Communication method and apparatus based on random frequency band channel access

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications. Disclosed are a communication method and apparatus based on random frequency band channel access. The method comprises: receiving first information from a first communication device in a first frequency band, wherein the first information is configured to indicate a request to access a channel, and the first frequency band is a random access frequency band, or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device; and sending second information to the first communication device, wherein the second information is configured to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel. The present application can significantly reduce the packet transmission collision rate and reduce the channel access delay for communication devices, thus reducing the delay of transmitting data by the communication devices.

Description

Communication method and device based on random frequency band channel access

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202410029716.8 filed on January 8, 2024, entitled “Communication method and device based on random frequency band channel access”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and device based on random frequency band channel access. Background Art

[0003] Channel access refers to the process by which devices in a wireless communication system acquire and use wireless channels for communication through specific methods and protocols. Wireless channel resources are limited in wireless communication systems, and channels must be properly allocated and managed to ensure efficient communication between devices. Different devices compete for access to the channel according to a channel access mechanism, which determines when devices can transmit data. For example, a device can be a client or station (STA). STAs can also be called sites.

[0004] Currently, the distributed coordination function (DCF) mechanism is the primary channel access mechanism. This mechanism, also known as the DCF random backoff mechanism, uses the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) protocol to coordinate channel access between different devices, preventing collisions and conflicts and improving the efficiency and reliability of wireless communications.

[0005] In the current DCF mechanism, the collision rate and delay of STA data transmission are high. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus based on random frequency band channel access, which can greatly reduce the packet collision rate, reduce the channel access delay of the communication device, and further reduce the delay of the communication device in sending data.

[0007] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method based on random frequency band channel access, the method comprising: receiving first information from a first communication device in a first frequency band, the first information being used to indicate a request to access a channel, the first frequency band being a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device; and sending second information to the first communication device, the second information being used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel.

[0008] Exemplarily, the method described in the first aspect may be applied to a second communication device, such as an AP. For example, the method is executed by the second communication device or by a device (such as a chip) built into the second communication device.

[0009] The second communication device can provide wireless access services. The first information can be used to request an access channel to transmit data or use wireless services through the second communication device. A random access frequency band refers to a frequency band that each user (such as the first communication device) can randomly select to send the above-mentioned first information. A fixed access frequency band refers to a frequency band that is inherent to a single user (such as the first communication device) or fixedly allocated to a single user. For a user, when the user is allocated a fixed access frequency band, the user can use the corresponding fixed access frequency band as the above-mentioned first frequency band access channel, such as sending the first information. When the user is not allocated a fixed access frequency band, the user can randomly select an access frequency band from all selectable random access frequency bands as the above-mentioned first frequency band to send the first information.

[0010] For example, taking the first communication device as a STA and the second communication device as an AP, the STA can monitor the channel status of a wireless access service, where the channel status can be either idle or busy. When the channel status remains idle for a certain period of time, the STA can send first information to the AP in a first frequency band. If the STA is assigned a fixed access frequency band, it can select the fixed access frequency band as the first frequency band. If the STA is not assigned a fixed access frequency band, it can randomly select a frequency band from the random access frequency bands as the first frequency band.

[0011] For example, a STA may start monitoring the channel when there is a pending service (such as data to be sent). For example, a STA may start monitoring the channel when there is data to be transmitted (such as an incoming packet) at the upper layer or application layer. The moment when the STA has data to be transmitted or an incoming packet can be called the triggering channel access moment. Alternatively, the STA may always or continuously monitor the channel status. This application does not limit the timing of the STA monitoring the channel status.

[0012] For example, the second information may indicate the frequency band on which the first communications device performs uplink data frame transmission. For example, after receiving the first information, the AP may perform single-user or multi-user scheduling based on the STA's traffic volume. For example, the second information may indicate the frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission. The frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission may be the frequency band specified in the AP scheduling frame. Alternatively, the frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission may be the bandwidth negotiated between the AP and the STA, which is not a limitation here.

[0013] In this communication method, the method in which the first communication device selects a random access frequency band (or a random frequency band) to access the channel can be referred to as random frequency channel access (RFCA). The method in which the first communication device selects a fixed access frequency band (or a fixed frequency band) to access the channel can be referred to as fixed frequency channel access. When the first communication device accesses the channel in accordance with the RFCA method or the fixed frequency channel access method, the packet collision rate between different first communication devices can be greatly reduced, the channel access delay of the first communication device can be reduced, and the delay in the first communication device sending data can be further reduced.

[0014] For example, this communication method reduces the waiting time for a first communication device to access a channel (e.g., by avoiding random backoffs and reducing the backoff time), thereby reducing channel access latency. Furthermore, in busy multi-user (i.e., multiple first communication devices) scenarios, the collision rate between different first communication devices is low, reducing the time overhead caused by retransmissions and expanding the backoff window, further reducing channel access latency.

[0015] In one possible design, there are multiple first communication devices, and the first frequency bands correspond one-to-one to the first communication devices; sending the second information to the first communication devices includes: selecting one or more first communication devices from the multiple first communication devices to send the second information.

[0016] For the second communication device, the second communication device may receive the first information in one first frequency band, or may receive the first information in multiple first frequency bands. When the second communication device receives the first information in one frequency band (such as the first frequency band), it may send the second information to the first communication device based on the first frequency band.

[0017] When a second communication device receives first information on multiple frequency bands, this indicates that multiple first communication devices have sent the first information, and different communication devices have selected different first frequency bands. If the second communication device receives the first information on multiple frequency bands, the second communication device can select the first information on one of the first frequency bands to reply, or can select the first information on multiple first frequency bands to reply.

[0018] In one implementation, the second communication device may randomly select one first information received in a first frequency band from among the multiple received first information to reply, that is, randomly select one first communication device to send the second information.

[0019] In another implementation method, the second communication device can select different selection probabilities for different business priorities based on the business priorities of different first communication devices, and select a first information received in a first frequency band from multiple received first information according to the selection probability of the business priority, that is, select a first communication device to send the second information according to the business priority of the first communication device.

[0020] In one implementation, the second communication device may also randomly select multiple second communication devices to send the second information.

[0021] In another implementation method, the second communication device can consider the service priority and select different selection probabilities for different service priorities according to the service priorities of different first communication devices. According to the selection probability of the service priority, at least two target first information are selected from the multiple received first information to reply respectively, that is, multiple second communication devices are selected to send the second information according to the service priority.

[0022] In one possible design, when one of the first communication devices is selected to send the second information, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a single-user manner; when multiple of the first communication devices are selected to send the second information, the second information is used to instruct multiple of the first communication devices to send data in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

[0023] In this design, the second communication device can independently choose to reply to the first information of one first frequency band (i.e., single-user scheduling), or reply to the first information of multiple first frequency bands (i.e., multi-user scheduling). The second communication device can have higher scheduling rights, which can help improve the uplink transmission efficiency.

[0024] In one possible design, when one of the first communications devices is selected to send the second information, the second information is further used to indicate a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communications device.

[0025] The TXOP information may indicate a TXOP period, indicating that the first communications device may exclusively use the TXOP period to send data without having to compete for a channel.

[0026] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

[0027] In this design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel can be flexibly selected or allocated based on at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0028] Optionally, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of random access frequency band is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of fixed access frequency band is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0029] In the channel's access frequency bands, the allocation of random access frequency bands is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, while the allocation of fixed access frequency bands is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service. This allows the second communication device to comprehensively consider the collision rate and data transmission rate between different first communication devices, and flexibly select or allocate random access frequency bands and fixed access frequency bands based on the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service. For example, the number of random access frequency bands can be adjusted based on the number of users, effectively reducing the possibility of collisions caused by multiple users selecting the same frequency band.

[0030] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

[0031] For example, the access band of a channel can be divided according to resource units (RUs) in the IEEE 802.11 protocol, with each access band corresponding to one RU. For example, a random access band corresponds to one RU, and / or a fixed access band corresponds to one RU. Bandwidth can be divided into RUs of different sizes and allocated to different users to improve spectrum resource utilization.

[0032] In one possible design, the first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0033] In one possible design, the first information also includes: fields related to cache status report information.

[0034] The buffer status report information indicates the amount of data in the buffer of the first communication device, which can be used by the second communication device to understand the buffer status of the first communication device so that the second communication device can perform scheduling and resource allocation based on this information.

[0035] In one possible design, the first information also includes: an extended padding field.

[0036] In this design, by adding an extended fill field to the first information, the uplink scheduling decision time of the second communication device can be increased.

[0037] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending third information to the first communication device, the third information being used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; and receiving fourth information from the first communication device, the fourth information being used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0038] In one possible design, the third information is also used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0039] In this design, the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel can be notified or synchronized to the first communication device by the second communication device. For example, the second communication device can establish a random frequency band channel access session (which can also be called other names without limitation) with the first communication device, and send the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel, or the location information of the access frequency band (such as which RU the access frequency band is in) or the division method to the first communication device through the random frequency band channel access session. The first communication device can send the above-mentioned first information to the second communication device after establishing a random frequency band channel access session with the second communication device.

[0040] In one possible design, the third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0041] In one possible design, the user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; the association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0042] Exemplarily, resource block allocation (RU allocation) may indicate a specific RU. The association identifier may indicate that the RU corresponding to the resource block allocation can access one or all users. When the association identifier indicates that the RU can access all users, it indicates that the RU is a random access frequency band; when the association identifier indicates that the RU can access one user, it indicates that the RU is a fixed access frequency band for the user. It should be understood that the RU described here is equivalent to the frequency band described in the aforementioned embodiment, taking one frequency band corresponding to one RU as an example. When one frequency band corresponds to multiple RUs, it is similar to the case of one RU, such as when the association identifier indicates that the frequency band can access one or all users. The first communication device described in the aforementioned embodiment randomly selects a first frequency band, which means: randomly selecting a first frequency band from the frequency band indicated by the association identifier as a random access frequency band (RU).

[0043] Optionally, when the association identifier indicates that a frequency band (RU) can access a single user, the association identifier can be configured as an ID associated with the user (e.g., the first communication device). When the association identifier indicates that a frequency band can access all users, the association identifier can be configured as a special value, for example, 2044, indicating that the frequency band is a selectable random access frequency band. That is, the association identifiers corresponding to all RUs that are random access frequency bands can be the same special value, and the association identifiers corresponding to RUs that are fixed access frequency bands can be associated with the user ID.

[0044] In one possible design, the user information field also includes an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; at least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information and the broadcast information is also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0045] After receiving the third information, when the first communication device subsequently sends data to the second communication device, it can determine the transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device according to the reception power indicated by the uplink target reception power field (the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end) and the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device, and send the uplink data according to the transmission power.

[0046] For example, multiple users (such as multiple first communication devices) can send data in OFDMA mode according to the uplink data transmission power of the first communication device to achieve power alignment, improve the data OFDMA demodulation performance of the second communication device, and thus improve communication performance.

[0047] In one possible design, the method also includes: sending fifth information to the first communication device, the fifth information being used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; and receiving sixth information from the first communication device, the sixth information being used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0048] In this design, after the data transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device is completed, the above-mentioned random frequency band channel access session can also be deleted.

[0049] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0050] In this design, the allocation result of the channel access frequency band can also be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in a broadcast manner.

[0051] In one possible design, the broadcast information is also used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; the second information, the unicast information and at least one of the broadcast information are also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0052] In this design, the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end can also be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in a broadcast manner.

[0053] In one possible design, the method further includes: sending first synchronization information, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0054] In one possible design, sending the first synchronization information includes: sending a block confirmation frame to the communication device that uploads data, and the block confirmation frame has the function of the first synchronization information.

[0055] In one possible design, the first moment is a moment a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time after the block confirmation frame is received.

[0056] In this design, when different first communication devices send the first information at the first moment according to the instructions of the first synchronization information, the demodulation performance on the second communication device side can be improved.

[0057] In one possible design, the method further includes: when receiving the first information fails, sending second synchronization information, wherein the second synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is resent at a second moment.

[0058] In one possible design, the second moment is a moment after a short frame interval from the time the second synchronization information is received.

[0059] In one possible design, for the above-mentioned first communication device, the channel is in a first scenario, which is a scenario other than the second scenario; the second scenario includes at least one of the following: the channel is idle at the time of triggering channel access by the first communication device, and the channel is still idle after waiting for a first period of time; or, at the time of triggering channel access by the first communication device, the duration of the channel being idle has reached a second period of time.

[0060] In this design, the first communication device can access the channel in the above manner when the channel is in a busy channel scenario (or referred to as the first scenario). When the channel is in an idle channel scenario (or referred to as the second scenario), the first communication device can access the channel in the DCF manner.

[0061] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device based on random frequency band channel access, which has the function of implementing the method described in the first aspect above. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functions of the method described in the first aspect above, such as a sending unit, a receiving unit, etc.

[0062] The receiving unit is configured to receive first information from a first communication device in a first frequency band, wherein the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel, and the first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device.

[0063] A sending unit is configured to send second information to the first communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access a channel.

[0064] In one possible design, there are multiple first communication devices, and the first frequency bands correspond one-to-one to the first communication devices; the sending unit is specifically used to: select one or more first communication devices from the multiple first communication devices to send the second information.

[0065] In one possible design, when one of the first communication devices is selected to send the second information, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a single-user manner; when multiple of the first communication devices are selected to send the second information, the second information is used to instruct multiple of the first communication devices to send data in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

[0066] In one possible design, when one of the first communications devices is selected to send the second information, the second information is further used to indicate a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communications device.

