Wireless communication method, and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a wireless communication method, and a communication device. The method comprises: a first device sending first indication information to a second device, wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used for indicating a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle. The first quantization bit number may be determined by means of the first device. That is, a device for determining the feedback angle may determine the first quantization bit number. On this basis, a method for determining the first quantization bit number can be more flexible, such that a balance between the quantization precision and quantization overheads is achieved, thereby improving the reliability of a communication system.

Description

Wireless communication method and communication device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a wireless communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] During the beamforming process, the beamforming feedback angle (referred to as the feedback angle) needs to be quantized. The number of quantization bits for the feedback angle affects the feedback overhead during the beamforming process. The larger the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the greater the feedback overhead; the smaller the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the smaller the feedback overhead. On the other hand, the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle also affects feedback accuracy. The smaller the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the lower the feedback accuracy; the larger the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the higher the feedback accuracy. Real wireless channel environments are complex and changeable. Technical solutions that quantize the feedback angle based on the number of quantization bits specified in the standard find it difficult to balance quantization accuracy and quantization overhead.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a wireless communication method and a communication device. The following introduces various aspects of the present application.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, comprising: a first device sending first indication information to a second device; wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

[0006] In a second aspect, a method for wireless communication is provided, the method comprising: a second device receiving first indication information sent by a first device; wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which is a first device and includes: a sending unit for sending first indication information to a second device; wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, characterized in that the communication device is a second device, and the communication device includes: a receiving unit for receiving first indication information sent by a first device; wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory so that the communication device executes part or all of the steps in the method of the first aspect and / or the second aspect.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the above-mentioned communication device. In another possible design, the system may also include other devices that interact with the communication device in the solution provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, and the computer program enables a communication device to execute part or all of the steps in the methods of the above aspects.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is operable to cause a communication device to perform some or all of the steps of the methods described in each of the above aspects. In some implementations, the computer program product may be a software installation package.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the processor can call and run a computer program from the memory to implement some or all of the steps described in the methods of the above aspects.

[0014] The first number of quantization bits can be determined by the first device. That is, the device that determines the feedback angle can determine the first number of quantization bits. This allows for more flexibility in determining the first number of quantization bits, thereby achieving a balance between quantization accuracy and quantization overhead, thereby improving the reliability of the communication system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system used in an embodiment of the present application.

[0016] FIG2 is a flowchart illustrating an EHT non-TB process.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an EHT NDPA frame structure.

[0018] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example structure of site information in an EHT NDPA frame.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an EHT NDP frame structure.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an EHT TB channel detection process.

[0021] FIG7 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG8 is a diagram illustrating an example structure of site information in an EHT NDPA frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG9 is an example diagram of a multi-input multi-output control domain provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the NDP frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG11 is a classification diagram of a beamforming feedback angle adaptive quantization scheme based on a first duration provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG12 is a schematic flow chart of the method provided in Example 1 of the present application.

[0027] FIG13 is a schematic flow chart of the method provided in Example 2 of the present application.

[0028] FIG14 is a schematic flow chart of the method provided in Example 3 of the present application.

[0029] Figure 15 is a schematic flow chart of the method provided in Example 4 of the present application.

[0030] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Figure 17 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for communication provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Communication System

[0035] 1 is a wireless communication system 100 used in an embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system 100 may include an access point (AP) 110 and a station (STA) 120 accessing a network through the access point 110.

[0036] In some scenarios, an AP is also called an AP STA. In a sense, an AP is also a STA.

[0037] In some scenarios, a STA is also called a non-AP STA.

[0038] The communication in the communication system 100 can be communication between an AP and a STA, communication between STAs, or communication between a STA and a peer STA, where a peer STA may refer to a device that communicates with the STA peer, for example, a peer STA may be an AP or a STA.

[0039] An AP acts as a bridge between wired and wireless networks, connecting wireless network clients and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet. An AP can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router) equipped with a wireless fidelity (WiFi) chip.

[0040] It should be understood that the role of STA in the communication system is not absolute. For example, in some scenarios, when a mobile phone is connected to a router, the mobile phone is a STA. When the mobile phone serves as a hotspot for other mobile phones, the mobile phone acts as an AP.

[0041] APs and STAs can be devices used in the Internet of Vehicles, IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities.

[0042] In some embodiments, both the STA and the AP may support the 802.11be standard. The STA or AP may also support various current and future 802.11 family wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present application, a STA may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. that supports WLAN / WiFi technology.

[0044] The frequency bands supported by WLAN technology may include but are not limited to: low frequency bands (eg, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) and high frequency bands (eg, 60 GHz).

[0045] FIG1 exemplarily shows an AP and two STAs. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple APs and other numbers of STAs, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0046] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, a device having communication functionality in a network / system may be referred to as a communication device. Taking the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 as an example, the communication device may include an access point 110 and a station 120 having communication functionality. Access point 110 and station 120 may be the specific devices described above and will not be described in detail here. The communication device may also include other devices in the communication system 100, such as a network controller, a gateway, or other network entities, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0047] APs and STAs 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 in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the scenarios in which APs and STAs are located.

[0048] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0049] Beamforming (BF)

[0050] In beamforming technology, the device that transmits the beamforming frame can be the party that performs the beamforming adjustment, namely the beamforming transmitter (beamformer). The device that receives the beamforming frame can be the party that assists in completing the beamforming adjustment, namely the beamforming receiver (beamformee). In related technologies (such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard), the beamforming process requires the beamforming transmitter and beamforming receiver to perform a series of frame transmissions to calculate and feedback the channel matrix. This process is also called channel sounding.

[0051] Channel sounding methods can be defined based on whether trigger frames are required. For example, channel sounding methods can include non-trigger-based (non-TB) channel sounding and trigger-based (TB) channel sounding. The following uses enhancements for extremely high throughput (EHT) channel sounding as an example to illustrate these two channel sounding methods.

[0052] It should be noted that although compressed beamforming in the IEEE 802.11be (EHT) protocol draft 4.0 is used as an example below, compressed beamforming is only an example in this application and can also be applied to other beamforming schemes. In addition, the technical solutions involved in this application can also be applied to beamforming technologies in other existing communication standards and future communication standards.

[0053] EHT non-TB channel sounding

[0054] EHT non-TB channel detection is a channel detection method that does not require a trigger frame. Figure 2 is an example of the EHT non-TB process.

[0055] As shown in Figure 2, a beamforming transmitter sends a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame to inform beamforming receivers that need to perform beamforming. Figure 3 is an example diagram of an EHT NDPA frame structure.

[0056] The STA Info field of the NDPA frame specifies some parameters related to STA communication, including the Feedback Type and Ng, Codebook Size, and Nc Index. Figure 4 shows the structure of the STA Info field in the EHT NDPA frame.

[0057] After a short interframe space (SIFS), the beamforming transmitter sends a null data packet (NDP) frame to the beamforming receiver. FIG5 is an example diagram of an EHT NDP frame structure.

[0058] After receiving the NDP frame, the beamforming receiver performs channel estimation and calculates the channel matrix V. The channel matrix V of each subcarrier can satisfy:

[0059] in, is an N r ×N r The diagonal matrix of i-1 is a sequence of 1s of length i-1. satisfy:

[0060] G li (ψ) is an N r ×N r Givens rotation matrix. G li (ψ) satisfies:

[0061] Among them, I m is an m×m identity matrix, is an identity matrix. r ≠N c Fill in 0 to fill in the empty rows or columns.

