Channel access method and device

Abstract

The present application provides a channel access method and device, facilitating clarifying a method for each communication device to determine a channel access technology, so that communication devices in the same basic service set can access a channel on the basis of the same target channel access technology, thereby improving the communication efficiency and maintaining the system performance. The method comprises: generating a first frame, wherein the first frame is used for instructing a receiving end to determine a target channel access technology, the first frame comprises information of a channel access technology, and the channel access technology comprises a spatial reuse (SR) technology and / or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; and sending the first frame.

Description

Channel access method and apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410445616.3 filed on April 12, 2024, and entitled "Channel access method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and in particular to a channel access method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 is one of the current mainstream wireless access standards, and has been widely applied. In the IEEE 802.11a standard, only 20MHz bandwidth is supported, and the bandwidth is continuously increased in the subsequent standard evolution process. The maximum bandwidth supported in the 802.11n standard is 40MHz, the maximum bandwidth supported in the 802.11ac / ax standard is 160 (80+80) MHz, and the maximum bandwidth supported in the 802.11be standard is 320MHz. In order to ensure the backward compatibility in the standard evolution process, there is a unique 20MHz primary channel (PCH) regardless of the bandwidth. When transmitting data using any bandwidth, the 20MHz primary channel must be included. This results in a problem that when the unique primary channel is busy, all other idle secondary channels (SCH) cannot be used, thereby reducing the system efficiency.

[0004] Currently, in some related technologies, access points (APs) and non-access point stations (non AP STAs) are allowed to switch from the primary channel to the secondary channel for work, such as non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; in some other related technologies, APs and non AP STAs are allowed to multiplex the primary channel to improve resource utilization, such as spatial reuse (SR) technology.

[0005] However, there is no clear rule for the technology based on which each node works, which may cause, in some scenarios, APs and at least one non-AP STA in a same basic service set (BSS) to multiplex a primary channel or switch from the primary channel to a secondary channel, so that the non-AP STA not in the same channel as the AP cannot work normally, and system performance is degraded. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application provides a channel access method and device, which is beneficial to determine the method for each communication device to determine a channel access technology, so that each communication device in a same basic service set can access a channel based on a same target channel access technology, and is beneficial to improve communication efficiency and maintain system performance.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a channel access method applied to a first communication device, which can be an AP or a chip in an AP, and the present application does not limit this. The method comprises: generating a first frame, the first frame being used to instruct a receiving end to determine a target channel access technology, the first frame comprising information of a channel access technology, the channel access technology comprising a spatial reuse (SR) technology and / or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; and sending the first frame.

[0008] It should be understood that the receiving end of the first frame is in a same BSS as the first communication device, for example, the receiving end can be a third communication device.

[0009] It should also be understood that after the first communication device sends the first frame, if the first communication device also receives a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS), the first communication device also needs to determine a target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology comprised in the first frame, and the first communication device and the third communication device in the same BSS determine the target channel access technology in the same way.

[0010] In the embodiments of the present application, the first frame sent by the first communication device includes information of channel access technology, and the receiving end determines a unique target channel access technology based on the information of channel access technology indicated by the first frame. The channel access technology includes spatial reuse (SR) technology and / or non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology, and the target channel access technology is one of the SR technology and the NPCA technology. In this way, it is beneficial for each communication device in the same BSS to determine a unique target channel access technology when receiving a PPDU from a BSS that does not belong to the BSS, and it is beneficial to avoid the situation that each communication device utilizes different channel access technologies to access different channels in the presence of interference from an external BSS, and it is beneficial to improve system performance.

[0011] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first communication device determines the target channel access technology based on the information of channel access technology.

[0012] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame includes a first element and / or a second element. The first element is used to indicate parameters of the NPCA technology, and the second element is used to indicate parameters of the SR technology.

[0013] Optionally, the first element can be an NPCA parameter set element. The first element can further include one or more of the following fields: an element ID, a length, an element ID extension, an NPCA control, an NPCA disallowed, an NPCA allowed, an NPCA information present, an NPCA PD level, or an NPCA PD level offset. The present application does not make a specific limitation on the fields included in the first element.

[0014] Optionally, the second element can be a spatial reuse parameter set element, and the second element can include one or more of the following fields: an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a spatial reuse control (SR control) field, a non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD max offset field, a spatial reuse group OBSS PD min offset field, a spatial reuse group OBSS PD max offset field, a spatial reuse group BSS color bitmap field, a spatial reuse group partial BSSID bitmap field, a parameter spatial reuse disallowed field, a non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR disallowed field, a non-spatial reuse group offset present field, a spatial reuse group information present field, a HE-SIG-A spatial reuse value 15 allowed field, or a reserved field. The present application does not make any specific limitation on the fields included in the second element.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first element includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the first indication information can be indicated by a value of an NPCA disallowed field or an NPCA allowed field. Taking the first indication information being indicated by a value of the NPCA disallowed field as an example, if the NPCA disallowed field occupies 1 bit, then the NPCA technology is allowed to be used by taking 0 of the NPCA disallowed field, and the NPCA technology is not allowed to be used by taking 1 of the NPCA disallowed field.

[0017] Optionally, the NPCA disallowed field can be a subfield of an NPCA control field, but the present application does not make any limitation thereon.

[0018] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first element further includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate an NPCA packet detection (PD) threshold.

[0019] In some possible implementations, the second indication information can be directly indicated by an NPCA packet detection threshold field, or can be indirectly indicated by an NPCA packet detection threshold offset field.

[0020] Optionally, the NPCA packet detection threshold field or the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field can be a subfield of the NPCA control field, or can be a field parallel to the NPCA control field, and the application does not make a specific limitation thereon.

[0021] In some implementations, the NPCA control field includes an NDPA information present subfield, and the NPCA packet detection threshold field or the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field is included in the first element in a case where the NDPA information present subfield indicates that NPCA information is present.

[0022] In some implementations of the first aspect, determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: in a case where a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold, determining that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology; or in a case where a PPDU from an OBSS is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is less than the NPCA PD threshold, determining that the SR technology is the target channel access technology.

[0023] In the embodiments of the application, the first communication device publishes a first frame, and the first frame includes an NPCA PD threshold. When the first communication device receives a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS), a target channel access technology is determined based on a size relationship between a first received power of the PPDU and the NPCA PD threshold, which provides a rule for selecting a channel access technology for the first communication device, is conducive to the communication devices of the same BSS accessing a channel by using the same channel access technology, is conducive to improving communication efficiency, and is conducive to improving system performance.

[0024] In some implementations of the first aspect, the second element includes third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the third indication information can be indicated by a value of a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field, and the fourth indication information can be indicated by a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD minimum offset field and a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field.

[0026] In some implementations of the first aspect, determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: determining the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology when a PPDU from an OBSS is received and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to a first value, or determining the SR technology as the target channel access technology when a PPDU from an OBSS is received and a first received power of the PPDU is less than the first value, the first value being the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0027] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device publishes the first frame, and the first frame includes the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information. When the first communication device receives a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS), the target channel access technology is determined based on a size relationship between a first received power of the PPDU and the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold indicated by the third indication information and / or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold indicated by the fourth indication information. The rule for selecting the channel access technology for the first communication device is provided, which is conducive to the communication devices of the same BSS accessing the channel with the same channel access technology, improves the communication efficiency, and improves the system performance.

[0028] In some implementations of the first aspect, the second element includes third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to a first value, the first value being the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0029] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining the target channel access technique based on the information of the channel access techniques comprises: determining the NPCA technique as the target channel access technique in a case that the first received power of the received PPDU from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold.

[0030] It should be understood that in the related art, when the first communication device receives the PPDU of the OBSS, if the first received power of the PPDU is less than a first value, the condition for using the SR technique is met. In the embodiments of the present application, the NPCA PD threshold is set to be greater than or equal to the first value, and it is stipulated that in a case that the first received power of the received PPDU from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold, the condition for using the SR technique is not met, so the NPCA technique is determined as the target channel access technique, which does not conflict with the condition for allowing the use of the SR technique stipulated in the related art, i.e. in a case that the first received power of the received PPDU from the OBSS is less than the first value, it is still considered that the use of the SR technique is allowed, and the use of the NPCA technique is not allowed because the condition for the NPCA technique is not met. In this way, the condition for whether to allow the use of the SR technique in the related art is not changed, which is convenient for implementation.

[0031] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method is applied to a first communication device, and the first frame further comprises fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device in an OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device comprising an identifier of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device.

[0032] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the determining the target channel access technique based on the information of the channel access techniques comprises: determining the NPCA technique as the target channel access technique in a case that the received PPDU from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to an updated NPCA PD threshold; and determining the SR technique as the target channel access technique in a case that the received PPDU from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the updated NPCA PD threshold, the updated NPCA PD threshold being a difference between the first received power and the second received power, and a sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

[0033] It should be understood that the second communication device can be an AP or a non-AP STA, and the second reception power is detected by the first communication device based on a PPDU received from the second communication device, so that when the PPDU received by the first communication device from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device, the updated NPCA PD threshold is equal to the NPCA PD threshold included in the first frame.

[0034] In some implementations of the first aspect, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included in the second element, the third indication information is used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the determining the target channel access technology based on the channel access technology information comprises: in a case where the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device and the first reception power of the PPDU is less than a first value, determining the SR technology as the target channel access technology, the first value being the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0035] In a possible implementation, in a case where the first communication device determines that the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device, it can be considered that the NPCA technology is not currently allowed to be used, and if the first reception power of the PPDU at this time is less than the first value, that is, the condition for using the SR technology is met, the SR technology is determined as the target channel access technology.

