Wireless communication methods and communication devices

Abstract

Provided are wireless communication methods and communication devices. A method comprises: a first device sends one or more placeholder signals and / or first instruction information, the first instruction information being used to instruct a second device to send the placeholder signal, the placeholder signal being sent within a first duration between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal being a signal sent by a third device, and there being an association relationship between the second signal and the first signal. By means of the placeholder signal, a channel can be protected, so as to be prevented from being preempted by a device other than the third device. Therefore, even if the third device is a device of relatively low complexity requiring a relatively long processing time after the first signal is transmitted, the placeholder signal can also ensure that the channel will not be sensed and determined to be idle by other devices within the processing time, such that the third device can use the channel to transmit the second signal after the processing time ends.

Description

Wireless communication method and communication device TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0002] With the development of technology, the types of communication devices are increasingly diversified. In the process of communication of some types of communication devices (for example, communication devices with low complexity), the interval between the interactive signals can be relatively long. For example, for a station (STA) with low complexity, the interval between frames can exceed a short interframe space (SIFS), during which time other stations can consider the channel to be idle and preempt the channel, resulting in channel loss, and thus the signals originally to be transmitted by the communication device with low complexity cannot be transmitted in time.

[0003] SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a wireless communication method and a communication device. The various aspects involved in the present application are described below.

[0005] In a first aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, which includes: a first device sending one or more placeholder signals and / or first indication information; wherein the first indication information is used to instruct a second device to send the placeholder signals, the placeholder signals being sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal being a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal having an association relationship with the first signal.

[0006] In a second aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, which includes: a second device receiving first indication information sent by a first device; and according to the first indication information, the second device sending one or more placeholder signals; wherein the first indication information is used to instruct a second device to send the placeholder signals, the placeholder signals being sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal being a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal having an association relationship with the first signal.

[0007] In a third aspect, a wireless communication method is provided, which includes: based on a first signal, a third device sending a second signal after a first time length; wherein the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a first device, the communication device comprising: a first sending unit configured to send one or more placeholder signals and / or first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct a second device to send the placeholder signals, and the placeholder signals are sent within a first time duration between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal being a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a second device, the communication device comprising: a first receiving unit configured to receive first indication information sent by a first device; and a second sending unit configured to send one or more placeholder signals according to the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the second device to send the placeholder signals, and the placeholder signals are sent within a first time duration between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal being a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, the communication device being a third device, the communication device comprising: a third sending unit configured to send a second signal based on a first signal with a first time duration interval, wherein the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store one or more computer programs, and the processor being configured to invoke the computer programs in the memory to cause the terminal device to perform some or all of the steps in the methods of the various aspects.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, the memory being configured to store one or more computer programs, and the processor being configured to invoke the computer programs in the memory to cause the network device to perform some or all of the steps in the methods of the various aspects.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the system comprising any one or more of the communication devices described above. In another possible design, the system can further comprise other devices interacting with the communication devices described above in the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, and the computer program causing a communication device to perform some or all of the steps in the methods of the various aspects.

[0015] In a eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product. The computer program product includes a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program operable to cause a communication device to perform some or all of the steps in the methods of any of the aspects described above. In some implementations, the computer program product can be a software installation package.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip. The chip includes a memory and a processor. The processor can invoke and run a computer program from the memory to implement some or all of the steps described in the methods of any of the aspects described above.

[0017] Due to the transmission of the placeholder signal, the channel is difficult to be preempted by devices other than the third device within the first time length. That is, the channel can be protected by the placeholder signal to avoid being preempted by devices other than the third device. Therefore, even if the third device is a device with low complexity, after the transmission of the first signal, the third device needs a long processing time. Through the placeholder signal, it can be ensured that the channel will not be listened to and judged as idle by other devices within the processing time, so that the third device can use the channel to transmit the second signal after the processing time ends. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applied.

[0019] FIG. 2A is an example diagram of an interframe space (IFS).

[0020] FIG. 2B is an example diagram of an interaction between an access point (AP) and an ambient powered station (AMP STA).

[0021] FIG. 2C is an example diagram of another interaction between an AP and an AMP STA.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of another wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] FIG. 5 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG. 6 is an example diagram of another communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG. 7 is an example diagram of another communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0027] FIG. 8 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0028] FIG. 9 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0029] FIG. 10 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG. 11 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0031] FIG. 12 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0032] FIG. 13 is an example diagram of a communication process for transmitting a placeholder signal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0033] FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0036] FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for communication according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0038] Communication system

[0039] FIG. 1 is a wireless communication system 100 to which embodiments of the present application are applied. The wireless communication system 100 can include communication devices. The communication devices can include a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 can be a device that communicates with the terminal device 120.

[0040] FIG. 1 exemplarily shows one network device and two terminals. Alternatively, the wireless communication system 100 can include a plurality of network devices and each network device can include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0041] Alternatively, the wireless communication system 100 can further include a network controller, a mobility management entity, and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0042] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a 5th generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless fidelity (WiFi), a high performance radio local area network (HIPELAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the like. For another example, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a communication system using an 802.11 standard. Exemplarily, the 802.11 standard includes but is not limited to: an 802.11ax standard, an 802.11be standard, an 802.11bn standard, a post 802.11bn standard of the next generation of 802.11 standard, and the like. The technical solutions provided in the present application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as a 6th generation mobile communication system, a satellite communication system, and the like.

[0043] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user apparatus, or a STA. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity for a user, and can be used to connect people, things, and machines, such as handheld devices with wireless connection functions, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer (Pad), a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Optionally, the UE can be used to act as a base station. For example, the UE can act as a scheduling entity that provides sidelink signals between UEs in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) or device to device (D2D), etc. For example, a cellular phone and a car communicate with each other using sidelink signals. The cellular phone and the smart home device communicate with each other without relaying the communication signals through the base station.

[0044] The network device in the embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with a terminal device. The network device can also include an access network device. The access network device can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area and can communicate with terminal devices 120 located within the coverage area. The access network device can also be referred to as a radio access network device or a base station, etc. The access network device in the embodiments of the present application can refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that accesses a terminal device to a wireless network. The access network device can broadly cover or be replaced by various names as follows, such as: Node B (NodeB), evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), relay station, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master eNB (MeNB), secondary eNB (SeNB), multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), positioning node, etc. The base station can be a macro base station, a micro base station, a relay node, a donor node, or the like, or a combination thereof. The base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip used in the aforementioned device or apparatus. The base station can also be a mobile switching center and a device that performs the function of a base station in D2D, V2X, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a network side device in a 6G network, a device that performs the function of a base station in a future communication system, etc. The base station can support networks of the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the access network device.

[0045] The base station can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move according to the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or a drone can be configured to serve as a device that communicates with another base station.

[0046] The AP and the STA are described in detail below.

[0047] In embodiments of the present application, the name of the AP and / or the STA is not limited. In some scenarios, the AP can also be referred to as an AP STA, that is, in a certain sense, the AP is also a kind of STA. In other scenarios, the STA can also be referred to as a non-AP STA (non-AP STA).