[0062] From the above matrix transformation, we can see that the channel matrix V can be obtained using Di and G li Matrix multiplication representation, and Di and G li With two feedback angles and ψ. Therefore, the channel matrix V can be expressed as two feedback angles: and ψ compression.

[0063] After completing the feedback angle calculation, the beamforming receiver needs to quantize the two feedback angle vectors. The number of quantization bits of the two angle vectors is b. ψ and b φIndicated by the NDPA frame of the beamforming transmitter. The field in the NDPA frame sent by the beamforming transmitter can be used to indicate the number of quantization bits of the feedback angle according to the protocol.

[0064] The beamforming receiver quantizes the two feedback angle vectors according to the number of quantization bits. The specific quantization calculation of the feedback angle vectors can be shown in Table 1.

[0065] Table 1

[0066] After completing the quantization of the feedback angles, the beamforming receiver places the two quantized feedback angles into a beamforming report in a compressed beamforming frame and sends the beamforming report to the beamforming transmitter. Table 2 shows a compressed beamforming frame format.

[0067] Table 2

[0068] In Table 2, the channel state information (CSI) compressed beamforming report field is used to transmit the signal to noise ratio (SNR) value on the space-time stream and the beamforming feedback matrix V of different subcarriers. Table 3 shows the content of the compressed beamforming report field using 40MHz as an example. In Table 3, N a Indicates the number of quantized angles. Both N and Ψ can include one or more angles. a Can be used to represent the compressed beamforming feedback matrix and the total number of angles contained in Ψ. N a Usually an even number. For example, N a The value of can be: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, etc. For example, in N a = 2, the angles in the compressed beamforming feedback matrix can include and Ψ21.

[0069] Table 3

[0070] The beamforming transmitter receives the compressed beamforming frame and uses the V matrix and two feedback angles to generate the beamforming signal. The relationship between and ψ can be used to reconstruct the channel matrix, thereby completing the beamforming process.

[0071] EHT TB channel detection

[0072] EHT TB channel detection requires feedback of beamforming reports triggered by a beamforming report poll (BFRP) trigger frame. Figure 6 is an example diagram of an EHT TB channel detection process.

[0073] The EHT TB channel sounding process is similar to the EHT non-TB channel sounding process. The difference is that the EHT TB channel sounding process adds a trigger frame to the sounding process. The trigger frame contains one or more user information fields, each of which can identify an EHT beamforming receiver.

[0074] Similar to the EHT non-TB channel sounding process, the number of quantization bits for the feedback angles in the EHT TB channel sounding process can be indicated by the NDPA frame. In EHT TB channel sounding, the number of quantization bits for the two feedback angles can be determined by the two subfields in the NDPA frame: Feedback Type and Subcarrier Grouping and Codebook Size. The corresponding relationship between the coding and quantization bit numbers of these two fields (indicated by quantization resolution in Table 4) can be shown in Table 4.

[0075] Table 4

[0076] It should be noted that Table 4 is only an example of the correspondence between the encoding and quantization bit counts of two fields (the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields, and the codebook size field). Some fields in Table 4 and their corresponding descriptions can be implemented independently, or some fields in Table 4 can correspond to other descriptions. In other words, the content in Table 4 can be split up for use, or Table 4 may also include other content. For example, the correspondence between the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields and the codebook size field and the quantization bit counts may include one or more rows in Table 4. For another example, the "Description" column in Table 4 may only include one or two of the feedback type (SU / MU), Ng, and the quantization bit count. For another example, the "Description" column in Table 4 may also include other information. The beamforming receiver may quantize the two feedback angle vectors according to Table 1 and transmit the quantized feedback angles to the beamforming transmitter via a beamforming report. After receiving the beamforming report, the beamforming transmitter may reconstruct the channel matrix, thereby completing the beamforming process.

[0077] The beamforming process shows that the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle affects the feedback overhead during the beamforming process. The larger the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the greater the feedback overhead; the smaller the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the smaller the feedback overhead. As shown in Table 3, the larger the number of quantization bits, the larger the size of the domain corresponding to the beamforming feedback matrix in Table 3, and the greater the transmission overhead of the corresponding domain. On the other hand, the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle also affects feedback accuracy. The smaller the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the lower the feedback accuracy; the larger the number of quantization bits for the feedback angle, the higher the feedback accuracy. Real wireless channel environments are complex and changeable, and related technical solutions that quantize the feedback angle based on the number of quantization bits specified by the standard find it difficult to balance quantization accuracy and quantization overhead.

[0078] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application to address the aforementioned issues. The method shown in Figure 7 can be performed by a first device and a second device. The first device can be a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle. For example, the first device can be a beamforming receiver. The second device can be a beamforming transmitter.

[0079] The method shown in FIG7 includes step S710 .

[0080] S710: The first device sends first indication information to the second device.

[0081] The first indication information includes compressed information of the channel estimation, where the compressed information includes a beamforming feedback angle.

[0082] In one embodiment, the first indication information may be used to indicate a first number of quantization bits for the beamforming feedback angle. The first number of quantization bits may be determined by the first device and is the number of bits used to quantize the feedback angle. The first number of quantization bits may include one or more quantization bits. The number of the first number of quantization bits may be determined based on the number of beamforming feedback angles.

[0083] For example, when there are two beamforming feedback angles, the first quantization bit number may include 2 quantization bit numbers. The first quantization bit number may include N bits, the first N / 2 bits may represent the quantization bit number of one feedback angle, and the last N / 2 bits may represent the quantization bit number of the other feedback angle. Wherein, N is an integer that can be divided by 2. Taking the two beamforming feedback angles including φ and ψ as an example, the quantization bit numbers corresponding to the beamforming feedback angles φ and ψ are respectively calculated by b φ and b ψ The first N / 2 bits of the first quantization bit number can represent b φ , the last N / 2 bits of the first quantization bit number can represent b ψAlternatively, the first N / 2 bits of the first quantization bit number can represent b ψ , the last N / 2 bits of the first quantization bit number can represent b φ .

[0084] Through step S710, the first device may inform the second device of the first quantization bit number through the first indication information, so that the second device reconstructs the channel matrix according to the first quantization bit number.

[0085] Therefore, the device that determines the beamforming feedback angle can determine the first number of quantization bits. Based on this, the method for determining the first number of quantization bits can be more flexible, thereby achieving a balance between quantization accuracy and quantization overhead, thereby improving the reliability of the communication system.

[0086] It is understandable that the first quantization bit number has a better balance effect on quantization accuracy and quantization overhead. Therefore, in some cases, the first quantization bit number can be called the optimal quantization bit number or the optimized quantization bit number.

[0087] In some embodiments, the first number of quantization bits can be determined based on wireless channel environment information. In other words, the first number of quantization bits can be flexibly adjusted according to the wireless channel environment. Therefore, even in complex wireless channel environments, the present application can adaptively adjust the first number of quantization bits to achieve a balance between quantization accuracy and quantization overhead.

[0088] Exemplarily, the first number of quantization bits may be determined based on a beamforming feedback angle and / or communication parameters. The communication parameters may include one or more of the following: a second number of quantization bits, a feedback type, a subcarrier grouping, a codebook size, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a SNR, and a received signal strength indicator (RSSI).

[0089] The beamforming feedback angle may include, for example, the φ and / or ψ mentioned above. The first device may perform channel estimation and calculate to obtain the beamforming feedback angle.

