Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and an apparatus, relating to the technical field of communications, and capable of implementing a unified ICF design in different communication scenarios. The method comprises: a first device generating a buffer status report polling (BSRP) trigger frame, and sending the BSRP trigger frame to a second device, wherein the BSRP trigger frame comprises a first field, and the first field is used for indicating the function of the BSRP trigger frame, or the first field is used for indicating the type of a response frame of the BSRP trigger frame.

Description

Communication methods and devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510107465.5, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on January 22, 2025, entitled "Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] In a communication system, access point devices and site devices can exchange different information through initial control frames (ICF) and initial control response (ICR) frames. Access point devices can also exchange different information with each other through ICF and ICR frames.

[0004] However, the existing ICF and ICR interaction frames are not applicable to different communication scenarios. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that can realize a unified ICF design for different communication scenarios.

[0006] Firstly, this application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by a first device. Unless otherwise specified, "first device" in this application can refer to the first device itself, a component within the first device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. The method includes: generating a buffer status report and polling a BSRP trigger frame, and sending the BSRP trigger frame to a second device. The BSRP trigger frame includes a first field, which indicates the function of the BSRP trigger frame, or the first field indicates the type of the response frame for the BSRP trigger frame.

[0007] Based on the first aspect, different values ​​of the first field can indicate different functions of the BSRP trigger frame, or different values ​​of the first field can indicate different types of response frames of the BSRP trigger frame, so that the BSRP trigger frame can serve as an ICF in different communication scenarios under different values ​​of the first field, thus realizing a unified ICF design.

[0008] In one possible design, the BSRP trigger frame may function as one or more of the following: requesting unavailability information for the second device, reporting unavailability information for the first device, requesting low-latency service transmission request information for the second device, requesting cooperative beamforming (Co-BF) transmission parameters for the second device, reporting Co-BF transmission parameters for the first device, requesting cooperative spatial multiplexing (Co-SR) transmission parameters for the second device, reporting Co-SR transmission parameters for the first device, requesting cooperative time division multiple access (Co-TDMA) transmission parameters for the second device, or reporting Co-TDMA transmission parameters for the first device.

[0009] Based on this possible design, the function of the BSRP trigger frame indicated by the first field can be configured based on various communication scenarios, thereby achieving a unified design of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0010] In one possible design, the response frame type of the BSRP trigger frame includes one or more of the following: unavailable information, acknowledgment frame of unavailable information, low latency service transmission request report, Co-BF response frame, Co-SR response frame, or Co-TDMA response frame.

[0011] Based on this possible design, the type of response frame for the BSRP trigger frame indicated by the first field can be configured based on various communication scenarios, thereby achieving a unified design for the BSRP trigger frame.

[0012] In one possible design, the first field is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0013] In one possible design, if the first field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is located in some or all of the bit positions between the 57th and 64th bits of the common information field; or, the first field is located after the 21st and 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0014] In one possible design, the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are set to a first predetermined value. For example, the first predetermined value is 3.

[0015] Based on the two possible designs mentioned above, if the values ​​of the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are the first predetermined values, then all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits, and some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field.

[0016] In one possible design, if the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is located after the associated identifier AID12 field in the user information field, and the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value. For example, the second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0017] Based on this possible design, if the value of the AID12 field of the user information field is a second predetermined value, the user information field is a special user information field. All bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits, and some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field.

[0018] In one possible design, if the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0019] Based on this possible design, when the AID12 field takes the value of the second predetermined value, the AID12 field becomes the first field. Different second predetermined values ​​can be used to indicate different functions of the BSRP trigger frame, or different second predetermined values ​​can be used to indicate different types of response frames to the BSRP trigger frame.

[0020] In one possible design, the method further includes receiving a response frame from a BSRP trigger frame from a second device.

[0021] In one possible design, when the BSRP trigger frame functions to report unavailability information for the first device, or when the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is an acknowledgment frame for unavailability information, the BSRP trigger frame includes a second field indicating whether the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0022] Based on this possible design, the first device can proactively report its unavailability information to the second device through the BSRP trigger frame, improving the flexibility of unavailability information feedback and filling the design gap of the BSRP trigger frame as an ICF carrying unavailability information.

[0023] In one possible design, the second field is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0024] In one possible design, if the second field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0025] Based on this possible design, the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are set to a first predetermined value, which can be 3. In this case, all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, and some can be defined as the second field.

[0026] In one possible design, where the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device is located in the common information field and follows the second field.

[0027] Based on this possible design, all bits after the 21st to 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, some as the second field, and some as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0028] In one possible design, if the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is the AID12 field in the user information field; if the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value, the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device. For example, the second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0029] In one possible design, if the second field is located within the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field follows the AID12 field within the user information field. The value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value.

[0030] Based on this possible design, when the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value, the user information field is a special user information field. All bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits, and some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field.