[0048] In addition, in embodiments of the present application, the STA can also be a terminal device in an internet of things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection. In embodiments of the present application, the IoT technology can achieve massive connection, deep coverage and terminal power saving through, for example, narrow band (NB) technology.

[0049] In addition, in embodiments of the present application, the STA can be a device in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system. The communication mode in the V2X system is collectively referred to as V2X (X represents anything). For example, the V2X communication includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0050] In addition, in embodiments of the present application, the STA can also include a smart printer, a train detector, a gas station sensor, etc. The main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal device), receiving control information and downlink data of the AP, and transmitting electromagnetic waves to transmit data to the AP.

[0051] In addition, the AP in embodiments of the present application can be a device for communicating with the STA. The AP can be a network device in a wireless local area network, and the AP can be used for communicating with the STA through the wireless local area network.

[0052] From the perspective of the communication mode supported by the AP, in some implementation manners, the AP can be a device supporting the 802.11be mode. The AP can also be a device supporting multiple current and future WLAN modes of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a.

[0053] From the perspective of the communication standard supported by the STA, in some implementations, the non-AP STA can support the 802.11be standard. The non-AP STA can also support multiple current and future 802.11 family wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0054] In the embodiments of the present application, the frequency band supported by the WLAN technology is not limited. In some implementations, the frequency band supported by the WLAN technology can include, but is not limited to, a low-frequency frequency band (such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz), a high-frequency frequency band (such as 45 GHz, 60 GHz).

[0055] The network device and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; and can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons and satellites in the air. The scenario in which the network device and the terminal device are located is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0056] It should be understood that all or part of the functions of the communication device in the present application can also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform).

[0057] AMP device

[0058] With the increasing application of the communication (such as 5G or WiFi) industry, the types and application scenarios of connected objects are increasing, and there will be higher requirements for the price and power consumption of communication terminals. The application of battery-free, low-cost passive Internet of Things devices has become a key technology for the Internet of Things (such as cellular Internet of Things). Passive Internet of Things devices can enrich the types and quantities of network link terminals and truly realize the interconnection of all things. Passive Internet of Things devices can be based on zero-power technology (such as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology) and extended on this basis to be suitable for the Internet of Things.

[0059] For example, many communication standards are studying how to support AMP devices in NR systems or WiFi systems. The device can be referred to as an AMP device, an AMP IoT device. In the WiFi system, the AMP device can also be referred to as an AMP STA. The energy required for the operation of the AMP device is derived from environmental energy collection, and the source of environmental energy can be wireless signals, solar energy, thermal energy, etc. Such devices are similar to passive or semi-passive zero-power terminals in zero-power communication.

[0060] For the convenience of understanding the AMP device, the zero-power terminal is first described below.

[0061] Based on the energy source and the use mode of the zero-power terminal, the zero-power terminal can be classified into the following types: passive zero-power terminal, semi-passive zero-power terminal and active zero-power terminal. The following will be described respectively.

[0062] 1) Passive zero-power terminal

[0063] The zero-power terminal does not need to be internally provided with a battery. When the zero-power terminal approaches a network device (such as a reader of an RFID system), the zero-power terminal is in the near field range formed by the antenna radiation of the network device. Therefore, the antenna of the zero-power terminal generates an induced current through electromagnetic induction, and the induced current drives the low-power chip circuit of the zero-power terminal. The zero-power terminal realizes the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal and other work. For the backscatter link, the zero-power terminal uses the backscatter implementation mode to transmit signals.

[0064] It can be seen that the passive zero-power terminal does not need to be internally provided with a battery to drive, and is a truly zero-power terminal.

[0065] The passive zero-power terminal does not need a battery, and the radio frequency circuit and the baseband circuit are very simple, for example, do not need a low noise amplifier (LNA), a power amplifier (PA), a crystal oscillator, a digital to analog converter (ADC) and other periods, and therefore has many advantages such as small size, light weight, very cheap price and long service life.

[0066] 2) Semi-passive zero-power terminal

[0067] The semi-passive zero-power terminal itself does not install a conventional battery, but can use an energy harvesting module to harvest environmental energy such as wireless radio frequency signal energy, and store the harvested energy in an energy storage unit (such as a capacitor). After the energy storage unit obtains energy, it can drive the low-power chip circuit of the zero-power terminal. The zero-power terminal realizes the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal and other work. For the backscatter link, the zero-power terminal can use the backscatter mode or the active transmission mode to realize the transmission of signals.

[0068] It can be seen that the semi-passive zero-power terminal does not need to be internally provided with a battery to drive, although the energy stored in the capacitor is used in the work, but the energy is derived from the environmental energy harvested by the energy harvesting module, and therefore it is also a truly zero-power terminal.

[0069] Semi-passive zero-power terminal inherits many advantages of passive zero-power terminal, so it has many advantages such as small size, light weight, very cheap price, long service life and so on.

[0070] 3) Active zero-power terminal

[0071] Some zero-power terminals used in some scenarios can also be active zero-power terminals, which can be built-in with a battery. The battery is used to drive the low-power chip circuit of the zero-power terminal. It can realize the demodulation of the forward link signal and the modulation of the backward link signal and other work. But for the backscatter link, the zero-power terminal uses the backscatter mode or the active transmission mode to realize the transmission of the signal. Although built-in battery, this kind of active zero-power terminal has very low power consumption and complexity, so it can have a battery with smaller capacity, thereby realizing smaller cost and size. The built-in battery can also be used as an energy storage unit to store the environmental energy collected by the energy harvesting module, thereby realizing a longer maintenance period or even maintenance-free.

[0072] Active zero-power terminal, built-in battery for power supply, to increase the communication distance of the zero-power terminal, improve the reliability of communication. Therefore, it can be applied in some scenarios with relatively high requirements on communication distance, reading delay and other aspects.

[0073] As described above, many communication standards are researching on AMP devices. For example, the RAN of 3GPP has carried out a research project on ambient IoT devices. AMP devices can be roughly divided into three types, each with corresponding complexity and communication ability. The three types are device A, device B and device C.

[0074] Device A does not have energy storage capability and cannot send independent signals, that is, it uses backscatter transmission mode.

[0075] Device B has energy storage capability and cannot send independent signals, that is, it uses backscatter transmission mode, and can amplify the backscatter signal using stored energy.

[0076] Device C has energy storage capability and can send independent signals, that is, it has active transmission capability.

[0077] Device A has the lowest complexity and power consumption, which can be as low as 1 μW, but its communication distance is limited, generally only a few meters. Device A needs a network device to provide a carrier signal for backscattering transmission. Device C generally has a large-capacity capacitor to store energy from the environment, and its power consumption can support several hundred μW, which can support active signal transmission and has a larger communication distance. Device C does not need a network device to provide a carrier signal because it can actively transmit. The complexity and power consumption of device B are between those of device A and device C.