[0067] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

[0068] Optionally, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of random access frequency band is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of fixed access frequency band is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0069] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

[0070] In one possible design, the first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0071] In one possible design, the first information also includes: fields related to cache status report information.

[0072] In one possible design, the first information also includes: an extended padding field.

[0073] In one possible design, the sending unit is further used to send third information to the first communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; the receiving unit is further used to receive fourth information from the first communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0074] In one possible design, the third information is also used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0075] In one possible design, the third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0076] In one possible design, the user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; the association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0077] In one possible design, the user information field also includes an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; at least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information and the broadcast information is also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0078] In one possible design, the sending unit is further used to send fifth information to the first communication device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; the receiving unit is further used to receive sixth information from the first communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0079] In one possible design, the sending unit is also used to send broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0080] In one possible design, the broadcast information is also used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; the second information, the unicast information and at least one of the broadcast information are also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0081] In one possible design, the sending unit is also used to send first synchronization information, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0082] In one possible design, the sending unit is specifically used to send a block confirmation frame to the communication device that uploads data, and the block confirmation frame has the function of the first synchronization information.

[0083] In one possible design, the first moment is a moment a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time after the block confirmation frame is received.

[0084] In one possible design, the sending unit is further used to send second synchronization information when receiving the first information fails, and the second synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is resent at a second moment.

[0085] In one possible design, the second moment is a moment after a short frame interval from the time the second synchronization information is received.

[0086] In a third aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, so that when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0087] In a fourth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0088] Illustratively, in the third aspect and the fourth aspect, the processor is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0089] The communication device described in the second to fourth aspects above may be a second communication device, such as an AP, or may be a device (such as a chip) built into the second communication device.

[0090] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions, or instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect is implemented. For example, when the computer software instructions are executed in a first communication device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into a second communication device, the second communication device implements the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0091] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved by the second to fifth aspects provided above can refer to the beneficial effects in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0092] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method based on random frequency band channel access, the method comprising: sending first information to a second communication device in a first frequency band, the first information being used to indicate a request to access a channel, the first frequency band being a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device; and receiving second information from the second communication device, the second information being used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel.

[0093] Exemplarily, the method described in the sixth aspect can be applied to a first communication device, such as a STA. For example, the method is performed by the first communication device, or by a device (e.g., a chip) built into the first communication device.

[0094] The second communication device can provide wireless access services. The first information can be used to request an access channel to transmit data or use wireless services through the second communication device. A random access frequency band refers to a frequency band that each user (such as the first communication device) can randomly select to send the above-mentioned first information. A fixed access frequency band refers to a frequency band that is inherent to a single user (such as the first communication device) or fixedly allocated to a single user. For a user, when the user is allocated a fixed access frequency band, the user can use the corresponding fixed access frequency band as the above-mentioned first frequency band access channel, such as sending the first information. When the user is not allocated a fixed access frequency band, the user can randomly select an access frequency band from all selectable random access frequency bands as the above-mentioned first frequency band to send the first information.

[0095] For example, taking the first communication device as a STA and the second communication device as an AP, the STA can monitor the channel status of a wireless access service, where the channel status can be either idle or busy. When the channel status remains idle for a certain period of time, the STA can send first information to the AP in a first frequency band. If the STA is assigned a fixed access frequency band, it can select the fixed access frequency band as the first frequency band. If the STA is not assigned a fixed access frequency band, it can randomly select a frequency band from the random access frequency bands as the first frequency band.

[0096] For example, a STA may start monitoring the channel when there is a pending service (such as data to be sent). For example, a STA may start monitoring the channel when there is data to be transmitted (such as an incoming packet) at the upper layer or application layer. The moment when the STA has data to be transmitted or an incoming packet can be called the triggering channel access moment. Alternatively, the STA may always or continuously monitor the channel status. This application does not limit the timing of the STA monitoring the channel status.

[0097] For example, the second information may indicate the frequency band on which the first communications device performs uplink data frame transmission. For example, after receiving the first information, the AP may perform single-user or multi-user scheduling based on the STA's traffic volume. For example, the second information may indicate the frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission. The frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission may be the frequency band specified in the AP scheduling frame. Alternatively, the frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission may be the bandwidth negotiated between the AP and the STA, which is not a limitation here.

[0098] In this communication method, the method in which the first communication device selects a random access frequency band (or a random frequency band) to access the channel can be referred to as random frequency channel access (RFCA). The method in which the first communication device selects a fixed access frequency band (or a fixed frequency band) to access the channel can be referred to as fixed frequency channel access. When the first communication device accesses the channel in accordance with the RFCA method or the fixed frequency channel access method, the packet collision rate between different first communication devices can be greatly reduced, the channel access delay of the first communication device can be reduced, and the delay in the first communication device sending data can be further reduced.

[0099] For example, this communication method reduces the waiting time for a first communication device to access a channel (e.g., by avoiding random backoffs and reducing the backoff time), thereby reducing channel access latency. Furthermore, in busy multi-user (i.e., multiple first communication devices) scenarios, the collision rate between different first communication devices is low, reducing the time overhead caused by retransmissions and expanding the backoff window, further reducing channel access latency.

[0100] In one possible design, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a single-user manner; or, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

[0101] In this design, the second communication device can independently choose to reply to the first information of one first frequency band (i.e., single-user scheduling), or reply to the first information of multiple first frequency bands (i.e., multi-user scheduling). The second communication device can have higher scheduling rights, which can help improve the uplink transmission efficiency.

[0102] In one possible design, the second information is further used to indicate a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communication device.

[0103] The TXOP information may indicate a TXOP period, indicating that the first communications device may exclusively use the TXOP period to send data without having to compete for a channel.

[0104] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

[0105] In this design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel can be flexibly selected or allocated based on at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0106] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of random access frequency bands is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of fixed access frequency bands is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0107] In the channel's access frequency bands, the allocation of random access frequency bands is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, while the allocation of fixed access frequency bands is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service. This allows the second communication device to comprehensively consider the collision rate and data transmission rate between different first communication devices, and flexibly select or allocate random access frequency bands and fixed access frequency bands based on the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service. For example, the number of random access frequency bands can be adjusted based on the number of users, effectively reducing the possibility of collisions caused by multiple users selecting the same frequency band.

[0108] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

[0109] For example, the access band of a channel can be divided according to resource units (RUs) in the IEEE 802.11 protocol, with each access band corresponding to one RU. For example, a random access band corresponds to one RU, and / or a fixed access band corresponds to one RU. Bandwidth can be divided into RUs of different sizes and allocated to different users to improve spectrum resource utilization.

[0110] In one possible design, the first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0111] In one possible design, the first information also includes: fields related to cache status report information.

[0112] The buffer status report information indicates the amount of data in the buffer of the first communication device, which can be used by the second communication device to understand the buffer status of the first communication device so that the second communication device can perform scheduling and resource allocation based on this information.

[0113] In one possible design, the first information also includes: an extended padding field.

[0114] In this design, by adding an extended fill field to the first information, the uplink scheduling decision time of the second communication device can be increased.

[0115] In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving third information from the second communication device, the third information being used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; and sending fourth information to the second communication device, the fourth information being used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0116] In one possible design, the third information is also used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0117] In this design, the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel can be notified or synchronized to the first communication device by the second communication device. For example, the second communication device can establish a random frequency band channel access session (which can also be called other names without limitation) with the first communication device, and send the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel, or the location information of the access frequency band (such as which RU the access frequency band is in) or the division method to the first communication device through the random frequency band channel access session. The first communication device can send the above-mentioned first information to the second communication device after establishing a random frequency band channel access session with the second communication device.

[0118] In one possible design, the third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0119] In one possible design, the user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; the association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0120] Exemplarily, resource block allocation (RU allocation) may indicate a specific RU. The association identifier may indicate that the RU corresponding to the resource block allocation can access one or all users. When the association identifier indicates that the RU can access all users, it indicates that the RU is a random access frequency band; when the association identifier indicates that the RU can access one user, it indicates that the RU is a fixed access frequency band for the user. It should be understood that the RU described here is equivalent to the frequency band described in the aforementioned embodiment, taking one frequency band corresponding to one RU as an example. When one frequency band corresponds to multiple RUs, it is similar to the case of one RU, such as when the association identifier indicates that the frequency band can access one or all users. The first communication device described in the aforementioned embodiment randomly selects a first frequency band, which means: randomly selecting a first frequency band from the frequency band indicated by the association identifier as a random access frequency band (RU).

[0121] Optionally, when the association identifier indicates that a frequency band (RU) can access a single user, the association identifier can be configured as an ID associated with the user (e.g., the first communication device). When the association identifier indicates that a frequency band can access all users, the association identifier can be configured as a special value, for example, 2044, indicating that the frequency band is a selectable random access frequency band. That is, the association identifiers corresponding to all RUs that are random access frequency bands can be the same special value, and the association identifiers corresponding to RUs that are fixed access frequency bands can be associated with the user ID.

[0122] In one possible design, the user information field also includes an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; at least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information and the broadcast information is also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0123] After receiving the third information, when the first communication device subsequently sends data to the second communication device, it can determine the transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device according to the reception power indicated by the uplink target reception power field (the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end) and the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device, and send the uplink data according to the transmission power.

[0124] For example, multiple users (such as multiple first communication devices) can send data in OFDMA mode according to the uplink data transmission power of the first communication device to achieve power alignment, improve the data OFDMA demodulation performance of the second communication device, and thus improve communication performance.

[0125] In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving fifth information from the second communication device, the fifth information being used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; and sending sixth information to the second communication device, the sixth information being used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0126] In this design, after the data transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device is completed, the above-mentioned random frequency band channel access session can also be deleted.

[0127] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0128] In this design, the allocation result of the channel access frequency band can also be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in a broadcast manner.

[0129] In one possible design, the broadcast information is also used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; the second information, the unicast information and at least one of the broadcast information are also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0130] In this design, the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end can also be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in a broadcast manner.

[0131] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving first synchronization information from the second communication device or other first communication device, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0132] In one possible design, the first synchronization information is a block confirmation frame sent by the second communication device or the other first communication device.

[0133] In one possible design, the first moment is a moment a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time after the block confirmation frame is received.

[0134] In this design, when different first communication devices send the first information at the first moment according to the instructions of the first synchronization information, the demodulation performance on the second communication device side can be improved.

[0135] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving second synchronization information from the second communication device, where the second synchronization information is used to instruct the first communication device to resend the first information at a second moment.

[0136] In one possible design, the second moment is a moment after a short frame interval from the time the second synchronization information is received.

[0137] In one possible design, the channel is in a first scenario, which is a scenario other than the second scenario; the second scenario includes at least one of the following: the channel is idle at the time when the first communication device triggers channel access, and the channel is still idle after waiting for a first period of time; or, at the time when the first communication device triggers channel access, the channel is idle for a second period of time.

[0138] In this design, the first communication device can access the channel in the above manner when the channel is in a busy channel scenario (or referred to as the first scenario). When the channel is in an idle channel scenario (or referred to as the second scenario), the first communication device can access the channel in the DCF manner.

[0139] In one possible design, there are multiple first communication devices, and the first frequency bands correspond one-to-one to the first communication devices; sending the second information to the first communication devices includes: selecting one or more of the multiple first communication devices to send the second information.

[0140] For the second communication device, the second communication device may receive the first information in one first frequency band, or may receive the first information in multiple first frequency bands. When the second communication device receives the first information in one frequency band (such as the first frequency band), it may send the second information to the first communication device based on the first frequency band.

[0141] When a second communication device receives first information on multiple frequency bands, this indicates that multiple first communication devices have sent the first information, and different communication devices have selected different first frequency bands. If the second communication device receives the first information on multiple frequency bands, the second communication device can select the first information on one of the first frequency bands to reply, or can select the first information on multiple first frequency bands to reply.

[0142] In one implementation, the second communication device may randomly select one first information received in a first frequency band from among the multiple received first information to reply, that is, randomly select one first communication device to send the second information.

[0143] In another implementation method, the second communication device can select different selection probabilities for different business priorities based on the business priorities of different first communication devices, and select a first information received in a first frequency band from multiple received first information according to the selection probability of the business priority, that is, select a first communication device to send the second information according to the business priority of the first communication device.

[0144] In one implementation, the second communication device may also randomly select multiple second communication devices to send the second information.

[0145] In another implementation method, the second communication device can consider the service priority and select different selection probabilities for different service priorities according to the service priorities of different first communication devices. According to the selection probability of the service priority, at least two target first information are selected from the multiple received first information to reply respectively, that is, multiple second communication devices are selected to send the second information according to the service priority.

[0146] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device based on random frequency band channel access, which has the function of implementing the method described in the sixth aspect above. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functions of the method described in the sixth aspect above, for example, a receiving unit, a sending unit, etc.

[0147] The sending unit is configured to send first information to the second communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel, and the first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device.

[0148] The receiving unit is configured to receive second information from the second communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access a channel.

[0149] In one possible design, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a single-user manner; or, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

[0150] In one possible design, the second information is further used to indicate a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communication device.

[0151] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

[0152] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of random access frequency bands is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of fixed access frequency bands is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0153] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

[0154] In one possible design, the first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0155] In one possible design, the first information also includes: fields related to cache status report information.

[0156] In one possible design, the first information also includes: an extended padding field.

