Wireless communication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a wireless communication method and a communication device. The method comprises: a first device sends a first frame, wherein the first frame is used for instructing a second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device by means of a first resource; the first frame is used for instructing a third device to transmit a second data unit by means of a second resource, or instructing the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried on the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of the data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource, wherein the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in a time domain and / or a frequency domain.

Description

Wireless communication method and communication device Technical Field

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

[0002] In order to improve space utilization, related technologies have proposed a spatial multiplexing method, which can achieve spatial multiplexing between different basic service sets (BSSs). However, the spatial multiplexing method obtains transmission opportunities based on spatial multiplexing randomly.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

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

[0005] In a first aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, the method comprising: a first device sends a first frame; the first frame is used to instruct a second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; the first frame is used to instruct a third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried on the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource; wherein the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0006] In a second aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, which includes: a third device receives a first frame sent by a first device; the first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; the first frame is used to instruct the third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried on the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource; wherein the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0007] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, which is a first device and includes: a first sending unit for sending a first frame; the first frame is used to instruct a second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; the first frame is used to instruct a third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried on the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource; wherein the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, characterized in that the communication device is a third device, and the communication device includes: a first receiving unit, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; the first frame is used to instruct the third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried on the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource; wherein the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store one or more computer programs, and the processor is used to call the computer program in the memory to enable the communication device to perform some or all of the steps in the above-mentioned various aspects of the method.

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

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

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

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

[0014] The resource through which the second device transmits a data unit to the first device can be referred to as a first resource, and the resource that partially or completely overlaps with the first resource in the time domain and / or frequency domain can be referred to as a second resource. In an embodiment of the present application, through the first frame, the first device can instruct the third device to perform spatial multiplexing, such as transmitting a data unit through the second resource, or receiving or monitoring a data unit sent through the first resource, a data unit sent through the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit sent through the second resource. In other words, the third device can be scheduled to perform spatial multiplexing through the first frame, such as scheduling the third device to perform spatial multiplexing transmission according to the needs of the third device, thereby helping to achieve scheduling-based spatial multiplexing transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

[0016] FIG. 2 is an example diagram of coordinated spatial multiplexing for TXOP sharing.

[0017] FIG3A is a schematic diagram of a coordinated spatial multiplexing transmission scenario.

[0018] FIG3B is a schematic diagram of another coordinated spatial multiplexing transmission scenario.

[0019] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a spatial multiplexing process based on parameterized spatial multiplexing.

[0020] FIG5 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] FIG6 is a diagram showing an example of the format of a trigger frame based on spatial multiplexing provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the common information of the trigger frame in FIG. 6 .

[0023] FIG. 8 is another example diagram of the format of the common information of the trigger frame in FIG. 6 .

[0024] FIG9 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the special user information field of the trigger frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG10 is a diagram showing an example of the format of subfields included in a user information field provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG11 is a diagram showing an example of a user information subfield format according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the trigger-related user information in FIG. 11 .

[0028] FIG13 is another example diagram of a user information subfield format provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the trigger-related user information in FIG. 13 .

[0030] Figure 15 is an example of a scheduling transmission process based on spatial multiplexing provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] Figure 16 is another example of a scheduling transmission process based on spatial multiplexing provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] Figure 18 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG19 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for communication provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Communication System

[0037] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless local area networks (WLAN), wireless fidelity (WiFi), high performance radio local area networks (HIPELAN), wide area networks (WAN), cellular networks, or other communication systems. For another example, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to communication systems that adopt the 802.11 standard. For example, the 802.11 standard includes but is not limited to the 802.11ax standard, the 802.11be standard, and the next generation 802.11 standard.

[0038] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to embodiments of the present application. Referring to FIG1 , the communication devices in the communication system 100 may include access points (APs) 111 and 112, and stations (STAs) 121 and 122. STA 121 may access the network through AP 111, and STA 122 may access the network through AP 112.

[0039] In some implementations, a STA may establish an association with one or more APs, after which the associated STAs and APs may communicate. For example, as shown in FIG1 , AP 111 and STA 121 may communicate after establishing an association, and AP 112 and STA 122 may communicate after establishing an association.

[0040] In some implementations, the communication in the communication system 100 may be communication between an AP and a non-AP STA, communication between a non-AP STA and a non-AP STA, or communication between a STA and a peer STA, where a peer STA may refer to a device that communicates with the STA peer, for example, the peer STA may be an AP or a non-AP STA.

[0041] It should be understood that FIG1 exemplarily shows two AP STAs and two non-AP STAs, and the communication system 100 may also include a larger number of AP STAs, or the communication system 100 may include other numbers of non-AP STAs, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0042] In addition, the above communication system can be applied to scenarios of multi-device collaboration, such as multi-AP (multiple access points, multi-AP) collaboration, or multi-site collaboration.

[0043] In the embodiments of this application, the names of AP and / or STA are not limited. In some scenarios, AP can also be called AP STA, that is, in a sense, AP is also a type of STA. In other scenarios, STA can also be called non-AP STA.

[0044] In some scenarios, the aforementioned communication device may also be a "multi-link device (MLD)," i.e., a device that can communicate via multiple communication links, where the multiple communication links may include communication links in different frequency bands, such as millimeter wave bands and / or low-frequency bands. Generally, if the multi-link device is an AP, the AP may also be referred to as a "multi-link AP." If the multi-link device is a STA, the STA may also be referred to as a "multi-link STA."

[0045] In the embodiment of the present application, the AP can be a device in a wireless network. The AP can be a communication entity such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, or the AP can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. Of course, the AP can also be a chip or circuit or processing system in these various forms of devices, thereby realizing the method and function of the embodiment of the present application. The AP can be applied to a variety of scenarios, such as sensor nodes in smart cities (such as smart water meters, smart electricity meters, smart air detection nodes), smart devices in smart homes (such as smart cameras, projectors, displays, TVs, speakers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.), nodes in the Internet of Things, entertainment terminals (such as wearable devices such as AR and VR), smart devices in smart offices (such as printers, projectors, etc.), Internet of Vehicles devices in the Internet of Vehicles, and some infrastructure in daily life scenarios (such as vending machines, self-service navigation counters in supermarkets, self-service checkout devices, self-service ordering machines), etc.

[0046] In some implementations, the role of a STA in a communication system is not absolute; in some scenarios, a STA can function as an AP. For example, when a mobile phone is connected to a router, it can be a non-AP STA, while when it is acting as a hotspot for other phones, it functions as an AP.

[0047] In the embodiments of the present application, a STA in the embodiments of the present application may be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, such as a device that supports the 802.11 series of protocols and can communicate with an AP or other STAs. For example, a STA is any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and, in turn, with a WLAN. Examples of STAs include user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device.

[0048] The STA in the embodiment of the present application may also be a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection function. Examples include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks or future-evolved public land mobile communication networks. The terminal equipment in the network (PLMN), etc., is not limited to this in the embodiments of the present application.

[0049] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of this application, the STA may also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for wearable devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop wearable devices for everyday wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Examples include smart watches or smart glasses, as well as devices that focus on a specific application function and require integration with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry that monitor vital signs.

[0050] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, a STA can also be a terminal device in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network that interconnects people and machines and things. In the embodiments of the present application, IoT technology can achieve massive connections, deep coverage, and terminal power saving through narrowband (NB) technology, for example.

[0051] Furthermore, in the embodiments of the present application, a STA may be a device in a connected vehicle system. The communication methods in a connected vehicle system are collectively referred to as V2X (where X represents everything). For example, V2X communication includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, and vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication.

[0052] In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, STA may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, gas stations, etc., whose main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal equipment), receiving AP control information and downlink data, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit data to the AP.

[0053] In addition, the AP in the embodiment of the present application may be a device for communicating with a STA. The AP may be a network device in a wireless local area network. The AP may be used to communicate with the STA through the wireless local area network.

[0054] From the perspective of the communication standards supported by the AP, in some implementations, the AP can be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. The AP can also be a device that supports various current and future 802.11 family WLAN standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0055] From the perspective of STA-supported communication standards, in some implementations, non-AP STAs can support the 802.11be standard. Non-AP STAs can also support various current and future 802.11 family wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, including 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0056] In the embodiments of the present application, there is no limitation on the frequency bands supported by WLAN technology. In some implementations, the frequency bands supported by WLAN technology may include, but are not limited to, low frequency bands (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) and high frequency bands (e.g., 45 GHz, 60 GHz).

[0057] It should be understood that the specific forms of STA and AP in the embodiments of the present application are not particularly limited and are merely illustrative.

[0058] Coordinated spatial reuse (CSR)

[0059] For multi-AP coordinated operation scenarios, CSR is proposed. CSR enables transmission opportunity (TXOP) sharing among multiple APs participating in multi-AP coordinated operation. The following describes TXOP sharing using CSR, with reference to Figure 2.

[0060] As shown in Figure 2, by using coordinated spatial multiplexing for TXOP sharing, AP1 and AP2 can simultaneously communicate with their associated stations within the channel bandwidth and duration corresponding to the shared TXOP. As can be seen from Figure 2, the time and frequency domain resources occupied by AP1 and AP2 for communication with their associated stations overlap.

[0061] Before CSR transmission is performed between multiple APs, the APs participating in the CSR need to negotiate to establish the CSR. The CSR setup process is performed by exchanging request / response frames. The CSR setup process can negotiate the parameters involved in the CSR. Taking two APs (AP1 and AP2) as an example, one AP can send a CSR trigger frame to the other AP, thereby initiating CSR transmission within its TXOP. Among them, the AP that sends the CSR trigger frame can be called a sharing AP, and the AP that receives the CSR trigger frame can be called a shared AP. If a multi-AP coordinated transmission (including CSR) protocol has been established between the two APs, then during the shared TXOP duration, AP1 and AP2 can communicate with their associated stations at the same time.

