Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: generating a PPDU; and transmitting the PPDU on a channel corresponding to a first bandwidth, wherein X sub-carriers among Y sub-carriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used for bearing data corresponding to X data sub-carriers in at least one RU and / or at least one MRU, and the X sub-carriers are sub-carriers, other than K pilot sub-carriers, among the Y sub-carriers, the Y sub-carriers further comprise M pilot sub-carriers, and the M pilot sub-carriers are sub-carriers, other than the X sub-carriers and the K pilot sub-carriers, among the Y sub-carriers. By using the method, a design is performed for "increasing the number of pilot sub-carriers", the number of the pilot sub-carriers is expanded from K to K + M, that is, M pilot sub-carriers are added, thereby facilitating the resistance against the influence of higher-frequency CFO, phase noise, etc., increasing the robustness of low-frequency transmission, and improving the communication quality.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[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 June 5, 2023, with application number 202310658271.5 and application name “A Communication Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0004] Wireless local area networks (WLANs) have evolved through several generations, including sub-7 GHz standards such as 802.11a / b / g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be, as well as high-frequency standards (45 GHz and above), such as 802.11ad and 802.11ay, which operate around 60 GHz.

[0005] While high-frequency WLAN communications support orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission, OFDM transmission is only used in the latter fields of the physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). Furthermore, OFDM transmission does not begin at the beginning of the PPDU, but rather after the preamble, which consists of multiple fields modulated using a single subcarrier.

[0006] The above-mentioned traditional high-frequency WLAN method of first performing single-carrier transmission in a PPDU and then performing OFDM transmission has some shortcomings, such as the lack of uniformity in the modulation method within the PPDU and incompatibility with the low-frequency PPDU format. Therefore, it is currently proposed to directly use an "upclocking" version based on the low-frequency PPDU as a high-frequency PPDU for transmission. The so-called upclocking means shortening the time interval of the number of transmission points. When the number of transmission points remains unchanged, the period corresponding to the same number of points will be shortened. Since the period is inversely proportional to the subcarrier spacing, the subcarrier spacing will increase. In other words, an OFDM transmission scheme similar to the low-frequency can be adopted, except that a larger subcarrier spacing can be used compared to the low-frequency. The reason for increasing the subcarrier spacing is that a larger subcarrier spacing helps to resist the influence of larger carrier frequency offset (CFO) and phase noise at high frequencies.

[0007] However, when using the "increased subcarrier spacing" version of the low-frequency OFDM format PPDU for high-frequency transmission, the effects of CFO, phase noise, etc. still exist. How to reduce this impact is an urgent problem that needs to be solved.

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and a communication device for improving communication quality.

[0010] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a first device or a module (such as a chip) applied to the first device, and the first device can be a terminal device or a network device. The method includes: generating a PPDU; transmitting the PPDU on a channel corresponding to a first bandwidth; wherein X subcarriers out of Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of at least one resource unit (RU) and / or at least one multi-resource unit (MRU), and the X subcarriers belong to the subcarriers of the Y subcarriers other than K pilot subcarriers, and the Y subcarriers also include M pilot subcarriers, and the M pilot subcarriers belong to the subcarriers of the Y subcarriers other than the X subcarriers and the K pilot subcarriers, and X, K, and M are all positive integers, and Y is an integer greater than 2.

[0011] The above solution is designed to "increase the number of pilot subcarriers". The number of pilot subcarriers is expanded from K to K + M, that is, M pilot subcarriers are added. This helps to resist the influence of greater CFO and phase noise at high frequencies, and can also increase the robustness of low-frequency transmission, thereby improving communication quality.

[0012] In one possible implementation method, the sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the at least one RU and / or the at least MRU is M.

[0013] In one possible implementation, Y=64, X=48, and K=4.

[0014] In one possible implementation method, M=4.

[0015] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-28:-23, -20:-8, -5:-1, 1:6, 9:20, 22, 24:28}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-22, -6, 8, 23}.

[0016] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-28:-24, -22, -20:-9, -6:-1, 1:5, 8:20, 23:28}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-23, -8, 6, 22}.

[0017] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-26:-22, -20:-8, -6:-1, 1:6, 8:20, 22:26}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-28, -27, 27, 28}.

[0018] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-27:-22, -20:-15, -13:-8; -6:-1, 1:6, 8:13, 15:20, 22:27}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-28, -14, 14, 28}.

[0019] In one possible implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22}, the second pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-20:-8, -6:-1}, the third pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6, 8:20}, and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {22:28}.

[0020] In one possible implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22, -20:-8}, the second pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-6:-1}, the third pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6}, and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {8:20, 22:28}.

[0021] In one possible implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier and the second pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers are both located in the following interval: {-28:-22}, {-20:-8}, {-6:-1}; the third pilot subcarrier and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers are both located in the following interval: {1:6}, {8:20}, {22:28}.

[0022] In one possible implementation method, the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated with the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in order from low to high frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1, 1}.

[0023] In one possible implementation method, the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated with the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in order from low to high frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {-1, -1, 1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1}.

[0024] In one possible implementation method, the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers and the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers are independently allocated, and the initial pilot values ​​allocated to the K pilot subcarriers in order from low to high frequency are {1, 1, 1, -1}, and the initial pilot values ​​allocated to the M pilot subcarriers in order from low to high frequency are {1, 1, 1, -1}.

[0025] In a possible implementation method, the X data subcarriers correspond to a data subcarrier in a 52-tone RU, or the X data subcarriers correspond to two data subcarriers in a 26-tone RU.

[0026] In one possible implementation method, Y=128, X=102, K=6, M≥4; or, Y=128, X=96, K=6, M≥8.