[0036] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device in the OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device including an identifier of the second communication device and a second reception power of a PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device, the PPDU not belonging to the second communication device.

[0037] In a possible implementation, in a case where the first communication device determines that the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device, the target channel access technology can be determined based on a size relationship between the NPCA PD threshold indicated in the first frame and the first reception power of the PPDU.

[0038] In some implementations of the first aspect, the determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technologies comprises: determining the target channel access technology based on priorities of the SR technology and the NPCA technology.

[0039] In some implementations, the priority of the NPCA technology is higher than the priority of the SR technology. It can be considered that if the first indication information in the first element indicates that the NPCA is allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology. If the first indication information indicates that the NPCA is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology. Even if the second element exists, the second element is not considered, and only the information indicated by the first element is focused on.

[0040] In some other implementations, the priority of the SR technology is higher than the priority of the NPCA technology. It can be considered that if the value of the field in the second element for indicating whether the SR technology is allowed indicates that the SR technology is allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology. If the value of the field in the second element for indicating whether the SR technology is allowed indicates that the SR technology is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology. Even if the first element exists, the first element is not considered, and only the information indicated by the second element is focused on.

[0041] It should be understood that the priorities of the SR technology and the NPCA technology can be agreed by a protocol, configured by a factory, or configured by signaling of a communication device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0042] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0043] For example, the first frame can be a beacon frame. The first communication device periodically broadcasts the first frame in the BSS. It is worth noting that the content contained in the first frame can be different after each broadcast period. The first communication device can determine the target channel access technology that can be used based on the information of the channel access technology contained in the latest transmitted first frame.

[0044] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a channel access method, applied to a third communication device. The third communication device can be a non-AP STA or a chip in a non-AP STA, which is not limited in the present application. The third communication device is in the same basic service set as the first communication device. The method comprises: receiving a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate that a receiving end determines a target channel access technology, the first frame comprising information of channel access technologies, the channel access technologies comprising a spatial reuse SR technology and / or a non-primary channel access NPCA technology; and determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technologies.

[0045] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame comprises a first element and / or a second element, the first element is used to indicate a parameter of the NPCA technology, and the second element is used to indicate a parameter of the SR technology.

[0046] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first element comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used.

[0047] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first element further comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate an NPCA packet detection (PD) threshold.

[0048] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology comprises: in a case where a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold, determining that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology.

[0049] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology comprises: in a case where a PPDU from an OBSS is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is less than the NPCA PD threshold, determining that the SR technology is the target channel access technology.

[0050] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second element comprises third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0051] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology comprises: in a case where a PPDU from an OBSS is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to a first value, determining that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology, the first value being the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0052] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the determining the target channel access technique based on the information of the channel access techniques comprises: determining the SR technique as the target channel access technique in a case that a PPDU from the OBSS is received and a first received power of the PPDU is less than a first value, the first value being the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold and the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold.

[0053] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included in the second element, the third indication information being used to indicate the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information being used to indicate the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold; and the NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to a first value, the first value being the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold and the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold.

[0054] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the determining the target channel access technique based on the information of the channel access techniques comprises: determining the NPCA technique as the target channel access technique in a case that a first received power of a PPDU from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold.

[0055] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method is applied to a third communication device, and the first frame further comprises fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device in the OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device comprising an identification of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU from the second communication device received by the first communication device.

[0056] With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the determining the target channel access technique based on the information of the channel access techniques comprises: determining the NPCA technique as the target channel access technique in a case that the PPDU from the OBSS received is from the second communication device and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to an updated NPCA PD threshold, the updated NPCA PD threshold being a difference between the first received power and the second received power, and a sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

[0057] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second element, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included, the third indication information is used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the determining the target channel access technology based on the channel access technology information comprises: in a case where the received PPDU from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than a first value, determining the SR technology as the target channel access technology, the first value being the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0058] It should be understood that the first communication device and the third communication device can be at a distance, and the first communication device and the third communication device can detect different received powers for the same PPDU from the OBSS. The first received power of the PPDU received by the third communication device is corrected based on the second received power of the second communication device detected by the first communication device, so that the target channel access technologies obtained by the first communication device and the third communication device based on the above rules are as same as possible (i.e., the first communication device and the third communication device both use the NPCA technology or both use the SR technology) when receiving the same OBSS PPDU.

[0059] In the embodiments of the present application, the difference between the first received power and the second received power compensates for the difference in received power of the same PPDU between the third communication device and the first communication device. Thus, the NPCA PD threshold used by the first communication device and one or more third communication devices associated with the first communication device in determining the target channel access technology based on the first received power and the NPCA PD threshold is more consistent in size with the first received power of the PPDU, which is beneficial to making each communication device determine a unified target channel access technology based on the rules provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] In some implementations of the second aspect, in the second element, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included, the third indication information is used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the determining the target channel access technology based on the channel access technology information comprises: in a case where the received PPDU from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than a first value, determining the SR technology as the target channel access technology, the first value being the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0061] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device in an OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device including an identification of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU from the second communication device received by the first communication device, the PPDU not belonging to the second communication device.

[0062] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technologies includes determining the target channel access technology based on priorities of the SR technology and the NPCA technology.

[0063] In some implementations of the second aspect, in combination with the second aspect, the second frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0064] In the third aspect, the present application provides a channel access technology, applied to a first communication device, which can be an AP or a chip in an AP, and the present application does not limit this. The method includes: generating a second frame, the second frame being used to indicate a target channel access technology, the second frame including information of the target channel access technology, the target channel access technology including a spatial reuse SR technology or a non-primary channel access NPCA technology; and sending the second frame.

[0065] It should be understood that after the first communication device sends the second frame, if the first communication device also receives a PPDU from an OBSS, the first communication device also accesses the channel based on the target channel access technology indicated by the second frame, that is, the first communication device and the third communication device in the same BSS determine the target channel access technology in the same way. The number of the third communication devices here can be one or more, and the present application does not limit the number of the third communication devices.

[0066] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device directly indicates the target channel access technology allowed to be used through the second frame, and the first communication device and the third communication device can access the channel based on the target channel access technology indicated by the second frame in the case that both of them receive a PPDU not belonging to the BSS, which is beneficial to avoid that different channel access technologies used by each communication device lead to accessing different channels in the case of interference from an external BSS, and is beneficial to improve system performance.

[0067] In some implementations of the third aspect, in combination with the third aspect, the method further includes: the first communication device accessing the channel using the target channel access technology.

[0068] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the second frame includes a first element and a second element, the first element is used to indicate a parameter of the NPCA technology, and the second element is used to indicate a parameter of the SR technology.

[0069] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first element includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used.

[0070] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the second element includes a parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, a non-spatial multiplexing group overlapping basic service set (OBSS PD SR) not allowed field, and a spatial multiplexing group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed to be used, and the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology.

[0071] With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the second element further includes a parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, a non-spatial multiplexing group overlapping basic service set (OBSS PD SR) not allowed field, and a spatial multiplexing group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed to be used, and the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology.

[0072] Exemplarily, whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used can be indicated by a value of an NPCA not allowed field in the first element.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the NPCA not allowed field indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed when the value of the NPCA not allowed field is the second value, and indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed when the value of the NPCA not allowed field is the third value; the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the value of the spatial reuse group information existing field do not simultaneously satisfy the condition that the parameter space reuse not allowed field takes the fourth value, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field takes the fifth value, and the spatial reuse group information existing field takes the sixth value, indicating that the SR technology is allowed, and the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the value of the spatial reuse group information existing field simultaneously satisfy the condition that the parameter space reuse not allowed field takes the fourth value, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field takes the fifth value, and the spatial reuse group information existing field takes the sixth value, indicating that the SR technology is not allowed.

[0074] Optionally, the NPCA not allowed field, the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the value of the spatial reuse group information existing field can occupy 1 bit respectively, the second value can be 0, the third value can be 1, the fourth value can be 1, the fifth value can be 1, and the sixth value can be 0, but the application does not make specific limitations on the bit occupied by each field and the meaning of the value.

[0075] The method provided by the embodiment of the application directly indicates the target channel access technology through the indication information contained in the first element and the second element, and the first communication device and the third communication device do not need to determine the target channel access technology by themselves, which is beneficial to accessing the channel based on the same target channel access technology in the case that the first communication device and the third communication device both receive the PPDU from the BSS that does not belong to the BSS.

[0076] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the second frame includes sixth indication information, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate the target channel access technology.

[0077] In a possible implementation, the first frame includes a first field, and the first indication information can be indicated by the value of the first field. For example, the first field can be an NPCA allowed and SR allowed field, or an NPCA allowed and SR not allowed field, or an NPCA not allowed and SR allowed field, or an NPCA not allowed and SR not allowed field, which is not limited in the application.

[0078] Taking the first field as an example, the first field is an NPCA and SR allowed field, and the first field occupies 2 bits, the NPCA and SR allowed field taking 10 can represent that the NPCA technology is allowed and the SR technology is not allowed, and the NPCA and SR allowed field taking 01 can represent that the NPCA technology is not allowed and the SR technology is allowed. The meaning of the value of the first field is not limited in the application.

