Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and a communication apparatus. The communication method comprises: a first AP receives a first frame sent by a second AP, the first frame being used for the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP; and the first AP performs transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

Description

Communication methods and communication devices Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0002] In environments with overlapping basic service sets (OBSS), coordinated time division multiple access (C-TDMA) technology has been introduced to reduce the transmission latency of the basic service set (BSS). This technology improves the transmission latency of the BSS by sharing transmission opportunities (TXOPs) among access points (APs).

[0003] However, when sharing transmission opportunities using C-TDMA technology, the sharing AP can only share the transmission opportunity with one shared AP at a time. APs that are not shared with the shared transmission opportunity need to postpone channel access within the shared transmission opportunity, resulting in relatively low channel utilization.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and a communication device. The various aspects covered by this application are described below.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: a first AP receiving a first frame sent by a second AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP; and the first AP performing transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

[0007] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: a second AP sending a first frame to a first AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP, the first transmission opportunity being usable for transmission between the third AP and the first AP.

[0008] Thirdly, a communication method is provided, comprising: a first station and a first AP transmitting within a first transmission opportunity; wherein the first station is a station associated with the first AP, the first transmission opportunity is obtained by the first AP from a first frame sent by a second AP, and the first frame is used by the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with a third AP.

[0009] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a first AP, the communication device comprising: a receiving module for receiving a first frame sent by a second AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP; and a transmission module for performing transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

[0010] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a second AP, the communication device comprising: a first transmitting module, configured to transmit a first frame to a first AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP, the first transmission opportunity being usable for transmission between the third AP and the first AP.

[0011] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a first station, the communication device comprising: a transmission module for transmitting with a first AP within a first transmission opportunity; wherein, the first station is a station associated with the first AP, the first transmission opportunity is obtained by the first AP from a first frame sent by a second AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with a third AP.

[0012] A seventh aspect provides a communication device including a processor and a memory, the memory for storing one or more computer programs, the processor for invoking the computer programs in the memory to cause the communication device to perform some or all of the steps of the method of any one of the first to third aspects.

[0013] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system including the aforementioned communication device. In another possible design, the communication system may further include other devices that interact with the communication device as described in the embodiments of this application.

[0014] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that causes a communication device to perform some or all of the steps in the methods described above.

[0015] Tenthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, wherein the computer program product includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program operable to cause a communication device to perform some or all of the steps of the methods described in the foregoing aspects. In some implementations, the computer program product may be a software installation package.

[0016] In one aspect, embodiments of this application provide a chip including a memory and a processor, the processor being able to call and run a computer program from the memory to implement some or all of the steps described in the methods of the foregoing aspects.

[0017] In this embodiment, after the second AP shares a transmission opportunity with the third AP, the first AP can also transmit within that shared transmission opportunity. That is, even if the second AP does not share a transmission opportunity with the first AP, the first AP can still transmit within the transmission opportunity shared by the second AP. This helps ensure that multiple APs can transmit simultaneously with minimal or no interference, thereby improving channel utilization. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 is a system architecture example diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0019] Figure 2a is an example diagram of OBSS.

[0020] Figure 2b is another example diagram of OBSS.

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the process of a site accessing an AP based on the EDCA mechanism.

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the backoff process of a site under the EDCA mechanism.

[0023] Figure 5 is an example diagram showing the adjustment of values ​​and transmit power based on OBSS message detection.

[0024] Figure 6 is an example diagram of the parameterized space reuse mechanism.

[0025] Figure 7 is a process example diagram of the multi-AP coordinated measurement phase.

[0026] Figure 8 is an example diagram of the process of multi-AP coordinated measurement and coordinated transmission.

[0027] Figure 9 is an example diagram of the multi-AP coordinated transmission process.

[0028] Figure 10 is an example diagram of the C-TDMA mechanism.

[0029] Figure 11 is an example diagram of an application scenario applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0030] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0031] Figure 13 is an example diagram of the first frame provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0032] Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0033] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the process for obtaining the fourth information provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0034] Figure 16 is an example diagram of the second frame provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0035] Figure 17 is an example diagram of the response frame of the second frame provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0036] Figure 18 is an example diagram of the transmission process of multiple APs provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0037] Figure 19 is an example diagram of the transmission process of multiple APs provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0038] Figure 20 is an example diagram of the transmission process of multiple APs provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0039] Figure 21 is an example diagram of the transmission process of multiple APs provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0040] Figure 22 is an example diagram of the transmission process of multiple APs provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0041] Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0042] Figure 24 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0043] Figure 25 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application.

[0044] Figure 26 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0045] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Communication system architecture

[0047] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless fidelity (WiFi), or other communication systems. For example, the technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to communication systems using the 802.11 standard. Exemplarily, the 802.11 standard includes, but is not limited to, the 802.11ax standard, the 802.11be standard, and next-generation 802.11 standards.

[0048] The technical solutions provided in this application are applicable to various scenarios, such as communication between an AP and one or more stations (STAs), communication between APs, or communication between STAs. In this application, the term "communication" can also be understood or replaced with other terms such as "transmission," "data transmission," or "information transmission."

[0049] Referring to Figure 1, Figure 1 is an example architecture diagram of a wireless communication system 100 applicable to embodiments of this application. The wireless communication system 100 may include an AP 110 and a STA 120 accessing the network through the AP 110.

[0050] In some scenarios, AP is also called AP STA, meaning that in a certain sense, AP is also a type of STA.

[0051] In some scenarios, STA is also called non-AP STA.

[0052] The communication in the wireless communication system 100 can be communication between AP and STA, communication between STA and STA, or communication between STA and peer STA. A peer STA can refer to a device that communicates with the STA. For example, a peer STA may be an AP or a STA.

[0053] The AP involved in this application is a device with wireless communication capabilities. In some embodiments, the AP can support WLAN protocol for communication and has the function of communicating with other devices in the WLAN network (e.g., other STAs or other APs).

[0054] In this application's embodiments, the AP is a device that provides services to STAs. In some embodiments, the AP acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks, primarily connecting various wireless network clients together and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet. The AP can be a terminal device with a WiFi chip (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router, bridge, switch, etc.). Of course, this application's embodiments are not limited to this; for example, the AP can also include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc.

[0055] The STA involved in the embodiments of this application is a device with wireless communication capabilities. In some embodiments, the STA can support WLAN protocol for communication and has the function of communicating with other STAs or APs in a WLAN network.

[0056] It should be understood that the role of a STA in a communication system is not absolute. For example, in some scenarios, when a mobile phone connects to a router, the mobile phone is a STA; when the mobile phone provides a hotspot for other devices, the mobile phone acts as an AP.

[0057] AP and STA can be devices used in vehicle networking, 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.

[0058] In some embodiments, both the STA and AP can support the 802.11be standard. The STA or AP can also support various current and future 802.11 family WLAN standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0059] One or more links may exist between a STA and an AP. In some embodiments, the STA and AP may support multi-band communication. For example, they may communicate simultaneously on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 45 GHz, and 60 GHz bands, or simultaneously on different channels within the same (or different) bands, to improve communication throughput and / or reliability between devices. Such devices are commonly referred to as multi-band devices, or multi-link devices (MLDs), and sometimes as multi-link entities or multi-band entities. A multi-link device can be either an AP or a STA. If the multi-link device is an AP, it may contain one or more APs; if the multi-link device is a STA, it may contain one or more non-AP STAs.

[0060] A multi-link device that includes one or more access points (APs) can be called an access point multi-link device (AP MLD), and a multi-link device that includes one or more non-AP STAs can be called a non-AP multi-link device (Non-AP MLD).

[0061] In this embodiment of the application, an AP may include multiple APs, and a Non-AP may include multiple STAs. Multiple links may be formed between the APs in the AP and the STAs in the Non-AP, and the APs in the AP and the corresponding STAs in the Non-AP may communicate through the corresponding links.

[0062] In the embodiments of this application, STA can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, handheld computer, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, etc., that supports WLAN / WiFi technology.

[0063] WLAN technology can support frequency bands including but not limited to: low frequency bands (e.g., 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz) and high frequency bands (e.g., 60GHz).

[0064] Figure 1 illustrates an example of one AP and two STAs. Optionally, the communication system 100 may include multiple APs and other numbers of STAs, which is not limited in this application embodiment.

[0065] It should be understood that devices with communication functions in the network / system of this application embodiment can be referred to as communication devices. Taking the communication system 100 shown in FIG1 as an example, the communication devices may include AP 110 and STA 120 with communication functions. AP 110 and STA 120 can be the specific devices described above, which will not be repeated here. The communication devices may also include other devices in the communication system 100, such as network controllers, gateways and other network entities. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0066] APs and STAs can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; and they can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the scenarios in which the APs and STAs are located.

[0067] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in this application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0068] OBSS

[0069] In some embodiments, an OBSS can refer to a neighboring BSS that operates on the same channel as the STA's BSS and is (partially or wholly) within its basic service area (OBSS). BSSs with these characteristics are each other's OBSSs. The basic service area (BSA) is the area containing the members of a BSS; the BSA may also contain members of other BSSs.

[0070] In other words, when the basic service area of ​​one BSS overlaps with that of another BSS, the two BSSs are each other's OBSS. Or, one BSS can be called the OBSS of the other BSS, and the other BSS can also be called the OBSS of the first BSS.

[0071] It should be understood that the above overlap can refer to the basic service area of ​​one BSS partially overlapping with that of another BSS, or it can be an inclusion relationship (i.e., the basic service area of ​​one BSS falls within the basic service area of ​​another BSS).

[0072] The following uses the scenarios shown in Figures 2a and 2b as examples to further illustrate OBSS. Figure 2a is an example diagram showing an overlap between one BSS and another BSS forming an OBSS. In Figure 2a, AP 1, STA 11, and STA 12 belong to BSS 1, and STA 11 and STA 12 are both associated with AP 1; AP 2, STA 21, and STA 22 belong to BSS 2, and STA 21 and STA 22 are both associated with AP 2. In Figure 2a, the basic service area of ​​BSS 1 overlaps with the basic service area of ​​BSS 2 (i.e., the "overlapping area" in Figure 2a). In this case, BSS 1 can be called the OBSS of BSS 2, and BSS 2 can also be called the OBSS of BSS 1. Figure 2b is an example diagram showing a BSS containing another BSS forming an OBSS. In Figure 2b, AP 1, STA 11, and STA 12 belong to BSS 1, and STA 11 and STA 12 are both associated with AP 1; AP 2, STA 21, and STA 22 belong to BSS 2, and STA 21 and STA 22 are both associated with AP 2. In Figure 2b, the basic service area of ​​BSS 1 overlaps with the basic service area of ​​BSS 2 (i.e., "BSS 2 is also an overlapping area" in Figure 2b). In this case, BSS 1 can be called the OBSS of BSS 2, and BSS 2 can also be called the OBSS of BSS 1.

[0073] It should be noted that Figures 2a and 2b above are examples of two BSSs being each other's OBSS. In practical applications, if two or more BSSs overlap (partial or complete overlap), they can also be each other's OBSS.

[0074] Enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA)

[0075] EDCA is a distributed channel access mechanism for WiFi to achieve fair competition and priority scheduling among different types of applications. EDCA is an enhancement of the distributed coordination function (DCF), primarily using different inter-frame intervals (i.e., arbitrary inter-frame intervals (AIFS[AC])) and contention windows (CW[AC]) to compete for the channel based on different access categories (ACs). In contrast, DCF uses a uniform DCF inter-frame interval (DIFS) and contention window to compete for the channel. The following sections, with reference to Figures 3 and 4, describe the process of a STA accessing an AP based on the DCF mechanism and the backoff process of a STA under the DCF mechanism.

[0076] Figure 3 illustrates the process of a STA accessing an AP based on the DCF mechanism. As shown in Figure 3, when the STA detects that the channel has changed from busy to idle using the clear channel assessment (CCA, also known as idle channel detection) mechanism, it needs to continue detecting whether the channel remains idle within the distributed (coordination function) interframe space (DIFS) time. If the current random backoff counter value is 0, the STA acquires channel access rights, can immediately transmit, and reset the random backoff counter value. Otherwise, the STA needs to continue detecting whether the channel remains idle. If the channel remains idle for each slot detected, the random backoff counter value of the station is decremented by 1 until the random backoff counter value of the station becomes 0. Then, the station acquires channel access rights, can immediately transmit, and reset the random backoff counter value. Taking Figure 3 as an example, if a station detects that the channel is busy in the first DIFS, the station postpones channel access. If the station detects that the channel is idle in the second DIFS, but the station's current random backoff counter value is not 0, the station needs to continue to detect whether the channel remains idle. If the channel remains idle for each slot detected, the station's random backoff counter value is decremented by 1 until the station's random backoff counter value becomes 0. Then the station obtains the right to access the channel, can immediately transmit, and reset the random backoff counter value.