[0031] In one possible design, where the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device is located in the user information field and follows the second field.

[0032] Based on this possible design, if the value of the AID12 field is the second predetermined value, some bits in the reserved bits after the AID12 field can be defined as the second field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0033] In one possible design, the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is a Multi-Site Device Block Acknowledgment (MBA) frame, or an Acknowledgment (ACK) frame, or a CTS (Clear to Send) frame.

[0034] Based on this possible design, when the second device receives a BSRP trigger frame carrying unavailability information from the first device, it can send back the aforementioned response frame to the first device, filling the design gap in the unavailability information reply frame.

[0035] In one possible design, when the response frame is an MBA frame, the MBA frame includes a Per AID TID field, which is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information from the first device.

[0036] In one possible design, the Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field. The acknowledgment type field takes a third predetermined value, and the TID field takes a fourth predetermined value. For example, the third predetermined value is 1. The fourth predetermined value is any of the following: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, or 15.

[0037] Based on this possible design, the reception status of unavailable information from the first device can be fed back by combining the third and fourth predetermined values.

[0038] In one possible design, the Per AID TID field also includes an AID11 field, which is used to indicate the AID of the first device.

[0039] Based on this possible design, if the first device is a site device, the AID11 field can include the site device's AID.

[0040] In one possible design, the unavailability information field of the first device includes one or more of the following: the start time of the unavailability period of the first device, the duration of the unavailability period of the first device, or the end time of the unavailability period of the first device.

[0041] Secondly, this application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by a second device. Unless otherwise specified, "second device" in this application can refer to the second device itself, a component within the second device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. The method includes: receiving a BSRP trigger frame from a first device and parsing the BSRP trigger frame. The BSRP trigger frame includes a first field, which indicates the function of the BSRP trigger frame, or the first field indicates the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0042] In one possible design, the method further includes sending a response frame to the BSRP trigger frame to the first device.

[0043] It is understood that the descriptions of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field, and the response frame can be found in the relevant descriptions in the first aspect above, and the beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be found in the relevant content mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0044] Thirdly, this application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by a first device. Unless otherwise specified, "first device" in this application can refer to the first device itself, a component within the first device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. The method includes: generating a first control frame and sending the first control frame to a second device. The first control frame includes a second field, which indicates whether the first control frame includes an unavailable information field of the first device.

[0045] Based on the third aspect, the first device can proactively report the unavailability information of the first device to the second device through the first control frame, which increases the flexibility of unavailability information feedback and fills the design gap of using BSRP trigger frames as ICF to carry unavailability information.

[0046] In one possible design, the first control frame is a BSRP trigger frame.

[0047] In one possible design, the second field is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0048] In one possible design, if the second field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0049] In one possible design, the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are set to a first predetermined value. For example, the first predetermined value is 3.

[0050] Based on the two possible designs mentioned above, if the values ​​of the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are the first predetermined values, then all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits, and some of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field.

[0051] In one possible design, where the second field is used to indicate that the first control frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device is located in the common information field and follows the second field.

[0052] Based on this possible design, all bits after the 21st to 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0053] In one possible design, if the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0054] Based on this possible design, when the AID12 field takes the value of a second predetermined value, the second field is used to indicate that the first control frame includes an unavailable information field for the first device. For example, the second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0055] In one possible design, if the second field is located within the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field follows the AID12 field within the user information field. The AID12 field takes a second predetermined value.

[0056] Based on this possible design, the meaning of the second predetermined value could be to include a second field after the AID12 field. In this case, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits, and some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field.

[0057] In one possible design, where the second field is used to indicate that the first control frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device is located in the user information field and follows the second field.

[0058] Based on this possible design, some bits in the reserved bits after the AID12 field can be defined as the second field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0059] In one possible design, the method further includes: receiving a response frame from a second device; wherein the response frame is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information from the first device.

[0060] In one possible design, the response frame is an MBA frame, or an ACK frame, or a CTS frame.

[0061] In one possible design, when the response frame is an MBA frame, the MBA frame includes a Per AID TID field, which is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information by the first device.

[0062] In one possible design, the Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field, with the acknowledgment type field taking a third predetermined value and the TID field taking a fourth predetermined value.

[0063] In one possible design, the third predefined value is 1.

[0064] In one possible design, the fourth predetermined value is any of the following: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, or 15.

[0065] In one possible design, the Per AID TID field also includes an AID11 field, which is used to indicate the AID of the first device.

[0066] Based on the above-mentioned various possible designs, the beneficial effects that the response frame can achieve can be found in the relevant description in the first aspect mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0067] In one possible design, the unavailability information field of the first device includes one or more of the following: the start time of the unavailability period of the first device, the duration of the unavailability period of the first device, or the end time of the unavailability period of the first device.