[0079] The method provided by the embodiment of the application directly indicates the target channel access technology through the sixth indication information, without indicating through the first element or the second element, which is beneficial to saving the bit of the first frame, saving the analysis cost of the receiving end, and improving the communication efficiency.

[0080] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the second frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0081] Optionally, the second frame can be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or any other management frame that can carry the indication information, which is not limited in the application.

[0082] For example, the second frame can be a beacon frame, and the first communication device periodically broadcasts the second frame in the BSS. It is worth noting that the content contained in the second frame can be different after each broadcast period, and the first communication device and the third communication device receiving the second frame can access the channel based on the target channel access technology indicated in the latest received second frame.

[0083] In the fourth aspect, the application further provides a channel access method applied to a third communication device. The third communication device can be a non-AP STA or a chip in a non-AP STA, which is not limited in the application. The third communication device is in the same basic service set as the first communication device. The method comprises: receiving a second frame, the second frame being used to indicate a target channel access technology, the second frame comprising information of the target channel access technology, the target channel access technology comprising a spatial reuse SR technology or a non-primary channel access NPCA technology; and accessing a channel by using the target channel access technology.

[0084] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the second frame comprises a first element and a second element, the first element being used to indicate a parameter of the NPCA technology, and the second element being used to indicate a parameter of the SR technology.

[0085] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the first element comprises first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed.

[0086] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second element includes a parameter space reuse not allowed field, a non- spatial reuse group overlap basic service set (OBSS PD SR) not allowed field, and a spatial reuse group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technique is allowed, and the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technique is not allowed, the target channel access technique is the NPCA technique.

[0087] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second element further includes a parameter space reuse not allowed field, a non-spatial reuse group overlap basic service set (OBSS PD SR) not allowed field, and a spatial reuse group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technique is not allowed, and the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technique is allowed, the target channel access technique is the SR technique.

[0088] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second frame includes sixth indication information, the sixth indication information being used to indicate the target channel access technique.

[0089] With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0090] In a fifth aspect, a channel access apparatus is provided, including modules for implementing the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

[0091] In a sixth aspect, another channel access apparatus is provided, including a processor coupled with a memory, and configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect. Optionally, the apparatus further includes the memory. Optionally, the apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled with the communication interface.

[0092] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, including an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit, and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

[0093] In the implementation process, the processor can be a chip, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver, the output signal output by the output circuit can be output to and transmitted by, for example but not limited to, a transmitter, and the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit which is used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0094] In an eighth aspect, a processing apparatus is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory, and can receive signals through a receiver and transmit signals through a transmitter to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

[0095] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.

[0096] Optionally, the memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor are separately arranged.

[0097] In the implementation process, the memory can be a non-transitory memory, for example, a read only memory (ROM), which can be integrated on the same chip with the processor, or arranged on different chips respectively. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor.

[0098] It should be understood that the related data interaction process, for example, sending the indication information can be the process of outputting the indication information from the processor, and receiving the capability information can be the process of receiving the input capability information by the processor. Specifically, the processed output data can be output to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor can come from the receiver. The transmitter and the receiver can be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0099] The processing apparatus in the eighth aspect can be a chip, and the processor can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor which is implemented by reading software codes stored in the memory. The memory can be integrated in the processor or exist independently.

[0100] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect.

[0101] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instructions) that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, or the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0102] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a primary channel and a secondary channel bandwidth according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an SR technique principle according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an NPCA technique principle according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a channel access method flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a format of a first element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a format of a second element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a format of a neighbor STA information list according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another channel access method flow according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a format of another first element according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a channel access apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a structure of another channel access apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0114] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0115] In the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with substantially same functions and effects are distinguished by using "first", "second", and the like. For example, the first value and the second value are merely used to distinguish different values, and the order is not limited. Those skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", and the like do not necessarily mean different.

[0116] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to represent an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner.

[0117] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. The "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent the following three cases: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character "or" generally represents the relationship between the associated objects as "or". "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0118] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a wireless local area network (WLAN) communication system, a general packet radio service (GPRS), a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) system or a new radio (NR), and the like.

[0119] The application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application and the methods of the embodiments of the present application are described below as an example by taking a WLAN system as an example.

[0120] Specifically, the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN), and the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any one of the IEEE 802.11 series protocols currently adopted by the WLAN, especially to a WLAN system conforming to the 802.11be standard, the 802.11bn standard and the subsequent improved standards of the standards. The WLAN can include one or more basic service sets (BSSs), and the network nodes in the basic service set can include an access point station (AP STA) and a non access point station (non-AP STA). In the embodiments of the present application, the AP STA is referred to as an AP, and the non-AP STA is referred to as a STA. In some implementations, the AP STA and the non-AP STA can be collectively referred to as a station or a node, which is not limited in the present application.

[0121] Specifically, the station (STA) in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a system, a user unit, an access terminal, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device or a user equipment (UE). The STA can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless local area network (e.g., Wi-Fi) communication function, a wearable device, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem. Among them, the STA product is usually a terminal product supporting IEEE 802.11 series standards, such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, etc. The STA can be a single antenna, also can be a multi-antenna, and can be a device with more than two antennas. Exemplarily, the STA can include physical layer (physical layer, PHY) processing circuit and media access control (media access control, MAC) processing circuit, the physical layer processing circuit can be used to process physical layer signals, and the MAC layer processing circuit can be used to process MAC layer signals.

[0122] The access point (AP) in the embodiments of the present application can be used to communicate with the STA through a wireless local area network, and transmit data of the STA to the network side, or transmit data from the network side to the STA. The AP can also be referred to as a wireless access access point or a hotspot, etc. The AP is an access point for mobile users to enter the wired network, and is mainly deployed in homes, buildings and parks, and can also be deployed outdoors. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting wired network and wireless network, and its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together, and then access the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, the AP can be a terminal device or a network device with a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip. Optionally, the AP can be a device supporting multiple WLAN standards such as 802.11. Specifically, the AP can be multi-antenna, also can be single-antenna. Exemplarily, the AP can include physical layer (physical layer, PHY) processing circuit and media access control (media access control, MAC) processing circuit, the physical layer processing circuit can be used to process physical layer signals, and the MAC layer processing circuit can be used to process MAC layer signals.

[0123] In some implementations, the AP and the STA can employ single-user multiple-input multiple-output (SU-MIMO) technology or multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology for wireless communication, each STA can be equipped with one or more antennas, and each AP can support multiple stations for parallel uplink transmission. Specifically, the STA or the AP includes an adjustable-beam antenna, a radio frequency (RF) corresponding to the antenna, a signal processing module, a protocol module, and the like.

[0124] The connection between the antenna and the RF can be a fixed connection or a switchable connection. The RF is connected to the signal processing module to perform digital-to-analog or analog-to-digital conversion and transceiver signal processing. The signal processing module can generate a reference signal for measurement and receive a reference signal to estimate signal strength, or estimate channel quality, or estimate channel coefficients. The signal processing module is also connected to a local clock source to modulate or demodulate a signal to a target frequency band. The local clock source can also provide a time reference for when to send a specified physical layer (PHY) protocol data unit (PPDU). The signal processing module can trigger the sending of a specified PPDU at a specified time. The signal processing module is also connected to the protocol module to perform packet encapsulation and decapsulation and execute a packet transmission sequence agreed by the protocol, including sending a training frame, receiving a training frame, and replying to a response frame. The signal processing module or the protocol module can also instruct the antenna to use a beam in transmission or reception.

[0125] Optionally, the STA or the AP in the embodiments of the present application can also include an external interface module, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0126] Next, some concepts or terms related to the present application are briefly introduced.

[0127] 1、basic service set (BSS)

[0128] The basic service set is the basic component of the 802.11 local area network, and one BSS can include one AP and a plurality of non-AP STAs. The non-AP STAs in the BSS can transmit data packets to the wired network through the AP of the BSS.

[0129] In some implementations, a BSS can also be referred to as a cell, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0130] 2、overlapping basic service set (OBSS)

[0131] OBSS is formed when the signal range of multiple BSSs partially or totally overlap. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1, non AP STA 1, non AP STA 2, non AP STA 3 connected with AP 1 and AP 1 form BSS1, non AP STA 4, non AP STA 5, non AP STA 6 connected with AP 2 and AP 2 form BSS2, and BSS1 and BSS2 have an overlapping area as shown in the figure, that is, BSS1 can be understood as the OBSS of BSS2, and BSS2 can be understood as the OBSS of BSS1.

[0132] 3、carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) / collision avoidance (CA) mechanism

[0133] It should be understood that a WLAN uses a shared channel for communication, and when multiple stations (both AP and non AP STA can be referred to as stations) are in the same channel, they can all listen to (or receive) all communications on the channel, and in order to avoid collision and conflict, the related art uses a CSMA / CA mechanism to avoid collision.

[0134] Exemplarily, if station A wants to send data to station B, it needs to detect the channel state first. If station A finds that the channel is idle, it starts a backoff window to contend for the channel after waiting for a distributed coordination function Interframe Space (DIFS). In the case that the backoff counter of station A decreases to 0 first, station A sends a data frame and waits for an acknowledgement. The data frame sent by station A carries network allocation vector (NAV) information of the data frame, and other stations receiving the frame update their own NAV information to indicate that the channel is busy in this period of time, and if there is data to be sent, it needs to be delayed. After station B correctly receives the data frame, it waits for a short interframe space (SIFS) and then sends an acknowledgement (ACK) frame to station A. When the ACK frame sent by station B ends, the channel starts to be idle. After waiting for a DIFS, stations that need to send data start to contend for the channel using a backoff algorithm, and the station whose backoff counter decreases to 0 first starts to send a data frame.

