Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and a related apparatus. In the method, a terminal can detect a first signal from a base station or Wi-Fi device; and, on the basis of a detection result or signal strength of the first signal, the terminal sends a second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being a signal used for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the frequency of X GHz. It can be seen that, in the communication method, for the terminal to send to the Wi-Fi device the instruction signal indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the frequency of X GHz can improve the accuracy of the Wi-Fi device detecting an IMT system, thereby improving the efficiency of effectively switching frequencies, and thus reducing interference of the Wi-Fi device with the terminal.

Description

Communication method and related apparatus

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202411068257.0, filed on August 5, 2024, entitled "Communication method and related apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular, to a communication method and related apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] The upper (U) 6 GHz band spectrum is identified for use by base stations and other mobile devices for international mobile telecommunications (IMT). As the U 6 GHz band is popularized for use by IMT base stations and other mobile devices, there can be a situation that wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) devices need to coexist with IMT systems in the U 6 GHz band. In the scheme of coexistence in the same frequency, because the distance between the Wi-Fi device and the terminal can be very close (for example, the distance between the two is less than 1 m), the Wi-Fi device will cause great interference to the terminal. Therefore, how to reduce the great interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal is a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and related apparatus, which can send an instruction signal to a Wi-Fi device by a terminal whether to allow working in a corresponding frequency, can improve the frequency of the Wi-Fi device detecting the IMT system for effective switching, so as to reduce the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a terminal side, for example, a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication function in the terminal (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system in package (SIP) chip). Taking the case that the method is applied to the terminal, in the method, the terminal can detect a first signal from a base station, the first signal being a signal with a frequency of X GHz; the terminal sends a second signal to a Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether to allow the Wi-Fi device to work at the X GHz frequency. Wherein, X is any natural number.

[0006] It can be seen that, in the communication method, the terminal sends an instruction signal to the Wi-Fi device about whether to allow the Wi-Fi device to work at the X GHz frequency, which can improve the accuracy of the Wi-Fi device in detecting the IMT system, and further improve the efficiency of effective switching frequency, thereby reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal.

[0007] In an optional implementation, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal, including: if the first signal is detected within the detection period T, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; and if the first signal is not detected, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency. It can be seen that, when the terminal detects the first signal from the base station, the terminal can send a frequency clearing signal to the Wi-Fi device, so that the Wi-Fi device switches to other frequencies, thereby reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal.

[0008] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide another communication method, which can be applied to the terminal side, for example, a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication function in the terminal (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip). Taking the case that the method is applied to the terminal, in the method, the terminal detects a first signal from a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) device; and according to the signal strength of the first signal, the terminal sends a second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether to allow the Wi-Fi device to work at an X GHz frequency.

[0009] It can be seen that, in the communication method, the terminal sends an instruction signal to the Wi-Fi device about whether to allow the Wi-Fi device to work at the X GHz frequency, which can improve the accuracy of the Wi-Fi device in detecting the IMT system, and further improve the efficiency of effective switching frequency, thereby reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal. In addition, the method can send a frequency clearing signal according to the signal strength from the Wi-Fi device, which can improve the spectrum utilization rate of the Wi-Fi device.

[0010] In an optional implementation, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the signal strength of the first signal, including: if the signal strength of the first signal is greater than a demodulation threshold, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; and if the signal strength of the first signal is not greater than the demodulation threshold, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

[0011] In an alternative implementation, after the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, the method further comprises: the terminal receives a pilot signal from the Wi-Fi device; according to the pilot signal, the terminal performs channel estimation on a channel between the terminal and the Wi-Fi device to obtain an estimated interference channel; according to the estimated interference channel, the terminal performs autocorrelation to obtain an interference covariance matrix; and according to the interference covariance matrix, the terminal performs interference cancellation on interference from the Wi-Fi device. It can be seen that this implementation can cancel the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal.

[0012] In an alternative implementation, the pilot signal is designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) or a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol; or the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol. Optionally, the terminal comprises a Wi-Fi receiver and an IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver, and if the pilot signal is designed based on the Wi-Fi protocol, the pilot signal is transmitted from the Wi-Fi receiver to the IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver.

[0013] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide another communication method, which can be applied to the Wi-Fi device side, for example, a Wi-Fi device or a communication module in the Wi-Fi device, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip) responsible for the communication function in the Wi-Fi device, also known as a baseband chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip. Taking the case that the method is applied to the Wi-Fi device, in the method, the Wi-Fi device detects a second signal from the terminal, and the second signal is a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; and the Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal.

[0014] It can be seen that in the communication method, the Wi-Fi device can receive the instruction signal from the terminal for indicating whether to work at the X GHz frequency, which can improve the accuracy of the Wi-Fi device in detecting the IMT system, and further improve the efficiency of effective switching frequency, thereby reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal.

[0015] In an alternative implementation, the Wi-Fi device detects the second signal from the terminal, which comprises: detecting the second signal from the terminal in a time window in each detection period T.

[0016] In an alternative implementation, the Wi-Fi device determines whether to operate at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal, including: if the second signal is not detected in the current period, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device does not operate at the X GHz frequency.

[0017] If the second signal is not detected in the current period and the second signal is not detected in the last L detection periods T, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device operates at the X GHz frequency; where L is a positive integer.

[0018] It can be seen that in this implementation, the Wi-Fi device flexibly determines whether to operate at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal, i.e., whether to switch the frequency, so as to improve the effective switching probability of the frequency of the Wi-Fi device.

[0019] In an alternative implementation, after the Wi-Fi device operates at the X GHz frequency, the method further includes: the Wi-Fi device sends a pilot signal to the terminal, the pilot signal being designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) or 3GPP protocol; or the pilot signal being designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol. It can be seen that this implementation enables the terminal to perform channel estimation based on the pilot signal, so as to reduce the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal in the case of operating at the same frequency, and also improves the spectrum utilization of the Wi-Fi device.

[0020] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having the functions of implementing the first aspect or the second aspect, such as the communication device including a module or unit or means corresponding to the operations related to the first aspect or the second aspect. The module or unit or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0021] For example, the communication apparatus comprises a communication unit configured to detect a first signal from a base station, the first signal being a signal at a frequency of X GHz; and send a second signal to a Wi-Fi device according to a detection result of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the frequency of X GHz. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further perform other functions of the first aspect, which are not described here.

[0022] For another example, the communication unit is configured to detect a first signal from a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) device; and send a second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to a signal strength of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the frequency of X GHz. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further perform other functions of the second aspect, which are not described here.

[0023] Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a processing unit configured to determine the detection result or the signal strength of the first signal.

[0024] The processing unit can be implemented as a processing circuit, a processor or a logic circuit; and the communication unit can be implemented as a transceiver, an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuitry. When the communication unit is a transceiver, the transmitter can be used instead of the communication unit in the transmitting process, and the receiver can be used instead of the communication unit in the receiving process; or when the communication unit is a transceiving unit, the transmitter can be used instead of the communication unit in the transmitting process, and the receiver can be used instead of the communication unit in the receiving process. Optionally, the transmitter can be used instead of the transceiving unit, and the receiver can be used instead of the transceiving unit.