[0090] The second number of quantization bits may be indicated by an NDPA frame. For example, the second number of quantization bits may be determined by the feedback type and subcarrier grouping and codebook size subfields in the NDPA frame. The corresponding relationship between the encoding of these two fields and the second number of quantization bits may be shown in some or all rows / columns in Table 4. The second number of quantization bits may be represented by the quantization resolution in Table 4.

[0091] The second number of quantization bits is described below in conjunction with Table 4. For example, when B25 and B26 corresponding to the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields are 0 and 0, respectively, and B28 corresponding to the codebook size field is 0, the number of quantization bits for φ and ψ included in the second number of quantization bits may be 4 and 2, respectively. For another example, when B25 and B26 corresponding to the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields are 1 and 0, respectively, and B28 corresponding to the codebook size field is 0, the number of quantization bits for φ and ψ included in the second number of quantization bits may be 7 and 5, respectively. The feedback type may include: single user (SU) or multi-user (MU).

[0092] The feedback type and / or subcarrier grouping may be indicated by the NDPA frame. For example, the feedback type and / or subcarrier grouping may be indicated by the Feedback Type and Subcarrier Grouping fields in the NDPA frame.

[0093] The codebook size may be indicated by the NDPA frame. For example, the codebook size may be indicated by a codebook field in the NDPA frame.

[0094] When performing TB channel sounding, the communication parameters may include the MCS. That is, during the TB channel sounding process, the first number of quantization bits may be determined by the MCS. The MCS may be indicated by a trigger frame. For example, the MCS may be indicated by the Uplink (UL) Extremely High Throughput Modulation and Coding Scheme (UL-EHT MCS) subfield in the EHT Variant User Info field in the BFRP trigger frame.

[0095] The SNR may be calculated by the first device through channel estimation. For example, the SNR may be obtained by calculating the SNR of each subcarrier and then averaging the calculated SNR.

[0096] The RSSI may be obtained by the first device through measurement. For example, the first device may obtain the RSSI by measuring the power measurement value on the current receiving antenna through an extremely high throughput long training field (EHT-LTF).

[0097] It should be noted that the first quantization bit number can also be determined based on other information, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first number of quantization bits can be determined by a first model. As shown in FIG7 , one or more of the following may be used as inputs to the first model: a beamforming feedback angle, a second number of quantization bits, a feedback type, a subcarrier grouping, a codebook size, an MCS, a SNR, and an RSSI. The output of the first model may be the first number of quantization bits.

[0099] Since the first model can implement adaptive adjustment of the first quantization bit number, the first model can also be called a beamforming feedback angle adaptive quantization model.

[0100] In some embodiments, the first model may be an artificial intelligence (AI) model. For example, the first model may be an artificial intelligence and machine learning (AIML) model. Alternatively, the first model may be another type of model. For example, the first model may be a rule-based model.

[0101] When the first model is an AI model, the first model can be trained (i.e., a learning process of the first model is performed) before using the first model for inference (i.e., determining the first quantization bit number). The AI ​​model can learn the beamforming feedback angle and / or communication parameters to balance the feedback angle vector quantization overhead and quantization accuracy, thereby obtaining an optimized quantization bit number for the feedback angle vector.

[0102] The first model can be trained by the first device and / or the second device. For example, the first model can be trained by the first device. The first device can train the first model based on local resources or information. Alternatively, the first model can be trained by the second device. If inference of the first model is performed on the first device, the second device can send the trained model parameters to the first device.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first device may receive second indication information sent by the second device.

[0104] The second indication information can be used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number. Alternatively, the second indication information can be used to indicate whether the feedback angle needs to be quantized based on the first quantization bit number. That is, the second indication information can indicate a determination method, calculation method, or decision result of the quantization bit number. For example, the second indication information can refer to: using the first quantization bit number to quantize the feedback angle, or using the second quantization bit number to quantize the feedback angle, or not using the second quantization bit number to quantize the feedback angle. Therefore, the second indication information can also be referred to as decision result information of the quantization bit number.

[0105] The first device may determine, based on the indication of the second indication information, whether to determine the first number of quantization bits or whether to quantize the feedback angle based on the first number of quantization bits. If the first device needs to determine the first number of quantization bits, the first device may quantize the feedback angle based on the first number of quantization bits. If the first device does not need to determine the first number of quantization bits, the first device may quantize the feedback angle based on the second number of quantization bits.

[0106] It is understood that the second device can intervene in the behavior of the first device through the second indication information, thereby timely correcting any anomalies that may exist in the quantization feedback angle process. For example, if the second device discovers an anomaly in the first quantization bit number, feedback angle, or transmission, the second device can instruct the first device not to determine the first quantization bit number, or instruct the first device to quantize the feedback angle using the second quantization bit number.

[0107] In some embodiments, the second device may send second indication information to the first device before each channel detection, thereby ensuring the controllability of the feedback angle quantization process.

[0108] Optionally, the first device may also independently determine whether to determine the first quantization bit number or whether to quantize the feedback angle based on the first quantization bit number. For example, during initial detection, the first device may need to use the second quantization bit number to quantize the feedback angle.

[0109] In some cases, it may be assumed that the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number. That is, by default, the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number or needs to quantize the feedback angle according to the first quantization bit number. The situations where the first device does not need to determine the first quantization bit number may include: the initial detection, the SNR of the historical (for example, the last, i.e., the most recent) transmission is lower than the first threshold. For example, when the second device finds that the SNR of the last transmission is lower than the threshold, the first device does not need to determine the first quantization bit number through the second indication information. Alternatively, when the second device finds that this detection is the initial detection, the first device does not need to determine the first quantization bit number through the second indication information.

[0110] The second indication information can be indicated by the first bit. In other words, the field containing the second indication information can occupy one bit. For example, when the first bit is 0, the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number or needs to quantize the feedback angle according to the first quantization bit number; when the first bit is 1, the first device does not need to determine the first quantization bit number or needs to quantize the feedback angle according to the second quantization bit number. Alternatively, when the first bit is 1, the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number or needs to quantize the feedback angle according to the first quantization bit number; when the first bit is 0, the first device does not need to determine the first quantization bit number or needs to quantize the feedback angle according to the second quantization bit number.

[0111] It should be noted that, when the second indication information indicates that the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number or needs to quantize the feedback angle based on the first quantization bit number, the content indicated by the second indication information may be: the first device does not need to parse or obtain the second quantization bit number; or the first device does not need to quantize the feedback angle based on the second quantization bit number. Such an indication method does not expose the ability of the first device to determine the first quantization bit number. For example, taking the first model as an AI model, such an indication method may not expose the AI ​​capability of the first device.

[0112] The second indication information may be carried in the NDPA frame. For example, the second indication information may be carried in the first field of the NDPA frame. The first field may be a newly added field in the NDPA frame, or may reuse an existing field in the NDPA frame. The first field may also be referred to as a quantization bit field.

[0113] In some embodiments, the first field may be a reserved field redefined in the STA Info field. As shown in FIG8 , the reserved field at bit B20 in the STA Info field is redefined as a quantization bit field.

[0114] In some embodiments, when the second indication information is carried in the first field of the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame may be set as reserved fields. That is, if the first device parses the first field, the first device may not parse the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields and / or the codebook size field.

[0115] As a possible implementation, the first indication information may be carried in a first information field in a beamforming report. The first information field may be, for example, a multiple input multiple output control (MIMO control) field.

[0116] The first indication information may be carried in a second field. The second field may be, for example, a newly added field in the MIMO control field.

