Communication method, and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and provides a communication method and an apparatus, which are used for reducing signaling overhead in the process of adjusting the sending rate of a sending device. The present application supports any protocol among IEEE protocols, or can also support a SparkLink / NearLink standard protocol. In the present application, a first communication device sends a first frame to a second communication device on a first frequency domain resource; the first communication device receives a second frame from the second communication device, the second frame comprising first information, and the first information being used for indicating the channel quality of part or all of the first frequency domain resource; and the first communication device adjusts the sending rate of the first communication device on the basis of the first information. In the present application, no additional measurement procedure needs to be added, thereby reducing unnecessary air interface occupation and signaling overhead.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411616449.0, filed on November 12, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0004] In Wi-Fi communication, the transmitting device needs to consider factors such as channel conditions and interference levels to select the optimal transmission rate to maximize throughput or achieve high stability. However, in actual communication, factors such as device movement and environmental changes can alter channel conditions, necessitating real-time adjustments to the optimal transmission rate. Therefore, ensuring the transmitting device achieves the optimal transmission rate amidst these changes becomes a critical issue in Wi-Fi communication.

[0005] Currently, transmitting devices can determine the message transmission rate based on a sounding process. For example, the transmitting device sends probe data to the receiving device, the receiving device measures the received probe data, and feeds back channel information (such as the signal-to-interference plus noise ratio, SINR) to the transmitting device. This method of determining the message transmission rate based on a sounding process consumes a significant amount of air interface time, resulting in high signaling overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing signaling overhead during the process of adjusting the transmission rate of a transmitting device.

[0007] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method. This method can be applied to a first communication device, a module (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system) within the first communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first communication device. Taking the application to the first communication device as an example, the method includes: the first communication device transmitting a first frame to a second communication device on a first frequency domain resource, wherein the first frame is not an NDP frame; the first communication device receiving a second frame from the second communication device, wherein the second frame includes first information, the first information being used to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource; and the first communication device adjusting its transmission rate according to the first information.

[0008] Optionally, the transmission rate of the first communication device adjusted according to the first information can be adjusted to the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0009] Using the above method, after the first communication device sends a first frame to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource, the second communication device can determine first information for indicating the channel quality of the first frequency domain resource based on the first frame, and feed back a second frame to the first communication device through the second frame. The first communication device can adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource based on the first information. Based on the transmission rate adjustment method provided in this application, no additional measurement process is required, thereby reducing unnecessary air interface occupation and lowering signaling overhead.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes at least one of the following: the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; and the channel quality corresponding to all first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0011] Using the above method, the feedback granularity of the first information from the second communication device to the first communication device can be at the first frequency domain resource granularity (or full-band granularity), where the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; or, the feedback granularity of the first information from the second communication device to the first communication device can be at the first resource unit granularity, where the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all first resource units in the first frequency domain resource. Thus, the first communication device can flexibly feed back the first information based on different feedback granularities.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the second frame is the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

[0013] Optionally, the acknowledgment frame can be a BA frame.

[0014] Using the above method, when the second communication device sends the first information back to the first communication device through the acknowledgment frame, since the acknowledgment frame is the reply frame corresponding to the first frame, the second communication device needs to return the acknowledgment frame to the first communication device after receiving the first frame. Therefore, when carrying the first information through the acknowledgment frame, no additional signaling is required, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the second frame further includes first MCS information, which is an MCS recommended by the second communication device.

[0016] Using the above method, the second frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device includes the first MCS information, and based on this, the second communication device feeds back the recommended first MCS information to the first communication device according to the received first frame.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate based on the first information and the first MCS information.

[0018] Optionally, the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate based on the first information and the first MCS information, which can be done by adjusting the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resources.

[0019] Using the above method, the second communication device feeds back recommended first MCS information to the first communication device based on the received first frame. After obtaining the first MCS information in the second frame, the first communication device can use the transmission rate in the first MCS information as the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource. Thus, based on the first MCS information fed back by the second communication device, the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource can be accurately adjusted.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the MCS recommended by the second communication device includes at least one of the following: the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0021] Using the above method, the feedback granularity of the first MCS information from the second communication device to the first communication device can be at the first frequency domain resource granularity (or full-band granularity), where the entire first frequency domain resource corresponds to one first MCS information, which is used to indicate the transmission rate of the first communication device on the first frequency domain resource; or, the feedback granularity of the first MCS information from the second communication device to the first communication device can be at the first resource unit granularity, where each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource corresponds to one first MCS information, which is used to indicate the transmission rate of the first communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource. Thus, the first communication device can flexibly feed back the first MCS information based on different feedback granularities.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on first information.

[0023] Using the above method, the first communication device can instruct the second communication device whether to feed back the first information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource, so that the second communication device can accurately determine whether to feed back the first information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource according to the first instruction information after receiving the first frame.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

[0025] Using the above method, the first communication device can instruct the second communication device on the feedback granularity of the first information, so that the second communication device can flexibly provide feedback according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device after receiving the first frame.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; the first communication device receives a third frame from the second communication device, the third frame including the second information, the second information being used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource; the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate according to the second information.

[0027] Optionally, the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate according to the second information, which can be done by adjusting the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first resource unit according to the second information.

[0028] Using the above method, when the first information is fed back in the second frame according to the first frequency domain resource granularity, the second communication device can feed back the first information in the third frame according to the first resource unit granularity. By feeding back the first information at the first frequency domain resource granularity and the first information at the first resource unit granularity in two frames respectively, the amount of information in a single frame can be reduced, thereby reducing the transmission time of the second and / or third frames and reducing latency.

[0029] Optionally, the third frame can be any one of a data frame, a control frame, or a management frame.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the third frame also includes second MCS information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0031] Using the above method, when the first MCS information is fed back in the second frame according to the first frequency domain resource granularity, the second communication device can feed back the second MCS information in the third frame according to the first resource unit granularity. By feeding back the first MCS information at the first frequency domain resource granularity and the second MCS information at the first resource unit granularity in two frames respectively, the amount of information in a single frame can be reduced, thereby reducing the transmission time of the second and / or third frames and reducing latency.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the first communication device determines its transmission rate based on the second information and the first MCS information.

[0033] Optionally, the first communication device may adjust its transmission rate based on the second information and the first MCS information, which may be to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first resource unit.

[0034] Using the above method, the second communication device feeds back the second MCS information with the recommended first resource unit granularity to the first communication device based on the received first frame. After obtaining the second MCS information in the third frame, the first communication device can use the transmission rate in the second MCS information as the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first resource unit. Thus, based on the second MCS information fed back by the second communication device, the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first resource unit can be accurately adjusted.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the first frequency domain resource is part or all of the frequency domain resources in the frequency band in which the first communication device operates.

[0036] Optionally, the operating frequency band can be the operating frequency band negotiated by the first communication device and the second communication device.

[0037] Using the above method, the first communication device can flexibly send messages on some or all of the frequency domain resources in the frequency band where it operates.

[0038] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be applied to a second communication device, a module (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system) within the second communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second communication device. Taking its application to a second communication device as an example, the method includes: the second communication device receiving a first frame from a first communication device on a first frequency domain resource, the first frame being a non-NDP frame; the second communication device sending a second frame to the first communication device, the second frame including first information, the first information being used to indicate the channel quality of some or all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource, and the first information being used to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device.

[0039] Optionally, the first information is used to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resources.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes at least one of the following: the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; and the channel quality corresponding to all first resource elements in the first frequency domain resource.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of a portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources includes: the channel quality corresponding to a portion of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the second frame is the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

[0043] Optionally, the acknowledgment frame is a BA frame.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the second frame further includes first MCS information, which is an MCS recommended by the second communication device.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the MCS recommended by the second communication device includes at least one of the following: the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the second communication device sends a third frame to the first communication device; the third frame includes second information, which is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the third frame further includes second MCS information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the first frequency domain resource is part or all of the frequency domain resources in the frequency band in which the first communication device operates.

