Slave channel access method, electronic device, and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications. Disclosed are a slave channel access method, an electronic device, and a storage medium. The method comprises: determining that a terminal has a slave channel access capability, and then performing slave channel access negotiation with the terminal, so as to reach a consensus with the terminal in terms of a slave channel access mode; when a master channel is not available or is busy, determining whether there is an idle slave channel among slave channels which have reached a consensus with the terminal in terms of the slave channel access mode; sending MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle slave channel; and on a slave channel which is indicated on the basis of the MU-RTS or on a slave channel which is determined according to a specific rule, receiving CTS sent by the terminal.

Description

Channel access method, electronic device and storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is based on the Chinese patent application with application number "2023112841647" and application date of September 28, 2023, and claims the priority of the Chinese patent application. The entire content of the Chinese patent application is hereby incorporated into this application by introduction. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and in particular to a slave channel access method, electronic device, and storage medium. Background Art

[0004] The MU-RTS (Multi-User Require To Send) concept was introduced in Wi-Fi 6 and offers all the benefits of the RTS (Require To Send) / CTS (Clear To Send) mechanism. MU-RTS is transmitted by a wireless access point (AP) to multiple terminals at once, reducing the air interface resource usage of multiple RTS / CTS transmissions. The receiver responds to the CTS in the form of Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO). MU-RTS can be used as a highly efficient method for interaction between APs and terminals during OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) or MU-MIMO transmissions. MU-RTS, a trigger frame, is described in detail in the Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 standards.

[0005] In existing channel access, MU-RTS, as an enhancement to RTS, is transmitted over all available 20MHz of the channel. CTS, on the other hand, is transmitted on a designated (primary) channel, or on the primary channel and repeatedly on a secondary channel. In the case of secondary channel access, when the primary channel is unavailable or busy, how to transmit MU-RTS and CTS has become an industry concern.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] An embodiment of the present application provides a slave channel access method, comprising: after determining that a terminal has slave channel access capability, performing slave channel access negotiation with the terminal, and reaching a consensus with the terminal on a slave channel access method; when a primary channel is unavailable or busy, determining whether there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels on which a consensus on the slave channel access method has been reached with the terminal; sending an MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle slave channel; and receiving a CTS sent by the terminal on a slave channel indicated by the MU-RTS or on a slave channel determined according to specific rules.

[0008] An embodiment of the present application also provides an electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to execute the channel access method as described above.

[0009] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which implements the above-described slave channel access method when executed by a processor.

[0010] In addition, the performing of the slave channel access negotiation with the terminal and reaching a consensus with the terminal on the slave channel access mode includes: determining the consensus content of the slave channel access mode by sending and receiving a slave channel access negotiation frame with the terminal.

[0011] In addition, the determination of whether the terminal has the ability to access the channel from the channel includes: determining whether the terminal has the function of accessing the channel from the channel based on the information element field of the terminal, or the sub-channel access function identifier recorded by the receiving vector or the sending vector; determining that the terminal has the channel granularity for accessing the channel from the channel based on the information element field of the terminal, or the receiving vector or the sending vector of the terminal, or the sub-channel access granularity identifier recorded by the channel access negotiation frame.

[0012] In addition, the slave channel access negotiation frame includes: a slave channel access request frame (request frame) initiated by the negotiation initiator, and a slave channel access response frame (response frame) fed back by the negotiation responder; wherein, the consensus content of the slave channel access method is carried in at least one of the slave channel access request frame (request frame) and the slave channel access response frame (response frame).

[0013] In addition, the consensus content includes at least one of the following: channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, channel access granularity, channel perception granularity, channel access modulation mode, channel contention window size, access type parameters, and QoS parameters.

[0014] In addition, the determination of whether there is an idle slave channel in the slave channel on which a consensus has been reached with the terminal on the slave channel access mode includes: through binary backoff, performing channel detection on the slave channel on which a consensus has been reached with the terminal according to a preset perception granularity to obtain channel energy, and when it is detected that the channel energy is lower than a preset threshold value, determining that the slave channel corresponding to the perception granularity is idle, or; when it is detected that the channel energy is lower than the preset threshold value and it is detected that the network allocation vector indicates that the slave channel is idle, determining that the slave channel corresponding to the perception granularity is idle; wherein the perception granularity is less than or equal to the access granularity of the slave channel in the consensus on the slave channel access mode.

[0015] In addition, the access granularity of the secondary channel includes at least one complete perception granularity, or includes a partial channel in at least one perception granularity.

[0016] In addition, the access granularity of the slave channel corresponds to a continuous or discontinuous channel, and / or the access granularity of the slave channel has a binding or non-binding relationship with the channel.

[0017] In addition, the sending the MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle secondary channel includes: sending the MU-RTS to the terminal on all the determined idle secondary channels.

[0018] In addition, the indication method of the slave channel for receiving CTS from the slave terminal based on the MU-RTS indication includes: an indication method based on the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the reused MU-RTS trigger frame, and an indication method based on the improved RU Allocation field.

[0019] In addition, the slave channel for receiving the CTS sent by the terminal is determined by indicating the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the reused MU-RTS trigger frame, including: based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, or the indication of the UL BW subfield in the Common Info field in the MU-RTS, so as to map the channel granularity of the master channel in the RU Allocation field to the channel granularity of the slave channel for receiving the CTS.

[0020] In addition, the slave channel for receiving the CTS sent by the terminal is determined by the indication method of the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the improved MU-RTS trigger frame, including: adding multiple new channel numbers in the RU Allocation field, the channel numbers corresponding to multiple groups of non-completely identical channel granularities within the channel bandwidth, and the channel granularities corresponding to the multiple new channel numbers include the channel granularity of the slave channel; based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, or the indication of the UL BW subfield in the Common Info field in the MU-RTS, the slave channel for receiving the CTS is determined from the channel granularity of the newly added slave channel in the RU Allocation field.

[0021] In addition, multiple new channel numbers are added to the RU Allocation field, including: when the total channel bandwidth is 320 MHz, the channel number is increased to 91 based on the existing channel numbers 61 to 69, and at least some of the channel granularities corresponding to the increased channel numbers belong to the channel granularity of the slave channel; wherein the corresponding relationship of the channel numbers corresponding to the channel granularities belonging to the slave channel satisfies: the larger the channel granularity, the larger the corresponding channel number; and / or, the channel numbers corresponding to two channel granularities with adjacent bandwidths are adjacent; and / or, each uncoded channel granularity is traversed from low to high channel bandwidth according to the channel granularity from small to large, and the current uncoded channel granularity and the advanced channel granularities to which it belongs are channel coded in sequence from small to large granularity.