[0062] During CSR transmission, participating APs need to know the path loss between the scheduled STA and the interfering AP. For shared APs, the interfering AP's power can be controlled based on the path loss between the scheduled STA and the interfering AP, thereby reducing interference from the interfering AP to the scheduled STA. Figure 3A illustrates a CSR transmission scenario. As shown in Figure 3A, AP1 schedules STA1, which is associated with AP1. In the case of CSR transmission, AP1 needs to know the path loss between AP2 (the interfering AP) and STA1.

[0063] Based on the above situation, it is necessary to perform path loss measurement before CSR transmission. For the scenario shown in Figure 3A, as shown in Figure 3B, AP1 needs to know the path loss between AP2 (interfering AP) and STA1. If AP1 is a shared AP, AP1 can use path loss to control the power of AP2. At the same time, AP1 can use path loss to estimate the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) at STA1. Path loss measurement can be implemented based on the beacon request / response and null data packet (NDP) measurement mechanism in related technologies.

[0064] Spatial reuse based on parameterized spatial reuse (PSR)

[0065] To enable early identification of overlapping basic service set (OBSS) signals and perform interference management, related technologies (such as the IEEE 802.11ax specification) propose corresponding spatial multiplexing operations (or spatial reuse operations), which can allow more frequent reuse of the medium between OBSSs in dense deployment scenarios.

[0066] Related technologies define two independent spatial multiplexing modes: OBSS packet detection (PD)-based spatial multiplexing and PSR-based spatial multiplexing, which are described below.

[0067] There are two types of OBSS PD-based spatial multiplexing: the first type is based on the non-spatial multiplexing group (non-SRG) OBSS PD threshold (level). This type of spatial multiplexing allows STAs to use the non-SRG OBSS PD threshold to ignore inter-BSS physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) under specific conditions. The second type is based on the SRG OBSS PD threshold. This type of spatial multiplexing allows STAs to use the SRG OBSS PD threshold to ignore inter-BSS PPDUs identified as SRG PPDUs under specific conditions.

[0068] PSR-based spatial multiplexing can be achieved based on PSR opportunities.

[0069] A PSR opportunity can be identified from the value of the RXVECTOR parameter SPATIAL_REUSE of a triggered PPDU (e.g., HE TB PPDU) and / or the content of a trigger frame. When certain conditions are met to avoid interfering with the receiver's reception of the ongoing PPDU, the STA can initiate spatial reuse (SR) transmission in a PSR opportunity during the ongoing PPDU. If the value of the RXVECTOR parameter SPATIAL_REUSE of the ongoing PPDU is PSR not allowed (PSR_DISALLOW), PSR and non-SRG OBSS PD prohibited (PSR_AND_NON_SRG_OBSS_PD_PROHIBITED), then no PSR-based SR transmission is allowed during the PPDU.

[0070] It should be noted that a STA that recognizes a PSR opportunity may choose not to perform a network allocation vector (NAV) update operation based on the received RXVECTOR parameter TXOP_DURATION and the trigger frame duration field.

[0071] The following is an example of PSR-based spatial multiplexing with reference to Figure 4. The method shown in Figure 4 can be performed by an AP, STAs associated with the AP (shown by STAs in Figure 4), and an OBSS STA. In Figure 4, an OBSS STA can include STAs. OBSS-A and STA OBSS- B The process of PSR-based spatial multiplexing shown in FIG4 may include steps S410 to S440.

[0072] In step S410, the AP may send a triggering PPDU (triggering PPDU). The triggering PPDU may be a PSRR PPDU.

[0073] The trigger frame carried by the PSRR PPDU can trigger the transmission of the uplink HE TB PPDU.

[0074] In step S420, in response to receiving the PSRR PPDU, the STAs may send a HE TB PPDU.

[0075] Step S430, STA OBSS-A Identify a PSR opportunity and transmit a PSRT PPDU to another OBSS STA (i.e. STA OBSS-B ).

[0076] It should be noted that if the value of the RXVECTOR parameter BSS color (BSS_COLOR) of the HE TB PPDU matches the BSS color of the PSRR PPDU, the OBSS STA (i.e., STA OBSS-A ) A PSRT PPDU that exceeds the PPDU duration (i.e., the duration from the common info field) of the HE TB PPDU triggered by the trigger frame of the PSRR PPDU should not be transmitted.

[0077] Step S440, STA OBSS-B A block acknowledgment (BA) frame for the PSRT PPDU of step S430 is fed back.

[0078] It can be seen that the spatial multiplexing method in the related art can realize spatial multiplexing between different BSSs. However, the spatial multiplexing method obtains transmission opportunities based on spatial multiplexing randomly.

[0079] To address the above-mentioned issues, an embodiment of the present application provides a wireless communication method, wherein, through a first frame, a first device may instruct a third device to perform spatial multiplexing, such as transmitting a data unit through a second resource, or monitoring or receiving a data unit sent through a first resource or a second resource, or monitoring or receiving an associated signal of a data unit carried on a first resource or a second resource. The resource through which the second device transmits the data unit to the first device may be referred to as a first resource, and the resource that partially or completely overlaps with the first resource in the time domain and / or frequency domain may be referred to as a second resource.

[0080] That is, the first device can schedule the third device to perform spatial multiplexing through the first frame, such as scheduling the third device to perform spatial multiplexing transmission based on the needs of the third device, thereby facilitating scheduling-based spatial multiplexing transmission. In addition, the first device and the third device can belong to the same BSS or different BSSs, thereby enabling spatial multiplexing between BSSs and within a BSS.

[0081] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method shown in Figure 5 involves a first device, a second device, a third device, and a fourth device. For example, the first device may be an AP; the second and third devices may be non-access point site devices associated with the AP; and the fourth device may be a peer site device of the third device.

[0082] The following describes the method provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between the first device and the third device, in conjunction with Figure 5. The method shown in Figure 5 may include step S510.

[0083] In step S510, the first device sends a first frame, and correspondingly, the third device can receive the first frame from the first device.

[0084] The first frame may be used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device using the first resource. For example, the first frame may be used to allocate the first resource to the first device and request the second device to transmit one or more first data units using the first resource. The first data unit may be a PPDU, such as an uplink PPDU or a trigger-based PPDU (TB PPDU). Optionally, the first frame may be a triggered frame, such as a basic triggered frame.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first frame may also be used to instruct the third device to perform spatial multiplexing. In other words, the first frame may be used to schedule the third device to perform spatial multiplexing.

[0086] For example, the first frame can be used to instruct the third device to transmit the second data unit through the second resource. As an example, the first frame can be used to instruct the third device to transmit the second data unit to the peer device of the third device, such as the fourth device (not the first device), through the second resource. Optionally, a communication link is established between the fourth device and the third device, or in other words, before the third device transmits the second data unit to the fourth device, a communication link is established between the fourth device and the third device. The second data unit can be a PPDU, a medium access control protocol data unit (MPDU), etc. Optionally, the fourth device can be a peer device that performs frame exchange transmission with the third device, such as a peer device that performs peer-to-peer (P2P) frame exchange transmission with the third device.

[0087] For another example, the first frame can be used to instruct the third device to receive or monitor any one of the following: a data unit carried on the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource. The third device monitors or receives an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource, which means that the third device can monitor or receive an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource without parsing the data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource to obtain parameters related to the signal, such as signal strength and other parameters. As an example, the associated signal of the data unit carried on the first resource can be monitored or received at the location of the first resource, or the associated signal of the data unit carried on the second resource can be monitored or received at the location of the second resource. In this way, the first frame can instruct the third device to implement functions such as channel detection. Therefore, it can also be said that the first frame is used to instruct the third device to perform channel detection.

[0088] The first and second resources partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain. For example, the second resource may include some or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources of the first resource. Based on this, spatial multiplexing can be achieved by scheduling a third device to transmit a data unit through the second resource through the first frame, or to receive or monitor a data unit transmitted through the first resource, a data unit transmitted through the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit transmitted through the second resource, thereby helping to improve the spatial utilization of the system.

[0089] In some embodiments, the third device includes multiple subordinate stations, and the subordinate station that receives the first frame and the subordinate station that sends the second data unit in the third device can be the same or different. The subordinate station that sends the second data unit in the third device can be an access point or a non-access point station.

[0090] To support the above-mentioned spatial multiplexing function, the embodiments of the present application provide a variety of parameters associated with spatial multiplexing. The parameters associated with spatial multiplexing are introduced below.

[0091] In some embodiments, the first frame includes a first parameter that indicates whether spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is permitted, or in other words, the first parameter is a spatial multiplexing enabling parameter. Spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource refers to spatial multiplexing based on resources associated with the first resource. The resources associated with the first resource may refer to resources that partially or completely overlap with the first resource in the time domain and / or frequency domain, such as the second resource mentioned above.

[0092] If the first parameter value is the first value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is allowed; if the first parameter value is the second value, the first frame is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is not allowed.

[0093] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned first parameter may be carried by a parameter in a common information field (common info field) or a special user information field (special user info field) in the first frame, such as the first parameter may be a spatial multiplexing enable subfield newly added to the common information field or the special user information field. For example, a value of the spatial multiplexing enable subfield is 0, which may indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is not allowed; a value of the spatial multiplexing enable subfield is 1, which may indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is allowed. It should be noted that the relationship between the value of the above-mentioned spatial multiplexing enable subfield and its meaning is only given as an example, and this application does not limit this.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first frame includes a second parameter, and the second parameter is used to indicate, or schedule, whether the device associated with the second parameter performs a transmission based on spatial multiplexing. The second parameter is associated with the second device or the third device. For example, the second parameter can be used to instruct the device associated with it to perform a transmission based on spatial multiplexing, or to transmit a data unit to the first device. As an example, a value of 1 for the second parameter can instruct the device associated with the second parameter to perform a transmission based on spatial multiplexing, and a value of 0 for the second parameter can instruct the device associated with the second parameter to transmit a data unit to the first device, such as participating in a TB PPDU transmission. Based on this, the value of the second parameter associated with the second device can be 0, thereby instructing the second device to perform a transmission with the first device, and the value of the second parameter associated with the third device can be 1, thereby instructing the third device to perform a transmission based on spatial multiplexing. It should be understood that the meaning of the second parameter value is provided for example only and is not limited in this application.