[0078] In addition, the energy harvesting supported by the zero-power terminal can also have multiple types, such as wireless radio frequency, solar energy, thermal energy, mechanical energy, etc. Among them, the zero-power terminal based on wireless radio frequency energy harvesting may need the network to provide a wireless radio frequency energy signal.

[0079] The AMP device can be used in one or more of the following scenarios: object identification, environmental monitoring, positioning, intelligent control, etc.

[0080] Object identification may include one or more of the following, for example: logistics, production line product management, supply chain management, etc.

[0081] Environmental monitoring may include one or more of the following, for example: temperature, humidity, harmful gas monitoring of working environment, natural environment, etc.

[0082] Positioning may include one or more of the following, for example: indoor positioning, intelligent search, production line article positioning, etc.

[0083] Intelligent control may include one or more of the following, for example: intelligent control of various appliances in smart home (turning on / off air conditioner, adjusting temperature), intelligent control of various facilities in agricultural greenhouse (automatic irrigation, fertilization).

[0084] Channel access mechanism

[0085] The channel access mechanism is a method for managing and controlling wireless resources in a wireless communication network. This mechanism can ensure that multiple users or devices can share limited wireless resources fairly and effectively.

[0086] In some communication protocols (e.g. 802.11), the basic channel access protocol is distributed coordination function (DCF). DCF can make different compatible STA devices share the use of the channel through carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) mechanism, and reduce the probability of collision.

[0087] DCF mainly includes the following core mechanisms: carrier sensing mechanism, IFS mechanism, random backoff mechanism and request to send / clear to send (RTS / CTS) handshake mechanism. The following are described respectively.

[0088] Carrier sensing mechanism

[0089] The carrier sensing mechanism is divided into physical carrier sensing and virtual carrier sensing. If the result of any sensing indicates that the channel is busy, the channel is busy.

[0090] Physical carrier sensing adopts three channel idle detection methods: energy detection, carrier detection and energy-carrier hybrid detection, collectively referred to as CCA. Energy detection is to judge the energy size of the received signal. When the received power is greater than the physical layer specified threshold ED_threshold, it is considered that the channel is occupied. Carrier detection is to detect the preamble part of the signal in the channel, and judge whether the channel is occupied according to the detection result.

[0091] Virtual carrier sensing mechanism is provided by medium access control (MAC), some communication standards (such as 802.11) use network allocation vector (NAV) to realize virtual sensing. The "duration" stored in the Dur / ID field in the MAC frame. To the STA receiving this information, judge the time when the channel will be occupied, determine the time of its own transmission needs to delay. NAV is a timer, used to define how long the current channel needs to be occupied, the start value is the duration of the last received frame, countdown to 0 end. Each listening STA uses the NAV timer, when data communication, the STA occupying the channel will inform other STAs through the duration field in the frame how long it needs to use, and the STA not acquiring the channel updates its own NAV value by comparing the duration value in the received packet. When the NAV value is 0, and the physical carrier sensing indicates that the channel is idle, it is considered that the current channel is in idle state.

[0092] IFS mechanism

[0093] In order to avoid collision as much as possible, some communication standards (such as 802.11) stipulate that all stations must wait for a very short time (continue to listen) before sending the next frame after completing the transmission. This period of time is commonly known as interframe space. The length of the interframe space depends on the type of frame to be transmitted by the station. High priority frames need to wait for a shorter time, so they can have priority to obtain the right to send, but low priority frames must wait for a longer time. If the low priority frame has not yet had time to send and other high priority frames have been sent to the medium, the medium becomes busy and the low priority frame can only be delayed again. This reduces the chance of collision.

[0094] IFS provides different priorities for wireless medium access, different priorities are divided according to the length of IFS, the shorter the time, the higher the corresponding priority, the main interframe spaces are: SIFS, priority interframe space (PIFS), distributed coordination function (DCF) interframe space (DIFS), extended interframe space (EIFS). The time of interframe space from small to large is: SIFS, PIFS, DIFS, EIFS.

[0095] SIFS is the shortest interval of time used to separate frames that require an immediate response, such as control frames (including RTS / CTS / ACK frames, etc.). The use of the shortest interval between two transmissions in a frame exchange sequence prevents other stations that are waiting for the medium from attempting to use the medium.

[0096] In the event of an error in the previous frame, the transmitting node has to delay the EIFS instead of the DIFS period before retransmitting the next frame.

[0097] In the channel access mechanism, SIFS is the shortest IFS between transmissions by different STAs. SIFS should be used when a STA acquires the medium and needs to hold the medium during the performance of a frame exchange sequence. SIFS is the smallest transmission gap used within a frame exchange sequence, which prevents other STAs from attempting to use the medium because the other STAs have to wait for a longer gap to determine that the medium is idle, thus giving the STA priority to complete the ongoing frame exchange sequence.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 2A, the IFSs are ordered from smallest to largest as SIFS, PIFS, and DIFS. In the DCF protocol, a station assesses whether the channel is idle with a DIFS length, thus performing backoff. Since SIFS is smaller than the length of DIFS, the use of SIFS interval for frame exchange prevents other stations that are using DIFS for channel assessment from determining that the channel is idle based on the results of sensing the channel for the DIFS time, thus maintaining channel occupancy.

[0099] The length of SIFS varies in different 802.11 technologies, and the length depends on the parameters of the physical layer and MAC layer of different 802.11 technologies. The SIFS length includes the following parts: aSIFSTime = aRxPHYDelay + aMACProcessingDelay + aRxTxTurnaroundTime. Wherein, aRxPHYDelay is the physical layer (PHY) receiving delay, aMACProcessingDelay is the MAC processing delay, and aRxTxTurnaroundTime is the receiving and transmitting turnaround time. These parameters are determined based on the implementation and depend on the capabilities of the device. However, the protocol still specifies the value of SIFS of different 802.11 technologies. For example, for S1G PHY, the value of SIFS can be 160 μs; for directional multi-gigabit (DMG), China millimeter-wave multiple gigabit (CMMG) PHY, the value of SIFS can be 3 μs; for direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), the value of SIFS can be 10 μs; for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) PHY, the value of SIFS can be 16 μs / 32 μs / 64 μs; for high-throughput (HT) PHY, when operating at 2.4 GHz, SIFS can be 10 μs, and when operating at 5 GHz, SIFS can be 16 μs.

[0100] Random backoff mechanism

[0101] Some communication standards, such as 802.11, use a binary exponential backoff method to determine the time a node needs to backoff when a transmission fails or a collision occurs. When a MAC layer has a frame to transmit, after both physical carrier sensing and virtual carrier sensing indicate that the channel is idle, if the backoff window count is not zero, the count is then decreased by one slot time. Otherwise, a backoff window is randomly generated and the node backs off for the backoff window. The node selects a random number as a reference to determine the backoff counter in the contention window. After the backoff time is selected, a backoff timer is set. The value of the contention window is a parameter value between the minimum contention window (CWmin) and the maximum contention window (CWmax) and is used to determine the range of the backoff counter. The station continuously senses the channel for the slot time. If the channel is detected to be idle, the backoff timer is decreased by one. If the channel is detected to be busy, the remaining time of the backoff timer is frozen and the station waits for the channel to become idle again and then waits for DIFS before continuing to count down from the remaining time. When the backoff timer reaches zero, the entire data frame is transmitted.