[0027] In a possible implementation method, Y=256, X=204, K=8, M≥8; or, Y=256, X=192, K=8, M≥16; or Y=256, X=228, K=8, M≥10.

[0028] In a possible implementation method, the first bandwidth is a positive integer multiple of 20 MHz.

[0029] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a first device or a module (such as a chip) for the first device. The device has the function of implementing any implementation method of the first aspect described above. The function may be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software implementations in hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0030] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0031] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and execute any implementation method of the first aspect. The processor comprises one or more.

[0032] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to invoke a program stored in the memory to execute any of the implementation methods described in the first aspect. The memory may be located within or outside the device, and the processor may be one or more.

[0033] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the device is running, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory so that the device executes any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect.

[0034] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect is executed.

[0035] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, which, when run on a communication device, enables any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect to be executed.

[0036] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: a processor for executing any implementation method in the above-mentioned first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG1( a ) is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 1(b) shows a schematic diagram of a network device;

[0039] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of subcarrier planning for a 20 MHz PPDU in 802.11ac;

[0040] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of subcarrier planning for a 20 MHz PPDU in 802.11ax and 802.11be;

[0041] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a 52-tone RU of type a;

[0042] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a 52-tone RU of type b;

[0043] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of subcarrier planning for a 40 MHz PPDU in 802.11ax and 802.11be;

[0044] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Figure 1(a) is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application. The communication system 1000 shown in Figure 1(a) includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system 1000 also includes the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one network device (such as 110a and 110b in Figure 1(a)), and may also include at least one terminal device (such as 120a-120j in Figure 1(a)). The terminal device is connected to the network device wirelessly, and the network device is connected to the core network wirelessly or wired. The core network device and the network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the network device can be integrated into the same physical device, or the functions of some core network devices and some network devices can be integrated into one physical device. Terminal devices and terminal devices, as well as network devices and network devices, can be connected to each other by wire or wirelessly. FIG1( a ) is only a schematic diagram. The communication system may further include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, which are not shown in FIG1( a ).

[0048] A network device is an access device that connects a terminal device to a communication system via wired or wireless means. A network device can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system (such as the WiFi systems defined in 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11bn, etc.). It can also be a module or unit that performs some of the functions of a base station, such as a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the radio resource control protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete the functions of part of the physical layer or all of the physical layer. For the specific description of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The network device can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1 (a)), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1 (a)), or a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device.

[0049] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to or receive signals from a network device. Terminal devices include but are not limited to terminal devices, terminals, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, mobile terminals, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can specifically be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0050] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0051] The roles of network devices and terminal devices can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1(a) can be configured as a mobile network device. For terminal devices 120j that access the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal device 120i is a network device. However, for network device 110a, 120i is a terminal device, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via an interface protocol between network devices. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a network device. Therefore, both network devices and terminal devices can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1(a) can be referred to as communication devices with network device functionality, and 120a-120j in Figure 1(a) can be referred to as communication devices with terminal device functionality.

[0052] Network devices and terminal devices, network devices and network devices, and terminal devices and terminal devices can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; can communicate through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz simultaneously. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communications.

[0053] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal device may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal device, or by a device that includes the terminal device functions.

[0054] In this application, a network device sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal device, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel. A terminal device sends uplink signals or uplink information to a network device, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. To communicate with a network device, a terminal device needs to establish a wireless connection with a cell controlled by the network device. The cell with which a terminal device has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal device.

[0055] Figure 1(b) shows a schematic diagram of a network device. As shown in Figure 1(b), the network device includes one or more CUs, one or more DUs, and one or more radio units (RUs). For clarity, Figure 1(b) shows only one CU, DU, and RU. The CU is connected to the core network and one or more DUs. Optionally, the CU may have some of the core network's functionality. The CU may include a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP).

[0056] The CU and DU can be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement: for example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the protocol layers above it (such as the radio resource control (RRC) layer and / or the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, etc.); the DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer, etc.). For another example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below it (such as the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0057] The above configuration of CU and DU is only an example, and the functions of CU and DU can also be configured as needed. For example, the CU or DU can be configured to have the functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements, such as by delay, and the functions whose processing time needs to meet the smaller delay requirement are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are set in the CU.

[0058] The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and the RF functions. The high-layer functions in the physical layer may include a part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0059] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, the background of the present invention is introduced below.

[0060] 1. 802.11ac Subcarrier Planning

[0061] 802.11ac uses OFDM for low-frequency transmission and supports channel bandwidths (CBW) of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 80+80 MHz. Specific parameters for different bandwidths are shown in Table 1.

[0062] Table 1

[0063] NSD represents the number of data subcarriers, and NSP represents the number of pilot subcarriers. The parameters for CBW80+80MHz in Table 1 are for a single segment. Therefore, the total number of data subcarriers for CBW80+80MHz is 468, and the total number of pilot subcarriers is 16.

[0064] The locations (also called indices) of the data subcarriers and the locations of the pilot subcarriers are shown below:

[0065] 20MHz PPDU: [-28:-1] and [1:28];

[0066] 40MHz PPDU: [-58:-2] and [2:58];

[0067] 80MHz PPDU: [-122:-2] and [2:122];

[0068] 160MHz PPDU: [-250:-130], [-126:-6], [6:126], and [130:250];

[0069] 80+80 MHz PPDU: The relative positions of the data subcarriers and pilot subcarriers in each 80 MHz slice are consistent with those in the 80 MHz PPDU.

