Information indication method and apparatus, and device and storage medium

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of Wi-Fi. Disclosed are an information indication method and apparatus, and a device and a storage medium. The method comprises: receiving a first frame, wherein the first frame is used for indicating a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval is an inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame is used for responding to the first frame. The method is conducive to causing a station device to execute, on the basis of a first inter-frame interval explicitly indicated by a first frame, a related operation in the first inter-frame interval, so as to determine whether to send a second frame to respond to the first frame after the first inter-frame interval.

Description

Information indication methods, devices, equipment and storage media Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology, and particularly to an information indication method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, access points and stations can initially interact via Initial Control Frames (ICFs) and Initial Control Responses (ICRs). The access point sends an ICF frame to request the station to respond with an ICR frame; upon receiving the ICF frame, the station decides whether to send an ICR frame in response, depending on the circumstances.

[0003] In the above scheme, the default interval between ICF frames and ICR frames is the Short Interframe Space (SIFS). That is, after receiving an ICF frame, if the station decides to send an ICR frame, it must send the ICR frame after receiving the ICF frame for a period of SIFS. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides an information indication method, apparatus, device, and storage medium. The technical solution is as follows:

[0005] On one hand, embodiments of this application provide an information indication method, which is executed by a site device, and the method includes:

[0006] A first frame is received, which is used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

[0007] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an information indication method, which is executed by a site device, and the method includes:

[0008] Receive a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment;

[0009] A second frame is sent, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0010] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an information indication method, which is executed by an access point device, and the method includes:

[0011] A first frame is sent, which indicates a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

[0012] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an information indication method, which is executed by an access point device, and the method includes:

[0013] Send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment;

[0014] Receive a second frame, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0015] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a site apparatus, which includes:

[0016] A receiving module is used to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

[0017] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a site apparatus, which includes:

[0018] The receiving module is configured to receive a first frame, wherein the first frame is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment;

[0019] A transmitting module is used to transmit a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0020] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an access point device, which includes:

[0021] The sending module is used to send a first frame, which is used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

[0022] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an access point device, which includes:

[0023] The sending module is used to send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment.

[0024] A receiving module is configured to receive a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable time period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable time period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable time period.

[0025] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a site device, which includes: a receiver;

[0026] The receiver is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

[0027] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a site device, which includes: a receiver and a transmitter;

[0028] The receiver is configured to receive a first frame, which is configured to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment.

[0029] The transmitter is configured to transmit a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0030] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an access point device, which includes: a transmitter;

[0031] The transmitter is configured to transmit a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

[0032] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide an access point device, which includes a receiver and a transmitter;

[0033] The transmitter is used to send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment.

[0034] The receiver is configured to receive a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0035] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that is loaded and executed by a site device to implement the information indication methods as described above.

[0036] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that is loaded and executed by an access point device to implement the information indication methods as described above.

[0037] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a chip that includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running on a site device, are used to implement the information indication methods described above.

[0038] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a chip that includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running on an access point device, are used to implement the information indication methods described above.

[0039] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, the computer program product including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium; a processor of a station device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the station device to implement the information indication method of the above aspects.

[0040] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, the computer program product including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium; the processor of an access point device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the access point device to implement the information indication method of the above aspects.

[0041] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer program executed by the processor of a site device to implement the information indication methods described above.

[0042] On the other hand, embodiments of this application provide a computer program executed by the processor of an access point device to implement the information indication methods described above.

[0043] The technical solutions provided in this application embodiment may include the following beneficial effects:

[0044] By receiving a first frame that explicitly indicates the interframe interval, the site device can determine when to send a second frame in response to the first frame. This facilitates efficient interaction between the site device and the access point device. On one hand, it helps avoid errors caused by short interframe intervals. For example, by explicitly indicating a longer interframe interval in the first frame, the site device has sufficient time to determine whether to send a second frame. This prevents erroneous failure to send a second frame when it should have in response to the first frame, or erroneous sending of a second frame when it shouldn't have been sent. On the other hand, it helps avoid inefficient interaction caused by long interframe intervals. Attached Figure Description

[0045] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of an ICF frame format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0050] Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of an ICF frame format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of an ICF frame format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of an ICR frame format provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0054] Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 12 shows a schematic diagram of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0057] Figure 13 shows a schematic diagram of an information indication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0058] Figure 14 shows a structural block diagram of a site device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0059] Figure 15 shows a structural block diagram of an access point device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0060] Figure 16 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0061] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the accompanying drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art with respect to the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0062] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information without departing from the scope of this disclosure, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word “if,” as used herein, can be interpreted as “when,” “in response to a determination,” or “when…”.

[0063] First, let's introduce some channel-related concepts:

[0064] Primary Channel: This refers to the channel shared by all member stations in the basic service set (BSS). For example, in a BSS corresponding to 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 80+80MHz, the primary channel is a main 20MHz channel.

[0065] Nonprimary channel: refers to any 20MHz channel other than the primary 20MHz channel within a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 80+80MHz basic service set (BSS).

[0066] Primary 20MHz Channel: This refers to the 20MHz channel used to transmit 20MHz physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) within a basic service set (BSS) of 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 80+80MHz.

[0067] The primary 40MHz channel is a 40MHz channel used to transmit 40MHz physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs) within an 80MHz, 160MHz, or 80+80MHz basic service set (BSS).

[0068] Primary 80MHz Channel: Within a 160MHz or 80+80MHz basic service set (BSS), this 80MHz channel is used to transmit 80MHz physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs).

[0069] Primary 160MHz Channel: Within a 320MHz basic service set (BSS), this is the 160MHz channel that includes the primary 20MHz channel.

[0070] Sometimes the aforementioned main 20MHz channel, main 40MHz channel, main 80MHz channel, and main 160MHz channel are collectively referred to as the main channel.

[0071] A secondary channel is a channel associated with a primary channel and used to create a channel wider than the primary channel. In a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 80+80MHz basic service set (BSS), the secondary channel is a secondary 20MHz channel.

[0072] Secondary 20MHz Channel: In the 40MHz very high throughput basic service set, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel together forms the 40MHz channel corresponding to the 40MHz very high throughput basic service set. In the 80MHz very high throughput basic service set, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel together forms the primary 40MHz channel corresponding to the 80MHz very high throughput basic service set. In the 160MHz or 80+80MHz very high throughput basic service set, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel together forms the primary 40MHz channel corresponding to the 160MHz or 80+80MHz very high throughput basic service set. (In a 40MHz very high throughput(VHT)basic service set(BSS), the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the 40MHz channel of the 40MHz VHT BSS.In an 80MHz VHT BSS, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the primary 40MHz channel of the 80MHz VHT BSS.In a 160MHz or 80+80MHz VHT BSS, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the primary 40MHz channel of the 160MHz or 80+80MHz VHT BSS.In a VHT BSS, the secondary 20MHz channel is also the secondary channel.)

[0073] The secondary 40MHz channel: In an 80MHz very high throughput (VHT) basic service set (BSS), the 40MHz channel adjacent to the primary 40MHz channel together forms the 80MHz channel of the 80MHz VHT BSS. In a 160MHz or 80+80MHz VHT BSS, the 40MHz channel adjacent to the primary 40MHz channel together forms the primary 80MHz channel.

[0074] Secondary 80MHz Channel: In a 160MHz or 80+80MHz very high throughput (VHT) basic service set (BSS), the 80MHz channel, excluding the primary 20MHz channel, together with the primary 80MHz channel, forms the 160MHz or 80+80MHz channel corresponding to the 160MHz or 80+80MHz VHT BSS.

[0075] The Secondary 160MHz Channel: Within a 320MHz basic service set (BSS), the 160MHz channel, excluding the primary 20MHz channel, together with the primary 160MHz channel, forms the 320MHz channel corresponding to the 320MHz extremely high throughput (EHT) BSS.

[0076] Sometimes the aforementioned 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, and 160MHz channels are collectively referred to as secondary channels.

[0077] Operating Channel: This refers to the channel used to transmit beacon frames. It can be a collection of multiple channels used during operation. Specific examples include 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 320MHz operating channels.

[0078] Operating Channel Width: This refers to the bandwidth of the channel through which the station (STA) is currently able to receive signals. Examples include 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, or 320MHz.

[0079] Anchor Channel: Also known as Non-Primary Channel Access (NPCA) Primary Channel, Second Primary Channel, Temporary Primary Channel, Assistant Primary Channel, Auxiliary Primary Channel, or Target Subchannel. A subchannel within the current operating channel of the basic service set, used as the primary channel when the access point and associated site perform non-primary channel access. Specifically, assuming the access point's current operating channel bandwidth is 160MHz, the subchannels include: Primary 80MHz (P80, including Primary 20MHz (P20), Secondary 20MHz (S20), Secondary 40MHz (S40, including S20-1, S20-2)), and Secondary 80MHz (S80, including S20-3, S20-4, S20-5, S20-6). Optionally, when performing non-master channel access, S20-3 can be used as P20, S20-4 as S20, S20-5 and S20-6 as S40, and P80 as S80.

[0080] Next, we will introduce some technologies related to this application:

[0081] 1. Client power save

[0082] In some embodiments, the station (STA) needs more time to adjust its bandwidth (BW) so that it can check Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) during the short interframe space (SIFS) between the Initial Control Frame (ICF) and the ICF response frame.