[0068] Fourthly, this application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by a second device. Unless otherwise specified, "second device" in this application can refer to the second device itself, a component within the second device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. The method includes: receiving a first control frame from a first device and parsing the first control frame. The first control frame includes a second field, which indicates whether the first control frame includes an unavailable information field of the first device.

[0069] In one possible design, the method further includes sending a response frame to a first device; wherein the response frame is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information by the first device.

[0070] It is understood that the descriptions of the first control frame, the second field, the unavailable information field of the first device, and the response frame can be found in the relevant descriptions in the third aspect above, and the beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be found in the relevant content mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0071] Fifthly, this application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by a second device. Unless otherwise specified, "second device" in this application can refer to the second device itself, a component within the second device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. The method includes: receiving a second control frame from a first device and sending an acknowledgment frame to the first device. The second control frame includes an unavailable information field of the first device; the acknowledgment frame is used to indicate the reception status of the unavailable information of the first device, and the acknowledgment frame can be an MBA frame, an ACK frame, or a CTS frame.

[0072] Based on the fifth aspect, the first device can proactively report its unavailability information to the second device via the second control frame, increasing the flexibility of unavailability information feedback and filling the design gap of using BSRP trigger frames as ICF to carry unavailability information. Furthermore, after receiving the second control frame, the second device can send a response frame to the first device, filling the design gap of unavailability information reply frames.

[0073] In one possible design, when the response frame is an MBA frame, the MBA frame includes a Per AID TID field, which is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information by the first device.

[0074] In one possible design, the Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field. The acknowledgment type field takes a third predetermined value, and the TID field takes a fourth predetermined value. For example, the third predetermined value is 1. The fourth predetermined value is any of the following: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, or 15.

[0075] In one possible design, the Per AID TID field also includes an AID11 field, which is used to indicate the AID of the first device.

[0076] Based on the above-mentioned various possible designs, the beneficial effects that the response frame can achieve can also be found in the relevant description in the first aspect mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0077] In one possible design, the second control frame is a BSRP trigger frame.

[0078] In one possible design, the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0079] In one possible design, if the unavailable information field of the first device is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the unavailable information field of the first device is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0080] In one possible design, the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are set to a first predetermined value.

[0081] In one possible design, the first predetermined value is 3.

[0082] In one possible design, a second field is included between the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field and the unavailable information field of the first device. This second field is used to indicate that the second control frame includes the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0083] In one possible design, if the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the unavailability information field of the first device is located after the AID12 field of the user information field, and the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value.

[0084] In one possible design, the second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0085] In one possible design, the AID12 field is used to indicate that the second control frame includes an unavailable information field for the first device.

[0086] In one possible design, a second field is also included between the AID12 field and the unavailability information field of the first device. This second field is used to indicate that the second control frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device.

[0087] Based on the above-mentioned various possible designs, the beneficial effects that the unavailable information field of the first device and the second field can achieve can be found in the relevant description in the aforementioned third aspect, which will not be repeated here.

[0088] In one possible design, the unavailability information field of the first device includes one or more of the following: the start time of the unavailability period of the first device, the duration of the unavailability period of the first device, or the end time of the unavailability period of the first device.

[0089] Sixthly, this application provides a communication method, which can be implemented by a first device. Unless otherwise specified, "first device" in this application can refer to the first device itself, a component within the first device (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. The method includes: sending a second control frame to a second device and receiving a response frame from the second device. The second control frame includes an unavailable information field from the first device; the response frame is used to indicate the reception status of the unavailable information from the first device, and the response frame can be an MBA frame, an ACK frame, or a CTS frame.

[0090] It is understood that the descriptions of the second control frame, response frame, and unavailable information field of the first device can be found in the relevant descriptions in the fifth aspect above, and the beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be found in the relevant content mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

[0091] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a communication device that can be applied to the first device in the first, third, or sixth aspects above to realize the functions performed by the first device. The communication device can be the first device, or it can be a chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip of the first device, etc. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the first device through hardware, or it can implement them through hardware executing corresponding software.

[0092] Alternatively, the communication device can be applied to the second device in the second, fourth, or fifth aspects above to realize the functions performed by the second device. The communication device can be the second device, or it can be the chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip of the second device, etc. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the second device through hardware, or it can implement them through hardware executing corresponding software.

[0093] The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can perform the above transceiver operations independently or cooperate with the processing module to perform the above transceiver operations. Similarly, the processing module can perform the above processing operations independently or cooperate with the transceiver module to perform the above processing operations, without limitation.

[0094] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the seventh aspect may also perform the corresponding functions in any possible design of any of the first to sixth aspects, as detailed in the method examples. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be found in the aforementioned related content, which will not be repeated here.

[0095] Eighthly, this application provides a communication device comprising one or more processors; the one or more processors being configured to run a computer program or instructions, wherein when the one or more processors execute the computer program or instructions, the communication method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects is performed.