[0077] In some embodiments, if a station gains channel access rights earlier than another station during the detection process, the station's random backoff counter value can remain unchanged. In this way, the next time the station detects a channel transition from busy to idle via CCA, the station's random backoff counter value will remain the same as the previous value.

[0078] Figure 4 illustrates the backoff procedure for stations under the DCF mechanism. As shown in Figure 4, when station A occupies the channel for transmission, stations B, C, and D detect that the channel is busy, and therefore postpone their channel access. Subsequently, if stations B, C, and D detect that the channel is idle, they can compete for channel access rights. Assuming station C wins the channel access right, stations B and D execute the backoff procedure to postpone their channel access. This process continues, allowing stations to compete for channel access rights under the DCF mechanism, or to execute a backoff procedure to avoid transmission conflicts if other stations win the channel access right.

[0079] Request to send / Allow to send

[0080] In a BSS, a STA can communicate with an AP, but it may be unable to detect other STAs or be detected by them, leading to a higher probability of transmission collisions. As one possible implementation, STAs can avoid transmission collisions through a listening mechanism. For example, when a listening STA detects another STA's transmission, it can set a network allocation vector (NAV) timer for that transmission and listen to the radio frequency channel to avoid collisions with other STAs' transmissions. In some embodiments, setting the NAV timer can be considered as performing virtual carrier sense (VCS). In some embodiments, listening to the radio frequency channel can be considered as performing physical carrier sense (PCS).

[0081] As one possible implementation, the request-to-send (RTS) / clear-to-send (CTS) mechanism can avoid transmission collisions by implementing NAV distribution. Specifically, the RTS / CTS mechanism can reserve the transmission medium for a data frame before transmission begins by implementing NAV distribution. In some embodiments, the transmission medium can also be understood or replaced as a channel or medium. The RTS / CTS mechanism is described in detail below.

[0082] In some embodiments, STAs using the RTS / CTS mechanism need to perform an RTS / CTS interaction before normal data transmission each time they prepare to send a frame. For example, before transmitting a data frame, the sending end first sends an RTS frame. All listening STAs reset their NAV timers based on the duration of this RTS frame and wait for the CTS frame, data frame, and acknowledgment frame to be transmitted. Then, the receiving end sends a CTS frame, also used for NAV distribution. All listening STAs reset their NAV timers based on the duration of this CTS frame and wait for the data frame and acknowledgment frame to be transmitted.

[0083] This application does not limit the duration of RTS frames and / or CTS frames. For example, the duration of an RTS frame can be expressed as the time required to complete the interaction of a CTS frame, data frame, and acknowledgment frame, plus three short interframe spaces (SIFS). The duration of a CTS frame can be expressed as the time required to complete the interaction of a data frame and acknowledgment frame, plus two SIFS.

[0084] This application does not limit the unit of duration for RTS frames and / or CTS frames. For example, the duration of RTS frames and / or CTS frames can be in microseconds, or in milliseconds, time slots, or other durations.

[0085] In some embodiments, even if a STA does not detect an RTS frame, it should be able to detect a CTS frame. Regardless of which frame the STA detects (RTS or CTS), the STA can set its NAV timer based on the duration provided by the detected frame. In this way, all STAs in the BSS can set their NAV timers and wait for the entire data transmission to complete. This achieves a protection mechanism to avoid transmission collisions.

[0086] However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to using the RTS / CTS mechanism to avoid transmission collisions. In some embodiments, the CTS-to-self mechanism can also be used to avoid transmission collisions. For example, when different technologies exist in the same BSS, the CTS-to-self mechanism can be used to avoid transmission collisions. Compared with the RTS / CTS mechanism, the advantage of using the CTS-to-self mechanism as a protection mechanism to avoid transmission collisions is that fewer frames are sent and the throughput is improved.

[0087] As one implementation, when a STA or AP using CTS-to-self is preparing to transmit data, it can perform NAV distribution by sending a CTS frame (the receiver address of this CTS frame is the address that sent the CTS frame; therefore, this CTS frame is called a CTS-to-self frame). In this case, the CTS frame (CTS-to-self frame) is used to notify other STAs that they need to wait for the data frame and acknowledgment frame to be transmitted. In this way, all STAs that hear this CTS frame (CTS-to-self frame) will set their NAV timers according to the values ​​provided in the CTS frame.

[0088] In some embodiments, regardless of whether an RTS / CTS mechanism or a CTS-to-self mechanism is used to avoid transmission conflicts, when an RTS / CTS interaction or a CTS-to-self frame is the first frame of transmission, the duration field in the RTS frame, CTS frame, or CTS-to-self frame can be used to indicate the total duration of the transmission. That is, the duration field can be used to set the NAV timer to protect the channel.

[0089] NAV Update

[0090] In some embodiments, a STA can maintain two NAVs. The following uses the 802.11ax standard as an example to introduce the two NAVs maintained by a STA.

[0091] As an example, a non-AP high-efficiency STA (non-AP HE STA) can maintain two NAVs. As another example, a high-efficiency AP (HE AP) can maintain two NAVs.

[0092] In some embodiments, the two NAVs maintained by a STA can be referred to as the intra-BSS NAV and the basic NAV, respectively.

[0093] In some embodiments, when a STA receives a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU), the STA can update its NAV value based on the PPDU. For example, the NAV within a BSS can be updated using an intra-BSS PPDU. Alternatively, the basic NAV can be updated using an inter-BSS PPDU or a PPDU that cannot be classified as intra-BSS or inter-BSS.

[0094] For a HE STA (e.g., a non-AP HE STA or HE AP) that maintains two NAVs, if both NAV timer values ​​are 0, the virtual carrier sense indicator can be used to indicate that the transmission medium is idle; if at least one of the two NAV timer values ​​is non-zero, the virtual carrier sense indicator can be used to indicate that the transmission medium is busy.

[0095] Space reuse mechanism based on OBSS message detection

[0096] In some embodiments, the STA can use the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) method for channel access. When using the CSMA / CA method for channel access, the STA can use the CCA mechanism to detect whether the channel is idle (i.e., perform physical carrier sense).

[0097] Typically, the CCA (Computer-Aided Response) system can include two thresholds: a signal detect (SD) threshold and an energy detect (ED) threshold. The SD threshold indicates the minimum modulation and coding rate sensitivity required when using the lowest-order modulation and coding. In some embodiments, the SD threshold can be used to detect the presence of a preamble for a PPDU (e.g., an 802.11 PPDU) in the channel. In some embodiments, the SD threshold can be -82 dBm. The ED threshold can be used to detect the presence of interference in the channel, i.e., the presence of signals from other heterogeneous networks (e.g., Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens). In some embodiments, the ED threshold can be higher than the SD threshold, for example, 20 dBm higher. For example, with a SD threshold of -82 dBm, the ED threshold could be -62 dBm.

[0098] As one implementation, the STA can determine whether the channel is busy by comparing the received signal strength indication (RSSI) of the received signal with the signal detection threshold and the energy detection threshold of the CCA.

[0099] In the traditional EDCA contention mechanism, when an AP or STA detects a transmission signal (e.g., a PPDU preamble) from another AP or STA (regardless of whether they belong to the same BSS) on the current operating channel, that AP or STA will postpone its transmission until the channel is idle. In an environment with an OBSS, when using the EDCA mechanism for transmission, only one BSS's devices (AP and / or STA) can transmit within a certain period (e.g., one transmission opportunity), resulting in low transmission efficiency.

[0100] To address the aforementioned issues, IEEE 803.11ax introduced an OBSS packet detect-based spatial reuse (OBSS PD-based SR) mechanism. This mechanism can resolve co-channel OBSS interference by identifying unrelated BSS packets and adjusting its own transmit power, thereby achieving spatial reuse, improving the overall throughput of the current channel, and enhancing transmission efficiency.

[0101] As one implementation, the IEEE 802.11ax protocol adds a BSS coloring information to the HE-SIG-A field of the PPDU preamble to assist the STA (such as a HE STA) in identifying the BSS information of the received PPDU. This application does not limit the range of BSS color values; for example, the range of BSS color can be 1 to 63.

[0102] In some embodiments, if the BSS color indicated in the PPDU received by the STA is the same as the BSS color of the associated AP, then the PPDU is an intra-BSS PPDU for the STA; otherwise, the PPDU is an inter-BSS PPDU.

[0103] In some embodiments, if the PPDU received by the STA does not indicate the BSS color, or the STA cannot determine the BSS color indicated in the received PPDU, then the PPDU is an inter-BSS PPDU for the STA.

[0104] In some embodiments, when the RSSI value of the inter-BSS PPDU received by the STA is lower than the current value of OBSS message detection (OBSS_PD), the STA can ignore the interference of the PPDU on its own transmission and adjust its transmit power to a suitable value to transmit.

[0105] It should be noted that the value of OBSS_PD can be determined based on the signal detection threshold and energy detection threshold of the CCA. For example, the maximum value of OBSS_PD can be the energy detection threshold of the CCA, and the minimum value of OBSS_PD can be the signal detection threshold of the CCA.

[0106] Figure 5 illustrates an example of STA adjusting OBSS_PD and transmit power. As shown in Figure 5, the OBSS_PD value can vary between its maximum (typically -62dBm) and minimum (typically -82dBm) values. The STA can adaptively adjust the OBSS_PD value within this range and adjust its transmit power accordingly for transmission. For example, the STA can adaptively adjust the OBSS_PD value within the range of its maximum and minimum values, adjust its transmit power within a reference range, and then transmit based on the adjusted OBSS_PD value and transmit power.

[0107] Parameterized space reuse mechanism

[0108] In some embodiments, related technologies (such as IEEE 802.11ax) introduce a parameterized spatial multiplexing mechanism to improve transmission efficiency.

[0109] The parameterized spatial reuse mechanism is described below with reference to Figure 6. Referring to Figure 6, in the parameterized spatial reuse mechanism, after the AP obtains a transmission opportunity, the STA can trigger the OBSS to also transmit while the AP is receiving uplink data via a trigger frame. That is, the STA can transmit simultaneously with the AP via a trigger frame. For example, when certain conditions designed to avoid interfering with the receiver's reception of a PPDU that is currently being transmitted are met, the STA can initiate spatial reuse (SR) transmission during a parameterized spatial reuse (PSR) opportunity in the ongoing PPDU. The OBSS STA identifying the PSR opportunity should not transmit a parameterized spatial reuse transmission PPDU (PSRT PPDU) for longer than the duration of the trigger-based high-efficiency PPDU (HE TB PPDU) triggered by the trigger frame of the parameterized spatial reuse reception (PSRR PPDU).

[0110] Specifically, a PSRR PPDU can refer to a PPDU containing a trigger frame whose value in the Common Info field's uplink spatial reuse subfield is neither PSR_DISALLOW nor PSR_AND_NON_SRG_OBSS_PD_PROHIBITED. A PSRT PPDU can refer to a PPDU transmitted by the HE STA during a PSR opportunity when the PSR conditions for PSR-based spatial multiplexing operations are met and the SR PPDU subfield in the CAS control field is set to 1.

[0111] In some embodiments, to ensure that the transmission of OBSS devices utilizing parameterized spatial multiplexing opportunities does not affect the uplink reception of the AP itself, the trigger frame carried by the PSRR PPDU may include a PSR field so that the OBSS device can perform interference calculations. In some embodiments, the PSR field may include one or more of the following information: the maximum interference power that the AP can receive without affecting its uplink reception, the AP's own transmit power, etc.

[0112] In some embodiments, upon receiving the aforementioned PSRR PPDU, the OBSS device can measure the corresponding RSSI and, based on the information provided by the PSR field contained in the trigger frame carried in the PSRR PPDU, determine whether the transmission medium (or channel, medium, etc.) can be accessed and what transmit power to use for transmission.

[0113] Coordinated space reuse technology

[0114] In the previously mentioned OBSS PD-based SR and parameterized spatial reuse techniques, both require devices utilizing spatial reuse opportunities to reduce their transmit power to limit interference. Furthermore, the transmitting device using spatial reuse opportunities only adjusts based on its own interference, without considering the interference experienced by its receiving device, as the transmitting device is unaware of and cannot control the interference experienced by the receiving device. Therefore, in densely deployed scenarios, or scenarios where transmission failures or excessive channel access latency cannot be tolerated (e.g., when latency-sensitive data traffic needs to be transmitted), both techniques face challenges. Based on this, coordinated spatial reuse (C-SR) technology was proposed to optimize the above two techniques. C-SR technology can obtain more and more accurate OBSS interference information, enabling closer coordination with multiple APs to improve transmission efficiency.

[0115] In some embodiments, when using C-SR technology for transmission, the C-SR coordination phase may include two coordination phases: a multi-AP coordinated measurement phase and a multi-AP coordinated transmission phase. The two coordination phases included in C-SR technology are described below with reference to Figures 7 to 9.

