the processor 2520. The coupling in the embodiment of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. The processor 2520 may operate in conjunction with the memory 2530. The processor 2520 may execute the program instructions and / or data stored in the memory 2530 to enable the communication device 2500 to implement the corresponding method. At least one of the at least one memory may be located in the processor.

[0244] The communication device 2500 may also include a transceiver 2510 for communicating with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the devices within the communication device 2500 to communicate with the other devices. For example, when the communication device is an AP, the other device is a STA; alternatively, when the communication device is a STA, the other device is an AP. The processor 2520 may utilize the transceiver 2510 to transmit and receive data. The transceiver 2510 may be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver circuit, input / output interface, etc., and is configured to implement the transceiver functions of the communication device 2500 via an antenna. The transceiver 2510 may also include a radio frequency unit (RFU), which may be independent of the communication device 2500 or integrated within the communication device 2500. Of course, the transceiver 2510 may also include an antenna, such as a remote antenna independent of the communication device 2500 or an antenna integrated within the communication device 2500. In hardware implementation, the transceiver module 2420 may be the transceiver 2510.

[0245] The specific connection medium between the transceiver 2510, processor 2520, and memory 2530 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 25, the memory 2530, processor 2520, and transceiver 2510 are connected via a bus 2540. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 25. The connection methods between other components are merely schematic and are not limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 25 only uses a single bold line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0246] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 2520 can 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, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0247] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory 2530 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0248] It should be noted that the communication device in the above embodiments may be an AP or STA, or may be a circuit, a chip used in an AP or STA, or other combined devices or components having the aforementioned AP or STA functions. As a possible product form factor, the AP and STA described in the embodiments of this application may also be implemented using one or more FPGAs, PLDs, 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.

[0249] In the embodiments of the present application, the first device can be either an AP or a STA. The second device can be either an AP or a STA. It should be understood that the various APs described above have any of the functions of the APs in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be further described here. Similarly, the various STAs described above have any of the functions of the STAs in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be further described here.

[0250] The present application also provides a communication system. Specifically, the communication system includes a second device and a first device, or may include more first devices and second devices. Exemplarily, the communication system includes a second device and a first device for implementing the functions described in FIG. 12 , FIG. 13 , FIG. 17 , or FIG. 21 .

[0251] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method executed by the first device or the second device in Figure 12 or Figure 13 or Figure 17 or Figure 21.

[0252] A computer program product is also provided in an embodiment of the present application, including computer program code. When the computer program code runs on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the method executed by the first device or the second device in Figure 12 or Figure 13 or Figure 17 or Figure 21.

[0253] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing the functions of the first device or the second device in the aforementioned method. The chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0254] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute one or more of the above-mentioned method embodiments; or, the processor is used to execute the capability indication method or capability determination method described in one or more of the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0255] It should be understood that the above-mentioned communication device can be a chip, and the processor can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. The memory can be integrated into the processor or can be located outside the processor and exist independently.

[0256] The methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they may be implemented in whole or in part 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, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present invention are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., an SSD), etc.

[0257] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A capability indication method in a wireless local area network, characterized in that: include: The first device determines capability information, and the first device sends the capability information to the second device; Among them, the capability information includes a nominal packet filling subfield, and the nominal packet filling subfield indicates the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU sent by the second device to the first device, so that the second device determines the duration of the packet extension PE field included in the PPDU according to the nominal packet filling value, and the nominal packet filling value is allocated for all spatial streams NSS and all RUs supported by the first device, and for the second device to use at least two modulation modes on the configured frequency domain resources or configured spatial streams.