[0095] The second parameter may be carried in the user information subfield, and the device associated with the second parameter may be the device corresponding to the user information field. In other words, the second parameter may be used to indicate whether to schedule the device corresponding to the user information field for transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first frame is further used to indicate an operating mode of the third device, such as the operating mode of the third device during the duration corresponding to the second resource, or during the TXOP associated with the second resource. The operating mode can include one or more of the following: a first mode, in which the third device is in a listening, receiving, or channel probing mode; and a second mode, in which the third device initiates a transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

[0097] The above-mentioned first mode may, for example, include a third device monitoring or receiving a data unit sent through the first resource, or a data unit carried on the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit carried on the second resource, thereby achieving monitoring or reception or channel detection. For example, while scheduling one or more second devices to transmit a data unit, such as a TB PPDU, the first device schedules the third device to operate in the first mode, that is, during the TB PPDU transmission, the third device does not transmit the data unit, but receives, or monitors the TB PPDU. By obtaining the channel detection result or the monitoring result or the reception result, such as the interference information of the TB PPDU on the spatial multiplexing transmission, the first device can be assisted in determining whether the third device is suitable for performing spatial multiplexing transmission. The interference information of the TB PPDU on the spatial multiplexing transmission may, for example, include signal reception parameters, such as a receive signal strength indicator (RSSI), a received channel power indicator (RCPI), etc.

[0098] The second mode mentioned above may, for example, include the third device transmitting the second data unit to the fourth device through the second resource, that is, the third device performs transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first frame may further include a spatial multiplexing mode parameter for indicating a transmission mode (or spatial multiplexing mode) of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission. As an example, the spatial multiplexing parameter may be a spatial multiplexing mode subfield newly defined in the first frame common information field or special user information field. The spatial multiplexing mode may include the following multiple types.

[0100] For example, the transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission may include a duration of the third device's continuous transmission sequence that is less than or equal to a duration for the second device to send the first data unit to the first device (which may be referred to as mode 1). In other words, the transmission mode may include a first duration that is less than or equal to a second duration, wherein the duration of the third device's continuous transmission sequence is the first duration, and the duration for the second device to send the first data unit to the first device is the second duration. In other words, the continuous transmission sequence between the third device and its opposite station ends before the data unit, such as the first data unit, is simultaneously triggered by the first device, and the transmission end time ends.

[0101] For another example, the transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission may include a first duration that is less than or equal to the sum of the second duration and the first offset (which may be referred to as mode 2). For example, the duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device and its opposite station is less than or equal to the data unit triggered simultaneously by the first device, such as the sum of the transmission duration of the first data unit and the first offset. In other words, the duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device and its opposite device is less than or equal to the data unit triggered simultaneously by the first device, such as the transmission end time of the first data unit plus the first offset, that is, the continuous transmission sequence of the third device and its opposite device expires before the time point of the transmission end time of the first data unit plus the first offset. Among them, the first offset can be, for example, the minimum frame interval (Short Inter Frame Space, SIFS).

[0102] For another example, the transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission may include the start time of transmitting the first data unit being the same as the start time of transmitting the second data unit, and / or the end time of transmitting the first data unit being the same as the end time of transmitting the second data unit (which may be referred to as Mode 3). In other words, the transmission of a data unit, such as the second data unit, initiated by the third device has the same start time and / or end time as the transmission of the first data unit, or the start time and / or end time are aligned.

[0103] In some embodiments, the transmission mode based on spatial multiplexing transmission of the third device includes a default mode, or a default mode. If the transmission mode based on spatial multiplexing transmission is not indicated in the first frame, spatial multiplexing transmission is performed according to the default mode or the default mode. The default mode can be any of the above-mentioned transmission modes. Optionally, the default mode can include the first duration being less than or equal to the second duration.

[0104] In some embodiments, the first device sends a second frame, such as a second frame to a device to be spatially multiplexed or a second frame to a device performing channel sounding. The second frame is used to request the first information, and the first information is used to determine whether the first device should send the first frame to a third device. The second frame may also be referred to as a spatially multiplexed channel sounding report trigger frame.

[0105] For the sake of convenience of description, the first frame indicating that the working mode of the third device is the first mode within the time period corresponding to the second resource can be called the first frame A, and the first frame indicating that the working mode of the third device is the second mode within the time period corresponding to the second resource can be called the first frame B.

[0106] In some embodiments, a first device may send a first frame A to one or more devices intended for spatial multiplexing transmission. The first frame A may schedule the one or more devices to transmit a data unit, such as a TB PPDU, and simultaneously schedule the one or more devices intended for spatial multiplexing transmission to be in a monitoring state or a channel probing state to obtain first information. The first information helps the first device determine a device suitable for performing spatial multiplexing from the one or more devices intended for spatial multiplexing transmission, such as the third device mentioned above.

[0107] If the third device is suitable for performing spatial multiplexing, the first device may send the first frame B to the third device to schedule the third device to perform spatial multiplexing. If the third device is not suitable for performing spatial multiplexing, the first device does not send the first frame B to the third device to avoid the data transmission of the third device interfering with the transmission of the first data unit scheduled by the first device.

[0108] In some embodiments, the first information may include the signal reception parameters mentioned above, such as the received signal strength indication RSSI and the received channel power indication RCPI, which help the first device determine the interference information of the transmission of the first data unit to one or more devices to be spatially multiplexed. The above-mentioned RSSI and / or RCPI can be obtained through the results of reception, monitoring or channel detection by a third device. For example, RSSI and / or RCPI can be determined based on the monitoring or reception results of the third device for one or more of the following: a data unit sent through the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; and an associated signal of the data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource.

[0109] In some embodiments, the first information may include a third parameter. The third parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level for the third device. Based on the above-mentioned signal reception parameter and the third parameter, it can be determined whether the interference caused by the transmission of the first data unit to the third device is within the acceptable interference level range of the third device. If the interference caused by the transmission of the first data unit to the third device exceeds the acceptable interference level of the third device, then the third device is not suitable for performing transmission based on spatial multiplexing. If the interference caused by the transmission of the first data unit to the third device does not meet the acceptable interference level of the third device, then the third device can perform transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first information may include a fourth parameter, wherein the fourth parameter is used for transmission requirements between the third device and the fourth device, such as a path loss between the third device and the fourth device, and / or a signal-to-noise ratio requirement at a receiving end for transmission between the third device and the fourth device.

[0111] In some embodiments, the first information may include a fifth parameter. The fifth parameter is used to indicate the data transmission requirement of the third device. For example, the data transmission requirement of the third device may include whether the third device has data to be transmitted, such as whether the third device has data transmission requirements with the fourth device. The fifth parameter may include, for example, a buffer status report (BSR), and whether the third device has data transmission requirements may be determined based on the BSR report. If the third device does not have data transmission requirements, then the third device does not need to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission. If the third device has data transmission requirements, then the third device may perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission.

[0112] In some embodiments, the first information may include a sixth parameter. The sixth parameter is used to indicate whether the third device allows spatial multiplexing transmission, such as whether the third device allows spatial multiplexing transmission during the transmission of the first data unit. For example, the sixth parameter may be determined based on the configuration of the third device. For another example, the sixth parameter may be determined by the third device based on one or more information such as the aforementioned signal reception parameters, the transmission requirements between the third device and the fourth device, the data transmission requirements of the third device, and an acceptable interference level for the third device.

[0113] The first information may include one or more of the RSSI, RCPI, the third parameter, the fourth parameter, the fifth parameter, and the sixth parameter.

[0114] Because the transmission based on spatial multiplexing overlaps completely or partially with the data unit transmission triggered simultaneously by the first device in the time domain and / or frequency domain, it is necessary to constrain the transmission behavior of the third device to comply with the requirements of spatial multiplexing. Therefore, the first frame also includes one or more of the seventh to thirteenth parameters.

[0115] In some embodiments, the first frame includes a seventh parameter for indicating the size of the resource allowed to be used by the device associated with the seventh parameter and / or the position of the resource allowed to be used in the operating bandwidth, such as the seventh parameter can indicate the size of the second resource and / or the position in the operating bandwidth. The seventh parameter can be a resource unit allocation subfield in the user information field in the first frame. Optionally, the seventh parameter can indicate the size of the resource unit (RU) or multiple resource units (multiple RU, MRU) and / or the position in the operating bandwidth together with the uplink bandwidth (UL BW) subfield in the common information field, the UL BW extension subfield in the special user information field, and the PS160 subfield in the user information field. For example, the seventh parameter can indicate the size of the second resource and / or the position in the operating bandwidth, that is, the size and / or the position in the operating bandwidth of the RU or MRU that the third device is allowed or scheduled to transmit based on spatial multiplexing. In this case, the seventh parameter can be carried in the user information subfield associated with the third device.

[0116] In some embodiments, the first frame may include an eighth parameter. The eighth parameter is used to indicate the transmission duration allowed for spatial multiplexing-based transmission, such as the transmission duration allowed for spatial multiplexing-based transmission by the third device. The eighth parameter may be the allocated duration subfield in the user information field of the first frame. The allocated duration subfield in the user information associated with the third device may indicate the transmission time allocated by the first device to the third device, such as the transmission duration between the third device and the fourth device based on spatial multiplexing transmission. For example, the unit of the transmission duration may be 16 μs.

[0117] In some embodiments, the first frame may include a ninth parameter. The ninth parameter may be used to indicate the duration of a continuous transmission sequence permitted for the third device. The ninth parameter may be carried in a subfield of user information associated with the third device, such as a continuous transmission sequence duration subfield. The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device includes the duration of continuous frame exchanges between the third device and its peer device.