[0157] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further used to receive third information from the second communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; the sending unit is further used to send fourth information to the second communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0158] In one possible design, the third information is also used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0159] In one possible design, the third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0160] In one possible design, the user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; the association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0161] In one possible design, the user information field also includes an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; at least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information and the broadcast information is also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0162] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further used to receive fifth information from the second communication device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; the sending unit is further used to send sixth information to the second communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0163] In one possible design, the receiving unit is also used to receive broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0164] In one possible design, the broadcast information is also used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; the second information, the unicast information and at least one of the broadcast information are also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0165] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further used to receive first synchronization information from the second communication device or other first communication device, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0166] In one possible design, the first synchronization information is a block confirmation frame sent by the second communication device or the other first communication device.

[0167] In one possible design, the first moment is a moment a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time after the block confirmation frame is received.

[0168] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further used to receive second synchronization information from the second communication device, where the second synchronization information is used to instruct the first communication device to resend the first information at a second moment.

[0169] In one possible design, the second moment is a moment after a short frame interval from the time the second synchronization information is received.

[0170] In one possible design, the channel is in a first scenario, which is a scenario other than the second scenario; the second scenario includes at least one of the following: the channel is idle at the time when the first communication device triggers channel access, and the channel is still idle after waiting for a first period of time; or, at the time when the first communication device triggers channel access, the channel is idle for a second period of time.

[0171] In an eighth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor for executing computer instructions stored in a memory, so that when the computer instructions are executed, the device executes the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0172] In the ninth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit, the processor being used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0173] Illustratively, in the eighth and ninth aspects, the processor is configured to execute the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0174] The communication device described in the seventh to ninth aspects above may be a first communication device, such as a STA, or may be a device (for example, a chip) built into the first communication device.

[0175] In a tenth aspect, the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions, or instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect is implemented. For example, when the computer software instructions are executed in a first communication device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the first communication device, the first communication device implements the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect.

[0176] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved in the seventh to tenth aspects provided above can be referred to the beneficial effects in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof, and will not be repeated here.

[0177] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communications device comprising: a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit can be used to send and receive information or to communicate with other network elements. The processing unit can be used to process data. The device can implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof, using the transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0178] In a twelfth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed, can implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0179] In the thirteenth aspect, the present application also provides a chip system, which includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuits and the processors are interconnected through lines; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0180] In the fourteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication system, including: a first communication device and a second communication device; the second communication device executes the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof; the first communication device executes the method described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0181] In a fifteenth aspect, the present application also provides a communication device that can be used to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, or the method described in the sixth aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0182] It can be understood that the beneficial effects that can be achieved in the above-mentioned eleventh to fifteenth aspects can refer to the beneficial effects described in the first and sixth aspects, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0183] FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of channel contention access in a DCF mechanism;

[0184] FIG2 shows a schematic diagram of random time access in a DCF mechanism;

[0185] FIG3 shows a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0186] FIG4 shows a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0187] FIG5 shows a schematic flow chart of a communication method based on random frequency band channel access provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0188] FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a CA frame that does not carry BSR information, provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0189] FIG7 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a CA frame carrying BSR information provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0190] FIG8 shows another flow chart of a communication method based on random frequency band channel access according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0191] FIG9 shows a schematic diagram of the format of an ADD-RFCA Request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0192] FIG10 shows a schematic diagram of the format of an ADD-RFCA Response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0193] FIG11 shows another flow chart of a communication method based on random frequency band channel access according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0194] FIG12 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a DEL-RFCA Request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0195] FIG13 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a Trigger frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0196] FIG14 shows a schematic diagram of random frequency band access provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0197] FIG15 shows a schematic diagram of a fixed frequency band access provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0198] FIG16 shows a schematic diagram of a change in channel access success rate of DCF and RFCA provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0199] FIG17 shows another schematic diagram of changes in channel access success rates of DCF and RFCA provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0200] FIG18 is a schematic diagram showing the change in channel access success rate when the number of frequency bands is different in RFCA provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0201] FIG19 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device based on random frequency band channel access provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0202] FIG20 shows another structural diagram of a communication device based on random frequency band channel access provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0203] Channel access refers to the process by which devices in a wireless communication system acquire and use wireless channels for communication through specific methods and protocols. Wireless channel resources are limited in wireless communication systems, and channels must be properly allocated and managed to ensure efficient communication between devices. Different devices compete for access to the channel according to a channel access mechanism, which determines when devices can transmit data. For example, a device can be a client or station (STA). STAs can also be called sites.

[0204] For example, in a WiFi network, a medium access control (MAC) layer may coordinate multiple STAs to access a shared wireless channel to ensure efficient data transmission.

[0205] Currently, the distributed coordination function (DCF) mechanism is the primary channel access mechanism. This mechanism, also known as the DCF random backoff mechanism, uses the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) protocol to coordinate channel access between different devices, preventing collisions and conflicts and improving the efficiency and reliability of wireless communications.

[0206] In the DCF mechanism, the random backoff process is as follows: the STA first randomly selects a random number (or backoff value) in the range [0, CW] for backoff counting. CW can be 30, 60, or other values, with no restrictions. The STA starts backoff counting based on the selected random number. The time from the random number backing off to 0 is called a backoff slot. All backoff slots follow a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) duration. During this DIFS duration, the channel is considered idle (e.g., unoccupied). During each backoff slot, the STA continues to monitor the channel. If the channel becomes busy (e.g., occupied) within a backoff slot, the backoff process is suspended. If the channel becomes idle again within a DIFS duration (or if the channel remains idle for a DIFS duration), the backoff counting resumes, for example, by resetting from the random number at the time of suspension.

[0207] In other words, in the DCF mechanism, the STA's channel contention access may include two processes: listening and backoff. When the STA has data to send, it can start the listening process to listen to whether the channel is idle. After sensing that the channel is idle, it can wait for a fixed DIFS period and then enter the backoff process. In the backoff process, the STA can randomly select a random number in the range of [0, CW] for backoff / backoff. CW can be called a competition window (competition windows) or a backoff window. For example, the STA can select a random number and use a backoff counter to backoff from the random number. The STA can seize the channel to send data when the backoff count reaches 0. In the backoff process, if the STA finds that the channel is occupied, the backoff counter stops counting, that is, the backoff process is suspended.

[0208] Exemplarily, the backoff window may be 30. The STA may select a random number 15 in the backoff process, and then occupy the channel to send data after counting down from 15 to 0.

[0209] Figure 1 illustrates a channel contention access scenario using the DCF mechanism, using four stations, STA1 through STA4, as an example. As shown in Figure 1, when multiple STAs are delayed and enter random backoff, the station (STA3) with the smallest backoff count (i.e., random number) wins the contention and transmits data first. The remaining stations suspend backoff and continue transmission for a DIFS after the channel becomes idle again. Subsequently, the station (STA4) with the next smallest backoff count wins the contention and transmits data. The station (STA2) with the longest backoff count secures the channel last and transmits data. Since the newly accessed station (STA1 again) selects a random backoff count from the entire contention window, it is likely to select a value greater than the remaining backoff counts of stations (such as STA2) that have suspended backoffs in previous access attempts.

[0210] As can be seen above, the DCF mechanism is a random time selection access technology. Different STAs can access the channel at different times to transmit data. From a temporal perspective, when STAs randomly select access to the channel, some periods may not be selected, resulting in wasted time and increased latency for STAs to transmit data. As the number of STAs increases, the probability of multiple STAs selecting the same time slot for channel access also increases significantly. When multiple STAs select the same time slot for channel access, packet collisions may occur during that time slot. These STAs, after experiencing packet collisions, need to expand their backoff windows to re-compete for the channel and retransmit data, which also increases time overhead and latency for STAs to transmit data.

[0211] For example, Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of random time access in a DCF mechanism. As shown in Figure 2, the time after a STA sends a data packet after the DIFS duration can be divided into multiple time slices (or moments, time points, or time periods). Each rectangular grid in Figure 2 represents a time slice. A time slice can be called a slot time (a slot time), which can be 9 microseconds or other values. For example, when a STA performs a random backoff, it backs off once or by a value per time slice.

[0212] In the DCF mechanism, different STAs can select different time slots to access the channel. The number shown in each time slot can represent the STA's identification information. For example, after a STA sends a data packet, no STA accesses the channel in the first time slot after the DIFS duration. STA5 accesses the channel in the second time slot, and STA2 accesses the channel in the third time slot.

[0213] Taking the first time slot after the DIFS duration after a STA sends a data packet as an example, if no STA accesses the channel within this time slot (that is, no user selects it, and the user can refer to the STA), the time corresponding to this time slot is wasted. The STA that needs to send data may choose to access the channel in other time slots later, which increases the delay for the STA to send data.

[0214] If STA1 and STA3 both access the channel in the fifth time slot after the DIFS duration after a STA sends a data packet, signal overlap may occur, preventing the receiver from parsing the data. This is known as a packet collision. After the collision, STA1 and STA3 need to increase the backoff window to re-compete for the channel. For example, the CW can be doubled from 30 to 60. This significantly increases the data transmission delay between STA1 and STA3.

[0215] It is understandable that the greater the number of STAs, the higher the probability of packet collision and the longer the delay for STAs to send data.

[0216] Against this background, the present application provides a communication method based on random frequency band channel access, or simply a communication method. In this method, a second communication device can provide wireless access services, and a first communication device can access a channel based on random frequency band selection and / or fixed frequency band channel access to transmit data or use wireless services through the second communication device. This can significantly reduce the packet collision rate, reduce the channel access latency of the first communication device, and thereby reduce the latency of the first communication device sending data.

[0217] Exemplarily, in the communication method, the steps performed by the first communication device may be performed by the first communication device or a device (such as a chip) built into the first communication device. The steps performed by the second communication device may be performed by the second communication device or a device (such as a chip) built into the second communication device.

[0218] In some possible scenarios, the communication method can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication system, the second communication device can be a device providing wireless access services in the WLAN, and the first communication device can be a wireless device accessing wireless services or channels in the WLAN.

[0219] For example, Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system may include: a first communication device 310 and a second communication device 320.

[0220] In some possible scenarios, the communication system shown in FIG3 may adopt WLAN technology, such as WiFi.

[0221] For example, the second communication device 320 can serve as an access point (AP) of a WLAN, such as a central node of a WLAN, capable of providing wireless access services. The first communication device 310 can access the AP to use wireless services of the WLAN, such as accessing the network or sending data.

[0222] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the second communication device 320 may be referred to as an AP or a wireless access point, or an access network device or a radio access network (RAN) device, etc. The second communication device 320 may include a wireless access point device, a radio network controller (RNC), a wireless fidelity (WIFI) access point (AP), a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a wireless router, a gateway, a WIFI module (such as a WIFI chip), a wireless network card, a mobile hotspot device (such as a mobile hotspot device or a mobile router, etc.).

[0223] Exemplarily, the first communication device 310 may be a terminal station device in a WLAN, and different first communication devices 310 may communicate with each other through the second communication device 320 (such as an AP).

[0224] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device 310 may also be referred to as user equipment (UE) or terminal equipment, or STA. In some examples, the first communication device 310 may be an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile terminal (MT), a user terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device, a target terminal, etc., without limitation herein.

[0225] In the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device 310 may be a wireless terminal. A wireless terminal may be a device that provides voice and / or other service data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connection function, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. For example, the terminal device 320 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a cellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS) phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal in a 5G mobile communication system or a terminal in a future evolution network, etc.

[0226] Optionally, in some possible scenarios, some communication devices (e.g., Wi-Fi chips) can function as both the first communication device 310 (e.g., a STA) and the second communication device 320 (e.g., an AP). In other words, such communication devices can operate in either AP mode or STA mode. For example, a communication device can function as a STA device to connect to other AP devices, and also as an AP device to allow other STA devices to access it, and both processes can occur simultaneously.

[0227] It should be understood that the present application does not limit the specific product forms of the first communication device 310 and the second communication device 320. For example, FIG3 only takes the example of the first communication device 310 including a computer and a mobile phone, and the second communication device 320 including a wireless router.

[0228] In some possible scenarios, the communication method can also be applied to other wireless communication systems, such as ZigBee communication systems, Bluetooth communication systems, radio frequency identification (RFID) communication systems, and other future communication systems. This application does not limit the type of communication system to which the communication method can be applied.

[0229] For example, Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the components of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be the first communication device 310 in the above-mentioned communication system, such as a STA, or the second communication device 320 in the above-mentioned communication system, such as an AP. As shown in Figure 4, the communication device may include: at least one processor 41, a memory 42, a communication interface 43, and a bus 44.

[0230] Processor 41 is the control center of the communication device and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, processor 41 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0231] The processor 41 can execute various functions of the communication device by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 42 and calling data stored in the memory 42. For example, the processor 41 can execute the steps performed by the first communication device 310 or the second communication device 320 in the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0232] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 41 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 4 .

[0233] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, a communication device may include multiple processors, such as processor 41 and processor 45 shown in FIG4 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0234] The memory 42 can store a software program for the method steps performed by the communication device and be controlled for execution by the processor 41. The memory 42 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these.

[0235] The memory 42 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 41 via the bus 44. Alternatively, the memory 42 may be integrated with the processor 41, which is not limited here.

[0236] Communication interface 43, using any transceiver or other device, is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. Communication interface 43 may include an Ethernet interface, a radio access network (RAN) interface, a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, etc. Communication interface 43 may include a receiving unit to implement a receiving function and a sending unit to implement a sending function.