[0102] RTS / CTS Handshake

[0103] The RTS / CTS protocol is a mechanism used by some communication protocols, such as the 802.11 protocol, to reduce collisions caused by the hidden node problem. The basic idea of the RTS / CTS mechanism is to reserve the channel with short control packets. If a transmitting station wants to send a message to a receiving station, it first sends an RTS control frame. Stations around the transmitting station set their NAV values according to the duration field after receiving the RTS control frame. The receiving station sends a CTS control frame after receiving the RTS control frame. Stations around the receiving station set their NAV values according to the duration field after receiving the CTS control frame. Stations with a NAV value of zero can perform idle sensing and avoid collisions with the transmission between the transmitting station and the receiving station.

[0104] As technology evolves, the types of communication devices are becoming more diverse. In some types of communication devices, the interval between the signals exchanged can be long. For example, for some types of communication devices, the interval between frames can exceed SIFS. During this interval, other stations can consider the channel to be idle and can seize the channel, resulting in a loss of the channel and preventing the signals of the type of communication device from being transmitted in time. The following describes a problem that can occur in the communication of an AMP device.

[0105] When the AMP device transmits, the interval between the starting time of the transmission of the AMP device and the ending time of the previous transmission signal needs to be SIFS. Take FIG. 2B as an example. In order to realize the uplink transmission of the AMP STA, the AP needs to perform channel access. After the AP obtains the transmission opportunity, the AP can send a trigger or grant frame to schedule resources for the uplink transmission of the AMP STA. As shown in FIG. 2B, if the starting time of the uplink transmission of the AMP STA is separated from the ending time of the trigger frame by SIFS, it can be ensured that the channel will not be preempted by other stations.

[0106] However, due to the power consumption limitation of the AMP device, it has a low complexity requirement. Due to the low complexity of the AMP device, it can not be able to complete the processing procedures such as physical layer reception, MAC layer processing and transceiver switching within the SIFS period, thereby possibly causing the interval between the starting time of the transmission of the AMP device and the ending time of the previous signal (i.e. the IFS required by the AMP device) to be greater than SIFS. In the case where the interval is greater than SIFS, other stations can determine that the channel is idle through channel listening during the interval, thereby obtaining channel occupation, causing the AMP device to be unable to use the medium for transmission. In this application, the IFS required by the AMP device can be referred to as AMP-IFS. As shown in FIG. 2C, the AMP-IFS is greater than SIFS, and it is possible to be evaluated as channel idle by other stations during the AMP-IFS, thereby obtaining channel occupation.

[0107] Exemplarily, the receiver of the AMP device can only support simple modulation and demodulation modes such as ASK, FSK, and cannot support OFDM. For the use of the unlicensed spectrum, in order to ensure the fairness of channel use, the AMP device also needs to perform corresponding CCA to determine whether the channel is idle if it needs to occupy the channel for data transmission. Meanwhile, the CSMA / CA mechanism also needs to be supported to be compatible with and coexist with the devices in the related art. Taking the WiFi system as an example, the channel occupation of the AMP device needs to support the DCF protocol, which requires that the AMP device can detect the existing PPDU frame based on OFDM transmission to meet the physical and virtual carrier sensing, and support the RTS / CTS mechanism. This is impossible for the AMP device. A solution is that the AP or other STA compatible with the CSMA / CA mechanism performs channel access, and shares the obtained transmission opportunity (TXOP) with the AMP STA for uplink transmission, so as to avoid the AMP STA to perform channel access. This requires that the starting time of the transmission of the AMP STA and the interval between the end time of the trigger frame sent by the device that obtains access and the starting time of the transmission of the AMP STA is SIFS. As described above, due to the low complexity of the AMP device, the AMP device can not complete some processing procedures within the SIFS time, so that the interval between the starting time of the transmission of the AMP device and the end time of the trigger frame sent by the device that obtains access is greater than SIFS, and other stations can determine that the channel is idle through channel sensing during this period, and obtain channel occupation, thereby causing the AMP device to be unable to use the TXOP for transmission.

[0108] FIG. 3 is a wireless communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application to solve the above problem. The method shown in FIG. 3 can be performed by the first device and / or the second device.

[0109] The first device can include a network device. In the present application, the network device can include an AP in a WiFi system or a base station in a cellular system, etc.

[0110] The second device can include a terminal device or a network device. The terminal device can include a STA compatible with the CSMA / CA mechanism, for example.

[0111] The method shown in FIG. 3 can include step S310 and / or step S320.

[0112] In step S310, the first device sends one or more padding signals.

[0113] The placeholder signal can be transmitted in the first time duration. The first time duration can be a time duration between the first signal and the second signal, i.e., the first time duration can be a time duration between an ending time of the first signal and a starting time of the second signal.

[0114] During the transmission of the placeholder signal, other communication devices can detect that the channel is occupied, so as not to preempt the channel in the first time duration, thereby enabling the second device to transmit the second signal in the channel. For example, in a case where a device (e.g., the third device and / or a device coexisting with the third device) detects the placeholder signal, the device can determine that the channel is busy, i.e., the channel cannot be preempted.

[0115] The first signal can be a signal transmitted by the first device, or a signal transmitted by a device other than the first device.

[0116] The second signal can be transmitted by the third device. The third device can be a device with low complexity. For example, the third device can include a zero-power terminal. For another example, the third device can include an AMP device (e.g., an AMP IoT device) or an AMP STA.

[0117] As shown in FIG. 4, the third device can perform step S410. In step S410, based on the first signal, the third device transmits the second signal after a first time duration.

[0118] The following is described by taking FIG. 5 as an example. The communication process shown in FIG. 5 includes steps S510-S530.

[0119] In step S510, the first device transmits a first signal to the third device. A time duration between an ending time of the first signal and a starting time of a second signal is a first time duration.

[0120] In step S520, the first device transmits a placeholder signal to the third device. The first device can transmit the placeholder signal starting from the ending time of the first signal. The transmission of the placeholder signal can end before step S530. That is, the placeholder signal is transmitted in the first time duration shown in FIG. 5.

[0121] In step S530, the third device transmits the second signal to the first device.

[0122] The first signal and the second signal can have an association relationship. The association relationship can include one or more of the following: the first signal can be used to trigger transmission of the second signal; the second signal is transmitted in response to the first signal; and the second signal is transmitted in succession to the first signal.

[0123] For example, the first signal can be used to trigger the third device to send the second signal. The following is illustrated by taking FIG. 6 as an example. In FIG. 6, the first device comprises an AP, and the third device comprises an AMP STA. As shown in FIG. 6, the first signal can be used to send a trigger frame. The second signal can be used to transmit data of the third device. The trigger frame can be used to trigger the third device to send the data. It can be seen that, after the trigger frame is sent, the AP sends a placeholder signal before the data triggered by the trigger frame is sent.