[0051] Thirdly, this application provides a communication device that has the functions of the first aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units or means corresponding to the operations involved in the first aspect above. The modules, units or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0052] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device that has the functions of the second aspect above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units or means corresponding to the operations involved in the second aspect above. The modules, units or means can be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0053] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device including an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer program or instructions for implementing the functions described in the first aspect. The one or more processors can execute the computer program or instructions, causing the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first aspect. The interface circuit is used to implement the communication functions within the communication device and / or the communication functions between the communication device and other devices or components.

[0054] The aforementioned communication device may be a first communication device, a module (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system) in the first communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first communication device.

[0055] Sixthly, this application provides a communication device including an interface circuit and one or more processors. The one or more processors are coupled to a memory. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer program or instructions for implementing the functions described in the second aspect above. The one or more processors are executable to carry out the computer program or instructions, causing the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the second aspect above. The interface circuit is used to implement the communication functions within the communication device and / or the communication functions between the communication device and other devices or components.

[0056] The aforementioned communication device may be a second communication device, a module (e.g., a circuit, chip, or chip system) in the second communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second communication device.

[0057] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the method in any of the possible designs of the first or second aspect described above.

[0058] Eighthly, this application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the method in any of the possible designs of the first or second aspect described above.

[0059] Ninthly, this application provides a communication system, including a first communication device for performing any possible implementation of the first aspect above, and a second communication device for performing any possible implementation of the second aspect above.

[0060] For the various aspects of the second to ninth aspects mentioned above, and the technical effects that each aspect may achieve, please refer to the above description of the technical effects that various possible solutions can achieve for any aspect of the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0061] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a WLAN network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0062] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an optional network architecture provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0063] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a measurement process provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0064] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0065] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a BA frame format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0066] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a Multi-STA subframe format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0067] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another Multi-STA subframe format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0068] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the format of a Multi-TID subframe provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another Multi-TID subframe format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of the communication process between a first communication device and a second communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0079] In the embodiments of this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where each of a, b, and c can be an element itself or a set containing one or more elements.

[0080] In this application, terms such as "exemplary," "in some embodiments," and "in other embodiments" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the term "exemplary" is used to present the concept in a specific manner.

[0081] In this application, the terms "of," "corresponding (relevant)," and "corresponding" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that, unless a distinction is emphasized, their intended meanings are consistent. Similarly, in the embodiments of this application, "communication" and "transmission" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that, unless a distinction is emphasized, their intended meanings are consistent. For example, transmission can include sending and / or receiving, and can be a noun or a verb.

[0082] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" used in the embodiments of this application are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0083] This application's embodiments can be applied to local area networks (LANs), such as WLANs; wherein, a WLAN may include one or more basic service sets (BSSs), and network nodes in a basic service set include access points (APs) and stations (STAs). This application supports any of the protocols in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) protocols, such as the IEEE 802.11be / Wi-Fi 7 / EHT protocol, the IEEE 802.11bn / UHR / Wi-Fi 8 protocol, the IEEE Integrated mmWave / IMMW protocol, the IEEE 802.15 / UWB protocol, or the IEEE 802.11bf / sensing protocol. Alternatively, this application may also support the Spark Link / NearLink standard protocols.

[0084] The embodiments of this application can also be applied to wireless local area networks such as Internet of Things (IoT) networks or vehicle-to-X (V2X) networks. Of course, the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other possible communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) communication systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) communication systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) communication systems, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) communication systems, and future evolution communication systems.

[0085] The following description uses an embodiment of this application applicable to a WLAN as an example. Referring to Figure 1, a network architecture diagram of a WLAN applicable to an embodiment of this application is shown. Figure 1 illustrates an example of a WLAN including one AP and two STAs. The STA associated with the AP can receive frames sent by the AP and can also send frames to the AP. This embodiment of the application will describe communication between the AP and STAs as an example. It is understood that this embodiment of the application can also be applied to communication between APs, for example, APs can communicate with each other through a distributed system (DS), and it can also be applied to communication between STAs.

[0086] An access point (AP) can be an access point for terminal devices (such as mobile phones) to access wired (or wireless) networks. An AP acts as a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks, its main function being to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to an Ethernet network. For example, an AP can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) with a Wi-Fi chip or a network device (such as a router). In this embodiment, the AP can be a device supporting the 802.11be standard, or it can be a device supporting various WLAN standards of the 802.11 series, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11be next generation.

[0087] A STA can be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, or wireless communication terminal, and can also be referred to as a user. For example, a STA can be a mobile phone supporting Wi-Fi communication, a tablet computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, a set-top box supporting Wi-Fi communication, a smart TV supporting Wi-Fi communication, a smart wearable device supporting Wi-Fi communication, an in-vehicle communication device supporting Wi-Fi communication, and a computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, etc. Optionally, a STA can support the 802.11be standard, or it can support various WLAN standards in the 802.11 series, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ay, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11be next generation.

[0088] Understandably, the number of APs and STAs shown in Figure 1 is just an example, and there could be more or fewer.

[0089] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, a few basic concepts involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly explained.

[0090] 1. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology:

[0091] OFDMA is a frequency-domain spatial concurrency technology that allows multiple clients to transmit data with a single access point simultaneously by sharing available bandwidth. OFDMA improves spectral efficiency and reduces transmission latency in radio frequency (RF) environments.

[0092] 2. Resource Unit (RU):

[0093] OFDMA technology allows subcarriers in the channel bandwidth to be grouped into smaller segments, each of which can be called a RU. These individual RUs can be assigned to different STAs. Based on different RUs, access points can simultaneously transmit and receive data from different STAs during uplink and downlink transmissions, without each STA needing to wait for one STA to finish transmitting data before initiating channel access.

[0094] 3. Modulation and coding scheme (MCS):

[0095] MCS (Modulation Control System) defines the modulation and encoding methods of transmitted signals. By changing the modulation and / or encoding methods, the efficiency of signal transmission can be improved. Based on MCS, the modulation and / or encoding methods of transmitted signals can be dynamically adjusted when the transmission environment changes. In Wi-Fi communication, the transmission rate of Wi-Fi devices can be achieved by configuring the MCS; different MCSs define different transmission rates. For example, Table 1 shows the transmission rates corresponding to different MCSs, including the MCS index, number of spatial streams (taking 1 or 2 spatial streams as an example), modulation method (taking binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), and 64-QAM as examples), and transmission rate (taking a guard interval (GI) of 800ns or 400ns as an example).

[0096] Table 1

[0097] To facilitate understanding of this solution, the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application will be described in detail first using the network architecture shown in Figure 2 as an example. As shown in Figure 2, the network architecture may include multiple communication devices, with a first communication device and a second communication device as an example. For instance, the first communication device and the second communication device can establish a Wi-Fi connection, and the first and second communication devices communicate based on the established Wi-Fi connection; for example, the first and second communication devices send data frames, management frames, control frames, or messages based on the Wi-Fi connection. In the embodiments of this application, the first communication device can be an AP or STA in a WLAN network architecture, and the second communication device can be an AP or STA in a WLAN network architecture.

[0098] During communication between the first and second communication devices, factors such as the movement of the first and / or second communication devices or changes in the communication environment may cause changes in the channel conditions occupied by the first and second communication devices. To adapt to these changing channel conditions, the transmission rate between the first and second communication devices needs to be adjusted. Taking the first communication device sending a message to the second communication device as an example, to adapt to the changing channel conditions, the first communication device needs to dynamically adjust the transmission rate of the message sent to the second communication device. Currently, the first communication device can determine the transmission rate of the message sent to the second communication device based on a measurement procedure before sending the message. For example, the measurement procedure can be as shown in Figure 3: the first communication device sends a null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame to the second communication device. The NDPA frame may include control information indicating the relevant parameters of the upcoming null data packet (NDP) frame. After a short interframe space (SIFS), the first communication device sends an NDP frame to the second communication device; the NDP frame may be a null frame without data, and may include pilot signals used to determine channel information. After receiving the NDP frame sent by the first communication device, the second communication device can perform channel estimation based on the pilot signal in the NDP frame to obtain channel information between the first and second communication devices. The second communication device then feeds back the channel information to the first communication device; for example, the channel information can be fed back through compressed beamforming frames or channel quality indicator (CQI) information. However, this method of determining the message transmission rate based on measurement procedures consumes a significant amount of air interface time, resulting in substantial signaling overhead.