[0237] Bus 44 can be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. This bus can be classified as an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG4 shows only one thick line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0238] Although a bus 44 is used in FIG. 4 , it is understandable that the bus can be replaced by other forms of connection relationships and is not limited to the bus itself.

[0239] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device 310 and / or the second communication device 320 may also include more or fewer components than those shown in FIG. 4 , which is not limited here.

[0240] The following is an exemplary description of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The processing described below as being performed by a single execution subject can also be divided into multiple execution subjects, which can be logically and / or physically separated. It should also be understood that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0241] It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are merely for distinguishing descriptions and are not used to specifically limit a particular feature. That is, the first or second can include more content, rather than being limited to a specific concept. "And / or" describes the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship. At least one refers to one or more; multiple refers to two or more. The embodiments of the present application may only perform fewer steps than all the steps, or perform more steps, without limitation. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions is used to indicate any combination of the listed items; for example, at least one of A, B, and / or C can mean the following: A exists alone, B exists alone, C exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, and A, B, and C exist at the same time, where A, B, and C can be single or multiple.

[0242] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art in the art of this application. The terms used in the specification of this application are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0243] Figure 5 shows a flow chart of a communication method based on random frequency band channel access according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5 , the communication method may include steps S501-S502.

[0244] For example, in the process shown in FIG5 , the steps performed by the first communication device may be specifically performed by the first communication device, or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the first communication device. The steps performed by the second communication device may be specifically performed by the second communication device, or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the second communication device.

[0245] S501. A first communication device sends first information to a second communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel. The first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device.

[0246] Accordingly, the second communication device can receive the first information. For example, the second communication device receives the first information on the first frequency band.

[0247] As described in the above embodiments, the second communication device may provide wireless access services, wherein the first information may be used to request an access channel to transmit data or use wireless services through the second communication device.

[0248] In an embodiment of the present application, the channel can be divided into at least one frequency band (or access frequency band), such as N access frequency bands, where N is an integer greater than 0. The first frequency band can be one of the N access frequency bands. In an embodiment of the present application, the access frequency band of the channel can include two types, namely random access frequency bands and fixed access frequency bands. Among them, the random access frequency band refers to a frequency band that each user (such as the first communication device) can randomly select for sending the above-mentioned first information. The fixed access frequency band refers to a frequency band that is inherent to a single user (such as the first communication device) or fixedly allocated to a single user. For a user, when the user is allocated a fixed access frequency band, the user can use the corresponding fixed access frequency band as the above-mentioned first frequency band to access the channel, such as to send the first information. When the user is not allocated a fixed access frequency band, the user can randomly select an access frequency band from all selectable random access frequency bands as the above-mentioned first frequency band to send the first information.

[0249] It should be understood that, in the present application, a channel may include a random access frequency band and / or a fixed access frequency band. The present application does not limit the implementation of the frequency band.

[0250] For example, taking the first communication device as a STA and the second communication device as an AP, the STA can monitor the channel status of a wireless access service, where the channel status can be either idle or busy. When the channel status remains idle for a certain period of time, the STA can send first information to the AP in a first frequency band. If the STA is assigned a fixed access frequency band, it can select the fixed access frequency band as the first frequency band. If the STA is not assigned a fixed access frequency band, it can randomly select a frequency band from the random access frequency bands as the first frequency band.

[0251] Optionally, the aforementioned certain duration (i.e., the duration that the STA needs to wait after detecting that the channel state is idle) can be a DIFS duration or other duration. For example, after the duration that the STA detects that the channel state is idle reaches the sum of the DIFS duration and "a lot time", the first information can be sent. This application does not limit the length of the duration that the STA needs to wait after detecting that the channel state is idle.

[0252] For example, a STA can start monitoring a channel when there is pending traffic (e.g., data to be sent). For example, a STA can start monitoring a channel when there is data to be transmitted (e.g., an incoming packet) at the upper layer or application layer. The moment when a STA has pending data or an incoming packet is called a triggering channel access moment.

[0253] Alternatively, the STA may also monitor the channel status all the time or continuously. This application does not limit the timing of the STA monitoring the channel status.

[0254] After receiving the first information, the second communication device may send second information to the first communication device to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel. For example, S502 may be executed.

[0255] S502. The second communication device sends second information to the first communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel.

[0256] Accordingly, the first communication device may receive the second information from the second communication device.

[0257] After receiving the second information, the first communication device completes channel access and can perform uplink data frame transmission, for example, can send uplink data to the second communication device.

[0258] For example, the second information may indicate the frequency band on which the first communications device performs uplink data frame transmission. For example, after receiving the first information, the AP may perform single-user or multi-user scheduling based on the STA's traffic volume. For example, the second information may indicate the frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission. The frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission may be the frequency band specified in the AP scheduling frame. Alternatively, the frequency band on which the STA performs uplink data transmission may be the bandwidth negotiated between the AP and the STA, which is not a limitation here.

[0259] Optionally, the second communication device may not reply the second information to the first communication device, or reply other information, which is not limited here. For example, the second communication device may deny the first communication device access to the channel.

[0260] In this communication method, the method in which the first communication device selects a random access frequency band (or a random frequency band) to access the channel can be referred to as random frequency channel access (RFCA). The method in which the first communication device selects a fixed access frequency band (or a fixed frequency band) to access the channel can be referred to as fixed frequency channel access. When the first communication device accesses the channel in accordance with the RFCA method or the fixed frequency channel access method, the packet collision rate between different first communication devices can be greatly reduced, the channel access delay of the first communication device can be reduced, and the delay in the first communication device sending data can be further reduced.

[0261] For example, this communication method reduces the waiting time for a first communication device to access a channel (e.g., by avoiding random backoffs and reducing the backoff time), thereby reducing channel access latency. Furthermore, in busy multi-user (i.e., multiple first communication devices) scenarios, the collision rate between different first communication devices is low, reducing the time overhead caused by retransmissions and expanding the backoff window, further reducing channel access latency.

[0262] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, one or more first communication devices may transmit the first information to the second communication device. Different first communication devices may select different frequency bands to transmit the first information, or may select the same frequency band to transmit the first information. The second communication device may receive the first information on all frequency bands.

[0263] For example, in a scenario with multiple first communication devices, different first communication devices may select different channel access methods, such as some first communication devices selecting a fixed frequency band channel access method and some first communication devices selecting an RFCA method. When multiple (or a large number) first communication devices select the RFCA method to access the channel, there may also be a situation where some first communication devices select the same random access frequency band. In this case, for the second communication device, if it cannot parse the first information in the random access frequency band, it may also abandon or discard the first information of the random access frequency band.

[0264] In other words, in some possible scenarios, when different first communication devices select the same frequency band to send first information, the second communication device may not be able to parse the first information. For example, when STA1 and STA2 select the same first frequency band to send first information, the AP may not be able to parse the first information sent by STA1 and STA2 on that first frequency band. For this scenario, in an embodiment of the present application, the second communication device can discard the information on the frequency band where the first information cannot be parsed and select the first information that can be parsed normally as a reply.

[0265] For example, STA1 sends the first information in frequency band 1, and STA2 and STA3 send the first information in frequency band 2. The AP can normally parse the first information in frequency band 1 but cannot parse the first information in frequency band 2. The AP can only reply to the first information in frequency band 1.

[0266] For the second communication device, the second communication device may receive the first information in one first frequency band, or may receive the first information in multiple first frequency bands. When the second communication device receives the first information in one frequency band (such as the first frequency band), it may send the second information to the first communication device based on the first frequency band.

[0267] When a second communication device receives first information on multiple frequency bands, this indicates that multiple first communication devices have sent the first information, and different communication devices have selected different first frequency bands. In the case where the second communication device receives the first information on multiple frequency bands, in this embodiment of the present application, the second communication device may select the first information on one of the first frequency bands to reply, or may select the first information on multiple first frequency bands to reply.

[0268] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG5 , there may be multiple first communication devices, and the first frequency bands correspond one to one with the first communication devices. The step of sending the second information to the first communication devices in S502 may include: selecting one or more first communication devices from the multiple first communication devices to send the second information.

[0269] The following describes respectively the cases where, when the second communication device receives first information on multiple frequency bands, it chooses to reply to first information on one first frequency band and to reply to first information on multiple first frequency bands.

[0270] For the case where the second communication device selects a first information received in a first frequency band from multiple received first information to reply, that is, selects a first communication device to send the second information, in one implementation, the second communication device can randomly select a first information received in a first frequency band from multiple received first information to reply, that is, randomly selects a first communication device to send the second information.

[0271] In another implementation method, the second communication device can select different selection probabilities for different business priorities based on the business priorities of different first communication devices, and select a first information received in a first frequency band from multiple received first information according to the selection probability of the business priority, that is, select a first communication device to send the second information according to the business priority of the first communication device.

[0272] For example, in this implementation, the second communication device may consider the service priority and select the first information with a higher service priority to reply.

[0273] For the case where the second communication device selects multiple (such as at least two, the number is not limited) first information received in the first frequency band from the multiple first information received to reply, that is, selects multiple first communication devices to send the second information, in one implementation method, the second communication device can also randomly select multiple second communication devices to send the second information.

[0274] In another implementation method, the second communication device can consider the service priority and select different selection probabilities for different service priorities according to the service priorities of different first communication devices. According to the selection probability of the service priority, at least two target first information are selected from the multiple received first information to reply respectively, that is, multiple second communication devices are selected to send the second information according to the service priority.

[0275] It should be noted that, for the above-mentioned case where the second communication device responds to the first information of a first frequency band and the case where the second communication device responds to the first information of multiple first frequency bands (such as target first information), the role of the second information is different in the two different cases.

[0276] In the case described above where the second communication device responds to the first information regarding a first frequency band, the second information may instruct the first communication device to transmit data in single-user (SU) mode. That is, when the second communication device selects a first communication device to transmit the second information, the second information instructs the first communication device to transmit data in SU mode. For example, the second information may instruct the first communication device to transmit uplink data within the negotiated bandwidth or a certain frequency band.

[0277] In the case described above where the second communication device replies to the first information for multiple first frequency bands, the second information may instruct the first communication devices corresponding to the multiple first frequency bands to transmit data using an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) scheme. That is, when the second communication device selects multiple first communication devices to transmit the second information, the second information is used to instruct the multiple first communication devices to transmit data using a multi-user (MU) OFDMA scheme.

[0278] For example, taking the first communication device as a STA and the second communication device as an AP, the AP may perform MU uplink scheduling according to the traffic volume of the STA, so that multiple STAs send data in an OFDMA manner.

[0279] In an embodiment of the present application, the second communication device can independently choose to reply to the first information of one first frequency band (i.e., single-user scheduling), or reply to the first information of multiple first frequency bands (i.e., multi-user scheduling). The second communication device can have higher scheduling rights, which can help improve the uplink transmission efficiency.

[0280] Optionally, the second information may be sent to all associated first communication devices, and may specifically indicate which one or several first communication devices may send data or be scheduled in this round.

[0281] Optionally, for the above-mentioned situation where the second communication device replies to the first information of a first frequency band, that is, when the second communication device selects a first communication device to send the second information, the second information can also be used to indicate the transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communication device.

[0282] For example, the second information may carry TXOP information or a field. The TXOP information may indicate a TXOP period, indicating that the first communication device may exclusively use the TXOP period to send data without having to compete for a channel.

[0283] The above embodiments describe how a first communication device accesses a channel, and how a second communication device can perform single-user or multi-user scheduling. The channel can be divided into at least one frequency band (or access frequency band), such as N access frequency bands, where N is an integer greater than 0. The access frequency bands of the channel may include random access frequency bands and / or fixed access frequency bands. The following provides an exemplary description of the allocation rules for the access frequency bands of the channel in the embodiments of the present application.

[0284] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the aforementioned first communication device.

[0285] Exemplarily, a communication device associated with a wireless access service may also be referred to as a communication device associated with a second communication device. For example, the second communication device is an AP, and the allocation of a channel access frequency band is related to at least one of the number of STAs associated with the AP, their activity level, and traffic volume. The AP may allocate a random access frequency band and / or a fixed access frequency band to the channel based on at least one of the number of associated STAs, their activity level, and traffic volume.

[0286] Optionally, the communication device associated with the wireless access service mentioned above may refer to a communication device indicated in a basic service set (BSS) of the second communication device.

[0287] In this design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel can be flexibly selected or allocated based on at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0288] In one possible implementation, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of the random access frequency band is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of the fixed access frequency band is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0289] Exemplarily, the allocation of random access frequency bands may be positively correlated with the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service. For example, the greater the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, the greater the number of random access frequency bands. Optionally, this positive correlation may be linear or nonlinear, which is not limited herein.

[0290] For example, when there are a large number of STAs, the AP can allocate more random access frequency bands to reduce frequency band selection collisions. When there are a small number of STAs, the AP can allocate fewer random access frequency bands and increase the bandwidth of each frequency band to speed up data (such as the first information) transmission.

[0291] The allocation of fixed access frequency bands can be related to the activity of communication devices associated with the wireless access service. For example, a fixed access frequency band can be allocated to communication devices with active services (such as STAs). For example, a fixed access frequency band can be allocated to communication devices whose activity within a certain period is greater than a preset activity threshold. For example, activity can refer to the number of data transmissions or service activity level of a communication device within a certain period. There is no limitation on the calculation method of activity or the size of the activity threshold.

[0292] Alternatively, the allocation of fixed access frequency bands may be related to the traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service. For example, a fixed access frequency band may be allocated to communication devices (e.g., STAs) whose traffic volume reaches a certain level (e.g., greater than a traffic volume threshold or greater than the traffic volume threshold within a certain period). The traffic volume threshold is also not limited.