[0083] In some embodiments, padding can be used, but it is actually included before the Frame Check Sequence (FCS) in non-High Throughput (HT) mode. This forces the STA to wait until the Physical Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) carrying the ICF (Internal Communication Function) finishes before switching.

[0084] In some embodiments, by adding a new intermediate FCS field (here called FCS2) before padding, the STA can utilize the padding time to change the bandwidth and use SIFS to check for CCA on the transmission opportunity (TXOP) bandwidth.

[0085] In some embodiments, the triggering structure is shown in Table 1 below:

[0086] Table 1

[0087] 2. Intra-device coexistence (Client power save)

[0088] In some embodiments, an indication is needed to show that a Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) triggered frame is requesting a non-trigger-based PPDU (non-TB PPDU). The Common Info field has some reserved values ​​(such as the Guard Interval (GI) field and the High Efficiency Long Training Field (HE-LTF) type field). This indication should be given as early as possible so that the STA can begin preparing the PPDU format. Using a value of 3 for both the GI and HE-LTF type fields achieves this, as it is the earliest possible indication. (First,we need an indication that BSRP Trigger frame is soliciting non-TB PPDU Common Info has some reserved values(earliest is GI And HE-LTF Type(B20-21))and the earliest bit is B63 Note that the figure above shows the EHT variant Common Info field,which also has B22 as reserved.The indication should be as early as possible so that STA can start prepping the PPDU format.Using value 3of GI And HE-LTF Type would achieve that goal since it is the earliest indication possible.)

[0089] The Common Info field contains some fields that are also beneficial for non-TB (Trigger-Based) responses:

[0090] • Trigger Type (variant), Uplink Length (expected response length), More TF (more triggers).

[0091] • Required channel state (CS Required (whether CS is needed or not prior to responding)) and uplink bandwidth (UL BW (the BW of the PPDU)).

[0092] However, there are some fields that are not needed for non-TB responses:

[0093] • Fields used to prepare the TB PPDU response.

[0094] Recommendation: All these fields are reserved when the BSRP trigger requests a non-TB PPDU response. These fields can be used if feedback information needs to be carried in the ICF.

[0095] 3. Uplink Multi-User Channel State Mechanism (UL MUCS mechanism)

[0096] If the CS Required subfield in a received trigger frame is 0, or if a frame containing a Triggered Response Scheduling Control (TRS Control) subfield and requesting a response is received, then the non-AP STA may respond regardless of the medium's busy / idle state.

[0097] If the CS Required subfield in the trigger frame is 1, the STA should consider the state of the CCA during the SIFS period between the trigger frame and the PPDU sent in response to the trigger frame [using energy detection and virtual carrier awareness (NAV) as defined in (#2365) 27.3.22.6 (CCA Sensitivity)]. In this case, the STA should use energy detection sensing media after receiving the PPDU containing the trigger frame (i.e., during the SIFS period), and should perform energy detection at least in the subchannel containing the STA's uplink allocation, where the sensed subchannel consists of one or more 20MHz channels. If the STA detects that the 20MHz channel containing the allocated Resource Unit (RU) in the trigger frame is considered idle, the requested PPDU can be transmitted. If the STA detects that the 20MHz channel containing the allocated RU is not entirely idle, the non-AP STA should not transmit.(If the CS Required subfield in a Trigger frame is 1,then the non-AP STA shall consider the status of the CCA[using energy detect defined in(#2365)27.3.22.6(CCA sensitivity)and the virtual carrier sense(NAV)]during the SIFS between the Trigger frame and the PPDU sent in response to the Trigger frame.In this case,the non-AP STA shall sense the medium using energy detect after receiving the PPDU that contains the Trigger frame(i.e.,during the SIFS),and it shall perform the energy detect at least in the subchannel that contains the non-AP STA’s UL allocation,where the sensed subchannel consists of one or more 20MHz channels.The non-AP STA may transmit the solicited PPDU if the 20MHz channels containing the RUs allocated in the Trigger frame are considered idle.If the non-AP STA detects that the 20MHz channels containing the allocated RUs are not all idle,then the non-AP STA shall not transmit.)。

[0098] 4 Clear to Send (CTS) and Distance Measuring Group (DMG) CTS procedures

[0099] A Very High Throughput (VHT) STA addressed by an RTS frame in a non-HT or non-HT duplicate PPDU that has a bandwidth signaling TA and that has the RXVECTOR parameter DYN_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT equal to Static behaves as follows:

[0100] If the Network Allocation Vector (NAV) indicates idle, and all minor channels (minor 20MHz, minor 40MHz, and minor 80MHz channels) within the channel width indicated by the RXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT for the RTS frame are idle during one Point Coordination Function Interframe Space (PIFS) prior to the start of the RTS frame, the STA should transmit the CTS frame using a non-HT or non-HT duplicate PPDU after SIFS. The TXVECTOR parameters CH_BANDWIDTH and CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT for the CTS frame should be set to the same values ​​as the RXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT for the RTS frame. (If the NAV indicates idle and CCA has been idle for all secondary channels(secondary 20MHz channel,secondary 40MHz channel,and secondary 80MHz channel)in the channel width indicated by the RTS frame's RXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT for a PIFS prior to the start of the RTS frame,then the STA shall respond with a CTS frame carried in a non-HT or non-HT duplicate PPDU after a SIFS.The CTS frame's TXVECTOR parameters CH_BANDWIDTH and CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT shall be set to the same value as the RTS frame's RXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT.)

[0101] Otherwise, the STA should not respond to a CTS frame.

[0102] A VHT STA addressed by an RTS frame in a non-HT or non-HT duplicate PPDU that has a bandwidth signaling TA and that has the RXVECTOR parameter DYN_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT behaves as follows:

[0103] • If the NAV indicates idle, the STA should respond to the CTS frame with a non-HT or non-HT duplicate PPDU after SIFS. The TXVECTOR parameters CH_BANDWIDTH and CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT of the CTS frame should be set to any channel width for which the CCA is idle for all secondary channels during a PIFS period prior to the start of the RTS frame, and this channel width is less than or equal to the channel width indicated by the RXVECTOR parameter CH_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT of the RTS frame.

[0104] Otherwise, the STA should not respond to CTS frames.

[0105] 5. Trigger Frames

[0106] A Multi-user Request-to-Send (MU-RTS) trigger frame allocates resources and requests the transmission of one or more TB PPDUs. The trigger frame also carries additional information required in response to the STA sending an HE TB PPDU, EHT TB PPDU, Non-HT PPDU, or Non-HT Duplicate PPDU.

[0107] The format of the trigger frame is shown in Table 2 below:

[0108] Table 2

[0109] in:

[0110] Frame Control field: Carries control information such as frame type.

[0111] Duration field: Indicates the remaining TXOP duration.

[0112] RA field: Indicates the site address or broadcast address that received the trigger frame.

[0113] TA field: Indicates the address of the site that sent the trigger frame or the Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) that sent it.

[0114] Common Info field: A non-EHT non-AP HE STA interprets the Common Info field as an HE variant Common Info field (as shown in Table 3 below). If B54 and B55 in the Common Info field are equal to 1, the non-AP EHT STA interprets the Common Info field as an HE variant Common Info field; otherwise, it interprets the Common Info field as an EHT variant Common Info field (as shown in Table 4 below).

[0115] Table 3

[0116] Table 4

[0117] The User Info field has three variants: Special User Info, High Efficiency (HE) variant User Info, and Extremely High Throughput (EHT) variant User Info.

[0118] All User Info fields (including Special User Info fields) in the User Info List field of the triggering frame have the same length, unless the triggering frame is a Multi-User Block Acknowledgment Request (MU-BAR) triggering frame.

[0119] The format of the Special User Info field is shown in Table 5 below:

[0120] Table 5

[0121] The Special User Info field is a User Info field that does not carry information specific to a particular user, but carries extended public information not provided in the Common Info field. If a Special User Info field exists, it is placed after the Common Info field in the triggering frame and carries information from the U-SIG field of the requested EHT TB PPDU.

[0122] in,

[0123] The value of the AID12 field is 2007, indicating that this User Info field is a Special User Info field.

[0124] The PHY Version Identifier field is used to indicate the PHY version of the requested TB PPDU (non-HE TB PPDU). For EHT, the PHY Version Identifier field is set to 0, and values ​​between 1 and 7 are reserved.

[0125] The UL Bandwidth Extension field, together with the UL BW field in the Common Info field, indicates the bandwidth of the requested TB PPDU.

[0126] The EHT Spatial Reuse 1 field carries the value to be included in the corresponding Spatial Reuse 1 subfield of the U-SIG field of the EHT TB PPDU.

[0127] The EHT Spatial Reuse 2 field carries the value to be included in the corresponding Spatial Reuse 2 subfield of the U-SIG field of the EHT TB PPDU.

[0128] The User-Specific Information Field (U-SIG) Disregard And Validate field carries the value from the Disregard And Validate subfield to be included in the U-SIG field of the requested EHT TB PPDU.

[0129] The presence and length of the Trigger Dependent User Info field in the Special User Info field depend on the variant of the trigger frame. When present, the length and subfields of the trigger-related user information subfield are as follows:

[0130] • It has a length of one octet and retains all subfields in the Basic Trigger frame and the Beamforming Report Poll Trigger (BFRP Trigger frame).