[0025] In the implementation process, the processor can be configured to perform, for example but not limited to, baseband related processing; and the transceiver or the communication interface can be configured to perform, for example but not limited to, radio frequency transmission and reception. The above-mentioned devices can be respectively arranged on independent chips, or at least part of or all of them can be arranged on the same chip. For example, the processor can be further divided into an analog baseband processor and a digital baseband processor. The analog baseband processor can be integrated on the same chip as the transceiver (or the communication interface), and the digital baseband processor can be arranged on an independent chip. With the continuous development of integrated circuit technology, more and more devices can be integrated on the same chip. For example, the digital baseband processor can be integrated on the same chip as various application processors (such as but not limited to a graphics processor, a multimedia processor, etc.). Such a chip can be called a SoC chip. Whether to arrange each device independently on different chips or to integrate them on one or more chips often depends on the needs of product design. The implementation form of the above-mentioned devices is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0026] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which has the functions of the third aspect, e.g., the communication apparatus includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations of the third aspect, which can be implemented in software, or in hardware, or in a combination of software and hardware.

[0027] For example, the communication apparatus includes a communication unit, and a processing unit is configured to detect a second signal from the terminal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency; and determine whether to operate at the X GHz frequency according to a detection result of the second signal. Optionally, the communication apparatus can perform other functions of the third aspect, which are not described here in detail.

[0028] The processing unit can be implemented as a processing circuit, a processor or a logic circuit; and the communication unit can be implemented as a transceiver, an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuitry. When the communication unit is a transceiver, it can be replaced by a transmitter during transmission and by a receiver during reception; or when the communication unit is a transceiving unit, it can be replaced by a transmitting unit during transmission and by a receiving unit during reception, and optionally, the transmitting unit can be replaced by a transmitter and the receiving unit can be replaced by a receiver.

[0029] During implementation, the processor can be configured to perform, for example but not limited to, baseband related processing, and the transceiver or communication interface can be configured to perform, for example but not limited to, radio frequency transmission and reception. The above-mentioned devices can be respectively arranged on independent chips, or at least partially or entirely arranged on the same chip. For example, the processor can be further divided into an analog baseband processor and a digital baseband processor. The analog baseband processor can be integrated on the same chip as the transceiver (or communication interface), and the digital baseband processor can be arranged on an independent chip. With the continuous development of integrated circuit technology, more and more devices can be integrated on the same chip. For example, the digital baseband processor can be integrated on the same chip as various application processors (such as, but not limited to, graphic processors, multimedia processors, etc.). Such a chip can be referred to as a SoC chip. Whether to arrange each device on a separate chip or to integrate them on one or more chips often depends on the needs of product design. The implementation form of the devices in the present application embodiments is not limited.

[0030] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises one or more processors. The one or more processors are connected with a memory, which is configured to store part or all of necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing functions related to the first aspect. The one or more processors are configured to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, so as to enable the communication apparatus to implement the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0031] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further comprise interface circuitry, and the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses or components through the interface circuitry. In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further comprise the memory. The communication apparatus can be a terminal, or a communication module in the terminal, or a chip (such as a modem chip, a baseband chip, an SoC chip with a modem core, or a SIP chip) responsible for communication functions in the terminal.

[0032] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which comprises one or more processors, and the one or more processors are connected with a memory, which is configured to store part or all of necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing functions related to the first aspect. The one or more processors are configured to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, so as to enable the communication apparatus to implement the method in any possible design or implementation manner of the third aspect.

[0033] In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further comprise interface circuitry, and the processor is configured to communicate with other apparatuses or components through the interface circuitry. In a possible design, the communication apparatus can further comprise the memory. The communication apparatus can be a terminal, or a communication module in the terminal, or a chip (such as a modem chip, a baseband chip, an SoC chip with a modem core, or a SIP chip) responsible for communication functions in the terminal.

[0034] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which comprises the communication apparatus in the third aspect or the fifth aspect, and the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect. Optionally, the communication system can further comprise other network elements, without any limitation.

[0035] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer-readable instructions or computer programs. When the computer-readable instructions or computer programs are executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the method in any possible design of the first aspect to the third aspect.

[0036] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method in any possible design of the first aspect to the third aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0037] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a deployment mode of a Wi-Fi device and an IMT base station;

[0038] Fig. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system;

[0039] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a framework of an ORAN;

[0040] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a network element function division and a protocol layer structure of an ORAN device;

[0041] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of another possible application framework in a communication system;

[0042] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of an energy detection method;

[0043] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for a base station to send a broadcast signal to a Wi-Fi device;

[0044] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a flow of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] The present application can be applied to various communication systems, including but not limited to: long term evolution (LTE) system, 5th Generation (5G) system, 5th Generation Advanced (5.5G) such as new radio access technology (NR), multi-system converged network, Internet of Things system, vehicle-to-vehicle network system, open radio access network (O-RAN) system, and future communication systems such as 6th Generation (6G) system, etc. The present application is suitable for spectrum sharing between two communication systems, such as international mobile telecommunications (IMT) base station and Wi-Fi device, etc. other ground mobile or fixed communication systems deployed in the same frequency band. As shown in FIG. 1, Wi-Fi devices (such as Wi-Fi access points (APs), Wi-Fi terminals) and IMT base stations are deployed in the same area. Among them, different systems can be connected through a medium (such as a core network) for sending data, exchanging information and feedback information, etc. a series of data transmission.

[0049] Referring to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as 110a and 110b in FIG. 2, collectively referred to as RAN node 110) and at least one terminal (such as 120a-120j in FIG. 2, collectively referred to as 120). Other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in FIG. 2), etc. can also be included in the RAN. The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 in a wireless manner. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 can be different physical devices respectively, or can be the same physical device integrated with the core network logical function and the radio access network logical function.

[0050] In this application, Wi-Fi AP and Wi-Fi terminal are collectively referred to as Wi-Fi devices. Among them, the Wi-Fi AP provides wireless access conforming to the Wi-Fi protocol for the Wi-Fi terminal, connects the Wi-Fi terminal to the wired network or accesses the Internet. Its main function is to receive uplink signals from Wi-Fi terminals conforming to the Wi-Fi protocol and can pass authentication, and send downlink signals to Wi-Fi terminals conforming to the Wi-Fi protocol and can pass authentication. In this application, the Wi-Fi AP can also receive instruction signals from the terminal through the antenna, and determine whether to work in the specified frequency band according to the instruction signals. The Wi-Fi terminal is a user-side entity that supports the Wi-Fi protocol and can establish a wireless connection with the Wi-Fi AP to receive or transmit signals, used to send uplink signals to the Wi-Fi AP or receive downlink signals from the Wi-Fi AP. The Wi-Fi terminal can be a device of 3GPP network or a device of non-3GPP network, such as user equipment (UE), car, portable computer, smart furniture, and sensor device such as camera, etc. The main functions include collecting data (part of terminal device), receiving control information and downlink data of the Wi-Fi AP, and sending uplink data to the Wi-Fi AP. In this application, the Wi-Fi terminal can also send instruction signals to the Wi-Fi AP through the antenna, which contains a frequency clearing signal and a signal allowing to work in the frequency band, in addition, as the receiving end of the Wi-Fi AP, the Wi-Fi terminal can give the terminal the channel interaction estimated to the Wi-Fi AP.