[0070] The locations of the pilot subcarriers are as follows:

[0071] 20MHz PPDU: {±7, ±21};

[0072] 40MHz PPDU: {±11, ±25, ±53};

[0073] 80MHz PPDU: {±11, ±39, ±75, ±103};

[0074] 160MHz PPDU: {±25, ±53, ±89, ±117, ±139, ±167, ±203, ±231};

[0075] 80+80 MHz PPDU: The relative position of the pilot subcarriers in each 80 MHz slice is consistent with that of the 80 MHz PPDU.

[0076] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the subcarrier planning of the 20MHz PPDU in 802.11ac. The 20MHz PPDU corresponds to 64 subcarriers, specifically including 52 data subcarriers, 4 pilot subcarriers, 1 direct current subcarrier (DC subcarrier) and 7 guard subcarriers. Among them, the DC component subcarrier is also referred to as the DC subcarrier or DC. The 7 guard subcarriers are located on both sides. For example, there are 4 guard subcarriers on the left of -28 in Figure 2 and 3 guard subcarriers on the right of 28. Figure 2 shows 52 data subcarriers, 4 pilot subcarriers and 1 DC subcarrier, and does not show the 7 guard subcarriers. Referring to Figure 2, the position of the DC subcarrier is {0}, the positions of the 4 pilot subcarriers are {±7, ±21}, and the positions of the 52 data subcarriers are positions within [-28, 28] except {0, ±7, ±21}.

[0077] The number of pilot subcarriers in 802.11ac subcarrier planning is relatively small, making it unsuitable to directly use this scheme or the scheme with increased subcarrier spacing for high-frequency transmission.

[0078] 2. Subcarrier Planning and Resource Units (RUs) for 802.11ax and 802.11be

[0079] 802.11be and 802.11ax have the same subcarrier planning for 20 MHz and 40 MHz PPDUs. However, when the PPDU bandwidth is greater than or equal to 80 MHz, the subcarrier planning for 802.11be and 802.11ax PPDUs differ slightly. For details, see the descriptions of 802.11be and 802.11ax.

[0080] The subcarrier planning schemes of 802.11ax and 802.11be introduce the concept of resource units (RUs). This concept is introduced to support orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA). That is, when allocating resources to users, instead of allocating the entire frequency band to one or more users simultaneously, different resource units can be allocated to one or more users.

[0081] Figure 3 shows the subcarrier planning for a 20MHz PPDU in 802.11ax and 802.11be. A 20MHz PPDU corresponds to 256 subcarriers, which can be divided in a variety of ways. For example, four different division methods are given below:

[0082] In mode 1, the 256 subcarriers are divided into 9 RUs, 7 DC subcarriers, 4 null subcarriers, and 11 guard subcarriers. Each RU includes 26 subcarriers, specifically 24 data subcarriers and 2 pilot subcarriers. Each RU is also called a 26-subcarrier (tone) RU.

[0083] In mode 2, the 256 subcarriers are divided into 4 RUs, 33 DC subcarriers, 4 null subcarriers, and 11 guard subcarriers. Each RU includes 52 subcarriers, specifically 48 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers. Each RU is also called a 52-subcarrier (tone) RU.

[0084] In mode 3, the 256 subcarriers are divided into 2 RUs, 33 DC subcarriers, and 11 guard subcarriers. Each RU includes 106 subcarriers, specifically 102 data subcarriers and 4 pilot subcarriers. Each RU is also called a 106-subcarrier (tone) RU.

[0085] In mode 4, the 256 subcarriers are divided into one RU, three DC subcarriers, and 11 guard subcarriers. Each RU includes 242 subcarriers, specifically 234 data subcarriers and 8 pilot subcarriers. Each RU is also called a 242-subcarrier (tone) RU.

[0086] In the four allocation methods described above, the RUs are of the same size. In other allocation methods, the RU sizes can vary. For example, 256 subcarriers can be divided into three 26-subcarrier RUs, three 52-subcarrier RUs, a DC subcarrier, and guard subcarriers. For details on the various allocation methods for 256 subcarriers, see Table 27 - 26-RU Allocation subfield in 802.11ax.

[0087] Table 2 below gives an example of the relationship between the subcarrier position and RU of the PPDU in the case of 20 MHz bandwidth.

[0088] Table 2

[0089] As can be seen from Table 2, taking the 26-tone RU as an example, the positions of the 26 subcarriers of the first RU (ie, RU1) are [-121:-96], and the positions of the 26 subcarriers of the second RU (ie, RU2) are [-95:-70]. The others are similar and will not be repeated here.

[0090] Taking a 52-tone RU as an example, the positions of the pilot subcarriers in the four 52-tone RUs in a 20MHz PPDU are:

[0091] The positions of the pilot subcarriers in RU1 of the 52-tone RU are: {-116, -102, -90, -76};

[0092] The positions of the pilot subcarriers in RU2 of the 52-tone RU are: {-62, -48, -36, -22};

[0093] The positions of the pilot subcarriers in RU3 of the 52-tone RU are: {22, 36, 48, 62};

[0094] The positions of the pilot subcarriers in RU4 of the 52-tone RU are: {76, 90, 102, 116}.

[0095] 52-tone RUs are divided into Type A 52-tone RUs (see Figure 4) and Type B 52-tone RUs (see Figure 5). Type A 52-tone RUs consist of: 6 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, 13 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, 11 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, 13 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, and 5 data subcarriers. Type B 52-tone RUs consist of: 5 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, 13 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, 11 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, 13 data subcarriers, 1 pilot subcarrier, and 6 data subcarriers.

[0096] Referring to Table 2, it can be seen that the types of the four 52-tone RUs in 20 MHz are: type b, type a, type b, type a.