[0099] Based on this, this application provides a communication method in which, when a communication connection is established between a first communication device and a second communication device, after the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device, the second communication device can feed back channel information to the first communication device based on the message. The first communication device adjusts its transmission rate to the second communication device according to the channel information fed back by the second communication device. Based on the method provided by the embodiments of this application, no additional measurement process is required, thereby reducing unnecessary air interface occupation and lowering signaling overhead.

[0100] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication method mainly includes the following steps 400-402. It is understood that the steps and execution order shown in Figure 4 are only examples. In actual implementation, some steps may be executed or the remaining steps may also be executed. Similarly, the execution order of the steps may also be adjusted, and this embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0101] In the process shown in Figure 4, the example is taken where the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate of messages sent to the second communication device. It should be understood that the transmission rate adjustment scheme shown in Figure 4 can also be used for the transmission rate from the second communication device to the first communication device.

[0102] Step 400: The first communication device sends the first frame to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0103] Accordingly, the second communication device receives the first frame from the first communication device. In practice, the second communication device can receive the first frame from the first communication device on a first frequency domain resource.

[0104] Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device can be a data frame, or the first frame can be other types of frames, such as management frames or control frames; wherein, the first frame does not include NDP frames. For example, the first frame is a data frame, and the first frame carries data to be sent to the second communication device.

[0105] The first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device can also be called a message.

[0106] When the first communication device sends the first frame to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource, the first frequency domain resource can be part or all of the frequency domain resources in the frequency band where the first communication device operates.

[0107] In this embodiment, the frequency band in which the first communication device operates can be the negotiated operating frequency band of the first communication device; for example, the frequency band in which the first communication device operates is the frequency range negotiated during the online authentication of the first communication device. For example, the operating frequency band of the first communication device can be a portion of the 2.4GHz band (2400~2483.50MHz); such as a 20MHz band or a 40MHz band within the 2400~2483.50MHz band. As another example, the operating frequency band of the first communication device can be a portion of the 5GHz band (5150~5875MHz); such as a 20MHz band, a 40MHz band, an 80MHz band, or a 160MHz band within the 5150~5875MHz band.

[0108] When the first communication device sends the first frame to the second communication device, the first communication device can send the first frame on all frequency domain resources in the frequency band in which it operates. This first frame can be called a full-band message.

[0109] Alternatively, when the first communication device sends the first frame to the second communication device, the first communication device may send the first frame on a portion of the frequency domain resources within its operating frequency band; in practice, the first communication device may send the frame by punching holes in the first frequency domain resources. For example, if the operating frequency band of the first communication device includes multiple resource units (such as RUs), then the first communication device may send the first frame on a portion of the RUs within the operating frequency band.

[0110] Step 401: The first communication device receives the second frame from the second communication device.

[0111] Correspondingly, the second communication device sends a second frame to the first communication device.

[0112] Optionally, the second frame includes first information, which is used to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources.

[0113] After receiving the first frame, the second communication device can determine, based on the received first frame, first information for indicating the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain. For example, the first information may be the signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or it may be the received signal strength indication (RSSI). It should be understood that the above are merely examples of the first information, and the first information in this embodiment may also be other information capable of indicating channel quality.

[0114] In practice, when the second communication device receives the first frame, it can perform channel estimation on some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources based on the long training field (LTF) included in the first frame, and obtain first information to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources.

[0115] Optionally, the second frame can be the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

[0116] For example, the second frame can be a block acknowledgement (BA) frame.

[0117] When the second communication device sends the first information back to the first communication device via a BA frame, since the BA frame is the reply frame corresponding to the first frame, the second communication device needs to return a BA frame to the first communication device after receiving the first frame. Therefore, when carrying the first information via the BA frame, no additional signaling is required, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0118] When the BA frame carries the first information, this application provides several optional first information carrying methods, which are described below.

[0119] First information carrying method 1:

[0120] This application embodiment uses a new BA frame to carry first information. Optionally, a new first field is added in the BA to carry the first information. For example, as shown in Figure 5, the BA frame includes a Medium Access Control (MAC) header, BA information, a first field for carrying the first information, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS). The first field can be a reserved field in the current standard for BA frames; for example, one or more of the reserved fields with BAType field values ​​of 0, 4-5, or 12-15 in the current standard can be used as the first field for carrying the first information. The first information can occupy 6 bits.

[0121] First information carrying method 2:

[0122] The first information can be carried in a subframe of the BA frame.

[0123] As one possible implementation, the first information can be carried in the Multi-STA subframe of the BA frame. For example, in the Multi-STA subframe, the first information can be carried in a reserved field or an undefined field; for instance, the first information can be carried in a field position where the Ack Type subfield has a value of 0 or 1 and the TID subfield has a value of 8-13, or the first information can be carried in a field position where the Ack Type subfield has a value of 0 and the TID subfield has a value of 14 or 15, or the first information can be carried in an undefined field position in the Multi-STA subframe.

[0124] For example, as shown in Figure 6, the Multi-STA subframe includes an association identifier (AID) (e.g., AID11), 0 or 1, a traffic identifier (TID) (value can be 8-15), BA information, and first information. As another example, as shown in Figure 7, the Multi-STA subframe includes AID11, 0 or 1, TID (value can be 8-15), and first information.

[0125] As another possible implementation, the first information can be carried in the Multi-TID subframe of the BA frame. For example, in the Multi-TID subframe, the first information can be carried in a reserved field or an undefined field; for example, the first information can be carried in a field position where the Ack Type subfield has a value of 3 and the TID subfield has a value of 0-15, or the first information can be carried in an undefined field position in the Multi-TID subframe.

[0126] For example, as shown in Figure 8, the format of a Multi-TID subframe includes per-TID information, BA information, and first information. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the format of a Multi-TID subframe includes per-TID information and first information.

[0127] In this embodiment, the second frame can also be other types of frames. For example, the second frame can also be a data frame, a management frame, or a control frame. This embodiment does not limit the frame type of the second frame.

[0128] Step 402: The first communication device adjusts its transmission rate according to the first information.

[0129] In step 402, the transmission rate adjusted by the first communication device based on the first information can be the transmission rate by which the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resources. For example, after the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate, when it sends a message to the second communication device on some or all of the first frequency domain resources, the first communication device can send the message based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0130] When the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information, as one possible implementation, the first communication device can determine and adjust the transmission rate to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource based on the correspondence between the first information and the transmission rate.

[0131] For example, the first communication device stores the correspondence between different first information and transmission rate. After parsing the first information fed back by the second communication device from the second frame, the first communication device finds the transmission rate corresponding to the first information from the correspondence and adjusts the transmission rate to the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0132] The method for adjusting the transmission rate provided in this application embodiment allows the second communication device to send a first frame to a second communication device on a first frequency domain resource. The second communication device can then use a second frame to provide feedback of first information characterizing the channel quality corresponding to the first frequency domain resource. For example, the second frame can be a BA frame corresponding to the first frame, allowing the second communication device to carry the first information in the BA frame corresponding to the first frame without incurring additional feedback overhead. The first communication device can accurately adjust its transmission rate to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource based on the first information fed back by the second communication device.

[0133] In this embodiment, the first communication device may also instruct the second communication device to provide the first information. In practice, the first communication device may instruct the second communication device to provide the first information in various ways, which will be described below.

[0134] Instruction Method 1: The first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device includes first instruction information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information.

[0135] In this indication method 1, a new field is added to the first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device to carry the first indication information. For example, when the content of the first indication information is different, it can be used to indicate whether the second communication device should respond to the first information; for instance, when the content of the first indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device should respond to the first information; when the content of the first indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device should not respond to the first information. Alternatively, when the first indication information is included in the first frame, it indicates that the second communication device should respond to the first information; when the first indication information is not included in the first frame, it indicates that the second communication device should not respond to the first information.

[0136] Instruction Method 2: Before sending the first frame to the second communication device, the first communication device sends a first instruction message to the second communication device. The first instruction message is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information.