[0135] It should be understood that although the frame sent by a station can be received by a non-target receiving station, the non-target receiving station will ignore or discard the frame after finding that the receiving address is not itself after parsing the frame header.

[0136] It should also be understood that the available bandwidth of a station is composed of a plurality of channels with a bandwidth of 20 MHz. For example, if the bandwidth of a station is 160 MHz, the bandwidth can be composed of 8 channels with a bandwidth of 20 MHz. As shown in FIG. 2, among all the channels in the available bandwidth, there is one primary channel and a plurality of secondary channels (or called sub-channels). The primary channel is a common operating channel of stations in a BSS, and each station in the BSS can contend for the channel on the primary channel to occupy channel resources. The related art stipulates that a station must ensure that the primary channel is idle when contending for the channel, otherwise if the primary channel is busy, even if a large number of secondary channels are idle, the station cannot immediately participate in channel contention to avoid causing interference to the station that is sending. Alternatively, the primary channel or the secondary channel can also have other bandwidths, such as 40 MHz, which is not limited in the present application.

[0137] As the density of BSSs is higher and higher, the situation of OBSS is more and more common. As shown in FIG. 1, BSS1 and BSS2 can work in the same primary channel, which can cause that each station in BSS1 or BSS2 can receive a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from a station not belonging to the BSS, for example, non-AP STA 4 shown in FIG. 1, which can receive a PPDU sent by AP 2 in the BSS (namely, BSS2) and a PPDU sent by AP 1 or non-AP STA 3 in the external BSS (namely, BSS1). If a conventional method is used, when non-AP STA 4 wants to send data to AP 2, it can always detect that the primary channel is busy because the stations in BSS1 are sending data by using the primary channel, which can cause that non-AP STA 4 needs to update its waiting time based on the NAV in the received data frame and cannot immediately perform backoff and contend for the channel, thereby affecting the transmission efficiency of the station.

[0138] Next, two related technologies are introduced for the above problems:

[0139] Related technology 1, spatial reuse (SR) technology

[0140] The SR technology includes spatial reuse parameter (SRP) technology and SR technology based on OBSS packet detection (PD). The latter is described as an example and can be referred to as SR based on OBSS PD.

[0141] FIG. 3 shows an example schematic diagram of the principle of SR based on OBSS PD. As shown in FIG. 3, when a station in the BSS receives a PPDU from an external BSS, if the received power Pr of the PPDU is less than an OBSS PD threshold (which can be referred to as OBSS_PD Level), it is considered that the transmission energy of the PPDU is small and does not affect the transmission of the station, so the station in the BSS can determine that the primary channel is idle and ignore the network allocation vector (NAV) carried in the PPDU, and can start a contention window to perform a backoff process to contend for the channel.

[0142] It should be understood that after the station in the BSS completes the backoff procedure to obtain the right to use the primary channel, if the station of the external BSS is still transmitting, that is, the station in the BSS and the station of the external BSS can multiplex the primary channel and simultaneously transmit data on the primary channel. In this way, the station in the BSS does not need to wait for the NAV duration to perform channel access, which is beneficial to improving communication efficiency and improving channel resource utilization.

[0143] Related technology 2, non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology

[0144] FIG. 4 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the principle of the NPCA technology. As shown in FIG. 4, when the station in the BSS receives the PPDU from the external BSS, if the duration of the NAV carried by the PPDU is greater than a preset duration, the station in the BSS can switch the radio frequency from the primary channel to the preconfigured secondary channel.

[0145] It should be understood that in the OBSS scenario, the distance of each station is relatively close. It can be understood that when one station in the BSS can receive the PPDU of the external BSS, other stations in the BSS can also receive the PPDU of the external BSS. Therefore, for each station in the BSS, whether the PPDU is received simultaneously or sequentially, in the case where the duration of the NAV carried by the PPDU is greater than a preset duration, the station can switch from the primary channel to the secondary channel.

[0146] In some implementations, each station in the BSS completes radio frequency switching within a switching delay, performs channel access and frame interaction on the secondary channel after switching is completed, and switches back to the primary channel before the end time of the NAV carried in the PPDU of the external BSS to continue performing channel access and frame interaction on the primary channel. In this way, when each station in the BSS receives the PPDU of the external BSS on the primary channel, it does not need to wait for the duration corresponding to the NAV on the primary channel, but can switch to the secondary channel to perform channel access and frame interaction, and before the end time of the NAV, that is, before the PPDU of the external BSS is transmitted, switch back to the primary channel to continue performing channel contention, frame interaction and other procedures on the primary channel, which is beneficial to improving communication efficiency, and in the case where the primary channel is busy, the idle secondary channel is utilized, which is beneficial to improving channel resource utilization.

[0147] It can be understood that if the PPDU received by the station in the BSS from the external BSS on the primary channel has a reception power Pr less than the OBSS PD threshold and carries a NAV greater than the preset duration involved in the NPCA, each station in the BSS can continue to work in one of the following two ways:

[0148] Method 1: Based on SR technology, the station in the BSS determines that the primary channel is idle, and ignores the NAV carried in the PPDU of the external BSS, and continues to work in the primary channel, that is, performs channel access on the primary channel.

[0149] Method 2: Based on NPCA technology, the station in the BSS switches to work in the secondary channel.

[0150] It is worth noting that the BSS can include at least one AP or multiple non-AP STAs, and the related art does not make clear provisions on whether each station uses method 1 or method 2 in the above-mentioned case, so that it is not certain whether each station in the BSS will work in the primary channel or switch to work in the secondary channel after receiving the PPDU of the external BSS. If a part of the stations work in the primary channel and another part of the stations switch to work in the secondary channel, the non-AP STA which is not in the same channel as the AP cannot interact with the AP in the BSS, that is, the non-AP STA cannot normally transmit and receive data, and the AP also cannot send data to the non-AP STA, which affects the communication efficiency between the non-AP STA and the AP and causes the decline of the overall system performance of the BSS.

[0151] Therefore, the embodiments of the present application provide a channel access method and device, which indicates the information of the channel access technology through the AP in the BSS, so that the receiving end determines the unique target channel access technology, which is one of the NPCA technology and the SR technology, so that the processing mode of each station in the BSS when receiving the PPDU of the external BSS is unified, which is beneficial to avoid the existence of the non-AP STA which does not work in the same channel as the AP in the BSS in each station in the BSS, and is beneficial to improve the system performance.

[0152] Next, the channel access method of the present application will be described in detail through FIGS. 5 to 10. The embodiments shown in the present application show the channel access method provided by the present application from the perspective of device interaction. The specific form and number of each device shown are only examples, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation of the method provided by the present application.

[0153] FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a channel access method 500 provided by an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1. The method 500 specifically includes the following steps:

[0154] S501, the first communication device generates a first frame, the first frame is used to instruct a receiving end to determine a target channel access technology, the first frame comprises information of a channel access technology, the channel access technology comprises a spatial reuse (SR) technology and / or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology.

[0155] S502, the first communication device transmits the first frame; correspondingly, the third communication device receives the first frame.

[0156] S503, the third communication device determines the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology.

[0157] It should be understood that the first communication device and the third communication device are in the same BSS, the first communication device can be an AP in the BSS, and the third communication device can be any non-AP STA associated with the first communication device.

[0158] It should also be understood that after the first communication device transmits the first frame, if the first communication device also receives a PPDU from an OBSS, the first communication device also determines the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology included in the first frame, and the first communication device and the third communication device in the same BSS determine the target channel access technology in the same way.

[0159] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device transmits the first frame comprising the information of the channel access technology, and instructs the receiving end to determine a unique target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology through the first frame, and the channel access technology comprises the SR technology and / or the NPCA technology, and the target channel access technology is one of the SR technology and the NPCA technology, so that it is beneficial to determine a unique allowed channel access technology for each communication device in the same BSS when each communication device receives a PPDU from an OBSS, and it is beneficial to avoid that each communication device uses different channel access technologies to access different channels when there is interference from an external BSS, and it is beneficial to improve system performance.

[0160] It should be understood that since the first communication device and the second communication device are in the same BSS, it can be generally considered that the first communication device can receive a PPDU from an external BSS, and the third communication device can also receive the PPDU, and similarly, the third communication device can receive a PPDU from an external BSS, and the first communication device can also receive the PPDU.

[0161] Optionally, the first communication device and the third communication device can receive a PPDU from an external BSS at the same time, or can receive a PPDU from an external BSS at different times, and the present application does not limit this.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the first communication device determines the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology included in the first frame when the first communication device receives the PPDU of the external BSS after sending the first frame; and the third communication device determines the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology included in the first frame when the third communication device receives the PPDU of the external BSS after receiving the first frame. That is, the S503 can not be executed immediately after the S502, but the present application does not limit this.

[0163] As an optional embodiment, the first frame includes a first element and / or a second element, the first element is used to indicate the parameters of the NPCA technology, and the second element is used to indicate the parameters of the SR technology.

[0164] It should be understood that the first frame can include the following three implementations: only the first element is included in the first frame, only the second element is included in the first frame, or the first element or the second element is included in the first frame. The following will be described in detail with respect to the three possible implementations.

[0165] The first implementation of the first frame: the first frame can only include the first element.

[0166] In a possible implementation, the first element can include first indication information and second indication information, or only include the second indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed, and the second indication information is used to indicate an NPCA packet detection (PD) threshold.