[0293] Alternatively, the allocation of fixed access frequency bands may be related to the activity and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0294] In this implementation, within the channel's access frequency bands, the allocation of random access frequency bands is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, while the allocation of fixed access frequency bands is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service. This allows the second communication device to comprehensively consider the collision rate and data transmission rate between different first communication devices, and flexibly select or allocate random access frequency bands and fixed access frequency bands based on the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service. For example, the number of random access frequency bands can be adjusted based on the number of users, effectively reducing the possibility of collisions caused by multiple users selecting the same frequency band.

[0295] In some other possible implementations, the allocation of the channel access frequency band may be related to the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, or may be related to more attributes of the communication devices, such as region, network quality, etc. This application is not limited to this.

[0296] Alternatively, in some other possible designs, the allocation of the channel access frequency band may not be related to the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0297] Optionally, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel described above can be completed by the second communication device (such as AP), or by other devices (such as server) or manually, and then configured to the second communication device and / or the first communication device. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0298] The above embodiments illustrate the relationship between the allocation rules of the channel access frequency band and the communication devices associated with the wireless access service. Optionally, when allocating the channel access frequency band, resource blocks may also be considered. Resource blocks may also be called resource units (RUs).

[0299] For example, in one possible design, in the access frequency band of the above-mentioned channel, each access frequency band may correspond to one or more resource blocks.

[0300] For example, the access band of a channel can be divided according to the RUs in the IEEE 802.11 protocol, with each access band corresponding to one RU. For example, a random access band corresponds to one RU, and / or a fixed access band corresponds to one RU. Bandwidth can be divided into RUs of different sizes and allocated to different users to improve spectrum resource utilization.

[0301] This application does not limit the bandwidth of the channel access frequency band.

[0302] In one possible design, the first information may include: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0303] The channel access type field may indicate the type of the first information, such as whether the first information carries buffer status report (BSR) information, or indicate other types.

[0304] In a possible design, the first information is also used to indicate buffer status report (BSR) information. Exemplarily, the first information may include fields related to BSR information.

[0305] The BSR information indicates the amount of data in the cache of the first communication device, which can be used by the second communication device to understand the cache status of the first communication device so that the second communication device can perform scheduling and resource allocation based on this information.

[0306] In this design, the first information indicates the BSR information of the first communication device, which can facilitate scheduling and resource allocation by the second communication device.

[0307] In some other possible designs, the first information may not indicate BSR information or include fields related to BSR information, which is not limited here.

[0308] Optionally, for the first communication device allocated with a fixed access frequency band, when the first communication device has no service, BSR information may also be uploaded, such as reporting that the buffer is 0.

[0309] Optionally, in some possible scenarios, the first information described in the aforementioned embodiments of the present application may be referred to as a channel access (CA) frame, and the second information is a reply frame to the CA frame. For the case where the second communication device described above replies to the first information of a first frequency band, that is, when the second information indicates that the first communication device corresponding to the first frequency band sends data in the first frequency band in accordance with the SU mode, the second information may be referred to as a clear to send (CTS) frame. For the case where the second communication device described above replies to the first information of multiple first frequency bands, that is, when the second information may indicate that the first communication devices corresponding to multiple first frequency bands send data in accordance with the MU OFDMA mode, the second information may be a basic trigger (Basic Trigger) frame.

[0310] For example, Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a CA frame that does not carry BSR information, provided in an embodiment of the present application. That is, the CA frame does not include fields related to BSR information. As shown in Figure 6, a CA frame that does not carry BSR information may include a Frame Control field, a Duration field, a Receiver Address (RA) field, a Transmitter Address (TA) field, a CA Information (CA Info) field, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field.

[0311] The CA info field may include a CA type (Type) field and a Reserved field.

[0312] The CA Type field can indicate the type of the CA frame, such as whether it carries BSR information or indicates other types. The Reserved field is a reserved bit and can be used as an extensible field.

[0313] The CA frame shown in FIG6 may declare that the first communication device has data to be sent or services to be sent.

[0314] For example, Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a CA frame carrying BSR information provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the CA frame carrying BSR information may include a frame control (Frame Control) field, a duration (Duration) field, a receiver address (RA) field, a transmitter address (TA) field, a CA information (CA Info) field, and a frame check sequence (FCS) field.

[0315] The CA info field may include a CA type field and a Reserved field. The CA type field may indicate the type of the CA frame, such as whether it carries BSR information or indicates another type. The Reserved field is a reserved bit and may be used as an extensible field.

[0316] The CA info field may also include fields related to BSR information, such as the absolute channel quality indicator and interference (ACI) bitmap field, the Delta time interval (TID) field, the highest absolute channel quality indicator value (ACI High) field, the scaling factor field, the high priority queue size (Queue Size High) field, the all queue size (Queue Size All) field, etc.

[0317] The ACI Bitmap field is used to indicate the channel quality and interference level of the first communication device. The Delta TID field can indicate the time interval at which the first communication device sends a BSR. The ACI High field is used to indicate the highest channel quality indicator value in the channel surrounding the first communication device. The Scaling Factor field is used to indicate the scaling factor for the data block size in the first communication device's cache. The Queue Size High field is used to indicate the number of high-priority data blocks in the first communication device's cache. The Queue Size All field is used to indicate the total number of all data blocks in the first communication device's cache.

[0318] The CA frame shown in FIG. 7 may declare that the first communication device has data to be sent or services to be sent, and may report the service volume.

[0319] In one possible design, the first information (ie, the CA frame) may further include a pad extension (PE) field, such as the Reserved field shown in FIG6 and FIG7 .

[0320] For example, within the short inter-frame space (SIFS) time after the first communication device (such as STA) uploads the first information, the second communication device (such as AP) needs to provide a scheduling strategy, such as allocating frequency bands and selecting a modulation and coding scheme (MCS).

[0321] In this design, by adding a PE field to the first information, the uplink scheduling decision time of the second communication device (such as AP) can be increased.

[0322] Optionally, the length of the PE field can be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device via broadcast, or can be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in the third information mentioned below (used to request establishment of a random frequency band channel access session) (i.e., the AP and STA negotiate during the session), and there is no restriction here.

[0323] Optionally, the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel described in the above embodiment can be notified or synchronized to the first communication device by the second communication device. For example, in one possible design, the second communication device can establish a random frequency band channel access session (it can also be other names, not limited) with the first communication device, and send the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel to the first communication device through the random frequency band channel access session, or the location information of the access frequency band (such as which RU the access frequency band is in) or the division method. The first communication device can send the above-mentioned first information to the second communication device after establishing a random frequency band channel access session with the second communication device.

[0324] Exemplarily, before the first communication device described in the above embodiment sends the first information to the second communication device in the first frequency band, the method further includes: the second communication device sends third information to the first communication device, the third information being used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session and to indicate the access frequency band of the channel (i.e., indicating the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel). The first communication device sends fourth information to the second communication device, the fourth information being used to indicate consent to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0325] For example, Figure 8 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the communication method may include S801-S804.

[0326] For example, in the process shown in FIG8 , the steps performed by the first communication device may be specifically performed by the first communication device, or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the first communication device. The steps performed by the second communication device may be specifically performed by the second communication device, or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the second communication device.

[0327] S801. The second communication device sends third information to the first communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session and to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0328] That is, the third information may indicate the allocation result or division method of the access frequency band of the channel.

[0329] Accordingly, the first communication device receives the third information.

[0330] Exemplarily, the random frequency band channel access session may also be referred to as a random frequency band-based channel contention session or other names, which are not limited here.

[0331] S802. The first communication device sends fourth information to the second communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0332] Accordingly, the second communication device receives the fourth information.

[0333] S803. The first communication device sends first information to the second communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel. The first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device.

[0334] S804. The second communication device sends second information to the first communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel.

[0335] S803-S804 can refer to the above S501-S502 and will not be described in detail.

[0336] Optionally, in some implementations, the third information may not indicate the access frequency band of the channel, which is not limited here.

[0337] In one possible design, the third information may include: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field, and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0338] Illustratively, the Category field indicates the category of the third information, such as a frame related to an RFCA session. The Random Band Channel Access Function field indicates that the function or purpose of the third information is to request the establishment of an RFCA session. The Common Information field can be used to indicate the uplink length, uplink bandwidth, etc. The User Information field can indicate the access frequency band of the channel, that is, the allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel.

[0339] In some implementations, the user information field may include an association identifier and a resource block allocation. The association identifier is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0340] Exemplarily, resource block allocation (RU allocation) may indicate a specific RU. The association identifier may indicate that the RU corresponding to the resource block allocation can access one or all users. When the association identifier indicates that the RU can access all users, it indicates that the RU is a random access frequency band; when the association identifier indicates that the RU can access one user, it indicates that the RU is a fixed access frequency band for the user. It should be understood that the RU described here is equivalent to the frequency band described in the aforementioned embodiment, taking one frequency band corresponding to one RU as an example. When one frequency band corresponds to multiple RUs, it is similar to the case of one RU, such as when the association identifier indicates that the frequency band can access one or all users. The first communication device described in the aforementioned embodiment randomly selects a first frequency band, which means: randomly selecting a first frequency band from the frequency band indicated by the association identifier as a random access frequency band (RU).

[0341] Optionally, when the association identifier indicates that a frequency band (RU) can access a single user, the association identifier can be configured as an ID associated with the user (e.g., the first communication device). When the association identifier indicates that a frequency band can access all users, the association identifier can be configured as a special value, for example, 2044, indicating that the frequency band is a selectable random access frequency band. That is, the association identifiers corresponding to all RUs that are random access frequency bands can be the same special value, and the association identifiers corresponding to RUs that are fixed access frequency bands can be associated with the user ID.

[0342] In one possible design, the above-mentioned user information field may also include an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end.

[0343] At least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information, and the broadcast information is further used to indicate the transmit power of the information, or to indicate a power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device.

[0344] The second information and the third information may refer to the description in the aforementioned embodiment. It is understood that unicast information may refer to unicast frame information sent by the second communication device, which may be sent by the second communication device to other communication devices. Broadcast information may refer to broadcast frame information sent by the second communication device to all associated communication devices.

[0345] After receiving the third information, when the first communication device subsequently sends data to the second communication device, it can determine the transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device according to the reception power indicated by the uplink target reception power field (the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end) and the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device, and send the uplink data according to the transmission power.

[0346] For example, multiple users (such as multiple first communication devices) can send data in OFDMA mode according to the uplink data transmission power of the first communication device to achieve power alignment, improve the data OFDMA demodulation performance of the second communication device, and thus improve communication performance.

[0347] Optionally, the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device can be calculated by the second communication device and indicated using at least one of the second information, third information, unicast information, and broadcast information. Alternatively, the second communication device can indicate the transmit power of the information using at least one of the second information, third information, unicast information, and broadcast information. The first communication device can calculate the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device based on the transmit power of the information and the receive power when the information is received. This is not a limitation.

[0348] Optionally, in some possible scenarios, the third information described in the aforementioned embodiments of the present application can be called a request frame, a request control frame, an ADD-RFCA Request frame, a session request frame, or a session establishment frame. The fourth information can be called a response frame, a response control frame, an ADD-RFCA Response frame, or a session response frame.

[0349] For example, Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the format of an ADD-RFCA Request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 9, the ADD-RFCA Request frame (i.e., the third information) may include a Category field, an RFCA Action field, and an RFCA Parameter Set field.

[0350] The Category field is used to indicate the category of the ADD-RFCA Request frame, such as a frame related to an RFCA session. The RFCA Action field is used to indicate that the function of the ADD-RFCA Request frame is to request the establishment of an RFCA session.

[0351] The RFCA Parameter Set field is used to indicate frequency band information. For example, the RFCA Parameter Set field may include: a Common Info field and a User Info field.

[0352] The Common Info field may include an uplink (UL) length field, a UL bandwidth (BW) field, and a GI And HE-LTF Type field.

[0353] The UL Length field is used to indicate the uplink transmission length, the UL BW field is used to indicate the uplink transmission bandwidth, and the GI And HE-LTF Type field is used to indicate the types of the guard interval (GI) and the high-efficiency long training field (LTF).

[0354] The User Info field may include: an associate identifier (AID) 12, an RU allocation (Allocation), a UL HE-MCS field, and a UL target receive power (Target Receive Power) field.

[0355] AID12 can indicate that the users accessible to this RU are one or all users. When AID12 indicates that this RU (RU indicated by the RU Allocation field) can access all users, it means that this RU is a random frequency band; when AID12 indicates that this RU can access one user, it means that this RU is a fixed frequency band for that user. For the meaning and implementation of the fixed frequency band, please refer to the following embodiments. It should be understood that the RU described here is equivalent to the frequency band described in the aforementioned embodiments, taking one frequency band corresponding to one RU as an example. When a frequency band corresponds to multiple RUs, the RU in the frame format can also be replaced with a frequency band, such as when AID12 indicates that the users accessible to the frequency band are one or all users. The first communication device described in the aforementioned embodiment randomly selects a first frequency band, which means: randomly selects a first frequency band from the frequency band indicated as a random frequency band (RU) by AID12.

[0356] For example, an AID12 can represent a frequency band (this example uses an RU as an example). When AID12 indicates that the frequency band can access a user, AID12 can be configured as AID12 associated with the user (such as the first communication device). When AID12 indicates that the frequency band can access all users, AID12 can be configured as a special value, for example, 2044, indicating that the frequency band is a randomly selectable frequency band.