[0096] In one possible design, the communication device further includes one or more memories coupled to one or more processors, the memories used to store the aforementioned computer programs or instructions. In one possible implementation, the memories are located outside the communication device. In another possible implementation, the memories are located inside the communication device. In this application, the processor and memory may also be integrated into a single device, i.e., the processor and memory may be integrated together. In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver for receiving and / or transmitting information.

[0097] In one possible design, the communication device further includes one or more communication interfaces coupled to one or more processors, and the communication interfaces are used to communicate with other modules outside the communication device.

[0098] Ninthly, this application provides a communication device including an interface circuit and a logic circuit; the interface circuit is used for inputting and / or outputting information; the logic circuit is used to perform the communication method as described in any one of the first to sixth aspects, processing and / or generating information based on the information.

[0099] In a tenth aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions or programs that, when some or all of the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, cause the communication method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects to be executed.

[0100] In one aspect, this application provides a computer program product comprising computer instructions or programs, which, when some or all of the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, causes the communication method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects to be executed.

[0101] In a twelfth aspect, this application provides a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the communication method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects to be executed.

[0102] In a thirteenth aspect, this application provides a chip comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions, wherein when some or all of the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, a communication method as described in any one of the first to sixth aspects is executed.

[0103] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects seven through thirteen can be found in the technical effects of any of the aspects one through six mentioned above, and will not be elaborated upon further.

[0104] In a fourteenth aspect, this application provides a communication system that may include communication means for performing the communication described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and communication means for performing the communication described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect; or, it may include communication means for performing the communication described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, and communication means for performing the communication described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect; or, it may include communication means for performing the communication described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect, and communication means for performing the communication described in the sixth aspect or any possible design of the sixth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0105] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0106] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0107] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0108] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a BSRP trigger frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0109] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another BSRP trigger frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0110] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another BSRP trigger frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0111] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a public information field provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0112] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a user information field provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0113] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of another public information field provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0114] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of another user information field provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0115] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of an MBA frame provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0116] Figure 12 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0117] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another public information field provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0118] Figure 14 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0119] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0120] Figure 16 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0121] In a communication system, access point devices and site devices can exchange different information through initial control frames (ICF) and initial control response (ICR) frames in different communication scenarios. Access point devices can also exchange different information with each other through ICF and ICR frames in different communication scenarios.

[0122] Different communication scenarios may require different ICF formats, and how to design a unified ICF has become an urgent technical problem to be solved.

[0123] Based on this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method in which a first device can generate a buffer status report poll (BSRP) trigger frame and send the BSRP trigger frame to a second device. The BSRP trigger frame includes a first field, which indicates either the function of the BSRP trigger frame or the type of the response frame to the BSRP trigger frame.

[0124] In this embodiment of the application, different values ​​of the first field can indicate different functions of the BSRP trigger frame, or different values ​​of the first field can indicate different types of response frames of the BSRP trigger frame, so that the BSRP trigger frame can be used as an ICF in different communication scenarios under different values ​​of the first field, thereby realizing a unified ICF design.

[0125] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0126] The communication method provided in this application embodiment can be applied to wireless local area networks (WLANs) that support relevant standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). These IEEE standards include, but are not limited to, 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11bf / sensing standards, ultra-wideband (UWB) standards / 802.15 standards, etc.

[0127] The 802.11be standard can also be called the Extremely High Throughput (EHT) standard or the Wi-Fi 7 standard, while the 802.11bn standard can also be called the Ultra High Reliability (UHR) standard or the Wi-Fi 8 standard.

[0128] The WLAN communication system provided in this application embodiment will be described below using Figure 1 as an example.

[0129] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system may include one or more access point devices and one or more site devices.

[0130] The access point device can communicate with one or more site devices, and the access point device can also communicate with one or more other access point devices, and the site device can also communicate with one or more other site devices.

[0131] The aforementioned access point device can be an access point (AP), and the aforementioned site device can be a site (STA).

[0132] For example, the AP can be a device that supports multiple WLAN standards such as the 802.11bn standard or future Wi-Fi standards; the AP can also support one or more of the 802.11 standards such as the 802.11be standard, without limitation.

[0133] For example, an AP can be a terminal device with a Wi-Fi chip, network device, communication server, router, switch, bridge, computer, etc. An AP can also serve as an access point for mobile users to access a wired network, primarily deployed in homes, buildings, and campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. 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.

[0134] For example, the STA can be a device that supports multiple WLAN standards such as the 802.11bn standard or future Wi-Fi standards; the STA can also support one or more of the 802.11 standards such as the 802.11be standard, without limitation.