[0022] In addition, the slave channel for receiving the CTS sent by the terminal is determined according to the specific rules, including: the rule for selecting the slave channel for transmitting the CTS determined in advance through negotiation with the terminal, and the channel for transmitting the CTS is determined in the idle slave channel, and the selection rules include: transmitting on all idle 20MHz channels of the slave channel; transmitting on all 20MHz channels in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; transmitting on the lowest 20MHz channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; transmitting on the highest 20MHz channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; transmitting on the lowest channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; transmitting on the highest channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; transmitting on the idle designated special channel of the slave channel.

[0023] In addition, the configuration items for reconfiguring the slave channel that has been accessed between the terminal include at least: slave channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, slave channel access granularity, slave channel perception granularity, slave channel access modulation mode, slave channel contention window size, access type parameter, and at least one of the QoS parameters.

[0024] In addition, reconfiguring the slave channel that has been connected to the terminal includes: reconfiguring the slave channel that has been connected to the terminal by sending and receiving a slave channel reconfiguration negotiation frame to the terminal, or directly sending a reconfiguration instruction frame to the terminal.

[0025] In addition, the slave channel access method as described above further includes: after a preset slave channel access termination condition is met, performing an termination operation on the slave channel access that has already started with the terminal, and the termination condition includes at least one of the following situations: the slave channel access time has arrived; and actively initiating an operation to terminate the slave channel access. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] One or more embodiments are exemplarily illustrated by pictures in the corresponding drawings. These exemplifications do not constitute limitations on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are represented as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the figures in the drawings do not constitute proportional limitations.

[0027] FIG1 is a specific flow chart of a slave channel access method provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a channel provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG3 is a specific flow chart of a slave channel access method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG4 is a first schematic diagram of channel coding according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG5 is a second schematic diagram of channel coding provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG6 is a third schematic diagram of channel coding provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of CTS response transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a slave channel access method, electronic device and storage medium, which can access the slave channel when the main channel is busy, avoid the waste of slave channel resources caused by dominant channel access according to the busy or idle status of the main channel, and improve channel utilization.

[0036] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, each embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that in each embodiment of the present application, many technical details are proposed to enable the reader to better understand the present application. However, even without these technical details and various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments, the technical solutions claimed in the present application can be implemented. The division of the following embodiments is for convenience of description and should not constitute any limitation on the specific implementation of the present application. The various embodiments can be combined and referenced with each other under the premise of no contradiction.

[0037] In Wi-Fi standard 802.11be Draft 3.1, in the EHT variant User Info field format corresponding to the User Info field list in the MU-RTS Trigger frame (Multi-User Require To Send Trigger frame), fields B12 to B19 typically indicate the primary channel on which the corresponding MU-RTS CTS is transmitted. However, when the primary channel is unavailable or busy and a secondary channel is required, how to transmit the MU-RTS Trigger frame and CTS is a pressing issue.

[0038] In order to solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a solution for slave channel access. The slave channel access is achieved through the execution process of negotiation between AP (Wireless Access Point) and terminal, channel perception by AP, transmission of RTS (Require To Send) by AP to terminal, and transmission of CTS (Clear To Send) by terminal to AP. After the transmission of CTS is completed, the slave channel access is completed. In this process, the channels within the bandwidth are numbered, and the transmission method of MU-RTS trigger frame (Multi-User Require To Send trigger frame, hereinafter referred to as MU-RTS) and its response CTS are clarified. The channel utilization rate of the terminal is improved when transmitting in MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) and OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) modes.

[0039] An embodiment of the present application relates to a slave channel access method, as shown in Figure 1 , and the specific implementation steps of the slave channel access method of the embodiment of the present application are as follows. It should be noted that the following content is only implementation details provided for ease of understanding and is not necessary for implementing this solution.

[0040] Step 101: After determining that the terminal has the capability of accessing the secondary channel, conduct secondary channel access negotiation with the terminal and reach a consensus with the terminal on the secondary channel access method.

[0041] The slave channel is also called a secondary channel or a non-primary channel. When Wi-Fi detects that the primary channel is busy, if a slave channel is detected as idle, Wi-Fi can transmit information on the idle slave channel.

[0042] Specifically, if an idle secondary channel is to be used to transmit information between a terminal and an AP, the AP and the terminal need to determine in advance that each other has the ability to access the secondary channel before the secondary channel access step can be performed. After confirming that both the AP and the terminal have the ability to access the secondary channel, the AP and the terminal will conduct a secondary channel access negotiation. After the negotiation, the AP and the terminal reach a consensus on the secondary channel access method. In some examples, the secondary channel access capability can be reflected in the form of an identifier. The AP or the terminal carrying the identifier indicates that the AP or the terminal has the secondary channel access capability. This application does not impose specific restrictions on the specific embodiment and judgment method of the channel access capability. Only when both the AP and the terminal have the secondary channel access capability and the AP with the secondary channel access capability is confirmed to have the secondary channel access capability and the terminal will conduct the secondary channel access negotiation. The content of the negotiation may include at least various secondary channel access parameters such as channel bandwidth, adjustment method MCS, secondary channel access granularity, secondary channel contention window size, etc. This application does not impose specific restrictions on this. After the negotiation, the AP and the terminal reach an agreement on the specific content of the previous negotiation, that is, the AP reaches a consensus with the terminal on the secondary channel access method.

[0043] Step 102: When the primary channel is unavailable or busy, determine whether there is an idle secondary channel among the secondary channels for which a secondary channel access mode has been agreed upon with the terminal.

[0044] Specifically, the AP can sense the busy or idle status of the main channel through channel sensing. When sensing that the main channel is busy or unavailable, it can sense the slave channel to determine whether there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels for which a consensus has been reached with the terminal on the slave channel access method, and then use the idle slave channel for transmission.

[0045] Step 103: Send MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle secondary channel.

[0046] Specifically, after determining through channel sensing that there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels on which a consensus has been reached with the terminal on the slave channel access method, the AP sends MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle slave channel. When the number of determined idle slave channels is greater than 1, MU-RTS may be sent to the terminal on all determined idle slave channels, or one or more slave channels may be selected from all determined idle slave channels, and MU-RTS may be sent to the terminal on the selected one or more slave channels. The present application does not impose any specific restriction on whether the slave channels for sending MU-RTS to the terminal are all determined idle slave channels or a part of all determined idle slave channels.

[0047] Step 104: Receive the CTS sent by the terminal on the secondary channel indicated by the MU-RTS or on the secondary channel determined according to a specific rule.

[0048] Specifically, after the AP sends an MU-RTS to the terminal on a determined idle secondary channel, if the terminal receives the MU-RTS sent from the secondary channel, the terminal may transmit a return CTS on the secondary channel from which the MU-RTS was received; alternatively, the AP indicates the secondary channel to which the terminal returns the CTS in the MU-RTS sent to the terminal on a determined idle secondary channel, and the AP receives the CTS sent by the terminal on the secondary channel indicated by the MU-RTS; alternatively, the AP receives the CTS sent by the terminal on a secondary channel determined according to specific rules. In some cases, CTS may also be called self-CTS or CTS-to-self.