[0097] In 802.11be, each RU can be allocated to one or more users, and each user can be allocated to one or more RUs. Taking Figure 3 as an example, a 20MHz PPDU can be allocated nine 26-tone RUs to a total of nine users, or one 106-tone RU to one or more users, and so on. 802.11be further supports MRU configurations, whereby one or more users are allocated multiple RUs simultaneously. Specific supported MRU configurations include 52+26, 106+26, 484+242, 996+484, 2*996+484, 3*996+484, 3*996, 242+484+996, and so on. 52+26 indicates that one 52-tone RU and one 26-tone RU form one MRU. Other configurations are similar and are not detailed here.

[0098] Figure 6 illustrates the subcarrier planning for a 40 MHz PPDU in 802.11ax and 802.11be. The principles for subcarrier planning for a 40 MHz PPDU are similar to those for a 20 MHz PPDU. For detailed descriptions, refer to the relevant descriptions of 802.11ax and 802.11be, and will not be repeated here. For subcarrier planning for PPDUs above 40 MHz, refer to the relevant descriptions of 802.11ax and 802.11be.

[0099] FIG7 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is executed by a first device or a module for a first device, and the first device may be a terminal device or a network device. The method includes the following steps:

[0100] Step 701: Generate PPDU.

[0101] Step 702: Transmit the PPDU on a channel corresponding to the first bandwidth.

[0102] Transmitting the PPDU on the channel corresponding to the first bandwidth may be understood as transmitting the entire content of the PPDU on the channel corresponding to the first bandwidth, or transmitting a data field portion of the PPDU.

[0103] Among them, X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of at least one RU and / or at least one MRU, the X subcarriers belong to the subcarriers other than K pilot subcarriers in the Y subcarriers, the Y subcarriers also include M pilot subcarriers, the M pilot subcarriers belong to the subcarriers other than X subcarriers and K pilot subcarriers in the Y subcarriers, X, K, and M are all positive integers, and Y is an integer greater than 2.

[0104] Among them, the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth include one or more of data subcarriers, pilot subcarriers, empty subcarriers, DC subcarriers, and guard subcarriers, and the X subcarriers are any X subcarriers among the Y subcarriers, so the X subcarriers include one or more of data subcarriers, pilot subcarriers, empty subcarriers, DC subcarriers, and guard subcarriers.

[0105] After X subcarriers among the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of at least one RU and / or at least one MRU, any K+M subcarriers among the remaining YX subcarriers can carry pilot values ​​corresponding to K+M pilot subcarriers.

[0106] Among them, there is no necessary correlation between the value of M here and the number of pilot subcarriers (represented by Z) in the above-mentioned at least one RU and / or at least one MRU, that is, M can be greater than Z, less than Z, or equal to Z.

[0107] The sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the at least one RU and / or the at least one MRU is M. For example, if X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of 2 RUs, then the sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the 2 RUs is M. For another example, if X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of 2 RUs and 1 MRU, then the sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the 2 RUs and the 1 MRU is M. For another example, if X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of 1 MRU, then the sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the 1 MRU is M.

[0108] Exemplarily, the M pilot subcarriers corresponding to the at least one RU and / or the at least one MRU correspond to the M pilot subcarriers among the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth.

[0109] This application does not limit the size of Y, X, K, and M. For example, when the first bandwidth is 40 MHz, and X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers on the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to 102 data subcarriers in a 106-tone RU, Y=128, X=102, K=6, and M≥4. For another example, when the first bandwidth is 40 MHz, and X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers on the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to 2×48 data subcarriers in two 52-tone RUs, Y=128, X=96, K=6, and M≥8. For another example, when the first bandwidth is 80 MHz, and X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers on the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to 2×102 data subcarriers in two 106-tone RUs, Y=256, X=204, K=8, and M≥8. For another example, when the first bandwidth is 80 MHz and X of the Y subcarriers in the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to 4×48 data subcarriers in four 52-tone RUs, Y=256, X=192, K=8, and M≥16. For another example, when the first bandwidth is 80 MHz and X of the Y subcarriers in the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to 2×102+24 data subcarriers in two 106-tone RUs and one 26-tone RU, Y=256, X=228, K=8, and M≥10. For another example, Y=64, X=48, K=4, and M≥4. And so on.

[0110] The above solution is designed to "increase the number of pilot subcarriers". The number of pilot subcarriers is expanded from K to K + M, that is, M pilot subcarriers are added. This helps to resist the influence of greater CFO and phase noise at high frequencies, and can also increase the robustness of low-frequency transmission, thereby improving communication quality.

[0111] The core concept of this invention is to use existing subcarriers in 802.11ac subcarrier planning to carry data corresponding to at least one RU and / or at least one MRU's data subcarriers, thereby obtaining more pilot subcarriers. This is possible because the corresponding RU or MRU generation method can be reused to obtain the corresponding number of data subcarriers.

[0112] In combination with the existing OFDM subcarrier planning such as 802.11ac, 802.11ax, and 802.11be, an OFDM subcarrier planning with additional pilots is designed below. Specifically, data corresponding to data subcarriers of at least one RU of the same or smaller size are carried on some subcarriers in the subcarrier planning with 64 subcarriers per 20MHz (such as 802.11ac). The RU size is the RU size defined in the subcarrier planning with 256 subcarriers per 20MHz (such as 802.11ax and 802.11be). Alternatively, it can also be understood as carrying data corresponding to data subcarriers of at least one RU of equal or smaller granularity on some subcarriers in the non-OFDMA form of subcarrier planning (such as 802.11ac) to obtain more pilot subcarriers.