[0117] In some embodiments, the length of the second field may be M bits. M may be an integer greater than 0. For example, M may be equal to 6 or 8. The first quantization bit number includes the quantization bit number b of the two feedback angles. φ and b ψ For example, the length of the second field can be 8 bits. φ and b ψ It can occupy the first 4 bits and the last 4 bits respectively. φ and b ψ9 is an example diagram of a MIMO control field with a second field added. In FIG9 , the second field is represented by the quantization bits of φ and ψ.

[0118] In some embodiments, the length of the second field may be 0. For example, when the first device does not determine the first quantization bit number, or the first device uses the second quantization bit number to quantize the feedback angle, the length of the second field may be 0.

[0119] In some embodiments, in response to receiving a first frame or a second frame, the first device may send first indication information to the second device. The first frame is sent by the second device to the first device. The first frame may be used to determine a beamforming feedback angle. The second frame may be later than the first frame.

[0120] It is understood that, in the technical solution whereby the first device transmits the first indication information to the second device in response to receiving the first frame, the first device may, after determining the beamforming feedback angle based on the first frame, immediately determine a first number of quantization bits based on the beamforming feedback angle, and quantize the feedback angle using the first number of quantization bits. After receiving the first frame, the first device may transmit the first indication information during this channel sounding process.

[0121] The second frame may be a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle. For example, the second frame may be a BFRP trigger frame. In this case, in response to receiving the second frame, for the technical solution in which the first device sends the first indication information to the second device, the first device may, after determining the beamforming feedback angle based on the first frame, immediately determine a first quantization bit number based on the beamforming feedback angle, and quantize the feedback angle using the first quantization bit number. After receiving the trigger frame, the first device may transmit the first indication information.

[0122] The second frame may be a frame used to determine the feedback angle after the first frame, or a trigger frame corresponding to the frame used to determine the feedback angle after the first frame. In other words, the first frame may be a frame that was historically (e.g., last time) used to determine the beamforming feedback angle. For example, the first device may perform the following steps: determining the historical feedback angle in advance based on the frames historically used to determine the feedback angle; determining a first number of quantization bits using the historical feedback angle during this beamforming process; and quantizing the feedback angle determined during this beamforming process based on the first number of quantization bits.

[0123] In some embodiments, the first frame used to determine the feedback angle may be an NDP frame. In some embodiments, the first frame used to determine the feedback angle may be an NDPA frame. For example, the first device may perform channel estimation based on one or more of the following fields in a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) carrying the NDPA frame: high-efficiency (HE), EHT, and ultra-high reliability long training field (UHR-LTF).

[0124] It can be understood that when the first frame is an NDPA frame, compared with when the first frame is an NDP frame, the first device can determine the feedback angle earlier, thereby starting to determine the first quantization bit number earlier, thereby providing more time for determining the first quantization bit number.

[0125] In some embodiments, more time can be provided for the first device to determine the first number of quantization bits by adding padding. For example, if the calculation time for determining the first number of quantization bits using the first model is T, when T is slightly greater than the SIFS duration, the first device has not yet determined the first number of quantization bits after the SIFS duration ends, which will cause the first device to be unable to quantize the feedback angle and unable to send the first indication information. Adding padding can make the time available for calculating the first quantization bit longer than the SIFS duration. Then, before the end of the SIFS duration, the first device can complete the determination of the first number of quantization bits, thereby quantizing the feedback angle and sending the first indication information.

[0126] Optionally, the first frame may include a padding field. For example, when performing non-TB channel detection, the first frame may include a padding field. The maximum duration of the padding field may be T PE,max us. T PE,max Can be a number greater than 0. The content of the padding field can be arbitrary. The padding field should be transmitted using the average transmission power of the bandwidth of the first frame. The padding field can be located at the end of the first frame.

[0127] It should be noted that the padding field may be a newly added field in the first frame or an existing field. For example, the padding field may include a packet extension (PE) field. The second device may add padding to the PE field.

[0128] FIG10 takes the first frame as an ultra-high reliability (UHR) NDP frame as an example to illustrate the structure of an UHR NDP frame including a padding field. In FIG10 , the padding field is a PE field.

[0129] In some embodiments, when the second frame is a trigger frame, that is, in the TB channel detection process, the trigger frame may include medium access control (MAC) padding. PAD,MAC The number of bits can satisfy: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min T represents the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device. min It may depend on whether the first device determines the first number of quantization bits.

[0130] In some embodiments, the beamforming feedback angle adaptive quantization scheme may be determined based on a first duration. The first duration may be a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits. Within the first duration, the first device may complete calculation or inference of the first number of quantization bits. If the first model is an AI model, the first duration may be an inference duration of the AI ​​model.

[0131] The beamforming feedback angle adaptive quantization scheme may be related to the frame or padding to which the first indication information is sent. For example, the frame to which the first indication information is sent is determined based on the first duration. In other words, the first device may determine the frame to which the first indication information is sent based on the first duration. Alternatively, the first device may determine whether to add a padding field to the first frame, whether to add MAC padding to the trigger frame, or determine the duration of the padding based on the first duration.

[0132] The first duration varies from device to device due to factors such as differences in hardware and software, the algorithm of the first model, and other factors. Determining the adaptive quantization scheme for the beamforming feedback angle based on the first duration allows the first model to be more effectively applied in the beamforming feedback angle quantization process, effectively coordinating the beamforming feedback angle quantization process with the inference process of the first model.

[0133] Exemplarily, different types of beamforming feedback angle adaptive quantization schemes may be used according to the first duration T.

[0134] In some embodiments, the first duration can be divided into four intervals based on a first threshold t1, a second threshold t2, a third threshold t3, and a fourth threshold t4. Different intervals can correspond to different feedback angle quantization schemes. t1 is less than the SIFS duration, for example, t1 = 16 us. t2 is slightly greater than the SIFS duration, for example, t2 = 30 us. t3 is approximately the NDP duration, for example, t3 = 200 us. t4 is approximately the duration of a single probe, for example, t4 = 500 us.

[0135] FIG11 provides a classification diagram of beamforming feedback angle adaptive quantization schemes based on a first duration T. For the case where the first model is an AIML model, Table 5 provides an overview of the feedback angle quantization scheme corresponding to FIG11 .

[0136] Table 5

[0137] The following takes the first model as an AIML model as an example, and combines embodiments 1 to 4 to illustrate the four solutions in Table 5 respectively.

[0138] Example 1

[0139] Example 1 is a technical solution for when the AIML model inference time is less than t1.

[0140] First, the beamforming transmitter decides on the quantization bit calculation method. Then, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA to the beamforming receiver. The NDPA includes a bit indicating the quantization bit decision result. Upon receiving the NDPA, the beamforming receiver can view the quantization bit decision result. The beamforming transmitter sends an NDP. The beamforming receiver performs channel estimation based on the NDP and calculates the feedback angle vectors φ and ψ. If the beamforming transmitter decides that the beamforming receiver will perform AIML quantization bit calculation, the beamforming receiver performs AIML quantization bit calculation to obtain a first quantization bit number. The beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ based on the first quantization bit number calculated using AIML. The beamforming receiver then returns a beamforming report. The beamforming report carries the optimal number of quantization bits for the two feedback angle vectors. The beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and recovers the channel matrix based on the quantized φ and ψ and the first quantization bit number.

[0141] Figure 12 is a schematic flow chart of the method provided in Example 1. The method shown in Figure 12 may be performed by a beamforming transmitter and a beamforming receiver. The method shown in Figure 12 may include steps S1210 to S1290.