[0167] Optionally, the first element can be an NPCA parameter set element, and the first element can further include one or more fields: an element ID, a length, an element ID extension, an NPCA control, an NPCA disallowed, an NPCA allowed, an NPCA information present, an NPCA PD level, or an NPCA PD level offset. The present application does not limit the fields included in the first element.

[0168] In a possible implementation, the first indication information can be indicated by the value of a field in the first element.

[0169] In an example, the first indication information can be indicated by a value of an NPCA not allowed field. Optionally, the NPCA not allowed field can occupy 1 bit, and in a case that the NPCA not allowed field takes a value of 1, it can indicate that the NPCA technology is not allowed to be utilized, and in a case that the NPCA not allowed field takes a value of 0, it can indicate that the NPCA technology is allowed to be utilized. The number of bits occupied by the NPCA not allowed field and the value meaning of the NPCA not allowed field are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0170] In another example, the first indication information can also be indicated by a value of an NPCA allowed field. Optionally, the NPCA allowed field can also occupy 1 bit, and in a case that the NPCA allowed field takes a value of 1, it can indicate that the NPCA technology is allowed to be utilized, and in a case that the NPCA allowed field takes a value of 0, it can indicate that the NPCA technology is not allowed to be utilized. The number of bits occupied by the NPCA allowed field and the value meaning of the NPCA allowed field are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the second indication information can also be indicated by a value of a certain field in the first element.

[0172] In an example, the second indication information can be indicated by a value of an NPCA packet detection threshold offset field. The value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field can be x, and the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold can be -82+x, in units of decibel-milliwatt (dBm). Specifically, in a case that the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field is 15, the NPCA packet detection threshold contained in the first frame sent by the first communication device is -82+15=-67 dBm. In some implementations, it can be specified that the maximum value of x is 20, so that the maximum value of the NPCA packet detection threshold is -62 dBm, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

[0173] In another example, the second indication information can also be indicated by a value of an NPCA packet detection threshold field. In this case, the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold field is the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold contained in the first frame sent by the first communication device.

[0174] It should be understood that the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field or the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold field is represented by binary. For example, the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field representing the decimal "15" can be understood as the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field being "1111", and the NPCA packet detection threshold is -67 dBm. If you want to directly express "-67" using the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field, one possible value is "11000011" or "10111101", which requires more bits than "1111". Therefore, in some implementations, the "NPCA packet detection threshold offset field" can be used to indicate the NPCA packet detection threshold, which is beneficial for saving bits of the first frame and for rapid analysis by the receiving end.

[0175] Figure 6 illustrates a possible format of the first element. As shown in Figure 6, the NPCA not allowed field and the NPCA information present field can be subfields of the NPCA control field. In some implementations, when the value of the NPCA information present field indicates that the NPCA information is present, the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field is present, and the second indication information is indicated by the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field.

[0176] Optionally, the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field can also be a subfield of the NPCA control field. The format shown in Figure 6 is only an example, and the specific names of the fields and their specific positions in the first element are not limited by the present application.

[0177] The second implementation of the first frame: the first frame only includes the second element.

[0178] In one possible implementation, the second element can include third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, the fourth indication information being used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the indication information indicating whether the SR technology is allowed.

[0179] Optionally, the second element can be a spatial reuse parameter set element, and the second element can include one or more of the following fields: an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a spatial reuse control (SR control) field, a non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD max offset field, a spatial reuse group OBSS PD min offset field, a spatial reuse group OBSS PD max offset field, a spatial reuse group BSS color bitmap field, a spatial reuse group partial BSSID bitmap field, a parameter spatial reuse disallowed field, a non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR disallowed field, a non-spatial reuse group offset present field, a spatial reuse group information present field, a HE-SIG-A spatial reuse value 15 allowed field, or a reserved field. FIG. 7 shows an exemplary format of the second element.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the third indication information can be indicated by a value of the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD max offset field; the fourth indication information can be indicated by a value of the spatial reuse group OBSS PD min offset field and a value of the spatial reuse group OBSS PD max offset field; and the indication information of whether to allow using the SR technology can be jointly indicated by values of the parameter spatial reuse disallowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR disallowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field.

[0181] In some examples, the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field each occupy 1 bit, and the SR technology is not allowed to be used in a case where the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field each take 1, 1, and 0 at the same time, and the SR technology is allowed to be used in a case where the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field do not simultaneously take 1, 1, and 0, respectively, but the number of bits occupied by each field and the meaning of the values are not limited in the present application.

[0182] The third implementation of the first frame: the first frame includes the first element and the second element.

[0183] In a possible implementation, the first element can be as described in the first implementation of the first frame, and the second element can be as described in the second implementation of the first frame, which will not be repeated here.

[0184] The following introduces four ways in which the first communication device and the third communication device determine the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology included in the first frame.

[0185] The first way: determining the target channel access technology based on the priority of the SR technology and the NPCA technology.

[0186] In a possible implementation, the priority of the SR technology and the NPCA technology can be agreed by a protocol, configured out of the factory, or configured by signaling of other communication devices, which is not limited in the present application.

[0187] In some implementations, the priority of the NPCA technology is higher than that of the SR technology. It can be considered that if the first indication information in the first element indicates that the NPCA is allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology, and if the first indication information indicates that the NPCA is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology. Even if the second element exists, it does not matter how the second element indicates, and it can only focus on the information indicated by the first element.

[0188] In other implementations, the priority of the SR technology is higher than that of the NPCA technology. It can be considered that if the value of the field in the second element for indicating whether the SR technology is allowed indicates that the SR technology is allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology, and if the value of the field in the second element for indicating whether the SR technology is allowed indicates that the SR technology is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology. Even if the first element exists, it does not matter how the first element indicates, and it can only focus on the information indicated by the second element.

[0189] The second way is to determine the target channel access technology based on the second indication information included in the first element for indicating the NPCA PD threshold, which is applicable to the first implementation of the first frame and the third implementation of the first frame, or the case that the first communication device also sends the first element in other frames other than the first frame in the second implementation of the first frame.

[0190] In this case, the first communication device and the third communication device determine the target channel access technology by the following rule 1 when receiving the PPDU from the OBSS: in the case that the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold indicated in the first frame, the NPCA technology is determined as the target channel access technology; in the case that the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the NPCA PD threshold indicated in the first frame, the SR technology is determined as the target channel access technology.

[0191] Optionally, the above rule 1 can be agreed by the protocol, configured by the factory or configured by other communication devices through signaling, which is not limited in the present application.

[0192] In some implementations, the communication device can not consider the conditions set for using the SR technology and the NPCA technology in the related art when determining the target channel access technology by using the above rule 1.

[0193] In another implementation, the communication device can also consider the conditions set for using the SR technology and the NPCA technology in the related art when determining the target channel access technology by using the above rule 1, for example, in the case that the communication device determines the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology based on the above rule 1, it still needs to determine that the duration of the NAV carried by the PPDU from the OBSS satisfies the condition of being greater than a preset duration, so as to truly use the NPCA technology to access the channel; similarly, in the case that the communication device determines the SR technology as the target channel access technology based on the above rule 1, it still needs to determine that the first received power of the PPDU from the OBSS also satisfies the condition of being less than the OBSS PD threshold, so as to truly use the SR technology to access the channel.

[0194] It should also be understood that the fact that the first implementation of the first frame does not include the second element does not mean that the first communication device does not send the second element, and the first communication device can send the second element in other frames, which is not limited in the present application.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, or the first communication device carries the fifth indication information in other frames than the first frame, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate information of a second communication device in the OBSS of the first communication device, and the information of the second communication device includes an identifier of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU from the second communication device received by the first communication device.

[0196] Optionally, the second communication device can be an AP or a non-AP STA, the number of the second communication devices can be one or more, and the identifier of the second communication device can be a MAC address or an internet protocol (IP) or any identifier that can uniquely represent the device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0197] Optionally, the fifth indication information can be indicated by a neighbor STA information list field, and the STA herein includes an AP STA and a non-AP STA. For example, FIG. 8 shows a format diagram of the neighbor STA information list field in the first frame. As shown in FIG. 6, the neighbor STA information list field can include at least one neighbor STA information (Neighbor STA Information) subfield, and in the case of multiple neighbor STA information subfields, they can be sequentially represented as a neighbor STA information 1 subfield, a neighbor STA information 2 subfield, and so on, which is not repeated here. Further, each neighbor STA information subfield further includes a MAC address subfield and a received power Pr* subfield.

[0198] Optionally, in the case of neighbor AP STA information, the MAC address subfield can be replaced by a BSSID subfield, which is not limited in the present application.

[0199] Further, a specific implementation of the above-mentioned mode two includes: determining the target channel access technology based on the second indication information included in the first element and used to indicate the NPCA PD threshold and the fifth indication information, and this mode is also applicable to the first implementation of the first frame and the third implementation of the first frame.