[0137] In this indication method 2, optionally, the first communication device may send a first indication message to the second communication device during the process of establishing a block confirmation mechanism with the second communication device (e.g., the establishment process of a BA session) to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information.

[0138] In implementation, different information contents of the first indication information can be used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information. For example, when the information content of the first indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device provides feedback on the first information; when the information content of the first indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device does not provide feedback on the first information. As another example, when the first communication device instructs the second communication device to provide feedback on the first information, the first communication device sends the first indication information to the second communication device; when feedback on the first information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource is not required from the second communication device, the first communication device does not send the first indication information to the second communication device.

[0139] In this embodiment of the application, the first information is used to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources. When the second communication device feeds back the first information to the first communication device, it can use a variety of different feedback granularities. The different feedback granularities will be introduced below.

[0140] Feedback granularity 1: The first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource.

[0141] This type of feedback granularity can be called the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, or the full-band feedback granularity.

[0142] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device sends the first frame on the first frequency domain resource, and the second communication device can provide feedback across the entire frequency band according to the granularity of the first frequency domain resource when feeding back the first information.

[0143] Optionally, the first frequency domain resource corresponds to a first piece of information, and the entire first frequency domain resource is a feedback granularity.

[0144] For example, the second frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device includes a first piece of information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource.

[0145] Based on this feedback granularity, after the second communication device receives the first frame on the first frequency domain resource, it obtains a first information for the entire first frequency domain resource. The first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource.

[0146] Feedback granularity 2: The first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0147] This type of feedback granularity can be called resource unit feedback granularity.

[0148] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device sends a first frame on the first frequency domain resource, and the second communication device can provide feedback according to the granularity of the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource when providing feedback of the first information.

[0149] Optionally, the first frequency domain resource includes a plurality of first resource units; for example, the first resource unit may be a RU.

[0150] When the first information is used to indicate the channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource, the channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource is the channel quality corresponding to all first resource elements in the first frequency domain resource.

[0151] Optionally, the first information includes sub-information corresponding to all first resource units in the first resource unit. This sub-information is used to indicate the channel quality of the corresponding first resource unit, and the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource is used as a feedback granularity.

[0152] For example, if the first frequency domain resource includes RU1, RU2, and RU3, then the first information carried in the second frame includes sub-information 1 corresponding to RU1, sub-information 2 corresponding to RU2, and sub-information 3 corresponding to RU3; wherein, sub-information 1 indicates the channel quality corresponding to RU1, sub-information 2 corresponds to the channel quality corresponding to RU2, and sub-information 3 corresponds to the channel quality corresponding to RU3.

[0153] When the first information is used to indicate the channel quality of a portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources, the channel quality of the portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources is the channel quality corresponding to a portion of the first resource elements in the first frequency domain resources.

[0154] Optionally, the first information includes sub-information corresponding to a portion of the first resource units in the first resource unit. This sub-information is used to indicate the channel quality of the corresponding first resource unit, and the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource serves as a feedback granularity.

[0155] For example, if the first frequency domain resource includes RU1, RU2, and RU3, then the first information carried in the second frame includes sub-information 1 corresponding to RU1 and sub-information 2 corresponding to RU2; wherein, sub-information 1 indicates the channel quality corresponding to RU1, and sub-information 3 corresponds to the channel quality corresponding to RU3.

[0156] In this embodiment, the first communication device can indicate the feedback granularity of the first information to the second communication device, and the second communication device, based on the indication of the first communication device, feeds back the first information according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. In practice, the first communication device can indicate the feedback granularity of the first information in various different ways, which will be described below.

[0157] Feedback granularity indication method 1: The first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

[0158] In this feedback granularity indication method, a new field is added to the first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device to carry the second indication information. For example, when the content of the second indication information is different, it can be used to indicate different feedback granularities; for instance, when the content of the second indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device uses the aforementioned feedback granularity 1 (the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first frequency domain resource) for feedback; when the content of the second indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device uses the aforementioned feedback granularity 2 (the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource) for feedback.

[0159] Feedback granularity indication method 2: Before sending the first frame to the second communication device, the first communication device sends a second indication information to the second communication device. The second indication information is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in sending back the first information.

[0160] In this indication method 2, optionally, the first communication device may send a second indication message to the second communication device during the process of establishing a block confirmation mechanism with the second communication device (e.g., the establishment process of a BA session) to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

[0161] In this feedback granularity indication method, different information contents of the second indication information can be used to indicate different feedback granularities. For example, when the information content of the second indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device uses the above-mentioned feedback granularity 1 (the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first frequency domain resource) for feedback; when the information content of the second indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device uses the above-mentioned feedback granularity 2 (the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource) for feedback.

[0162] It should be noted that the first indication information and the second indication information in the embodiments of this application can be two separate pieces of information. The first indication information is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in providing feedback on the first information. Alternatively, the first indication information and the second indication information can be the same piece of information, which indicates whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information and the feedback granularity of the first information.

[0163] When the first instruction information and the second instruction information are the same information, different information contents can be used to indicate whether to feed back the first information and the granularity of the first information feedback, respectively. For example, when the information content is 00, it indicates that the second communication device does not feed back the first information; when the information content is 01, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first information using the above-mentioned feedback granularity 1; when the information content is 10, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first information using the above-mentioned feedback granularity 2.

[0164] In the scheme described above, the second frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device includes the first information. Optionally, the second frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device may also include first MCS information, where the first MCS information is an MCS recommended by the second communication device.

[0165] The first MCS information can be the MCS recommended by the second communication device to the first communication device based on the received first frame. The first MCS information may include the transmission rate, and the second communication device can recommend a transmission rate to the first communication device based on the first MCS information.

[0166] It should be noted that when the second frame is a BA frame, the way the BA frame carries the first MCS information can be referred to the way the BA frame carries the first information described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0167] In addition, the BA frame carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource. The method of carrying the first information and the first MCS information in the BA frame can be referred to the method of carrying the first information in the BA frame described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0168] When the second frame includes first information and first MCS information, as one possible implementation, the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate based on the first information and the first MCS information.

[0169] The transmission rate adjusted by the first communication device based on the first information and the first MCS information can be the transmission rate by which the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resources. For example, after the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate, when the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device on some or all of the resources in the first frequency domain, the first communication device can send the message based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0170] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate based on the first information can be found in the description above and will not be repeated here. When the first communication device determines the transmission rate to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource based on the first MCS information, the first communication device can determine the transmission rate corresponding to the first MCS information as the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0171] In this embodiment, the first communication device can also instruct the second communication device whether to feed back the first MCS information. In practice, the first communication device can instruct the second communication device whether to feed back the first MCS information in various ways, which will be described below.

[0172] Instruction Method 1: The first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device includes third instruction information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first MCS information.

[0173] In this indication method 1, a new field is added to the first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device to carry third indication information. For example, when the content of the third indication information is different, it can be used to indicate whether the second communication device should respond to the first MCS information; for instance, when the content of the third indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device is responding to the first MCS information; when the content of the third indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device is not responding to the first MCS information. Alternatively, when the first frame includes the third indication information, it indicates that the second communication device is responding to the first MCS information; when the first frame does not include the third indication information, it indicates that the second communication device is not responding to the first MCS information.

[0174] Instruction Method 2: Before sending the first frame to the second communication device, the first communication device sends a third instruction message to the second communication device. The third instruction message is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first MCS information.

[0175] In this indication method 2, optionally, the first communication device may send a third indication message to the second communication device during the process of establishing a block confirmation mechanism with the second communication device (e.g., the establishment process of a BA session) to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first MCS information.

[0176] In implementation, when the content of the third indication information is different, it can be used to indicate whether the second communication device should feed back the first MCS information. For example, when the content of the third indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first MCS information; when the content of the third indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device does not feed back the first MCS information. As another example, when the first communication device instructs the second communication device to feed back the first MCS information, the first communication device sends the third indication information to the second communication device; when the second communication device is not required to feed back the first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource, the first communication device does not send the third indication information to the second communication device.