[0142] In step S1210 , the beamforming transmitter decides a method for calculating the number of quantization bits.

[0143] By default, the beamforming receiver recommends the first quantization bit number. If it is the first sounding or if the beamforming transmitter finds that the SNR of the last (most recent) transmission is lower than the threshold, the beamforming transmitter decides the quantization bit number to be the second quantization bit number indicated by the protocol in the NDPA frame.

[0144] Step S1220: The beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA frame.

[0145] The NDPA frame includes one bit, which is used to indicate the decision result of the quantization bit number.

[0146] As shown in Figure 8, the reserved field of the STA Info B20 bit in the NDPA can be redefined as the quantization bit field. This field occupies one bit and is used to indicate the decision result of the quantization bit number. If the quantization bit field is 1, the beamforming receiver quantizes according to the second quantization bit number indicated by the NDPA; if the quantization bit field is 0, the AIML model in the beamforming receiver calculates the first quantization bit number, and the UHR beamforming receiver reserves the feedback type, subcarrier grouping field, and codebook size field.

[0147] In step S1230 , the beamforming receiver checks the decision result of the number of quantization bits in the NDPA.

[0148] The beamforming receiver checks the quantization bit field in the NDPA. If the quantization bit field is 1, the beamforming receiver performs quantization according to the second quantization bit number indicated by the NDPA; if the quantization bit field is 0, the first quantization bit number is calculated by the AIML model in the beamforming receiver. Alternatively, if the quantization bit field is 0, it may indicate that the beamforming receiver performs quantization using a quantization bit number not indicated by the NDPA, thereby not exposing the AIML capability of the beamforming receiver. In addition, if the quantization bit field indicates 0, the UHR beamforming receiver may set the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields and the codebook size field to reserved.

[0149] Step S1240: The beamforming transmitter sends an NDP; or, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDP and a BFRP trigger frame.

[0150] In step S1250 , the beamforming receiver calculates feedback angle vectors φ and ψ.

[0151] In step S1260, if the beamforming transmitter decides to have the beamforming receiver perform AIML quantization bit calculation, the optimal quantization bit number is calculated based on the current φ, ψ, feedback type, subcarrier grouping Ng, codebook size, MCS, SNR, RSSI, historical quantization bit number, and other relevant communication parameter information.

[0152] In step S1270 , the beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ according to the number of quantization bits calculated by AIML.

[0153] Step S1280: The beamforming receiver feeds back a beamforming report.

[0154] A new field is added to the MIMO control field in the compressed beamforming frame to indicate the first quantization bit number, that is, the number of quantization bits b of the two feedback angle vectors. φ and b ψ For example, the newly added fields may be the φ and ψ quantization bit number subfields.

[0155] Figure 9 shows the addition of the quantization bit number b to the MIMO control field. φ and b ψ The φ and ψ quantization bit number subfields are 8 bits in total. φ and b ψ Occupies the first 4 bits and the last 4 bits, respectively, and is used to indicate the number of adaptive quantization bits for φ and ψ. If the quantization bit number indicated by the NDPA is the second quantization bit number defined by the standard, this field may not exist.

[0156] In step S1290 , the beamforming transmitter receives the compressed beamforming frame and restores the angle vector according to the quantized φ, ψ and the number of quantization bits.

[0157] This solution takes less time to infer the AIML model. Therefore, when the latest feedback angle vector is obtained, the AIML model can be inferred immediately to calculate the optimal quantization bit number.

[0158] Example 2

[0159] The second embodiment is a technical solution for AIML model inference time between t1 and t2.

[0160] First, the beamforming transmitter decides on the quantization bit calculation method. Then, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA frame to the beamforming receiver. The NDPA includes a bit indicating the quantization bit decision result. After receiving the NDPA frame, the beamforming receiver can view the quantization bit decision result. If the channel detection process is non-TB, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDP, which includes padding to allow more time for AIML model inference. If the channel detection process is TB, the beamforming transmitter adds MAC padding to the BFRP trigger frame. The beamforming receiver performs channel estimation based on the NDP and calculates the feedback angle vectors φ and ψ. If the beamforming transmitter decides that the beamforming receiver will perform the AIML quantization bit calculation, the beamforming receiver performs the AIML quantization bit calculation. The beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ based on the quantization bit number calculated by AIML. The beamforming receiver then returns a beamforming report. The beamforming report contains the optimal number of quantization bits for the two feedback angle vectors. The beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and can restore the channel matrix according to the quantized φ, ψ and the first quantization bit number.

[0161] Figure 13 is a schematic flow chart of a method provided in Embodiment 2. The method shown in Figure 13 may be performed by a beamforming transmitter and a beamforming receiver. The method shown in Figure 13 may include steps S1310 to S1390.

[0162] Step S1310: The beamforming transmitter decides on a method for calculating the number of quantization bits: by default, the method is recommended by the beamforming receiver. However, if it is the initial detection or if the beamforming transmitter finds that the SNR of the last (most recent) transmission is lower than a threshold, the number of quantization bits may be indicated in the NDPA frame according to the protocol.

[0163] In step S1320, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA frame. A bit indicating the decision result of the number of quantization bits is added to the NDPA frame. This is the same as in model 1.

[0164] In step S1330, the beamforming receiver checks the decision result of the number of quantization bits in the NDPA frame. The quantization bits field in the NDPA frame is checked. This process is similar to step S1230.

[0165] In step S1340 , the beamforming transmitter sends an NDP frame, or the beamforming transmitter sends an NDP frame and a BFRP trigger frame.

[0166] If it is non-TB channel detection, the beamforming transmitter sends NDP frames. The maximum duration of the PE field of the UHR NDP frame is T PE,max, for example, 20us, to provide more time for AIML operations. The padding content can be arbitrary, and the PE field should be transmitted using the average transmission power of the NDP bandwidth. Figure 10 shows an example of the UHR NDP frame structure.

[0167] If it is TB channel detection, the beamforming transmitter adds MAC padding to the BFRP trigger frame. The number of padding bits is calculated as follows: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the OFDM symbol time; the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the STA (ie, MinTrigProcTime) depends on whether the STA performs the AIML inference quantization bit number process.

[0168] In step S1350 , the beamforming receiver calculates feedback angle vectors φ and ψ.

[0169] In step S1360, if the beamforming transmitter decides to have the beamforming receiver perform AIML quantization bit calculation, the optimal quantization bit number is calculated based on the current φ, ψ, feedback type (SU / MU), subcarrier grouping Ng, codebook size, MCS, SNR, RSSI, historical quantization bit number, and other relevant communication parameter information.

[0170] In step S1370 , the beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ according to the number of quantization bits calculated by the AIML model.

[0171] Step S1380: The beamforming receiver feeds back a beamforming report: a new field is added to the MIMO control field in the compressed beamforming frame to indicate the number of quantized bits b of the two feedback angle vectors. φ and b ψ , for example, the φ and ψ quantization bit number subfields are the same as those in Model 1.

[0172] Step S1390: The beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and restores the angle vector according to the quantized φ, ψ and the number of quantization bits.

[0173] In Example 2, the AIML model inference time is between t1 and t2. Therefore, you can consider adding padding in the NDP PE or adding MAC padding in the BFRP trigger frame to buy more time for the AIML inference process. Similar to Example 1, this solution also supports real-time AIML inference.

[0174] Example 3

[0175] Example 3 is a technical solution for AIML model inference time between t2 and t3.