[0131] • It has a length of four octets and retains all subfields except the BAR type subfield in the MU-BAR trigger frame. The BAR type subfield is set to indicate the compressed BAR in the MU BAR trigger frame.

[0132] If the Special User Info field is included in other trigger frame variants, then the Trigger Dependent User Info field is not present in the Special User Info field.

[0133] The format of the HE variant User Info field is shown in Table 6 below:

[0134] Table 6

[0135] in,

[0136] The AID12 field is used to indicate the AID of an associated site or a non-associated site.

[0137] The Resource Unit (RU) Allocation field, together with the UL BW field in the Common Info field, identifies the size and location of the Resource Unit (RU).

[0138] The Uplink Forward Error Correction Coding Type (UL FEC Coding Type) field indicates the encoding type of the requested HE TB PPDU. A UL FEC Coding Type setting of 0 indicates Binary Convolutional Coding (BCC), and a setting of 1 indicates Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) encoding.

[0139] The Uplink High Efficiency Modulation and Coding (UL HE-MCS) field indicates the HE-MCS of the requested HE TB PPDU.

[0140] The Uplink Dual Carrier Modulation (UL DCM) field indicates the Dual Carrier Modulation (DCM) of the requested HE TB PPDU. A UL DCM field set to 1 indicates that DCM is used in the requested HE TB PPDU. A UL DCM field set to 0 indicates that DCM is not used. If the Uplink Spatial-Time Block Code (UL STBC) in the Common Info field is set to 1, the UL DCM field is set to 0.

[0141] The Space Allocation (SS Allocation) field is used to indicate the space flow of the requested HE TB PPDU, and the specific format is shown in Table 7 below:

[0142] Table 7

[0143] The Starting Spatial Stream field indicates the starting spatial stream and is set to the starting spatial stream minus 1.

[0144] The Number of Spatial Streams field indicates the number of spatial streams; set it to the number of spatial streams minus 1.

[0145] The Random Access Resource Unit Information (RA-RU Information) field is used to represent resource unit allocation information, and its specific format is shown in Table 8 below:

[0146] Table 8

[0147] The Number of RA-RU field indicates the number of consecutive RUs allocated for Uplink OFDMA Random Access (UORA).

[0148] The More Random Access Resource Unit (More RA-RU) field is set to 1 to indicate that the RA-RU indicated by the AID12 subfield in the HE variant user information field will be allocated in subsequent trigger frames until the end of the Target Wake Time (TWT) Service Period (SP) for which the trigger frame carrying this field is sent. Otherwise, the subfield is set to 0. If the More Triggers (More TF) field in the Common Info field is set to 0, the More Random Access Resource Unit (More RA-RU) field is retained.

[0149] The Uplink Target Receive Power (UL Target Receive Power) field indicates the expected received signal power.

[0150] The format of the Trigger Dependent User Info field differs in different Trigger frames. The format of the Trigger Dependent User Info field in the Basic Trigger frame is shown in Figure 9 below:

[0151] Table 9

[0152] The MPDU MU Spacing Factor field is used to calculate the value multiplied by the minimum Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) starting interval.

[0153] The Flow Identifier Aggregation Limit (TID) field indicates the number of MPDUs allowed in the aggregation MPDU carried in the HE TB PPDU, as well as the maximum number of Flow Identifiers (TIDs) that the STA can aggregate in the A-MPDU.

[0154] The Preferred Access Category (AC) field indicates the lowest recommended Access Category (AC) for the MPDU in the A-MPDU.

[0155] The format of the EHT variant User Info field is shown in Table 10 below:

[0156] Table 10

[0157] in,

[0158] The AID12 field is used to indicate the AID of an associated site or a non-associated site.

[0159] The Resource Unit (RU) Allocation field, together with the UL BW field in the Common Info field, the Uplink Bandwidth Extension field in the Special User Info field, and the PS160 field in the EHT variant User Info field, identifies the size and location of the Resource Unit (RU).

[0160] The Uplink Forward Error Correction Coding Type (UL FEC Coding Type) field indicates the encoding type of the requested EHT TB PPDU. A UL FEC Coding Type setting of 0 indicates Binary Convolutional Coding (BCC), and a setting of 1 indicates Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) encoding.

[0161] The Uplink High Efficiency Modulation and Coding (UL HE-MCS) field indicates the EHT-MCS of the requested EHT TB PPDU.

[0162] The Space Allocation (SS Allocation) field is used to indicate the space flow of the requested EHT TB PPDU, and its specific format is shown in Table 11 below:

[0163] Table 11

[0164] The Starting Spatial Stream field indicates the starting spatial stream and is set to the starting spatial stream minus 1. The maximum value of the Starting Spatial Stream subfield is 7. Values ​​above 7 are reserved for STA. If no corresponding RU or MRU is allocated for MU-MIMO, the Starting Spatial Stream field is set to 0.

[0165] The Number of Spatial Streams field indicates the number of spatial streams; set it to the number of spatial streams minus 1.

[0166] The Uplink Target Receive Power (UL Target Receive Power) field indicates the expected received signal power.

[0167] The Trigger Dependent User Info field in the EHT variant User Info field is the same as the Trigger Dependent User Info field in the HE variant User Info field.

[0168] 6 Block Ack frames

[0169] The BlockAck frame is a control frame used to perform batch acknowledgments on Media Access Control Service Data Units (MSDUs). Its frame format is shown in Table 12 below:

[0170] Table 12

[0171] in:

[0172] Frame Control field: Carries control information such as frame type.

[0173] Duration field: Indicates the remaining TXOP duration.

[0174] RA field: Indicates the address of the received block acknowledgment frame (BlockAck frame).

[0175] TA field: Indicates the address to which the Block Acknowledgment (BlockAck) frame was sent.

[0176] The format of the Block Acknowledgment Control (BA Control) field is shown in Table 13 below:

[0177] Table 13

[0178] in,

[0179] The Block Acknowledgment Type (BA Type) field indicates the variants of the Block Acknowledgment (BlockAck) frame, as shown in Table 14:

[0180] Table 14

[0181] in,

[0182] The following is a description of the compressed block acknowledgment frame variant:

[0183] The Stream Identifier (TID_INFO) field of the Block Acknowledgment Control (BA Control) field of a compressed Block Acknowledgment (BA) frame contains the TID that sent the Block Acknowledgment (BA) frame.

[0184] The format of the Block Acknowledgment Information (BA Information) field in a compressed Block Acknowledgment (BAck) frame is shown in Table 15 below:

[0185] Table 15

[0186] The Block Ack Starting Sequence Control field indicates the sequence number of the first MSDU or A-MSDU acknowledged in this Block Ack frame.

[0187] Each bit in the Block Ack Bitmap field indicates whether the corresponding MSDU or A-MSDU was successfully received; a value of 1 indicates success, and a value of 0 indicates failure.

[0188] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system 10 provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The communication system 10 includes terminals and terminals, or terminals and network devices, or access points (APs) and stations (STAs), which are not limited in this application. In this application, the communication system 10 is illustrated using an AP 110 and a STA 120 as an example.

[0189] In some scenarios, an AP can also be called an AP STA, meaning that in a sense, an AP is also a type of STA. In other scenarios, a STA can also be called a non-AP STA.

[0190] In some embodiments, a STA may include an AP STA and a non-AP STA. Communication in the communication system can be between an AP and a non-AP STA, between two non-AP STAs, or between a STA and a peer STA. A peer STA can refer to a device communicating with the STA from the other end; for example, a peer STA may be an AP or a non-AP STA. Exemplarily, there are two communication scenarios between a STA and an AP: uplink communication and downlink communication. Uplink communication refers to the STA sending signals to the AP; downlink communication refers to the AP sending signals to the STA. 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 the Ethernet. An AP device can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router) with a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip.

[0191] It should be understood that the role of a STA in a communication system is not absolute. For example, in some scenarios, when a mobile phone connects to a router, it acts as a non-AP STA; when the phone serves as a hotspot for other mobile phones, it acts as an AP. APs and non-AP STAs can be devices used in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, IoT nodes and sensors in the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters in smart homes, and sensors in smart cities.

[0192] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA may support, but is not limited to, the 802.11be standard. The non-AP STA may also support various current and future 802.11 family of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. In some embodiments, the AP may be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. The AP may also be a device that supports various current and future 802.11 family of WLAN standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0193] In this application embodiment, the STA can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, communication device in industrial control, set-top box, communication device in autonomous driving, vehicle communication device, communication device in telemedicine, communication device in smart grid, communication device in transportation safety, communication device in smart city, or communication device in smart home, wireless communication chip, etc. WLAN technology can support frequency bands including but not limited to: low frequency bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz) and high frequency bands (45GHz, 60GHz).

[0194] One or more links exist between a site and an access point. In some embodiments, the site and access point support multi-band communication, for example, simultaneously communicating on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 45 GHz, and 60 GHz bands, or simultaneously communicating on different channels within the same (or different) bands, improving communication throughput and / or reliability between devices. Such devices are commonly referred to as multi-band devices, and may also be called multi-link devices (MLDs), sometimes also called multi-link entities or multi-band entities. A multi-link device can be an access point device or a site device. If the multi-link device is an access point device, it includes one or more access points (APs); if the multi-link device is a site device, it includes one or more non-AP STAs. A multi-link device including one or more APs can also be called an AP, and a multi-link device including one or more non-AP STAs can also be called a Non-AP. In this embodiment, a Non-AP can be called a STA.