[0113] It should be noted that this application is not limited to the subcarrier planning of 20 MHz corresponding to 64 subcarriers. In the scheme of the increased subcarrier spacing version, 64 subcarriers can also be corresponding to a bandwidth of an integer multiple of 20 MHz. The integer multiple can be, for example, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. For ease of understanding, the following description is based on the example of 20 MHz corresponding to 64 subcarriers.

[0114] Similarly, the maximum bandwidth used by high frequencies in 802.11ac can also be an integer multiple of the corresponding bandwidth of the low frequencies. For example, an integer multiple of 40 MHz corresponds to 128 subcarriers, an integer multiple of 80 MHz corresponds to 256 subcarriers, and an integer multiple of 160 MHz or 80 + 80 MHz corresponds to 256 subcarriers.

[0115] Similarly, the larger bandwidth used by the high frequencies in 802.11ax and 802.11be can also be an integer multiple of the bandwidth corresponding to the low frequencies. For example, an integer multiple of 20 MHz corresponds to 256 subcarriers, an integer multiple of 40 MHz corresponds to 512 subcarriers, and so on.

[0116] Taking the PPDU of 20MHz in 802.11ac as an example, referring to Table 1, the number of data subcarriers is 52 and the number of pilot subcarriers is 4. In combination with the RU size, since there are 52-tone RUs and 26-tone RUs, in order to increase the number of pilot subcarriers, the data corresponding to the data subcarriers of at least one RU of equal or smaller size can be carried on the subcarriers of the non-OFDMA subcarrier planning of 802.11ac. For example, the data corresponding to the 48 data subcarriers of one 52-tone RU or two 26-tone RUs shown in Figure 3 can be carried on the 52 data subcarriers, so an additional 4 (i.e., 52-48=4) pilot subcarriers can be carried, plus the 4 pilot subcarriers carried in the 20MHz subcarrier planning of 802.11ac, so that 8 pilot subcarriers can be obtained.

[0117] Taking the 40MHz PPDU in 802.11ac as an example, referring to Table 1, the number of data subcarriers is 108 and the number of pilot subcarriers is 6. Combined with the MRU size, since there is a 52+26-tone MRU, which includes 72 data subcarriers and 6 pilot subcarriers, in order to increase the number of pilot subcarriers, the data corresponding to the data subcarriers of at least one MRU of equal or smaller size can be carried on the subcarriers of the 802.11ac non-OFDMA subcarrier planning. For example, the data corresponding to the 72 data subcarriers of the 52+26-tone MRU can be carried on the 108 data subcarriers, so an additional 36 (i.e., 108-72=36) pilot subcarriers can be carried. In addition to the 6 pilot subcarriers carried in the 40MHz subcarrier planning of 802.11ac, a total of 42 pilot subcarriers can be obtained.

[0118] In conjunction with the embodiment of Figure 7, when the first bandwidth is 20MHz, Y=64, X=48, K=4, and M=4. That is, 48 ​​of the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20MHz in 802.11ac are used to carry data corresponding to the 48 data subcarriers of at least one RU. In addition to the 48 data subcarriers, the 64 subcarriers also include 4 pilot subcarriers carried by themselves, and 4 additional pilot subcarriers. In addition, the 64 subcarriers also include 1 DC subcarrier and 7 protection subcarriers. Therefore, after using the method of the present invention, the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20MHz in 802.11ac include 48 data subcarriers, 8 pilot subcarriers, 1 DC subcarrier, and 7 protection subcarriers. It should be noted that the positions of the 4 pilot subcarriers carried by themselves may remain unchanged or may change, and this application does not limit this.

[0119] Here, M and X constitute the size of at least one RU and / or at least one MRU. That is, the total number of subcarriers corresponding to the at least one RU and / or at least one MRU is M + X. In addition, because X can be separated from M during generation, M + X may not satisfy the size of at least one RU and / or at least one MRU. For example, although X = 48 and M = 4 are used in this example, M can also be greater than or less than 4. This is explained here and will not be repeated later.

[0120] This application provides multiple methods for mapping at least one RU and / or at least one MRU to 802.11ac subcarrier planning.

[0121] Method 1: Subcarriers in 802.11ac subcarrier planning sequentially carry data corresponding to data subcarriers in at least one RU and / or at least one MRU.

[0122] Taking 52 data subcarriers of the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz in 802.11ac as an example, which carry data corresponding to 48 data subcarriers of a 52-tone RU, the form of the 52-tone RU can be type a as shown in Figure 4 or type b as shown in Figure 5.

[0123] When a 52-tone RU uses type a as the template, the subcarriers are distributed as follows:

[0124] The positions of the 48 data subcarriers are {-28:-23, -20:-8, -5:-1, 1:6, 9:20, 22, 24:28};

[0125] The positions of the four pilot subcarriers carried by it are {-21, -7, 7, 21};

[0126] The positions of the extended four pilot subcarriers are {-22, -6, 8, 23}.

[0127] In the embodiment of the present application, "a:b" represents all values ​​in a range, where the minimum value of the range is a and includes a, the maximum value of the range is b and includes b, and the increment step of the range is 1. Taking "-28:-23" as an example, the values ​​it represents include: -28, -27, -26, -25, -24, and -23. This is a unified explanation here and will not be repeated later.

[0128] When a 52-tone RU uses type b as the template, the subcarriers are distributed as follows:

[0129] The positions of the 48 data subcarriers are {-28:-24, -22, -20:-9, -6:-1, 1:5, 8:20, 23:28};

[0130] The positions of the four pilot subcarriers carried by it are {-21, -7, 7, 21};

[0131] The positions of the extended four pilot subcarriers are {-23, -8, 6, 22}.

[0132] Method 2: Select X subcarriers in 802.11ac subcarrier planning, and use these X subcarriers to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers in at least one RU and / or at least one MRU.