[0051] The Wi-Fi device can support 802.15 series protocols, such as 802.15.4ab or the next generation of 802.15.4ab, etc.; can also support other standard protocols (such as 802.11 series protocols), such as 802.11be, Wi-Fi7 or EHT (extremely high throughput), such as 802.11be next generation, Wi-Fi8, ultra high throughput (ultra high throughput, UHR), Wi-Fi AI (Wi-Fi artificial intelligence) and various wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN) standards of 802.11 family; can also support sensing protocols, such as 802.11bf or the next generation of 802.11bf.

[0052] The RAN 100 can be a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP)-related cellular system, e.g., an LTE system, a 5G system such as NR, a network of multiple systems fusion, an Internet of Things system, a vehicle-to-everything system, an O-RAN system, and a future communication system such as a 6G system, etc. For another example, the RAN 100 can also be a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, and can also be a communication system of fusion of two or more of the above systems. Optionally, the RAN 100 is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) system, and the RAN 100 can be an NTN system in a transparent mode or a regenerative mode, such as an earth fixed cell or an earth moving cell.

[0053] The terminal can be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., which can be a device with wireless transceiver function; it can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites, etc.). The terminal can be used to connect people, things, and machines. The terminal 120 can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), peer to peer (P2P), machine to machine (M2M), machine type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, smart home, unmanned aerial vehicle, robot, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation and tracking, autonomous delivery and movement, etc. The terminal 120 can be a 3GPP standard user equipment (UE), a fixed device, a mobile device, a handheld device, a wearable device, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a smart book, a vehicle, a satellite, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a target tracking device, an unmanned aerial vehicle, a helicopter, a flying vehicle, a ship, a remote control device, a smart home device, an industrial device. The terminal can also be a communication device in future wireless communication systems. The apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal can be the terminal, or an apparatus capable of supporting the terminal to implement the function, for example, a chip system, or a communication module, or a modem, etc., which can be installed in the terminal. Optionally, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or include a chip and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal is the terminal, and taking the terminal as an example of UE, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal. In a possible implementation manner, the UE can be used to act as a base station.For example, a UE can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between UEs in V2X, D2D, or P2P, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, a cell phone 120a and a car 120b communicate with each other using sidelink signals. The cell phone 120a and a smart home device 120d communicate without relaying the communication signals through the base station 110a. In one possible implementation, a UE can also be used as a relay node. For example, a UE can act as a relay or an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node for providing wireless backhaul services for terminals.

[0054] The RAN node 110, which can also be referred to as an access network device or simply a network device, a RAN entity or an access node, etc., forms part of a communication system to help terminals to access the wireless communication. The RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 1000 can be of the same type or of different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative, e.g., the network element 120i in FIG. 2 can be a helicopter or a drone, which can be configured to be a mobile base station. For a terminal 120j accessing the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. Both the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as a communication apparatus, e.g., the network elements 110a and 110b in FIG. 2 can be understood as communication apparatuses with base station functionalities, and the network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication apparatuses with terminal functionalities.

[0055] In one possible scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. The RAN node can be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 2), a micro base station or an indoor station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 2), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, the access network device in V2X technology can be a road side unit (RSU).

[0056] The communication between the access network device and the terminal follows a certain protocol layer structure. The protocol layer can include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer can include at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, a media access control (MAC) layer, or a physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer can include at least one of a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, or a physical layer, etc.

[0057] In addition, in another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to assist the terminal to implement wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a framework of an ORAN. The ORAN system can include an access network device and a terminal. The ORAN system can include other components in addition to the components shown in the figure. As shown in FIG. 3, the access network device (which can be an eNB or a gNB or a next-generation access network device) communicates with the CN device through a backhaul and communicates with the user equipment through an air interface. For example, a baseband unit (BBU) in the access network device can communicate with the core network through a backhaul, and a RU in the access network device can communicate with at least one UE through an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one radio unit (RU) through a fronthaul, and the BBU and the RU can be co-located or not co-located. The BBU includes at least one of at least one centralized unit (CU) and at least one distributed unit (DU), which can communicate through at least one midhaul. In the ORAN system, the CU can also be an open CU (O-CU), and the DU can also be an open DU (O-DU).

[0058] Figure 4 is a diagram of a network element function split and protocol layer structure of an ORAN device. In some examples, the CU is a logical node that hosts the RRC layer, the SDAP layer, the PDCP layer, and other control functions of the access network device. The CU is connected to network nodes such as the core network through some interfaces, which can be E2 interface or other interfaces. Optionally, the CU can have part of the functions of the core network. The CU (e.g., the PDCP layer and higher layers) is connected to the DU (e.g., the RLC layer and lower layers) through some interfaces, which can be F1 interface or other interfaces. In some examples, these interfaces (e.g., the F1 interface) can provide control plane (C-Plane) and user plane (U-Plane) functions (e.g., interface management, system information management, UE context management, RRC message transmission, etc.). The F1AP is an application protocol of the F1 interface, which defines the signaling procedures of the F1 in some examples. The F1 interface supports the control plane F1-C and the user plane F1-U.

[0059] In some examples, the CU can be split into a CU-CP and a CU-UP, where the CU-CP is a logical node that hosts the RRC layer and the PDCP-C (control plane part of PDCP) layer, for implementing the control plane functions of the CU. The CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network that implement the control plane functions. The CU-UP is a logical node that hosts the SDAP layer and the PDCP-U (user plane part of PDCP) layer, for implementing the user plane functions of the CU. The CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network that implement the user plane functions. The network elements in the core network that implement the user plane functions, e.g., the UPF in the 5G system, are responsible for the forwarding and reception of data in the terminal. The above configurations of the CU and the DU are merely examples, and the CU and the DU can have other functions according to needs. In some examples, the DU is a logical node that hosts the RLC layer, the MAC layer, the higher physical (higher PHY) layer, and other functions. In some examples, the DU can control at least one RU. The DU is connected to the RU through some interfaces, which can be fronthaul interfaces. In some examples, the CU can not have the PDCP layer, i.e., only include the RRC layer. The CU-CP does not have the PDCP-C. The CU-UP can not have the PDCP-U, or the CU-UP is completely absent. In some examples, the DU can not have the RLC layer, only have the MAC and the higher PHY layer. In addition, in some examples, there can be no CU and only have the DU.