[0177] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, when the first communication device instructs the second communication device to feed back the first information and the first MCS information, the first communication device may instruct the second communication device to feed back the first information and the first MCS information through an indication information in the first frame; it can be understood that the above-mentioned first indication information and third indication information are one indication information, which is used to instruct the second communication device to feed back the first information and the first MCS information; or the indication information includes two sub-information, which are used to instruct whether to feed back the first information and the first MCS information respectively.

[0178] In this embodiment of the application, when the second communication device feeds back the recommended first MCS information to the first communication device, it can use a variety of different feedback granularities. The different feedback granularities are described below.

[0179] Feedback granularity 1: The first MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0180] This type of feedback granularity can be called the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, or the full-band feedback granularity.

[0181] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device sends a first frame on the first frequency domain resource, and the second communication device can determine the MCS of the entire first frequency domain resource based on the first frame, and feed back the MCS of the first frequency domain resource granularity to the first communication device through the second frame.

[0182] Optionally, the first frequency domain resource corresponds to a first MCS information, and the entire first frequency domain resource is a feedback granularity.

[0183] For example, the second frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device includes a first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource.

[0184] Based on this feedback granularity, after receiving the first frame on the first frequency domain resource, the second communication device obtains a first MCS information for the entire first frequency domain resource. The first MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource. After receiving the first MCS information fed back by the second communication device through the second frame, the first communication device can determine the corresponding transmission rate on the entire first frequency domain resource based on the transmission rate included in the first MCS information.

[0185] Feedback granularity 2: The first MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit.

[0186] This type of feedback granularity can be called the first resource unit feedback granularity.

[0187] In this embodiment of the application, the first communication device sends a first frame on the first frequency domain resource, and the second communication device can determine the MCS on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource based on the first frame, and feed back the MCS at the granularity of the first resource unit to the first communication device through the second frame.

[0188] Optionally, the first frequency domain resource may include multiple first resource units; for example, the first resource unit may be a RU.

[0189] When the first frequency domain resource includes multiple first resource units, the second communication device can determine the MCS on some or all of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource based on the first frame, and feed back the MCS on some or all of the first resource units to the first communication device through the second frame.

[0190] Under this feedback granularity, the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource can correspond to a first MCS information, and the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource is a feedback granularity.

[0191] For example, the second frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device carries the first MCS information corresponding to some or all of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

[0192] Based on this feedback granularity, after receiving the first frame on the first frequency domain resource, the second communication device determines the first MCS information corresponding to some or all of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource. The first MCS information is the MCS of the corresponding first resource unit recommended by the second communication device to the first communication device.

[0193] When the first frequency domain resource includes multiple first resource units, the second frame may carry some or all of the first MCS information corresponding to the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource. For example, if the first frequency domain resource includes RU1, RU2, and RU3, then the second frame may carry the first MCS information corresponding to RU1, the first MCS information corresponding to RU2, and the first MCS information corresponding to RU3, or the second frame may carry the first MCS information corresponding to RU1 and the first MCS information corresponding to RU2.

[0194] In this embodiment, the first communication device can indicate the feedback granularity of the first MCS information to the second communication device. The second communication device, based on the indication from the first communication device, feeds back the first MCS information according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. In practice, the first communication device can indicate the feedback granularity of the first MCS information in various ways, which will be described below.

[0195] Feedback granularity indication method 1: The first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device includes fourth indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first MCS information.

[0196] In this feedback granularity indication method, a new field is added to the first frame sent by the first communication device to the second communication device to carry the fourth indication information. For example, different information contents of the fourth indication information can be used to indicate different feedback granularities; for instance, when the information content of the fourth indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device uses the aforementioned feedback granularity 1 (the first MCS information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first frequency domain resource) for feedback; when the information content of the fourth indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device uses the aforementioned feedback granularity 2 (the first MCS information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource) for feedback.

[0197] Feedback granularity indication method 2: Before sending the first frame to the second communication device, the first communication device sends a fourth indication information to the second communication device. The fourth indication information is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first MCS information.

[0198] In this indication method 2, optionally, the first communication device may send a fourth indication message to the second communication device during the process of establishing a block confirmation mechanism with the second communication device (e.g., the establishment process of a BA session) to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first MCS information.

[0199] In this feedback granularity indication method, different information contents of the fourth indication information can be used to indicate different feedback granularities. For example, when the information content of the fourth indication information is 0, it indicates that the second communication device uses the above-mentioned feedback granularity 1 (the first MCS information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first frequency domain resource) for feedback; when the information content of the fourth indication information is 1, it indicates that the second communication device uses the above-mentioned feedback granularity 2 (the first MCS information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource) for feedback.

[0200] It should be noted that the third and fourth indication information in the embodiments of this application can be two separate pieces of information. The third indication information is used to indicate whether the second communication device should feed back the first MCS information, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device feeding back the first MCS information. Alternatively, the third and fourth indication information can be the same piece of information, which indicates whether the second communication device should feed back the first MCS information and the feedback granularity of the first MCS information.

[0201] When the third and fourth indication information are the same, different information contents can be used to indicate whether to feed back the first MCS information and the granularity of the feedback of the first MCS information. For example, when the information content is 00, it indicates that the second communication device does not feed back the first MCS information; when the information content is 01, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first MCS information using the above-mentioned feedback granularity 1; when the information content is 10, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first MCS information using the above-mentioned feedback granularity 2.

[0202] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, when the first communication device instructs the second communication device to feed back the first information and the first MCS information, the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information can be the same. The first communication device can indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information through an indication information in the first frame; it can be understood that the above-mentioned second indication information and fourth indication information are a single piece of information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information of the second communication device.

[0203] Furthermore, in this embodiment of the application, when the first communication device instructs the second communication device to feed back the first information and the first MCS information, the first communication device can also indicate whether to feed back the first information and the first MCS information, and the granularity of the feedback of the first information and the first MCS information, through one piece of information in the first frame. For example, when the information content is 00, it indicates that the second communication device does not feed back the first information and the first MCS information; when the information content is 01, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first information and the first MCS information using the above-mentioned feedback granularity 1; when the information content is 10, it indicates that the second communication device feeds back the first information and the first MCS information using the above-mentioned feedback granularity 2.

[0204] When the second communication device receives the first frame transmitted by the first communication device on the first frequency domain resource, the second communication device sends a BA frame to the first communication device. The BA frame includes first information and / or first MCS information, wherein the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the first frequency domain resource, and the first MCS information is used to indicate the transmission rate corresponding to the first frequency domain resource. Based on this, when the second communication device carries the first information and / or first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource through the BA frame, feeding back the first information and / or first MCS information at the granularity of the first frequency domain resource can reduce the amount of information carried in the BA frame; since the transmission rate of the BA frame is relatively small, when the amount of information carried in the BA frame is small, the BA transmission time can be reduced, and the latency can be reduced.

[0205] In this embodiment of the application, where the first information included in the second frame is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, as an optional implementation, the second communication device sends a third frame to the first communication device. The third frame includes the second information; wherein, the second information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource. Accordingly, the first communication device receives the third frame from the second communication device; the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate according to the second information.

[0206] The transmission rate adjusted by the first communication device based on the first information can be the transmission rate by which the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device on a first resource unit of the first frequency domain resource. For example, after the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate, when it sends a message to the second communication device on the first resource unit, it can send the message based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0207] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate on the first resource unit according to the second information can be found in the description above of how the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information, and will not be repeated here.

[0208] Based on this, the second communication device can feed back the first information of the first frequency domain resource granularity to the first communication device through the second frame, and feed back the second information of the first resource unit granularity to the first communication device through the third frame.

[0209] The third frame can be any of a data frame, a management frame, or a control frame. For example, the third frame can be a frame actively sent by the second communication device to the first communication device; or the third frame can be a BA frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device, for example, the BA frame can be a reply frame of the second communication device to other frames sent by the first communication device.