[0118] In some embodiments, the first frame may include a tenth parameter, wherein the tenth parameter may be used to indicate a duration during which the third device is allowed to send a data unit, such as a PPDU duration.

[0119] In some embodiments, the first frame may include an eleventh parameter, wherein the eleventh parameter may be used to indicate a value of an L-SIG length field of a data unit sent by the third device, such as PPDU L_Length.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first frame may include a twelfth parameter. The twelfth parameter may be used to indicate a power range within which the third device is permitted to transmit data units. The power range may be represented, for example, by one or more of: maximum transmit power, minimum transmit power, average transmit power, etc. The maximum transmit power may indicate the maximum combined transmit power of the transmit antenna connectors of all antennas used by the third device to transmit data units. The minimum transmit power may indicate the minimum combined transmit power of the transmit antenna connectors of all antennas used by the third device to transmit data units. Transmit power may also be referred to as transmission power. As an example, the twelfth parameter may include maximum transmit power and / or minimum transmit power.

[0121] The twelfth parameter may be indicated by one or more fields. For example, the multiple fields may include a maximum transmit power field and / or a minimum transmit power field.

[0122] The Maximum Transmit Power field may indicate the maximum transmit power of the third device for sending data units within the allocated time, such as the maximum combined transmit power of the transmit antenna connectors of all antennas used to transmit the PPDU, in units of dBm / 20 MHz. The maximum transmit power PTX(max) in units of dBm / 20 MHz is calculated as PTX(max) = -20 + FVal(max), where FVal(max) is the value of the Maximum Transmit Power field. The Maximum Transmit Power field may retain values ​​greater than 60.

[0123] In some embodiments, the first frame may further include a thirteenth parameter. The thirteenth parameter may be used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level for the first device, such as indicating an acceptable reception interference level for the first device to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission on the third device. The thirteenth parameter may, for example, be carried in the receiving-end interference level subfield to identify the maximum value of the acceptable interference signal power for the first device to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission on the scheduled device, such as the third device. The interference signal power for the first device may be obtained by measuring the data unit that is transmitted based on spatial multiplexing between the third device and its opposite device at the antenna connector of the first device. Optionally, the measured interference signal power may be averaged over the receiving antenna.

[0124] Constraining the behavior of the third device by using the seventh to thirteenth parameters helps to avoid or reduce mutual interference between the transmission and reception of the first data unit and the transmission and reception of data units based on spatial multiplexing transmission.

[0125] It should be noted that the counterpart device of the third device mentioned in the embodiment of the present application is not the first device.

[0126] In some embodiments, the first frame may be a trigger frame. The trigger frame may allocate resources and request the transmission of one or more data units, and may also be used to trigger transmission based on spatial multiplexing (e.g., P2P transmission). For example, a first device may allocate a first resource through a trigger frame and request associated devices (e.g., STA1 and STA2) to perform TB PPDU transmission. At the same time, a second resource may be allocated to other associated devices (e.g., STA3) for P2P transmission with its peer station (e.g., STA4). The first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0127] The following takes the first frame as an example of a trigger frame to introduce the format and related fields of the trigger frame provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0128] Figure 6 is an example diagram of the format of a trigger frame (i.e., the first frame) based on spatial multiplexing provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6, the first frame may include one or more of the following fields: frame control, duration, receiver address (RA), transmitter address (TA), public information, user information list (user info list), padding, and frame check sequence (FCS). Among them, the frame control field can occupy 2 bytes; the duration field can occupy 2 bytes; the RA field can occupy 6 bytes; the TA field can occupy 6 bytes; the public information field can occupy 8 or more bytes; the number of bytes occupied by the user information list field can be variable; the number of bytes occupied by the padding field can be variable; and the FCS field can occupy 4 bytes.

[0129] In some embodiments, the spatial multiplexing-based trigger frame may be defined on the basic trigger frame defined in the existing IEEE 802.11be standard (ie, the trigger type subfield indicates a basic trigger frame variant).

[0130] For example, spatial multiplexing enable, that is, the first parameter mentioned above, can be carried in the common information field or the special user information field of the trigger frame. The spatial multiplexing enable field is used to indicate whether the AP (i.e., the first device) allocates (or shares) part or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmission to a specific site (i.e., the third device) and its peer site (such as its P2P peer site) for transmission. For example, when the spatial multiplexing enable subfield value is 0, it indicates that the AP does not allocate (or share) part or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmission to a specific site and its peer site (such as its P2P peer site) for transmission; when the spatial multiplexing enable subfield value is 1, it indicates that the AP allocates (or shares) part or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmission to a specific site and its peer site (such as its P2P peer site) for transmission.

[0131] The following describes the formats of the HE variant public information and the EHT variant public information of the basic trigger frame provided in the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 .

[0132] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the common information of the trigger frame in Figure 6. Figure 7 is an example of the format of the HE variant common information of the basic trigger frame provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the common information field of the trigger frame may include one or more of the following fields: trigger type, uplink length, more TF, CS required, uplink bandwidth, GI and HE-LTF type, triggered TXOP sharing mode, MU-MIMO HE-LTF mode, Number of HE-LTF Symbols and Midamble Periodicity, UL STBC, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, AP Tx power, FEC pre-filling coefficient, PE ambiguity, uplink spatial multiplexing, Doppler, UL HE-SIG-A2 reserved, spatial multiplexing enable, and trigger dependent common information. As shown in FIG. 7 , for example, the spatial multiplexing enable field, ie, the first parameter, may be defined in an existing reserved bit, such as bit B63.

[0133] FIG8 is another example of the format of the public information of the trigger frame in FIG6. FIG8 is an example of the format of the EHT variant public information of the basic trigger frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8, the public information field of the trigger frame may include one or more of the following fields: trigger type, uplink length, more TF, CS required, uplink bandwidth, GI and HE-LTF type, trigger TXOP sharing mode, reserved,

[0134] Number of HE / EHT-LTF Symbols, Reserved, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, AP Tx Power, Pre-FEC Filling Factor, PE Ambiguity, UL Spatial Reuse, Reserved, HE / EHT P160, Special User Info Field Flag, EHT Reserved, Spatial Reuse Enable, and Trigger Dependent Common Info. As shown in FIG8 , for example, the spatial reuse enable field, i.e., the first parameter, can be defined in an existing reserved bit, such as bit B22, B53, or B63.

[0135] For example, the spatial multiplexing mode, i.e., the spatial multiplexing-based transmission mode mentioned above, can be carried in the common information field or the special user information field of the trigger frame. The spatial multiplexing mode subfield is used to indicate the mode in which the AP (i.e., the first device) allocates (or shares) some or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmission to a specific site (i.e., the third device) for transmission with its peer site (e.g., its P2P peer site).

[0136] The transmission mode based on spatial multiplexing may include one or more of the aforementioned modes 1 to 3. Specific examples of modes 1 to 3 are given below.

[0137] Mode 1: For shared spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the site scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission (i.e., the third device) and another site (i.e., the fourth device) is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the TB PPDU simultaneously triggered by the AP (i.e., the first device), that is, the continuous transmission sequence of the site scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission and another site expires before the end time of the TB PPDU transmission simultaneously triggered by the AP.

[0138] Mode 2: For shared spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the site scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission (i.e., the third device) and another site (i.e., the fourth device) is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the TB PPDU simultaneously triggered by the AP (i.e., the first device) plus a time offset (such as SIFS), that is, the continuous transmission sequence of the site scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission and another site expires before the time point of the TB PPDU transmission end time simultaneously triggered by the AP plus the time offset.

[0139] Mode 3: For shared spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the PPDU transmission initiated by a station scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission to communicate with another station is aligned with the TB PPDU transmission start time and / or end time.

[0140] Optionally, mode 1 is the default mode. When the common information field of the trigger frame contains a spatial multiplexing enable subfield and indicates that spatial multiplexing is enabled (such as the spatial multiplexing enable subfield value is 1), but the common information field or special user information field of the trigger frame does not contain a spatial multiplexing mode subfield, mode 1 is adopted for transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

[0141] FIG9 is a diagram illustrating the format of the special user information field of a trigger frame provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the special user information field of the trigger frame may include one or more of the following fields: AID12, PHY version identifier, UL Bandwidth Extension, EHT Spatial Reuse 1, EHT Spatial Reuse 2, U-SIG Disregard And Validate, Spatial Reuse Mode, Reservation, and Trigger Dependent Common Info. As shown in FIG8 , for example, the spatial reuse mode subfield may be defined in the reserved bits (e.g., bits B37-B38) of the special user information field of the basic trigger frame.

[0142] An example of spatial multiplexing mode subfield coding is shown in Figure 1.

[0143] In transmission based on spatial multiplexing, since the triggered TB PPDU transmission and the transmission based on spatial multiplexing completely or partially overlap in frequency and time, it is necessary to constrain the transmission behavior of the device scheduled (or shared) for transmission based on spatial multiplexing in order to meet the requirements of spatial multiplexing and avoid or reduce the mutual interference between the triggered TB PPDU transmission and the PPDU transmission based on spatial multiplexing. Therefore, new subfields such as transmission mode (i.e., the working mode mentioned above), continuous transmission sequence duration, PPDU L_Length, PPDU duration, maximum transmit power, minimum transmit power, and AP acceptable receiving interference level are newly defined in the user information field of the trigger frame, as shown in Figure 10. The above parameters can be used to indicate the transmission behavior of the site scheduled (or shared) for transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

[0144] Referring to Figure 10, the subfields included in the user information field in the trigger frame include one or more of the following: site identification, resource unit allocation (RU Allocation), allocation duration (Allocation Duration), spatial multiplexing transmission, transmission mode, continuous transmission sequence duration, PPDU L_Length, PPDU duration, maximum transmit power, minimum transmit power, and acceptable reception interference level for the AP. Among them, spatial multiplexing transmission is the second parameter mentioned above, resource unit allocation is the seventh parameter mentioned above, allocation duration is the eighth parameter mentioned above, continuous transmission sequence duration is the ninth parameter mentioned above, PPDU L_Length is the eleventh parameter mentioned above, PPDU duration is the tenth parameter mentioned above, maximum transmit power and minimum transmit power are the twelfth parameter mentioned above, and acceptable reception interference level for the AP is the thirteenth parameter mentioned above.