[0060] In some examples, the high physical layer layer includes parts of PHY layer processing, such as forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, and the like processing functions. In some examples, the RU is a logical node that hosts lower physical layer (Lower PHY) and radio frequency (RF) chain processing. The RU communicates with one or more UEs over a wireless link. The DU and the RU can or can not be co-located. The DU and the RU exchange control-plane and user-plane information via a lower-layer split control user synchronous-plane (LLS-CUS) interface over a fronthaul link. The DU and the RU exchange management information over a LLS-M interface of the fronthaul link, which is referred to as the management-plane (M-Plane), referring to non-real-time management operations between the DU and the RU. The DU and the RU can cooperate to collectively implement the functionality of the PHY layer. The DU and the RU can cooperate to collectively implement the functionality of the PHY layer. One DU can be connected to one or more RUs. For another example, the CU has the processing capability of RRC, PDCP and SDAP, and the DU has the processing capability of RLC, MAC and PHY. It can be understood that the above-mentioned splitting of functions is only an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and the DU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, for example, included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). The functions possessed by the DU and the RU can be configured in multiple ways according to the design.

[0061] In order to support artificial intelligence (AI) technology in a wireless network, AI nodes can also be introduced in the network. Optionally, the AI nodes can be deployed in one or more of the following locations in the communication system: an access network device, a terminal, or a core network device, etc., or the AI nodes can also be deployed separately, for example, in a location other than any of the above-mentioned devices, such as a host or a cloud server of an over the top (OTT) system. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another possible application framework in a communication system. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication system includes a RAN intelligent controller (RIC). The RIC includes a near-real time RIC (near-RT RIC) and a non-real time RIC (Non-RT RIC). The non-real time RIC mainly processes non-real-time information, such as data that is not sensitive to latency, which can be on the order of seconds. The near-real time RIC mainly processes near-real-time information, such as data that is relatively sensitive to latency, which is on the order of tens of milliseconds. The near-real time RIC is used for model training and inference. The near-real time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from RAN nodes (e.g., CUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, DUs, and / or RUs) and / or terminals. This information can be used as training data or inference data. Optionally, the near-real time RIC can deliver inference results to RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between CUs and DUs, and / or between DUs and RUs. For example, the near-real time RIC delivers inference results to a DU, which then sends them to an RU. The non-real time RIC is also used for model training and inference. The non-real time RIC can obtain network-side and / or terminal-side information from RAN nodes (e.g., CUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, DUs, and / or RUs) and / or terminals. This information can be used as training data or inference data, and inference results can be delivered to RAN nodes and / or terminals. Optionally, inference results can be exchanged between CUs and DUs, and / or between DUs and RUs, for example, the non-real time RIC delivers inference results to a DU, which then sends them to an RU. The near-real time RIC and the non-real time RIC can also be separately set up as a network element. Optionally, the near-real time RIC and the non-real time RIC can also be part of other devices, for example, the near-real time RIC is set up in a RAN node (e.g., a CU, a DU), while the non-real time RIC is set up in an OAM, a cloud server, a core network device, or another network device. For example, the near-real time RIC is set up in a RAN node (e.g., a CU, a DU), while the non-real time RIC is set up in an OAM, a cloud server, a core network device, or another network device.Exemplarily, the near-real-time RIC and the non-real-time RIC can also be separately set as a network element respectively, and the network device can be the near-real-time RIC or the non-real-time RIC.

[0062] The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that can include a plurality of devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each of the various systems can include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or can not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc., discussed in connection with the figures. Additionally, a combination of these approaches can also be used.

[0063] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the words such as "exemplarily", "for example" and the like are used to represent examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "example" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the word "example" is intended to present the concept in a specific manner. In the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding" and "corresponding" are sometimes used interchangeably, and it should be pointed out that when their differences are not emphasized, the meanings expressed are consistent.

[0064] The communication system and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0065] The U6GHz frequency band spectrum is identified as available for base stations and other mobile devices for international mobile telecommunications (IMT). With the popularity of the use of U6GHz frequency band by IMT base stations and other mobile devices, there may be a situation that wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) devices need to coexist with IMT systems in the U6GHz frequency band. There are various coexistence schemes for coexistence in the same frequency, and Europe is still discussing this issue. One of the schemes is that the IMT base station and the Wi-Fi device are deployed in the same frequency in adjacent areas. Since the distance between the Wi-Fi device and the terminal may be very close (for example, the distance between them is less than 1m), the Wi-Fi device will cause great interference to the terminal.

[0066] In order to reduce the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal, one solution is to use an energy detection method, as shown in FIG. 6, the base station sends a downlink signal to the terminal, and the receiver in the Wi-Fi device detects the energy level of the non-Wi-Fi device existing on the current channel (frequency range) according to its own low noise, environmental energy, interference source and interference signal of other unidentified Wi-Fi devices; when the total energy of the interference signal is greater than the detection threshold of the Wi-Fi device, the frequency is switched. The energy detection needs a predefined threshold value to determine whether the reported energy level is sufficient to report the current channel as busy or idle; when a channel is reported as busy, the Wi-Fi device will select to switch to other frequency bands, or reduce the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to continue using the channel for transmission, thereby avoiding or reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal. However, this solution enables the Wi-Fi device to select other frequency bands in time when the energy of the interference signal of all base stations exceeds the threshold value of the energy detection of the Wi-Fi device itself, thereby avoiding interference with the terminal, but if the signal of the base station is blocked, such as when the Wi-Fi device is located indoors, the Wi-Fi device will not select other frequency bands in time or the probability of selecting other frequency bands is low, and there is still great interference to the terminal.

[0067] Another solution is shown in FIG. 7, which determines whether to work on the same frequency as the base station by whether the Wi-Fi device receives a broadcast signal from the base station, i.e., the base station sends a broadcast signal to the Wi-Fi device, and the Wi-Fi device detects the broadcast signal from the base station in each time window; if the Wi-Fi device can detect the broadcast signal from the base station, the Wi-Fi device will not work on the same frequency as the base station, so that the Wi-Fi device will not interfere with the terminal; if the Wi-Fi device cannot detect the broadcast signal from the base station, the Wi-Fi device will work on the same frequency as the base station. However, if the base station frequently sends a broadcast signal to the Wi-Fi device, the probability of the Wi-Fi device working in the U6GHz frequency band will be very low, which will reduce the spectrum resource utilization rate of the Wi-Fi device. Moreover, the base station frequently sending a broadcast signal to the Wi-Fi device will also occupy a large communication overhead of the base station, and will lose the communication performance. In addition, if all Wi-Fi devices in the coverage range of the base station receive the broadcast signal and switch the frequency accordingly, but in fact some Wi-Fi devices have no terminal to be served by the base station around them, and these Wi-Fi devices will not cause great interference to the terminal or the base station, thereby losing the spectrum utilization rate of these Wi-Fi devices.

[0068] Therefore, how to improve the probability of effective frequency switching and reduce the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal is a problem to be solved.

[0069] The application provides a communication method and related device, in which an instruction signal indicating whether to allow working at an X GHz frequency is sent by a terminal to a Wi-Fi device, so that the accuracy of detecting an IMT system by the Wi-Fi device can be improved, and the probability of effective switching frequency is improved, thereby reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the terminal.