[0135] For example, an STA can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, a wireless communication terminal, a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, etc. For example, an STA can be a mobile phone supporting Wi-Fi communication, a tablet computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, a set-top box supporting Wi-Fi communication, a smart TV supporting Wi-Fi communication, a smart wearable device supporting Wi-Fi communication, an in-vehicle communication device supporting Wi-Fi communication, and a computer supporting Wi-Fi communication, etc., without limitation.

[0136] It is understandable that the aforementioned access point devices and site devices can also be equipped with multiple wireless communication technologies, such as fourth-generation (4G) / fifth-generation (5G) cellular communication technology, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, and satellite wireless communication technologies. Some of these wireless communication technologies (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and satellite) can operate on the same frequency band and share the same antenna for transmission and reception, but they may not be able to operate simultaneously. Therefore, how to manage these wireless communication technologies so that they can coexist harmoniously within a single device is an important issue.

[0137] Based on this, it is proposed that access point devices and site devices can communicate based on the dynamic unavailability operation (DUO) mode.

[0138] DUO mode is an operating mode defined by the 802.11bn standard. Taking the site device currently using Wi-Fi technology as an example, in DUO mode, the site device can report its unavailability information to the access point device (such as the future time when the site device will become unavailable and the duration of the unavailability). During the unavailability period of the site device, the access point device will not communicate with the site device, and the site device can use other wireless communication technologies besides Wi-Fi to communicate.

[0139] In practical implementation, the devices shown in Figure 1, such as access point devices and site devices, can adopt the composition structure shown in Figure 2, or include the components shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 200 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 200 can be an access point device or a chip or system-on-a-chip in the access point device; it can also be a site device or a chip or system-on-a-chip in the site device. As shown in Figure 2, the communication device 200 includes a processor 201, a transceiver 202, and a communication line 203.

[0140] Furthermore, the communication device 200 may also include a memory 204. The processor 201, memory 204, and transceiver 202 can be connected via a communication line 203.

[0141] The processor 201 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. The processor 201 can also be other devices with processing capabilities, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0142] Transceiver 202 is used to communicate with other devices or other communication networks. These other communication networks can be Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), etc. Transceiver 202 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any device capable of enabling communication.

[0143] Communication line 203 is used to transmit information between the components included in communication device 200.

[0144] Memory 204 is used to store instructions. These instructions can be computer programs.

[0145] The memory 204 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions; it can also be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions; it can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0146] It should be noted that the memory 204 can exist independently of the processor 201 or can be integrated with the processor 201. The memory 204 can be used to store instructions, program code, or some data, etc. The memory 204 can be located inside or outside the communication device 200, without limitation. The processor 201 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 204 to implement the communication method provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0147] In one example, processor 201 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in Figure 2.

[0148] As an optional implementation, the communication device 200 may include multiple processors, for example, in addition to the processor 201 in FIG2, it may also include a processor 207.

[0149] As an optional implementation, the communication device 200 also includes an output device 205 and an input device 206. For example, the input device 206 is a device such as a keyboard, mouse, microphone, or joystick, and the output device 205 is a device such as a display screen or speaker.

[0150] It should be noted that the communication device 200 can be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a web server, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, a chip system, or a device with a similar structure to that shown in Figure 2. Furthermore, the composition shown in Figure 2 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in Figure 2, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0151] In this embodiment of the application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0152] Furthermore, the actions, terms, etc., involved in the various embodiments of this application can be referenced interchangeably without limitation. The message names or parameter names in the messages exchanged between the various devices in the embodiments of this application are merely examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations without limitation.

[0153] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the communication system shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3. The first device can be an access point device or a site device in the communication system shown in Figure 1, and the second device can be an access point device or a site device other than the first device in the communication system shown in Figure 1. The first device and the second device described in the following embodiments may include the components shown in Figure 2.

[0154] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 3, the method may include:

[0155] Step 301: The first device generates a BSRP trigger frame.

[0156] Step 302: The first device sends a BSRP trigger frame to the second device; correspondingly, the second device receives the BSRP trigger frame from the first device.

[0157] When the first device sends a BSRP trigger frame to the second device, it can explicitly indicate what function the BSRP trigger frame performs, or explicitly indicate what type of frame the BSRP trigger frame requests from the second device.

[0158] The first field can be carried in the BSRP trigger frame to indicate the function of the BSRP trigger frame, or the first field can indicate the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0159] The BSRP trigger frame may have one or more of the following functions: requesting unavailability information of the second device, reporting unavailability information of the first device, requesting low-latency service transmission request information of the second device, requesting coordinated beamforming (Co-BF) transmission parameters of the second device, reporting Co-BF transmission parameters of the first device, requesting coordinated spatial reuse (Co-SR) transmission parameters of the second device, reporting Co-SR transmission parameters of the first device, requesting coordinated time division multiple access (Co-TDMA) transmission parameters of the second device, or reporting Co-TDMA transmission parameters of the first device.