[0049] Compared with related technologies, the above embodiment of the present application determines that the terminal has the ability to access the slave channel, then negotiates with the terminal for slave channel access and reaches a consensus with the terminal on the slave channel access method; when the main channel is unavailable or busy, determines whether there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels for which the slave channel access method has been agreed with the terminal; sends MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle slave channel; receives CTS sent by the terminal on the slave channel indicated by MU-RTS or on the slave channel determined according to specific rules. In this way, when the main channel is unavailable or busy, the slave channel is utilized, which improves data transmission efficiency while avoiding waste of slave channel resources and improving channel utilization.

[0050] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a method for accessing a slave channel. This embodiment is a refinement of the method for accessing a slave channel in the aforementioned embodiment, and the specific contents are as follows.

[0051] In one example, a specific implementation method of performing secondary channel access negotiation with a terminal and reaching a consensus on the secondary channel access method with the terminal may be: determining the consensus content of the secondary channel access method by sending and receiving secondary channel access negotiation frames with the terminal.

[0052] Specifically, when the AP needs to negotiate secondary channel access with a terminal, the AP and the terminal can each send a secondary channel access negotiation frame to each other for negotiation. For example, the terminal sends a secondary channel access negotiation frame to the AP. After receiving the secondary channel access negotiation frame sent by the terminal, the AP returns a secondary channel access negotiation frame to the terminal. After receiving the secondary channel access negotiation frame returned by the AP, the terminal reaches a consensus with the AP.

[0053] In one example, the slave channel access negotiation frame may include: a slave channel access request frame (request frame) initiated by the negotiation initiator, and a slave channel access response frame (response frame) fed back by the negotiation responder;

[0054] The consensus content of the slave channel access mode is carried in at least one of a slave channel access request frame and a slave channel access response frame.

[0055] Specifically, there is no active / passive negotiation relationship between the terminal and the AP. Whichever party initiates the secondary channel access negotiation is the negotiation initiator, and the remaining party is the negotiation responder. The negotiation initiator sends a secondary channel access request frame to the negotiation responder. After receiving the secondary channel access request frame, the negotiation responder returns a secondary channel access response frame to the negotiation initiator. For example, when a terminal initiates secondary channel access negotiation, the terminal is the negotiation initiator and the AP is the negotiation responder. The terminal sends a secondary channel access request frame to the AP. After receiving the secondary channel access request frame, the AP returns a secondary channel access response frame to the terminal. When an AP initiates secondary channel access negotiation, the AP is the negotiation initiator and the terminal is the negotiation responder. The AP sends a secondary channel access request frame to the terminal. After receiving the secondary channel access request frame, the terminal returns a secondary channel access response frame to the AP.

[0056] Specifically, since the AP and the terminal need to negotiate through the channel access negotiation frame to determine the consensus content of the channel access method, the consensus content of the channel access method can be carried in at least one of the channel access request frame and the channel access response frame. The present application does not impose specific restrictions on this. Specifically, in some examples, the consensus content in the channel access negotiation frame includes at least: any one of the channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, channel access granularity, channel perception granularity, channel access modulation mode, channel contention window size, access type parameters and QoS (Quality of Service) parameters, or a combination of two or more thereof. The present application does not impose specific restrictions on the consensus content in the channel access negotiation frame.

[0057] In another example, the specific steps of determining in step 101 that the terminal has the capability of accessing the slave channel include:

[0058] Based on the information element field of the terminal, or the sub-channel access function identifier recorded by the receiving vector or the sending vector, determine whether the terminal has the sub-channel access function; based on the information element field of the terminal, or the receiving vector or the sending vector of the terminal, or the sub-channel access granularity identifier recorded by the channel access negotiation frame, determine that the terminal has the channel granularity of sub-channel access.

[0059] Specifically, whether the terminal has the secondary channel access function can be determined based on the secondary channel access function identifier recorded in the terminal's information element field, or the receive vector (RxVector) or the transmit vector (TxVector). For example, if the terminal's secondary channel access function is determined based on the terminal's information element field, it can be specifically manifested as: when the terminal's information element field identifier is 1, it is determined that the terminal has the secondary channel access function; when the terminal's information element field identifier is 0, it is determined that the terminal does not have the secondary channel access function.

[0060] After determining that the terminal or AP has the function of sub-channel access, the specific method of access shall be further confirmed based on the sub-channel access granularity of the terminal or AP. The sub-channel access granularity can be understood as an attribute of the sub-channel access function. On the basis of determining that the terminal or AP has the function of sub-channel access, the specific channel granularity at which the sub-channel access is performed is determined. Similar to the process of determining the sub-channel access function, the channel granularity at which the terminal has sub-channel access can be determined based on the sub-channel access granularity identifier recorded by the terminal's information element field, or the receive vector (RxVector) or the transmit vector (TxVector). Specifically, the sub-channel access granularity can be 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz. This application does not impose any specific restrictions on the size of the sub-channel access granularity, and it can be adjusted according to specific needs in actual applications.

[0061] In some cases, the sub-channel access granularity may be included in the sub-channel access negotiation frame. The sub-channel access negotiation frame may include: a sub-channel access request frame (request frame) initiated by the negotiation initiator, and a sub-channel access response frame (response frame) fed back by the negotiation response end. That is, the sub-channel access granularity may be included in at least one of the sub-channel access request frame (request frame) and the sub-channel access response frame (response frame), and this application does not impose specific restrictions on this. Since the AP and the terminal determine the consensus content of the sub-channel access method by sending and receiving sub-channel access negotiation frames, when the sub-channel access granularity is included in the sub-channel access negotiation frame, the sub-channel access granularity is included in the sub-channel access consensus agreement reached by the terminal and the AP through negotiation.

[0062] In another example, the specific judgment process of determining whether there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels for which a consensus has been reached with the terminal on the slave channel access mode in step 102 may be:

[0063] Through binary backoff, channel detection is performed at a preset sensing granularity on a slave channel for which a slave channel access mode consensus has been reached with the terminal to obtain channel energy. When the channel energy is detected to be lower than a preset threshold, it is determined that the slave channel corresponding to the sensing granularity is idle, or;

[0064] When it is detected that the channel energy is lower than the preset threshold value and it is detected that the network allocation vector indicates that the slave channel is idle, it is determined that the slave channel corresponding to the sensing granularity is idle;

[0065] The perception granularity is smaller than or equal to the access granularity of the slave channel in the consensus reached on the slave channel access mode.