[0070] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the application, which is a method for sharing spectrum by an IMT system and a Wi-Fi device based on terminal assistance. As shown in FIG. 8, after receiving a signal (e.g., a first signal with a frequency of X GHz) sent by a base station, the terminal sends an instruction signal (e.g., a second signal) to the Wi-Fi device, and the Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at the same frequency band as the IMT system based on the instruction signal (e.g., the Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at X GHz). Specifically, the method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0071] S101. The base station sends a first signal, and the frequency of the first signal is X GHz, where X is any natural number.

[0072] Optionally, the first signal can be a broadcast signal, a control signal, a probe signal or a data signal, etc. The X is any value, or the frequency of the spectrum shared by the IMT system and the Wi-Fi device, such as Upper 6GHz, which refers to the frequency band of 6425-7125MHz, which is identified by a conference to be used for the deployment of IMT base stations and Wi-Fi devices.

[0073] S102. The terminal sends a second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal, and the second signal is used to indicate whether to allow the Wi-Fi device to work at the X GHz frequency.

[0074] In an optional embodiment, the terminal can periodically detect the first signal, and the detection period of the first signal can be T1. For example, the detection period T1 of the first signal can be 1 millisecond (ms) to 10 ms. Optionally, in one possible design, the terminal sends the second signal in each detection period T1; in another possible design, the terminal sends the second signal once in multiple detection periods T1; and in another possible design, the terminal sends the second signal multiple times in one detection period T1. Optionally, the terminal detects the first signal in a detection time window in each detection period T1, which is used as the basis for determining whether to send the second signal in each detection period T1. Optionally, each detection period T1 can include a detection time window and a signal sending time window, and for each detection period T1, whether to send the second signal in the signal sending time window is determined according to whether the first signal is detected in the detection time window.

[0075] In the detection period T, if the first signal is detected, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; if the first signal is not detected, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency. It can be seen that the terminal can send the second signal in each detection period to indicate whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

[0076] S103. The Wi-Fi device detects the second signal from the terminal and obtains a detection result of the second signal.

[0077] The Wi-Fi device also periodically detects the second signal with the detection period T2. In each detection period T2, the Wi-Fi device detects the second signal in a detection time window. Optionally, the length of the time window can be 1-5 ms.

[0078] S104. The Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal.

[0079] In an optional embodiment, the Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal, including: if the second signal is not detected in the current period, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device does not work at the X GHz frequency.

[0080] If the second signal is not detected in the current period and the second signal is not detected in the last L detection periods T, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device works at the X GHz frequency; wherein L is a positive integer.

[0081] In another alternative implementation, the Wi-Fi device determines, according to the detection result of the second signal, whether the second signal is not detected in the current period; if the second signal is not detected in the current period, the Wi-Fi device does not work in the X GHz frequency; if the second signal is detected in the current period, the Wi-Fi device determines, according to the second signal, whether to work in the X GHz frequency; if the second signal indicates that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work in the X GHz frequency, the Wi-Fi device does not work in the X GHz frequency; if the second signal indicates that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work in the X GHz frequency, the Wi-Fi device works in the X GHz frequency.

[0082] Optionally, in this implementation, if the second signal is not detected in the current period, the Wi-Fi device further determines, according to the detection result of the second signal, whether the second signal is not detected in the L consecutive periods; if it is determined that the second signal is not detected in the L consecutive periods, the Wi-Fi device works in the X GHz frequency; if it is determined that the second signal is not not detected in the L consecutive periods, the Wi-Fi device does not work in the X GHz frequency.

[0083] In another alternative implementation, if the second signal is detected in the current period, the Wi-Fi device determines whether the second signal detected in the current period indicates that the Wi-Fi device is allowed or not allowed to work in the X GHz frequency; if the second signal detected in the current period indicates that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work in the X GHz frequency (i.e., the second signal is a clear signal), the Wi-Fi device further determines whether the number of terminals that send the second signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work in the X GHz frequency in the current period is greater than a first preset threshold; if the number of terminals is greater than the first preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device does not work in the X GHz frequency; if the number of terminals is not greater than the first preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device determines whether the number of terminals that send the second signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work in the X GHz frequency in the current period is greater than a second preset threshold; if the number of terminals is greater than the second preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device works in the X GHz frequency; if the number of terminals is not greater than the second preset threshold, it can be considered that the second signal is not detected in the current period.

[0084] Optionally, the first preset threshold is 4 or 5; and the second preset threshold is 0 or 1. Wherein, L is a positive integer.

[0085] Optionally, the second signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work in the X GHz frequency can be referred to as a clear signal. Wherein, the Wi-Fi device determines, according to the detection result of the second signal, not to work in the X GHz frequency, and can switch to work in other frequencies. That is, if the Wi-Fi device receives the clear signal, the Wi-Fi device cannot work in the same frequency band as the IMT system, otherwise, the Wi-Fi device can work in the same frequency band as the IMT system.

[0086] It can be seen that the method can improve the probability of the Wi-Fi device detecting the IMT system and switching the frequency by sending the clear frequency signal to the Wi-Fi device by the terminal, thereby reducing the interference of the Wi-Fi device to the surrounding terminal and improving the possibility of the coexistence of the IMT system and the Wi-Fi system in the same frequency. In addition, compared with the method of sending the second signal by the base station or the method of switching the frequency by energy detection, the method can reduce the communication overhead of the base station, and the Wi-Fi device can more accurately know whether to switch the frequency, thereby improving the spectrum utilization of the Wi-Fi device.

[0087] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiment of the application. As shown in FIG. 9, the method is still a terminal-assisted IMT system and Wi-Fi device sharing spectrum method. The difference between the method and the communication method described in FIG. 8 is that, in the method, the terminal determines to send the second signal according to the signal strength of the Wi-Fi device without the participation of the base station. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the communication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0088] S201. The Wi-Fi device sends a first signal to the terminal.

[0089] In the embodiment, the first signal can be a signal of a certain frequency, which is not limited to X GHz, and X is any value.

[0090] S202. The terminal detects the first signal and determines the signal strength of the first signal.

[0091] Optionally, the terminal can periodically detect the first signal, where the detection period of the first signal can be T1. For example, the detection period T1 of the first signal can be 1 millisecond (ms) to 10 ms. In one possible design, the terminal sends the second signal in each detection period T1. In another possible design, the terminal sends the second signal once in multiple detection periods T1. In yet another possible design, the terminal sends the second signal multiple times in one detection period T1. Optionally, the terminal detects the first signal in a detection time window in each detection period T1, which serves as the basis for determining whether to send the second signal in each detection period T1. Optionally, each detection period T1 can include a detection time window and a signal sending time window. For each detection period T1, whether to send the second signal in the signal sending time window is determined according to whether the first signal is detected in the detection time window.

[0092] S203. The terminal sends a second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the signal strength of the first signal.

[0093] The second signal is used to indicate whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency. The terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the signal strength of the first signal, including: if the signal strength of the first signal is greater than a demodulation threshold, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; if the signal strength of the first signal is not greater than the demodulation threshold, the terminal sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency. The X GHz frequency is a frequency of a common spectrum of the IMT system and the Wi-Fi device.

[0094] S204. The Wi-Fi device detects the second signal from the terminal and obtains a detection result of the second signal.