[0200] In particular, in this case, the first communication apparatus and the third communication apparatus determine the target channel access technology by the following rule 2 when receiving the PPDU from the OBSS: in the case that the received PPDU from the OBSS belongs to the second communication apparatus and the first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the updated NPCA PD threshold, the NPCA technology is determined as the target channel access technology; in the case that the received PPDU from the OBSS belongs to the second communication apparatus and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the updated NPCA PD threshold, the SR technology is determined as the target channel access technology; wherein the updated NPCA PD threshold is the difference between the first received power and the second received power, and the sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

[0201] In some implementations, the first communication apparatus and the third communication apparatus can determine whether the received PPDU from the OBSS belongs to the second communication apparatus based on the identification information of the second apparatus included in the information of the second communication apparatus. For example, the first communication apparatus and the third communication apparatus can parse the sending end address corresponding to the frame header of the PPDU, and if the sending end address corresponds to the identification of the second communication apparatus, it can be considered that the PPDU belongs to the second communication apparatus, otherwise it is considered that the PPDU does not belong to the second communication apparatus.

[0202] It should be understood that the distances from different communication apparatuses in the same BSS to the second communication apparatus in the external BSS can be different, so there can be different first received powers (denoted as Pr) of the PPDU of the second communication apparatus detected by each communication apparatus when receiving the PPDU of the second communication apparatus. In the embodiments of the present application, the NPCA PD threshold indicated by the second indication information in the first element is regarded as a baseline (denoted as δ * The second received power (denoted as Pr*) of the PPDU from the second communication apparatus received by the first communication apparatus is used to correct the first received power of the PPDU from the OBSS actually detected by the third communication apparatus (or the first communication apparatus), so that the first communication apparatus and the third communication apparatus make more accurate judgments on which technology to use to access the channel based on the updated NPCA PD threshold (denoted as δ).

[0203] Optionally, one possible calculation method of the updated NPCA PD threshold can be δ = δ* + (Pr - Pr*), which is not specifically limited. It should be noted that when the first communication apparatus calculates the updated NPCA PD threshold by δ = δ* + (Pr - Pr*), since Pr = Pr*, δ = δ*.

[0204] In addition, in some implementations, if the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device, the first communication device and the third communication device can determine the target channel access technology by the above rule 1, which is not repeated here. In addition, the first communication device can add the information of the communication device to which the PPDU belongs to the above neighbor STA information list, so as to enrich the information of the list.

[0205] In other implementations, when the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device, it can be considered that the NPCA technology is not allowed but the SR technology is allowed, and when the first received power of the PPDU is less than the first value, the SR technology can be determined as the target channel access technology, and the first value is the maximum of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0206] The third mode: determining the target channel access technology based on the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information included in the second element, which is applicable to the second implementation of the first frame and the third implementation of the first frame, or the first communication device also sends the second element through other frames other than the first frame in the first implementation of the first frame.

[0207] In this case, the first communication device and the third communication device determine the target channel access technology by the following rule 3 when receiving the PPDU from the OBSS: in the case of receiving the PPDU from the OBSS and the first received power of the PPDU being greater than or equal to the first value, determining the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology; in the case of receiving the PPDU from the OBSS and the first received power of the PPDU being less than the first value, determining the SR technology as the target channel access technology; wherein the first value is the maximum of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0208] It should be understood that the second element can only allow one of the spatial multiplexing group and the non-spatial multiplexing group when indicating to allow the SR technology to be utilized, and correspondingly, the third indication information for indicating the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the fourth indication information for indicating the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold can also not exist at the same time, and thus, in the case where the second element only includes the third indication information, the first value can be the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold indicated by the third indication information, in the case where the second element only includes the fourth indication information, the first value can be the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold indicated by the fourth indication information, and in the case where the second element includes the third indication information and the fourth indication information, the first value can be the maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0209] Optionally, the above rule 3 can also be agreed by a protocol, configured by a factory, or configured by signaling of another communication device, which is not limited in the present application.

[0210] It should also be understood that the first communication device does not necessarily not send the first element when the second element is sent by the first communication device in the second implementation manner of the first frame, and the first communication device can send the first element in other frames, which is not limited in the present application.

[0211] The fourth mode: determining the target channel access technology based on the second indication information for indicating the NPCA PD threshold included in the first element, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information included in the second element, which is applicable to the third implementation manner of the first frame, or the case where the first communication device also sends the second element in other frames than the first frame in the first implementation manner of the first frame, or the case where the first communication device also sends the first element in other frames than the first frame in the second implementation manner of the first frame.

[0212] In a possible implementation manner, the NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to a first value, and the first value is the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0213] In this case, the first communication apparatus and the third communication apparatus determine the target channel access technology by the following rule 4 when receiving the PPDU from the OBSS: in the case that the first received power of the received PPDU from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold, the NPCA technology is determined as the target channel access technology; in the case that the first received power of the received PPDU from the OBSS is less than the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold (for example, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR disallowed field in the second element is 0) or the first received power is less than the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold (for example, the spatial multiplexing group information present field in the second element is 1), the SR technology is determined as the target channel access technology.

[0214] In a possible implementation, the second indication information is indicated by the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold is indicated by the value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field, and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold is indicated by the values of the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD minimum offset field and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field. In order to ensure that the NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to the first value, one way is to set the value of the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field to be greater than the value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field, or the value of the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field, or the maximum value of the value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field and the value of the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD maximum offset field.

[0215] Optionally, the above-mentioned rule 4 can also be agreed by the protocol, configured by the factory, or configured by the signaling of other communication apparatuses, and the present application does not make specific limitation on this.

[0216] It is worth noting that which one of the above-mentioned rule 1, rule 2, rule 3 or rule 4 is specifically used by the communication apparatus can also be agreed by the protocol, configured by the factory, or configured by the signaling of other communication apparatuses, and the present application does not make specific limitation on this.

[0217] It should also be noted that the above discussion is based on the case that the first received power of the PPDU from the OBSS is greater than or equal to -82dbm and less than or equal to -62dbm, because if the first received power is less than -82dbm, it can be considered that the PPDU energy is too small to be ignored, and it is considered that the channel is idle. If the first received power is greater than -62dbm, it can be considered that the energy of the PPDU is too large to be ignored, that is, the channel is confirmed to be busy, and there is no need to discuss.

[0218] Optionally, the first frame can be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or any other management frame that can carry the indication information, which is not limited in the present application. For example, the first frame can be a beacon frame, and the first communication device periodically broadcasts the first frame in the BSS. It is worth noting that the content contained in the first frame can be different after each broadcast period, and the first communication device and the third communication device receiving the first frame can determine the available target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology contained in the latest received first frame.

[0219] FIG. 9 shows a schematic flowchart of another channel access method 900. The method 900 can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1. The method 900 specifically includes the following steps:

[0220] S901, the first communication device generates a second frame, the second frame being used to indicate a target channel access technology, and the second frame including information of the target channel access technology, the target channel access technology including a spatial reuse SR technology or a non-primary channel access NPCA technology.

[0221] S902, the first communication device transmits the second frame; correspondingly, the third communication device receives the second frame.

[0222] S903, the third communication device accesses the channel by using the target channel access technology.

[0223] It should be understood that after transmitting the second frame, if the first communication device also receives a PPDU from the OBSS, the first communication device also accesses the channel based on the target channel access technology indicated by the second frame, that is, the first communication device and the third communication device in the same BSS determine the target channel access technology in the same way. The number of the third communication devices can be one or more, which is not limited in the present application.

[0224] In the embodiments of the present application, the first communication device directly indicates the target channel access technology allowed to be used through the second frame, and the first communication device and the third communication device can access the channel based on the target channel access technology indicated by the second frame when they both receive a PPDU from the OBSS. This is beneficial to avoid that the channel access technologies used by each communication device are different when there is interference from the external BSS, so that different channels are accessed, and the system performance is improved.

[0225] As an optional embodiment, the first element and the second element are included in the second frame, the first element is used for indicating parameters related to the NPCA technology, and the second element is used for indicating parameters related to the SR technology. The content and format of the first element can be as described in the first implementation manner of the first frame, and the content and format of the second element can be as described in the second implementation manner of the first frame, which will not be described herein again.

[0226] It is worth noting that the NPCA information exists field, the NPCA packet detection threshold field, or the NPCA packet detection threshold offset field of the first element described in the first implementation manner of the first frame in the present solution can be optional fields. For example, the format of the first element in the present solution can be as shown in FIG. 10.

[0227] As an optional embodiment, the first indication information included in the first element is used for indicating whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used, and the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information exists field included in the second element are used for jointly indicating whether the SR technology is allowed to be used.

[0228] In a possible implementation manner, in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed to be used, and the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information exists field jointly indicate that the SR technology is not allowed to be used, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology.

[0229] In another possible implementation manner, in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed to be used, and the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information exists field jointly indicate that the SR technology is allowed to be used, the target channel access technology is the SR technology.

[0230] For example, whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used can be indicated by a value of the NPCA not allowed field in the first element.

[0231] In a possible implementation, the NPCA not allowed field indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed when the value of the NPCA not allowed field is the second value, and indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed when the value of the NPCA not allowed field is the third value; the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the value of the spatial reuse group information existing field do not simultaneously satisfy the fourth value of the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the fifth value of the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the sixth value of the spatial reuse group information existing field, indicating that the SR technology is allowed, or simultaneously satisfy the fourth value of the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the fifth value of the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the sixth value of the spatial reuse group information existing field, indicating that the SR technology is not allowed.

[0232] Optionally, the NPCA not allowed field, the parameter space reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information existing field can occupy 1 bit respectively, the second value can be 0, the third value can be 1, the fourth value can be 1, the fifth value can be 1, and the sixth value can be 0, but the application does not make specific limitations on the bit occupied by each field and the meaning of the value.