[0145] The site identification subfield is used to identify a site device. For example, the site identification subfield may be represented by the AID12 subfield in the trigger frame defined in the IEEE 802.11 specification.

[0146] The Resource Unit Allocation subfield, together with the Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW) subfield in the Common Information Field, the UL BW Extension subfield (if any) in the Special User Information Field, and the PS160 subfield (if any) in the User Information Field, can identify the size of the RU or MRU and / or its position in the operating bandwidth. In particular, when the Spatial Multiplexing Transmission subfield indicates that the station corresponding to the Scheduled User Information Field is to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the Resource Unit Allocation (RU) subfield is used to indicate the size and / or position in the operating bandwidth of the RU or MRU allowed or scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission by the scheduled station, i.e., the size and / or position in the operating bandwidth of the second resource mentioned above.

[0147] The Allocation Duration subfield indicates the time the AP allocates to a station (i.e., the scheduled station) for transmission with another station, and can be set to 16 μs. Optionally, when the Spatial Multiplexing Transmission subfield indicates that the station corresponding to the Scheduled User Information field performs spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the Resource Unit Allocation subfield indicates the resources allocated to the scheduled station for spatial multiplexing-based transmission.

[0148] The spatial multiplexing transmission subfield indicates whether the station corresponding to the user information field is scheduled (Note: the station can be indicated by the station identification subfield (such as the AID12 subfield) of the user information field) for spatial multiplexing-based transmission, where spatial multiplexing-based transmission refers to using part or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources of the TB PPDU transmission to transmit with another station (not the AP associated with the station corresponding to the user information field) without participating in the transmission of the TB PPDU. Among them, a value of 0 in the spatial multiplexing transmission subfield indicates that the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field is scheduled to perform TB PPDU-based transmission, that is, no spatial multiplexing-based transmission is performed; a value of 1 in the spatial multiplexing transmission subfield indicates that the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field is scheduled to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission, that is, no TB PPDU-based transmission is performed.

[0149] The transmission mode (i.e., the working mode mentioned above) subfield indicates whether the station scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission is in a listening (or receiving) or channel detection (sounding) mode or a mode of scheduling to initiate spatial multiplexing-based transmission within the allocated time. A specific example of the working mode is given below.

[0150] Operating Mode 1: Scheduled stations do not transmit PPDUs during the shared portion of the TXOP, but instead remain in a listening (or receiving) state or channel sounding state. The AP can perform channel sounding by instructing the scheduled station to remain in this state. The station then provides feedback, such as CSI, to inform the AP whether it is appropriate for the station to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmissions.

[0151] Working mode 2: The scheduled station sends the MPDU to another station during the shared portion of the TXOP (Note: this station is not the AP that shares the TXOP portion or schedules the transmission).

[0152] Table 2 is an example of encoding of the transmission mode (ie, the working mode mentioned above) subfield.

[0153] Table 2

[0154] The Maximum Transmit Power subfield indicates the maximum transmit power of the scheduled station's PPDUs during the allocated time. Specifically, it indicates the maximum combined transmit power of the transmit antenna connectors of all antennas used by the scheduled station to transmit the PPDU, expressed in dBm / 20 MHz. The maximum transmit power, PTX(max), in dBm / 20 MHz units, is calculated as PTX(max) = -20 + FVal(max), where FVal(max) is the value of the Maximum Transmit Power subfield. Values ​​greater than 60 are reserved for the Maximum Transmit Power subfield.

[0155] The AP Acceptable Receiver Interference Level subfield indicates the acceptable receiver interference level (i.e., the maximum acceptable interference signal power) for the spatial multiplexing-based transmission of the scheduled station to the AP. The interference signal power can be measured at the antenna connector of the AP through the PPDU based on spatial multiplexing transmission between the scheduled station and another station and averaged over the antenna.

[0156] In some embodiments, by updating and defining the user information field (such as the EHT variant user information field) of the basic trigger frame, scheduling of spatial multiplexing transmission is facilitated.

[0157] For example, different formats of user information subfield formats can be used according to the value of the spatial multiplexing transmission subfield, corresponding to users scheduled for TB PPDU transmission and users scheduled for spatial multiplexing transmission, respectively. Optionally, the reserved bit B5 of the trigger-related user information subfield in the EHT variant user information field can be set to the spatial multiplexing transmission subfield, and the meaning of its value is as mentioned above. For example, when the value of the spatial multiplexing transmission subfield is 0, it means that the user information field adopts the format of the EHT variant user information field, which corresponds to users scheduled for TB PPDU transmission, as shown in Figures 11 and 12; when the value of the spatial multiplexing transmission subfield is 1, it means that the user information field adopts the format of the EHT variant user information field, which corresponds to users scheduled for spatial multiplexing transmission, as shown in Figures 13 and 14.

[0158] Figure 11 is an example diagram of a user information subfield format provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 11 illustrates the user information subfield format corresponding to a user scheduled for TB PPDU transmission. As shown in Figure 11, the user information subfield may include one or more of the following fields: AID12, resource allocation unit, UL FEC coding type (UL FEC Coding Type), UL EHT modulation and coding scheme (UL EHT-MCS), reservation, spatial stream allocation (SS Allocation), UL target received power, PS160, and trigger-related user information.

[0159] Figure 12 is an example diagram of the format of the trigger-related user information in Figure 11. As shown in Figure 12, the trigger-related user information subfield may include one or more of the following fields: MPDU MU Spacing Factor, TID Aggregation Limit, Spatial Multiplexing Transmission (value is 0), and Preferred AC.

[0160] Figure 13 is another example diagram of the user information subfield format provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 13 illustrates the user information subfield format corresponding to users scheduled for spatial multiplexing transmission. As shown in Figure 13, the user information subfield may include one or more of the following fields: AID12, resource allocation unit, allocation duration, transmission mode (i.e., operating mode), reservation, AP acceptable receiver interference level, PS160, and trigger-related user information.

[0161] Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating an example format of the trigger-related user information in Figure 13. As shown in Figure 14, the trigger-related user information subfield may include one or more of the following fields: maximum transmit power, spatial multiplexing transmission (value is 1), and reserved.

[0162] It can be seen that if the user is scheduled for spatial multiplexing transmission, the original UL FEC coding type, UL EHT modulation and coding scheme, spatial stream allocation, MPDU MU interval factor, traffic identifier aggregation limit, and preferred AC in the corresponding user information field can be adjusted to a reserved field, and the allocation duration, transmission mode (i.e., working mode), AP acceptable receiving end interference level, and maximum transmit power subfields are added. The definitions of the relevant fields are as described above.

[0163] For ease of understanding, the following takes the first device as AP, the second device including STA1 and STA2, the third device as STA3, and the fourth device as STA3-1 as an example to introduce in detail the method of scheduling spatial multiplexing transmission based on the first frame.

[0164] Example 1

[0165] Figure 15 is an example of a scheduling transmission process based on spatial multiplexing provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0166] Spatial multiplexing-based scheduled transmission allows the AP to allocate resources to request one or more TB PPDU transmissions, and is also used to trigger spatial multiplexing-based transmissions (such as P2P transmissions). Triggering spatial multiplexing-based transmissions means that the AP allocates (or shares) some or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmissions to a specific station and its peer station (Note: the peer station of a station refers to the peer station other than the AP that shares resources with the station) for transmission. For example, the AP can allocate resources and request stations associated with it (such as STA1 and STA2) to transmit TB PPDUs. At the same time, it can allocate (or share) some or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmissions to other associated stations (such as STA3) and its peer station (such as STA3-1) for P2P transmissions.

[0167] Figure 15 shows an example of a frame exchange triggered by a trigger frame with the "Spatial Multiplexing Enable" subfield value indicated as 1 (i.e., instructing the AP to allocate some or all time and / or frequency resources for TB PPDU transmission to a specific station for transmission with its peer station (e.g., its P2P peer station). STA1, STA2, and STA3 are associated with the AP, and STA3-1 is STA3's P2P peer station.

[0168] The "Spatial Multiplexing Enable" subfield value of the trigger frame indicates that the AP is enabled to allocate part or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources used for TB PPDU transmission to a specific station and its peer station (such as its P2P peer station) for transmission. In particular, the spatial multiplexing mode subfield value in the common information field of the trigger frame is 1, which is used to indicate that: for scheduled (or shared) spatial multiplexing-based transmissions, the duration of the continuous transmission sequence between a scheduled station (i.e., a station scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission) and another station is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the TB PPDU simultaneously triggered by the AP, that is, the continuous transmission sequence between the station scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission and another station expires before the end time of the TB PPDU transmission simultaneously triggered by the AP.

[0169] For users STA1 and STA2 scheduled for TB PPDU transmission, correspondingly, in the user information fields pointing to STA1 and STA2 respectively (that is, the AID12 subfields therein correspond to the AID12 values ​​of STA1 and STA2 respectively), the spatial multiplexing transmission indication is 0, that is, the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field (that is, STA1 and STA2) performs TB PPDU-based transmission, that is, no spatial multiplexing-based transmission is performed.