[0066] Specifically, in some cases, in step 102, while performing slave channel sensing, master channel sensing may also be performed. The specific sensing processes for master channel sensing and slave channel sensing are the same, and this application does not distinguish between them. When a binary backoff sensing process is completed and the result is that the master channel is busy and the slave channel is idle, slave channel access is performed.

[0067] The sub-channel perception granularity is the granularity at which the terminal or AP performs CCA (Clear Channel Assessment) to detect whether the sub-channel is busy or idle. It is usually 20MHz, and this application does not impose any specific restrictions on this. The sub-channel access granularity is the granularity at which the terminal accesses the sub-channel, and can be 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, etc., and this application does not impose any specific restrictions on this. Generally, the sub-channel perception granularity and the sub-channel access granularity in the sub-channel access method consensus are the same by default, and the sub-channel perception granularity can also be smaller than the sub-channel access granularity in the sub-channel access method consensus.

[0068] Binary Exponential Back off means that when encountering repeated conflicts, the station will repeat the transmission, but after each conflict, the average value of the delay will double. Because when detecting whether there is an idle slave channel, all slave channels that have reached a consensus on the slave channel access method between the terminal and the AP have been determined, and the consensus content includes the slave channel access granularity. Through the binary backoff method, within the slave channel access granularity range in the consensus content, for the slave channels that have reached a consensus with the terminal on the slave channel access method, channel detection (CCA) is performed according to the preset slave channel perception granularity to obtain channel energy, and when it is detected that the channel energy is lower than the preset threshold value, it is determined that the slave channel corresponding to the perception granularity is idle.

[0069] Correspondingly, channel sensing is performed on all slave channels using the slave channel sensing granularity within the slave channel access granularity, and access can only be performed when all slave channels corresponding to the slave channel sensing granularity within the slave channel access granularity are displayed as idle channels. In some cases, the slave channel access granularity includes at least one complete sensing granularity, or includes a portion of the channels in at least one sensing granularity. For example, when the slave channel access granularity is 40MHz and the slave channel sensing granularity is 20MHz, the slave channel access granularity includes two 20MHz bandwidths. Only after each 20MHz bandwidth channel performs channel detection (CCA) to obtain channel energy, it is detected that the channel energy of each 20MHz bandwidth channel is lower than the preset threshold value, and it is determined that the two 20MHz slave channels corresponding to each 20MHz sensing granularity are idle. That is, only when all sub-channels corresponding to the 20MHz slave channel sensing granularity within the 40MHz slave channel access granularity are displayed as idle channels, the terminal or AP performs slave channel access of the 40MHz granularity. By performing slave channel access in the above manner, sub-channel interference can be avoided.

[0070] In some cases, when judging whether a slave channel is idle, in addition to considering the above-mentioned channel energy, the network allocation vector (NAV) also needs to be considered. When channel detection is performed on the slave channel for which a consensus has been reached with the terminal on the slave channel access method according to the preset perception granularity to obtain the channel energy, and when it is detected that the channel energy of the slave channels corresponding to all the slave channel perception granularities within the slave channel access granularity is lower than the preset threshold value, the network allocation vector NAV is identified as 0 before slave channel access can be performed. For example, when the slave channel access granularity is 80MHz and the slave channel perception granularity is 20MHz, only when the 4 20MHz slave channels within the 80MHz slave channel access granularity perform channel detection (Clear Channel Assessment, CCA) to obtain channel energy, it is detected that the channel energy of each 20MHz bandwidth channel is lower than the preset threshold value, and at the same time, the network allocation vectors NAV of the 4 20MHz slave channels are all 0. At this time, the 4 20MHz slave channels within the 80MHz channel access granularity are idle, and the slave channel access of the 80MHz slave channel access granularity is performed. In some cases, the sub-channel perception granularity can be limited. For example, in the previous example where the sub-channel access granularity is 80MHz, the sub-channel perception granularity of 40MHz is not used. Because the interference measurement is more detailed when the sub-channel perception granularity is 20MHz compared to the perception granularity of 40MHz. Whether to limit the sub-channel perception granularity under a certain sub-channel access granularity can be set according to the needs of the actual application, and this application does not make specific restrictions.

[0071] In one example, the access granularity of the slave channel corresponds to a continuous or discontinuous channel, and / or the access granularity of the slave channel has a binding or non-binding relationship with the channel.

[0072] Specifically, the access granularity of the slave channel corresponds to continuous or discontinuous channels. For example, when the slave channel access granularity is 40MHz, it can be two adjacent channels with a bandwidth of 20MHz, or it can be two non-adjacent channels with a bandwidth of 20MHz. The present application does not impose any specific restrictions on the slave channel access granularity corresponding to continuous or discontinuous channels. The slave channel perception granularity and the slave channel access granularity are not limited to the slave channel bandwidth and the main channel bandwidth. For example, under a bandwidth of 320MHz, the main channel is 160MHz and the slave channel is also 160MHz. The slave channel perception granularity and the slave channel access granularity can be determined based on the capabilities of the terminal and the AP. For example, when the slave channel perception granularity is 20MHz and the slave channel access granularity is 80MHz, the slave channel access can be accessed on four 80MHz bandwidths of 320MHz, without being restricted by the 160MHz bandwidth of the main and slave channels.

[0073] Specifically, the access granularity of the slave channel has a binding or non-binding relationship with the channel. As shown in Figure 2, within the 160MHz bandwidth, when the slave channel access granularity is 40MHz and the slave channel perception granularity is 20MHz, if the channel perception (CCA) of G2 and G3 at the 40MHz access granularity shows that the G2 and G3 channels are busy, respectively. At the same time, G21 and G22 are the 20MHz sub-channels of G2, the channel perception result of G21 is busy, and the channel perception result of G22 is idle; G31 and G32 are the 20MHz sub-channels of G3, the channel perception result of G31 is idle, and the channel perception result of G32 is busy. At this time, G22 and G31 constitute an idle channel with a 40MHz access granularity (the Idle Channel in Figure 2). That is, two adjacent 20MHz channels with a 40MHz access granularity are combined into a 40MHz access granularity for slave channel access. Because the channel access granularity is not bound to a specific channel, adjacent access granularities can be bound to access the channel, further improving channel utilization.

[0074] In some cases, channel binding access at adjacent access granularity can be understood as a capability of a terminal or access point. Based on the channel binding access identifier of the adjacent access granularity recorded by the receiving vector (RxVector) or sending vector (TxVector) of the terminal or AP, it is determined whether the terminal or AP has the capability of channel binding access at adjacent access granularity. When the identifier is 0, it indicates that the terminal or AP supports channel binding at adjacent access granularity. When the identifier is 1, it indicates that the terminal or AP does not support channel binding at adjacent access granularity. Compared with the related art, the above-mentioned embodiment of the present application can further reduce sub-channel interference by confirming the access capability of the sub-channel, negotiating the access from the channel, reaching an access consensus, and introducing the sub-channel access granularity, the sub-channel perception granularity, and various access rules, which is conducive to the transmission of high-reliability services, and setting the sub-channel access granularity to correspond to a continuous or discontinuous channel, and / or the sub-channel access granularity has a binding or non-binding relationship with the channel, which can make the sub-channel access more flexible, further improving the utilization of the channel.