2. A method for determining capability in a wireless local area network, characterized in that: include: The second device receives capability information from the first device, the capability information including a nominal packet padding subfield, the nominal packet padding subfield indicating a nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first device, wherein the nominal packet padding value is allocated for all spatial stream numbers NSS and all RUs supported by the first device, and for the second device to use at least two modulation modes on a configured frequency domain resource or a configured spatial stream; The second device determines the nominal packet filling value according to the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used; The second device determines a duration of a packet extension PE field included in the PPDU according to the nominal packet padding value, and the duration of the PE field enables the first device to have enough time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 0.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The second device determines the nominal packet filling value according to the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, including: The second device determines the nominal packet filling value according to the configured number of spatial streams and the configured frequency domain resources and the highest order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The state value of the nominal packet fill subfield is 0, and the nominal packet fill value is 8 microseconds; The state value of the nominal packet fill subfield is 1, and the nominal packet fill value is 16 microseconds; The state value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 2, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds; or, The state value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, and the second device sends the PPDU to the first device using the at least two modulation modes, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The state value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode of the at least two modulation modes is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, and one or more of the following conditions are met, the nominal packet padding value is 16 microseconds; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds: The size of the allocated resource unit RU or multiple resource unit MRU is less than or equal to the size threshold, the size of the RU or MRU corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode is less than or equal to the size threshold, or the number of space-time streams NSS is less than or equal to the spatial stream number threshold.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The constellation index threshold is 5, the size threshold is 2×996-tone, and the spatial stream number threshold is 8 or 16.

8. A capability indication method in a wireless local area network, characterized in that: include: The first device determines capability information, and the first device sends the capability information to the second device; Among them, the capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, and the physical layer packet extension threshold field includes a resource unit RU index mask subfield, a space-time flow number NSS subfield and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field; the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes multiple packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values, each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate the modulation threshold corresponding to the NSS being n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU being b, and the modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet filling value used to send the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first device; the nominal packet filling value is for the first device to support the second device to use at least two modulation modes when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b, wherein the value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], and M1 and M2 are integers greater than or equal to 0.

9. A method for determining capability in a wireless local area network, characterized in that: include: The second device receives capability information sent by the first device, wherein the capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, wherein the physical layer packet extension threshold field includes a resource unit RU index mask subfield, a space-time stream number NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field; the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values, each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate a modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b, and the modulation threshold is used by the second device to send a nominal packet filling value used by the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first device; the nominal packet filling value supports the second device to use at least two modulation modes when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b for the first device, wherein the value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], and M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0; The second device determines the nominal packet filling value according to the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used; The second device determines a duration of a packet extension PE field included in the PPDU according to the nominal packet padding value, and the duration of the PE field enables the first device to have enough time to parse the PPDU received from the second device.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that The capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that: Each of the packet extension threshold subfield sets satisfies one or more of the following: The nominal packet filling value corresponding to at least two modulation modes is the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the second modulation mode, the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is the sum of the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes and the first value, and the first value is not equal to 0; When NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the corresponding modulation threshold when NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b', where b' is the sum of b and a second value, and the second value is not equal to 0; When NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the corresponding modulation threshold when NSS is n' and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b, and n' is the sum of n and a third value, and the third value is not equal to 0; or, When NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b, the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the modulation threshold is 20 microseconds.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a processing module, configured to determine capability information, the capability information including a nominal packet padding subfield, the nominal packet padding subfield indicating a nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the second device sends a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the communication device, so that the second device determines a duration of a packet extension PE field included in the PPDU according to the nominal packet padding value; The nominal packet filling value is allocated for all spatial stream numbers NSS and all RUs supported by the communication device, and for the second device to use at least two modulation modes on the configured frequency domain resources or the configured spatial streams; The transceiver module is used to send the capability information to the second device.

13. A communication device, characterized in that: include: a transceiver module, configured to receive capability information from a first device, the capability information comprising a nominal packet padding subfield, the nominal packet padding subfield indicating a nominal packet padding value corresponding to when the communication device sends a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first device, wherein the nominal packet padding value is allocated for all spatial stream numbers NSS and all RUs supported by the first device, and for the communication device to use at least two modulation modes on configured frequency domain resources or configured spatial streams; A processing module is used to determine the nominal packet filling value according to the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, and determine the duration of the packet extension PE field included in the PPDU according to the nominal packet filling value, wherein the duration of the PE field allows the first device to have sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the communication device.