[0233] The method provided by the embodiment of the application directly indicates the target channel access technology through the indication information contained in the first element and the second element, and the first communication device and the third communication device do not need to determine the target channel access technology by themselves, which is beneficial to accessing the channel based on the same target channel access technology in the case that the first communication device and the third communication device both receive the PPDU from the BSS that does not belong to the BSS.

[0234] As an optional embodiment, the second frame includes sixth indication information, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate the target channel access technology.

[0235] In a possible implementation, the first frame includes a first field, and the first indication information can be indicated by the value of the first field. For example, the first field can be an NPCA allowed and SR allowed field, or an NPCA allowed and SR not allowed field, or an NPCA not allowed and SR allowed field, or an NPCA not allowed and SR not allowed field, which is not limited in the application.

[0236] For example, when the first field is the NPCA allowed and SR allowed field, and the first field occupies 2 bits, the NPCA allowed and SR allowed field taking 10 can represent that the NPCA technology is allowed and the SR technology is not allowed; the NPCA allowed and SR allowed field taking 01 can represent that the NPCA technology is not allowed and the SR technology is allowed. The value of the first field in the present application is not limited in the meaning.

[0237] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application directly indicates the target channel access technology through the sixth indication information, without indicating through the first element or the second element, which is beneficial to save the bit of the first frame, and also can save the analysis cost of the receiving end, and is beneficial to improve the communication efficiency.

[0238] It is worth noting that the target channel access technology can be indicated through the first indication information, the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-space multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the space multiplexing group information existing field, and / or the sixth indication information, and the target channel access technology can be indicated. The SR technology and the NPCA technology are both allowed, and the SR technology and the NPCA technology are both not allowed.

[0239] In some examples, when the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed (for example, the NPCA not allowed field can be 0), the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-space multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the space multiplexing group information existing field jointly indicate that the SR technology is allowed (for example, the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-space multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the space multiplexing group information existing field do not satisfy the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field taking 1, the non-space multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field taking 1, and the space multiplexing group information existing field taking 0 at the same time), and / or the sixth indication information indicates that the SR technology and the NPCA technology are both allowed (for example, the NPCA allowed and SR allowed field taking 11). In this case, the communication device can also perform the corresponding method in the above-mentioned mode two, mode three or mode four.

[0240] In some examples, the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed (e.g., the NPCA not allowed field is 1), the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is not allowed (e.g., the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field satisfy the parameter space multiplexing not allowed field is 1, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field is 1, and the spatial multiplexing group information present field is 0), and / or the sixth indication information indicates that neither the SR technology nor the NPCA technology is allowed (e.g., the NPCA allowed and SR allowed field is 00).

[0241] Optionally, the first communication device can disable both the SR and the NPCA through the second frame in a case where it is detected that there is no OBSS, but the present application does not make a limitation in this regard.

[0242] Optionally, the second frame can be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, or any other management frame that can carry the indication information, and the present application does not make a specific limitation in this regard. For example, the second frame can be a beacon frame, and the first communication device periodically broadcasts the second frame in the BSS. It is worth noting that the content contained in the second frame can be different after each broadcast period, and both the first communication device and the third communication device that receives the second frame can access the channel based on the target channel access technology indicated in the latest received second frame. Alternatively, the first frame and the second frame can be alternately broadcast, and the present application does not make a specific limitation on the transmission mode of the first communication device in transmitting the first frame and / or the second frame.

[0243] It should be understood that the steps of each of the above-described embodiments can also be coupled with each other, and the present application does not make a limitation in this regard. Moreover, the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined based on its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0244] It should also be understood that the above description of the names of the fields is not sufficient to specifically limit the names of the fields, and each field can also have other names, and the present application does not make a specific limitation in this regard.

[0245] The above describes the channel access method of the embodiments of the present application in combination with FIGS. 5 to 10. In the following, the channel access device of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail in combination with FIGS. 11 and 12.

[0246] Fig. 11 shows a channel access apparatus 1100 provided by the embodiments of the present application, which comprises a processing module 1101 and a transceiver module 1102.

[0247] In a first possible implementation, the channel access apparatus 1100 is configured to implement the steps and processes corresponding to the first communication apparatus described above.

[0248] The processing module 1101 is configured to generate a first frame, the first frame being configured to instruct a receiving end to determine a target channel access technology, the first frame comprising information of a channel access technology, the channel access technology comprising a spatial reuse (SR) technology and / or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; and the transceiver module 1102 is configured to transmit the first frame.

[0249] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology.

[0250] Optionally, the first frame comprises a first element and / or a second element, the first element being configured to indicate a parameter of the NPCA technology, and the second element being configured to indicate a parameter of the SR technology.

[0251] Optionally, the first element comprises first indication information, the first indication information being configured to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be utilized.

[0252] Optionally, the first element further comprises second indication information, the second indication information being configured to indicate an NPCA packet detection (PD) threshold.

[0253] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is specifically configured to determine the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology in a case where a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold.

[0254] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further specifically configured to determine the SR technology as the target channel access technology in a case where a PPDU from an OBSS is received, and a first received power of the PPDU is less than the NPCA PD threshold.

[0255] Optionally, the second element comprises third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information being configured to indicate an OBSS PD threshold of a non-spatial reuse group, and the fourth indication information being configured to indicate an OBSS PD threshold of a spatial reuse group.

[0256] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology in a case that the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to a first value, the first value being the maximum of the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold and the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold.

[0257] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the SR technology as the target channel access technology in a case that the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is less than a first value, the first value being the maximum of the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold and the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold.

[0258] Optionally, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included in the second element, the third indication information being used to indicate the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information being used to indicate the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold; the NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to a first value, the first value being the maximum of the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold and the spatially multiplexed group OBSS PD threshold.

[0259] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology in a case that the first received power of the PPDU from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold.

[0260] Optionally, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device in the OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device including an identification of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU from the second communication device received by the first communication device.

[0261] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the NPCA technology as the target channel access technology in a case that the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to an updated NPCA PD threshold, the updated NPCA PD threshold being a difference between the first received power and the second received power, and a sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

[0262] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the SR technology as the target channel access technology in a case that the PPDU received from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the updated NPCA PD threshold, and the updated NPCA PD threshold is a difference between the first received power and the second received power, and a sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

[0263] Optionally, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included in the second element, the third indication information is used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the SR technology as the target channel access technology in a case that the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the first value, and the first value is the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0264] Optionally, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information is used to indicate information of a second communication device located in the OBSS of the first communication device, and the information of the second communication device includes an identifier of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device, and the PPDU does not belong to the second communication device.

[0265] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the target channel access technology based on priorities of the SR technology and the NPCA technology.

[0266] Optionally, the first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0267] In a second possible implementation, the channel access device 1100 is configured to implement the steps and processes corresponding to the third communication device described above.

[0268] The receiving module 1102 is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate that a receiving end determines a target channel access technology, and the first frame including information of channel access technologies, the channel access technologies including a spatial reuse, SR, technology and / or a non-primary channel access, NPCA, technology; and the processing module 1101 is configured to determine the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technologies.

[0269] Optionally, the first frame includes a first element and / or a second element, the first element being used to indicate a parameter of the NPCA technology, and the second element being used to indicate a parameter of the SR technology.

[0270] Optionally, the first element comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used.

[0271] Optionally, the first element further comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate an NPCA packet detection (PD) threshold.

[0272] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is specifically configured to determine that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology in a case where a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) is received and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to an NPCA PD threshold.

[0273] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the SR technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the NPCA PD threshold.

[0274] Optionally, the second element comprises third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0275] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the PPDU from the OBSS is received and a first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to a first value, and the first value is a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0276] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the SR technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the PPDU from the OBSS is received and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the first value, and the first value is the maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0277] Optionally, the second element comprises third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to a first value, and the first value is a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0278] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the first received power of the PPDU received from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold.

[0279] Optionally, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device located in the OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device including an identifier of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device.

[0280] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the NPCA technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the PPDU received from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to an updated NPCA PD threshold, the updated NPCA PD threshold being a sum of a difference between the first received power and the second received power and the NPCA PD threshold.

[0281] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the SR technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the PPDU received from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than the updated NPCA PD threshold, the updated NPCA PD threshold being a sum of a difference between the first received power and the second received power and the NPCA PD threshold.

[0282] Optionally, the third indication information and / or the fourth indication information are included in the second element, the third indication information being used to indicate a non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information being used to indicate a spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; and the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine that the SR technology is the target channel access technology in a case where the PPDU received from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device and the first received power of the PPDU is less than a first value, the first value being a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

[0283] Optionally, the first frame further includes fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate information of a second communication device located in the OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device including an identifier of the second communication device and a second received power of a PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device, the PPDU not belonging to the second communication device.

[0284] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to determine the target channel access technology based on priorities of the SR technology and the NPCA technology.

[0285] Optionally, the first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0286] In a third possible implementation, the channel access apparatus 1100 is configured to implement the steps and processes corresponding to the first communication apparatus described above.

[0287] The processing module 1101 is configured to generate a second frame, the second frame being used to indicate a target channel access technology, the second frame including information of the target channel access technology, the target channel access technology including a spatial reuse (SR) technology or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; and the transceiver module 1102 is configured to send the second frame.

[0288] Optionally, the processing module 1101 is further configured to access the channel by using the target channel access technology.

[0289] Optionally, the second frame includes a first element and a second element, the first element being used to indicate parameters of the NPCA technology, and the second element being used to indicate parameters of the SR technology.

[0290] Optionally, the first element includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used.