[0075] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a slave channel access method. The slave channel access method of this embodiment is a further refinement of the slave channel access method in the aforementioned embodiment, and the specific content is as follows.

[0076] In step 104, when a CTS sent by a terminal is received on a slave channel indicated by the MU-RTS, the indication method of the slave channel for receiving the CTS from the terminal indicated by the MU-RTS includes:

[0077] Based on the indication method of the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the reused MU-RTS trigger frame, and based on the indication method of the improved RU Allocation field.

[0078] Specifically, sending MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle slave channel may be sending MU-RTS to the terminal on all the determined idle slave channels. After receiving the MU-RTS, the terminal may receive the CTS sent by the terminal based on the slave channel indicated by the MU-RTS. Reuse refers to not increasing or decreasing the value of the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the existing MU-RTS trigger frame, and MU-RTS is transmitted on all available 20MHz bandwidths; improvement refers to increasing the value of the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the MU-RTS trigger frame. For the value of the RU Allocation field or the channel number, refer to 802.11be Draft 3.0.

[0079] In one example, the secondary channel for receiving the CTS sent by the terminal is determined based on the indication of the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the reused MU-RTS trigger frame, which may be:

[0080] Based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, or the indication of UL BW subfield in the Common Info field in MU-RTS, the channel granularity of the primary channel in the RU Allocation field (the field corresponding to RU allocation) is mapped to the channel granularity of the slave channel used to receive CTS.

[0081] Specifically, the two parameters PS160 and RU Allocation field are jointly indicated, or only indicated by UL BW subfield. Both indication methods can map the channel number of the original main channel to the slave channel, without increasing or decreasing the user info field in the user info list field in the MU-RTS trigger frame (trigger frame). The channel granularity of the main channel in the RU Allocation field is mapped to the channel granularity of the slave channel used to receive CTS. After mapping, the terminal can be directly instructed to transmit CTS on the slave channel with the specified channel number.

[0082] In another example, as shown in FIG3 , determining a secondary channel for receiving a CTS sent by a terminal based on an indication mode of the RU Allocation field in the User Info field in the User Info List field in the improved MU-RTS trigger frame may specifically include the following steps:

[0083] Step 201: Add multiple new channel numbers to the RU Allocation field. The channel numbers correspond to multiple groups of different channel granularities within the channel bandwidth. The channel granularities corresponding to the multiple new channel numbers include the channel granularity of the slave channel.

[0084] Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the channel number is B7-B1 in the RU Allocation field. Temp represents the name of the secondary channel at different granularities and can be replaced by secondary. For example, 70 (temp 20MHz is the 4th lowest 20MHz) can be replaced by 70 (secondary 20MHz is the 4th lowest 20MHz), where 70 in the channel number is the decimal value in the RA Allocation field.

[0085] Step 202: Based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, or the indication of UL BW subfield in the Common Info field in the MU-RTS, the secondary channel for receiving the CTS is determined from the channel granularity of the secondary channel newly added in the RU Allocation field.

[0086] Specifically, after multiple new channel numbers are added to the RU Allocation field, that is, after the channel granularity of the slave channel is newly added to the RU Allocation field, the slave channel for receiving CTS can be determined from the channel granularity of the slave channel newly added in the RU Allocation field based on the joint indication of PS160 in the user info field and the RU Allocation field; or based on the indication of the UL BW subfield in the Common Info field in the MU-RTS, the slave channel for receiving CTS can be determined from the channel granularity of the slave channel newly added in the RU Allocation field. After determining the slave channel for receiving CTS based on any of the above indication methods, the terminal is further instructed to transmit CTS on the slave channel with the specified channel number. It should be noted that the indication priority of the UL BW subfield is higher than the priority of the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field. When there is an indication in the UL BW subfield, CTS is transmitted in accordance with the indication of the UL BW subfield; when there is no indication in the UL BW subfield, CTS is transmitted in accordance with the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field; when the indication of the UL BW subfield and the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field appear at the same time, regardless of whether the two are the same or not, CTS is transmitted in accordance with the indication of the UL BW subfield.

[0087] In one example, the specific implementation of adding multiple new channel numbers in the RU Allocation field may be:

[0088] When the total channel bandwidth is 320 MHz, the channel number is increased to 91 based on the existing channel numbers 61 to 69, and at least some of the channel access granularities corresponding to the increased channel numbers belong to the channel access granularity of the slave channel;

[0089] The corresponding relationship between the channel numbers corresponding to the channel access granularities belonging to the slave channel satisfies:

[0090] The larger the channel access granularity, the larger the corresponding channel number; and / or, the channel numbers corresponding to two channel access granularities with adjacent bandwidths are adjacent; and / or, according to the channel access granularity from small to large, each uncoded channel access granularity is traversed from low to high channel bandwidth, and the current uncoded channel access granularity and the advanced channel access granularities to which it belongs are channel coded in sequence from small to large granularity.

[0091] Specifically, the channel coding method can be as shown in Figure 4. When the channel bandwidth is 320MHz, 61-64 and 70-81 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 20MHz; 65-66 and 82-87 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 40MHz; 67 and 88-90 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 80MHz; and 68 and 91 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 160MHz. Under the coding method shown in Figure 4, CTS is transmitted according to the channel number of the slave channel. If the slave channel for CTS transmission is indicated based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, the specific case of determining the slave channel for CTS transmission is as follows. For example, when B7–B1 in the RU Allocation subfield in the user info field indicates 70, B0=1, and PS160 in the user info field=0, the combined indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field indicates that CTS is transmitted in the fifth lowest 20 MHz bandwidth in the 320 MHz channel; when B7–B1 in the RU Allocation subfield in the user info field indicates 84, B0=1, and PS160 in the user info field=1, the combined indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field indicates that CTS is transmitted in the fifth lowest 40 MHz bandwidth in the 320 MHz channel; when B7–B1 in the RU Allocation subfield indicates 89, B0=1, and PS160 in the user info field=1, the combined indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field indicates that CTS is transmitted in the third lowest 80 MHz bandwidth in the 320 MHz channel.