[0357] The RU Allocation field may indicate a specific RU, or the RU Allocation field may be replaced by a frequency band identification field.

[0358] The UL HE-MCS field is used to indicate an uplink transmission modulation and coding scheme, and is used to indicate the receiving power of uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end. The UL Target Receive Power field may be an optional field.

[0359] For example, Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of the format of an ADD-RFCA Response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the ADD-RFCA Response frame (i.e., the fourth information) may include a Category field, an RFCA Action field, and an RFCA Parameter Set field.

[0360] The Category field is used to indicate the category of the ADD-RFCA Response, such as a frame related to an RFCA session. The RFCA Action field is used to indicate that the function of the ADD-RFCA Response frame is to agree to establish an RFCA session.

[0361] For example, in the ADD-RFCA Request frame and the ADD-RFCA Response frame, the Category field is the same, both indicating frames of the RFCA session type, while the RFCA Action field is different. The RFCA Action field in the ADD-RFCA Request frame indicates a request to establish an RFCA session, and the RFCA Action field in the ADD-RFCA Response frame indicates agreement to establish an RFCA session.

[0362] In the ADD-RFCA Response frame, the RFCA Parameter Set field may include: an RFCA supported (supported) field, an RFCA accepted (accepted) field, and a reserved (Reserved) field.

[0363] The RFCA supported field may be used to indicate whether the first communication device supports the RFCA function. For example, the value of the RFCA supported field may be 0 or 1, where 0 indicates that the RFCA function is not supported, and 1 indicates that the RFCA function is supported.

[0364] The RFCA accepted field may be used to indicate whether the first communication device accepts the RFCA session. For example, the value of the RFCA accepted field may be 0 or 1, where 0 indicates that the RFCA session is not accepted and 1 indicates that the RFCA session is accepted.

[0365] In the above fourth information, the values ​​of the RFCA supported field and the RFCA supported field can be 1.

[0366] The Reserved field is a reserved bit and can be used as an extensible field.

[0367] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, after the data transmission between the first communication device and the second communication device is completed, the above-mentioned random frequency band channel access session may also be deleted.

[0368] For example, Figure 11 shows another flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 11, the communication method may further include S1101-S1102.

[0369] For example, in the process shown in FIG11 , the steps performed by the first communication device may be specifically performed by the first communication device, or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the first communication device. The steps performed by the second communication device may be specifically performed by the second communication device, or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the second communication device.

[0370] S1101. The second communication device sends fifth information to the first communication device, where the fifth information is used to instruct deletion of a random frequency band channel access session.

[0371] Accordingly, the first communication device receives the fifth information.

[0372] S1102. The first communication device sends sixth information to the second communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0373] Accordingly, the second communication device receives the sixth information.

[0374] Optionally, in some possible scenarios, the fifth message may be called a Delete Request frame, or a Delete RFCA Session Request (DEL-RFCA Request) frame. The sixth message may be called a Delete Response frame or an Acknowledgement (ACK) frame, or a Delete RFCA Session Reply (DEL-RFCA Response) frame.

[0375] For example, Figure 12 shows a format diagram of a DEL-RFCA Request frame provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 12, the DEL-RFCA Request frame may include a Category field, an RFCA Action field, and a Reserved field.

[0376] In a DEL-RFCA Request frame, the Category field indicates the frame's category, such as a frame related to an RFCA session. The RFCA Action field indicates that the DEL-RFCA Request frame's function is to request the deletion of an RFCA session. The Reserved field is reserved and can be used as an extensible field.

[0377] The above embodiments introduce a method in which the second communication device notifies the first communication device of the allocation result of the channel access frequency band through a random frequency band channel access session. Optionally, in some other embodiments, the allocation result of the channel access frequency band can also be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in a broadcast manner.

[0378] For example, in some possible implementations, the method may further include: the second communication device sending broadcast information to the first communication device, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of a channel. Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the broadcast information.

[0379] In other words, in this implementation, the second communication device may notify the first communication device of the division method or allocation result of the access frequency band of the channel through broadcast information.

[0380] Exemplarily, the second communication device may send "beacon" information at a fixed period (such as 100 milliseconds), and the "beacon" information may carry or indicate an allocation result of an access frequency band of a channel.

[0381] In some other embodiments, the second communication device may also synchronize or notify the first communication device of the allocation result of the channel access frequency band in more ways, for example, forwarding through a third-party device. This application does not limit how to notify or synchronize the first communication device of the allocation result of the channel access frequency band.

[0382] The above embodiments also introduce a method in which the second communication device indicates to the first communication device through a third message the receiving power (or expected receiving power) of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end, such as through the UL Target Receive Power field in the ADD-RFCA Request frame, indicating the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end. Optionally, in some other embodiments, the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end can also be notified to the first communication device by the second communication device in a broadcast manner.

[0383] For example, in some possible implementations, the method may further include: the second communication device transmitting broadcast information to the first communication device, the broadcast information being used to indicate the receive power of uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end. Accordingly, the first communication device receives the broadcast information. At least one of the second information, the unicast information, and the broadcast information is further used to indicate the transmit power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device.

[0384] Exemplarily, the second communication device can send "beacon" information at a fixed period (such as 100 milliseconds). The "beacon" information can include an information element (IE) field. The IE field can carry power indication information, that is, the IE field can indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end.

[0385] The second information, unicast information and broadcast information can be referred to as described in the above embodiments and will not be described in detail.

[0386] After receiving the broadcast information, when the first communication device subsequently sends data to the second communication device, it can determine the transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device according to the receiving power indicated by the broadcast information (the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end) and the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device, and send the uplink data according to the transmission power.

[0387] For example, multiple users (such as multiple first communication devices) can send data in OFDMA mode according to the uplink data transmission power of the first communication device to achieve power alignment, improve the data OFDMA demodulation performance of the second communication device, and thus improve communication performance.

[0388] Optionally, the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device can be calculated by the second communication device and indicated using at least one of the second information, unicast information, and broadcast information. Alternatively, the second communication device can indicate the transmit power of the information using at least one of the second information, unicast information, and broadcast information. The first communication device can calculate the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device based on the transmit power of the information and the receive power when the information is received. This is not a limitation.

[0389] Optionally, in some other embodiments, the second communication device may also carry transmit power or power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device in each frame of information sent, which is not limited here.

[0390] Optionally, in some other embodiments, the second communication device may further indicate to the first communication device the expected transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the transmitting end, and the first communication device may send data to the second communication device according to the indicated expected transmission power.

[0391] For example, similar to the aforementioned embodiment, the second communication device may indicate to the first communication device the expected transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the transmitting end through the third information, or the second communication device may indicate to the first communication device the expected transmission power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the transmitting end through broadcast information.

[0392] Optionally, the second communication device may calculate the transmit power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the transmitting end based on the expected receive power of the uplink data of the first communication device (referred to as expected receive power) and the power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device. For example, the expected transmit power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the transmitting end is equal to the sum of the expected receive power and the power path loss. The power path loss between the second communication device and the first communication device may be calculated by the second communication device. For example, the data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device may carry transmit power, and the second communication device may calculate the power path loss based on the receive power and the transmit power.

[0393] For example, in the case where the second communication device described in the aforementioned embodiment replies to the first information of multiple first frequency bands, the first communication device can align the transmission power according to the expected receiving power or expected transmitting power indicated by the second communication device, and send data in a multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner, thereby improving the data OFDMA demodulation performance of the second communication device and thereby improving the communication performance.

[0394] This application does not limit the manner in which the second communication device notifies the first communication device of the allocation result of the access frequency band of the synchronization channel, nor does it limit the manner in which the second communication device indicates to the first communication device the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end or the transmitting power at the transmitting end.

[0395] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the second communication device may further send synchronization indication information to instruct the first communication device to synchronously send the first information with other communication devices (such as other first communication devices). Accordingly, the first communication device may receive the synchronization indication information. When the first communication device sends the first information, different first communication devices may send the first information at the same time, or wait for a fixed period of time at the same time before sending the first information.

[0396] For example, in one possible design, the synchronization indication information may be first synchronization information, and the communication method may further include: the second communication device sending the first synchronization information. Correspondingly, the first communication device may receive the first synchronization information. The first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0397] For example, a second communication device may send first synchronization information. After receiving the first synchronization information, a first communication device with data to upload may send first information (e.g., a CA frame) at a first moment in accordance with the instructions of the first synchronization information. Different first communication devices may follow this principle. When different first communication devices send first information at a first moment in accordance with the instructions of the first synchronization information, demodulation performance on the second communication device side may be improved.

[0398] Optionally, the first synchronization information may be a block acknowledgement (BA) frame replied by the second communication device to the communication device uploading data, or may be other information, such as broadcast information, which is not limited here.

[0399] Taking the first synchronization information as a BA frame as an example, the BA frame has the function of the first synchronization information.

[0400] For example, using STAs and APs as an example, STA1 uploads data to the AP, and the AP can reply with a BA frame. The BA frame can instruct other STAs that want to upload data to send a CA frame at the first moment. When STA2 needs to upload data, it can send a CA frame to the AP at the first moment after the BA frame.

[0401] Optionally, the first moment may be a moment after a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time has passed since the first communication device received the BA frame.

[0402] For example, STA2 receives a BA frame at time t1 (the BA frame that the AP replies to STA1), and the first time may be a time after DIFS time from time t1.

[0403] Alternatively, the first moment may also be other moments after the BA frame is received, which is not limited here.

[0404] Optionally, when the second communication device fails to receive the first information, it may also send synchronization indication information to instruct the first communication device to re-upload the first information. In this case, the synchronization indication information may be referred to as second synchronization information.

[0405] For example, in one possible design, the communication method may further include: when receiving the first information fails, the second communication device sending second synchronization information. Accordingly, the first communication device may receive the second synchronization information. The second synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information should be resent at a second moment.

[0406] For example, when the first information from multiple first communication devices is not synchronized, it may result in a failure to receive the first information. The second communication device may send second synchronization information. After receiving the second synchronization information, the first communication device may resend the first information (e.g., a CA frame) to the second communication device at a second time according to the instructions of the second synchronization information. Different first communication devices can follow this principle. When different first communication devices resend the first information at a second time according to the instructions of the second synchronization information, the demodulation performance on the second communication device side can be improved.

[0407] For example, using the STA and AP as an example, if STA1 and STA2 do not synchronize their first information uploads, the AP may be unable to parse the first information, i.e., fail to receive the first information. The AP can instruct STA1 and STA2 to upload the first information at the same time (second time) through the second synchronization information, thereby improving demodulation performance on the AP side.

[0408] Optionally, the second moment is a moment a short inter-frame space (SIFS) time after the second synchronization information is received.

[0409] For example, the AP sends the second synchronization information, and STA1 and STA2 receive the second synchronization information at time t2. The second time may be a time after a SIFS period of time from time t2.

[0410] Alternatively, the second moment may also be another moment after the second synchronization information is received, which is not limited here.

[0411] Optionally, in some possible scenarios, the second synchronization information described in the aforementioned embodiments of the present application may be a trigger frame.

[0412] For example, Figure 13 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a Trigger frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. The Trigger frame shown in Figure 13 can be the second synchronization information in the aforementioned embodiment. As shown in Figure 13, the Trigger frame can include a Frame Control field, a Duration field, a Receiver Address (RA) field, a Transmitter Address (TA) field, a Common Info field, and an FCS field.

[0413] The Common Info field may include a Trigger Type field and an AP Tx Power field. The Trigger Type field indicates the type of the Trigger frame. The AP Tx Power field indicates power indication information. For example, the AP Tx Power field may indicate the expected receive power or the expected transmit power, as described in the previous embodiments, without limitation.

[0414] Optionally, in some other embodiments, the first synchronization information mentioned above may also be a BA frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device.

[0415] For example, if the AP sends data to STA1, STA1 can reply with a BA frame. The BA frame can instruct other STAs that want to upload data to send a CA frame at the first moment. When STA2 needs to upload data, it can send a CA frame to the AP at the first moment after the BA frame.

[0416] The meaning of the first moment can be found in the above embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0417] In other words, in this embodiment, a first communications device may receive first synchronization information from a second communications device or another first communications device, where the first synchronization information is used to instruct the first information to be sent at a first time. The first synchronization information may be a block acknowledgment frame sent by the second communications device or another first communications device. The first time may be a time after a short interframe interval has elapsed since the block acknowledgment frame was received.

[0418] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the first communication device may access the channel in the manner described in the aforementioned embodiment when the channel is in a busy channel scenario (or referred to as the first scenario). When the channel is in an idle channel scenario (or referred to as the second scenario), the first communication device may access the channel in the DCF manner described in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0419] Exemplarily, the second scenario includes at least one of the following: the channel is idle at the time of triggering channel access of the first communication device, and the channel is still idle after waiting for the first time period; or, at the time of triggering channel access of the first communication device, the channel is idle for a second time period.

[0420] For example, before S501 described in the above embodiment, the communication method may further include: the first communication device monitors that the channel of the wireless access service is in a busy channel scenario.

[0421] In other words, in an embodiment of the present application, the first communication device can also access the channel in a DCF manner. When the user service is busy, such as when the channel is in a busy channel scenario, the first communication device switches from a DCF manner to an RFCA manner to access the channel.