[0116] Multiple APs can acquire OBSS interference information measured by each STA in each BSS through a coordinated measurement phase. Figure 7 shows an example of the process of the multi-AP coordinated measurement phase. As shown in Figure 7, during the coordinated measurement phase, AP 1 and AP 2 can send instruction messages to their respective associated STAs to instruct the STAs to perform OBSS information measurements, and receive the OBSS information measured by the STAs. For example, AP 1 can send instruction messages to STA 1 to instruct STA 1 to perform OBSS information measurements, and receive the OBSS information measured by STA 1; AP 2 can send instruction messages to STA 2 to instruct STA 2 to perform OBSS information measurements, and receive the OBSS information measured by STA 2.

[0117] During the multi-AP coordinated transmission phase, each AP can coordinate (or negotiate) with other APs to transmit simultaneously within its respective transmission opportunity. Figure 8 illustrates an example of the multi-AP coordinated measurement and coordinated transmission process. As shown in Figure 8, after multiple APs acquire OBSS interference information through the coordinated measurement phase, they can coordinate the transmission between each AP based on the acquired OBSS interference information. For example, during AP 1's transmission opportunity, AP 1 can coordinate AP 2 and AP 3 to transmit within AP 1's transmission opportunity; when AP 2's transmission opportunity arrives, AP 2 can coordinate AP 1 and AP 3 to transmit within AP 2's transmission opportunity, and so on.

[0118] As one possible implementation, coordinated transmission can be based on a request-response approach. For example, the initiating AP can send a coordination request to the coordinated AP, requesting the coordinated AP to participate in the coordinated transmission. Then, after receiving the coordination request, the coordinated AP can send a coordination response to the initiating AP to indicate its participation in this coordinated transmission. Subsequently, the initiating AP can send a coordination trigger frame to the coordinated AP to begin data transmission. Taking Figure 9 as an example, in the transmission opportunity of AP 1, AP 1, as the initiating AP, can send coordination requests to AP 2 and AP 3 and receive coordination responses from AP 2 and AP 3. Afterward, AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3 can begin data transmission based on the coordination trigger frame sent by AP 1.

[0119] C-TDMA mechanism

[0120] In environments with OBSS (Overhead Broadband System), when using the EDCA (Electronic Data Acquisition) mechanism for transmission, only one BSS (Access Point and / or STA) can transmit within a given time period (e.g., one transmission opportunity), causing delays in transmissions from other BSSs. To address this, related technologies have introduced C-TDMA (Concurrent Time-to-Depth DMA) to improve BSS transmission latency by sharing transmission opportunities among APs. It's important to note that the C-TDMA mechanism essentially performs channel access scheduling with a smaller time granularity (smaller than a single transmission opportunity) among multiple APs without increasing channel contention load.

[0121] In C-SR technology, OBSS devices may not be able to utilize spatial multiplexing opportunities because their maximum permissible transmit power may be insufficient to successfully transmit PPDUs to the receiver. The C-TDMA mechanism avoids this problem by separating the transmissions of individual OBSS devices in the time domain. Furthermore, C-TDMA can improve the transmission latency of OBSS devices. The C-TDMA mechanism will be described in more detail below with reference to Figure 10.

[0122] Once an AP (the sharing AP) acquires a transmission opportunity, it can share a portion of that time with another AP (the shared AP). The shared AP can then transmit with its associated STAs during the shared transmission time. After the shared transmission time expires, it returns the channel access right to the sharing AP. During the sharing AP's transmission opportunity, other APs that did not have a shared transmission opportunity postpone their channel access for that period.

[0123] As shown in Figure 10, after AP 2 (as a sharing AP) acquires a transmission opportunity, it can share a portion of that opportunity with AP 1 (as a shared AP). During this time, AP 3 (as an AP whose transmission opportunity is not shared, or other APs) needs to postpone its channel access. After the shared transmission timeout, AP 1 returns the channel access right to AP 2. AP 2, having regained control of the channel access, can then share a portion of its transmission opportunity (different from the portion shared with AP 1) with AP 3 (as a shared AP). In this way, AP 3 can transmit during the time shared by AP 1 to AP 3, while AP 1 (as an AP whose transmission opportunity is not shared, or other APs) needs to postpone its channel access during the same period.

[0124] As can be seen from the preceding description, various technologies have been introduced to improve transmission efficiency, but these technologies all have some problems.

[0125] Taking C-SR technology as an example, C-SR technology requires multiple APs to coordinate before transmission. The coordinating AP (the AP located at its own transmission opportunity) needs to perform relatively complex coordination calculations. Generally speaking, the coordinating AP needs to know the buffer status (i.e., transmission requirements) of other coordinated APs during or before coordination. If multiple APs coordinate once before each transmission, the coordination load is large. If multiple APs coordinate once and then transmit multiple times, they cannot adjust in time according to the transmission requirements of each coordinated AP, which is not conducive to the transmission of low-latency data (especially unpredictable low-latency data). In addition, C-SR technology requires strict PPDU alignment, so the time synchronization requirement is relatively high. Moreover, PPDU alignment may require padding. If the amount of data to be transmitted by each coordinated AP differs greatly, it will lead to more padding, resulting in a decrease in overall transmission efficiency.

[0126] Taking C-TDMA technology as an example, a sharing AP can only share a transmission opportunity with one shared AP at a time. Other APs whose transmission opportunities are not shared need to postpone channel access during their allotted opportunity, resulting in low channel utilization. As a possible implementation, if the sharing AP could share transmission opportunities with multiple shared APs at a time, the sharing AP would need to perform complex coordination calculations. For example, differences in the amount of data to be transmitted among the shared APs could make it difficult to determine the transmission duration shared with each shared AP. Furthermore, if the sharing AP shares transmission opportunities with multiple shared APs at a time, it also needs to handle situations where multiple shared APs return early, causing conflicts.

[0127] To address the aforementioned issues, embodiments of this application provide a communication method and a communication device to ensure that APs that are not sharing transmission opportunities can also transmit within the transmission opportunities shared by the sharing AP to the shared AP. This is beneficial for ensuring that multiple APs can transmit simultaneously with little or no interference, thereby improving channel utilization.

[0128] Before introducing the embodiments of this application, the application scenarios to which the embodiments of this application are applicable will be described by way of example.

[0129] In some embodiments, the present application embodiments can be applied to multi-AP scenarios, such as scenarios with three or more APs. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the present application embodiments can be applied to densely deployed multi-AP scenarios.

[0130] In some embodiments, the present application embodiments can be applied to scenarios with multiple BSSs, for example, scenarios with three or more BSSs. In some embodiments, when the present application embodiments are applied to scenarios with multiple BSSs, there may be overlap between some or all of the multiple BSSs. That is, in some embodiments, the present application embodiments can be applied to scenarios with OBSSs.

[0131] In some embodiments, in the application scenarios of this application, some APs, or some APs and STAs, or some STAs can be hidden nodes for each other, that is, some APs, or some APs and STAs, or some STAs cannot directly receive PPDUs or frames sent by each other.

[0132] In some embodiments, within the application scenarios of this application, some APs, or some APs and STAs, or some STAs can act as exposed nodes to each other. That is, some APs, or some APs and STAs, or some STAs can directly receive PPDUs or frames sent by each other. In some embodiments, the transmission between exposed nodes may interfere with each other, which may lead to frequent retransmission of data between nodes, thereby reducing channel utilization (or, in other words, reducing spectral efficiency).

[0133] For example, Figure 11 illustrates an application scenario to which this application embodiment applies. As shown in Figure 11, this application scenario may include four APs, identified as AP 1, AP 2, AP 3, and AP 4. In this example, AP 1, AP 3, and AP 4 are hidden nodes, meaning that AP 1, AP 3, and AP 4 cannot receive PPDUs sent by each other. Similarly, in this example, STA 3B and AP 1 are hidden nodes, STA 4B and AP 1 are hidden nodes, and so on. In this example, AP 2 is an exposed node relative to AP 1, AP 3, or AP 4. That is, when AP 2 transmits with its associated site, it may interfere with the transmissions of AP 1, AP 3, or AP 4 with their respective associated sites; or, when AP 1, AP 3, or AP 4 transmits with their respective associated sites, it may interfere with the transmissions of AP 2 with its associated site. This interference may lead to frequent retransmissions, resulting in reduced channel utilization.

[0134] The method embodiments of this application will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0135] Figure 12 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 12 is described from the perspective of the interaction between a first AP and a second AP. The first AP and the second AP can be, for example, the two APs in the scenario shown in Figure 11. For example, the first AP can be AP 3 or AP 4, and the second AP can be AP 2, etc. For ease of understanding, the first AP and the second AP will be described first below.

[0136] The second AP is an AP that can actively share its transmission opportunities. In other words, the second AP can act as a sharing AP. For example, the second AP can share its transmission opportunities with a shared AP.

[0137] In some embodiments, the second AP may share a portion of its transmission time with the shared AP. However, this application is not limited to this; in some embodiments, the second AP may also share its entire transmission time with the shared AP.

[0138] In some embodiments, the second AP may share a transmission opportunity with only one shared AP at a time. As an example, after acquiring a transmission opportunity, the second AP may share it with a third AP (a shared AP). After the third AP completes the transmission and returns control of the transmission opportunity to the second AP, the second AP may then share the transmission opportunity with a fourth AP (another shared AP).

[0139] In other words, although in the example above, the second AP can share the transmission opportunity with different shared APs (the third AP and the fourth AP), the transmission opportunity can only be shared with one shared AP at a time. For example, it can be shared with the third AP the first time and with the fourth AP the second time, but it cannot be shared with both the third AP and the fourth AP at the same time.

[0140] The first AP is an AP whose transmission opportunities are not shared with the second AP, but the first AP can still transmit within the transmission opportunities shared by the second AP. For example, after the second AP shares its transmission opportunities with the third AP (but not with the first AP), the first AP can still transmit within the transmission opportunities shared by the second AP to the third AP.

[0141] In some embodiments, the first AP and the second AP may share a channel (or transmission medium, medium, etc.), that is, the first AP and the second AP transmit on the same channel. In this case, the first AP can transmit on the channel shared by the second AP within the transmission opportunity shared by the second AP.

[0142] In some embodiments, the first AP may be an AP adjacent to the second AP, or in other words, the first AP may be an AP near the second AP. However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to this, as long as the first AP can transmit on the same channel as the second AP, and the first AP can utilize the transmission opportunities of the second AP to transmit.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first AP can be a hidden node of the third AP, or in other words, the first AP is a hidden node relative to the third AP. That is, the first AP cannot receive PPDUs sent by the third AP, or the first AP cannot receive frames sent by the third AP.

[0144] The method shown in Figure 12 may include steps S1210 and S1220, which are described below.

[0145] In step S1210, the first AP receives the first frame sent by the second AP.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first frame is used for the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0147] In some embodiments, the third AP can be any shared AP corresponding to the second AP.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first frame can be used to allow the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, which is a shared AP. That is, the first frame is used to instruct the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity only with the third AP, and not with the first AP.

[0149] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by the second AP to one or more APs. For example, the first frame may be broadcast by the second AP. In this way, one or more APs (e.g., a third AP, a first AP, etc.) can receive the first frame sent by the second AP.

[0150] In step S1220, the first AP performs a transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

[0151] In some embodiments, after receiving the first frame, the first AP can determine relevant information about the first transmission opportunity based on the information contained in the first frame, and perform transmission within the first transmission opportunity based on the relevant information of the first transmission opportunity. The details of the information contained in the first frame will be described later and will not be elaborated here.

[0152] In this embodiment, after the second AP shares a transmission opportunity with the third AP, the first AP can also transmit within that shared transmission opportunity. That is, even if the second AP does not share a transmission opportunity with the first AP, the first AP can still transmit within the transmission opportunity shared by the second AP. This helps ensure that multiple APs can transmit simultaneously with minimal or no interference, thereby facilitating one or more of the following: improved channel utilization, increased spectral efficiency, increased system throughput, and reduced transmission latency.

[0153] Compared with the C-TDMA mechanism, the embodiments of this application enable multiple APs with little or no interference to transmit simultaneously, thereby improving channel utilization.

[0154] Compared to the C-SR mechanism, the embodiments of this application can also achieve spatial reuse, improve system throughput, and eliminate the need for the coordinating AP and multiple coordinated APs to coordinate before each transmission. Furthermore, the embodiments of this application do not require the coordinating AP to perform complex coordination calculations. Moreover, in the embodiments of this application, each AP can achieve more timely scheduling based on its own buffer state, which is more conducive to the transmission of low-latency data (especially unpredictable low-latency data).

[0155] In some embodiments, the C-SR mechanism can be understood as a mechanism for achieving spatial multiplexing using centralized scheduling, meaning that coordinating APs requires centralized coordination of transmissions between multiple APs. Compared to the C-SR mechanism, the embodiments of this application can be understood as a distributed autonomous scheduling method. In these embodiments, each AP has greater autonomy and can better handle the transmission needs of low-latency data. Furthermore, the C-SR mechanism, using centralized scheduling, requires support for more EDCA parameters to achieve fairness in transmission among devices, while the distributed scheduling method used in these embodiments does not affect the fairness of transmission among devices.