[0092] Taking the numbering in Figure 4 as an example, if B7–B1 in the RU Allocation subfield in the user info field is set (indicated) to 88, and B0=1, and PS160 in the user info field=0, the UL BW subfield also indicates that CTS is transmitted on the second lowest 80MHz bandwidth in the 160MHz channel. At this time, the channel bandwidth is 160MHz, and it is determined that CTS is transmitted on the second lowest 80MHz slave channel.

[0093] If B7–B1 in the RU Allocation subfield are set to 88 and B0 = 1, and the UL BW subfield also indicates that CTS is transmitted on the second lowest 80 MHz bandwidth in the 160 MHz channel, and PS160 is not received or set, the channel bandwidth is 160 MHz, and CTS is transmitted on its second lowest 80 MHz subordinate channel in accordance with the UL BW subfield.

[0094] In some cases, when the channel bandwidth is 40MHz, the primary channel is the channel with the lowest 20MHz bandwidth, with 61primary20MHz being the lowest 20MHz. In this case, if the primary channel is busy when accessing a secondary channel (the second lowest 20MHz), when transmitting the MU-RTS trigger frame, if RU Allocation subfied is set to B0 = 0 and B7 to B1 = 62, the current CTS transmission channel is channel 62. In this case, the RU Allocation setting does not indicate that the primary channel is 62; the "62" represents the channel number, not the primary channel. In some cases, the CTS in response to the MU-RTS Trigger frame is transmitted in the resource unit indicated in the User Info field.

[0095] The channel coding method can also be shown in Figure 5. When the channel bandwidth is 320MHz, 61-64, 70-73, 77-80, and 84-87 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 20MHz; 65-66, 74-75, 81-82, and 88-89 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 40MHz; 67, 76, 83, and 90 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 80MHz; and 68 and 91 are channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 160MHz. When the coding method is shown in Figure 5, the process of transmitting CTS according to the channel number is similar to that in the coding method of Figure 4 above, and this application will not repeat it again.

[0096] The channel coding method can also be shown in Figure 6. When the channel bandwidth is 320MHz, 80-91 are the channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 20MHz; 65-66, 74-79 are the channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 40MHz; 67, 71-73 are the channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 80MHz; 68 and 70 are the channel numbers when the channel access granularity is 160MHz. When the coding method is shown in Figure 6, the process of transmitting CTS according to the channel number is similar to that in Figure 4 above, and this application will not repeat it again.

[0097] In another example, the step of determining the slave channel for receiving the CTS sent by the terminal according to a specific rule may include:

[0098] A channel for transmitting the CTS is determined from idle slave channels by selecting a slave channel for transmitting the CTS, which is determined in advance through negotiation with the terminal. The selection rules include:

[0099] Transmit on all idle 20MHz channels of the slave channel; or, transmit on all 20MHz channels in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, transmit on the lowest 20MHz channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, transmit on the highest 20MHz channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, transmit on the lowest channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, transmit on the highest channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, transmit on a designated special idle channel of the slave channel. This application does not impose any restrictions on the specific selection rules.

[0100] In another example, receiving a CTS from the terminal based on the slave channel indicated by the MU-RTS in step 104 may specifically include:

[0101] Based on the slave channel selected by the terminal from the slave channel indicated by MU-RTS and detected as idle on the terminal side, the terminal receives CTS from the terminal; wherein the terminal uses the slave channel selected by the terminal from the channel indicated by MU-RTS and detected as idle on the terminal side to transmit CTS.

[0102] In some cases, to conserve signaling and reduce overhead, the numbering in Figures 4, 5, and 6 may not extend to 91. Instead, only a subset of channels within the bandwidth can be numbered, and all channels within the bandwidth can be indicated through a joint indication. For example, in Figure 4, channels numbered 61 through 76 can be mapped to channels numbered 77 through 91 using PS160. After this mapping, when PS160 is 1, the RU Allocation field value is 61, corresponding to channel numbered 77.

[0103] Specifically, in one example, as shown in Figure 7, the AP and non-AP STA1 (terminal 1) and non-AP STA2 (terminal 2) all operate on a 160 MHz bandwidth and have access to slave channels. The negotiated channel access granularity is 40 MHz, and they access the slave channels. In this case, if the channel number encoding method is as shown in Figure 4, the third lowest 40 MHz channel is perceived as idle. The AP sends a MU-RTS trigger frame to non-AP STA1 and non-AP STA2 on this slave channel. In the user info list of the MU-RTS trigger frame, the corresponding RA Allocation field for non-AP STA1 in the user info field of non-AP STA1 is B0 = 1, and B7 - B1 = 70. Similarly, the corresponding RA Allocation field for non-AP STA2 in the user info list of the MU-RTS trigger frame is B0 = 1, and B7 - B1 = 82. During this process, non-AP STA1 can only send CTS on the 20MHz channel (70) shown in Figure 4 if it correctly receives the MU-RTS trigger frame on all 20MHz bandwidths in the 40MHz access granularity; non-AP STA2 can only send CTS on the 40MHz channel (82) shown in Figure 4 if it correctly receives the MU-RTS trigger frame on all 20MHz bandwidths in the 40MHz access granularity.

[0104] If the RA Allocation field in the MU-RTS trigger frame does not indicate the transmission mode of CTS, or the MU-RTS trigger frame is not transmitted, CTS can be transmitted on all idle 20MHz channels of the slave channel; or, CTS is transmitted on all 20MHz channels in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, CTS is transmitted on the lowest 20MHz channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, CTS is transmitted on the highest 20MHz channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, CTS is transmitted on the lowest channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, CTS is transmitted on the highest channel in the idle access granularity of the slave channel; or, CTS is transmitted on the idle designated special channel of the slave channel. Compared with the related art, the above-mentioned embodiment of the present application negotiates the slave channel access granularity when the terminal and the access point perform slave channel access. The MU-RTS trigger frame needs to be transmitted on the entire bandwidth occupied by each channel access granularity that is displayed as idle by all channel perception (channel detection, CCA (clear channel assessment)). Furthermore, by reusing or improving the RU Allocation field in the User Info List field of the MU-RTS trigger frame, the CTS response of the MU-RTS trigger frame only needs to be transmitted on a specific slave channel and a specific bandwidth. This eliminates the need for the terminal (receiver) to transmit the CTS over all available bandwidth, saving energy and reducing the burden on the terminal (receiver).

[0105] In some cases, the CTS frame in response to the MU-RTS is transmitted on the RU (resource unit) indicated by the UHR variant User Info field, excluding any punctured 20 MHz channels indicated by a bitmap (punctured 20 MHz channels are invalid channels). The UHR variant User Info field refers to the User Info field corresponding to future Wi-Fi standard versions after Wi-Fi 7.

[0106] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a slave channel access method. The slave channel access method in this embodiment is a supplement to the slave channel access method in the previous embodiment. The specific supplementary content is as follows.