[0210] In this embodiment of the application, if the second frame includes first MCS information, and the first MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource, the third frame may optionally also include second MCS information, and the second MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0211] In this embodiment of the application, the second communication device can feed back the first MCS information at the first frequency domain resource granularity to the first communication device through the second frame, and feed back the second MCS information at the first resource unit granularity to the first communication device through the third frame.

[0212] After the first communication device receives the third frame, it can adjust its transmission rate based on the second information and the second MCS information.

[0213] The transmission rate adjusted by the first communication device based on the second information and the second MCS information can be the transmission rate by which the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device on the first resource unit of the first frequency domain resource. For example, after the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate, when the first communication device sends a message to the second communication device on the first resource unit, the first communication device can send the message based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0214] In practice, for the second MCS information included in the third frame that corresponds to the first resource unit, the first communication device can determine the transmission rate included in the second MCS information as the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first resource unit.

[0215] In this embodiment of the application, when the first communication device determines the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on the first resource unit, it can determine the transmission rate of the data frame to the second communication device on the second frequency domain resource according to the transmission rate of the first communication device to the second communication device on each first resource unit when it sends a data frame to the second communication device next time.

[0216] The following examples, using several specific scenarios, illustrate the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0217] Example 1:

[0218] Taking a single first communication device transmitting a message to a single second communication device as an example. In this example 1, the second communication device feeds back first information and first MCS information to the first communication device. It should be understood that in the communication method of this embodiment, the second communication device can also feed back first information to the first communication device.

[0219] The communication process between the first and second communication devices, as shown in Figure 10, may specifically include the following steps:

[0220] Step 1: The first communication device sends a first message to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; wherein the sending rate of the first message can be the initial sending rate.

[0221] Optionally, the first message may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information. The feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information may be the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity or the first resource unit feedback granularity as described above.

[0222] The second communication device can obtain first information and first MCS information by parsing the first message. The first information is used to indicate the channel quality of some or all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources, and the first MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device.

[0223] Step 2: The second communication device sends a BA frame to the first communication device; the BA frame carries the first information and the first MCS information.

[0224] The second communication device can feed back first information and first MCS information according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, the first information carried in the BA frame indicates the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the first MCS information carried in the BA frame is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource. When the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first resource unit feedback granularity, the first information carried in the BA frame indicates the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource, and the first MCS information carried in the BA frame is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0225] Step 3: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource.

[0226] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate based on the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource can be found in the description above.

[0227] Step 4: The first communication device sends a second message to the second communication device based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0228] The frequency domain resources used by the first communication device to send the second message to the second communication device can be some or all of the resources in the first frequency domain.

[0229] Example 2:

[0230] Taking the transmission of messages from a single first communication device to multiple second communication devices as an example, scenarios such as OFDMA, multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO), or OFDMA+MU-MIMO are used. In this example 2, the second communication device feeds back first information and first MCS information to the first communication device. It should be understood that in the communication method of this embodiment, the second communication device can also feed back first information to the first communication device.

[0231] The communication process between the first and second communication devices, as shown in Figure 11, may specifically include the following steps:

[0232] Step 1: The first communication device sends a message to two second communication devices (e.g., second communication device 1 and second communication device 2) on the first frequency domain resources; wherein, RU1 of the first communication device in the first frequency domain resources sends message 1 to second communication device 1, and RU2 of the first communication device in the first frequency domain resources sends message 2 to second communication device 2; message 1 and message 2 can be sent based on the initial transmission rate.

[0233] Optionally, messages 1 and 2 may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information. The feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information may be the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity or the first resource unit feedback granularity as described above.

[0234] The second communication device 1 can obtain the first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to RU1 and the first MCS information on RU1 by parsing message 1. The second communication device 2 can obtain the first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to RU2 and the first MCS information on RU2 by parsing message 2.

[0235] Step 2: The second communication device 1 sends BA frame 1 to the first communication device. BA frame 1 carries the first information corresponding to RU1 and the first MCS information. The second communication device 2 sends BA frame 2 to the first communication device. BA frame 2 carries the first information corresponding to RU2 and the first MCS information.

[0236] The second communication device 1 can feed back the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to RU1 according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, BA frame 1 carries one piece of first information and one piece of first MCS information corresponding to RU1; when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first resource unit feedback granularity, BA frame 1 carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to a smaller resource unit in RU1. The second communication device 2 can feed back the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to RU2 according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, BA frame 2 carries one piece of first information and one piece of first MCS information corresponding to RU2; when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first resource unit feedback granularity, BA frame 2 carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to a smaller resource unit in RU2.

[0237] Step 3: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate from RU1 to the second communication device 1 and the transmission rate from RU2 to the second communication device 2 according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to RU1.

[0238] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to RU1, and the method by which it adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to RU2, can be found in the description above.

[0239] Step 4: The first communication device sends message 3 to the second communication device 1 on RU1 based on the adjusted transmission rate; and the first communication device sends message 4 to the second communication device 2 on RU2 based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0240] Example 3:

[0241] Taking a scenario where multiple first communication devices send messages to multiple second communication devices in parallel as an example, such as a coordinated spatial reuse (Co-SR) or coordinated beamforming (Co-BF) scenario. In this example 3, the second communication device feeds back first information and first MCS information to the first communication device; it should be understood that in the communication method of this application embodiment, the second communication device can also feed back first information to the first communication device.

[0242] The communication process between the first and second communication devices, as shown in Figure 12, may specifically include the following steps:

[0243] Step 1: Multiple first communication devices (e.g., first communication device 1 and first communication device 2) send messages to multiple second communication devices (e.g., second communication device 1 and second communication device 2) in parallel; wherein, first communication device 1 sends message 1 to second communication device 1 on frequency domain resource 1, and first communication device 2 sends message 2 to second communication device 2 on frequency domain resource 2; message 1 and message 2 can be sent based on the initial transmission rate.

[0244] Frequency domain resource 1 and frequency domain resource 2 may overlap, or they may not overlap.

[0245] Optionally, messages 1 and 2 may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information. The feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information may be the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity or the resource unit feedback granularity as described above.

[0246] The second communication device 1 can obtain first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to frequency domain resource 1 and first MCS information on frequency domain resource 1 by parsing message 1. The second communication device 2 can obtain first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to frequency domain resource 2 and first MCS information on frequency domain resource 2 by parsing message 2.

[0247] Step 2: The second communication device 1 sends BA frame 1 to the first communication device 1; BA frame 1 carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to frequency domain resource 1; the second communication device 2 sends BA frame 2 to the first communication device 2; BA frame 2 carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to frequency domain resource 2.

[0248] The second communication device 1 can feed back the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 1 according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device 1. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device 1 is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, the BA frame 1 carries one first information and one first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 1; when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device 1 is the first resource unit feedback granularity, the BA frame 1 carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to the first resource unit in the frequency domain resource 1. The second communication device 2 can feed back the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 2 according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device 2. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device 2 is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, the BA frame 2 carries one first information and one first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 2; when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device 2 is the first resource unit feedback granularity, the BA frame 2 carries the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to the first resource unit in the frequency domain resource 2.

[0249] Step 3: The first communication device 1 adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device 1 on the frequency domain resource 1 according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 1; and the first communication device 2 adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device 2 on the frequency domain resource 2 according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 2.

[0250] In practice, the method by which the first communication device 1 adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 1, and the method by which the first communication device 2 adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the frequency domain resource 2, can be found in the description above.

[0251] Step 4: The first communication device 1 sends message 3 to the second communication device 1 on frequency domain resource 1 based on the adjusted transmission rate; and the first communication device 2 sends message 4 to the second communication device 2 on frequency domain resource 2 based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0252] Example 4:

[0253] Taking a scenario with severe frequency-selective fading of the signal between the first and second communication devices as an example, in this scenario, the first communication device can instruct the second communication device to feed back first information at the first resource unit granularity, or first information and first MCS. In this example 4, the second communication device feeds back first information and first MCS information to the first communication device; it should be understood that in the communication method of this application embodiment, the second communication device can also feed back first information to the first communication device.

[0254] The communication process between the first and second communication devices, as shown in Figure 13, may specifically include the following steps:

[0255] Step 1: The first communication device sends a first message to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; wherein the sending rate of the first message can be the initial sending rate.