[0095] The Wi-Fi device also periodically detects the second signal with a detection period T2. The Wi-Fi device detects the second signal in a detection time window in each detection period T2. Optionally, the length of the time window can be 1-5 ms.

[0096] S205. The Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal.

[0097] The related description of how the Wi-Fi device determines whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal can be found in the related description of step S104 in the embodiment of FIG. 8, which is not repeated here. If the Wi-Fi device determines not to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal, the Wi-Fi device can switch to work at another frequency.

[0098] In addition, the related embodiments of steps S205 and S206 can also be found in the description of the embodiment of FIG. 8, which is not repeated here.

[0099] In addition, in this embodiment, the Wi-Fi device determines to work at the X GHz frequency, and the method further includes the following steps:

[0100] S206. The Wi-Fi device sends a pilot signal to the terminal, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the pilot signal.

[0101] The pilot signal is designed based on an international mobile communication (IMT) or 3GPP protocol; or the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol. Optionally, the terminal includes a Wi-Fi receiver and an IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver. If the pilot signal is designed based on the Wi-Fi protocol, the pilot signal is transmitted from the Wi-Fi receiver to the IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver.

[0102] S207. The terminal performs channel estimation on the channel between the terminal and the Wi-Fi device according to the pilot signal to obtain an estimated interference channel, performs autocorrelation according to the estimated interference channel to obtain an interference covariance matrix, and performs interference cancellation on the interference from the Wi-Fi device according to the interference covariance matrix.

[0103] Optionally, the terminal performs channel estimation on the channel between the terminal and the Wi-Fi device according to the pilot signal by using a channel estimation method such as least square method to obtain an estimated interference channel. In addition, the commonly used IRC receiver of the terminal performs interference cancellation according to the interference covariance matrix to cancel the interference of the Wi-Fi device on the terminal.

[0104] It can be seen that, in this embodiment, the terminal sends the clear frequency signal to the Wi-Fi device, which can improve the probability of the Wi-Fi device detecting the IMT system and switching frequency, and thus reduce the interference of the Wi-Fi device on the surrounding terminal and improve the possibility of coexistence of the IMT system and the Wi-Fi system in the same frequency. In addition, by sending the instruction signal to the Wi-Fi device, the communication overhead of the base station can be reduced, and the Wi-Fi device can more accurately know whether it needs to switch frequency, and the spectrum utilization of the Wi-Fi device is also improved.

[0105] In addition, in this embodiment, the terminal determines the type of the sent instruction signal (i.e., whether it is a clear frequency signal or a signal allowing the Wi-Fi device to work in the X GHz frequency) according to the signal strength of the first signal from the Wi-Fi device, without the participation of the base station, so that the spectrum utilization of the Wi-Fi device can be higher. In addition, considering that this method may increase the probability of the terminal being interfered by the Wi-Fi device, this embodiment also considers that the Wi-Fi device sends a pilot signal to the terminal, and the terminal can estimate the interference channel between the Wi-Fi device and the terminal based on the pilot signal to perform interference cancellation.

[0106] FIG. 10 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10, the communication apparatus can include modules or units for implementing the above-mentioned method embodiments. In one possible design, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit 1101 and a communication unit 1102. Optionally, the communication apparatus can further include a storage unit 1103 for storing apparatus program code and / or data.

[0107] The processing unit can be implemented as a processing circuit, a processor, or a logic circuit. The communication unit can be implemented as a transceiver, an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or related circuitry. When the communication unit is a transceiver, the transmitter can be used instead of the transceiver in the transmission, and the receiver can be used instead of the transceiver in the reception. Alternatively, when the communication unit is a transceiver, the transmitter can be used instead of the transceiver in the transmission, and the receiver can be used instead of the transceiver in the reception. Optionally, the transmitter can be used instead of the transceiver in the transmission, and the receiver can be used instead of the transceiver in the reception.

[0108] In an embodiment, the communication apparatus can be a terminal-side apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments, for example, a terminal or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or a chip responsible for the communication function in the terminal.

[0109] For example, in an embodiment, the communication unit 1102 is configured to detect a first signal from a base station, the first signal being a signal at an X GHz frequency; and send a second signal to a Wi-Fi device according to a detection result of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

[0110] In a possible design, the processing unit 1101 is configured to determine the detection result of the first signal.

[0111] In a possible design, the communication unit 1102 sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal, specifically: in a detection period T, if the first signal is detected, the communication unit 1102 sends a second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; and if the first signal is not detected, the communication unit 1102 sends a second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

[0112] For another example, in another embodiment, the communication unit 1102 is configured to detect a first signal from a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) device; and send a second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to a signal strength of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at an X GHz frequency.

[0113] In one possible design, the communication unit 1102 can send, to the Wi-Fi device, a second signal indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency based on a signal strength of the first signal. For example, the communication unit 1102 can send, to the Wi-Fi device, a second signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency if the signal strength of the first signal is greater than a demodulation threshold. The communication unit 1102 can send, to the Wi-Fi device, a second signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency if the signal strength of the first signal is not greater than the demodulation threshold.

[0114] In one possible design, after the communication unit 1102 sends, to the Wi-Fi device, a second signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to operate at the X GHz frequency, the communication unit 1102 can further receive a pilot signal from the Wi-Fi device. The processing unit 1101 can perform channel estimation for a channel between the Wi-Fi device and the communication apparatus based on the pilot signal, obtain an estimated interference channel, perform auto-correlation based on the estimated interference channel, obtain an interference covariance matrix, and perform interference cancellation for interference from the Wi-Fi device based on the interference covariance matrix.

[0115] In one possible design, the pilot signal can be designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) or 3GPP protocol. Alternatively, the pilot signal can be designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol.

[0116] In one possible design, the terminal can include a Wi-Fi receiver and an IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver. The pilot signal can be designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol, and the pilot signal can be transmitted by the Wi-Fi receiver to the IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver.

[0117] In one possible design, when the communication apparatus is a terminal or a communication module in a terminal, the function of the processing unit 1101 can be implemented by one or more processors. The processor(s) can include a modem chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip that includes a modem core. The function of the communication unit 1102 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0118] In one possible design, when the communication apparatus is a terminal or a communication module in a terminal, the function of the processing unit 1101 can be implemented by one or more processors. The processor(s) can include a modem chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip that includes a modem core. The function of the communication unit 1102 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0119] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus is a terminal or a processing module in a terminal, the function of the processing unit 1101 can be implemented by one or more processors. Specifically, the processor can include a GPU, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip including a GPU. The function of the communication unit 1102 can be implemented by a transceiver circuit.

[0120] In a possible design, when the communication apparatus is a circuit or chip responsible for processing functions in a terminal, such as a GPU or a system on chip (SoC) chip or a SIP chip including a GPU, the function of the processing unit 1101 can be implemented by circuitry including one or more processors or processor cores in the chip. The function of the communication unit 1102 can be implemented by an interface circuit or a data transceiver circuit on the chip.