[0156] In some embodiments, the transmission of the first AP within the first transmission opportunity is conditionally restricted. In other words, within the first transmission opportunity, the first AP can perform conditionally restricted transmissions with its associated site (such as the first site). This is because the first transmission opportunity is shared by the second AP to the third AP, and when the first AP transmits within the first transmission opportunity, the transmission of the first AP should not interfere with the related transmissions of the third AP and / or the second AP. For example, the transmission of the first AP should not interfere with the related transmissions of the third AP, and / or, the transmission of the first AP should not interfere with the related transmissions of the second AP. Alternatively, the transmissions between the first AP and its associated site and between the second AP and its associated site should not interfere with each other, and the transmissions between the first AP and its associated site and between the third AP and its associated site should not interfere with each other.

[0157] The first AP performs conditional transmissions within the first transmission opportunity, which helps to improve channel utilization while ensuring that the transmissions of the first AP and the third AP do not interfere with each other.

[0158] It should be noted that the site associated with an AP mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be understood as belonging to that AP. For example, a first site associated with a first AP can be understood as belonging to the first AP. Or, a site associated with a second AP can be understood as belonging to the second AP, etc. In some embodiments, a site associated with an AP can also be understood as a site belonging to the same BSS as the AP. For example, if the first AP and the first site belong to the same BSS, then the first site can be understood as a site associated with the first AP. In some embodiments, a site associated with an AP can also be understood as a site that can access the network through the AP. For example, if the first site can access the network through the first AP, then the first site can be understood as a site associated with the first AP.

[0159] This application does not limit the type of site associated with the AP. In some embodiments, the site associated with the AP may include a HE site. In some embodiments, the site associated with the AP may include an extremely high throughput (EHT) site. In some embodiments, the site associated with the AP may include both HE sites and EHT sites.

[0160] In some embodiments, the site associated with the AP mentioned in this application may also be referred to as or replaced with a site associated with the AP. For example, the first site associated with the first AP may be replaced with a first site associated with the first AP.

[0161] The following section provides a detailed description of the conditional transmission performed by the first AP within the first transmission opportunity.

[0162] In some embodiments, when the first AP transmits within the first transmission opportunity, it needs to consider one or more of the following issues: whether the site associated with the third AP will be interfered with by the transmission of the first AP; whether the site associated with the first AP will be interfered with by the transmission of the third AP; and whether the second AP can regain control of the first transmission opportunity in a timely manner after the third AP completes the transmission.

[0163] Whether the second AP can promptly regain control of the first transmission opportunity after the third AP completes its transmission can be understood as whether the second AP can promptly control the first transmission opportunity after the third AP completes its transmission. In some embodiments, the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity may be affected by one or more of the following factors: when the third AP sends a transmission completion indication frame to the second AP after completing its transmission, the transmitted transmission completion indication frame is interfered with by the first AP's transmission, causing the transmission completion indication frame to be unreceived by the second AP; the first AP's transmission causes channel congestion, preventing the second AP from notifying the first AP to end its transmission.

[0164] As an example, after the third AP completes its transmission, it sends a contention-free-end (CF-End) indication frame to the second AP to indicate that the third AP has finished transmitting. However, due to interference from the first AP's transmission, the CF-End indication frame sent by the third AP cannot be received by the second AP, thus preventing the second AP from controlling the first transmission opportunity in a timely manner.

[0165] As another example, after the third AP completes its transmission, it sends a CF-End indication frame to the second AP to indicate that the third AP has finished transmitting. Although the second AP receives the CF-End indication frame normally, the channel is busy because the first AP is transmitting within the first transmission opportunity. As a result, the second AP cannot notify the first AP to end the transmission, and thus the second AP cannot control the first transmission opportunity in a timely manner.

[0166] In some embodiments, the conditional transmission performed by the first AP within the first transmission opportunity can be understood as the first AP being able to transmit within the first transmission opportunity if a first condition is met.

[0167] In this application embodiment, the first condition may be associated with one or more factors. For example, the first condition may be associated with one or more of the following: whether the transmission of the first AP and the transmission of the second AP affect each other, whether the transmission of the first AP and the transmission of the third AP affect each other, and whether the transmission of the first AP affects the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity (i.e., whether the transmission of the first AP affects the second AP's regaining control over the first transmission opportunity).

[0168] In other words, the first condition can be associated with one or more of the following: whether the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the second AP, whether the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the third AP, whether the transmission of the second AP affects the transmission of the first AP, whether the transmission of the third AP affects the transmission of the first AP, and whether the transmission of the first AP affects the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

[0169] In some embodiments, the ability of the first AP to transmit within the first transmission opportunity when the first condition is met can be understood as the first AP being able to transmit within the first transmission opportunity when the transmission of the first AP does not affect the transmission of the second AP, and / or the transmission of the first AP does not affect the transmission of the third AP, and / or the transmission of the first AP does not affect the second AP's control of the first transmission opportunity.

[0170] For example, the first condition may include one or more of the following: the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP (e.g., the transmission between the second AP and its associated site), the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP, the transmission between the second AP and its associated site does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site, the transmission between the third AP and its associated site does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site, and the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity (i.e., the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's regaining of control over the first transmission opportunity).

[0171] The aforementioned first site is a site associated with the first AP. It should be noted that the first site can be any site associated with the first AP. That is, the sites associated with the first AP can include one or more, and the first site can be any one of the one or more sites associated with the first AP. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0172] In some embodiments, the conditional transmission performed by the first AP within the first transmission opportunity can be understood as the first AP being able to transmit within the first transmission opportunity if the second AP successfully shares the first transmission opportunity with the third AP. That is, in some embodiments, before the first AP can transmit within the first transmission opportunity, it needs to determine whether the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0173] In some embodiments, if the second AP fails to successfully share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the first AP cannot transmit within the first transmission opportunity.

[0174] This application does not limit the implementation method for determining whether the first transmission opportunity has been successfully shared. As one possible implementation, the first AP can determine whether the first transmission opportunity has been successfully shared by detecting whether the channel is idle. As another possible implementation, the second AP and / or the third AP can indicate to the first AP whether the first transmission opportunity has been successfully shared, etc.

[0175] The following section details how the first AP determines whether the first transmission opportunity can be successfully shared by detecting whether the channel is idle.

[0176] For example, whether the first transmission opportunity is successfully shared can be determined according to one or more of the following: the first AP detects whether the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is idle within a first duration; after the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects whether the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is idle within a first duration.

[0177] As an example, if the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is idle for a first duration, the first AP can determine that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0178] As another example, if the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is idle for a first period of time after receiving the first frame, the first AP can determine that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0179] As another example, if the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is busy during the first duration, the first AP can determine that the second AP did not successfully share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0180] As another example, if the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is busy during the first period of time after receiving the first frame, the first AP can determine that the second AP did not successfully share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first duration described above may be used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

[0182] In some embodiments, the first duration may be associated with one or more of the following: the duration of a CTS frame, a short inter-frame interval, the duration of a time slot, etc.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first duration can be obtained by summing the duration of the CTS frame, the short inter-frame interval, and the duration of a time slot.

[0184] As an example, the first duration mentioned above can be equal to the sum of the duration of the CTS frame, the short inter-frame interval, and the duration of the two time slots. Alternatively, the first duration can be obtained using the following formula (1). first =CTSxTime+sSIFSTime+2*aSlotTime (Formula 1)

[0185] Among them, T first The duration is indicated by CTSxTime, the duration of a CTS frame, aSIFSTime, and sSlotTime.

[0186] However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to this. As another example, the first duration mentioned above may also be equal to other values ​​such as the duration of the CTS frame, the sum of the short inter-frame interval and the duration of a time slot.

[0187] In some embodiments, the duration of the aforementioned short inter-frame interval and time slot can be a predefined duration, such as a duration predefined by the protocol.

[0188] In some embodiments, the duration of the CTS frame can be used to indicate the duration for which the third AP sends the CTS frame to the second AP. For example, the duration of the CTS frame can be used to indicate the estimated duration for the third AP to transmit a PPDU carrying a CTS frame at the lowest supported transmission rate or modulation and coding scheme.

[0189] This application does not limit the time at which the first AP begins detecting whether the channel is idle within a first duration. In some embodiments, after receiving the first frame, the first AP can immediately begin detecting whether the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is idle within the first duration. In some embodiments, after receiving the first frame for a period of time, the first AP can begin detecting whether the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP (or the third AP) is idle within the first duration.

[0190] This application embodiment does not limit the duration of the aforementioned time period, which can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs. For example, the duration of this time period can be related to the short frame interval. For instance, the duration of this time period can be equal to one short frame interval. Or, the duration of this time period can be equal to two short frame intervals, etc.

[0191] It should be understood that the reason why the first AP can determine whether the first transmission opportunity has been successfully shared by detecting whether the channel is idle is because if the first AP detects that the channel is idle for the first time period (because the first AP is a hidden node relative to the third AP and cannot receive the CTS frames sent by the third AP), it means that the first transmission opportunity has been successfully shared with the third AP. Otherwise, after the second AP fails to share, it should carry out a new downlink transmission, which will cause the channel to be busy.

[0192] In some embodiments, before transmitting within the first transmission opportunity, the first AP needs to compete for the right to use the first transmission opportunity. As another implementation, before transmitting within the first transmission opportunity, the first AP can compete for a second transmission opportunity.

[0193] In some embodiments, the second transmission opportunity is located within the first transmission opportunity. In some embodiments, the transmission duration of the second transmission opportunity is not greater than the transmission duration of the first transmission opportunity, that is, the transmission duration of the second transmission opportunity is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the first transmission opportunity.

[0194] This application does not limit the implementation method of the first AP competing for the second transmission opportunity. Several implementation methods of the first AP competing for the second transmission opportunity are described below.

[0195] Implementation Method 1: The first AP can compete for the second transmission opportunity using the EDCA mechanism. As one implementation, within the first transmission opportunity, the first AP can use control frames (e.g., RTS frames, first frames, etc.) to compete for the second transmission opportunity. In this case, stations associated with the first AP that interfere with the transmissions of the third AP and / or the second AP will not respond to the CTS because the NAV timer (e.g., the basic NAV timer) indicates that the virtual transmission medium is busy, while other stations associated with the first AP can respond to the CTS and thus compete for the second transmission opportunity.

[0196] Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assume the first AP is AP 3, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. The site associated with the first AP that interferes with the transmissions of the third AP and / or the second AP is STA 3A. Within the first transmission opportunity, AP 3 can use control frames to compete for the second transmission opportunity. In this case, STA 3A will not respond to the CTS because the NAV timer indicates that the virtual transmission medium is busy, while STA 3B can respond to the CTS.

[0197] Implementation Method 2: The first AP can compete for the second transmission opportunity using the OBSS PD-based SR mechanism. As one implementation, within the first transmission opportunity, the first AP can use control frames (e.g., RTS frames, first frames, etc.) to compete for the second transmission opportunity. In this case, stations associated with the first AP that interfere with the transmissions of the third AP and / or the second AP can send a CTS response using the OBSS PD-based SR mechanism based on the level of interference they experience. Simultaneously, other stations associated with the first AP can also respond to the CTS, thus competing for the second transmission opportunity.

[0198] Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assume the first AP is AP 3, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. The site associated with the first AP that interferes with the transmissions of the third AP and / or the second AP is STA 3A. Within the first transmission opportunity, AP 3 can use control frames to compete for the second transmission opportunity. In this case, STA 3A can send a CTS response using the OBSS PD-based SR mechanism based on the interference it experiences, and STA 3B can also respond to the CTS.

[0199] Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assume the first AP is AP 4, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. The site associated with the third AP that interferes with the transmission of the first AP is STA 1A. Within the first transmission opportunity, AP 4 can use the OBSS PD-based SR mechanism to compete for the second transmission opportunity using control frames, based on the interference it experiences.

[0200] Implementation Method 3: The first AP can exclude sites among one or more sites associated with it that conflict with the transmission of the third AP and / or the second AP before competing for the second transmission opportunity. As one implementation, within the first transmission opportunity, the first AP can exclude sites among its associated sites that conflict with the transmission of the third AP and / or the second AP when competing for the second transmission opportunity using control frames (e.g., RTS frames, first frames, etc.). In this case, if the first AP successfully competes for the second transmission opportunity, then within the second transmission opportunity, the first AP will only transmit with sites other than the conflicting site.

[0201] In some embodiments, implementation method 3 can be understood as a competition method in which the first AP actively excludes (actively filters) stations that conflict with the transmission of the third AP and / or the second AP.