[0124] For another example, the first signal can be used to issue an authorization to the third device. Based on the authorization of the first signal, the third device can perform transmission of the second signal.

[0125] For another example, the second signal can be an acknowledgement (Ack) signal for the first signal. The third device can send the acknowledgement signal to feed back whether the first signal is correctly received by the third device.

[0126] For another example, a plurality of signals are sent in succession between the third device and the sender of the first signal, that is, the third device and the sender of the first signal alternately send signals to each other to interact information. In this case, the second signal can be sent in succession to the first signal, that is, the second signal needs to be sent after the first signal. Exemplarily, the first signal and the second signal can correspond to two frames in succession in a frame exchange sequence.

[0127] In step S320, the first device sends first indication information. The second device receives the first indication information.

[0128] The first indication information can be used to instruct the second device to send a placeholder signal. The method shown in FIG. 3 can further comprise step S330. In step S330, according to the first indication information, the second device sends one or more placeholder signals.

[0129] Therefore, the first device can control the second device to send a placeholder signal. The second device can be a third device when the first device and the third device interact information.

[0130] It should be noted that, if the first device instructs the second device to send a placeholder signal, the first device can send a placeholder signal, or can not send a placeholder signal.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first indication information can be used to indicate one or more of: a starting time of the one or more placeholder signals sent by the second device, an ending time of the one or more placeholder signals sent by the second device, a total time length of the one or more placeholder signals sent by the second device, a difference between the ending time and the starting time of the one or more placeholder signals sent by the second device, a number of the placeholder signals sent by the second device, a time length of a time gap within the first time length, a number of time gaps within the first time length, etc. The time gap will be described in detail later.

[0132] Those skilled in the art can understand that although the first device sends the placeholder signal is mainly described in the following, the embodiments can also be applied to the case where the second device sends the placeholder signal, and the sender of the placeholder signal is replaced by the second device.

[0133] The following will be described taking FIG. 7 as an example. The communication process shown in FIG. 7 can include steps S710-S740.

[0134] In step S710, the first device sends a first signal to the third device.

[0135] In step S720, the first device sends first indication information to the second device. The first device can send the first indication information to the second device after the first signal is sent.

[0136] In step S730, the second device sends a placeholder signal according to the indication of the first indication information. The sending of the placeholder signal can end before step S740. That is, the placeholder signal can be sent within the first time length shown in FIG. 7.

[0137] In step S740, the third device sends a second signal to the first device. The second signal is sent after the first signal by the first time length.

[0138] Due to the transmission of the placeholder signal, within the first time length, the channel is difficult to be occupied by devices other than the third device. That is, through the placeholder signal, the channel can be protected to avoid being occupied by devices other than the third device. Therefore, even if the third device is a device with low complexity, after the first signal is transmitted, the third device needs a long processing time, and through the placeholder signal, it can be ensured that the channel will not be listened to and judged as idle within the processing time, so that the third device can use the channel to transmit the second signal after the processing time ends.

[0139] In some embodiments, one or more time gaps can be included between the first signal and the second signal. There can be no signal transmission within the time gap. That is, the time gap can be the time of signal interruption. For example, the placeholder signal can not be transmitted in the time gap.

[0140] The time gap can be used to make the total time length of the one or more placeholder signals less than the first time length, thereby avoiding continuous sending of the placeholder signals within the first time length, and thereby reducing the energy consumption of sending the placeholder signals.

[0141] In some embodiments, the one or more time gaps can include one or more of the following: a first time gap, a second time gap, a third time gap, a fourth time gap.

[0142] The first time gap can represent a time gap between the plurality of placeholder signals. As shown in FIG. 8, two placeholder signals can be sent within the first time length, and the time gap between the two placeholder signals is the first time gap. Alternatively, N placeholder signals can be sent within the first time length, and N-1 first time gaps can be included between the N placeholder signals. Wherein N can be greater than or equal to 2. The N-1 first time gaps can be the same or different. For example, the length of the N-1 first time gaps can each be the second time length.

[0143] The second time gap can represent a time gap between the start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal. As shown in FIG. 9, at the end time of the first signal, the first device can not immediately send the placeholder signal, but send the placeholder signal after a second time gap.

[0144] The third time gap can be used to represent a time gap between the end time of the one or more placeholder signals and the second signal. As shown in FIG. 10, the end time of the one or more placeholder signals can be earlier than the start time of the second signal. The time gap between the end time of the placeholder signal and the start time of the second signal is the third time gap.

[0145] The fourth time gap can be used to represent a time gap between the start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first indication information. As shown in FIG. 11, at the end time of the first indication information, the second device can not immediately send the placeholder signal, but send the placeholder signal after a fourth time gap.

[0146] In the first time length, multiple ones of the first time gap, the second time gap, the third time gap, or the fourth time gap can occur. That is, different types of time gaps can occur simultaneously in the first time length.

[0147] As shown in FIG. 12, the first time length can include a second time interval and a third time interval.

[0148] As shown in FIG. 13, the first time length can include a first time interval, a second time interval, and a third time interval.

[0149] In some embodiments, the time gap satisfies one or more of the following: the first time gap is equal to 0; the second time gap is equal to 0; the third time gap is equal to 0. In other words, one or more of the first time gap, the second time gap, and the third time gap can not exist within the first duration.

[0150] It should be noted that the case where the first time gap is equal to 0 can be understood as that only one placeholder signal is sent within the first duration. The case where the second time gap is equal to 0 can be understood as that the placeholder signal is continuously sent after the first signal. The case where the third time gap is equal to 0 can be understood as that the sending of the placeholder signal ends at the starting moment of the sending of the second signal.

[0151] As shown in FIG. 5, the first time gap, the second time gap, and the third time gap are all equal to 0 within the first duration, i.e., the first time gap, the second time gap, and the third time gap do not exist within the first duration. As shown in FIG. 8, the second time gap and the third time gap are both equal to 0 within the first duration, i.e., the second time gap and the third time gap do not exist within the first duration. As shown in FIG. 9, the first time gap and the third time gap are both equal to 0 within the first duration, i.e., the first time gap and the third time gap do not exist within the first duration. As shown in FIG. 10, the first time gap and the second time gap are both equal to 0 within the first duration, i.e., the first time gap and the second time gap do not exist within the first duration.

[0152] As can be known from the first time gap, the second time gap, the third time gap, or the fourth time gap, the time gap can exist before, after, or in the middle of the placeholder signal.

[0153] In some embodiments, the time gap can be less than or equal to the second duration. For example, the first time gap can be less than or equal to the second duration. For another example, the second time gap can be less than or equal to the second duration. For another example, the third time gap can be less than or equal to the second duration. For another example, the fourth time gap can be less than or equal to the second duration.

[0154] The second duration can be determined based on a duration (e.g., DIFS) in which the communication device evaluates whether a channel is busy. Alternatively, the second duration can be determined based on an IFS (e.g., DIFS or SIFS) in the related art.