[0422] The above-mentioned trigger channel access time can refer to the description in the aforementioned embodiment, and can be the time when the first communication device has a packet to be transmitted, such as the time when the packet arrives. Taking the time when the first communication device receives the packet as time t0 as an example, in one implementation method, the first communication device can start monitoring the channel status at time t0. When the channel status at time t0 is idle, and the channel is idle for a first time period after time t0 (such as DIFS time or DIFS time + a lot time), the current scenario is considered to be the second scenario, and the first communication device can access the channel in the manner described in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0423] In another implementation, the first communication device may continuously monitor the channel status. When time t0 is reached, if the channel status has been idle for a second duration (or the channel has been idle for the second duration before time t0), the current scenario is considered to be the second scenario, and the first communication device may access the channel in the manner described in the aforementioned embodiment. The second duration may refer to the first duration, and the first duration may be the same or different.

[0424] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, when the number of first communication devices is small, random frequency band access can be changed to fixed frequency band access, which can avoid the collision rate when the first communication devices select frequency bands.

[0425] For example, to make the technical solution of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application more clear, several examples are provided below to further illustrate the method. Some implementation processes or details of the communication method can be found in the following examples. In the following examples, the first communication device is an STA and the second communication device is an AP.

[0426] For example, an AP is associated with 20 STAs in total. Based on the number of users and the level of user activity, the AP selects 16 RUs of 52-tone in the main 80M bandwidth as random access frequency bands, numbered 1 to 16. For example, FIG14 shows a schematic diagram of random frequency band access provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG14 , at the initial moment, the AP sends an ADD-RFCA Request frame (marked as RQ in FIG14 , i.e., RQ in the session establishment phase) to initiate a channel access session for random frequency band selection. The ADD-RFCA Request frame contains the random frequency band location information. STA1 to STA20 can reply to an ADD-RFCA Response frame (marked as RP in FIG14 , i.e., RP in the session establishment phase) to confirm the establishment of the session. For example, the initial moment can be the moment when the AP discovers that the user service is busy and the collision rate is high when multiple users compete for the channel, or other moments, without limitation.

[0427] After a period of idleness, STA3 receives a packet. While waiting to send a packet, STA3 monitors the channel and finds it is idle. Subsequently, the channel remains idle for DIFS + aslot time, indicating an idle channel scenario. Therefore, the AP sends a request to send (RTS) frame in the full 20 MHz band. After receiving the RTS frame, the AP responds with a CTS frame to confirm channel access. STA3 uploads a physical protocol data unit (PPDU). The AP responds with a BA frame, completing this round of transmission.

[0428] After a period of idleness, STA1 and STA4 send packets. STA1 and STA4 monitor the channel and find it idle before sending packets. They wait for DIFS + a slot time, but the channel remains idle. This indicates an idle channel scenario. They choose to send RTS frames in the full 20 MHz band. The RTS frames sent by the two collide, and the AP fails to decode the RTS frame information. It sends a Trigger frame (marked as TR in Figure 14) to align the time for the STAs with services to send CA frames. Assuming STA4 selects Band 5 and STA1 selects Band 11, they upload a CA frame containing BSR information. The AP detects that STA4 is a high-priority service and responds with a CTS frame to STA4. STA4 uploads a PPDU, and the AP responds with a BA frame, completing this round of transmission.

[0429] During the last scheduling round, STA1, STA2, and STA3 all received packets. DIFS after the AP sent the BA frame, the three STAs simultaneously randomly selected frequency bands to upload CA frames containing BSR information. Suppose STA1 selected frequency band 4, STA3 selected frequency band 7, and STA2 selected frequency band 15. After receiving the CA frames from the three STAs, the AP sent a Trigger frame for multi-user uplink scheduling. The three STAs simultaneously uploaded their respective PPDUs. The AP then responded with a BA to the three STAs.

[0430] After the transmission is completed, the AP sends a DEL-RFCA Request frame (also marked as RQ in Figure 14, i.e., the RQ in the session deletion phase) to request the deletion of the channel access session selected by the random frequency band, and all STAs reply with ACK to confirm the deletion of the session.

[0431] The example shown in FIG14 illustrates the process of random frequency band access. The following example introduces the process of fixed frequency band access.

[0432] For example, an AP is associated with 3 STAs. Based on the number of users and the level of user activity, the AP selects the first 3 RUs of 242-tone in the main 80M bandwidth as the channel access frequency bands, numbered 1 to 3 and respectively configured to STA1, STA2, and STA3 for channel access. Figure 15 shows a schematic diagram of a fixed frequency band access provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0433] As shown in Figure 15, at the initial moment, the AP sends an ADD-RFCA Request frame (labeled as RQ in Figure 15, i.e., the RQ in the session establishment phase) to initiate a channel access session with random frequency band selection. The ADD-RFCA Request frame contains the random frequency band location information. STA1 to STA3 can reply with an ADD-RFCA Response frame (labeled as RP in Figure 15, i.e., the RP in the session establishment phase) to confirm the session establishment.

[0434] After a period of idle time, STA3 sends a packet. After waiting for the DIFS time, the channel is still idle; an RTS frame is sent on the primary channel; after receiving the RTS frame, the AP replies with a CTS frame to confirm channel access; after STA3 uploads the PPDU, the AP replies with a BA frame.

[0435] After the DIFS time, STA1 and STA2 upload CA frames on the corresponding frequency bands; the AP finds that STA1 is a high-priority service and responds with a CTS message to STA1; after STA1 uploads the PPDU, the AP responds with a BA frame.

[0436] After the DIFS period, STA2 and STA3 upload CA frames on the corresponding frequency bands. The AP detects that STA2 is a high-priority service and sends a CTS response to STA2. After STA2 uploads the PPDU, the AP responds with a BA frame.

[0437] After a certain period of time or after the transmission is completed, the AP sends a DEL-RFCA Request frame (also marked as RQ in Figure 15, i.e., the RQ in the session deletion phase) to request the deletion of the channel access session selected by the random frequency band, and all STAs reply with ACK to confirm the deletion of the session.

[0438] For example, "there are m (m is an integer greater than 1) users (i.e., STAs) who want to access the channel, and at a certain moment in the channel access phase, there is a probability that a user successfully accesses the channel without a collision" is used as the criterion for judging whether the channel access is successful. For different numbers of users, the channel access success rates of the RFCA method and the DCF method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be as follows.

[0439] 1. For the RFCA method, all moments are independent. As long as there is a frequency band without collision during a channel competition, the channel access is considered successful. Under the conditions of m users and n random channels, the success rate calculation formula can be the following formula (1).

[0440] In formula (1), we define If m is greater than n, then P represents the channel access success rate of RFCA.

[0441] 2. For the DCF method, subject to random time constraints, under the conditions of m users and n random time slices, the formula for calculating the channel access success rate at a certain moment is the following formula (2).

[0442] In formula (2), P represents the channel access success rate of DCF.

[0443] 3. Taking the number of users (STAs) changing from 1 to 64 as an example, Figure 16 shows a schematic diagram of the change in channel access success rate for DCF and RFCA provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the example given in Figure 16, the backoff window of the DCF method can be 15, such as 15 random time slices, that is, n in formula (2) is 15; the number of random frequency bands in the RFCA method can be 15, that is, n in formula (1) is 15.

[0444] In Figure 16, the solid line represents the channel access success rate for RFCA, while the dotted line represents the channel access success rate for DCF. As shown in Figure 16, as the number of users (STAs) changes from 1 to 64, for DCF, the channel access success rate increases with the initial increase in the number of users. As the number of users continues to rise, the channel access success rate begins to decline significantly. For RFCA, the channel access success rate remains unchanged when the number of users initially increases, but as the number of users continues to rise, the channel access success rate begins to decline.

[0445] Similarly, taking the number of users (STAs) changing from 1 to 64 as an example, Figure 17 shows another schematic diagram of the change in channel access success rate for DCF and RFCA provided in an embodiment of the present application. In the example shown in Figure 17, the backoff window of the DCF method can be 30, such as 30 random time slices, that is, n in formula (2) is 30; the number of random frequency bands of the RFCA method can be 30, that is, n in formula (1) is 30.

[0446] In Figure 17, the solid line represents the channel access success rate for RFCA, while the dotted line represents the channel access success rate for DCF. As shown in Figure 17, as the number of users (STAs) changes from 1 to 64, for DCF, the channel access success rate increases with the initial increase in the number of users. As the number of users continues to rise, the channel access success rate gradually decreases. For RFCA, the channel access success rate does not change significantly with the initial increase in the number of users. As the number of users continues to rise, the channel access success rate remains relatively high.

[0447] By comparing Figures 16 and 17, we can see that when the number of users (STAs) changes from 1 to 64, when the DCF and RFCA random numbers (number of frequency bands and time slots) are the same, the channel access success rate of the RFCA method is always much higher than that of the DCF method.

[0448] Similarly, taking the number of users (STAs) changing from 1 to 64 as an example, Figure 18 shows a schematic diagram of the change in channel access success rate when the number of frequency bands in RFCA provided by the embodiment of the present application is different. In the example given in Figure 18, the number of random frequency bands in the RFCA method can be 5, 15, and 30 respectively.

[0449] In Figure 18, the solid line shows the RFCA channel access success rate when the number of frequency bands is 30; the short dashed line shows the RFCA channel access success rate when the number of frequency bands is 15; and the dotted dashed line shows the RFCA channel access success rate when the number of frequency bands is 5. As shown in Figure 18, the RFCA channel access success rate steadily increases with the number of access frequency bands. In the RFCA method, performance begins to significantly decline when the number of users increases to approximately three times the number of channels. However, increasing the number of random access frequency bands improves multi-user access performance.

[0450] A comprehensive comparison of RFCA and DCF shows that the access success rate of DCF may decrease as the random number increases; while the access success rate of RFCA increases steadily as the number of access frequency bands increases. RFCA has better parameter stability.

[0451] Based on the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application actually provide methods that can be applied to a first communication device and a second communication device, respectively. The method applied to the first communication device can refer to the steps performed by the first communication device in the aforementioned embodiments. The method applied to the second communication device can refer to the steps performed by the second communication device in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0452] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. It is understandable that each network element, such as the first communication device, the second communication device, etc., in order to implement the above functions, includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function.

[0453] For example, an embodiment of the present application may provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the above-mentioned first communication device, such as a communication device based on random frequency band channel access. The communication device may be the first communication device or a device built into the first communication device (e.g., a chip). Figure 19 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device based on random frequency band channel access provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 19, the communication device may include: a transmitting unit 1901 and a receiving unit 1902.

[0454] The sending unit 1901 is configured to send first information to the second communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel, and the first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device.

[0455] The receiving unit 1902 is configured to receive second information from the second communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access a channel.

[0456] In one possible design, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a single-user manner; or, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

[0457] In one possible design, the second information is further used to indicate a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communication device.

[0458] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

[0459] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of random access frequency bands is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of fixed access frequency bands is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0460] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

[0461] In one possible design, the first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0462] In one possible design, the first information also includes: fields related to cache status report information.

[0463] In one possible design, the first information also includes: an extended padding field.

[0464] In one possible design, the receiving unit 1902 is further used to receive third information from the second communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; the sending unit 1901 is further used to send fourth information to the second communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0465] In one possible design, the third information is also used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0466] In one possible design, the third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0467] In one possible design, the user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; the association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0468] In one possible design, the user information field also includes an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; at least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information and the broadcast information is also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0469] In one possible design, the receiving unit 1902 is further used to receive fifth information from the second communication device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; the sending unit is further used to send sixth information to the second communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0470] In one possible design, the receiving unit 1902 is also used to receive broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0471] In one possible design, the broadcast information is also used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; the second information, the unicast information and at least one of the broadcast information are also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0472] In one possible design, the receiving unit 1902 is also used to receive first synchronization information from the second communication device or other first communication device, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0473] In one possible design, the first synchronization information is a block confirmation frame sent by the second communication device or the other first communication device.

[0474] In one possible design, the first moment is a moment a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time after the block confirmation frame is received.

[0475] In one possible design, the receiving unit 1902 is further used to receive second synchronization information from the second communication device, and the second synchronization information is used to instruct the first communication device to resend the first information at a second moment.

[0476] In one possible design, the second moment is a moment after a short frame interval from the time the second synchronization information is received.

[0477] In one possible design, the channel is in a first scenario, which is a scenario other than the second scenario; the second scenario includes at least one of the following: the channel is idle at the time when the first communication device triggers channel access, and the channel is still idle after waiting for a first period of time; or, at the time when the first communication device triggers channel access, the channel is idle for a second period of time.

[0478] For another example, an embodiment of the present application may provide a communication device for implementing the functions of the above-mentioned second communication device, such as a communication device based on random frequency band channel access. The communication device may be a second communication device or a device (e.g., a chip) built into the second communication device. Figure 20 shows another structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 20, the communication device may include: a receiving unit 2001 and a sending unit 2002.

[0479] The receiving unit 2001 is configured to receive first information from a first communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information indicates a request to access a channel. The first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device.

[0480] The sending unit 2002 is configured to send second information to the first communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access a channel.

[0481] In one possible design, there are multiple first communication devices, and the first frequency bands correspond one-to-one to the first communication devices; the sending unit 2002 is specifically used to: select one or more first communication devices from the multiple first communication devices to send the second information.

[0482] In one possible design, when one of the first communication devices is selected to send the second information, the second information is used to instruct the first communication device to send data in a single-user manner; when multiple of the first communication devices are selected to send the second information, the second information is used to instruct multiple of the first communication devices to send data in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

[0483] In one possible design, when one of the first communications devices is selected to send the second information, the second information is further used to indicate a transmission opportunity (TXOP) of the first communications device.