[0202] Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assume the first AP is AP 3, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. The site associated with the first AP that interferes with the transmissions of the third AP and / or the second AP is STA 3A. During the first transmission opportunity, AP 3 excludes STA 3A when competing for the second transmission opportunity using control frames (e.g., RTS frames, first frames, etc.). In this case, if AP 3 successfully competes for the second transmission opportunity, then during the second transmission opportunity, AP 3 will only transmit with STA 3B and not with STA 3A.

[0203] Implementation Method 4: The first AP determines that the second transmission opportunity will be contested when the third AP and the second site associated with the third AP do not transmit. In some embodiments, the second site can be any one of one or more sites associated with the third AP. The transmission of the first AP may affect the transmission between the second site and the third AP, and / or the transmission between the second site and the third AP may affect the transmission of the first AP.

[0204] This application does not limit the implementation method of the first AP determining that the third AP and the second site will not transmit. As an example, the third AP can notify the first AP that it will not transmit with the second site. For example, the third AP can notify which associated sites it will not transmit with, so that the first AP can determine whether the third AP and the second site will transmit. As another example, the second AP can notify the first AP that the third AP and the second site will not transmit. For example, if the third AP and the first AP are hidden nodes, the third AP can notify the first AP through the second AP that it will not transmit with the second site.

[0205] When the first AP determines that the third AP and the second site will not transmit, the first AP can compete for the second transmission opportunity in one or more ways. As one possible implementation, the first AP can use implementation method 1 mentioned above (i.e., using the EDCA mechanism) to compete for the second transmission opportunity. As another possible implementation, the first AP can use implementation method 2 mentioned above (i.e., using the OBSS PD-based SR mechanism) to compete for the second transmission opportunity.

[0206] Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assume that the first AP is AP 4, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. The site associated with the third AP that interferes with the transmission of the first AP is STA 1A (i.e., the second site is STA 1A). Within the first transmission opportunity, if AP 4 is informed that AP 1 and STA 1A will not transmit within the first transmission opportunity, then AP 4 can compete for the second transmission opportunity, for example, by using the EDCA mechanism or the OBSS PD-based SR mechanism.

[0207] In some embodiments, if the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the third AP and its associated site (such as the second site), the first AP may not compete for the second transmission opportunity. Alternatively, if the transmission between the first AP and its associated site affects the transmission between the third AP and its associated site, the first AP may not compete for the second transmission opportunity.

[0208] Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assuming the first AP is AP 4, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1, the transmission of the first AP will interfere with the transmission of the third AP and STA 1A. In this case, within the first transmission opportunity, in order to avoid AP 4's transmission interfering with STA 1A's transmission, AP 4 can choose not to compete for the second transmission opportunity.

[0209] In some embodiments, if a site associated with the first AP (such as the first site) competes for the first transmission opportunity, the first AP may not respond to the site's competition to avoid interference with the transmissions of the second AP and / or the third AP after these sites acquire the first transmission opportunity. This is because, after these sites acquire the first transmission opportunity, it may be difficult for the second AP to regain control of the first transmission opportunity.

[0210] In some embodiments, the stations competing for the first transmission opportunity (such as the first station) may be stations that are hidden nodes relative to the second AP. In this case, after the second AP sends the first frame, these stations will not update their own NAV timers, thus competing for the first transmission opportunity. Taking the scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assuming the first AP is AP 3, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1, in the first transmission opportunity, the station associated with AP 3 (such as STA 3B) may compete for the first transmission opportunity. In this case, AP 3 may not respond to the competition of STA 3B. Still taking the scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assuming the first AP is AP 4, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1, in the first transmission opportunity, the station associated with AP 4 (such as STA 4A and / or STA 4B) may compete for the first transmission opportunity. In this case, AP 4 may not respond to the competition of STA 4A and / or STA 4B.

[0211] As mentioned earlier, the second AP can send a first frame to indicate the sharing of the first transmission opportunity with the third AP. The first frame will be described in detail below with reference to Figure 13.

[0212] In some embodiments, the first frame can be used to trigger a third AP to return a CTS frame. Therefore, in some embodiments, the first frame can also be referred to as or understood as the trigger frame; for example, the first frame can be an RTS frame or a multi-user request-to-send (MU-RTS) trigger frame.

[0213] In some embodiments, the first frame may contain first information, which may be used to indicate the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP.

[0214] In some embodiments, the aforementioned first information may be indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP. As an example, the first information may be indicated in the allocation duration field of the user information field corresponding to the third AP. Referring to Figure 13, the first information may be indicated in the allocation duration field of the user information (such as user information 1) field.

[0215] In some embodiments, the first frame may include a duration field, the value of which may be set to the sum of the duration of the first frame, the duration of an SIFS, and the duration of a CTS frame. Referring to Figure 13, the duration field may be included in the medium access control (MAC) frame header of the first frame, and the duration field may, for example, occupy 2 bytes (2 octets).

[0216] In some embodiments, the value of the duration field does not include the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. This is because if the value of the duration field includes the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP, then the site associated with the third AP (such as an HE site and / or an EHT site) will consider the virtual medium to be busy and will be unable to perform uplink transmission due to the setting of the NAV timer (such as the basic NAV timer).

[0217] In some embodiments, the first frame is broadcast by the first AP, or in other words, the first frame is sent by the first AP in a broadcast manner so that other APs (such as the first AP) and / or other sites besides the third AP can also receive the first frame. As one implementation, referring to Figure 13, the value of the receiving address (RA) field in the frame header of the first frame can be the broadcast MAC address.

[0218] However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to this. For example, in order for other APs and / or other sites to receive the first frame, the first frame may be multicast by the first AP, or in other words, the first frame may be sent by the first AP in the form of multicast.

[0219] In some embodiments, after receiving the first frame, the first AP can parse the first frame to determine whether the second AP is sharing a transmission opportunity among multiple APs. In some embodiments, the first AP can parse the first frame to determine that the second AP is sharing a first transmission opportunity with a third AP. For example, the first AP can determine that the first transmission opportunity is shared with the third AP by parsing the user information field in the first frame. In some embodiments, the first AP can parse the first frame to determine the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. For example, the first AP can determine the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP by parsing the allocation duration field in the user information field of the first frame.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first frame may include one or more of the following information: second information and third information. The second information may be used to indicate one or more APs capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the second information may be used to indicate one or more APs capable of competing for the transmission opportunity within the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The third information may be used to indicate one or more APs unable to compete for the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the third information may be used to indicate one or more APs unable to compete for the transmission opportunity within the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP.

[0221] As an example, the second AP can indicate one or more APs that are able to compete for the first transmission opportunity in the first frame.

[0222] As another example, the second AP can indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity in the first frame.

[0223] In some embodiments, the second AP may indicate second information and / or third information in the user information field of the first frame. However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to this; for example, the second AP may add a field to the first frame to indicate second information and / or third information.

[0224] This application does not limit the implementation of the indication of the second information and / or the third information. Several implementation methods are given below as examples.

[0225] As one possible implementation, the second AP can directly indicate the second information in the user information field of the first frame; that is, the user information field in the first frame can be used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity. For example, the user information field included in the first frame may include the user information field corresponding to the third AP and the user information fields corresponding to other APs besides the third AP. Each other AP's user information field in the first frame can indicate an AP that can compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0226] As another possible implementation, the second AP can directly indicate the third information in the user information field of the first frame. That is, the user information field of the first frame can be used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity. For example, the user information field included in the first frame may include the user information field corresponding to the third AP and the user information fields corresponding to the other APs besides the third AP. Each other AP's user information field in the first frame can indicate an AP that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0227] As another possible implementation, the second AP can indicate in the user information field of the first frame whether it can compete for the first transmission opportunity. That is, the user information field of the first frame can be used to indicate whether one or more APs can compete for the first transmission opportunity. For example, the user information field included in the first frame may include the user information field corresponding to the third AP and the user information fields corresponding to other APs besides the third AP. Each user information field corresponding to each other AP in the first frame can be used to indicate whether that AP can compete for the first transmission opportunity. For example, each user information field corresponding to each other AP in the first frame may include a field (e.g., an allowed transmission field) that can be used to indicate whether that AP can compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0228] This application does not limit the method of indicating APs. For example, APs can be indicated by one or more of the following: associated identifier (AID), multi-AP set identifier (M-AP Set ID), and coordinate AP identifier (C-AP ID).

[0229] As an example, an AP can be indicated by an AID. For instance, the user information field in the first frame can indicate an AID to indicate that the AP corresponding to that AID is eligible to compete for the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the user information field in the first frame can indicate an AID to indicate that the AP corresponding to that AID is not eligible to compete for the first transmission opportunity. Or, the user information field in the first frame can indicate an AID to indicate whether the AP corresponding to that AID is eligible to compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0230] As another example, the AP can be indicated by its AID and M-AP Set ID. For instance, the user information field in the first frame could indicate an AID and M-AP Set ID to indicate that the AP corresponding to that AID and M-AP Set ID is capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the user information field in the first frame could indicate an AID and M-AP Set ID to indicate that the AP corresponding to that AID and M-AP Set ID is not capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity. Or, the user information field in the first frame could indicate an AID and M-AP Set ID to indicate whether the AP corresponding to that AID and M-AP Set ID is capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity.

[0231] As another example, the AP can be indicated by its AID and C-AP ID. For instance, the user information field in the first frame could indicate an AID and C-AP ID to indicate that the AP corresponding to that AID and C-AP ID is eligible to compete for the first transmission opportunity. Alternatively, the user information field in the first frame could indicate an AID and C-AP ID to indicate that the AP corresponding to that AID and C-AP ID is not eligible to compete for the first transmission opportunity. Or, the user information field in the first frame could indicate an AID and C-AP ID to indicate whether the AP corresponding to that AID and C-AP ID is eligible to compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0232] As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the user information field corresponding to the third AP in the first frame can be used to indicate the first information (i.e., the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP). In some embodiments, to avoid the AP being unable to determine which AP the first transmission opportunity was shared by the second AP to, the first information indicated by the user information field corresponding to the third AP can be different from the first information indicated by the user information fields corresponding to other APs. Taking the first information as indicated by the allocation duration field in the user information field as an example, the value of the allocation duration field in the user information field corresponding to the third AP can be non-zero (for example, it can be the value of the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP), while the value of the allocation duration field in the user information field corresponding to other APs can be 0, to indicate that the first transmission opportunity (or transmission duration) is not shared with that other AP.

[0233] In some embodiments, the first frame may include indication information indicating a transmission opportunity sharing mode. As one implementation, referring to Figure 13, the first frame may include a transmission opportunity sharing mode field, where different values ​​can indicate different transmission opportunity sharing modes. For example, a value of 3 for this field could indicate that the transmission opportunity sharing mode corresponding to the first frame is sharing among multiple APs.

[0234] In some embodiments, if the second AP only allows the third AP to share the first transmission opportunity, the first frame may contain only one user information field. For example, the first frame may contain only one of the following user information fields: HE variant user Info field, EHT variant user Info field, ultra-high reliability (UHR) variant user Info field, or special user Info field.

[0235] In some embodiments, if the second AP only shares the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the first frame may contain multiple (e.g., two or more) user information fields. In this case, the user information field corresponding to the third AP may be different from the user information fields corresponding to other APs. For example, the allocation duration field in the user information field corresponding to the third AP may not be 0, while the allocation duration field in the user information fields corresponding to other APs may be 0.

[0236] In some embodiments, the user information field in the first frame may include an AID field to indicate the AP corresponding to the user information field. For example, if the second AP only shares the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the AID field in a user information field included in the first frame can be used to indicate the third AP.

[0237] This application does not limit the range of values ​​for the AID field in the user information field. For example, the value of the AID field can be within a predefined range (such as 1943 to 2007), and different AID values ​​can represent different APs.

[0238] In some embodiments, the second AP may pre-assign an AID value to each of its neighboring APs. In some embodiments, the second AP may also inform all neighboring APs about the mapping between AIDs and MAC addresses.

[0239] In some embodiments, the user information field in the first frame may include an M-AP Set ID field to indicate the identifier of a multi-AP set to which multiple APs (such as the first AP, the second AP, and the third AP) belong.

[0240] In some embodiments, the master control point of the multi-AP set (such as the second AP, the first AP, etc.) can pre-assign an AID value to each AP in the multi-AP set. In some embodiments, the master control point of the multi-AP set can also inform each AP in the multi-AP set about the correspondence between AID and MAC address.

[0241] In some embodiments, the user information field in the first frame may include a C-AP ID field to indicate the identifier of the coordinating AP (such as the second AP, the third AP, etc.) shared by the first AP, the second AP, and the third AP, or the identifier of the coordination set to which they belong.

[0242] In some embodiments, the coordinating AP may pre-assign an AID value to each of the coordinated APs. In some embodiments, the coordinating AP may also inform all the coordinated APs about the mapping between AIDs and MAC addresses.

[0243] In some embodiments, the first AP can determine whether to utilize the first transmission opportunity for transmission based on interference information before doing so. This will be described below with reference to Figure 14.

[0244] Figure 14 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in another embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 14 may include steps S1410 to S1430.