[0155] For example, the second duration can be SIFS, i.e., the time gap needs to be less than or equal to SIFS. In the case where the time gap is less than SIFS, even in the time gap where no placeholder signal is sent, the channel will not be preempted by other devices within the first duration.

[0156] For another example, the second time duration can be DIFS, i.e., the time gap is less than or equal to DIFS. As described above, in some communication protocols (e.g., DCF), a station can evaluate whether the channel is idle by the length of DIFS to perform backoff. Therefore, in the case that the time gap is less than or equal to DIFS, the channel will not be pre-empted by other devices within the first time duration.

[0157] Any two of the first time gap, the second time gap, the third time gap, or the fourth time gap can be the same or different, which is not limited in the application. For example, at least two of the first time gap, the second time gap, the third time gap, or the fourth time gap can be the second time duration.

[0158] It should be noted that, in the case that the first time duration includes multiple time gaps, at least two of the multiple time gaps cannot be continuous. For example, in the case that the time gap is SIFS, multiple non-continuous SIFSs can exist within the first time duration.

[0159] Based on the time duration of the time gap, the length of the one or more placeholder signals can be determined. As shown in FIG. 9, the length of the placeholder signal can be the first time duration minus the second time gap. As shown in FIG. 10, the length of the placeholder signal can be the first time duration minus the third time gap. As shown in FIG. 12, the length of the placeholder signal can be the first time duration minus the second time gap minus the third time gap.

[0160] In some embodiments, the first time duration can be determined based on a processing delay of the third device to the first signal. The processing delay of the third device to the first signal can include one or more of the following: a PHY reception delay, a MAC processing delay, a transceiver switching time of the third device, etc.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first time duration can be an inter-frame space corresponding to the third device. For example, in the case that the third device is an AMP device, the first time duration can be an inter-frame space corresponding to the AMP device. In this case, the first time duration can be referred to as AMP-IFS.

[0162] Optionally, the inter-frame space corresponding to the third device can be determined based on a time duration between a time instant at which the third device receives the first signal and a time instant at which the third device is able to transmit a signal. As described above, for an AMP device, the time duration between the time instant at which the first signal is received and the time instant at which the signal is able to be transmitted (e.g., including a PHY reception delay, a MAC processing delay, and a transceiver switching time of the third device) can be relatively long, e.g., greater than SIFS. For this case, the AMP-IFS described above is proposed, so that the length of the inter-frame space is more in line with the characteristics of the AMP device, thereby meeting the transmission requirements of the AMP device.

[0163] In some embodiments, the first time duration can satisfy one or more of the following: a fixed value, determined based on capability and / or type of the third device, determined based on devices coexisting with the third device.

[0164] As a possible implementation, the first time duration can be fixed. For example, when coexisting with different 802.11 technologies, the same value of the first time duration is defined.

[0165] As a possible implementation, the first time duration is variable. For example, when coexisting with different 802.11 technologies, the corresponding value of the first time duration can be adopted. As described above, the length of SIFS in the related art can be different for different 802.11 technologies, and in order to coexist with the corresponding 802.11 technology, the first time duration can adopt the corresponding value.

[0166] As a possible implementation, the first time duration can be related to the capability or type of the third device. Different types of third devices can have different processing capabilities. The size of the first time duration can be determined according to the capability of the third device. For example, the first time duration of a high-capability third device is shorter than that of a low-capability third device.

[0167] Based on the above manner, the first device can determine the size of the first time duration, determine the transmission time and / or length of the placeholder signal, so as to realize accurate transmission of the placeholder signal. For example, the first device can determine the time length of the placeholder signal based on the size relationship between the first time duration and the time gap value, and the sending manner of the placeholder signal, so as to send the placeholder signal by itself and / or instruct the second device to send the placeholder signal.

[0168] In some embodiments, the format of the placeholder signal can adopt a compatible signal format. The compatible signal format can be a signal format that can be detected by devices coexisting with the third device and / or the third device. Wherein, the detection can be realized by physical carrier sensing, for example. The devices coexisting with the third device can include STAs in 802.11 technologies, for example.

[0169] In some embodiments, the compatible signal format can include one or more of the following: a compatible preamble of PPDU, a compatible MAC header, a compatible physical layer technology.

[0170] For example, the placeholder signal can be a preamble defined by the PPDU of the coexisting 802.11 technology, so as to facilitate the STA supporting the 802.11 technology to detect that the channel is busy through physical carrier sensing.

[0171] For another example, the placeholder signal can adopt a signal format corresponding to the 802.11 technology coexisting with the AMP STA. Exemplarily, the compatible signal format can include one or more of the following: OFDM, DSSS, and the like.

[0172] For another example, the placeholder signal can adopt a signal format corresponding to the 802.11bp technology, i.e., a signal format that can be detected by the AMP STA. Exemplarily, the compatible signal format can include one or more of the following: OOK, FSK, PSK, and the like modulated signal format. In the case where the third device includes the AMP STA, the placeholder signal adopting the signal format can be used to help the AMP STA determine the time instant of transmitting the second signal.

[0173] In some embodiments, the placeholder signal can include an indication signal. The indication signal can be used to indicate the ending time instant of the placeholder signal. When the third device detects the indication signal, the third device can start transmission after a short time delay (e.g., a third time gap). Taking FIG. 12 as an example, the third device starts transmitting the second signal after the third time gap at the end of the placeholder signal. The third time gap can be SIFS. In this case, the processing time delay of the third device for the indication signal in the placeholder signal can be less than the processing time delay for the first signal. For example, the third device can not perform MAC layer processing for the indication signal in the placeholder signal, so as to start transmission after a short time delay (compared with the first time length) at the end of the placeholder signal.

[0174] The method embodiments of the present application are described in detail above, and the device embodiments of the present application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the description of the method embodiments and the description of the device embodiments correspond to each other, and therefore, the parts not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments described above.

[0175] FIG. 14 is a schematic structure of a communication device 1400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1400 is a first device. The communication device 1400 includes a first sending unit 1410.

[0176] The first sending unit 1410 is configured to send one or more placeholder signals and / or first indication information. The first indication information is used to instruct a second device to send the placeholder signal, the placeholder signal is sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal is a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0177] In some embodiments, one or more time gaps are included between the first signal and the second signal, and the time gap is less than or equal to a second time length.

[0178] In some embodiments, the one or more time gaps comprise one or more of: a first time gap for representing a time gap between the plurality of placeholder signals; a second time gap for representing a time gap between a start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal; a third time gap for representing a time gap between an end time of the one or more placeholder signals and a start time of the second signal.

[0179] In some embodiments, the one or more time gaps satisfy one or more of: the first time gap is equal to 0; the second time gap is equal to 0; the third time gap is equal to 0.

[0180] In some embodiments, the second time duration is equal to SIFS.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first time duration is an inter-frame space corresponding to the third device.