[0170] For user STA3 scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the spatial multiplexing transmission indicator in the user information field pointing to STA3 (i.e., the AID12 subfield thereof corresponds to STA3's AID12 value) is 1, indicating that the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field (i.e., STA3) performs spatial multiplexing-based transmission, i.e., does not perform TB PPDU-based transmission. At the same time, the transmission mode subfield value in the user information field corresponding to STA3 indicates 1, indicating that the scheduled STA (i.e., STA3) will send the MPDU to another station (i.e., STA3's P2P peer station STA3-1) during the shared portion of the TXOP. At the same time, in the User Information field directed to STA3, the Resource Unit Allocation (RU Allocation) subfield, together with the Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW) subfield in the Common Information field, the UL BW Extension subfield (if any) in the Special User Information field, and the PS160 subfield (if any) in the User Information field, can be used to indicate the size and / or position of the RU or MRU allowed or scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission by STA3. The Allocation Duration subfield is used to indicate the time allocated for spatial multiplexing-based transmission by STA3. In addition, the User Information field may also include a Maximum Transmit Power subfield and / or an AP Acceptable Receiver Interference Level subfield. The Maximum Transmit Power subfield and the AP Acceptable Receiver Interference Level subfield respectively indicate the maximum transmit power for P2P transmission by STA3 during the shared portion of the TXOP duration and the permissible interference level of P2P transmission on the AP (i.e., the AP Acceptable Receiver Interference Level).

[0171] Optionally, before sending a basic trigger frame, the AP sends an MU-RTS trigger frame to STA1, STA2, and STA3 to determine whether scheduled transmission is appropriate. After receiving a CTS, the AP sends a basic trigger frame. After receiving the basic trigger frame, STA1 and STA2 use the allocated resources to each send a TB-PPDU to the AP. Simultaneously, STA3 uses the shared TXOP duration to conduct P2P transmissions with its peer station STA3-1 while STA1 and STA2 are transmitting their TB PPDUs. During the allocated time, to avoid or reduce interference between PPDU transmissions between the AP and STA1 and STA2, and between PPDU transmissions between STA3 and STA3-1, the scheduled station STA3 transmits P2P PPDUs according to the spatial multiplexing mode, transmission power (e.g., maximum transmission power), and / or the AP's acceptable receiver interference level indicated by the basic trigger frame. This limits the interference caused by P2P PPDU transmissions to the AP's reception of TB PPDUs sent to it to within an acceptable range.

[0172] In particular, when the AP schedules STA1 and STA2 to transmit TB PPDU, it schedules or allocates part of the time domain resources it has obtained to STA3 for transmission based on spatial multiplexing. The spatial multiplexing mode can be indicated to limit the P2P continuous transmission duration initiated by STA3 to the TB PPDU transmission duration, so as to avoid P2P transmission interfering with the reception of PPDU by the scheduled stations STA1 and STA2 that exchange frames with the AP.

[0173] Before triggering the spatial multiplexing-based scheduling transmission process, the AP can determine which stations can be scheduled to allocate resources to the station to send MPDU to the AP, which stations can be scheduled to allocate resources to the station to send MPDU to another station (such as a P2P peer station), and the transmission power parameter requirements (including maximum transmission power) for the scheduled station to send PPDU based on the path loss between the scheduled stations (or shared time domain resources) (including STA1, STA2, and STA3) and the AP, the acceptable receiving end interference level of the AP, and the data transmission requirements of the scheduled stations (such as the BSR report reported by the station), and / or the path loss between two scheduled stations (or shared time domain resources) (such as STA1 and STA3 and STA2 and STA3) and the acceptable receiving end interference level of the scheduled stations.

[0174] Example 2

[0175] Figure 16 illustrates another example of a spatial multiplexing-based scheduled transmission process provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 16 illustrates an example of a TB PPDU transmission triggered by a trigger frame and a spatial multiplexing-based transmission using a pre-probe function. STA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4 are associated with an AP, with STA3-1 and STA4-1 being the P2P peers of STA3 and STA4, respectively.

[0176] Optionally, the AP sends a MU-RTS trigger frame to STA1, STA2, STA3 and STA4 before sending a spatial multiplexing-based trigger frame to determine whether it is appropriate to schedule the transmission, and sends a spatial multiplexing-based trigger frame (i.e., the first frame A in Figure 16) to STA1, STA2, STA3 and STA4 after receiving CTS.

[0177] Among them, the "Spatial Multiplexing Enable" subfield value of the first frame A indicates that the AP is enabled to allocate part or all of the time domain and / or frequency domain resources for TB PPDU transmission to a specific station and its peer station (such as its P2P peer station) for transmission.

[0178] For users STA1 and STA2 scheduled for TB PPDU transmission, correspondingly, in the user information fields pointing to STA1 and STA2 respectively (that is, the AID12 subfields therein correspond to the AID12 values ​​of STA1 and STA2 respectively), the spatial multiplexing transmission indication is 0, that is, the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field (that is, STA1 and STA2) performs TB PPDU-based transmission, that is, no spatial multiplexing-based transmission is performed.

[0179] For users STA3 and STA4 scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the spatial multiplexing transmission indicator in the user information field corresponding to STA3 and STA4 (i.e., the AID12 subfield therein corresponds to the AID12 value of STA3 and STA4, respectively) is 1, indicating that the stations corresponding to the scheduled user information field (i.e., STA3 and STA4) are to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission, i.e., not to perform TB PPDU-based transmission. At the same time, the transmission mode subfield value in the user information field corresponding to STA3 and STA4 is 0, indicating that the scheduled STAs (i.e., STA3 and STA4) will not transmit PPDUs during the shared portion of the TXOP duration, but will instead be in a listening (or receiving) state or channel sounding state. This allows STA3 and STA4 to listen to or receive TB PPDUs sent by STA1 and STA2 after receiving the first trigger frame (i.e., the first frame A), obtain received signal parameters such as RSSI and RCPI, and determine whether to allow spatial multiplexing transmission (SRT) based on their acceptable interference level.

[0180] After receiving a TB PPDU, the basic trigger frame optionally responds with an acknowledgment frame (if any) and then sends a probe report trigger frame (i.e., the second frame) to STA3 and STA4, requesting them to report probe report frames. STA3 and STA4 can use probe report frames to report to the AP relevant reception parameters (including RSSI, RCPI, etc.) of the previously monitored or received TB PPDU signal, as well as information such as suitability for spatial multiplexing transmission (SRT) and / or their acceptable interference level. STA3 and STA4 can determine whether spatial multiplexing transmission (SRT) can be performed during the TB PPDU transmitted by STA1 and STA2 based on the RSSI, RCPI, and other reception parameter values ​​obtained from previously monitoring or receiving the TB PPDU, their acceptable interference level, and P2P transmission requirements (such as the path loss between their own station and the P2P station, and the SNR requirement for P2P transmission). In this example, STA3 reports that spatial multiplexing transmission is suitable, while STA4 reports that spatial multiplexing transmission is not suitable.

[0181] Then, based on the detection report frames received from STA3 and STA4, the AP sends another basic trigger frame (i.e., the first frame B) to STA1, STA2, and STA3. The value of the "Spatial Multiplexing Enable" subfield in the trigger frame indicates that the AP is enabled to allocate some or all time and / or frequency domain resources for TB PPDU transmission to a specific station and its peer station (e.g., its P2P peer station) for transmission. Specifically, the value of the Spatial Multiplexing Mode subfield in the Common Information field of the trigger frame is 1, indicating that for scheduled (or shared) spatial multiplexing-based transmissions, the duration of the continuous transmission sequence between a scheduled station (i.e., a station scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission) and another station is less than or equal to the transmission duration of the TB PPDU simultaneously triggered by the AP. In other words, the continuous transmission sequence between the station scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission and another station ends before the end time of the TB PPDU transmission simultaneously triggered by the AP.

[0182] For users STA1 and STA2 scheduled for TB PPDU transmission, correspondingly, in the user information fields pointing to STA1 and STA2 respectively (that is, the AID12 subfields therein correspond to the AID12 values ​​of STA1 and STA2 respectively), the spatial multiplexing transmission indication is 0, that is, the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field (that is, STA1 and STA2) performs TB PPDU-based transmission, that is, no spatial multiplexing-based transmission is performed.

[0183] For user STA3 scheduled for spatial multiplexing-based transmission, the spatial multiplexing transmission indicator in the user information field pointing to STA3 (i.e., the AID12 subfield thereof corresponds to STA3's AID12 value) is 1, indicating that the station corresponding to the scheduled user information field (i.e., STA3) performs spatial multiplexing-based transmission, i.e., does not perform TB PPDU-based transmission. At the same time, the transmission mode subfield value in the user information field corresponding to STA3 indicates 1, indicating that the scheduled STA (i.e., STA3) will send the MPDU to another station (i.e., STA3's P2P peer station STA3-1) during the shared portion of the TXOP. At the same time, in the user information field directed to STA3, the resource unit allocation (RU Allocation) subfield can be used together with the uplink bandwidth (UL BW) subfield in the common information field, the UL BW extension subfield (if any) in the special user information field, and the PS160 subfield (if any) in the user information field to indicate the size and / or position in the operating bandwidth of the RU or MRU allowed or scheduled for STA3 to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission; the allocation duration (Allocation Duration) subfield is used to indicate the time allocated to STA3 for spatial multiplexing-based transmission; and the user information field may also include a maximum transmit power subfield and / or an AP acceptable receive interference level subfield, wherein the maximum transmit power subfield and the AP acceptable receive interference level subfield respectively indicate the maximum transmit power of STA3 for P2P transmission during the shared portion of the TXOP and the allowable interference level of P2P transmission to the AP (i.e., the AP acceptable receive interference level).

[0184] After receiving the Basic Trigger Frame (i.e., the first frame B), STA1 and STA2 use the allocated resources to send TB-PPDUs to the AP. Simultaneously, STA3 uses the shared TXOP duration to conduct P2P transmissions with its peer station STA3-1 while STA1 and STA2 are sending TB PPDUs. During the allocated time, to avoid or reduce interference between the PPDU transmissions between the AP and STA1 and STA2, and the PPDU transmissions between STA3 and STA3-1, the scheduled station STA3 transmits P2P PPDUs according to the spatial multiplexing mode, transmission power parameters (e.g., maximum transmission power), and / or the AP's acceptable receiver interference level indicated by the Basic Trigger Frame. This limits the interference caused by the P2P PPDU transmission to the AP's reception of the TB PPDU sent to it to within an acceptable range.