[0245] In step S1410, the first AP acquires fourth information. This fourth information can be used to indicate information about sites that are interfering with the transmissions of the first AP and / or the third AP.

[0246] In some embodiments, the fourth information is used to indicate information about a site associated with the first AP that may interfere with or be interfered with by the transmissions of the third AP. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the fourth information may be used to indicate information about a site associated with the third AP that may interfere with or be interfered with by the transmissions of the first AP.

[0247] As an example, the fourth information can be used to indicate information about a site that may be interfered with by the transmissions of a third AP, such as a site associated with the first AP. Taking the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, assume the first AP is AP 3, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. The transmissions of AP 1 may interfere with site STA 3A, which is associated with AP 3. In this case, the fourth information can be used to indicate information about STA 3A.

[0248] As another example, the fourth information can be used to indicate information about a site that may interfere with the transmission of the first AP. This site could be, for example, a site associated with the third AP. Continuing with the application scenario shown in Figure 11, assume the first AP is AP 4, the second AP is AP 2, and the third AP is AP 1. If the site STA 1A associated with AP 1 may interfere with the transmission of AP 4, the fourth information can be used to indicate information about STA 1A.

[0249] In some embodiments, the fourth information may include the OBSS information of the first AP. In some embodiments, information about sites that interfere with the transmissions of the first AP and / or the third AP can be determined based on the OBSS information of the first AP.

[0250] In some embodiments, the fourth information may include information monitored by the first AP (such as OBSS information). In some embodiments, the fourth information may include information monitored by a site associated with the first AP. In some embodiments, the fourth information may include both information monitored by the first AP and information monitored by a site associated with the first AP.

[0251] For example, in some embodiments, the fourth information may include one or more of the following: information about other APs that the first AP listens to, information about sites associated with other APs that the first AP listens to, information about other APs that one or more sites associated with the first AP listens to, and information about other sites that one or more sites associated with the first AP listens to.

[0252] In some embodiments, the information about other sites monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP may include one or more of the following: information about other sites associated with the first AP monitored by the one or more sites, and information about sites associated with other APs other than the first AP monitored by the one or more sites.

[0253] This application embodiment does not limit the information included in the fourth information. For example, the fourth information may include one or more of the following: AP identification information, AP signal reception quality related information, site identification information, and site signal reception quality related information.

[0254] As an example, the information about other APs monitored by the first AP may include the identification information of the other APs monitored by the first AP and / or signal reception quality-related information. As another example, the information about sites associated with other APs monitored by the first AP may include the identification information of the other sites monitored by the first AP and / or signal reception quality-related information. As yet another example, the information about other APs monitored by a site associated with the first AP may include the identification information of the other APs monitored by the site associated with the first AP and / or signal reception quality-related information. As yet another example, the information about other sites monitored by a site associated with the first AP may include the identification information of the other sites monitored by the site associated with the first AP and / or signal reception quality-related information.

[0255] This application does not limit the identification method of AP identification information and / or site identification information. For example, AP identification information and / or site identification information can be identified by one or more of the following: MAC address, AID, and non-associated identifier.

[0256] This application does not limit the way in which the signal reception quality information of the AP and / or the signal reception quality information of the site is indicated. For example, the signal reception quality information of the AP and / or the signal reception quality information of the site can be indicated by one or more of the following: RSSI, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR).

[0257] In some embodiments, the fourth information may include other information besides identification information and / or signal reception quality-related information, and this application embodiment is not limited in this regard. For example, the fourth information may also include information related to the BSS to which the monitored AP or site belongs, such as the BSS identification information.

[0258] In some embodiments, the first AP may save the fourth information after acquiring it. This application does not limit the method by which the first AP saves the fourth information. In some embodiments, the first AP may save one or more of the following information included in the fourth information: the AID of the monitoring AP or site, the MAC address of the monitored AP or site, the identifier of the BSS of the monitored AP or site, and the RSSI of the monitored AP or site. An example is given below with reference to Table 1, which uses the application scenario shown in Figure 11 as an example, where the first AP is AP 3.

[0259] Table 1

[0260] This application does not limit the implementation method of the first AP obtaining the fourth information. In some embodiments, the first AP obtaining the fourth information may mean that the first AP obtains the fourth information by monitoring other APs or a site associated with other APs. In some embodiments, the first AP obtaining the fourth information may mean that the first AP obtains the fourth information by requesting a site associated with the first AP (such as the first site). The process of the first AP requesting a site associated with the first AP to obtain the fourth information will be described in detail later, and will not be described in detail here.

[0261] In step S1420, the first AP receives the first frame sent by the second AP. This first frame can be used to indicate the first transmission opportunity shared by the second AP with the third AP.

[0262] The execution order of steps S1410 and S1420 is not limited in this embodiment. For example, step S1410 may be executed before step S1420, after step S1420, or simultaneously with step S1420.

[0263] For a brief description of step S1420, please refer to the previous description of step S1210. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0264] In step S1430, the first AP performs a transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

[0265] For a brief description of step S1430, please refer to the previous description of step S1220. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0266] As mentioned earlier, the first AP can request the site associated with the first AP to obtain the fourth information. The process of the first AP requesting the site associated with the first AP to obtain the fourth information will be described below with reference to Figure 15.

[0267] Figure 15 is a schematic flowchart of obtaining fourth information provided in an embodiment of this application. The method shown in Figure 15 may include steps S1510 and S1520.

[0268] In step S1510, the first AP sends a second frame to the first site. This second frame can be used to request fourth information.

[0269] The first site can be any site associated with the first AP. Taking AP 3 as shown in Figure 11 as an example, the first site can be STA 3A or STA 3B.

[0270] In some embodiments, if the fourth information includes the OBSS information of the first AP, the second frame may also be referred to as or understood as an OBSS information request frame.

[0271] This application does not limit the method by which the first AP sends the second frame. In some embodiments, the second frame may be sent by the first AP to the first site via unicast. In some embodiments, the second frame may be sent by the first AP to the first site via multicast. For example, the first AP may multicast the second frame to all sites associated with the first AP.

[0272] This application does not limit the information contained in the second frame. The following is an example of a possible implementation of the second frame with reference to Figure 16.

[0273] As shown in Figure 16, in some embodiments, the second frame can be a public action frame.

[0274] In some embodiments, the second frame may include a control field; for example, the action field in the second frame may include a control field. In some embodiments, the control field of the second frame may include multiple bits, which can be used to indicate different information. For example, the multiple bits included in the control field of the second frame may be used to indicate one or more of the following: whether to request the peer (receiving end) to report information about neighboring APs, whether to request the peer to report information about neighboring sites in the BSS where the first AP is located, whether to request the peer to report information about neighboring sites in the OBSS, whether the information requested from the peer includes signal reception quality-related information, etc. For example, the signal reception quality-related information indicated by the multiple bits included in the control field of the second frame may include one or more of the following: whether the information requested from the peer includes RSSI, whether the information requested from the peer includes SINR, whether the information requested from the peer includes SNR, etc.

[0275] In step S1520, the first station sends a response frame of the second frame to the first AP.

[0276] In some embodiments, the response frame may contain fourth information. For example, the response frame may contain information about other APs that the first site is listening to, and / or information about other sites that the first site is listening to.

[0277] In some embodiments, if the fourth information includes the OBSS information of the first AP, the response frame of the second frame may also be referred to as or understood as the OBSS information response frame.

[0278] In some embodiments, the response frame of the second frame may be sent by the first site to the first AP in the form of unicast.

[0279] This application embodiment does not limit the information contained in the response frame of the second frame. The following, with reference to FIG17, provides an example of a possible implementation of the response frame of the second frame.

[0280] As shown in Figure 17, in some embodiments, the response frame of the second frame can be a common action frame.

[0281] In some embodiments, the response frame of the second frame may include a status code field.

[0282] In some embodiments, the response frame of the second frame may include one or more OBSS information elements.

[0283] In some embodiments, if the status code field in the response frame of the second frame indicates success, the response frame of the second frame may include one or more OBSS information elements. In some embodiments, if the status code field in the response frame of the second frame indicates failure, the response frame of the second frame may not include OBSS information elements.

[0284] In some embodiments, the response frame of the second frame may include a control field; for example, the OBSS information element field in the response frame of the second frame may include a control field. In some embodiments, the control field of the response frame of the second frame may be used to indicate whether the information reported by the first station contains signal reception quality-related information.

[0285] In some embodiments, the control field of the response frame of the second frame may include multiple bits that can be used to indicate different information. For example, the multiple bits included in the control field of the response frame may be used to indicate one or more of the following: whether the reported information contains RSSI, whether the reported information contains SINR, whether the reported information contains SNR, etc.

[0286] In some embodiments, the OBSS information element of the response frame of the second frame may include a MAC field, which may be used to indicate the MAC address information of the AP and / or the site being monitored by the first site.

[0287] In some embodiments, the OBSS information element of the response frame of the second frame may include a BSSID field, which may be used to indicate the BSSID of the AP and / or the BSS to which the first site belongs.

[0288] In some embodiments, the OBSS information element of the response frame of the second frame may include one or more of an RSSI field, an SNR field, and a SINR field. The RSSI field can be used to indicate the RSSI of the AP or PPDU received by the first site. The SNR field can be used to indicate the SNR of the AP or PPDU received by the first site. The SINR field can be used to indicate the SINR of the AP or PPDU received by the first site.

[0289] In some embodiments, the first AP may periodically or irregularly repeat the process of obtaining the fourth information shown in FIG15 to update the fourth information.

[0290] In some embodiments, the first AP can obtain the fourth information by adopting the process of obtaining OBSS information when multiple APs coordinate measurements in the C-SR mechanism. That is, in some embodiments, the process of the first AP obtaining the fourth information from the first site can be a process in which the coordinating AP coordinates measurements of multiple APs, and the sites associated with the multiple APs report the measurement results. For example, the process of the first AP obtaining the fourth information from the first site can be referred to the process of obtaining OBSS information shown in Figure 7 above.

[0291] This application does not limit the coordinating AP. In some embodiments, the coordinating AP may be a second AP (i.e., a sharing AP). In some embodiments, the coordinating AP may be a first AP (i.e., the AP competing for the first transmission opportunity). In some embodiments, the coordinating AP may be a third AP (i.e., a shared AP). In some embodiments, the coordinating AP may also be an AP other than the first AP, the second AP, and the third AP.

[0292] In some embodiments, the measurement results reported by the sites associated with the aforementioned multiple APs may carry fourth information, such as information about the APs and / or sites monitored by the first site.

[0293] In some embodiments, when the first AP and the first station interact, after the peer receives a frame sent by the sender, it may return an acknowledgment frame to the sender to indicate that it has correctly received the frame sent by the sender. For example, continuing to refer to FIG15, in some embodiments, the method shown in FIG15 may further include steps S1515 and S1525.

[0294] In step S1515, the first station sends an acknowledgment frame to the first AP to indicate that the first station has correctly received the second frame sent by the first AP.

[0295] In step S1525, the first AP sends an acknowledgment frame to the first station to indicate that the first AP has correctly received the response frame of the second frame sent by the first station.

[0296] The following is an exemplary description of the transmission process between multiple APs in the embodiments of this application.

[0297] As shown in Figure 18, after the second AP successfully shares the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the third AP can transmit within the transmission duration shared by the second AP. Simultaneously, the first AP can also transmit within the transmission duration shared by the second AP and the third AP. Typically, during the transmission duration successfully shared by the second AP and the third AP, the third AP can transmit with its associated station until the shared transmission duration ends. Afterwards, the second AP can use the remaining duration of the first transmission opportunity to transmit after a period of time following the end of the shared transmission duration (such as the priority interframe space (PIFS)). In this case, it can be considered that the first transmission opportunity is normally returned to the second AP, or in other words, the second AP normally regains control of the first transmission opportunity.

[0298] In some embodiments, the transmission between the third AP and its associated site may terminate prematurely, or the transmission between the third AP and its associated site may have ended before the transmission timeout period shared by the second AP to the third AP expires. In this case, the third AP may send an indication frame (such as a CF-End frame) to the second AP to indicate that the first transmission opportunity should be returned to the second AP early.

[0299] In some embodiments, after the third AP sends the aforementioned indication frame to the second AP, the second AP may fail to successfully receive the indication frame sent by the third AP. For example, the transmission between the first AP and its associated site may interfere with the second AP's reception of the indication frame sent by the third AP, causing the second AP to fail to receive the indication frame sent by the third AP. In this case, as shown in FIG19, the second AP may need to wait for the transmission time shared by the second AP to the third AP to time out before normally using the remaining time of its first transmission opportunity to transmit.

[0300] In some embodiments, after the third AP sends the aforementioned indication frame to the second AP, the second AP can successfully receive the indication frame sent by the third AP. Then, the second AP can send a third frame to the first AP to instruct the first AP to terminate its transmission.