[0195] In this embodiment of the application, an AP may include multiple APs, and a Non-AP may include multiple STAs. Multiple links may be formed between the multiple APs in the AP and the multiple STAs in the Non-AP. Data communication may be performed between the APs in the AP and the corresponding STAs in the Non-AP through the corresponding links.

[0196] An AP is a device deployed in a wireless local area network to provide wireless communication functions for a STA. A STA may include: User Equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device. Optionally, a STA may also be a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication functions, computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, vehicle-mounted device, or wearable device. This application embodiment does not limit the scope of the application.

[0197] In the embodiments of this application, both STA and AP support the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, but are not limited to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0198] In some embodiments, the AP and STA can initiate initial interaction via an Initial Control Frame (ICF) and an Initial Control Response (ICR). For example, as shown in Figure 2, the AP sends an ICF frame to the STA, and after receiving the ICF frame, the STA sends an ICR frame to the AP. The ICR frame is used to respond to the ICF frame sent by the AP.

[0199] In related technologies, the default interval between ICF frames and ICR frames is the Short Interframe Space (SIFS), as shown in Figure 2. Therefore, the station receiving the ICF frame (or, in other words, the station sending the ICR frame) can only determine the idle state of the sub-channel within the SIFS interval, and then decide whether to reply with an ICR frame or not.

[0200] However, because SIFS time is short, meaning the station has a short listening time for the sub-channel, it is easy to make incorrect judgments about the idle state of the sub-channel, which may cause subsequent transmissions to be interfered with.

[0201] To address the aforementioned problems, this application proposes an information indication method that can clearly indicate the inter-frame interval. Figure 3 shows a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the information indication method provided by this application. This method is jointly executed by an access point device (AP110 as shown in Figure 1) and a site device (STA120 as shown in Figure 1). The method includes:

[0202] Step 1: The access point device sends the first frame, which is used to indicate the interval between the first frames;

[0203] In some embodiments, the first inter-frame interval is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and the second frame is used in response to the first frame. It should be noted that the second frame is sent by the site device that received the first frame. For example, the site device that received the first frame sends the second frame back to the access point device after the first inter-frame interval following the receipt of the first frame; the second frame is a response to the first frame.

[0204] Step 2: The site device receives the first frame, which is used to indicate the interval between first frames.

[0205] In some embodiments, the site device receives a first frame. Since the first frame indicates a first inter-frame interval, the site device may optionally send back a second frame or not send back a second frame after the first inter-frame interval following the receipt of the first frame.

[0206] In some embodiments, the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment within the first inter-frame interval. Based on the assessment result, it determines whether to feed back a second frame or not. For example, if the idle channel assessment result meets certain conditions, the site device feeds back a second frame. For instance, if the idle channel assessment result indicates that all sub-channels are idle, the site device feeds back a second frame. Alternatively, if the idle channel assessment result does not meet certain conditions, the site device does not feed back a second frame. For instance, if the idle channel assessment result indicates that at least one sub-channel is busy or unavailable, the site device does not feed back a second frame.

[0207] In some embodiments, the site device is not required to perform an idle channel assessment during the first frame interval. Optionally, the site device always feeds back a second frame. Optionally, the site device determines whether to feed back a second frame based on other conditions, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0208] For example, as shown in Figure 4, taking the first frame as an ICF frame and the second frame as an ICR frame as an example, the AP sends an ICF frame, which is used to indicate the first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the ICF frame and the ICR frame. After receiving the ICF frame, the STA can optionally send back an ICR frame or not send back an ICR frame after the first inter-frame interval.

[0209] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment explicitly indicates the inter-frame interval in the first frame, enabling the site device to determine when to send the second frame in response to the first frame. This facilitates efficient interaction between the site device and the access point device. On one hand, it helps avoid errors in judgment by the site device due to short inter-frame intervals. For example, by explicitly indicating a longer inter-frame interval in the first frame, the site device has sufficient time to determine whether to send the second frame. This avoids erroneously failing to send the second frame when it should have been sent in response to the first frame, or erroneously sending the second frame when it shouldn't have been sent in response to the first frame. On the other hand, it helps avoid low interaction efficiency caused by long inter-frame intervals.

[0210] It should be noted that steps 1 and 2 above can be implemented as separate embodiments.

[0211] In some embodiments, the first inter-frame interval is one of at least two inter-frame intervals. Alternatively, it can be understood that the first frame can dynamically indicate one of at least two inter-frame intervals. That is, the inter-frame interval between the first and second frames can be dynamically indicated by the first frame, rather than being the default SIFS. This facilitates efficient interaction between site equipment and access point equipment. For example, the access point equipment can dynamically indicate an inter-frame interval that matches service requirements.

[0212] In some embodiments, at least one of the at least two inter-frame intervals is greater than SIFS. Since SIFS is a short interval, when at least one inter-frame interval is greater than SIFS, the station device has more time to make a judgment, which helps the station device to accurately decide whether to send a second frame in response to the first frame.

[0213] In some embodiments, at least one inter-frame interval includes at least one of the following:

[0214] • Point Coordination Function Interframe Space (PIFS);

[0215] • Distributed Interframe Spacing (DIFS);

[0216] Arbitration Interframe Space (AIFS);

[0217] • Confirm timeout (AckTimeout);

[0218] • At least one time slot;

[0219] • The first interval comprises the sum of PIFS and at least one time slot;

[0220] • The second interval comprises the sum of DIFS and at least one time slot;

[0221] • The third interval includes the sum of AIFS and at least one time slot.

[0222] In some embodiments, AIFS includes at least one of the following:

[0223] • The first AIFS related to voice services;

[0224] • A second AIFS related to video services;

[0225] • The third AIFS related to best-effort data services;

[0226] • The fourth AIFS related to back-end data services.

[0227] Optionally, the first AIFS related to voice services is AIFS[AC_VO].

[0228] Optionally, the second AIFS related to video services is AIFS[AC_VI].

[0229] Optionally, the third AIFS associated with best-effort data services is AIFS[AC_BE].

[0230] Optionally, the fourth AIFS related to back-end data services is AIFS[AC_BK].

[0231] In some embodiments, in order to enable the first frame to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, the present application provides the following two frame formats for the first frame:

[0232] Format 1: The first frame carries a first field, which indicates the inter-frame interval between the first and second frames. It should be noted that this first field is specifically used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first and second frames.

[0233] Format 2: The first frame carries a second field, which indicates the inter-frame interval between the first and second frames, and whether the site equipment performs an idle channel assessment. It should be noted that this second field indicates not only the inter-frame interval between the first and second frames, but also whether the site equipment performs an idle channel assessment. That is, this second field is a composite field. It should also be noted that in related technologies, the second field is already used to indicate whether the site equipment performs an idle channel assessment; therefore, the second field can be understood as a reused existing field that additionally indicates the inter-frame interval between the first and second frames.

[0234] This embodiment uses an ICF frame as an example for illustration. Assume the ICF frame is the Trigger frame described in the background section above. The Trigger Type field has a value of 4, and the GI and HE / EHT / UHR-LTF Type / TXS mode / ICF Mode fields have a value of 3. The Trigger Type field having a value of 4 indicates that the frame is a BSRP Trigger frame. The GI and HE / EHT / UHR-LTF Type / TXS mode / ICF Mode fields having a value of 3 indicates that the response frame for this trigger frame must be carried in a non-HT PPDU or a non-HT duplicated PPDU.

[0235] Regarding format one:

[0236] For example, the format of an ICF frame is shown in Figure 5.

[0237] In some embodiments, the first field is an interval field, such as the Interval field in Figure 5. Optionally, since the first field can dynamically indicate one of at least two inter-frame intervals, and at least one of the at least two inter-frame intervals is greater than SIFS, that is, the first field can indicate a longer inter-frame interval, the first field can also be called a Large Interval field, which is not limited in this application embodiment.

[0238] Optionally, taking the first field as an example, it can indicate SIFS or xIFS. Here, xIFS is a time interval greater than SIFS. Optionally, xIFS includes any one of PIFS, DIFS, AIFS[AC_VO], AIFS[AC_VI], AIFS[AC_BE], AIFS[AC_BK], AckTimeout, several time slots, PIFS + several time slots, DIFS + several time slots, AIFS[AC_VO] + several time slots, AIFS[AC_VI] + several time slots, AIFS[AC_BE] + several time slots, and AIFS[AC_BK] + several time slots.

[0239] Optionally, when the Interval field takes the first value, it indicates that the inter-frame interval is SIFS; when the Interval field takes the second value, it indicates that the inter-frame interval is xIFS. For example, when the Interval field takes the value 0, it indicates that the inter-frame interval is SIFS; when the Interval field takes the value 1, it indicates that the inter-frame interval is xIFS. Or, for another example, when the Interval field takes the value 1, it indicates that the inter-frame interval is SIFS; when the Interval field takes the value 0, it indicates that the inter-frame interval is xIFS.

[0240] In some embodiments, the CS Required field shown in Figure 5 indicates whether the site device needs to use Energy Detect (ED) to sense the medium and whether it needs to consider the medium state and Network Allocation Vector (NAV) to determine whether to respond (e.g., whether to send an ICR frame). Alternatively, the CS Required field can be understood as indicating whether the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment.