[0160] The response frame type of the BSRP trigger frame may include one or more of the following: unavailable information, unavailable information acknowledgment frame, low latency service transmission request report, Co-BF response frame, Co-SR response frame, or Co-TDMA response frame.

[0161] For example, the following six communication scenarios will be used as examples to illustrate the content indicated by the first field:

[0162] In the first communication scenario, when the second device is operating in DUO mode, if the first device needs to send data to the second device, it can first send an ICF (Information Function Message) to confirm the availability period of the second device. The second device can then send an ICR (Information Response Message) to the first device based on the received ICF, carrying information about its unavailability, so that the first device avoids sending data to the second device during its unavailability period.

[0163] The ICF sent by the first device to the second device can be the BSRP trigger frame that includes the first field, and the ICR that the second device sends back to the first device, which carries the unavailability information of the second device, is the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field in the BSRP trigger frame can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to request the unavailability information of the second device, or the first field can also be used to indicate that the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is unavailability information.

[0164] One possible implementation is that the unavailability information of the second device may include one or more of the following: the start time of the unavailability period of the second device, the duration of the unavailability period of the second device, or the end time of the unavailability period of the second device.

[0165] One possible implementation is that the first device is an access point device and the second device is a site device.

[0166] In the second communication scenario, when the first device is operating in DUO mode, it can proactively send an ICF (Initial Communication Message) to the second device, carrying its unavailability information. The second device can then send an ICR (Initial Communication Message) back to the first device based on the received ICF, indicating whether the unavailability information was successfully received. This allows the second device to avoid communicating with the first device during its unavailability period.

[0167] Wherein, the ICF carrying the unavailability information of the first device sent by the first device to the second device can be the BSRP trigger frame including the first field mentioned above, and the ICR fed back by the second device to the first device is the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field in the BSRP trigger frame can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to report the unavailability information of the first device, or the first field can also be used to indicate that the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is an acknowledgment frame of unavailability information.

[0168] One possible implementation is that the unavailability information of the first device may include one or more of the following: the start time of the unavailability period of the first device, the duration of the unavailability period of the first device, or the end time of the unavailability period of the first device.

[0169] One possible implementation is that the first device is a site device and the second device is an access point device. Alternatively, the first device is an access point device and the second device is a site device.

[0170] In the third communication scenario, when the second device needs to transmit low-latency services, the first device can send an ICF (Initial Communication Message) to the second device to confirm whether the second device currently has a low-latency service transmission requirement. The second device can then send an ICR (Initial Communication Message) back to the first device based on the received ICF, carrying the second device's low-latency service transmission requirement.

[0171] The ICF sent by the first device to the second device can be the BSRP trigger frame that includes the first field, and the ICR sent by the second device to the first device is the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field in the BSRP trigger frame can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to request the low-latency service transmission requirement information of the second device, or the first field can also be used to indicate that the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is a low-latency service transmission requirement report.

[0172] One possible implementation is that the first device is an access point and the second device is a site device.

[0173] In the fourth communication scenario, when the first device and the second device initiate a Co-BF transmission, the first device can send an ICF to the second device, and the second device can send an ICR back to the first device based on the received ICF. The first device and the second device can determine the parameters in the Co-BF transmission through the ICF and ICR, for example, determining which receiving station each of the first and second devices is.

[0174] Wherein, the ICF sent by the first device to the second device can be the BSRP trigger frame including the first field mentioned above, and the ICR returned by the second device to the first device is the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field in the BSRP trigger frame can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to request the Co-BF transmission parameters of the second device, or the first field can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to report the Co-BF transmission parameters of the first device, or the first field can also be used to indicate that the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is a Co-BF response frame.

[0175] Co-BF is an AP collaboration mode, where the first device is an access point device and the second device is an access point device.

[0176] In the fifth communication scenario, when the first device and the second device initiate Co-SR transmission, the first device can send an ICF to the second device, and the second device can send an ICR back to the first device based on the received ICF. The first device and the second device can determine the parameters in the Co-SR transmission through the ICF and ICR, such as whether there is a Co-SR transmission requirement and the amount of traffic.

[0177] The ICF sent by the first device to the second device can be the BSRP trigger frame including the first field mentioned above. The ICR sent by the second device to the first device is the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field in the BSRP trigger frame can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to request the Co-SR transmission parameters of the second device, or the first field can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to report the Co-SR transmission parameters of the first device, or the first field can also be used to indicate that the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is a Co-SR response frame.

[0178] Co-SR is an AP collaboration mode, where the first device is an access point device and the second device is an access point device.