[0121] The communication apparatus can be a Wi-Fi device in the above-described embodiments. Optionally, the processing unit can be a processor, and can include communication and processing circuitry. The communication and processing circuitry can include one or more hardware components that provide physical structure for performing various processes related to wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and / or signal transmission). The communication and processing circuitry can include two or more transmit / receive chains. The functions implemented by the communication and processing circuitry can also be processed on a computer readable medium. For example, the processor needs to process instruction information from the terminal, and when processing the instruction information, needs to parse and decode the content contained therein, and select the required data therefrom, and determine whether it can work with the IMT base station in the same frequency.

[0122] For example, in an embodiment, the communication apparatus can be a Wi-Fi device in the above-described embodiments. The communication unit 1102 is configured to detect a second signal from the terminal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work in an X GHz frequency; and the processing unit 1101 is configured to determine whether to work in the X GHz frequency according to a detection result of the second signal.

[0123] In a possible design, the communication unit 1102 detects the second signal from the terminal, specifically: in each detection period T, the communication unit 1102 detects the second signal from the terminal in a time window in the detection period T.

[0124] In a possible design, the processing unit 1101 determines whether to work in the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal, specifically:

[0125] if the second signal is not detected in the current period, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that the Wi-Fi device does not work at the X GHz frequency;

[0126] if the second signal is not detected in the current period and the second signal is not detected in the last L detection periods T, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that the Wi-Fi device works at the X GHz frequency;

[0127] wherein the L is a positive integer.

[0128] In a possible design, the communication unit 1102 is further configured to, after the processing unit determines that the Wi-Fi device works at the X GHz frequency, send a pilot signal to a terminal, where the pilot signal is designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) or 3GPP protocol, or the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol.

[0129] It can be understood that the division of the units in the apparatus is a logical function division, one function unit can be used for one function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one function unit. In actual implementation, all or part of the units can be integrated into one physical entity, or can be distributed on different physical entities. In addition, the function units can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of software, or in the form of combination of hardware and software. Whether a certain function is implemented in the form of hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for a specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0130] In one example, the functional units in any of the above apparatuses can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, for example: one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or, one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microcontroller units (MCUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0131] In one example, the storage unit 1103 can include random access memory, flash memory, read only memory, programmable read only memory, electrically programmable read only memory and / or registers, etc.

[0132] FIG. 11 is a structural schematic diagram of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present application, which can correspond to the terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, and is used to implement the operation of the terminal in the above embodiments. As shown in FIG. 11, the terminal includes one or more antennas 1210, a radio frequency processing system 1220, and a processor system 1230.

[0133] In the downlink or sidelink direction, the radio frequency processing system 1220 receives radio frequency signals through the antenna 1210, and sends the signals after radio frequency processing to the processor system 1230 for further processing. In the uplink or sidelink direction, the processor system 1230 performs signal processing on the information at the terminal side, and sends the signal to the radio frequency processing system 1220, which performs radio frequency processing on the signal and transmits it through the antenna 1210.

[0134] In one example, the radio frequency processing system 1220, which serves as a communication interface for the terminal to communicate with the outside, can include a radio frequency front end 1221 (RFFE) and a radio frequency transceiver 1222. The RFFE 1221 is mainly used for one or more of shaping, passband selection, or gain processing of radio frequency (RF) signals received by an antenna or to be transmitted through an antenna, and can include one or more of radio frequency switches, duplexers, filters, power amplifiers, antenna tuning, and low-noise amplifiers. The RFFE 1221 can be circuitry composed of a plurality of discrete devices, or can be integrated and packaged in one or more chips. The radio frequency transceiver 1222 is used to process RF signals received by the RFFE 1221 into baseband / intermediate frequency signals for further processing by the processor system 1230, and to process baseband / intermediate frequency signals provided by the processor system 1230 into RF signals for transmission to the RFFE 1221. The baseband / intermediate frequency signals transmitted between the radio frequency transceiver 1222 and the processor system 1230 can be digital signals or analog signals. The radio frequency transceiver 1222 can be implemented by one or more chips, which are commonly referred to as radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs).

[0135] In one example, the processor system 1230 can include one or more processors for processing signals and executing one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the processor system 1230 can further include a memory 1236. In one example, the one or more processors include at least one baseband processor 1231 (also referred to as a modem processor). The memory 1236 is used to store data and / or computer program instructions. Optionally, the processor system 1230 can further include one or more application processors 1232 for implementing processing of the terminal operating system and application layer. The application processor 1232 can include a GPU, for example. Optionally, the processor system 1230 can further include one or more of a voice subsystem 1233, a multimedia subsystem 1234, or an interface circuit 1235. The voice subsystem 1233 is used to process voice signals, the multimedia subsystem 1234 is used to process multimedia-related operations such as video encoding and decoding, image processing, etc., and the interface circuit 1235 is used to implement communication with other terminal components such as a display 1240, an input device 1250, a memory 1260, etc. The above-mentioned components in the processor system 1230 can communicate with each other through a bus or a communication interface circuit.

[0136] In one example, the processor system 1230 can be packaged as one processor chip, such as a SoC chip or a SIP chip. In one example, the processor system 1230 can be a system composed of multiple chips, for example, the baseband processor 1231 can be packaged as a separate chip, or packaged as a chip with part or all of the circuitry of the radio frequency processing system.

[0137] In one example, the memory 1236 can be an on-chip memory, i.e., located on the chip of the processor system 1230. In one example, the memory 1236 can be an off-chip memory, i.e., located off the chip of the processor system 1230.

[0138] In one example, the baseband processor 1231 can include one or more processor cores 12311 and interface circuitry 12314. The one or more processor cores 12311 are configured to process signals and perform one or more communication protocols. Optionally, the baseband processor 1231 can further include a memory 12312 configured to store at least part of corresponding computer program instructions and / or data. In one example, the one or more processor cores 12311 perform the relevant operations (such as generating and sending the first information) in the above method embodiments by executing the computer program instructions stored in the memory 12312. In this application, the memory 12312 configured to store corresponding computer program instructions and / or data can mean that the memory 12312 is configured to store all corresponding computer program instructions and / or data for execution by the processor core 12311; or can mean that the memory 12312 is configured to store part of corresponding computer program instructions and / or data, which includes computer program instructions and / or data currently needed for execution by the processor core 12311, and the memory 12312 can store different parts of computer program instructions and / or data for execution by the processor core 12311 multiple times to perform the relevant operations in the above method embodiments. The interface circuitry 12314 serves as a communication interface to communicate with other components, such as transmitting signals with the radio frequency processing system 1220, communicating with other subsystems and related components of the processor system 1230 through a bus, such as transmitting data control signals with the application processor 1232, and transmitting data or computer program instructions with the memory 1236 or the memory 1260. Optionally, to reduce the load of the processor core, the baseband signal processing circuitry 12313 can be configured to perform at least part of the processing of the baseband signals, including one or more of demodulation, modulation, encoding or decoding of the signals.

[0139] The processor, processor system, application processor, baseband processor, processor circuit, or processor core can be collectively referred to as a processor, which can include one or a combination of a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an artificial intelligence processor (AI processor), or a neural processing unit (NPU).