[0241] Optionally, a value of 1 in the CS Required field indicates that the site device needs to use ED to sense the medium and consider the medium state and NAV to determine whether to respond. Alternatively, a value of 1 in the CS Required field indicates that the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment. A value of 0 in the CS Required field indicates that the site device does not need to consider the medium state and NAV to determine whether to respond. Alternatively, a value of 0 in the CS Required field indicates that the site device does not need to perform an idle channel assessment.

[0242] In some embodiments, the UL BW field shown in Figure 5 is used in conjunction with the UL Bandwidth Extension field to indicate the bandwidth of the response frame (e.g., the bandwidth of the ICR).

[0243] It should be noted that in the embodiment shown in Figure 5, the meanings of the other fields are the same as those of the fields in the background introduction 5 (trigger frame) section above. Further details will not be provided here.

[0244] Regarding format two:

[0245] For example, the format of an ICF frame is shown in Figure 6.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second field is a channel state field, such as the CS Required field in Figure 6. In one possible understanding, the CS Required field shown in Figure 6 and the CS Required field shown in Figure 5 partially indicate the same thing, both serving to indicate whether the site equipment needs to perform an idle channel assessment. However, the CS Required field shown in Figure 6 also indicates the inter-frame interval.

[0247] Optionally, the second field may also be used to indicate SIFS or xIFS. xIFS is a time interval greater than SIFS. Optionally, xIFS includes any of PIFS, DIFS, AIFS[AC_VO], AIFS[AC_VI], AIFS[AC_BE], AIFS[AC_BK], AckTimeout, several time slots, PIFS + several time slots, DIFS + several time slots, AIFS[AC_VO] + several time slots, AIFS[AC_VI] + several time slots, AIFS[AC_BE] + several time slots, and AIFS[AC_BK] + several time slots.

[0248] Optionally, when the second field takes the third value, it indicates that the station device does not need to perform idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval is SIFS; when the second field takes the fourth value, it indicates that the station device needs to perform idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval is xIFS. For example, when the second field is 0, it indicates that the station device does not need to perform idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval is SIFS; when the second field is 1, it indicates that the station device needs to perform idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval is xIFS. Or, for example, when the second field is 1, it indicates that the station device does not need to perform idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval is SIFS; when the second field is 0, it indicates that the station device needs to perform idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval is xIFS. Here, by using a single field to simultaneously indicate whether idle channel assessment and the inter-frame interval are required, the idle channel assessment operation is bound to the length of the inter-frame interval. For example, when the ICF frame indicates that the station device needs to perform idle channel assessment, it also indicates that the inter-frame interval is xIFS, which helps ensure that the station device has sufficient time to perform idle channel assessment and avoids assessment errors due to insufficient time.

[0249] It should be noted that in the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the meanings of the other fields are the same as those of the fields in the background introduction 5 (trigger frame) section above. Further details will not be provided here.

[0250] One more point to note is that when the Trigger Type field has a value of 4, but the values ​​of the GI and HE / EHT / UHR-LTF Type / TXS mode / ICF Mode fields are not 3, the format of the ICF frame is shown in Figure 7. The values ​​of GI and HE / EHT / UHR-LTF Type / TXS mode / ICF Mode fields (0-2) indicate different LTF types in the TB PPDU, as shown in Table 16 below.

[0251] Table 16

[0252] In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the meanings of the other fields are the same as those of the fields in the background introduction 5 (trigger frame) section above. They will not be repeated here.

[0253] In related technologies, when an access point device sends a first frame to request a site device to send a second frame, if the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment before deciding whether to send the second frame, all sub-channels must be assessed as idle before sending the second frame in response to the first frame. For example, consider an ICF frame as the first frame and an ICR frame as the second frame. After receiving the ICF frame, the site device performs an idle channel assessment. If the site device detects that all sub-channels are idle, it sends an ICR frame; if the site device detects that at least one sub-channel is busy or unavailable, it does not send an ICR frame. Channel utilization is low in this case. For example, assuming there are four sub-channels {sub-channel 1, sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, sub-channel 4}, if even one sub-channel (e.g., sub-channel 1) is detected as busy or unavailable, the site device will not continue sending ICR frames to the access point device. However, if {sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, and sub-channel 4} are all idle, these idle sub-channels cannot be utilized.

[0254] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of an information indication method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is jointly executed by an access point device (AP110 as shown in Figure 1) and a site device (STA120 as shown in Figure 1). The method includes:

[0255] Step 3: If the site device sends a second frame after the first frame indicates that an idle channel assessment has been performed and the assessment result of the idle channel assessment is the first result.

[0256] In some embodiments, before performing step 3, the site device must first receive the first frame sent by the access point device. Alternatively, this can be understood as including the following steps before step 3:

[0257] Step 1.1: The access point device sends the first frame, which is used to instruct the site device to perform an idle channel assessment;

[0258] Step 2.1: The site device receives the first frame, which is used to instruct the site device to perform an idle channel assessment.

[0259] For example, taking the first frame as an ICF frame, as shown in Figure 5, 6, or 7 above, the CS Required field is used to indicate whether the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment. Optionally, when the CS Required field is 1, it indicates that the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment. When the CS Required field is 0, it indicates that the site device does not need to perform an idle channel assessment. This part is consistent with related technical methods and will not be elaborated here.

[0260] It should be noted that in some embodiments, steps 1.1 and 2.1 in this application embodiment may differ from steps 1 and 2 described above. That is, the first frame in this application embodiment may not indicate the first frame interval. In some embodiments, step 1.1 in this application embodiment may be consistent with step 1 described above, and step 2.1 may be consistent with step 2 described above. That is, the first frame in this application embodiment is used not only to instruct the site equipment to perform idle channel assessment, but also to indicate the first frame interval.

[0261] In some embodiments, after receiving a first frame, the site device performs an idle channel assessment according to the instructions in the first frame. If the idle channel assessment result is a first result, a second frame is sent. The first result is that at least one idle sub-channel exists on the working channel. Alternatively, this can be understood as the site device sending a second frame to the access point device in response to the first frame if it detects that at least one idle sub-channel exists on the working channel.

[0262] For example, let's take the first frame as an ICF frame and the second frame as an ICR frame. The access point device sends an ICF frame, which instructs the receiving station to perform an idle channel assessment. After receiving the ICF frame, the station device performs an idle channel assessment according to the instructions in the ICF frame. If the idle channel assessment result is that at least one idle sub-channel exists on the working channel, the station device sends an ICR frame.

[0263] Step 4: The access point device receives the second frame. The second frame is sent when the site device performs an idle channel assessment and the assessment result of the idle channel assessment is the first result.

[0264] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment, when the site device performs an idle channel assessment and the assessment result is a first result, sends a second frame in response to the first frame. Sending the second frame when the assessment determines that at least one idle sub-channel exists is beneficial for fully utilizing the idle sub-channel, thereby improving channel utilization.

[0265] It should be noted that steps 3 and 4 above can be implemented as separate embodiments.

[0266] In some embodiments, the channel bandwidth occupied by the second frame is determined based on at least one idle sub-channel. For example, the channel bandwidth occupied by the second frame is equal to the channel width of at least one idle sub-channel.

[0267] In some embodiments, the channel width occupied by the first frame is a first channel width, and the channel width occupied by the second frame is a second channel width, wherein the second channel width is less than or equal to the first channel width. Optionally, the first channel width is indicated by the first frame. For example, taking the first frame as an ICF frame, as shown in Figures 5, 6, or 7 above, the UL BW field and / or UL Bandwidth Extension field in the ICF frame are used to indicate the second channel bandwidth.

[0268] In some embodiments, the second frame carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information indicates the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information indicates the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period. This helps access points to more accurately understand the channel status of site equipment, thereby ensuring more flexible and accurate resource allocation subsequently.

[0269] In some embodiments, the second frame includes at least one of the following fields:

[0270] • The third field indicates the data type of the report carried in the fourth field;

[0271] • The fourth field indicates the available and / or unavailable sub-channels.

[0272] In some embodiments, the reported data type includes at least one of the following:

[0273] • Type 1 indicates available channel information;

[0274] • The second type indicates unavailable time periods;

[0275] The third type indicates available channel information and unavailable time periods.

[0276] In this embodiment, the second frame is taken as an ICR frame. For example, the format of the ICR frame is shown in Figure 9, which is modified from the Multi-STA Block Ack frame.

[0277] In some embodiments, the third field is a report type field. For example, the third field may be the Report Type field shown in Figure 9.

[0278] In some embodiments, the fourth field is a bitmap field. For example, the fourth field may be the BlockAck Bitmap field shown in Figure 9.

[0279] For example, the Report Type field is used to indicate the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field. Optionally, when the Report Type field is a first type value, it indicates that the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 1. When the Report Type field is a second type value, it indicates that the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 2. When the Report Type field is a third type value, it indicates that the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 3. For instance, when the Report Type field is 0, it indicates that the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 1. When the Report Type field is set to 1, it indicates that the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is type 2. When the Report Type field is set to 2, it indicates that the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is type 3. See Table 17 below:

[0280] Table 17

[0281] It should be noted that the Report Type field's values ​​for the reported data type carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field may also include other combinations. For example, a Report Type value of 1 indicates that the reported data type in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 1. A Report Type value of 2 indicates that the reported data type in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 2. A Report Type value of 3 indicates that the reported data type in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type 3. Further examples will not be provided here.