[0182] In some embodiments, the first time duration satisfies one or more of: a fixed value, is determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

[0183] In some embodiments, the format of the placeholder signal adopts a compatible signal format.

[0184] In some embodiments, the compatible signal format comprises one or more of: a preamble of a compatible PPDU; a compatible MAC header; a compatible physical layer technology.

[0185] In some embodiments, the first signal is transmitted by the first device.

[0186] In some embodiments, the association relationship comprises: the first signal is used to trigger the second device to transmit the second signal.

[0187] In some embodiments, the first device comprises an AP.

[0188] In some embodiments, the third device comprises an environmental capable AMP device.

[0189] In optional embodiments, the first transmitting unit 1410 can be the transceiver 1730. The communication device 1400 can further comprise a processor 1710 and a memory 1720, as shown in FIG. 17.

[0190] FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1500 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device is a second device. The communication device comprises a first receiving unit 1510 and a second transmitting unit 1520.

[0191] The first receiving unit 1510 is configured to receive first indication information sent by a first device; and the second sending unit 1520 is configured to send one or more placeholder signals according to the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used to instruct a second device to send the placeholder signals, the placeholder signals are sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal is a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0192] In some embodiments, one or more time gaps are included between the first signal and the second signal, and the time gaps are less than or equal to a second time length.

[0193] In some embodiments, the one or more time gaps include one or more of the following: a first time gap, used to represent a time gap between the plurality of placeholder signals; a second time gap, used to represent a time gap between a start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal; and a third time gap, used to represent a time gap between an end time of the one or more placeholder signals and a start time of the second signal.

[0194] In some embodiments, the one or more time gaps satisfy one or more of the following: the first time gap is equal to 0; the second time gap is equal to 0; and the third time gap is equal to 0.

[0195] In some embodiments, the second time length is equal to SIFS.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first time length is an interframe space corresponding to the third device.

[0197] In some embodiments, the first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, and determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

[0198] In some embodiments, a format of the placeholder signal adopts a compatible signal format.

[0199] In some embodiments, the compatible signal format includes one or more of the following: a compatible preamble of a PPDU; a compatible MAC header; and a compatible physical layer technology.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first signal is sent by the first device.

[0201] In some embodiments, the association relationship includes that the first signal is used to trigger the second device to send the second signal.

[0202] In some embodiments, the first device includes an AP.

[0203] In some embodiments, the third device comprises an AMP device.

[0204] In optional embodiments, the first receiving unit 1510 and the second sending unit 1520 can be a transceiver 1730. The communication device 1500 can further include a processor 1710 and a memory 1720, as shown in FIG. 17.

[0205] FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1600 is a third device. The communication device 1600 includes a third sending unit 1610.

[0206] The third sending unit 1610 is configured to send a second signal based on a first signal, with an interval of a first time length; wherein the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first time length is an inter-frame interval for an AMP device.

[0208] In some embodiments, the first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, determined based on a capability and / or a type of the third device, determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

[0209] In optional embodiments, the third sending unit 1610 can be a transceiver 1730. The communication device 1600 can further include a processor 1710 and a memory 1720, as shown in FIG. 17.

[0210] FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an apparatus for communication according to an embodiment of the present application. The dashed line in FIG. 17 indicates that the unit or module is optional. The apparatus 1700 can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiments. The apparatus 1700 can be a chip, a terminal device, or a network device.

[0211] The apparatus 1700 can include one or more processors 1710. The processor 1710 can support the apparatus 1700 to implement the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The processor 1710 can be a general processor or a special-purpose processor. For example, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU). Alternatively, the processor can also be other general processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, etc. The general processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0212] The apparatus 1700 can also include one or more memories 1720. The memory 1720 stores a program that can be executed by the processor 1710, so that the processor 1710 performs the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments. The memory 1720 can be independent of the processor 1710 or integrated in the processor 1710.

[0213] The apparatus 1700 can also include a transceiver 1730. The processor 1710 can communicate with other devices or chips through the transceiver 1730. For example, the processor 1710 can perform data transceiving with other devices or chips through the transceiver 1730.

[0214] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium for storing a program. The computer readable storage medium can be applied to the terminal or network device provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the program causes the computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0215] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product. The computer program product includes a program. The computer program product can be applied to the terminal or network device provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the program causes the computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0216] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program. The computer program can be applied to the terminal or network device provided by the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program causes the computer to execute the method performed by the terminal or network device in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0217] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably in this application. In addition, the terms used in this application are only used to explain the specific embodiments of the application, and are not intended to limit the application. The terms "first", "second", "third", and "fourth" and the like in the specification and claims of the application and the drawings are used to distinguish different objects, and are not used to describe a particular order. In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0218] In embodiments of the present application, the term "indicate" can be direct indication or indirect indication, or can represent an associated relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that B can be obtained through A; or A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; or A and B have an associated relationship.

[0219] In embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that determining B according to A does not mean that B is determined only according to A, but B can also be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0220] In embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" can represent a direct or indirect corresponding relationship between the two, or can represent an associated relationship between the two, or can represent an indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, and the like.

[0221] In embodiments of the present application, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other information that can be used to indicate related information in devices (for example, including terminal devices and network devices), and the specific implementation manner of the present application is not limited. For example, predefinition can refer to definition in a protocol.

[0222] In embodiments of the present application, the "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, it can include LTE protocol, NR protocol and related protocols applied to future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0223] In embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is only used to describe the associated relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this paper generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after it.

[0224] In the embodiments of the present application, the "comprising" can mean directly comprising or indirectly comprising. Alternatively, the "comprising" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be replaced by "indicating" or "for determining". For example, A comprising B can be replaced by A indicating B, or A for determining B.

[0225] In various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial number of the above processes does not mean the order of execution, the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0226] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are only schematic, for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and actual implementation can have another division manner, for example, a plurality of units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the units shown or discussed can be indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, and can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0227] The units described as separate components can or can not be physically separate, and the components shown as units can or can not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed on multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

[0228] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically independently, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0229] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be read by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center and the like integrated with one or more available media sets. The available media can be magnetic media (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), optical media (for example, digital video disc (DVD)) or semiconductor media (for example, solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0230] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising: Comprising: The first device sends one or more placeholder signals and / or first indication information; The first indication information is used to instruct the second device to send the placeholder signals, the placeholder signals are sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal is a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, One or more time gaps are included between the first signal and the second signal, and the time gap is less than or equal to a second time length.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The one or more time gaps include one or more of the following: A first time gap, used to represent the time gap between the plurality of placeholder signals; A second time gap, used to represent the time gap between the start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal; A third time gap, used to represent the time gap between the end time of the one or more placeholder signals and the second signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The one or more time gaps satisfy one or more of the following: The first time gap is equal to 0; The second time gap is equal to 0; The third time gap is equal to 0.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The second time length is equal to a short interframe space SIFS.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The first time length is an interframe space corresponding to the third device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, is determined based on the capability and / or type of the third device, and is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The format of the placeholder signal adopts a compatible signal format.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The compatible signal format includes one or more of the following: A compatible physical layer protocol data unit PPDU preamble; A compatible medium access control MAC header; A compatible physical layer technology.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first signal is sent by the first device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The association relationship includes that the first signal is used to trigger the second device to send the second signal.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The first device includes an access point AP.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, The third device includes an environmental capable AMP device.

14. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising: Comprising: The second device receives first indication information sent by the first device; According to the first indication information, the second device sends one or more placeholder signals; The first indication information is used to instruct the second device to send the placeholder signals, the placeholder signals are sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal is a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, One or more time gaps are included between the first signal and the second signal, and the time gap is less than or equal to a second time length.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein, The one or more time gaps include one or more of the following: A first time gap, used to represent the time gap between the plurality of placeholder signals; A second time gap, used to represent the time gap between the start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal; A third time gap, used to represent the time gap between the end time of the one or more placeholder signals and the second signal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, The one or more time gaps satisfy one or more of the following: The first time gap is equal to 0; The second time gap is equal to 0; The third time interval is equal to 0.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized by, The second time length is equal to a short interframe space SIFS.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14-18, characterized by, The first time length is an interframe space corresponding to the third device.

20. The method of any one of claims 14-19, wherein, The first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, is determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14-20, characterized by, A format of the placeholder signal adopts a compatible signal format.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The compatible signal format includes one or more of the following: a preamble of a compatible physical layer protocol data unit PPDU; a compatible medium access control MAC header; a compatible physical layer technology.

23. The method of any one of claims 14-22, wherein, The first signal is sent by the first device.

24. The method of any one of claims 14-23, wherein, The association relationship includes that the first signal is used to trigger the second device to send the second signal.

25. The method of any one of claims 14-24, wherein, The first device includes an access point AP.

26. The method of any one of claims 14-25, wherein, The third device includes an environmental energy AMP device.

27. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising: Comprise: based on the first signal, interval first time length, the third device sends the second signal; wherein, the second signal and the first signal have an association relationship.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein, The first time length is an interframe space for the environmental energy AMP device.

29. The method of claim 27 or 28, wherein, The first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, is determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

30. A communications device, characterized by The communication device is a first device, and the communication device comprises: a first sending unit, configured to send one or more placeholder signals and / or first indication information; wherein, the first indication information is used to indicate a second device to send the placeholder signal, the placeholder signal is sent within a first time length between a first signal and a second signal, the second signal is a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

31. The communication device of claim 30, wherein, One or more time intervals are included between the first signal and the second signal, and the time interval is less than or equal to a second time length.

32. The communication device of claim 31, wherein, The one or more time intervals include one or more of the following: a first time interval, used to represent a time interval between the plurality of placeholder signals; a second time interval, used to represent a time interval between a starting time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal; a third time interval, used to represent a time interval between an ending time of the one or more placeholder signals and the second signal.

33. The communication device of claim 32, wherein, The one or more time intervals satisfy one or more of the following: The first time interval is equal to 0. The second time interval is equal to 0. The third time interval is equal to 0.

34. The communication device of any of claims 30-33, wherein, The second time length is equal to a short interframe space SIFS.

35. The communication device of any of claims 30-34, wherein, The first time length is an interframe space corresponding to the third device.

36. The communication device of any of claims 30-35, wherein, The first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, is determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

37. The communication device of any of claims 30-36, wherein, A format of the placeholder signal adopts a compatible signal format.

38. The communication device of claim 37, wherein, The compatible signal format includes one or more of the following: a preamble of a compatible physical layer protocol data unit PPDU; a compatible medium access control MAC header; a compatible physical layer technology.

39. The communication device of any of claims 30-38, wherein, The first signal is sent by the first device.

40. The communication device of any of claims 30-39, wherein, The association relationship includes that the first signal is used to trigger the second device to send the second signal.

41. The communication device of any of claims 30-40, wherein, The first device includes an access point (AP).

42. The communication device of any of claims 30-41, wherein, The third device includes an ambient energy (AMP) device.

43. A communications device, characterized by The communication device is a second device, and the communication device includes: a first receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information sent by a first device; a second sending unit, configured to send one or more placeholder signals according to the first indication information; The first indication information is used to instruct the second device to send the placeholder signal, the placeholder signal is sent within a first time length between the first signal and the second signal, the second signal is a signal sent by a third device, and the second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

44. The communication device of claim 43, wherein, The first signal and the second signal include one or more time gaps, and the time gap is less than or equal to a second time length.

45. The communication device of claim 44, wherein, The one or more time gaps include one or more of the following: a first time gap, used to represent a time gap between the plurality of placeholder signals; a second time gap, used to represent a time gap between a start time of the one or more placeholder signals and the first signal; a third time gap, used to represent a time gap between an end time of the one or more placeholder signals and the second signal.

46. The communication device of claim 45, wherein, The one or more time gaps satisfy one or more of the following: The first time gap is equal to 0; The second time gap is equal to 0; The third time gap is equal to 0.

47. The communication device of any of claims 44-46, wherein, The second time length is equal to a short interframe space (SIFS).

48. The communication device of any of claims 43-47, wherein, The first time length is an interframe space corresponding to the third device.

49. The communication device of any of claims 43-48, wherein, The first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, is determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, and is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

50. The communication device of any of claims 43-49, wherein, The format of the placeholder signal adopts a compatible signal format.

51. The communication device of claim 50, wherein, The compatible signal format includes one or more of the following: a preamble of a compatible physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU); a compatible medium access control (MAC) header; a compatible physical layer technology.

52. The communication device of any of claims 43-51, wherein, The first signal is sent by the first device.

53. The communication device of any of claims 43-52, wherein, The association relationship includes that the first signal is used to trigger the second device to send the second signal.

54. The communication device of any of claims 43-53, wherein, The first device includes an access point (AP).

55. The communication device of any of claims 43-54, wherein, The third device includes an ambient energy (AMP) device.

56. A communications device, comprising: The communication device is a third device, and the communication device includes: a third sending unit, configured to send a second signal at an interval of a first time length based on a first signal; The second signal has an association relationship with the first signal.

57. The communication device of claim 56, wherein, The first time length is an interframe space for an ambient energy (AMP) device.

58. The communication device of claim 56 or 57, wherein, The first time length satisfies one or more of the following: a fixed value, is determined based on a capability and / or type of the third device, and is determined based on a device coexisting with the third device.

59. A communications device, characterized by The communication device includes a transceiver, a memory, and a processor. The memory is configured to store a program, and the processor is configured to invoke the program in the memory and control the transceiver to receive or send a signal, so that the communication device performs the method in any one of claims 1-29.

60. An apparatus, comprising: comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-29.

61. A chip, comprising: comprising a processor for calling a program from a memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-29.

62. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, having a program stored thereon, the program causing a computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-29.

63. A computer program product, characterized in that, comprising a program for causing a computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-29.

64. A computer program characterised in that, the computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-29.

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