[0301] The implementation of the third frame in this application is not limited. In some embodiments, the third frame may be, for example, a CTS-to-self frame. In some embodiments, the third frame may also be a frame other than a CTS-to-self frame; for example, the third frame may be an RTS frame to request the first AP to end its transmission.

[0302] In some embodiments, after receiving the indication frame sent by the third AP, the second AP may wait for a period of time (e.g., PIFS) before sending the third frame. However, the embodiments of this application are not limited to this; for example, the second AP may send the third frame immediately after receiving the indication frame sent by the third AP.

[0303] In some embodiments, after receiving the third frame sent by the second AP, the first AP may terminate (or end) the transmission of the first AP as soon as possible, so as to ensure that the second AP can regain control of the first transmission opportunity as soon as possible.

[0304] As one implementation, if the first AP detects at least one transmission collision or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity, the first AP terminates its transmission. For example, if the first AP detects any one transmission collision or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity, the first AP terminates its transmission. In this way, the second AP can regain control of the first transmission opportunity as quickly as possible.

[0305] In some embodiments, after the second AP sends a third frame to the first AP, various situations may occur. However, regardless of the situation, the first AP will terminate its own transmission as soon as possible so that the second AP can regain control of the first transmission opportunity as quickly as possible. The following description, in conjunction with Figures 20 to 22, illustrates possible scenarios after the second AP sends a third frame to the first AP.

[0306] As shown in Figure 20, after the second AP sends the third frame to the first AP, the first AP may be waiting for uplink transmission from its associated site. In this case, if the first AP detects any transmission collision or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity, it will terminate its own transmission to end the transmission as quickly as possible.

[0307] As shown in Figure 21, after the second AP sends the third frame to the first AP, the first AP may be in SIFS preparing for downlink transmission. In this case, if the first AP detects any transmission collision or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity, the first AP will terminate its transmission to end the transmission as quickly as possible.

[0308] As shown in Figure 22, after the second AP sends the third frame to the first AP, the first AP may start downlink transmission at the same time. In this case, if the first AP detects any transmission collision or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity, the first AP will terminate its transmission to end the transmission as quickly as possible.

[0309] The method embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 22. The apparatus embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to Figures 23 to 26. It should be understood that the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments; therefore, any parts not described in detail can be referred to the foregoing method embodiments.

[0310] Figure 23 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 2300 shown in Figure 23 can be any of the first APs mentioned above. The communication device 2300 may include a receiving module 2310 and a transmitting module 2320.

[0311] The receiving module 2310 can be used to receive a first frame sent by the second AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0312] The transmission module 2320 can be used to perform transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

[0313] Optionally, the transmission module is configured to: perform transmission within the first transmission opportunity if a first condition is met; wherein the first condition is associated with one or more of the following: whether the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP; whether the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affects the transmission of the first AP; whether the transmission of the first AP affects the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

[0314] Optionally, the first condition includes one or more of the following: the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; the transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; the transmission between the third AP and the site associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control of the first transmission opportunity; wherein, the first site is a site associated with the first AP.

[0315] Optionally, the transmission module is configured to: perform transmission within the first transmission opportunity if it is determined that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0316] Optionally, the first transmission opportunity sharing is successfully determined based on one or more of the following: the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle for a first duration; the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle for a first duration after receiving the first frame for a period of time; wherein the first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

[0317] Optionally, the first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

[0318] Optionally, the communication device further includes: a first competition module for competing for a second transmission opportunity, the second transmission opportunity being located within the first transmission opportunity.

[0319] Optionally, the second transmission opportunity is obtained based on one or more of the following competition methods: competition using an enhanced distributed channel access mechanism; competition using a spatial multiplexing mechanism based on Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS) message detection; competition after excluding one or more sites associated with the first AP that conflict with the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP; competition when it is determined that the third AP and the second site associated with the third AP are not transmitting, wherein the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the third AP and the second site, or the transmission of the third AP and the second site affects the transmission of the first AP.

[0320] Optionally, the communication device further includes a second contention module, configured to not compete for a second transmission opportunity if the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the third AP and the site associated with the third AP, wherein the second transmission opportunity is located within the first transmission opportunity.

[0321] Optionally, the communication device further includes a response module, configured to not respond to the contention of the first site if the first site associated with the first AP competes for the first transmission opportunity.

[0322] Optionally, the first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP, and the first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

[0323] Optionally, the first frame includes one or more of the following information: second information indicating one or more APs capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity; and third information indicating one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0324] Optionally, the second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

[0325] Optionally, the first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

[0326] Optionally, the communication device further includes: an acquisition module for acquiring fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate information about a site that interferes with the transmission of the first AP and / or the third AP.

[0327] Optionally, the fourth information includes the OBSS information of the first AP.

[0328] Optionally, the fourth information includes one or more of the following: information about other APs monitored by the first AP; information about sites associated with other APs monitored by the first AP; information about other APs monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP; and information about other sites monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP.

[0329] Optionally, the fourth information includes one or more of the following: AP identification information; AP signal reception quality related information; site identification information; site signal reception quality related information.

[0330] Optionally, the acquisition module is configured to: send a second frame to a first station, the second frame being used to request the fourth information; receive a response frame of the second frame sent by the first station, the response frame containing the fourth information; wherein the first station is a station associated with the first AP.

[0331] Optionally, the communication device further includes: a receiving module for receiving a third frame sent by the second AP, the third frame being used to instruct the first AP to terminate the transmission of the first AP; and a termination module for terminating the transmission of the first AP if the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

[0332] Figure 24 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 2400 shown in Figure 24 can be any of the second APs described above. The communication device 2400 may include a first transmitting module 2410.

[0333] The first sending module 2410 can be used to send a first frame to a first AP. The first frame is used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP. The first transmission opportunity can be used by the third AP and the first AP to transmit.

[0334] Optionally, if a first condition is met, the first transmission opportunity can be used by the first AP for transmission; wherein the first condition is associated with one or more of the following: whether the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP; whether the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affects the transmission of the first AP; whether the transmission of the first AP affects the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

[0335] Optionally, the first condition includes one or more of the following: the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; the transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; the transmission between the third AP and the site associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control of the first transmission opportunity; wherein, the first site is a site associated with the first AP.

[0336] Optionally, the transmission by the first AP within the first transmission opportunity is performed after determining that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0337] Optionally, the first transmission opportunity sharing is successfully determined based on one or more of the following: the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle for a first duration; the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle for a first duration after receiving the first frame for a period of time; wherein the first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

[0338] Optionally, the first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

[0339] Optionally, the first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP, and the first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

[0340] Optionally, the first frame includes one or more of the following information: second information indicating one or more APs capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity; and third information indicating one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0341] Optionally, the second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

[0342] Optionally, the first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

[0343] Optionally, the communication device further includes: a second transmitting module 2420, configured to transmit a third frame to the first AP, the third frame being configured to instruct the first AP to terminate its transmission; wherein the transmission of the first AP terminates when the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

[0344] Figure 25 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. The communication device 2500 shown in Figure 25 can be any of the sites associated with the first AP described above, such as the first site described above. The communication device 2500 may include a transmission module 2510.

[0345] The transmission module 2510 can be used to transmit with a first access point (AP) within a first transmission opportunity; wherein, the first site is a site associated with the first AP, and the first transmission opportunity is obtained by the first AP from a first frame sent by the second AP, the first frame being used by the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with a third AP.

[0346] Optionally, the transmission module is configured to: transmit with the first AP within the first transmission opportunity when a first condition is met; wherein the first condition is associated with one or more of the following: whether the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP; whether the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affects the transmission of the first AP; and whether the transmission of the first AP affects the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

[0347] Optionally, the first condition includes one or more of the following: the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; the transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; the transmission between the third AP and the site associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; and the transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

[0348] Optionally, the transmission module is configured to: transmit with the first AP within the first transmission opportunity if it is determined that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

[0349] Optionally, the first transmission opportunity sharing is successfully determined based on one or more of the following: the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle for a first duration; the first AP detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle for a first duration after receiving the first frame for a period of time; wherein the first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

[0350] Optionally, the first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

[0351] Optionally, the first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP, and the first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

[0352] Optionally, the first frame includes one or more of the following information: second information indicating one or more APs capable of competing for the first transmission opportunity; and third information indicating one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

[0353] Optionally, the second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

[0354] Optionally, the first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

[0355] Optionally, the communication device further includes: a receiving module 2520, configured to receive a second frame sent by the first AP, the second frame being used to request fourth information; and a sending module 2530, configured to send a response frame of the second frame to the first AP, the response frame containing the fourth information; wherein the fourth information is used to indicate information about a station that interferes with the transmission of the first AP and / or the third AP.

[0356] Optionally, the fourth information includes the OBSS information of the first AP.

[0357] Optionally, the fourth information includes one or more of the following: information about other APs monitored by the first AP; information about sites associated with other APs monitored by the first AP; information about other APs monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP; and information about other sites monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP.

[0358] Optionally, the fourth information includes one or more of the following: AP identification information; AP signal reception quality related information; site identification information; site signal reception quality related information.

[0359] Optionally, the transmission between the first station and the first AP is terminated when the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

[0360] Figure 26 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of this application. The dashed lines in Figure 26 indicate that the unit or module is optional. The apparatus 2600 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. The apparatus 2600 can be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0361] Apparatus 2600 may include one or more processors 2610. The processor 2610 may support apparatus 2600 in implementing the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The processor 2610 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 other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0362] The apparatus 2600 may further include one or more memories 2620. The memories 2620 store a program that can be executed by the processor 2610, causing the processor 2610 to perform the methods described in the preceding method embodiments. The memories 2620 may be independent of the processor 2610 or integrated within the processor 2610.

[0363] The device 2600 may also include a transceiver 2630. The processor 2610 can communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 2630. For example, the processor 2610 can send and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 2630.

[0364] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. This computer-readable storage medium can be applied to a terminal or network device provided in this application, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal or network device in various embodiments of this application.

[0365] This 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 this application embodiment, and the program causes a computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal or network device in various embodiments of this application.

[0366] This application also provides a computer program. This computer program can be applied to the terminal or network device provided in this application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the methods performed by the terminal or network device in various embodiments of this application.

[0367] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the terminology used in this application is only for explaining specific embodiments of the application and is not intended to limit the application. The terms "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0368] In the embodiments of this application, the term "instruction" can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being able to obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, so B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that there is a relationship between A and B.

[0369] In the embodiments of this application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean that B is determined solely based on A; B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0370] In the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" can indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or an association between two things, or a relationship such as instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured.

[0371] In this application embodiment, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0372] In this application embodiment, the "protocol" may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communication, such as the LTE protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0373] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0374] In the embodiments of this application, "comprising" can refer to direct inclusion or indirect inclusion. Optionally, "comprising" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be replaced with "indicating" or "used to determine". For example, "A includes B" can be replaced with "A indicates B" or "A is used to determine B".

[0375] In the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply 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 this application.

[0376] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0377] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. 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 the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0378] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0379] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. 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. 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 wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can read or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs, DVDs) or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks, SSDs), etc.

[0380] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The first access point (AP) receives a first frame sent by the second AP. The first frame is used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with the third AP. The first AP performs transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first AP performs transmissions within the first transmission opportunity, including: If the first condition is met, the first AP will transmit within the first transmission opportunity; The first condition is associated with one or more of the following: Does the transmission of the first AP affect the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP? Does the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affect the transmission of the first AP? Does the transmission of the first AP affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity? 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first condition includes one or more of the following: The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; The transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; The transmission between the third AP and the station associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first station; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity; The first site is a site associated with the first AP.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first AP performs transmissions within the first transmission opportunity, including: If it is determined that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the first AP shall transmit within the first transmission opportunity.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first transmission opportunity is determined to be successfully shared based on one or more of the following: The first AP detected that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP was idle for a first duration; After the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle during the first time period; The first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Before the first AP performs a transmission within the first transmission opportunity, the method further includes: The first AP competes for a second transmission opportunity, which is located within the first transmission opportunity.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second transmission opportunity is obtained based on competition in one or more of the following ways: Competition is achieved using an enhanced distributed channel access mechanism. Competition is achieved by utilizing a spatial reuse mechanism based on OBSS message detection of overlapping basic service sets. After excluding one or more sites associated with the first AP that conflict with the transmissions of the second AP and / or the third AP, the competition is eliminated; When it is determined that the third AP and the second site associated with the third AP are not competing for transmission, wherein the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission between the third AP and the second site, or the transmission between the third AP and the second site affects the transmission of the first AP.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the third AP and the site associated with the third AP, then the first AP does not compete for the second transmission opportunity, which is located within the first transmission opportunity.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first site associated with the first AP competes for the first transmission opportunity, the first AP does not respond to the competition from the first site.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The first frame contains one or more of the following information: The second information is used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity; The third piece of information is used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first AP acquires fourth information, which is used to indicate information about stations that interfere with the transmission of the first AP and / or the third AP.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The fourth piece of information includes the OBSS information of the first AP.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: Information about other APs that the first AP is monitoring; The information about sites associated with other APs that the first AP listens to; Information about other APs monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP; Information about other sites that one or more sites associated with the first AP are listening to.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: AP identification information; AP signal reception quality related information; Site identification information; Information related to the signal reception quality of the site.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15-18, characterized in that, The first AP obtains the fourth information, including: The first AP sends a second frame to the first site, the second frame being used to request the fourth information; The first AP receives a response frame from the first site for the second frame, the response frame containing the fourth information; The first site is a site associated with the first AP.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first AP receives a third frame sent by the second AP, the third frame being used to instruct the first AP to terminate its transmission; If the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity, the first AP terminates the transmission.

21. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The second access point (AP) sends a first frame to the first AP. The first frame is used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with the third AP. The first transmission opportunity can be used by the third AP and the first AP to transmit.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, If the first condition is met, the first transmission opportunity can be used by the first AP for transmission; The first condition is associated with one or more of the following: Does the transmission of the first AP affect the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP? Does the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affect the transmission of the first AP? Does the transmission of the first AP affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity? 23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The first condition includes one or more of the following: The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; The transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; The transmission between the third AP and the station associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first station; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity; The first site is a site associated with the first AP.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21-23, characterized in that, The transmission by the first AP within the first transmission opportunity is performed after determining that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The first transmission opportunity is determined to be successfully shared based on one or more of the following: The first AP detected that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP was idle for a first duration; After the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle during the first time period; The first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

27. The method according to any one of claims 21-26, characterized in that, The first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21-27, characterized in that, The first frame contains one or more of the following information: The second information is used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity; The third piece of information is used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

30. The method according to any one of claims 21-29, characterized in that, The first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

31. The method according to any one of claims 21-30, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second AP sends a third frame to the first AP, the third frame being used to instruct the first AP to terminate its transmission; The transmission of the first AP is terminated when the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

32. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The first site and the first access point (AP) transmit data within the first transmission opportunity; Wherein, the first site is a site associated with the first AP, and the first transmission opportunity is obtained by the first AP from a first frame sent by the second AP. The first frame is used by the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The first site and the first AP transmit data during the first transmission opportunity, including: If the first condition is met, the first station and the first AP will transmit within the first transmission opportunity. The first condition is associated with one or more of the following: Does the transmission of the first AP affect the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP? Does the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affect the transmission of the first AP? Does the transmission of the first AP affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity? 34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The first condition includes one or more of the following: The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; The transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; The transmission between the third AP and the station associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first station; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

35. The method according to any one of claims 32-34, characterized in that, The first site and the first AP transmit data during the first transmission opportunity, including: If it is determined that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the first site and the first AP shall transmit within the first transmission opportunity.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that, The first transmission opportunity is determined to be successfully shared based on one or more of the following: The first AP detected that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP was idle for a first duration; After the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle during the first time period; The first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, The first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

38. The method according to any one of claims 32-37, characterized in that, The first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

39. The method according to any one of claims 32-38, characterized in that, The first frame contains one or more of the following information: The second information is used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity; The third piece of information is used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

41. The method according to any one of claims 32-40, characterized in that, The first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

42. The method according to any one of claims 32-41, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first station receives a second frame sent by the first AP, the second frame being used to request fourth information; The first station sends a response frame of the second frame to the first AP, the response frame containing the fourth information; The fourth information is used to indicate information about the stations that interfere with the transmission of the first AP and / or the third AP.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, The fourth piece of information includes the OBSS information of the first AP.

44. The method according to claim 42 or 43, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: Information about other APs that the first AP is monitoring; The information about sites associated with other APs that the first AP listens to; Information about other APs monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP; Information about other sites that one or more sites associated with the first AP are listening to.

45. The method according to any one of claims 42-44, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: AP identification information; AP signal reception quality related information; Site identification information; Information related to the signal reception quality of the site.

46. ​​The method according to any one of claims 32-45, characterized in that, The transmission between the first station and the first AP terminates when the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

47. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first access point (AP), and the communication device includes: The receiving module is used to receive the first frame sent by the second AP, and the first frame is used by the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP; A transmission module is used to perform transmission within the first transmission opportunity.

48. The communication device according to claim 47, characterized in that, The transmission module is used for: If the first condition is met, the transmission shall be performed within the first transmission opportunity; The first condition is associated with one or more of the following: Does the transmission of the first AP affect the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP? Does the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affect the transmission of the first AP? Does the transmission of the first AP affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity? 49. The communication device according to claim 48, characterized in that, The first condition includes one or more of the following: The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; The transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; The transmission between the third AP and the station associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first station; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity; The first site is a site associated with the first AP.

50. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-49, characterized in that, The transmission module is used for: If it is determined that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, the transmission shall be performed within the first transmission opportunity.

51. The communication device according to claim 50, characterized in that, The first transmission opportunity is determined to be successfully shared based on one or more of the following: The first AP detected that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP was idle for a first duration; After the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle during the first time period; The first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

52. The communication device according to claim 51, characterized in that, The first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

53. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-52, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: The first competition module is used to compete for a second transmission opportunity, which is located within the first transmission opportunity.

54. The communication device according to claim 53, characterized in that, The second transmission opportunity is obtained based on competition in one or more of the following ways: Competition is achieved using an enhanced distributed channel access mechanism. Competition is achieved by utilizing a spatial reuse mechanism based on OBSS message detection of overlapping basic service sets. After excluding one or more sites associated with the first AP that conflict with the transmissions of the second AP and / or the third AP, the competition is eliminated; When it is determined that the third AP and the second site associated with the third AP are not competing for transmission, wherein the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission between the third AP and the second site, or the transmission between the third AP and the second site affects the transmission of the first AP.

55. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-52, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: The second contention module is configured to not compete for a second transmission opportunity if the transmission of the first AP affects the transmission of the third AP and the site associated with the third AP, wherein the second transmission opportunity is located within the first transmission opportunity.

56. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-55, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: The response module is configured to not respond to the contention of the first site if the first site associated with the first AP competes for the first transmission opportunity.

57. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-56, characterized in that, The first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

58. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-57, characterized in that, The first frame contains one or more of the following information: The second information is used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity; The third piece of information is used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

59. The communication device according to claim 58, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

60. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-59, characterized in that, The first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

61. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-60, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: An acquisition module is used to acquire fourth information, which is used to indicate information about stations that interfere with the transmission of the first AP and / or the third AP.

62. The communication device according to claim 61, characterized in that, The fourth piece of information includes the OBSS information of the first AP.

63. The communication device according to claim 61 or 62, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: Information about other APs that the first AP is monitoring; The information about sites associated with other APs that the first AP listens to; Information about other APs monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP; Information about other sites that one or more sites associated with the first AP are listening to.

64. The communication device according to any one of claims 61-63, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: AP identification information; AP signal reception quality related information; Site identification information; Information related to the signal reception quality of the site.

65. The communication device according to any one of claims 61-64, characterized in that, The acquisition module is used for: A second frame is sent to the first station, the second frame being used to request the fourth information; A response frame is received from the first station for the second frame, the response frame containing the fourth information; The first site is a site associated with the first AP.

66. The communication device according to any one of claims 47-65, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: A receiving module is configured to receive a third frame sent by the second AP, the third frame being used to instruct the first AP to terminate its transmission; The termination module is used to terminate the transmission of the first AP if the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

67. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a second access point (AP), and the communication device includes: The first sending module is used to send a first frame to a first AP. The first frame is used by the second AP to share a first transmission opportunity with a third AP. The first transmission opportunity can be used by the third AP and the first AP to transmit.

68. The communication device according to claim 67, characterized in that, If the first condition is met, the first transmission opportunity can be used by the first AP for transmission; The first condition is associated with one or more of the following: Does the transmission of the first AP affect the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP? Does the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affect the transmission of the first AP? Does the transmission of the first AP affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity? 69. The communication device according to claim 68, characterized in that, The first condition includes one or more of the following: The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; The transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; The transmission between the third AP and the station associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first station; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity; The first site is a site associated with the first AP.

70. The communication device according to any one of claims 67-69, characterized in that, The transmission by the first AP within the first transmission opportunity is performed after determining that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

71. The communication device according to claim 70, characterized in that, The first transmission opportunity is determined to be successfully shared based on one or more of the following: The first AP detected that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP was idle for a first duration; After the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle during the first time period; The first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

72. The communication device according to claim 71, characterized in that, The first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

73. The communication device according to any one of claims 67-72, characterized in that, The first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

74. The communication device according to any one of claims 67-73, characterized in that, The first frame contains one or more of the following information: The second information is used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity; The third piece of information is used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

75. The communication device according to claim 74, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

76. The communication device according to any one of claims 67-75, characterized in that, The first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

77. The communication device according to any one of claims 67-76, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: The second sending module is used to send a third frame to the first AP, the third frame being used to instruct the first AP to end its transmission; The transmission of the first AP is terminated when the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

78. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first station, and the communication device includes: The transmission module is used to transmit data with the first access point (AP) during the first transmission opportunity. Wherein, the first site is a site associated with the first AP, and the first transmission opportunity is obtained by the first AP from a first frame sent by the second AP. The first frame is used by the second AP to share the first transmission opportunity with the third AP.

79. The communication device according to claim 78, characterized in that, The transmission module is used for: If the first condition is met, transmission is performed with the first AP within the first transmission opportunity; The first condition is associated with one or more of the following: Does the transmission of the first AP affect the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP? Does the transmission of the second AP and / or the third AP affect the transmission of the first AP? Does the transmission of the first AP affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity? 80. The communication device according to claim 79, characterized in that, The first condition includes one or more of the following: The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the second AP; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the transmission of the third AP; The transmission between the second AP and the site associated with the second AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first site; The transmission between the third AP and the station associated with the third AP does not affect the transmission between the first AP and the first station; The transmission between the first AP and the first site does not affect the second AP's control over the first transmission opportunity.

81. The communication device according to any one of claims 78-80, characterized in that, The transmission module is used for: If it is determined that the second AP has successfully shared the first transmission opportunity with the third AP, then transmission is performed with the first AP within the first transmission opportunity.

82. The communication device according to claim 81, characterized in that, The first transmission opportunity is determined to be successfully shared based on one or more of the following: The first AP detected that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP was idle for a first duration; After the first AP receives the first frame for a period of time, it detects that the channel shared by the first AP and the second AP is idle during the first time period; The first duration is used to indicate the duration required for the third AP to respond to the first frame.

83. The communication device according to claim 82, characterized in that, The first duration is related to one or more of the following: the duration during which CTS frames are allowed to be transmitted; short inter-frame intervals; and the duration of a time slot.

84. The communication device according to any one of claims 78-83, characterized in that, The first frame contains first information, which indicates the transmission duration shared by the second AP to the third AP. The first information is indicated in the user information field corresponding to the third AP.

85. The communication device according to any one of claims 78-84, characterized in that, The first frame contains one or more of the following information: The second information is used to indicate one or more APs that can compete for the first transmission opportunity; The third piece of information is used to indicate one or more APs that cannot compete for the first transmission opportunity.

86. The communication device according to claim 85, characterized in that, The second information and / or the third information are indicated using the user information field of the first frame.

87. The communication device according to any one of claims 78-86, characterized in that, The first frame is broadcast by the first AP.

88. The communication device according to any one of claims 78-87, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: The receiving module is used to receive the second frame sent by the first AP, the second frame being used to request the fourth information; A sending module is used to send a response frame of the second frame to the first AP, the response frame containing the fourth information; The fourth information is used to indicate information about the stations that interfere with the transmission of the first AP and / or the third AP.

89. The communication device according to claim 88, characterized in that, The fourth piece of information includes the OBSS information of the first AP.

90. The communication device according to claim 88 or 89, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: Information about other APs that the first AP is monitoring; The information about sites associated with other APs that the first AP listens to; Information about other APs monitored by one or more sites associated with the first AP; Information about other sites that one or more sites associated with the first AP are listening to.

91. The communication device according to any one of claims 88-90, characterized in that, The fourth information includes one or more of the following: AP identification information; AP signal reception quality related information; Site identification information; Information related to the signal reception quality of the site.

92. The communication device according to any one of claims 78-91, characterized in that, The transmission between the first station and the first AP terminates when the first AP detects at least one transmission conflict or channel busy during the first transmission opportunity.

93. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first access point. The communication device includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-20.

94. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a second access point. The communication device includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 21-31.

95. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device is a first station, and the communication device includes a memory and a processor. The memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 32-46.

96. An apparatus, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory to cause the device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-46.

97. A chip, characterized in that, Includes a processor for calling a program from memory, causing a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-46.

98. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, It contains a program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-46.

99. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a program that causes a computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-46.

100. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-46.

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