[0176] The beamforming receiver can use the HE / EHT / UHR-LTF of the PPDU carrying the NDPA frame to perform channel estimation in advance, calculate the feedback angle, and send the feedback angle estimated by NDPA to the AIML model to calculate the optimal number of quantization bits in advance.

[0177] First, the beamforming transmitter decides on the quantization bit calculation method. Then, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA to the beamforming receiver. The NDPA includes a bit indicating the quantization bit decision result. Upon receiving the NDPA, the beamforming receiver can view the quantization bit decision result. The beamforming receiver performs channel estimation based on the HE / EHT / UHR-LTF field in the PPDU carrying the NDPA frame and calculates φ and ψ. If the beamforming transmitter decides to have the beamforming receiver perform AIML quantization bit calculation, the beamforming receiver performs AIML quantization bit calculation. The beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ based on the quantization bit number calculated by AIML. The beamforming transmitter sends an NDP. The beamforming receiver returns a beamforming report. The beamforming report carries the optimal number of quantization bits for the two feedback angle vectors. The beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and recovers the channel matrix based on the quantized φ and ψ and the first quantization bit number.

[0178] Figure 14 is a schematic flow chart of a method provided in Embodiment 1. The method shown in Figure 14 may be performed by a beamforming transmitter and a beamforming receiver. The method shown in Figure 14 may include steps S1410 to S1490.

[0179] Step S1410: The beamforming transmitter decides on a method for calculating the number of quantization bits. By default, the method is recommended by the beamforming receiver. However, if it is an initial detection or the beamforming transmitter finds that the SNR of the last (most recent) transmission is lower than a threshold, the number of quantization bits is indicated in the NDPA frame according to the protocol.

[0180] In step S1420, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA frame. A bit indicating the decision result of the number of quantization bits is added to the NDPA frame. This is the same as in model 1.

[0181] In step S1430, the beamforming receiver checks the quantization bit number decision result in the NDPA. The beamforming receiver checks the quantization bit field in the NDPA. Step S1430 is similar to step S1230.

[0182] In step S1440 , the beamforming receiver performs channel estimation based on the HE / EHT / UHR-LTF field in the PPDU carrying the NDPA frame and calculates φ and ψ.

[0183] In step S1450, if the beamforming transmitter decides to have the beamforming receiver perform AIML quantization bit calculation, the beamforming receiver calculates the optimal quantization bit number based on relevant communication parameters such as the current φ, ψ, feedback type (SU / MU), subcarrier grouping Ng, codebook size, MCS, SNR, RSSI, and historical quantization bit numbers.

[0184] In step S1460 , the beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ according to the number of quantization bits.

[0185] In step S1470 , the beamforming transmitter sends an NDP frame, or sends an NDP frame and a BFRP trigger frame.

[0186] Step S1480: The beamforming receiver feeds back a beamforming report. A new field is added to the MIMO control field in the compressed beamforming frame to indicate the number of quantized bits b of the two feedback angle vectors. φ and b ψ , for example, the φ and ψ quantization bit number subfields are the same as those in Model 1.

[0187] Step S1490: The beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and restores the angle vector according to the quantized φ, ψ and the number of quantization bits.

[0188] Since the AIML model consumes time on the order of NDP frames, in order to help the AIML model gain more computing time, the NDPA frame can be used to perform channel estimation in advance to obtain the angle vector. When the beamforming receiver receives the NDPA frame, the AIML operation can be performed.

[0189] Example 4

[0190] When the AIML model inference time is long and reaches the detection cycle level t4, consider using the last feedback angle to calculate the optimal quantization bit number in advance.

[0191] First, the beamforming transmitter decides on the quantization bit calculation method. The beamforming receiver should also perform AIML quantization bit calculation in advance. The beamforming transmitter then sends an NDPA frame to the beamforming receiver. The NDPA frame includes a bit indicating the quantization bit decision result. Upon receiving the NDPA frame, the beamforming receiver can view the quantization bit decision result. The beamforming transmitter then sends an NDP frame. The beamforming receiver performs channel estimation based on the NDP frame and calculates the feedback angle vectors φ and ψ. If the beamforming transmitter decides to have the beamforming receiver perform AIML quantization bit calculation, the beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ based on the optimal quantization bit number calculated by AIML. The beamforming receiver then returns a beamforming report. The beamforming report carries the optimal quantization bit number for the two feedback angle vectors. The beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and recovers the channel matrix based on the quantized φ and ψ and the first quantization bit number.

[0192] Figure 15 is a schematic flow chart of a method provided in Embodiment 4. The method shown in Figure 15 may be performed by a beamforming transmitter and a beamforming receiver. The method shown in Figure 15 may include steps S1510 to S1580.

[0193] In step S1510, the beamforming transmitter determines the quantization bit calculation method. By default, the method is recommended by the beamforming receiver. However, if it is an initial detection or the beamforming transmitter detects that the SNR of the last (most recent) transmission is below a threshold, the quantization bit number is indicated in the NDPA frame according to the protocol.

[0194] In step S1520, the beamforming receiver calculates the number of quantization bits in advance. The beamforming receiver calculates the optimal number of quantization bits based on the previous φ, ψ, feedback type (SU / MU), subcarrier grouping Ng, codebook size, MCS, SNR, RSSI, historical quantization bit count, and other relevant communication parameters. The receiver then saves the φ and ψ quantization values ​​for the next sounding.

[0195] In step S1530, the beamforming transmitter sends an NDPA frame. A bit indicating the decision result of the number of quantization bits is added to the NDPA frame. Step S1530 is similar to step S1220.

[0196] In step S1540, the beamforming receiver checks the decision result of the number of quantization bits in the NDPA frame. The beamforming receiver checks the quantization bit field in the NDPA. Step S1540 is similar to step S1230.

[0197] In step S1550 , the beamforming transmitter sends an NDP frame or sends an NDP frame and a BFRP trigger frame.

[0198] In step S1560 , the beamforming receiver calculates feedback angle vectors φ and ψ.

[0199] In step S1570, the beamforming receiver quantizes φ and ψ based on the number of quantization bits. The number of quantization bits is determined based on the decision result. If the number of quantization bits is provided by the beamforming transmitter, the number of quantization bits can be found in the NDPA. If the number of quantization bits is calculated by the beamforming receiver, the quantization bits calculated in advance by the beamforming receiver can be used directly.

[0200] Step S1580: The beamforming receiver feeds back a beamforming report: a new field is added to the MIMO control field in the compressed beamforming frame to indicate the number of quantized bits b of the two feedback angle vectors. φ and b ψ , for example, the φ and ψ quantization bit number subfields are the same as those in Model 1.

[0201] In step S1590 , the beamforming transmitter receives the beamforming report and restores the angle vector according to the quantized φ, ψ and the number of quantization bits.

[0202] Since the time consumption of AIML model inference is at the level of channel detection cycle, in order to perform AIML model inference, the angle vector obtained from the previous detection can be used for AIML calculation to obtain the optimal number of quantization bits in advance.

[0203] It is understandable that Examples 1 to 4 utilize the AIML model to assist in calculating the number of bits for beamforming feedback angle vector quantization, thereby achieving a trade-off between feedback angle vector quantization overhead and quantization accuracy, thereby improving communication system performance. Furthermore, this application divides the AIML model into four levels based on its computation time, designing different solutions for different time levels.

[0204] The method embodiments of the present application are described in detail above, and the device embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the device embodiments, so for parts not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiments.

[0205] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1600 is a first device and includes a sending unit 1610.