[0133] For example, 48 data subcarriers are selected from 52 data subcarriers in 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz of 802.11ac. The 48 data subcarriers are used to carry data corresponding to the 48 data subcarriers in a 52-tone RU.

[0134] The present invention does not limit the specific implementation method of selecting 48 data subcarriers from 52 data subcarriers in 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz of 802.11ac.

[0135] Example 1: 2 data subcarriers on the left and right sides of the 52 data subcarriers are removed, and the positions of the removed 4 data subcarriers are used to carry the extended 4 pilot subcarriers.

[0136] Based on Example 1, the positions of the 48 data subcarriers are {-26:-22, -20:-8, -6:-1, 1:6, 8:20, 22:26}, the positions of the 4 pilot subcarriers carried by itself are {-21, -7, 7, 21}, and the positions of the 4 extended pilot subcarriers are {-28, -27, 27, 28}.

[0137] Example 2: 4 data subcarriers are selected relatively evenly from 52 data subcarriers and removed. The positions of the removed 4 data subcarriers are used to carry the extended 4 pilot subcarriers.

[0138] Based on Example 2, in one implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier of the four extended pilot subcarriers is located within {-28:-22}, the second pilot subcarrier of the four extended pilot subcarriers is located within {-20:-8, -6:-1}, the third pilot subcarrier of the four extended pilot subcarriers is located within {1:6, 8:20}, and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the four extended pilot subcarriers is located within {22:28}. For example, the positions of the 48 data subcarriers are {-27:-22, -20:-15, -13:-8, -6:-1, 1:6, 8:13, 15:20, 22:27}, the positions of the four pilot subcarriers carried by the data subcarrier are {-21, -7, 7, 21}, and the positions of the four extended pilot subcarriers are {-28, -14, 14, 28}.

[0139] Based on Example 2, in another implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier of the extended 4 pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22, -20:-8}, the second pilot subcarrier of the extended 4 pilot subcarriers is located in {-6:-1}, the third pilot subcarrier of the extended 4 pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6}, and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the extended 4 pilot subcarriers is located in {8:20, 22:28}.

[0140] Based on Example 2, in another implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier and the second pilot subcarrier of the extended 4 pilot subcarriers are both located in one of the following intervals: {-28:-22}, {-20:-8}, {-6:-1}, that is, the first pilot subcarrier and the second pilot subcarrier are both in {-28:-22}, or both are in {-20:-8}, or both are in {-6:-1}, and the third pilot subcarrier and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the extended 4 pilot subcarriers are both located in one of the following intervals: {1:6}, {8:20}, {22:28}, that is, the third pilot subcarrier and the fourth pilot subcarrier are both in {1:6}, or both are in {8:20}, or both are in {22:28}.

[0141] The above describes different implementation methods for carrying the data corresponding to the data subcarriers of a 52-tone RU on 52 data subcarriers among the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz in 802.11ac. In other implementations, the data corresponding to the data subcarriers of a 52-tone RU can also be carried on pilot subcarriers, null subcarriers, or guard subcarriers among the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz in 802.11ac. In other words, 52 subcarriers are randomly selected from the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz in 802.11ac to carry the data corresponding to the data subcarriers of a 52-tone RU. The remaining subcarriers can be used as pilot subcarriers, null subcarriers, DC subcarriers, guard subcarriers, and so on.

[0142] The advantage of this approach is that, taking a 52-tone RU as an example, the four pilot subcarriers in 802.11ac are relatively small. Simply increasing the number of pilot subcarriers would likely change the number of data subcarriers per OFDM symbol. This change cannot be directly implemented using the existing baseband design, requiring the redesign of the interleaver and subcarrier mapper to accommodate the corresponding number of subcarriers. Since the RU size is already implemented in 802.11ax and 802.11be, the RUs defined in these 802.11ax and 802.11be can be used to generate data corresponding to the data subcarriers in the earlier 802.11ac subcarrier plan.

[0143] In the solution of the embodiment of FIG. 7 , after obtaining K+M pilot subcarriers, how to define the pilot values ​​of the K+M pilot subcarriers? This application provides different implementation methods.

[0144] Method 1: The pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers carried by the system and the pilot values ​​of the extended K pilot subcarriers are allocated independently.

[0145] Taking the example of 52 data subcarriers of the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz in 802.11ac carrying the data corresponding to the 48 data subcarriers of a 52-tone RU, if K = M = 4, the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by the original RU and the pilot values ​​of the four extended pilot subcarriers can be allocated independently. In other words, the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by the original RU use the pilot values ​​of the original RU, and the pilot values ​​of the four extended pilot subcarriers also use the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers of the 52-tone RU.

[0146] The pilot values ​​of the 52-tone RU itself are allocated as {1, 1, 1, -1} in ascending order of frequency. Therefore, the pilot values ​​of the four extended pilot subcarriers are allocated as {1, 1, 1, -1} in ascending order of frequency.

[0147] The pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by the system are sequentially allocated as {1, 1, 1, -1} in order from low to high frequency.

[0148] It should be noted that the pilot values ​​of the four pilot sub-carriers carried by the system may change dynamically, or may not change.

[0149] Method 2: The pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers carried by the system are jointly allocated with the pilot values ​​of the extended K pilot subcarriers.

[0150] The jointly allocated pilot value may be obtained based on an existing pilot sequence, or may be obtained by concatenating multiple smaller pilot sequences, or by removing part of a larger pilot sequence.