[0291] Optionally, the second element includes a parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, a non-spatial reuse group overlap basic service set (OBSS PD) SR not allowed field, and a spatial reuse group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed to be used, and the parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology.

[0292] Optionally, the second element further includes the parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed to be used, and the parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology.

[0293] Optionally, the second frame includes sixth indication information, the sixth indication information being used to indicate the target channel access technology.

[0294] Optionally, the second frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0295] In a fourth possible implementation, the channel access apparatus 1100 is configured to implement the steps and processes corresponding to the third communication apparatus described above.

[0296] The transceiver 1102 is configured to receive a second frame, the second frame being configured to indicate a target channel access technology, the second frame comprising information of the target channel access technology, the target channel access technology comprising a spatial reuse, SR, technology or a non-primary channel access, NPCA, technology.

[0297] Optionally, the second frame comprises a first element and a second element, the first element being configured to indicate a parameter of the NPCA technology, and the second element being configured to indicate a parameter of the SR technology.

[0298] Optionally, the first element comprises first indication information, the first indication information being configured to indicate whether the NPCA technology is allowed to be used.

[0299] Optionally, the second element comprises a parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, a non-spatial reuse group overlap basic service set, OBSS PD SR, not allowed field, and a spatial reuse group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed to be used, and the parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology.

[0300] Optionally, the second element further comprises a parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, a non-spatial reuse group overlap basic service set, OBSS PD SR, not allowed field, and a spatial reuse group information present field; in a case where the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is not allowed to be used, and the parameter spatial reuse not allowed field, the non-spatial reuse group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial reuse group information present field jointly indicate that the SR technology is allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology.

[0301] Optionally, the second frame comprises sixth indication information, the sixth indication information being configured to indicate the target channel access technology.

[0302] Optionally, the second frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

[0303] It should be understood that the apparatus 1100 herein is embodied in the form of function modules. The term "module" herein can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. In one optional example, those skilled in the art can understand that the apparatus 1100 can be embodied in the first communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus in the above-described embodiments, or the functions described in the above-described embodiments can be integrated in the apparatus 1100, and the apparatus 1100 can be used to execute the respective processes and / or steps corresponding to the first communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus in the above-described method embodiments. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein.

[0304] The apparatus 1100 described above has the functions of performing the respective steps of the first communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus in the above-described methods; the above-described functions can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

[0305] In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 1100 in FIG. 9 can also be a chip or a chip system, for example, a system on chip (SoC).

[0306] FIG. 12 shows a schematic block diagram of a channel access apparatus 1200 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 1200 includes a processor 1201, a transceiver 1202 and a memory 1203. The processor 1201, the transceiver 1202 and the memory 1203 communicate with each other through an internal connection path. The memory 1203 is configured to store instructions, and the processor 1201 is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory 1203 to control the transceiver 1202 to transmit and / or receive signals.

[0307] It should be understood that the apparatus 1200 can be specifically the first communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus in the above-described embodiments, and can be used to perform each step and / or procedure corresponding to the first communication apparatus or the third communication apparatus in the above-described method embodiments. Optionally, the memory 1203 can include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data for the processor. A part of the memory can also include a non-volatile random access memory. For example, the memory can also store device type information. The processor 1201 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory, and when the processor 1201 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 1201 is used to perform each step and / or procedure of the above-described method embodiments. The transceiver 1202 can include a transmitter and a receiver, the transmitter can be used to implement each step and / or procedure corresponding to the transmitter for performing a sending action, and the receiver can be used to implement each step and / or procedure corresponding to the receiver for performing a receiving action.

[0308] It should be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0309] In the implementation process, each step of the above-described method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor or the instruction in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as hardware processor execution completion, or executed by the combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium in the art. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor executes the instructions in the memory, and combines the hardware to complete the steps of the above-described method. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0310] The present application also provides a computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program for implementing the method shown in the above-described method embodiments.

[0311] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions), when the computer program runs on a computer, the computer can execute the method shown in the above-described method embodiments.

[0312] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be realized by electronic hardware or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are realized in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to realize the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0313] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working processes of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0314] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely schematic, for example, the division of units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the displayed or discussed units can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0315] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separated, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiment.

[0316] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present separately, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0317] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the embodiments of the method of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various media that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A channel access method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Generate a first frame, where the first frame is used to instruct the receiving end to determine a target channel access technology, the first frame including information about the channel access technology, where the channel access technology includes a spatial multiplexing (SR) technology and / or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; The first frame is sent.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: A target channel access technology is determined based on the information about the channel access technology.

3. A channel access method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive a first frame, where the first frame is used to instruct a receiving end to determine a target channel access technology, the first frame including information about the channel access technology, where the channel access technology includes a spatial multiplexing (SR) technology and / or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; A target channel access technology is determined based on the information about the channel access technology.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The first frame includes a first element and / or a second element, the first element is used to indicate parameters of the NPCA technology, and the second element is used to indicate parameters of the SR technology.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first element includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether to allow the use of the NPCA technology.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that The first element further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a PD threshold for detecting an NPCA packet.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When a physical layer protocol data unit PPDU is received from an overlapping basic service set (OBSS), and a first receiving power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold, the NPCA technology is determined to be the target channel access technology.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When a PPDU is received from an OBSS and a first receiving power of the PPDU is less than the NPCA PD threshold, the SR technology is determined as the target channel access technology.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The second element includes third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When a PPDU from an OBSS is received and the first receiving power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to a first value, the NPCA technology is determined to be the target channel access technology, where the first value is the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When a PPDU from an OBSS is received and the first receiving power of the PPDU is less than a first value, the SR technology is determined to be the target channel access technology, where the first value is the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

12. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second element includes third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; The NPCA PD threshold is greater than or equal to a first value, where the first value is the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or a maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When the first receiving power of the PPDU received from the OBSS is greater than or equal to the NPCA PD threshold, the NPCA technology is determined as the target channel access technology.

14. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first frame also includes fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate information of a second communication device located in the OBSS of the first communication device, where the information of the second communication device includes an identifier of the second communication device and a second receiving power of the PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When the received PPDU from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first receiving power of the PPDU is greater than or equal to the updated NPCA PD threshold, the NPCA technology is determined to be the target channel access technology, and the updated NPCA PD threshold is the difference between the first receiving power and the second receiving power, and the sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When the PPDU received from the OBSS belongs to the second communication device and the first receiving power of the PPDU is less than the updated NPCA PD threshold, the SR technology is determined to be the target channel access technology, and the updated NPCA PD threshold is the difference between the first receiving power and the second receiving power, and the sum of the NPCA PD threshold.

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The second element includes third indication information and / or fourth indication information, the third indication information is used to indicate the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold; The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: When the received PPDU from the OBSS does not belong to the second communication device and the first receiving power of the PPDU is less than a first value, the SR technology is determined to be the target channel access technology, and the first value is the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold, or the maximum value of the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold and the spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD threshold.

18. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The first frame also includes fifth indication information, where the fifth indication information is used to indicate information of a second communication device located in the OBSS of the first communication device, the information of the second communication device including an identifier of the second communication device and a second receiving power of a PPDU received by the first communication device from the second communication device, where the PPDU does not belong to the second communication device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The determining the target channel access technology based on the information of the channel access technology includes: The target channel access technology is determined based on the priorities of the SR technology and the NPCA technology.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that The first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

21. A channel access method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Generate a second frame, where the second frame is used to indicate a target channel access technology, and the second frame includes information about the target channel access technology, where the target channel access technology includes a spatial multiplexing (SR) technology or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; The second frame is sent.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: Access the channel using the target channel access technology.

23. A channel access method, characterized in that: The method comprises: receiving a second frame, where the second frame is used to indicate a target channel access technology, and the second frame includes information about the target channel access technology, where the target channel access technology includes a spatial multiplexing (SR) technology or a non-primary channel access (NPCA) technology; Access the channel using the target channel access technology.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that The second frame includes a first element and a second element, the first element is used to indicate parameters of the NPCA technology, and the second element is used to indicate parameters of the SR technology.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The first element includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate whether to allow the use of the NPCA technology.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The second element includes a parameter spatial multiplexing not allowed field, a non-spatial multiplexing group overlapping basic service set OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and a spatial multiplexing group information present field; When the first indication information indicates that the NPCA technology is allowed, and the parameter spatial multiplexing not allowed field, non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and spatial multiplexing group information existence field jointly indicate that SR technology is not allowed, the target channel access technology is the NPCA technology.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The second element also includes a parameter spatial multiplexing not allowed field, a non-spatial multiplexing group overlapping basic service set OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and a spatial multiplexing group information present field; When the first indication information indicates that NPCA technology is not allowed, the parameter spatial multiplexing not allowed field, the non-spatial multiplexing group OBSS PD SR not allowed field, and the spatial multiplexing group information existence field jointly indicate that SR technology is allowed, the target channel access technology is the SR technology.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, characterized in that The second frame includes sixth indication information, where the sixth indication information is used to indicate the target channel access technology.

29. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 28, characterized in that The second frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

30. A channel access device, characterized in that: include: A module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, or a module for implementing the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

31. A channel access device, characterized in that: include: A processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory stores computer-executable instructions, and the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory, so that the processor performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, or performs the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

32. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that Used to store a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20, or instructions for executing the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

33. A computer program product, comprising computer program code, characterized in that: When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20 or execute the method according to any one of claims 21 to 29.

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