14. The device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 0.

15. The device according to claim 13, characterized in that The processing module is specifically used for: The nominal packet filling value is determined according to the configured number of spatial streams and the configured frequency domain resources and the highest order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes.

16. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: The state value of the nominal packet fill subfield is 0, and the nominal packet fill value is 8 microseconds; The state value of the nominal packet fill subfield is 1, and the nominal packet fill value is 16 microseconds; The state value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 2, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds; or, The state value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, and the second device sends the PPDU to the first device using the at least two modulation modes, and the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds.

17. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that The state value of the nominal packet padding subfield is 3, the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode of the at least two modulation modes is less than or equal to the constellation index threshold, and one or more of the following conditions are met, the nominal packet padding value is 16 microseconds; otherwise, the nominal packet padding value is 20 microseconds: The size of the allocated resource unit RU or multiple resource unit MRU is less than or equal to the size threshold, the size of the RU or MRU corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode is less than or equal to the size threshold, or the number of space-time streams NSS is less than or equal to the spatial stream number threshold.

18. The device according to claim 17, characterized in that The constellation index threshold is 5, the size threshold is 2×996-tone, and the spatial stream number threshold is 8 or 16.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing module, used to determine capability information, wherein the capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, wherein the physical layer packet extension threshold field includes a resource unit RU index mask subfield, a space-time stream number NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field; the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values, each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate a modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b, and the modulation threshold is used by the second device to determine the nominal packet filling value used to send the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the communication device; the nominal packet filling value supports the second device to use at least two modulation modes when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b for the communication device, wherein the value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], and M1 and M2 are integers greater than or equal to 0; The transceiver module is used to send the capability information to the second device.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver module, configured to receive capability information sent by a first device, wherein the capability information includes a physical layer packet extension threshold field, wherein the physical layer packet extension threshold field includes a resource unit RU index mask subfield, a space-time stream number NSS subfield, and a physical layer packet extension threshold information field; wherein the physical layer packet extension threshold information field includes a plurality of packet extension threshold subfield sets corresponding to different nominal packet filling values, wherein each packet extension threshold subfield set is used to indicate a modulation threshold corresponding to when the NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b, and the modulation threshold is used by the communication device to send a nominal packet filling value used by the physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first device; wherein the nominal packet filling value supports the communication device to use at least two modulation modes when the configured NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU / MRU is b, wherein the value range of n is a subset of [N1, ..., N2], N1 and N2 are both integers greater than or equal to 1, and the value range of b is a subset of [M1, ..., M2], and M1 and M2 are both integers greater than or equal to 0; A processing module is used to determine the nominal packet filling value according to the configured frequency domain resources and spatial streams and at least two modulation modes used, and determine the duration of the packet extension PE field included in the PPDU according to the nominal packet filling value, wherein the duration of the PE field allows the first device to have sufficient time to parse the PPDU received from the communication device.

21. The device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that The capability information also includes a physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield, and the value of the physical layer packet extension threshold existence subfield is 1.

22. The device according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that Each of the packet extension threshold subfield sets satisfies one or more of the following: The nominal packet filling value corresponding to at least two modulation modes is the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the second modulation mode, the constellation index corresponding to the second modulation mode is the sum of the constellation index corresponding to the highest-order modulation mode among the at least two modulation modes and the first value, and the first value is not equal to 0; When NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the corresponding modulation threshold when NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b', where b' is the sum of b and a second value, and the second value is not equal to 0; When NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b, the corresponding modulation threshold is the corresponding modulation threshold when NSS is n' and the sequence number corresponding to RU is b, and n' is the sum of n and a third value, and the third value is not equal to 0; or, When NSS is n and the sequence number corresponding to the RU is b, the nominal packet filling value corresponding to the modulation threshold is 20 microseconds.

23. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes at least one processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program includes program instructions, and when the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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