[0151] If a splicing method is used, the pilot sequences to be spliced ​​can be processed accordingly before being spliced. For example, pilot sequence 1 and pilot sequence 2 are first obtained, and then pilot sequence 1 is multiplied by -1 to obtain pilot sequence 3. Pilot sequence 3 and pilot sequence 2 are then spliced ​​together to obtain M+K pilot values. For another example, pilot sequence 4 and pilot sequence 5 are first obtained, and then pilot sequence 4 is reversed left to right to obtain pilot sequence 6. Pilot sequence 5 and pilot sequence 6 are then spliced ​​together to obtain M+K pilot values, and so on.

[0152] For example, in 802.11ac, where 52 of the 64 subcarriers corresponding to 20 MHz carry data corresponding to 48 data subcarriers mapped in a 52-tone RU, if K = M = 4, the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by the original carrier are jointly allocated with the pilot values ​​of the four extended pilot subcarriers. In other words, the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by the original carrier and the four extended pilot subcarriers are allocated as a whole, meaning that eight pilot values ​​need to be allocated.

[0153] For example, different pilot values ​​defined for various RUs in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard may be used, such as:

[0154] Two pilot values ​​are defined for 26-tone RU: Ψ0~Ψ1={1,-1};

[0155] Four pilot values ​​are defined for the 52-tone RU: Ψ0 to Ψ3 = {1, 1, 1, -1};

[0156] Four pilot values ​​are defined for the 106-tone RU: Ψ0 to Ψ3 = {1, 1, 1, -1};

[0157] Eight pilot values ​​are defined for the 242-tone RU: Ψ0 to Ψ7 = {1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1, 1}.

[0158] Therefore, when pilot values ​​need to be jointly allocated for the four self-carried pilot subcarriers and the four extended pilot subcarriers, the eight pilot values ​​in the 242-tone RU can be reused. That is, the pilot values ​​of the four self-carried pilot subcarriers and the pilot values ​​of the four extended pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated, and the values ​​are Ψ0 to Ψ7, that is, {1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1, 1}.

[0159] Exemplarily, in 802.11ax, when the positions of the four pilot subcarriers are {-28, -27, 27, 28}, the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers can be {-1, -1, -1, 1}. Therefore, when the positions of the four pilot subcarriers carried by itself are {-21, -7, 7, 21}, the positions of the extended four pilot subcarriers are {-28, -27, 27, 28}, then the extended four pilot subcarriers can be {-1, -1, -1, 1}, and the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by itself can be {1, 1, 1, -1}, that is, the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers carried by itself are jointly allocated with the pilot values ​​of the four pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in descending order according to the frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {-1, -1, 1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1}.

[0160] It should be noted that the above-mentioned pilot value can be understood as the initial pilot value. In the standard, as the number of OFDM symbols increases, the pilot value can change based on the initial pilot value. For example, the change method in the existing standard is that for each additional OFDM symbol, the initial pilot sequence corresponding to one or more RUs in the OFDM symbol is cyclically shifted to the right once. For example, if it was originally {1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1, 1}, the next OFDM symbol becomes {1, 1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1}. Here we do not limit the method of generating the pilot value after the symbol change, and it can be an existing method in the standard.

[0161] The above 52-tone RU is only an example. If there is a situation that does not exist in the standard such as expansion to 10 pilot subcarriers or 18 pilot subcarriers, splicing or elimination can be performed based on the various pilot values ​​defined by the above IEEE. Taking 10 pilot subcarriers as an example, if the splicing method is used, the pilot values ​​of the 10 pilot subcarriers can be spliced ​​in the manner of 4+4+2, such as splicing the 4 pilot values ​​of the 52-tone RU, the 4 pilot values ​​of the 106-tone RU, and the 2 pilot values ​​of the 26-tone RU into 10 pilot values. Taking 10 pilot subcarriers as an example, if the elimination method is used, the pilot values ​​of the 10 pilot subcarriers can be eliminated in the manner of 16-6=10, and so on.

[0162] It should be noted that although the above method is an example of 48 subcarriers out of 64 subcarriers carrying the data corresponding to 48 data subcarriers in a 52-tone RU, it does not actually limit the size of Y and the size and number of RUs or MRUs corresponding to the data subcarriers corresponding to the data to be carried. For example, 48 subcarriers out of 64 subcarriers can carry the data corresponding to the data subcarriers corresponding to two 26-tone RUs, and the four subcarriers other than the original pilot subcarriers in the 64 subcarriers serve as new pilot subcarriers.

[0163] The present invention may also be combined with dual carrier modulation (DCM), that is, the DCM mode supported by RU in the standard may still be applicable in the above subcarrier distribution.

[0164] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the first device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0165] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the first device or a module (such as a chip) applied to the first device.

[0166] The communication device 800 shown in Figure 8 includes a processing unit 810 and a transceiver unit 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first device in the above method embodiment.

[0167] When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first device in the above method embodiment, the processing unit 810 is used to generate a PPDU; the transceiver unit 820 is used to transmit the PPDU on a channel corresponding to a first bandwidth; wherein X subcarriers among the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of at least one resource unit (RU) and / or at least one multi resource unit (MRU), the X subcarriers belong to the subcarriers among the Y subcarriers except K pilot subcarriers, the Y subcarriers further include M pilot subcarriers, and the M pilot subcarriers belong to the subcarriers among the Y subcarriers except the X subcarriers and the K pilot subcarriers, X, K, and M are all positive integers, and Y is an integer greater than 2.

[0168] In one possible implementation method, the sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the at least one RU and / or the at least MRU is M.

[0169] In one possible implementation, Y=64, X=48, and K=4.

[0170] In one possible implementation method, M=4.

[0171] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-28:-23, -20:-8, -5:-1, 1:6, 9:20, 22, 24:28}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-22, -6, 8, 23}.