[0256] Optionally, the first message may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback of first information and first MCS information based on the granularity of the first resource unit.

[0257] The second communication device can obtain first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and first MCS information on each first resource unit by parsing the first message.

[0258] Step 2: The second communication device sends a BA frame to the first communication device; the BA frame carries the first information and the first MCS information.

[0259] Step 3: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate of each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource to the second communication device according to the first information and the first MCS information.

[0260] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the first resource unit can be found in the description above.

[0261] Step 4: The first communication device sends a second message to the second communication device based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0262] Specifically, when the first communication device sends a second message across the entire frequency band to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource, the first communication device can determine the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to the first frequency domain resource based on the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource, and send the second message on the first frequency domain resource based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0263] Alternatively, when the first communication device transmits the second message by punching holes in the first frequency domain resources (i.e., transmits the second message on a portion of the resources in the first frequency domain resources), the first communication device can determine the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to the second frequency domain resources (the frequency domain resources after punching holes in the first frequency domain resources) carrying the second message based on the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to each resource unit in the first frequency domain resources, determine the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to the second frequency domain resources, and transmit the second message on the second frequency domain resources based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0264] The communication process between the first and second communication devices, as shown in Figure 14, may specifically include the following steps:

[0265] Step 1: The first communication device sends message 1 to the second communication device 1 on the first frequency domain resource; wherein the sending rate of message 1 can be the initial sending rate.

[0266] Optionally, message 1 may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback of first information and first MCS information based on the first resource unit granularity.

[0267] The second communication device 1 can obtain first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and first MCS information on each first resource unit by parsing message 1.

[0268] Step 2: The second communication device 1 sends BA frame 1 to the first communication device; BA frame 1 carries the first information obtained based on message 1 and the first MCS information.

[0269] Step 3: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate of each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource to the second communication device 1 according to the first information and the first MCS information.

[0270] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the resource unit can be found in the description above.

[0271] Step 4: The first communication device sends message 2 to the second communication device 2 on the first frequency domain resource; wherein the sending rate of message 2 can be the initial sending rate.

[0272] Optionally, message 2 may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback of first information and first MCS information based on the first resource unit granularity.

[0273] The second communication device 2 can obtain first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource and first MCS information on each first resource unit by parsing message 2.

[0274] Step 5: The second communication device 2 sends BA frame 2 to the first communication device; BA frame 2 carries the first information obtained based on message 2 and the first MCS information.

[0275] Step 6: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate of each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource to the second communication device 2 according to the first information and the first MCS information.

[0276] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the resource unit can be found in the description above.

[0277] Step 7: The first communication device sends message 3 and message 4 to the second communication device 1 and the second communication device 2 respectively based on OFDMA. Specifically, the first communication device sends message 3 to the second communication device 1 on RU1 in the first frequency domain resource based on the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to RU1; the first communication device sends message 4 to the second communication device 2 on RU2 in the first frequency domain resource based on the adjusted transmission rate corresponding to RU2.

[0278] Example 5:

[0279] Taking a scenario where a first communication device and a second communication device transmit data using a multi-link mode as an example, the first communication device transmits messages with multiple second communication devices on different frequency bands. In this example, Example 5 illustrates the second communication device sending first information and first MCS information back to the first communication device; it should be understood that in the communication method of this embodiment, the second communication device can also send the first information back to the first communication device.

[0280] The communication process between the first and second communication devices shown in Figure 15, taking two second communication devices (second communication device 1 and second communication device 2) as an example, can specifically include the following steps:

[0281] Step 1: The first communication device sends message 1 to the second communication device 1 on frequency band 1 and message 2 to the second communication device 2 on frequency band 2; message 1 and message 2 can be sent based on the initial transmission rate.

[0282] Optionally, messages 1 and 2 may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information. The feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information may be the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity or the first resource unit feedback granularity as described above.

[0283] The second communication device 1 can obtain the first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to frequency band 1 and the first MCS information on frequency band 1 by parsing message 1. The second communication device 2 can obtain the first information indicating the channel quality corresponding to frequency band 2 and the first MCS information on frequency band 2 by parsing message 2.

[0284] For example, band 1 can be the 2.4 GHz band, and band 2 can be the 5 GHz band.

[0285] Step 2: The second communication device 1 sends BA frame 1 to the first communication device; BA frame 1 carries the first information and the first MCS information obtained based on message 1; the second communication device 2 sends BA frame 2 to the first communication device; BA frame 2 carries the first information and the first MCS information obtained based on message 2.

[0286] The second communication device 1 can feed back the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to frequency band 1 according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, the BA frame 1 carries the first information and the first MCS information. The first information indicates the channel quality corresponding to the entire frequency band 1, and the first MCS is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on frequency band 1. When the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first resource unit feedback granularity, the BA frame 1 carries the first information and the first MCS information. The first information indicates the channel quality corresponding to some or all of the first resource units in frequency band 1, and the first MCS is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource units in frequency band 1. The second communication device 2 can feed back the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to frequency band 2 according to the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device. For example, when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity, the first information and the first MCS information in BA frame 2 are used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire frequency band 2, and the first MCS is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on frequency band 2; when the feedback granularity indicated by the first communication device is the first resource unit feedback granularity, the first information and the first MCS information are carried in BA frame 2, the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to some or all of the first resource units in frequency band 2, and the first MCS is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource units in frequency band 2.

[0287] Step 3: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device 1 on frequency band 1 according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to frequency band 1, and adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device 2 on frequency band 2 according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to frequency band 2.

[0288] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to frequency band 1, and the method by which it adjusts the transmission rate according to the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to frequency band 2, can be found in the description above.

[0289] Step 4: The first communication device sends message 3 to the second communication device 1 on frequency band 1 based on the adjusted transmission rate; and the first communication device sends message 4 to the second communication device 2 on frequency band 2 based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0290] Example 6:

[0291] Taking a single first communication device transmitting messages to multiple second communication devices as an example, in Example 6, the second communication devices feed back first information at the first resource unit granularity and first MCS information to the first communication devices through independent frames. Here, Example 6 uses the example of a second communication device feeding back first information and first MCS information to a first communication device; it should be understood that in the communication method of this application embodiment, the second communication device can also feed back first information to the first communication device.

[0292] The communication process between the first and second communication devices, as shown in Figure 16, may specifically include the following steps:

[0293] Step 1: The first communication device sends a first message to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; wherein the sending rate of the first message can be the initial sending rate.

[0294] Optionally, the first message may include indication information (such as the first indication information and the second indication information mentioned above) to indicate the feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information. The feedback granularity of the first information and the first MCS information may be the first frequency domain resource feedback granularity or the first resource unit feedback granularity as described above.

[0295] The second communication device can obtain the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resources by parsing the first message.

[0296] The second communication device can obtain a first information and a first MCS information corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the second communication device can obtain the first information and the first MCS information corresponding to each first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0297] Step 2: The second communication device sends a BA frame to the first communication device; the BA frame carries the first information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource and the first MCS information; the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the first MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource.

[0298] Step 3: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource according to a first piece of information and / or a first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource.

[0299] In practice, the method by which the first communication device adjusts its transmission rate based on the first information and / or the first MCS information corresponding to the first frequency domain resource can be found in the description above.

[0300] When the first communication device sends the second message, it sends the second message to the second communication device on some or all of the resources of the first frequency domain based on the adjusted transmission rate.

[0301] Step 4: The second communication device sends a third frame to the first communication device; the third frame carries second information and second MCS information. The second information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources. The second MCS information is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

[0302] The third frame can be any type of frame, such as a data frame, management frame, or control frame.

[0303] Step 5: The first communication device adjusts the transmission rate to the second communication device on each first resource unit according to the second information and / or the second MCS information corresponding to each first resource unit of the first frequency domain resource.

[0304] Step 6: The first communication device sends a third message to the second communication device based on the transmission rate adjusted in step 5.

[0305] In practice, the first communication device can determine the corresponding transmission rate on the frequency domain resources required to send the third message based on the transmission rate of each resource unit to the second communication device.