[0282] In some embodiments, when the reported data type is of the first type, the fourth field includes the first subfield and does not include the second and third subfields. When the reported data type is of the second type, the fourth field includes the second and third subfields and does not include the first subfield. When the reported data type is of the third type, the fourth field includes the first, second, and third subfields. The first subfield indicates available and / or unavailable subchannels, the second subfield indicates the start time of the unavailable period, and the third subfield indicates the duration of the unavailable period.

[0283] In some embodiments, the first subfield is an available channel information field; the second subfield is a start time field for an unavailable period; and the third subfield is a duration field for an unavailable period.

[0284] For example, the first subfield is the Available Channel Info field shown in Figure 9. The second subfield is the Unavailability Period Start Time field shown in Figure 9. The third subfield is the Unavailability Period Duration field shown in Figure 9.

[0285] In some embodiments, when the Report Type field indicates that the data type of the report carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of the first type, the BlockAck Bitmap field contains an Available Channel Info field, but does not contain an Unavailability Period Start Time field or an Unavailability Period Duration field.

[0286] In some embodiments, when the Report Type field indicates that the data type of the report carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of the second type, the BlockAck Bitmap field does not contain an Available Channel Info field, but it does contain an Unavailability Period Start Time field and an Unavailability Period Duration field.

[0287] In some embodiments, when the Report Type field indicates that the data type of the report carried in the BlockAck Bitmap field is of type three, the BlockAck Bitmap field contains an Available Channel Info field, an Unavailability Period Start Time field, and an Unavailability Period Duration field.

[0288] In some embodiments, the first subfield includes at least one bit, each of which is used to indicate a subchannel; wherein, when the value of the i-th bit is a first value, it indicates that the (i+1)-th subchannel is idle; when the value of the i-th bit is a second value, it indicates that the (i+1)-th subchannel is busy or unavailable; where i is a positive integer. For example, when the value of the i-th bit is 0, it indicates that the (i+1)-th subchannel is idle; when the value of the i-th bit is 1, it indicates that the (i+1)-th subchannel is busy or unavailable. Or, for example, when the value of the i-th bit is 1, it indicates that the (i+1)-th subchannel is idle; when the value of the i-th bit is 0, it indicates that the (i+1)-th subchannel is busy or unavailable.

[0289] For example, assuming the site device corresponds to 4 sub-channels {sub-channel 1, sub-channel 2, sub-channel 3, sub-channel 4}, then when the first sub-field indicates {0110}, it means that sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 4 are busy or unavailable, and sub-channel 2 and sub-channel 3 are available; or it means that sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 4 are available, and sub-channel 2 and sub-channel 3 are busy or unavailable.

[0290] In some embodiments, ICR frames can also be obtained by aggregating multi-STA block acknowledgment frames (Multi-STA BlockAck frames) and QoS null frames (QoS Null frames), and their fields are described above, so they will not be repeated here.

[0291] In some embodiments, the ICF frame includes at least one of the BSRP Trigger frame, MU-RTS Trigger frame, NFRP Trigger frame, and BQRP Trigger frame. The ICR frame includes a BlockAck frame and / or a CTS frame. For example, the ICF frame is an MU-RTS Trigger frame, and the ICR frame is a CTS frame.

[0292] In some embodiments, the method provided in this application is suitable for scenarios where the STA needs to increase its operating bandwidth after receiving an ICF frame.

[0293] For example, as shown in Figure 10, the AP sends an ICF frame to trigger the STA to switch from low-power mode (20MHz) to high-power mode (80MHz) for subsequent high-speed data transmission at 80MHz. The ICF frame sent by the AP is carried in an 80MHz non-HT duplicated PPDU, and the format of the ICF frame is shown in Figure 5 or Figure 6.

[0294] Specifically, the ICF frame indicates that the STA needs to perform an idle channel assessment before replying to the ICR frame, and the ICF frame indicates that the AP expects the STA to reply with an ICR frame with an 80MHz bandwidth. The ICF frame also indicates that the ICR frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU or a non-HT Duplicated PPDU. Furthermore, the ICF frame indicates that the STA should reply to the ICR frame at an interval of xIFS after the ICF frame.

[0295] Subsequently, the STA performs an idle channel assessment within the xIFS interval, checking the idle / busy status of each 20MHz sub-channel. It finds that only the two 20MHz sub-channels within the main 40MHz channel are idle; the other sub-channels are busy or unavailable. Therefore, the STA transmits a 40MHz bandwidth non-HT duplicated PPDU carrying an ICR frame. This ICR frame serves two purposes: firstly, it informs the AP of the maximum bandwidth that can be transmitted subsequently; secondly, it completes the 40MHz channel protection. This ICR frame can be a CTS frame.

[0296] Subsequently, the AP sends a PPDU with a bandwidth of 40MHz carrying downlink (DL) data to the STA, and the STA also replies with a 40MHz block acknowledgment frame (BA frame) to the AP.

[0297] If the STA performs an idle channel assessment within the xIFS interval and finds that all 20MHz sub-channels within the 80MHz range are idle, then as shown in Figure 11, the bandwidth of the non-HT duplicated PPDU used by the STA to carry the ICR frame is 80MHz. Therefore, the bandwidth of the PPDU used by the AP for subsequent DL DATA transmissions is also 80MHz.

[0298] In some embodiments, the ICF frame sent by the AP is the ICF frame in the related art, and the ICR frame replied by the STA is the ICR frame shown in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 12, the AP needs to send an RTS or MU-RTS frame to the STA after the xIFS interval following the reception of the ICR frame. The DYN_BANDWIDTH_IN_NON_HT=Dynamic value in the TXVECTOR of the non-HT duplicated PPDU carrying the RTS or MU-RTS frame indicates the use of dynamic bandwidth. Based on this, the STA can reply with a CTS frame only on the idle 40MHz channel.

[0299] For example, as shown in Figure 13, the AP sends an ICF frame to trigger STA1 and STA2 to switch from low-power mode (20MHz) to high-power mode (80MHz). The ICF frame indicates that the ICR frame is carried in the TB PPDU; the ICF frame indicates that the STA should reply with an ICR frame at an interval of xIFS after the ICF frame; and the ICF frame indicates that the STA is expected to reply with an ICR frame with an 80MHz bandwidth.

[0300] STA1 performs an idle channel assessment and finds that only the lowest 40MHz sub-channel is idle, so STA1 indicates that the lowest 40MHz channel is idle when replying to the ICR frame; STA2 performs an idle channel assessment and finds that the 80MHz channel is idle, so STA2 indicates that the 80MHz channel is idle when replying to the ICR frame.

[0301] Next, since STA2 has low-latency uplink data to transmit, the AP directly allocates 80MHz of bandwidth to STA2 in the next Trigger frame, allowing STA2 to quickly complete the transmission of uplink low-latency data.

[0302] Then, the AP can allocate a low 40MHz resource unit to STA1 and a high 40MHz resource unit to STA2, so that these two stations can transmit uplink data respectively.

[0303] The information indication method provided in this application allows a site device to determine when to respond with an ICR frame based on the indication in the ICF frame when an access point device (AP) requests an ICR frame carried on a non-HT or non-HT duplicated PPDU via an ICF frame. When service demands are met, the AP can indicate a longer inter-frame interval via the ICF frame, giving the site device more time to make a decision. Furthermore, the site device can dynamically adjust the bandwidth of the ICR frame when responding, thereby improving channel utilization. When an AP requests an ICR frame carried on a TB PPDU via an ICF frame, the site device can carry available channel information in the ICR frame, allowing the AP to quickly understand the channel status of each STA, thus enabling more flexible and accurate allocation of resources to low-latency sites.

[0304] It should be noted that the frame formats, element formats, and field formats shown in the above embodiments are examples and not limitations. This application supports changes to the formats of each frame, element, and field based on the format design described above, such as changing the order of fields / elements, changing the number of bytes in fields / elements, changing the number of bits in fields / elements, changing the names of fields / elements / frames, etc. It also supports setting some fields / elements as reserved fields.

[0305] It should be understood that the format, name, and value of the frames / elements / fields involved in the various embodiments of this application are merely examples and do not imply any limitation on the format, name, and value of the frames / elements / fields. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that one or more of the aforementioned element / field names, their positions in the frame, their arrangement order with other elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, or the number of bits occupied may change. Similarly, in different embodiments or designs, it is possible that one or more of the aforementioned frame names, included elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, or the number of bits occupied may change.

[0306] Figure 14 shows a structural block diagram of a site apparatus provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The apparatus includes:

[0307] The receiving module 210 is used to receive a first frame, which is used to indicate the first frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

[0308] In some embodiments, the device needs to perform an idle channel assessment within the first inter-frame interval. Based on the assessment result of the idle channel assessment, it determines whether to feed back a second frame or not. For example, if the assessment result of the idle channel assessment meets certain conditions, the device feeds back a second frame. For instance, if the assessment result of the idle channel assessment indicates that all sub-channels are idle, the device feeds back a second frame. Alternatively, if the assessment result of the idle channel assessment does not meet certain conditions, the device does not feed back a second frame. For instance, if the assessment result of the idle channel assessment indicates that at least one sub-channel is busy or unavailable, the device does not feed back a second frame.