[0172] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-28:-24, -22, -20:-9, -6:-1, 1:5, 8:20, 23:28}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-23, -8, 6, 22}.

[0173] In one possible implementation method, the positions of the X subcarriers are {-26:-22, -20:-8, -6:-1, 1:6, 8:20, 22:26}; the positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; and the positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-28, -27, 27, 28}.

[0174] In one possible implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22}, the second pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-20:-8, -6:-1}, the third pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6, 8:20}, and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {22:28}.

[0175] In one possible implementation method, the first pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22, -20:-8}, the second pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-6:-1}, the third pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6}, and the fourth pilot subcarrier of the M pilot subcarriers is located in {8:20, 22:28}.

[0176] In one possible implementation method, the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated with the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in order from low to high frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1, 1}.

[0177] In one possible implementation method, the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated with the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in order from low to high frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {-1, -1, 1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1}.

[0178] In one possible implementation method, the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers and the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers are independently allocated, and the initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are allocated in order from low to high frequency as {1, 1, 1, -1}, and the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers are allocated in order from low to high frequency as {1, 1, 1, -1}.

[0179] In a possible implementation method, the first bandwidth is a positive integer multiple of 20 MHz.

[0180] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 810 and the transceiver unit 820, reference can be made to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0181] The communication device 900 shown in Figure 9 includes a processor 910 and an interface circuit 920. The processor 910 and the interface circuit 920 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 920 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 930 for storing instructions executed by the processor 910, or storing input data required by the processor 910 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 910 executes instructions.

[0182] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 910 is used to implement the functions of the above processing unit 810 , and the interface circuit 920 is used to implement the functions of the above transceiver unit 820 .

[0183] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0184] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in the first device. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in an access network device or terminal.

[0185] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. A computer program (English: Computer Program) refers to a set of instructions that instruct an electronic computer or other device with message processing capabilities to perform each step of the operation, usually written in a certain programming language and running on a certain target architecture. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can 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 program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0186] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0187] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related 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, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next related objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formulas of this application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next related objects are in a "division" relationship.

[0188] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Generate a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU; Transmitting the PPDU on a channel corresponding to a first bandwidth; Among them, X subcarriers out of the Y subcarriers corresponding to the first bandwidth are used to carry data corresponding to X data subcarriers of at least one resource unit RU and / or at least one multiple resource unit MRU, the X subcarriers belong to the subcarriers among the Y subcarriers except the K pilot subcarriers, the Y subcarriers also include M pilot subcarriers, the M pilot subcarriers belong to the subcarriers among the Y subcarriers except the X subcarriers and the K pilot subcarriers, X, K, and M are all positive integers, and Y is an integer greater than 2.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The sum of the numbers of pilot subcarriers corresponding to the at least one RU and / or the at least one MRU is M.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Y=64, X=48, K=4.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that M＝4。 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The positions of the X subcarriers are {-28:-23, -20:-8, -5:-1, 1:6, 9:20, 22, 24:28}; The positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; The positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-22, -6, 8, 23}.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The positions of the X subcarriers are {-28:-24, -22, -20:-9, -6:-1, 1:5, 8:20, 23:28}; The positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; The positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-23, -8, 6, 22}.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The positions of the X subcarriers are {-26:-22, -20:-8, -6:-1, 1:6, 8:20, 22:26}; The positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; The positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-28, -27, 27, 28}.

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The positions of the X subcarriers are {-27:-22, -20:-15, -13:-8; -6:-1, 1:6, 8:13, 15:20, 22:27}; The positions of the K pilot subcarriers are {-21, -7, 7, 21}; The positions of the M pilot subcarriers are {-28, -14, 14, 28}.

9. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that A first pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22}, a second pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-20:-8, -6:-1}, a third pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6, 8:20}, and a fourth pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {22:28}.

10. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that A first pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-28:-22, -20:-8}, a second pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {-6:-1}, a third pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {1:6}, and a fourth pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers is located in {8:20, 22:28}.

11. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first pilot subcarrier and the second pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers are both located in one of the following intervals: {-28:-22}, {-20:-8}, {-6:-1}; the third pilot subcarrier and the fourth pilot subcarrier among the M pilot subcarriers are both located in one of the following intervals: {1:6}, {8:20}, {22:28}.

12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, characterized in that The initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated with the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in sequence from low to high frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1, 1, 1}.

13. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, characterized in that The initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are jointly allocated with the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and are allocated in sequence from low to high frequencies of the K+M pilot subcarriers as {-1, -1, 1, 1, 1, -1, -1, 1}.

14. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, characterized in that The initial pilot values ​​of the K pilot subcarriers are independently allocated from the initial pilot values ​​of the M pilot subcarriers, and the initial pilot values ​​allocated to the K pilot subcarriers in order from low to high frequency are {1, 1, 1, -1}, and the initial pilot values ​​allocated to the M pilot subcarriers in order from low to high frequency are {1, 1, 1, -1}.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The X data subcarriers correspond to a data subcarrier in a 52-tone RU, or the X data subcarriers correspond to two data subcarriers in a 26-tone RU.

16. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Y=128, X=102, K=6, M≥4; or, Y=128, X=96, K=6, M≥8.

17. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Y=256, X=204, K=8, M≥8; or, Y=256, X=192, K=8, M≥16; or Y=256, X=228, K=8, M≥10.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that The first bandwidth is a positive integer multiple of 20 MHz.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a processor coupled to a memory, wherein the processor is used to call a program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: It comprises a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer instructions, and when the communication device is running, the processor executes the computer instructions stored in the memory to execute the method described in any one of claims 1 to 18.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18 is implemented.

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