[0306] Figure 17 illustrates a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application. As shown in Figure 17, the communication device 1700 may include modules or units for implementing the method embodiments described above. In one possible design, the communication device 1700 includes a processing unit 1701 and a communication unit 1702. Optionally, the communication device 1700 may further include a storage unit 1703 for storing device program code and / or data.

[0307] The communication device 1700 can be a first communication device-side device in the above embodiments, such as a first communication device, a module (e.g., a circuit, a chip, or a chip system) in the first communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first communication device.

[0308] For example, in one embodiment, communication unit 1702 is configured to transmit a first frame to a second communication device on a first frequency domain resource, the first frame being a non-NDP frame; and to receive a second frame from the second communication device, the second frame including first information, the first information being used to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource. Processing unit 1701 is configured to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device according to the first information.

[0309] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes at least one of the following: the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; and the channel quality corresponding to all first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0310] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of a portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources includes: the channel quality corresponding to a portion of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

[0311] In one possible implementation, the second frame is the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

[0312] In one possible implementation, the second frame further includes first MCS information, which is an MCS recommended by the second communication device.

[0313] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 1701 is configured to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device based on the first information and the first MCS information.

[0314] In one possible implementation, the MCS recommended by the second communication device includes at least one of the following: the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0315] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information.

[0316] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

[0317] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; the communication unit 1702 is further used to receive a third frame from the second communication device, the third frame including the second information, the second information being used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource; the processing unit 1701 is further used to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device according to the second information.

[0318] In one possible implementation, the third frame further includes second MCS information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0319] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 1701 is further configured to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device based on the second information and the second MCS information.

[0320] In one possible implementation, the first frequency domain resource is part or all of the frequency domain resources in the frequency band in which the first communication device operates.

[0321] The communication device 1700 can be a second communication device side device in the above embodiments, such as a second communication device, a module (e.g., circuit, chip or chip system) in the second communication device, or a logic node, logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the second communication device.

[0322] For example, in another embodiment, communication unit 1702 is configured to receive a first frame from a first communication device on a first frequency domain resource, the first frame being a non-NDP frame; and to send a second frame to the first communication device, the second frame including first information, the first information being used to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource, the first information being used to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device. Processing unit 1701 is configured to process the received first frame and generate the second frame.

[0323] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes at least one of the following: the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; and the channel quality corresponding to all first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0324] In one possible implementation, the channel quality of a portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources includes: the channel quality corresponding to a portion of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

[0325] In one possible implementation, the second frame is the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

[0326] In one possible implementation, the second frame further includes first MCS information, which is an MCS recommended by the second communication device.

[0327] In one possible implementation, the MCS recommended by the second communication device includes at least one of the following: the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0328] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should provide feedback on the first information.

[0329] In one possible implementation, the first frame includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

[0330] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the communication unit 1702 is further used to send a third frame to the first communication device; the third frame includes second information, which is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

[0331] In one possible implementation, the third frame further includes second MCS information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

[0332] In one possible implementation, the first frequency domain resource is a portion or all of the frequency domain resources in the frequency band in which the first communication device operates.

[0333] It is understood that the division of units in the above-described device is merely a logical functional division. One function can correspond to one functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one functional unit. In actual implementation, all or some units can be integrated onto a single physical entity, or distributed across different physical entities. Furthermore, the aforementioned functional units can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both. Whether a function is executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for specific applications, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0334] In one example, the functional unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more central processing units (CPUs), one or more microcontroller units (MCUs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms.

[0335] In one example, storage unit 1703 may include random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory or electrically erasable programmable memory and / or registers, etc.

[0336] Figure 18 illustrates a possible exemplary block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1800 shown in Figure 18 includes a processor 1810 and an interface circuit 1820. The processor 1810 and the interface circuit 1820 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1820 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1800 may further include a memory 1830 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1810, or storing input data required for the processor 1810 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1810 executes instructions.

[0337] When the communication device 1800 is used to implement the above method embodiment, the processor 1810 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 1701, and the interface circuit 1820 is used to implement the function of the communication unit 1702.

[0338] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a CPU, or other general-purpose processors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0339] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Furthermore, the ASIC can reside in a first communication device or a second communication device. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can exist as discrete components in the first or second communication device.

[0340] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions for implementing the method executed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0341] For example, when the computer program or instructions are executed by the computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0342] This application also provides a computer program product containing a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to implement the method performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments.

[0343] This application also provides a communication system, which includes the first communication device and the second communication device described in the above embodiments.

[0344] This application also provides a chip device, including a processor, for calling computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory to cause the processor to execute the method provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0345] In one possible implementation, the input of the chip device corresponds to the receiving operation in any of the above embodiments, and the output of the chip device corresponds to the sending operation in any of the above embodiments.

[0346] Optionally, the processor is coupled to the memory via an interface.

[0347] Optionally, the chip device may also include a memory in which computer programs or instructions are stored.

[0348] The processor mentioned above can be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of a program that controls the methods provided in any of the above embodiments. The memory mentioned above can be read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions, such as random access memory (RAM).

[0349] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. A computer program is a set of instructions that directs each step of an action of an electronic computer or other device with message processing capabilities. It is typically written in a programming language and runs on a target architecture. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed, in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be volatile or non-volatile, or it can include both types of storage media.

[0350] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0351] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0352] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0353] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0354] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first communication device, the method includes: A first frame is sent to the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource. The first frame is not an empty data frame (NDP). Receive a second frame from the second communication device, the second frame including first information, the first information being used to indicate the channel quality of some or all of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources; Based on the first information, adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes at least one of the following: The channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; The channel quality corresponding to all first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

3. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The channel quality of a portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes: The channel quality corresponding to a portion of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The second frame is the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The second frame also includes first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device.

6. The method as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The step of adjusting the transmission rate of the first communication device based on the first information includes: Based on the first information and the first MCS information, adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device.

7. The method as described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The MCS recommended by the second communication device includes at least one of the following: The MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; The second communication device recommends the MCS on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The first frame includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should respond with the first information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first frame includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the method further includes: Receive a third frame from the second communication device, the third frame including second information, the second information being used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource; Based on the second information, adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device.

11. The method as described in claim 10, characterized in that, The third frame also includes the second MCS information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The step of adjusting the transmission rate of the first communication device according to the second information includes: Based on the second information and the second MCS information, the transmission rate of the first communication device is adjusted.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second communication device, the method includes: Receive a first frame from a first communication device on a first frequency domain resource, wherein the first frame is a non-empty data frame (NDP). A second frame is sent to the first communication device. The second frame includes first information, which is used to indicate the channel quality of some or all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resources, and the first information is used to adjust the transmission rate of the first communication device.

14. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The channel quality of all frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes at least one of the following: The channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource; The channel quality corresponding to all first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

15. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The channel quality of a portion of the frequency domain resources in the first frequency domain resource includes: The channel quality corresponding to a portion of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resources.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The second frame is the confirmation frame corresponding to the first frame.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that, The second frame also includes first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, The MCS recommended by the second communication device includes at least one of the following: The MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first frequency domain resource; The second communication device recommends the MCS on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that, The first frame includes first indication information, which is used to indicate whether the second communication device should respond with the first information.

20. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 19, characterized in that, The first frame includes second indication information, which is used to indicate the feedback granularity of the second communication device in feeding back the first information.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to the entire first frequency domain resource, and the method further includes: A third frame is sent to the first communication device; the third frame includes second information, which is used to indicate the channel quality corresponding to all or part of the first resource units in the first frequency domain resource.

22. The method as described in claim 21, characterized in that, The third frame also includes second MCS information, which is the MCS recommended by the second communication device on the first resource unit in the first frequency domain resource.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a module for performing the method according to any one of claims 13 to 22.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor and an interface circuit, the processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes at least one processor and an interface circuit, the processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit to implement the method of any one of claims 13 to 22.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, or the method of any one of claims 13 to 22.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, or the method of any one of claims 13 to 22.

29. A communication system, characterized in that, include: A first communication device for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, and a second communication device for implementing the method of any one of claims 13 to 22.

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