[0309] In some embodiments, the device does not need to perform an idle channel assessment during the first frame interval. Optionally, the device always feeds back a second frame. Optionally, the device determines whether to feed back a second frame based on other conditions, which is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0310] In some embodiments, the first inter-frame interval is one of at least two inter-frame intervals.

[0311] In some embodiments, at least one of the at least two inter-frame intervals is greater than the shortest inter-frame interval (SIFS).

[0312] In some embodiments, at least one inter-frame interval includes at least one of the following:

[0313] PIFS; DIFS; AIFS; AckTimeout; at least one time slot; a first interval comprising the sum of PIFS and at least one time slot; a second interval comprising the sum of DIFS and at least one time slot; a third interval comprising the sum of AIFS and at least one time slot.

[0314] In some embodiments, AIFS includes at least one of the following:

[0315] The first AIFS is related to voice services; the second AIFS is related to video services; the third AIFS is related to best-effort data services; and the fourth AIFS is related to back-end data services.

[0316] In some embodiments, the first frame carries a first field, which is used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame.

[0317] In some embodiments, the first field is an interval field.

[0318] In some embodiments, the first frame carries a second field, which indicates the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and indicates whether the site device performs an idle channel assessment.

[0319] In some embodiments, the second field is the required channel state field.

[0320] In some embodiments, the device further includes:

[0321] The transmitting module 220 is configured to transmit a second frame if the first frame indicates that the site device has performed an idle channel assessment and the assessment result of the idle channel assessment is a first result. The first result is that at least one idle sub-channel exists on the working channel.

[0322] In some embodiments, the channel bandwidth occupied by the second frame is determined based on at least one idle sub-channel.

[0323] In some embodiments, the channel width occupied by the first frame is the first channel width, and the channel width occupied by the second frame is the second channel width, wherein the second channel width is less than or equal to the first channel width.

[0324] In some embodiments, the second frame carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0325] In some embodiments, the second frame includes at least one of the following fields:

[0326] The third field is used to indicate the data type of the report carried in the fourth field;

[0327] The fourth field is used to indicate available and / or unavailable sub-channels.

[0328] In some embodiments, the reported data type includes at least one of the following:

[0329] The first type indicates available channel information;

[0330] The second type indicates unavailable time periods;

[0331] The third type indicates available channel information and unavailable time periods.

[0332] In some embodiments, when the reported data type is of the first type, the fourth field includes the first subfield and excludes the second and third subfields; when the reported data type is of the second type, the fourth field includes the second and third subfields and excludes the first subfield; when the reported data type is of the third type, the fourth field includes the first, second, and third subfields. The first subfield indicates available and / or unavailable subchannels, the second subfield indicates the start time of the unavailable period, and the third subfield indicates the duration of the unavailable period.

[0333] In some embodiments, the first subfield includes at least one bit, each of which is used to indicate a subchannel; wherein, when the value of the i-th bit is a first value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th subchannel is idle; when the value of the i-th bit is a second value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th subchannel is busy or unavailable. Here, i is a positive integer.

[0334] In some embodiments, the first subfield is an available channel information field; the second subfield is a start time field for an unavailable period; and the third subfield is a duration field for an unavailable period.

[0335] In some embodiments, the third field is the report type field; the fourth field is the bitmap field.

[0336] In some embodiments, the first frame is an ICF frame; the second frame is an ICR frame.

[0337] It should be noted that when the apparatus provided in the above embodiments implements its function, the steps performed by the site equipment in the above method embodiments are referred to.

[0338] It should also be noted that the above embodiments of the device are only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules when implementing their functions. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. For example, the above receiving module 210 and sending module 220 can be combined into a transceiver module.

[0339] Figure 15 shows a structural block diagram of an access point device provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The device includes:

[0340] The sending module 310 is used to send a first frame, which is used to indicate the first frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

[0341] In some embodiments, the first inter-frame interval is one of at least two inter-frame intervals.

[0342] In some embodiments, at least one of the at least two inter-frame intervals is greater than the shortest inter-frame interval (SIFS).

[0343] In some embodiments, at least one inter-frame interval includes at least one of the following:

[0344] PIFS; DIFS; AIFS; AckTimeout; at least one time slot; a first interval comprising the sum of PIFS and at least one time slot; a second interval comprising the sum of DIFS and at least one time slot; a third interval comprising the sum of AIFS and at least one time slot.

[0345] In some embodiments, AIFS includes at least one of the following:

[0346] The first AIFS is related to voice services; the second AIFS is related to video services; the third AIFS is related to best-effort data services; and the fourth AIFS is related to back-end data services.

[0347] In some embodiments, the first frame carries a first field, which is used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame.

[0348] In some embodiments, the first field is an interval field.

[0349] In some embodiments, the first frame carries a second field, which indicates the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and indicates whether the site device performs an idle channel assessment.

[0350] In some embodiments, the second field is the required channel state field.

[0351] In some embodiments, the site device needs to perform an idle channel assessment within the first inter-frame interval. Based on the assessment result, it determines whether to feed back a second frame or not. For example, if the idle channel assessment result meets certain conditions, the site device feeds back a second frame. For instance, if the idle channel assessment result indicates that all sub-channels are idle, the site device feeds back a second frame. Alternatively, if the idle channel assessment result does not meet certain conditions, the site device does not feed back a second frame. For instance, if the idle channel assessment result indicates that at least one sub-channel is busy or unavailable, the site device does not feed back a second frame.

[0352] In some embodiments, the site device is not required to perform an idle channel assessment during the first frame interval. Optionally, the site device always feeds back a second frame. Optionally, the site device determines whether to feed back a second frame based on other conditions, which is not limited in this embodiment.

[0353] In some embodiments, the device further includes:

[0354] The receiving module 320 is used to receive a second frame, which is sent when the site device performs an idle channel assessment and the assessment result is a first result. The first result is that at least one idle sub-channel exists on the working channel.

[0355] In some embodiments, the channel bandwidth occupied by the second frame is determined based on at least one idle sub-channel.

[0356] In some embodiments, the channel width occupied by the first frame is the first channel width, and the channel width occupied by the second frame is the second channel width, wherein the second channel width is less than or equal to the first channel width.

[0357] In some embodiments, the second frame carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0358] In some embodiments, the second frame includes at least one of the following fields:

[0359] The third field is used to indicate the data type of the report carried in the fourth field;

[0360] The fourth field is used to indicate available and / or unavailable sub-channels.

[0361] In some embodiments, the reported data type includes at least one of the following:

[0362] The first type indicates available channel information;

[0363] The second type indicates unavailable time periods;

[0364] The third type indicates available channel information and unavailable time periods.

[0365] In some embodiments, when the reported data type is of the first type, the fourth field includes the first subfield and excludes the second and third subfields; when the reported data type is of the second type, the fourth field includes the second and third subfields and excludes the first subfield; when the reported data type is of the third type, the fourth field includes the first, second, and third subfields. The first subfield indicates available and / or unavailable subchannels, the second subfield indicates the start time of the unavailable period, and the third subfield indicates the duration of the unavailable period.

[0366] In some embodiments, the first subfield includes at least one bit, each of which is used to indicate a subchannel; wherein, when the value of the i-th bit is a first value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th subchannel is idle; when the value of the i-th bit is a second value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th subchannel is busy or unavailable. Here, i is a positive integer.

[0367] In some embodiments, the first subfield is an available channel information field; the second subfield is a start time field for an unavailable period; and the third subfield is a duration field for an unavailable period.

[0368] In some embodiments, the third field is the report type field; the fourth field is the bitmap field.

[0369] In some embodiments, the first frame is an ICF frame; the second frame is an ICR frame.

[0370] It should be noted that when the device provided in the above embodiments implements its function, the steps performed by the access point device in the above method embodiments are referred to.

[0371] It should also be noted that the above embodiments of the device are only illustrated by the division of the above functional modules when implementing their functions. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. For example, the above-mentioned transmitting module 310 and receiving module 320 can be combined into a transceiver module.

[0372] Figure 16 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in one embodiment of this application. This communication device can optionally be implemented as a site device or an access point device. The communication device may include: a processor 901, a receiver 902, a transmitter 903, a memory 904, and a bus 905.

[0373] The processor 901 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 901 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0374] The receiver 902 and the transmitter 903 can be implemented as a transceiver 906, which can be a communication chip.

[0375] In some embodiments, when the communication device is implemented as a site device, the receiver 902 is used to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

[0376] In some embodiments, when the communication device is implemented as a site device, the receiver 902 is used to receive a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; the transmitter 903 is used to send a second frame, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0377] In some embodiments, when the communication device is implemented as an access point device, the transmitter 903 is used to send a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

[0378] In some embodiments, when the communication device is implemented as an access point device, the transmitter 903 is used to send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; the receiver 902 is used to receive a second frame, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0379] The memory 904 is connected to the processor 901 via a bus 905. The memory 904 can be used to store computer programs, and the processor 901 is used to execute the computer programs.

[0380] Furthermore, the memory 904 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: RAM (Random-Access Memory) and ROM (Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), flash memory or other solid-state storage technologies, CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), DVD (Digital Video Disc) or other optical storage, magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices.