[0179] In the sixth communication scenario, when the first device and the second device initiate a Co-TDMA transmission, the first device can send an ICF (Initial Communication Message) to the second device, and the second device can send an ICR (Initial Response Message) back to the first device based on the received ICF. Through the ICF and ICR, the first and second devices can determine whether the second device intends to participate in the Co-TDMA transmission, as well as parameters such as the required transmission time.

[0180] The ICF sent by the first device to the second device can be the BSRP trigger frame including the first field mentioned above. The ICR sent by the second device to the first device is the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field in the BSRP trigger frame can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to request the Co-TDMA transmission parameters of the second device, or the first field can be used to indicate that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to report the Co-TDMA transmission parameters of the first device, or the first field can also be used to indicate that the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is a Co-TDMA response frame.

[0181] Co-TDMA is an AP collaboration mode, where the first device is an access point device and the second device is an access point device.

[0182] Based on the above description of the first field, when the first field is used to indicate the function of the BSRP trigger frame, different values ​​of the first field can indicate different functions of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0183] For example, the first field may include at least 3 bits. For instance, if the first field includes 4 bits, any 6 of the 16 possible values ​​of the first field can be used to represent the various functions of the BSRP trigger frame described above.

[0184] Specifically, when the first field takes a first value, it indicates that the BSRP trigger frame functions to request unavailability information for the second device. When the first field takes a second value, it indicates that the BSRP trigger frame functions to report unavailability information for the first device. When the first field takes a third value, it indicates that the BSRP trigger frame functions to request low-latency service transmission request information for the second device. When the first field takes a fourth value, it indicates that the BSRP trigger frame functions to request Co-BF transmission parameters for the second device, or to report Co-BF transmission parameters for the first device. When the first field takes a fifth value, it indicates that the BSRP trigger frame functions to request Co-BSR transmission parameters for the second device, or to report Co-SR transmission parameters for the first device. When the first field takes a sixth value, it indicates that the BSRP trigger frame functions to request Co-TDMA transmission parameters for the second device, or to report Co-TDMA transmission parameters for the first device.

[0185] In another example, the first field can also be in the form of a bitmap, where each bit corresponds to a function of the BSRP trigger frame. Different bits correspond to different functions of the BSRP trigger frame. Setting a bit value to 1 indicates that the function corresponding to that bit is enabled, and setting a bit value to 0 indicates that the function corresponding to that bit is disabled. For example, taking a 6-bit bitmap as an example, these 6 bits can sequentially correspond to the various functions of the BSRP trigger frame mentioned above. Setting the value of the first field to 100000 indicates that the first field is used to indicate that the function of the first field is to request the unavailability information of the second device; setting the value of the first field to 010000 indicates that the first field is used to indicate that the function of the first field is to report the unavailability information of the first device; ...; setting the value of the first field to 000001 indicates that the first field is used to indicate that the function of the first field is to request the Co-TDMA transmission parameters of the second device.

[0186] In another example, the first field can also use different second predetermined values ​​to represent the various functions of the BSRP trigger frame mentioned above. For a description of the second predetermined value, please refer to the relevant description of the association identifier (AID) 12 field below, which will not be repeated here.

[0187] Similarly, when the first field is used to indicate the type of response frame to the BSRP trigger frame, different values ​​of the first field can indicate different types of response frames to the BSRP trigger frame.

[0188] For example, the first field may include at least 3 bits. For instance, if the first field includes 4 bits, any 6 of the 8 possible values ​​of the first field can be used to represent the various types of response frames mentioned above for the BSRP trigger frame.

[0189] Specifically, when the first field takes the first value, it indicates that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is an unavailable message. When the first field takes the second value, it indicates that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is an acknowledgment frame for the unavailable message. When the first field takes the third value, it indicates that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is a Low Latency Service Transmission Request Report. When the first field takes the fourth value, it indicates that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is a Co-BF response frame. When the first field takes the fifth value, it indicates that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is a Co-SR response frame. When the first field takes the sixth value, it indicates that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is a Co-TDMA response frame.

[0190] In another example, the first field can also be in the form of a bitmap, where each bit corresponds to a type of BSRP trigger frame response frame. Different bits correspond to different types of BSRP trigger frame response frames. A bit value of 1 can be set to enable the type corresponding to that bit, and a bit value of 0 can be set to disable the type corresponding to that bit. For example, taking a 6-bit bitmap as an example, these 6 bits can sequentially correspond to the various types of BSRP trigger frame response frames mentioned above. The first field value can be set to 100000, indicating that the first field is used to indicate that the type of the BSRP trigger frame response frame is unavailable information; the first field value can be set to 010000, indicating that the first field is used to indicate that the type of the BSRP trigger frame response frame is an acknowledgment frame of unavailable information; ...; the first field value can be set to 000001, indicating that the first field is used to indicate that the type of the BSRP trigger frame response frame is a Co-TDMA response frame.