[0484] In one possible design, the allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the wireless access service; the communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

[0485] Optionally, in the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of random access frequency band is related to the number of communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of fixed access frequency band is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

[0486] In one possible design, in the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

[0487] In one possible design, the first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a transmitting end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

[0488] In one possible design, the first information also includes: fields related to cache status report information.

[0489] In one possible design, the first information also includes: an extended padding field.

[0490] In one possible design, the sending unit 2002 is also used to send third information to the first communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; the receiving unit 2001 is also used to receive fourth information from the first communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

[0491] In one possible design, the third information is also used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0492] In one possible design, the third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field and a user information field; the user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

[0493] In one possible design, the user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; the association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

[0494] In one possible design, the user information field also includes an uplink target receiving power field; the uplink target receiving power field is used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; at least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information and the broadcast information is also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0495] In one possible design, the sending unit 2002 is also used to send fifth information to the first communication device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; the receiving unit is also used to receive sixth information from the first communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate agreement to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

[0496] In one possible design, the sending unit 2002 is also used to send broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate an access frequency band of the channel.

[0497] In one possible design, the broadcast information is also used to indicate the receiving power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; the second information, the unicast information and at least one of the broadcast information are also used to indicate the sending power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

[0498] In one possible design, the sending unit 2002 is also used to send first synchronization information, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is sent at a first moment.

[0499] In one possible design, the sending unit 2002 is specifically used to send a block confirmation frame to the communication device that uploads data, and the block confirmation frame has the function of the first synchronization information.

[0500] In one possible design, the first moment is a moment a DCF inter-frame space (DIFS) time after the block confirmation frame is received.

[0501] In one possible design, the sending unit 2002 is further used to send second synchronization information when receiving the first information fails, and the second synchronization information is used to indicate that the first information is resent at a second moment.

[0502] In one possible design, the second moment is a moment after a short frame interval from the time the second synchronization information is received.

[0503] It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or physically separated. Furthermore, the units in the device may be implemented entirely in the form of software invoked through processing elements, entirely in the form of hardware, or partially in the form of software invoked through processing elements, while others may be implemented in the form of hardware.

[0504] For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated into a certain chip of the device for implementation. In addition, it can also be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and called by a certain processing element of the device to execute the function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be called a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above units can be implemented by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor element or in the form of software called by the processing element.

[0505] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processing (DSP) circuits, or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0506] For another example, when the units in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduling program, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU or other processor that can call programs. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0507] The above-mentioned unit for receiving is an interface circuit or input circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is the interface circuit or input circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. When the communication device includes a unit for sending, the unit for sending is an interface circuit or output circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit is the interface circuit or output circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0508] For example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device, which may include: a processor and an interface circuit. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0509] When the communication apparatus is applied to a first communication device, the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the steps executed by the first communication device in the above method.

[0510] When the communication apparatus is applied to a second communication device, the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the steps executed by the second communication device in the above method.

[0511] In one implementation, the units for implementing the corresponding steps of the above methods in the first or second communication device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduling program. For example, the apparatus for the first or second communication device may include a processing element and a storage element, with the processing element invoking a program stored in the storage element to execute the method executed by the first or second communication device in the above method embodiments. The storage element can be a storage element on the same chip as the processing element, i.e., an on-chip storage element.

[0512] In another implementation, the program for executing the method executed by the first or second communication device in the above method may be stored in a memory element on a different chip from the processing element, i.e., an off-chip memory element. In this case, the processing element calls or loads the program from the off-chip memory element to the on-chip memory element to call and execute the method executed by the first or second communication device in the above method embodiment.

[0513] For example, an embodiment of the present application may further provide a communication device, which may include a processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in a memory. When the computer instructions are executed, the device performs the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device described above. The memory may be located within the communication device or may be located outside the communication device. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0514] In another implementation, the unit implementing each step of the above method in the first communication device or the second communication device may be configured as one or more processing elements. These processing elements may be provided on the first communication device or the second communication device, respectively. The processing elements may be integrated circuits, such as one or more ASICs, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0515] The units implementing each step of the above method in the first communication device or the second communication device can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a SOC chip, which is used to implement the corresponding method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the corresponding method can be implemented by the processing element calling the program stored in the storage element; alternatively, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the corresponding method; or, a combination of the above implementation methods can be used, with the functions of some units implemented by the processing element calling the program, and the functions of some units implemented by the integrated circuit.

[0516] The processing element here is the same as described above, and can be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0517] A storage element may be a memory or a collective term for multiple storage elements.

[0518] For example, an embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which can be applied to the above-mentioned first communication device or second communication device. The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; the interface circuit and the processor are interconnected by lines; the processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method executed by the corresponding first communication device or second communication device in the above method embodiment. Among them, the electronic device can be the first communication device or the second communication device, or a device in the first communication device or the second communication device, or it can also be other devices that communicate with the first communication device or the second communication device.

[0519] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0520] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0521] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0522] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0523] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, such as a program. The software product is stored in a program product, such as a computer-readable storage medium, and includes a number of instructions to enable a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0524] For example, an embodiment of the present application may also provide a computer-readable storage medium, including: computer software instructions; when the computer software instructions are executed, the steps performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the method described in the above embodiment are implemented.

[0525] Exemplarily, when the computer software instructions are executed in the first communication device or a device (eg, a chip) built into the first communication device, the first communication device is enabled to implement the steps performed by the first communication device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0526] Alternatively, when the computer software instructions are executed in the second communication device or a device (eg, a chip) built into the second communication device, the second communication device is enabled to implement the steps performed by the second communication device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0527] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device. The communication device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. The transceiver unit may be used to send and receive information or to communicate with other network elements. The processing unit may be used to process data. For example, the device may implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device described above using the transceiver unit and the processing unit.

[0528] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which, when executed, can implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device as described above.

[0529] Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application further provide a communication system, comprising: a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device executes the steps performed by the first communication device in the method described in the above embodiments. The second communication device executes the steps performed by the second communication device in the method described in the above embodiments.

[0530] Illustratively, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device that can be used to implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the aforementioned embodiment.

[0531] It should be understood that the description of technical features, technical solutions, beneficial effects or similar language in this application does not imply that all features and advantages can be realized in any single embodiment. On the contrary, it is understood that the description of a feature or beneficial effect means that a specific technical feature, technical solution or beneficial effect is included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, the description of a technical feature, technical solution or beneficial effect in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the technical features, technical solutions and beneficial effects described in the present embodiment can also be combined in any appropriate manner. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment can be implemented without one or more specific technical features, technical solutions or beneficial effects of a specific embodiment. In other embodiments, additional technical features and beneficial effects can also be identified in specific embodiments that do not embody all embodiments.

[0532] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited to this. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method based on random frequency band channel access, characterized in that, The method includes: Receiving first information from a first communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel, and the first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device; Sending second information to the first communication device, where the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device is allowed to access the channel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The number of the first communication devices is multiple, and the first frequency band corresponds to the first communication device one by one; The sending the second information to the first communication device includes: Selecting one or more of the first communication devices from the multiple first communication devices to send the second information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein When selecting one of the first communication devices to send the second information, the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device sends data in a single-user manner; When selecting multiple first communication devices to send the second information, the second information is used to indicate that the multiple first communication devices send data in an orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, When selecting one of the first communication devices to send the second information, the second information is further used to indicate the transmission opportunity TXOP of the first communication device.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of communication devices associated with the radio access service; The communication devices associated with the radio access service include the first communication device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein In the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of the random access frequency band is related to the number of communication devices associated with the radio access service, and the allocation of the fixed access frequency band is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the radio access service.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, In the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first information includes: a frame control field, a duration field, a receiving end address field, a sending end address field, a channel access type field, and a frame check sequence field.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first information further includes: a field related to buffer status report information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first information further includes: an extended padding field.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending third information to the first communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; Receiving fourth information from the first communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate agreement to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The third information is further used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein The third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field, and a user information field; The user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; The association identifier is used to indicate that the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The user information field further includes an uplink target reception power field; The uplink target reception power field is used to indicate the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end. At least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information, and the broadcast information is further used to indicate the transmission power of the information or the power path loss between the first communication device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that The method further includes: Sending fifth information to the first communication device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; Receiving sixth information from the first communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate consent to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The broadcast information is further used to indicate the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; At least one of the second information, the unicast information, and the broadcast information is further used to indicate the transmission power of the information or the power path loss between the first communication device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1-18, characterized in that, The method further includes: Sending first synchronization information, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate sending the first information at a first moment.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The sending of the first synchronization information includes: Sending a block acknowledgment frame to the communication device for uplink data, where the block acknowledgment frame has the function of the first synchronization information.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein The first moment is the moment after the Distributed Coordination Function Interframe Space (DIFS) time from the receipt of the block acknowledgment frame.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1-21, characterized in that, The method further includes: When the reception of the first information fails, sending second synchronization information, where the second synchronization information is used to indicate re-sending the first information at a second moment.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein, The second moment is the moment after the Short Interframe Space time from the receipt of the second synchronization information.

24. A communication method based on random frequency band channel access, characterized in that, The method includes: Sending first information to a second communication device in a first frequency band, where the first information is used to indicate a request to access a channel, and the first frequency band is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band of the first communication device; Receiving second information from the second communication device, where the second information is used to indicate permission for the first communication device to access the channel.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The second information is used to indicate that the first communication device sends data in a single-user manner; Alternatively, the second information is used to indicate that the first communication device sends data in a multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access manner.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that, The second information is further used to indicate the Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) of the first communication device.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24-26, characterized in that, The allocation of the access frequency band of the channel is related to at least one of the number, activity, and traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service; The communication devices associated with the wireless access service include the first communication device.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, In the access frequency band of the channel, the allocation of the random access frequency band is related to the number of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service, and the allocation of the fixed access frequency band is related to the activity and / or traffic volume of the communication devices associated with the wireless access service.

29. The method according to any one of claims 24 - 28, characterized in that, In the access frequency band of the channel, each access frequency band corresponds to one or more resource blocks.

30. The method according to any one of claims 24-29, characterized in that, The first information includes: a Frame Control Field, a Duration Field, a Receiver Address Field, a Transmitter Address Field, a Channel Access Type Field, and a Frame Check Sequence Field.

31. The method according to any one of claims 24 - 30, characterized in that, The first information further includes: a field related to the buffer status report information.

32. The method according to any one of claims 24 - 31, characterized in that, The first information further includes: an extended padding field.

33. The method according to any one of claims 24-32, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving third information from the second communication device, where the third information is used to indicate a request to establish a random frequency band channel access session; sending fourth information to the second communication device, where the fourth information is used to indicate consent to establish the random frequency band channel access session.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The third information is further used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

35. The method according to claim 34, wherein The third information includes: a category field, a random frequency band channel access function field, a public information field, and a user information field; The user information field is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein The user information field includes an association identifier and a resource block allocation; The association identifier is used to indicate whether the resource block corresponding to the resource block allocation is a random access frequency band or a fixed access frequency band.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein The user information field further includes an uplink target reception power field; The uplink target reception power field is used to indicate the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; At least one of the second information, the third information, the unicast information, and the broadcast information is further used to indicate the transmission power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

38. The method according to any one of claims 33-37, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving fifth information from the second communication device, where the fifth information is used to indicate a request to delete the random frequency band channel access session; sending sixth information to the second communication device, where the sixth information is used to indicate consent to delete the random frequency band channel access session.

39. The method according to any one of claims 24 - 38, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving broadcast information, where the broadcast information is used to indicate the access frequency band of the channel.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that The broadcast information is further used to indicate the reception power of the uplink data of the first communication device at the receiving end; At least one of the second information, the unicast information, and the broadcast information is further used to indicate the transmission power of the information, or to indicate the power path loss between the first communication device.

41. The method according to any one of claims 24-40, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving first synchronization information from the second communication device or another first communication device, where the first synchronization information is used to indicate sending the first information at a first moment.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein The first synchronization information is a block acknowledgment frame sent by the second communication device or the other first communication device.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, The first moment is the moment after the distributed coordination function frame spacing DIFS time from receiving the block acknowledgment frame.

44. The method according to any one of claims 24-43, characterized in that, The method further includes: receiving second synchronization information from the second communication device, where the second synchronization information is used to indicate that the first communication device re-sends the first information at a second moment.

45. The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The second moment is the moment after the short frame interval time from receiving the second synchronization information.

46. The method according to any one of claims 25 - 45, characterized in that, The channel is in a first scenario, and the first scenario is a scenario other than the second scenario; The second scenario includes at least one of the following: the channel is idle at the trigger channel access moment of the first communication device, and the channel is still idle after waiting for a first duration; Or, at the trigger channel access moment of the first communication device, the idle duration of the channel has reached a second duration.

47. A communication device based on random frequency band channel access, characterized in that The communication device includes a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-23, or includes a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 24-46.

48. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: a processor configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-23, or configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 24-46.

49. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that, when run, cause the method according to any one of claims 1-23 to be implemented, or cause the method according to any one of claims 24-46 to be implemented.

50. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1-23 is caused to be implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 24-46 is caused to be implemented.

51. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors; The interface circuit and the processor are interconnected by a line; The processor receives and executes computer instructions from the memory of the electronic device through the interface circuit to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-23, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 24-46.

52. A communication system, characterized in that, Comprising: A first communication device and a second communication device; The first communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1-23; The second communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 24-46.

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