[0381] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The computer program is used by the processor of a communication device to implement the various steps in the aforementioned information indication method. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may include ROM (Read-Only Memory), RAM (Random-Access Memory), SSD (Solid State Drives), or optical disc, etc. The random access memory may include ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0382] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, and when the chip is run on a site device, it is used to implement the various steps in the information indication method executed by the site device described above.

[0383] In some embodiments, the chip is used to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

[0384] In some embodiments, the chip is configured to receive a first frame, which requests the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; and to send a second frame, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information, wherein the available channel information indicates the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information indicates the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0385] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is run on an access point device, it is used to implement the various steps in the information indication method executed by the access point device.

[0386] In some embodiments, the chip is used to send a first frame, which is used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

[0387] In some embodiments, the chip is used to send a first frame, which requests the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; and to receive a second frame, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information, wherein the available channel information indicates the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information indicates the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

[0388] This application also provides a computer program product or computer program, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the site device reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the various steps in the information indication method executed by the site device described above.

[0389] This application also provides a computer program product or computer program, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the access point device reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the various steps in the information indication method executed by the access point device described above.

[0390] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described in the embodiments of this application in one or more of the above examples can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0391] The above description is merely an exemplary embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. An information indication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a site device, and the method includes: A first frame is received, which is used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first inter-frame interval is one of at least two inter-frame intervals.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, At least one of the at least two inter-frame intervals is greater than the shortest inter-frame interval (SIFS).

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The at least one inter-frame interval includes at least one of the following: Point Coordination Function Inter-Frame Spacing (PIFS); Distributed Coordination Function Inter-Frame Spacing (DIFS); Arbitration Inter-Frame Spacing (AIFS); Confirm the timeout period (AckTimeout); At least one time slot; The first interval comprises the sum of the PIFS and at least one time slot; The second interval comprises the sum of the DIFS and at least one time slot; The third interval includes the sum of the AIFS and at least one time slot.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The AIFS includes at least one of the following: The first AIFS related to voice services; The second AIFS related to video services; The third AIFS related to best-effort data services; The fourth AIFS related to back-end data services.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The first frame carries a first field, which is used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first field is the interval field.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The first frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and to indicate whether the site device performs an idle channel assessment.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The second field is the required channel status field.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first frame instructs the site device to perform an idle channel assessment and the assessment result of the idle channel assessment is a first result, then the second frame is sent; The first result is that there is at least one idle sub-channel on the working channel.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The channel bandwidth occupied by the second frame is determined based on the at least one idle sub-channel.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first frame occupies a channel width of the first channel width, and the second frame occupies a channel width of the second channel width, wherein the second channel width is less than or equal to the first channel width.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that, The second frame carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The second frame includes at least one of the following fields: The third field is used to indicate the data type of the report carried in the fourth field; The fourth field is used to indicate available and / or unavailable sub-channels.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The reported data types include at least one of the following: The first type indicates the available channel information; The second type indicates the unavailable time period information; The third type indicates the available channel information and the unavailable time period information.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, When the reported data type is the first type, the fourth field includes the first subfield, but does not include the second and third subfields; When the reported data type is the second type, the fourth field includes the second subfield and the third subfield, but does not include the first subfield; When the reported data type is the third type, the fourth field includes the first subfield, the second subfield, and the third subfield; The first subfield is used to indicate the available subchannels and / or unavailable subchannels, the second subfield is used to indicate the start time of the unavailable period, and the third subfield is used to indicate the duration of the unavailable period.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The first subfield includes at least one bit, each of which is used to indicate a subchannel; wherein, When the value of the i-th bit is the first value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th sub-channel is in an idle state; When the value of the i-th bit is the second value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th sub-channel is busy or unavailable; Where i takes the value of a positive integer.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, The first subfield is the available channel information field; The second subfield is the start time field for the unavailable period; The third subfield is the duration field of the unavailable time period.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, characterized in that, The third field is the report type field; The fourth field is the bitmap field.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that, The first frame is the initial control ICF frame; The second frame is the Initial Control Response (ICR) frame.

21. An information indication method, characterized in that, The method is performed by a site device, and the method includes: Receive a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; A second frame is sent, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

22. An information indication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by an access point device, and the method includes: A first frame is sent, which indicates a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame. The second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The first inter-frame interval is one of at least two inter-frame intervals.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, At least one of the at least two inter-frame intervals is greater than the shortest inter-frame interval (SIFS).

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The at least one inter-frame interval includes at least one of the following: PIFS; DIFS; AIFS; AckTimeout; At least one time slot; The first interval comprises the sum of the PIFS and at least one time slot; The second interval comprises the sum of the DIFS and at least one time slot; The third interval includes the sum of the AIFS and at least one time slot.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The AIFS includes at least one of the following: The first AIFS related to voice services; The second AIFS related to video services; The third AIFS related to best-effort data services; The fourth AIFS related to back-end data services.

27. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 26, characterized in that, The first frame carries a first field, which is used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The first field is the interval field.

29. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 26, characterized in that, The first frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate the inter-frame interval between the first frame and the second frame, and to indicate whether the site device performs an idle channel assessment.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that, The second field is the required channel status field.

31. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 30, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second frame is received when the site device performs an idle channel assessment and the assessment result of the idle channel assessment is a first result; The first result is that there is at least one idle sub-channel on the working channel.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The channel bandwidth occupied by the second frame is determined based on the at least one idle sub-channel.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The first frame occupies a channel width of the first channel width, and the second frame occupies a channel width of the second channel width, wherein the second channel width is less than or equal to the first channel width.

34. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, characterized in that, The second frame carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

35. The method according to claim 34, characterized in that, The second frame includes at least one of the following fields: The third field is used to indicate the data type of the report carried in the fourth field; The fourth field is used to indicate available and / or unavailable sub-channels.

36. The method according to claim 35, characterized in that, The reported data types include at least one of the following: The first type indicates the available channel information; The second type indicates the unavailable time period information; The third type indicates the available channel information and the unavailable time period information.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that, When the reported data type is the first type, the fourth field includes the first subfield, but does not include the second and third subfields; When the reported data type is the second type, the fourth field includes the second subfield and the third subfield, but does not include the first subfield; When the reported data type is the third type, the fourth field includes the first subfield, the second subfield, and the third subfield; The first subfield is used to indicate the available subchannels and / or unavailable subchannels, the second subfield is used to indicate the start time of the unavailable period, and the third subfield is used to indicate the duration of the unavailable period.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that, The first subfield includes at least one bit, each of which is used to indicate a subchannel; wherein, When the value of the i-th bit is the first value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th sub-channel is in an idle state; When the value of the i-th bit is the second value, it is used to indicate that the (i+1)-th sub-channel is busy or unavailable; Where i takes the value of a positive integer.

39. The method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that, The first subfield is the available channel information field; The second subfield is the start time field for the unavailable period; The third subfield is the duration field of the unavailable time period.

40. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 39, characterized in that, The third field is the report type field; The fourth field is the bitmap field.

41. The method according to any one of claims 22 to 40, characterized in that, The first frame is an ICF frame; The second frame is an ICR frame.

42. An information indication method, characterized in that, The method is executed by an access point device, and the method includes: Send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; Receive a second frame, which carries available channel information and / or unavailable period information. The available channel information is used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information is used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

43. A station device, characterized in that, The device includes: A receiving module is used to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

44. A station device, characterized in that, The device includes: The receiving module is configured to receive a first frame, wherein the first frame is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment; A transmitting module is used to transmit a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

45. An access point device, characterized in that, The device includes: The sending module is used to send a first frame, which is used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, which is the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame is used to respond to the first frame.

46. ​​An access point device, characterized in that, The device includes: The sending module is used to send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment. A receiving module is configured to receive a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable time period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable time period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable time period.

47. A site device, characterized in that, The site equipment includes: a receiver; The receiver is configured to receive a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

48. A site device, characterized in that, The site equipment includes: a receiver and a transmitter; The receiver is configured to receive a first frame, which is configured to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment. The transmitter is configured to transmit a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

49. An access point device, characterized in that, The access point device includes: a transmitter; The transmitter is configured to transmit a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate a first inter-frame interval, the first inter-frame interval being the inter-frame interval between the first frame and a second frame, and the second frame being used to respond to the first frame.

50. An access point device, characterized in that, The access point device includes: a receiver and a transmitter; The transmitter is used to send a first frame, which is used to request the site device to perform an idle channel assessment. The receiver is configured to receive a second frame, the second frame carrying available channel information and / or unavailable period information, the available channel information being used to indicate the available sub-channels in the working channel, and the unavailable period information being used to indicate the start time and / or duration of the unavailable period.

51. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program that is executed by a processor to implement the information indication method according to any one of claims 1 to 42.

52. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running on a site device, are used to implement the information indication method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

53. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running on a site device, are used to implement the information indication method of claim 21.

54. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions, and when the chip is run on an access point device, it is used to implement the information indication method according to any one of claims 22 to 41.

55. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, and when the chip is run on an access point device, it is used to implement the information indication method of claim 42 above.

56. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium; the processor of the site device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the site device to implement the information indication method according to any one of claims 1 to 42.

57. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program is executed by the processor of the site device to implement the information indication method according to any one of claims 1 to 42.

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