[0185] This application exemplarily introduces a transmission method based on spatial multiplexing in a single BSS scenario. It should be noted that the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to spatial multiplexing in a multi-AP collaborative scenario.

[0186] The method embodiments of the present application are described in detail above, and the device embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the description of the method embodiments corresponds to the description of the device embodiments, so for parts not described in detail, reference can be made to the above method embodiments.

[0187] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1700 is a first device, and the communication device 1700 includes: a first sending unit 1710 .

[0188] The first sending unit 1710 is used to send a first frame; wherein, the first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; the first frame is used to instruct the third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to receive a data unit sent through the second resource, and the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0189] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 1700 can be used to execute some or all of the method steps executed by the first device in the method embodiment. The method flow has been described in detail in the previous embodiment. The modules in this embodiment have the same functions or perform the same steps, and will not be repeated here. However, those skilled in the art should know that the text description corresponding to the above method can be introduced into this embodiment and corresponds to the modules in the communication device 1700.

[0190] In an optional embodiment, the first sending unit 1710 may be a transceiver 1930. The communication device 1700 may further include a processor 1910 and a memory 1920, as specifically shown in FIG19 .

[0191] FIG18 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1800 is a third device and includes a first receiving unit 1810.

[0192] The first receiving unit 1810 is used to receive a first frame sent by a first device; wherein the first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; the first frame is used to instruct the third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to receive a data unit sent through the second resource, and the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

[0193] In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device 1800 can be used to execute some or all of the method steps executed by the third device in the method embodiment. The method flow has been described in detail in the previous embodiment. The modules in this embodiment have the same functions or perform the same steps, and will not be repeated here. However, those skilled in the art should know that the text description corresponding to the above method can be introduced into this embodiment and corresponds to the modules in the communication device 1800.

[0194] In an optional embodiment, the first receiving unit 1810 may be a transceiver 1930. The communication device 1800 may further include a processor 1910 and a memory 1920, as specifically shown in FIG19 .

[0195] Figure 19 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed lines in Figure 19 indicate that the unit or module is optional. Device 1900 may be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. Device 1900 may be a chip or a communication device.

[0196] The device 1900 may include one or more processors 1910. The processor 1910 may support the device 1900 to implement the method described in the above method embodiment. The processor 1910 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0197] The apparatus 1900 may further include one or more memories 1920. The memories 1920 store programs that can be executed by the processor 1910, causing the processor 1910 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. The memories 1920 may be independent of the processor 1910 or integrated into the processor 1910.

[0198] The apparatus 1900 may further include a transceiver 1930. The processor 1910 may communicate with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1930. For example, the processor 1910 may transmit and receive data with other devices or chips via the transceiver 1930.

[0199] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the communication device provided in the present invention, and the program enables a computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present invention.

[0200] The present application also provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the communication device provided in the present application, and the program causes a computer to execute the method performed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0201] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the method executed by the communication device in each embodiment of the present application.

[0202] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" in this application can be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" in the specification and claims of this application and the accompanying drawings are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0203] In the embodiments of the present application, a "field" may also be referred to as a "field," a "subfield," or a "subfield." A field may occupy one or more bytes (byte / octet), or a field may occupy one or more bits (bit).

[0204] In the embodiments of this application, the term "indication" may refer to a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association. For example, "A indicates B" may refer to a direct indication of B, e.g., B can obtain information through A; it may refer to an indirect indication of B, e.g., A indicates C, e.g., B can obtain information through C; or it may refer to an association between A and B.

[0205] In the embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0206] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" may indicate a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or an association relationship between the two, or a relationship between indication and indication, configuration and configuration, etc.

[0207] In the embodiments of the present application, "pre-defined" or "pre-configured" may be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in devices (e.g., including APs and STAs). The present application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, pre-defined may refer to information defined in a protocol.

[0208] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" is simply a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0209] In the embodiments of this application, the term "include" can refer to direct inclusion or indirect inclusion. Alternatively, the term "include" in the embodiments of this application can be replaced with "indicates" or "is used to determine." For example, "A includes B" can be replaced with "A indicates B" or "A is used to determine B."

[0210] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0211] In the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” may refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, it may include a WiFi protocol and related protocols used in future WiFi communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0212] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0213] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0214] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0215] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0216] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The first device sends a first frame; The first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; The first frame is used to instruct the third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried by the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource; The first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first frame includes a first parameter. If the first parameter takes a first value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is allowed; if the first parameter takes a second value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is not allowed.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first frame includes a second parameter, where the second parameter is used to indicate whether a device associated with the second parameter performs transmission based on spatial multiplexing, and the second parameter is associated with the second device or the third device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate an operating mode of the third device, where the operating mode includes one or more of the following: In the first mode, the third device is in a listening, receiving or channel probing mode; as well as In the second mode, the third device initiates transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first mode includes the third device listening to or receiving a data unit sent through the first resource, or a data unit carried on the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit carried on the second resource; the second mode includes the third device transmitting the second data unit to the fourth device through the second resource.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The fourth device is a peer device that performs frame exchange transmission with the third device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate a transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission, where the transmission mode includes one or more of the following: The first duration is less than or equal to the second duration; The first duration is less than or equal to the sum of the second duration and the first offset; A start time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as a start time of transmitting the second data unit, and / or an end time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as an end time of transmitting the second data unit; The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device is a first duration, and the duration of the second device sending the first data unit to the first device is a second duration.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first device sends a second frame, where the second frame is used to request first information, and the first information is used to determine whether the first device sends the first frame to the third device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first information includes one or more of the following: Received signal strength indication RSSI; Receive channel power indication RCPI; A third parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the third device; A fourth parameter is used to indicate a transmission requirement between the third device and the fourth device; A fifth parameter is used to indicate the data transmission requirement of the third device; as well as A sixth parameter is used to indicate whether the third device allows spatial multiplexing transmission during transmission of the first data unit.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The RSSI and / or the RCPI are determined based on monitoring or reception results of one or more of the following by the third device: a data unit sent via the first resource; a data unit carried by the second resource; and An associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that The fourth parameter includes a path loss between the third device and the fourth device, and / or a signal-to-noise ratio requirement of transmission between the third device and the fourth device at a receiving end.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The first frame further includes one or more of the following parameters: a seventh parameter, used to indicate the size and / or position of the second resource in the operating bandwidth; an eighth parameter, used to indicate a transmission duration during which the third device is allowed to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission; a ninth parameter, used to indicate a duration for which the third device is allowed to continuously transmit the sequence; a tenth parameter, used to indicate a duration during which the third device is allowed to send a data unit; an eleventh parameter, used to indicate a value of an L-SIG length field of a data unit sent by the third device; a twelfth parameter, used to indicate a power range in which the third device is allowed to send data units; and The thirteenth parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the first device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The twelfth parameter includes maximum transmit power and / or minimum transmit power.

14. The method according to claim 7 or 12, characterized in that The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device includes: the duration of continuous frame interaction between the third device and the opposite device of the third device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that The first data unit includes a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU), and the second data unit includes a PPDU.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that The first device is an access point device, the second device and the third device are non-access point site devices, and the second device and the third device are associated with the first device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that A communication link is established between the fourth device and the third device.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that The third device includes a plurality of subsidiary stations, and the subsidiary station in the third device that receives the first frame is the same as or different from the subsidiary station that sends the second data unit.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The affiliated station in the third device that sends the second data unit is an access point or a non-access point station.

20. A wireless communication method, characterized in that: include: The third device receives the first frame sent by the first device; The first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; The first frame is used to instruct the third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to monitor or receive any one of the following: a data unit carried by the first resource; a data unit carried on the second resource; or an associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource; The first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The first frame includes a first parameter. If the first parameter takes a first value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is allowed; if the first parameter takes a second value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is not allowed.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The first frame includes a second parameter, where the second parameter is used to indicate whether a device associated with the second parameter performs transmission based on spatial multiplexing, and the second parameter is associated with the second device or the third device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 22, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate an operating mode of the third device, where the operating mode includes one or more of the following: In the first mode, the third device is in a listening, receiving or channel probing mode; as well as In the second mode, the third device initiates transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The first mode includes the third device listening to or receiving a data unit sent through the first resource, or a data unit carried on the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit carried on the second resource; the second mode includes the third device transmitting the second data unit to the fourth device through the second resource.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The fourth device is a device that performs frame exchange transmission with the third device.

26. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 25, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate a transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission, where the transmission mode includes one or more of the following: The first duration is less than or equal to the second duration; The first duration is less than or equal to the sum of the second duration and the first offset; A start time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as a start time of transmitting the second data unit, and / or an end time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as an end time of transmitting the second data unit; The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device is a first duration, and the duration of the second device sending the first data unit to the first device is a second duration.

27. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 26, characterized in that The method further comprises: The third device receives a second frame sent by the first device, where the second frame is used to request first information, and the first information is used to determine whether the first device sends the first frame to the third device.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that The first information includes one or more of the following: Received signal strength indication RSSI; Receive channel power indication RCPI; A third parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the third device; A fourth parameter is used to indicate a transmission requirement between the third device and the fourth device; A fifth parameter is used to indicate the data transmission requirement of the third device; as well as A sixth parameter is used to indicate whether the third device allows spatial multiplexing transmission during transmission of the first data unit.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that The RSSI and / or the RCPI are determined based on monitoring or reception results of one or more of the following by the third device: a data unit sent via the first resource; a data unit carried by the second resource; and An associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, characterized in that The fourth parameter includes a path loss between the third device and the fourth device, and / or a signal-to-noise ratio requirement of transmission between the third device and the fourth device at a receiving end.

31. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 30, characterized in that The first frame further includes one or more of the following parameters: a seventh parameter, used to indicate the size and / or position of the second resource in the operating bandwidth; an eighth parameter, used to indicate a transmission duration during which the third device is allowed to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission; a ninth parameter, used to indicate a duration for which the third device is allowed to continuously transmit the sequence; a tenth parameter, used to indicate a duration during which the third device is allowed to send a data unit; an eleventh parameter, used to indicate a value of an L-SIG length field of a data unit sent by the third device; a twelfth parameter, used to indicate a power range in which the third device is allowed to send data units; and The thirteenth parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the first device.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that The twelfth parameter includes maximum transmit power and / or minimum transmit power.

33. The method according to claim 26 or 31, characterized in that The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device includes: the duration of continuous frame interaction between the third device and the opposite device of the third device.

34. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 33, wherein: The first data unit includes a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU), and the second data unit includes a PPDU.

35. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 34, wherein The first device is an access point device, the second device and the third device are non-access point site devices, and the second device and the third device are associated with the first device.

36. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 35, wherein: A communication link is established between the fourth device and the third device.

37. The method according to any one of claims 20 to 36, wherein: The third device includes a plurality of subsidiary stations, and the subsidiary station in the third device that receives the first frame is the same as or different from the subsidiary station that sends the second data unit.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein The affiliated station in the third device that sends the second data unit is an access point or a non-access point station.

39. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is a first device, and the device includes: A first sending unit, configured to send a first frame; The first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; The first frame is used to instruct a third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to receive a data unit sent through the second resource, and the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

40. The apparatus according to claim 39, wherein The first frame includes a first parameter. If the first parameter takes a first value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is allowed; if the first parameter takes a second value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is not allowed.

41. The apparatus according to claim 39 or 40, characterized in that The first frame includes a second parameter, where the second parameter is used to indicate whether a device associated with the second parameter performs transmission based on spatial multiplexing, and the second parameter is associated with the second device or the third device.

42. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 41, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate an operating mode of the third device, where the operating mode includes one or more of the following: In the first mode, the third device is in a listening, receiving or channel probing mode; as well as In the second mode, the third device initiates transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

43. The device according to claim 42, characterized in that The first mode includes the third device listening to or receiving a data unit sent through the first resource, or a data unit carried on the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit carried on the second resource; the second mode includes the third device transmitting the second data unit to the fourth device through the second resource.

44. The device according to claim 43, characterized in that The fourth device is a peer device that performs frame exchange transmission with the third device.

45. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 44, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate a transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission, where the transmission mode includes one or more of the following: The first duration is less than or equal to the second duration; The first duration is less than or equal to the sum of the second duration and the first offset; A start time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as a start time of transmitting the second data unit, and / or an end time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as an end time of transmitting the second data unit; The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device is a first duration, and the duration of the second device sending the first data unit to the first device is a second duration.

46. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 45, characterized in that The device further comprises: The second sending unit is configured to send a second frame, where the second frame is used to request first information, and the first information is used to determine whether the first device sends the first frame to the third device.

47. The apparatus according to claim 46, wherein The first information includes one or more of the following: Received signal strength indication RSSI; Receive channel power indication RCPI; A third parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the third device; A fourth parameter is used to indicate a transmission requirement between the third device and the fourth device; A fifth parameter is used to indicate the data transmission requirement of the third device; as well as A sixth parameter is used to indicate whether the third device allows spatial multiplexing transmission during transmission of the first data unit.

48. The apparatus according to claim 47, wherein The RSSI and / or the RCPI are determined based on monitoring or reception results of one or more of the following by the third device: a data unit sent via the first resource; a data unit carried by the second resource; and An associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource.

49. The apparatus according to claim 47 or 48, characterized in that The fourth parameter includes a path loss between the third device and the fourth device, and / or a signal-to-noise ratio requirement of transmission between the third device and the fourth device at a receiving end.

50. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 49, characterized in that The first frame further includes one or more of the following parameters: a seventh parameter, used to indicate the size and / or position of the second resource in the operating bandwidth; an eighth parameter, used to indicate a transmission duration during which the third device is allowed to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission; a ninth parameter, used to indicate a duration for which the third device is allowed to continuously transmit the sequence; a tenth parameter, used to indicate a duration during which the third device is allowed to send a data unit; an eleventh parameter, used to indicate a value of an L-SIG length field of a data unit sent by the third device; a twelfth parameter, used to indicate a power range in which the third device is allowed to send data units; and The thirteenth parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the first device.

51. The apparatus according to claim 50, wherein The twelfth parameter includes maximum transmit power and / or minimum transmit power.

52. The apparatus according to claim 45 or 50, wherein: The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device includes: the duration of continuous frame interaction between the third device and the opposite device of the third device.

53. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 52, characterized in that The first data unit includes a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU), and the second data unit includes a PPDU.

54. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 53, wherein The first device is an access point device, the second device and the third device are non-access point site devices, and the second device and the third device are associated with the first device.

55. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 54, characterized in that A communication link is established between the fourth device and the third device.

56. The apparatus according to any one of claims 39 to 55, characterized in that The third device includes a plurality of subsidiary stations, and the subsidiary station in the third device that receives the first frame is the same as or different from the subsidiary station that sends the second data unit.

57. The apparatus according to claim 56, wherein The affiliated station in the third device that sends the second data unit is an access point or a non-access point station.

58. A communication device, characterized in that The communication device is a third device, and the device includes: A first receiving unit, configured to receive a first frame sent by a first device; The first frame is used to instruct the second device to transmit a first data unit to the first device through a first resource; The first frame is used to instruct a third device to transmit a second data unit through a second resource, or to instruct the third device to receive a data unit sent through the second resource, and the first resource and the second resource partially or completely overlap in the time domain and / or frequency domain.

59. The apparatus according to claim 58, wherein The first frame includes a first parameter. If the first parameter takes a first value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is allowed; if the first parameter takes a second value, the first parameter is used to indicate that spatial multiplexing associated with the first resource is not allowed.

60. The apparatus according to claim 58 or 59, characterized in that The first frame includes a second parameter, where the second parameter is used to indicate whether a device associated with the second parameter performs transmission based on spatial multiplexing, and the second parameter is associated with the second device or the third device.

61. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 60, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate an operating mode of the third device, where the operating mode includes one or more of the following: In the first mode, the third device is in a listening, receiving or channel probing mode; as well as In the second mode, the third device initiates transmission based on spatial multiplexing.

62. The device according to claim 61, characterized in that The first mode includes the third device listening to or receiving a data unit sent through the first resource, or a data unit carried on the second resource, or a signal associated with a data unit carried on the second resource; the second mode includes the third device transmitting the second data unit to the fourth device through the second resource.

63. The apparatus according to claim 62, wherein The fourth device is a peer device that performs frame exchange transmission with the third device.

64. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 63, characterized in that The first frame is further used to indicate a transmission mode of the third device based on spatial multiplexing transmission, where the transmission mode includes one or more of the following: The first duration is less than or equal to the second duration; The first duration is less than or equal to the sum of the second duration and the first offset; A start time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as a start time of transmitting the second data unit, and / or an end time of transmitting the first data unit is the same as an end time of transmitting the second data unit; The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device is a first duration, and the duration of the second device sending the first data unit to the first device is a second duration.

65. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 64, characterized in that The device further comprises: The second receiving unit is configured to receive a second frame sent by a first device, where the second frame is used to request first information, and the first information is used to determine whether the first device sends the first frame to the third device.

66. The apparatus according to claim 65, wherein The first information includes one or more of the following: Received signal strength indication RSSI; Receive channel power indication RCPI; A third parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the third device; A fourth parameter is used to indicate a transmission requirement between the third device and the fourth device; A fifth parameter is used to indicate the data transmission requirement of the third device; as well as A sixth parameter is used to indicate whether the third device allows spatial multiplexing transmission during transmission of the first data unit.

67. The apparatus according to claim 66, wherein The RSSI and / or the RCPI are determined based on monitoring or reception results of one or more of the following by the third device: a data unit sent via the first resource; a data unit carried by the second resource; and An associated signal of a data unit carried on the first resource or the second resource.

68. The apparatus according to claim 66 or 67, characterized in that The fourth parameter includes a path loss between the third device and the fourth device, and / or a signal-to-noise ratio requirement of transmission between the third device and the fourth device at a receiving end.

69. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 68, characterized in that The first frame further includes one or more of the following parameters: a seventh parameter, used to indicate the size and / or position of the second resource in the operating bandwidth; an eighth parameter, used to indicate a transmission duration during which the third device is allowed to perform spatial multiplexing-based transmission; a ninth parameter, used to indicate a duration for which the third device is allowed to continuously transmit the sequence; a tenth parameter, used to indicate a duration during which the third device is allowed to send a data unit; an eleventh parameter, used to indicate a value of an L-SIG length field of a data unit sent by the third device; a twelfth parameter, used to indicate a power range in which the third device is allowed to send data units; and The thirteenth parameter is used to indicate an acceptable reception interference level of the first device.

70. The apparatus according to claim 69, wherein The twelfth parameter includes maximum transmit power and / or minimum transmit power.

71. The apparatus according to claim 64 or 69, characterized in that The duration of the continuous transmission sequence of the third device includes: the duration of continuous frame interaction between the third device and the opposite device of the third device.

72. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 71, characterized in that The first data unit includes a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU), and the second data unit includes a PPDU.

73. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 72, characterized in that The first device is an access point device, the second device and the third device are non-access point site devices, and the second device and the third device are associated with the first device.

74. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 73, characterized in that A communication link is established between the fourth device and the third device.

75. The apparatus according to any one of claims 58 to 74, characterized in that The third device includes a plurality of subsidiary stations, and the subsidiary station in the third device that receives the first frame is the same as or different from the subsidiary station that sends the second data unit.

76. The apparatus according to claim 75, wherein The affiliated station in the third device that sends the second data unit is an access point or a non-access point station.

77. A communication device, characterized in that The communication device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory is used to store a program, and the processor is used to call the program in the memory so as to enable the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 38.

78. A device, characterized in that The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory so as to cause the device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 38.

79. A chip, characterized in that The device comprises a processor configured to call a program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 38.

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

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

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

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