[0206] The sending unit 1610 is used to send first indication information to the second device; wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first quantization bit number is determined based on one or more of the following information: beamforming feedback angle; second quantization bit number specified by the second device according to the communication protocol; feedback type; subcarrier grouping; codebook size; MCS; SNR; and RSSI.

[0208] In some embodiments, the communication device 1600 is further used to: receive second indication information sent by the second device; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number.

[0209] In some embodiments, the second indication information is carried in a first field in an NDPA frame.

[0210] In some embodiments, the first field is a reserved field redefined in the STA Info field.

[0211] In some embodiments, when the second indication information is carried in the first field of the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame are set as reserved fields.

[0212] In some embodiments, the first indication information is carried in a first information field of a beamforming report.

[0213] In some embodiments, the first information field is a multiple-input multiple-output control field.

[0214] In some embodiments, the first indication information is carried in a second field, the length of the second field is M bits, and M is an integer greater than 0.

[0215] In some embodiments, the communication device 1600 is further used to: receive a first frame, where the first frame is used to determine the beamforming feedback angle; sending the first indication information to the second device includes: sending the first indication information to the second device in response to receiving the first frame or the second frame; wherein the first frame is earlier than the second frame.

[0216] In some embodiments, the first frame includes a padding field.

[0217] In some embodiments, the second frame is a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle.

[0218] In some embodiments, the trigger frame includes MAC padding.

[0219] In some embodiments, the MAC padding L PAD,MAC The number of bits satisfies: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; TSYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min Indicates the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first frame is an NDPA frame.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first frame is a frame historically used to determine the beamforming feedback angle.

[0222] In some embodiments, the frame in response to sending the first indication information is determined based on a first duration, where the first duration is a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits.

[0223] In some embodiments, the first number of quantization bits is determined by a first model.

[0224] In some embodiments, the first model is an AI model.

[0225] In an optional embodiment, the sending unit 1610 may be a transceiver 1830. The communication device 1600 may further include a processor 1810 and a memory 1820, as specifically shown in FIG18 .

[0226] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device 1700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1700 is a second device and includes a receiving unit 1710.

[0227] The receiving unit 1710 is used to receive first indication information sent by a first device; wherein the first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

[0228] In some embodiments, the first quantization bit number is determined based on one or more of the following information: beamforming feedback angle; second quantization bit number specified by the second device according to the communication protocol; feedback type; subcarrier grouping; codebook size; MCS; SNR; and RSSI.

[0229] In some embodiments, the communication device 1700 is further used to: send second indication information to the first device; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number.

[0230] In some embodiments, the second indication information is carried in a first field in an NDPA frame.

[0231] In some embodiments, the first field is a reserved field redefined in the STA Info field.

[0232] In some embodiments, when the second indication information is carried in the first field of the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping fields and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame are set as reserved fields.

[0233] In some embodiments, the first indication information is carried in a first information field of a beamforming report.

[0234] In some embodiments, the first information field is a multiple-input multiple-output control field.

[0235] In some embodiments, the first indication information is carried in a second field, the length of the second field is M bits, and M is an integer greater than 0.

[0236] In some embodiments, the communication device 1700 is also used to: send a first frame, where the first frame is used to determine the beamforming feedback angle; the receiving of the first indication information sent by the first device includes: receiving the first indication information sent by the first device in response to sending the first frame or the second frame; wherein the first frame is earlier than the second frame.

[0237] In some embodiments, the first frame includes a padding field.

[0238] In some embodiments, the second frame is a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle.

[0239] In some embodiments, the trigger frame includes MAC padding.

[0240] In some embodiments, the MAC padding L PAD,MAC The number of bits satisfies: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min Indicates the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device.

[0241] In some embodiments, the first frame is an NDPA frame.

[0242] In some embodiments, the first frame is a frame historically used to determine the beamforming feedback angle.

[0243] In some embodiments, the frame in response to sending the first indication information is determined based on a first duration, where the first duration is a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits.

[0244] In some embodiments, the first number of quantization bits is determined by a first model.

[0245] In some embodiments, the first model is an AI model.

[0246] In an optional embodiment, the receiving unit 1710 may be a transceiver 1830. The communication device 1700 may further include a processor 1810 and a memory 1820, as specifically shown in FIG18 .

[0247] Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed lines in Figure 18 indicate that the unit or module is optional. Device 1800 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. Device 1800 may be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0248] The device 1800 may include one or more processors 1810. The processor 1810 may support the device 1800 to implement the method described in the method embodiment above. The processor 1810 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0249] The apparatus 1800 may further include one or more memories 1820. The memories 1820 store programs that can be executed by the processor 1810, causing the processor 1810 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 1820 may be independent of the processor 1810 or integrated into the processor 1810.

[0250] The apparatus 1800 may further include a transceiver 1830. The processor 1810 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1830. For example, the processor 1810 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1830.

[0251] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal or network device provided in the present application, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0252] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to a terminal or network device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0253] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the terminal or network device provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0254] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0255] In the embodiments of this application, the term "indication" may refer to a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" may refer to a direct indication of B, e.g., B can obtain information through A; it may refer to an indirect indication of B, e.g., A indicates C, e.g., B can obtain information through C; or it may refer to an association between A and B.

[0256] In the embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0257] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0258] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-defined" or "pre-configured" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., including a STA and an AP). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-defined may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0259] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0260] In the embodiments of this application, the term "include" can refer to direct inclusion or indirect inclusion. Alternatively, the term "include" in the embodiments of this application can be replaced with "indicates" or "is used to determine." For example, "A includes B" can be replaced with "A indicates B" or "A is used to determine B."

[0261] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0262] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0263] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0264] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0265] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can 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 process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated 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 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 instructions can 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 can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0266] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The first device sends first indication information to the second device; The first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first number of quantization bits is determined based on one or more of the following information: Beamforming feedback angle; a second quantization bit number specified by the second device according to the communication protocol; Feedback type; Subcarrier grouping; Codebook size; Modulation Coding Scheme MCS; Signal-to-noise ratio SNR; as well as Received signal strength indication RSSI.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: Also includes: The first device receives second indication information sent by the second device; The second indication information is used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second indication information is carried in the first field of the Null Data Packet Declaration NDPA frame.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first field is a reserved field redefined in the site information field.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: In the case where the second indication information is carried in the first field in the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping field and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame are set as reserved fields.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in a first information field of a beamforming report.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first information field is a multiple-input multiple-output control field.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The first indication information is carried in a second field, the length of the second field is M bits, and M is an integer greater than 0.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that Also includes: The first device receives a first frame, wherein the first frame is used to determine the beamforming feedback angle; The first device sending the first indication information to the second device includes: In response to receiving the first frame or the second frame, the first device sends the first indication information to the second device; The first frame is earlier than the second frame.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first frame includes a padding field.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The second frame is a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The trigger frame includes medium access control MAC padding.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The MAC padding L PAD,MAC The number of bits satisfies: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min Indicates the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that The first frame is an NDPA frame.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that The first frame is a frame historically used to determine the beamforming feedback angle.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that The frame in response to sending the first indication information is determined based on a first duration, where the first duration is a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that The first quantization bit number is determined by a first model.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The first model is an AI model.

20. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The second device receives the first indication information sent by the first device; The first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate a first quantization bit number of the beamforming feedback angle.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first number of quantization bits is determined based on one or more of the following information: Beamforming feedback angle; a second quantization bit number specified by the second device according to the communication protocol; Feedback type; Subcarrier grouping; Codebook size; Modulation Coding Scheme MCS; Signal-to-noise ratio SNR; as well as Received signal strength indication RSSI.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that Also includes: The second device sends second indication information to the first device; The second indication information is used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The second indication information is carried in the first field of the Null Data Packet Declaration NDPA frame.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The first field is a reserved field redefined in the site information field.

25. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that In the case where the second indication information is carried in the first field in the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping field and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame are set as reserved fields.

26. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 25, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in a first information field of a beamforming report.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that The first information field is a multiple-input multiple-output control field.

28. The method according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in a second field, the length of the second field is M bits, and M is an integer greater than 0.

29. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 28, characterized in that Also includes: The second device sends a first frame, where the first frame is used to determine the beamforming feedback angle; The second device receiving the first indication information sent by the first device includes: In response to sending the first frame or the second frame, the second device receives the first indication information sent by the first device; The first frame is earlier than the second frame.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The first frame includes a padding field.

31. The method according to claim 29 or 30, characterized in that The second frame is a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that The trigger frame includes medium access control MAC padding.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that The MAC padding L PAD,MAC The number of bits satisfies: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min Indicates the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device.

34. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 33, characterized in that The first frame is an NDPA frame.

35. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 34, characterized in that The first frame is a frame historically used to determine the beamforming feedback angle.

36. The method according to any one of claims 29 to 35, characterized in that The frame in response to sending the first indication information is determined based on a first duration, where the first duration is a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits.

37. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 36, characterized in that The first quantization bit number is determined by a first model.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that The first model is an AI model.

39. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a first device, and the communication device includes: A sending unit, configured to send first indication information to a second device; The first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate the beamforming feedback angle. The first quantization bit number of the shaped feedback angle.

40. The communication device according to claim 39, characterized in that The first number of quantization bits is determined based on one or more of the following information: Beamforming feedback angle; a second quantization bit number specified by the second device according to the communication protocol; Feedback type; Subcarrier grouping; Codebook size; Modulation Coding Scheme MCS; Signal-to-noise ratio SNR; as well as Received signal strength indication RSSI.

41. The communication device according to claim 39 or 40, characterized in that: Also used for: receiving second indication information sent by the second device; The second indication information is used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number.

42. The communication device according to claim 41, characterized in that The second indication information is carried in the first field of the Null Data Packet Declaration NDPA frame.

43. The communication device according to claim 42, characterized in that The first field is a reserved field redefined in the site information field.

44. The communication device according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that In the case where the second indication information is carried in the first field in the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping field and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame are set as reserved fields.

45. The communication device according to any one of claims 39 to 44, characterized in that: The first indication information is carried in a first information field of a beamforming report.

46. ​​The communication device according to claim 45, characterized in that The first information field is a multiple-input multiple-output control field.

47. The communication device according to claim 45 or 46, characterized in that: The first indication information is carried in a second field, the length of the second field is M bits, and M is an integer greater than 0.

48. The communication device according to any one of claims 39 to 47, characterized in that: Also used for: receiving a first frame, wherein the first frame is used to determine the beamforming feedback angle; The sending the first indication information to the second device includes: In response to receiving the first frame or the second frame, sending the first indication information to the second device; The first frame is earlier than the second frame.

49. The communication device according to claim 48, characterized in that The first frame includes a padding field.

50. The communication device according to claim 48 or 49, characterized in that: The second frame is a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle.

51. The communication device according to claim 50, characterized in that The trigger frame includes MAC padding.

52. The communication device according to claim 51, characterized in that The media access control MAC fills L PAD,MAC The number of bits satisfies: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min Indicates the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device.

53. The communication device according to any one of claims 48 to 52, characterized in that: The first frame is an NDPA frame.

54. The communication device according to any one of claims 48 to 53, characterized in that: The first frame is a frame historically used to determine the beamforming feedback angle.

55. The communication device according to any one of claims 48 to 54, characterized in that: The frame in response to sending the first indication information is determined based on a first duration, where the first duration is a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits.

56. The communication device according to any one of claims 39 to 55, characterized in that: The first quantization bit number is determined by a first model.

57. The communication device according to claim 56, characterized in that The first model is an AI model.

58. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a second device, and the communication device includes: A receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information sent by a first device; The first device is a device for determining a beamforming feedback angle, and the first indication information is used to indicate the beamforming feedback angle. The first quantization bit number of the shaped feedback angle.

59. The communication device according to claim 58, characterized in that The first number of quantization bits is determined based on one or more of the following information: Beamforming feedback angle; a second quantization bit number specified by the second device according to the communication protocol; Feedback type; Subcarrier grouping; Codebook size; Modulation Coding Scheme MCS; Signal-to-noise ratio SNR; as well as Received signal strength indication RSSI.

60. The communication device according to claim 58 or 59, characterized in that: Also used for: Sending second indication information to the first device; The second indication information is used to indicate whether the first device needs to determine the first quantization bit number.

61. The communication device according to claim 60, characterized in that The second indication information is carried in the first field of the Null Data Packet Declaration NDPA frame.

62. The communication device according to claim 61, characterized in that The first field is a reserved field redefined in the site information field.

63. The communication device according to claim 61 or 62, characterized in that: In the case where the second indication information is carried in the first field in the NDPA frame, the feedback type and subcarrier grouping field and / or the codebook size field in the NDPA frame are set as reserved fields.

64. The communication device according to any one of claims 58 to 63, characterized in that: The first indication information is carried in a first information field of a beamforming report.

65. The communication device according to claim 64, characterized in that The first information field is a multiple-input multiple-output control field.

66. The communication device according to claim 64 or 65, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in a second field, the length of the second field is M bits, and M is an integer greater than 0.

67. The communication device according to any one of claims 58 to 66, characterized in that: Also used for: Sending a first frame, where the first frame is used to determine the beamforming feedback angle; The receiving first indication information sent by the first device includes: In response to sending the first frame or the second frame, receiving the first indication information sent by the first device; The first frame is earlier than the second frame.

68. The communication device according to claim 67, characterized in that The first frame includes a padding field.

69. The communication device according to claim 67 or 68, characterized in that The second frame is a trigger frame for measuring the beamforming feedback angle.

70. The communication device according to claim 69, characterized in that The trigger frame includes medium access control MAC padding.

71. The communication device according to claim 70, characterized in that The MAC padding L PAD,MAC The number of bits satisfies: Among them, N DBPS Indicates the number of data bits per OFDM symbol; T SYM Indicates the time corresponding to an OFDM symbol; T min Indicates the minimum trigger frame processing time required by the first device.

72. The communication device according to any one of claims 67 to 71, characterized in that: The first frame is an NDPA frame.

73. The communication device according to any one of claims 67 to 72, characterized in that: The first frame is a frame historically used to determine the beamforming feedback angle.

74. The communication device according to any one of claims 67 to 73, characterized in that: The frame in response to sending the first indication information is determined based on a first duration, where the first duration is a processing duration for determining the first number of quantization bits.

75. The communication device according to any one of claims 58 to 74, characterized in that: The first quantization bit number is determined by a first model.

76. The communication device according to claim 75, characterized in that The first model is an AI model.

77. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

78. A device, characterized in that It comprises a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory so that the device executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 38.

79. A chip, characterized in that: It comprises a processor, which is used to call a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 38.

80. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that A program is stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 38.

81. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises a program which causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 38.

82. A computer program, characterized in that The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 38.

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