[0107] In specific applications, after slave channel access, the settings for slave channel access may need to be reconfigured or reconfigured due to changes in external factors. External factors may include: changes in channel puncture resulting in changes in unavailable channels, changes in interference conditions, changes in user operating modes, changes in the range of MSCs available to users, etc. This application does not limit the specific external factors that may require the configuration or reconfiguration of the settings for slave channel access.

[0108] The configuration items for reconfiguring the slave channel that has been accessed with the terminal include at least: slave channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, slave channel access granularity, slave channel perception granularity, slave channel access modulation mode, slave channel contention window size, access type parameter, and at least one of QoS parameters.

[0109] In the available channel bitmap, a bitmap is a minimum unit, bit, set to 0 or 1, representing the value or status of a certain element. If the value or status of an element changes, the available channel bitmap may need to be reconfigured. When high-priority services need to be transmitted, the granularity of secondary channel access may need to be adjusted due to terminal complexity, battery life, and other factors. When accessing a secondary channel, the backoff window size / contention window size needs to be adjusted. That is, when binary backoff channel perception indicates that the secondary channel is idle, the secondary channel is not accessed immediately, but a period of time (listen time / listen period) is required before accessing the channel. Alternatively, after a period of waiting, if the CCA indicates that the channel is idle, the channel is accessed immediately. This waiting time (listen time / listen period) can be called the secondary channel backoff window or secondary channel contention window.

[0110] After the AP and access point reach a consensus through negotiation and operate in slave channel access mode, if the agreement needs to be adjusted due to external reasons, the terminal proposes to reconfigure at least one of the slave channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, slave channel access granularity, slave channel perception granularity, slave channel access modulation mode, slave channel contention window size, access type parameters, and QoS parameters through a (reconfigure) request frame.

[0111] In one example, the specific steps of reconfiguring the slave channel that has been connected to the terminal may be:

[0112] The secondary channel that has been accessed with the terminal is reconfigured by sending and receiving secondary channel reconfiguration negotiation frames with the terminal, or directly sending reconfiguration instruction frames (reconfigure) response frames / reconfiguration frames of secondary channel access to the terminal.

[0113] The slave channel reconfiguration negotiation frame may include: a slave channel reconfiguration request frame and a slave channel reconfiguration response frame.

[0114] Specifically, when the AP and the terminal reconfigure the accessed secondary channel by sending and receiving secondary channel reconfiguration negotiation frames, the specific process may be: the terminal first sends a secondary channel reconfiguration negotiation frame (reconfigure) request frame to the AP; after receiving the channel reconfiguration negotiation frame (reconfigure) request frame, the AP replies with a secondary channel reconfiguration response frame (reconfigure) response frame to the terminal, and the AP and the terminal reach an agreement on the modified object or value, and then the terminal and the access point use the new reconfigured parameters to access or transmit the secondary channel.

[0115] When an AP reconfigures an already connected secondary channel by directly sending a reconfiguration command frame of secondary channel access to a terminal, the specific process is as follows: the AP directly sends a reconfiguration command frame of secondary channel access to the terminal. The reconfiguration command frame contains the object to be reconfigured and its recommended value. If the terminal receives the reconfiguration command frame of secondary channel access and confirms the change, it returns an ACK frame; otherwise, it does not send an ACK frame. After receiving the ACK frame, the AP accesses or transmits the secondary channel according to the reconfigured parameters.

[0116] In one example, after accessing the slave channel according to any of the above-mentioned slave channel access methods, after the preset slave channel access termination conditions are met, the slave channel access that has been started between the terminal is terminated, and the termination conditions include at least one of the following situations: the slave channel access time has arrived; and the operation of terminating the slave channel access is actively initiated.

[0117] Specifically, the AP and the terminal negotiate to terminate slave channel transmission after a certain timer reaches zero. In practical applications, this timer can be started by a slave channel access negotiation frame, that is, by a slave channel access request frame or a slave channel access response frame. Alternatively, the timer automatically starts after a slave channel access agreement is reached. In some cases, the timer can be set with an initial value, and a countdown begins after it is started. The initial value set for the timer can be included in the slave channel access agreement, or in a slave channel negotiation request frame, or in a slave channel negotiation response frame. If reconfiguration is required after slave channel access, the timer can also be started by a slave channel access reconfiguration frame. The timer can be reset by a slave channel access reconfiguration frame, or paused or delayed if more data is suddenly required to be transmitted. In some cases, after the timer reaches zero, if the terminal is transmitting data in the current TXOP, the terminal ends slave channel transmission (mode) immediately after completing data transmission in the current TXOP, or ends slave channel access mode some time after completing data transmission in the current TXOP. A TXOP (Transmission opportunity) is a transmission time during which a transmitting device accesses a channel after completing a set of CCAs. This application does not impose any specific restrictions on the timer settings; any operation that terminates channel access by setting the access time falls within the scope of this application.

[0118] Specifically, the secondary channel access can also be ended by actively initiating the operation of ending the secondary channel access. Specifically, the system management entity (SME) of the terminal issues a request primitive and transmits a secondary channel access request frame. The action type field in the secondary channel access element is set to "Exit secondary channel access mode" or "end secondary channel access mode". This process can be expressed as "To exit secondary channel access mode, the non-AP STA's SME shall issue an MLME-Secondary MODE request primitive to send asecondary channel access Mode Request frame with an Action Type field in the secondary channel access element set to "Exit secondary channel access mode". In some cases, the name of the secondary channel access request frame can be a secondary channel access negotiation frame, or a secondary channel access reconfiguration frame, or a secondary channel access response frame, or a secondary channel access mode request frame, or a secondary channel access mode response frame.

[0119] It should be noted that the above examples in this embodiment are only illustrative examples for ease of understanding and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of this application.

[0120] Another embodiment of the present application relates to an electronic device, as shown in Figure 8, including at least one processor 302; and a memory 301 communicatively connected to the at least one processor 302; wherein the memory 301 stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor 302, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor 302 to enable the at least one processor 302 to execute any of the above-mentioned embodiments of the channel access method.

[0121] Memory 301 and processor 302 are connected using a bus. The bus can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, connecting various circuits of one or more processors 302 and memory 301. The bus can also connect various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits. These are all well known in the art and are therefore not described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface between the bus and the transceiver. The transceiver can be a single component or multiple components, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. Data processed by processor 302 is transmitted over a wireless medium via an antenna. Furthermore, the antenna receives data and transmits it to processor 302.

[0122] The processor 302 is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, and can also provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interfaces, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. The memory 301 can be used to store data used by the processor 302 when performing operations.

[0123] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements any of the above-mentioned embodiments of the slave channel access method.

[0124] That is, those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps in the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented by instructing the relevant hardware through a program, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for causing a device (which may be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: a USB flash drive, a mobile hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, etc., various media that can store program code.