[0140] The above-mentioned memory can include one or more of the following storage media: random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), phase-change memory (PCM), resistive random access memory (RERAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM), cache, register, read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), hard disk, etc. In one example, the computer program instructions for implementing the above-embodiments can be stored on a non-volatile memory, such as at least part of the above-mentioned memory 1260 (e.g., one or more of ROM, flash memory, EPROM, or hard disk). During terminal operation, the corresponding computer program instructions can be partially or entirely loaded onto a memory with faster transmission speed to the processor, such as at least part of the above-mentioned memory 1236 and / or memory 12312 (e.g., one or more of RAM, SRAM, DRAM, PCM, RERAM, MRAM, FRAM, cache, or register), for execution by the processor to implement the steps in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0141] In one example, the radio frequency transceiver 1222 and the radio frequency front end 1221 can also be packaged in one chip. In one example, the radio frequency transceiver 1222, the radio frequency front end 1221, and the baseband processor 1231 can also be packaged in one chip.

[0142] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "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 cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B, or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and "at least one of A, B, and C" can also be understood to include A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc. mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish a plurality of objects, and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of the plurality of objects.

[0143] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Therefore, the present application can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, the present application can take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0144] The present application is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams according to the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products of the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus produce the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0145] These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to work in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce a product including instruction means, which implements the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0146] These computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing devices, so that a series of operational steps are performed on the computer or other programmable devices to generate computer-implemented processes, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable devices provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowchart and / or one or more blocks in the block diagram.

[0147] Obviously, various modifications and changes can be made to the present application by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, it is intended that the present application embrace all such modifications and changes and, accordingly, the application is not to be limited by the above-described one or more embodiments.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: detecting a first signal from a base station, the first signal being a signal at an X GHz frequency, X being any natural number; sending a second signal to a Wi-Fi device according to a detection result of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The sending of the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal comprises: if the first signal is detected within a detection period T, sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; if the first signal is not detected, sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

3. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: detecting a first signal from a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) device; sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to a signal strength of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at an X GHz frequency, X being any natural number.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The sending of the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the signal strength of the first signal comprises: if the signal strength of the first signal is greater than a demodulation threshold, sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; if the signal strength of the first signal is not greater than the demodulation threshold, sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, After the sending of the second signal to the Wi-Fi device for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, the method further comprises: receiving a pilot signal from the Wi-Fi device; performing channel estimation on a channel between the Wi-Fi device and the terminal according to the pilot signal, to obtain an estimated interference channel; performing autocorrelation according to the estimated interference channel, to obtain an interference covariance matrix; performing interference cancellation on interference from the Wi-Fi device according to the interference covariance matrix.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein: the pilot signal is designed based on an international mobile telecommunication (IMT) or 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) protocol; or the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The method is applied to a terminal, the terminal comprising a Wi-Fi receiving end and an IMT or 3GPP protocol receiving end; the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol, and the pilot signal is transmitted by the Wi-Fi receiving end to the IMT or 3GPP protocol receiving end.

8. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method comprises: detecting a second signal from a terminal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether a Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at an X GHz frequency, X being any natural number; determining whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to a detection result of the second signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The detecting the second signal from the terminal comprises: Detecting the second signal from the terminal in a time window in each detection period T.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein, The determining whether to work at the X GHz frequency according to the detection result of the second signal comprises: If the second signal is not detected in the current period, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device does not work at the X GHz frequency. If the second signal is not detected in the current period and the second signal is not detected in the last L detection periods T, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, the Wi-Fi device works at the X GHz frequency. Wherein, the L is a positive integer.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, After the Wi-Fi device works at the X GHz frequency, the method further comprises: Sending a pilot signal to the terminal, the pilot signal being designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT) or 3GPP protocol; or the pilot signal being designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol.

12. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises: A communication unit configured to detect a first signal from a base station, the first signal being a signal at an X GHz frequency; The communication unit is further configured to send a second signal to a Wi-Fi device according to a detection result of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein, The communication unit sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal, specifically: If the first signal is detected in a detection period T, the second signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency is sent to the Wi-Fi device; If the first signal is not detected, the second signal for indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency is sent to the Wi-Fi device.

14. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises: A communication unit configured to detect a first signal from a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) device; The communication unit is further configured to send a second signal to a Wi-Fi device according to a detection result of the first signal, the second signal being a signal for indicating whether the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at an X GHz frequency, the X being any natural number.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, The communication unit sends the second signal to the Wi-Fi device according to the detection result of the first signal, specifically: if the first signal is detected and the signal strength of the first signal is greater than a demodulation threshold, sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being used to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; and if the first signal is detected and the signal strength of the first signal is not greater than the demodulation threshold, sending a second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being used to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, the communication unit is further configured to receive a pilot signal from the Wi-Fi device after sending the second signal to the Wi-Fi device, the second signal being used to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency; the apparatus further comprises: a processing unit configured to perform channel estimation on a channel between the Wi-Fi device based on the pilot signal, to obtain an estimated interference channel, to perform autocorrelation based on the estimated interference channel, to obtain an interference covariance matrix, and to perform interference cancellation on interference from the Wi-Fi device based on the interference covariance matrix.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein, the pilot signal is designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) or 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) protocol; or the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein, the apparatus is applied to a terminal, the terminal comprising a Wi-Fi receiver and an IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver; the pilot signal is designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol, and the pilot signal is transmitted from the Wi-Fi receiver to the IMT or 3GPP protocol receiver.

19. A communications device, characterized by the apparatus comprises: a communication unit configured to detect a second signal from a terminal, the second signal being a signal used to indicate whether a Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at an X GHz frequency, X being any natural number; the processing unit is further configured to determine whether to work at the X GHz frequency based on a detection result of the second signal.

20. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, the communication unit detects a second signal from a terminal, and specifically: detects the second signal from the terminal in a time window in each detection period T.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein, the processing unit determines whether to work at the X GHz frequency based on a detection result of the second signal, and specifically: if the second signal is not detected in a current period, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal used to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal used to indicate that the Wi-Fi device is not allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that the X GHz frequency is not used. If the second signal is not detected in the current period and the second signal is not detected in the last L detection periods T, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency, or if the second signal is detected in the current period and the second signal is a signal indicating that the Wi-Fi device is allowed to work at the X GHz frequency and the number of terminals sending the second signal exceeds a preset threshold, it is determined that the X GHz frequency is worked at. Wherein, the L is a positive integer.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein, The communication unit is further configured to send a pilot signal to a terminal after the processing unit determines that the X GHz frequency is worked at, the pilot signal being designed based on an International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) or 3GPP protocol, or the pilot signal being designed based on a Wi-Fi protocol.

23. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises one or more processors connected with a memory, and the one or more processors are configured to execute a computer program in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 2, or so that the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 3 to 7, or so that the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 8 to 11.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the method of any one of claims 1 to 2, the method of any one of claims 3 to 7, or the method of any one of claims 8 to 11 is implemented.

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