[0125] The steps of the various methods above are divided only for the purpose of clear description. During implementation, they can be combined into one step or some steps can be split and decomposed into multiple steps. As long as they include the same logical relationship, they are all within the scope of protection of this patent. Adding insignificant modifications or introducing insignificant designs to the algorithm or process without changing the core design of the algorithm and process are all within the scope of protection of this patent.

[0126] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above embodiments are specific embodiments for implementing the present application, and that in actual applications, various changes may be made to the embodiments in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. Any person skilled in the art may make changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application shall be based on the scope defined in the claims.

Claims

1. A slave channel access method, comprising: After determining that the terminal has the secondary channel access capability, performing secondary channel access negotiation with the terminal and reaching a consensus with the terminal on the secondary channel access method; When the main channel is unavailable or busy, determine whether there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels that have reached a consensus on the slave channel access mode with the terminal; Send MU-RTS to the terminal on a determined idle slave channel; The CTS sent by the terminal is received on the secondary channel indicated by the MU-RTS or on the secondary channel determined according to a specific rule.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The performing the secondary channel access negotiation with the terminal and reaching a consensus with the terminal on the secondary channel access mode includes: By sending and receiving slave channel access negotiation frames with the terminal, the consensus content of the slave channel access method is determined.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The determining that the terminal has a slave channel access capability includes: Based on the information element field of the terminal, or the secondary channel access function identifier recorded by the receiving vector or the sending vector, determine whether the terminal has the secondary channel access function; based on the information element field of the terminal, or based on the receiving vector or the sending vector of the terminal, or the secondary channel access granularity identifier recorded by the channel access negotiation frame, determine that the terminal has the channel granularity for secondary channel access.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The slave channel access negotiation frame includes: a slave channel access request frame (request frame) initiated by the negotiation initiator, and a slave channel access response frame (response frame) fed back by the negotiation responder; The consensus content of the slave channel access method is carried in at least one of the slave channel access request frame (request frame) and the slave channel access response frame (response frame).

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: The consensus content includes at least one of the following: channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, channel access granularity, channel perception granularity, channel access modulation mode, channel contention window size, access type parameters, and QoS parameters.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: The determining whether there is an idle slave channel among the slave channels for which a slave channel access mode consensus has been reached with the terminal includes: Through binary backoff, channel detection is performed on the slave channel for which a slave channel access mode consensus has been reached with the terminal according to a preset perception granularity to obtain channel energy, and when it is detected that the channel energy is lower than a preset threshold value, it is determined that the slave channel corresponding to the perception granularity is idle, or; When it is detected that the channel energy is lower than a preset threshold value and it is detected that the network allocation vector indicates that the slave channel is idle, it is determined that the slave channel corresponding to the sensing granularity is idle; The perception granularity is less than or equal to the access granularity of the slave channel in the consensus reached on the slave channel access method.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The access granularity of the slave channel includes at least one complete perception granularity, or includes a partial channel in at least one perception granularity.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The access granularity of the slave channel corresponds to a continuous or discontinuous channel, and / or the access granularity of the slave channel has a binding or non-binding relationship with the channel.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The sending the MU-RTS to the terminal on the determined idle slave channel includes: The MU-RTS is sent to the terminal on all the idle slave channels determined.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The indication method of the slave channel receiving CTS from the slave terminal based on the MU-RTS indication includes: an indication method based on the RU Allocation field in the user info field in the user info list field in the reused MU-RTS trigger frame, and an indication method based on the improved RU Allocation field.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Determining a secondary channel for receiving a CTS sent by a terminal based on an indication of an RU Allocation field in a user info field in a user info list field in a reused MU-RTS trigger frame includes: Based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, or the indication of UL BW subfield in Common Info field in MU-RTS, the channel granularity of the primary channel in the RU Allocation field is mapped to the channel granularity of the secondary channel used to receive CTS.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Determining a secondary channel for receiving a CTS sent by a terminal based on an indication of an RU Allocation field in a user info field in a user info list field in an improved MU-RTS trigger frame includes: Adding multiple new channel numbers in the RU Allocation field, the channel numbers corresponding to multiple groups of non-completely identical channel granularities within the channel bandwidth, the channel granularities corresponding to the multiple new channel numbers including the channel granularity of the slave channel; Based on the joint indication of PS160 and RU Allocation field in the user info field, or the indication of UL BW subfield in Common Info field in MU-RTS, the slave channel used to receive CTS is determined from the channel granularity of the slave channel newly added in the RU Allocation field.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: Add multiple new channel numbers in the RU Allocation field, including: When the total channel bandwidth is 320 MHz, the channel number is increased to 91 based on the existing channel numbers 61 to 69, and at least part of the channel granularities corresponding to the increased channel numbers belong to the channel granularity of the slave channel; Among them, the corresponding relationship between the channel numbers corresponding to the channel granularities belonging to the slave channel satisfies: The larger the channel granularity, the larger the corresponding channel number; and / or, The channel numbers corresponding to two channel granularities with adjacent bandwidths are adjacent; and / or, Each uncoded channel granularity is traversed from small to large channel granularity and from low to high channel bandwidth, and channel coding is performed on the current uncoded channel granularity and its respective advanced channel granularities in sequence from small to large granularity.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the slave channel for receiving the CTS sent by the terminal according to the specific rule includes: A channel for transmitting CTS is determined from the idle slave channels by selecting a slave channel for transmitting CTS determined in advance through negotiation with the terminal, and the selection rule includes: Transmit on all idle 20MHz channels of the slave channel; Transmit on all 20 MHz channels in the access granularity from the idle channels; Transmit on the lowest 20 MHz channel in the access granularity of the idle channel; Transmit on a channel with a maximum access granularity of 20 MHz from the idle channels; Transmitting on the lowest channel in the access granularity from the idle channels; Transmitting on the highest channel in the access granularity from the idle ones of the channels; Transmit on a designated special channel that is idle from the channel.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration items for reconfiguring the slave channel that has been accessed between the terminal include at least: slave channel access bandwidth, available channel bitmap, slave channel access granularity, slave channel perception granularity, slave channel access modulation mode, slave channel contention window size, access type parameter, and at least one of QoS parameters.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: The reconfiguring of the slave channel connected to the terminal includes: The slave channel connected to the terminal is reconfigured by sending and receiving a slave channel reconfiguration negotiation frame to the terminal, or by directly sending a reconfiguration instruction frame to the terminal.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes: After a preset slave channel access termination condition is met, the slave channel access started with the terminal is terminated, where the termination condition includes at least one of the following situations: The slave channel access time has arrived; Actively initiate the operation of ending slave channel access.

18. An electronic device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as, a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the slave channel access method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

19. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the slave channel access method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

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