[0191] In another example, the first field can also use different second predetermined values ​​to represent the various types of response frames of the BSRP trigger frame mentioned above. For a description of the second predetermined value, please refer to the relevant description of the AID12 field below, which will not be repeated here.

[0192] Step 303: The second device parses the BSRP trigger frame.

[0193] In one possible implementation, the second device may also send a response frame to the first device for the BSRP trigger frame; correspondingly, the first device receives the response frame from the second device for the BSRP trigger frame.

[0194] The description of the response frame to the BSRP trigger frame can be found in the relevant description in step 302 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0195] Based on the method shown in Figure 3 above, different values ​​of the first field can indicate different functions of the BSRP trigger frame, or different values ​​of the first field can indicate different types of response frames of the BSRP trigger frame, so that the BSRP trigger frame can be used as an ICF in different communication scenarios under different values ​​of the first field, realizing a unified ICF design and supporting the interaction between ICF and ICR in different scenarios.

[0196] Based on the method shown in Figure 3 above, the position of the first field in the BSRP trigger frame is described in detail below:

[0197] As shown in Figure 4, the BSRP trigger frame may include the following fields: Frame Control field, Duration field, Receiver Address (RA) field, Transmitter Address (TA) field, Common Information field, User Information List field, Padding field, and Frame Check Sequence (FCS); wherein the User Information List field may include one or more User Information fields.

[0198] The first field can be located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, or it can be located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0199] In the first possible design, if the first field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is located in some or all of the bit positions between the 57th and 64th bits of the common information field.

[0200] Bits 57 to 64 of the public information field can also be described as bits B56 to B63 of the public information field.

[0201] In the second possible design, where the first field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0202] Bits 21 to 22 of the public information field can also be described as bits B20 to B21 of the public information field.

[0203] It is understandable that the public information field may include different fields in different 802.11 standards, and the field names and meanings corresponding to the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field may also be different.

[0204] For example, in the 802.11ax standard, as shown in Figure 5, the common information fields may include the following fields: trigger type, uplink length, more trigger frames (TF), channel state assessment (CS Required), uplink bandwidth (UL BW), guard interval and HE-LTF type / triggered TXOP sharing mode, multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) HE-LTF mode, number of HE-LTF symbols and midamble periodicity, uplink space-time block coding (UL STBC), low-density parity check code extra symbol segment (LDPC), AP transmit power (AP Tx Power), pre-FEC padding factor, path loss ambiguity cancellation (PE). The fields include Disambiguity, Spatial Reuse, Doppler, HE-SIG-A2 Reserved, Reserved, and Trigger Dependent Common Info.

[0205] For example, in the 802.11be standard, as shown in Figure 6, the common information fields may include the following fields: trigger type, uplink length, more TF, channel state assessment (CS Required), uplink bandwidth (UL BW), guard interval and HE / EHT-LTF type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode (GI and HE / EHT-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode), reserved, number of HE-LTF symbols and midamble periodicity, reserved, low-density parity check extra symbol segment (LDPC), AP transmit power (AP Tx Power), pre-FEC padding factor, path loss disambiguity (PE), and uplink spatial multiplexing (UL Spatial). The fields include: Reuse, Reserved, HE / EHT P160, Special User Info Field Flag, EHT Reserved, and Trigger Dependent Common Info.

[0206] In the Public Information field, bits 21 and 22 are referred to as the GI and HE-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode field in the 802.11ax standard, and as the GI and HE / EHT-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode field in the 802.11be standard. When bits 21 and 22 of the Public Information field are 0, 1, or 2, they indicate a response TB PPDU.

[0207] In this embodiment of the application, the values ​​of the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field can be a first predetermined value, which means that a first field exists after the 21st and 22nd bits. Based on this, the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field can also be called the response PPDU type / ICF mode field.

[0208] When the values ​​of the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are the first predetermined values, as shown in Figure 7, all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits, and some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field.

[0209] For example, the first predetermined value can be 3.

[0210] In the third possible design, if the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is located after the AID12 field in the user information field, and the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value.

[0211] The user information field may include different fields in different 802.11 standards.

[0212] For example, in the 802.11ax standard, as shown in Figure 5, the user information field may include the following fields: AID12 field, Resource Unit Allocation (RU Allocation) field, Uplink Forward Error Correction Code Type (UL FEC Coding Type) field, Uplink HE Modulation and Coding Strategy (UL HE-MCS) field, Uplink Dual Carrier Modulation (UL DCM) field, Spatial Stream Allocation / RA Resource Unit Information (SS Allocation / RA-RU Information) field, Uplink Target Receive Power (UL Target Receive Power) field, Reserved field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field.

[0213] For example, in the 802.11be standard, as shown in Figure 6, the user information field may include the following fields: AID12 field, Resource Unit Allocation (RU Allocation) field, Uplink Forward Error Correction Code Type (UL FEC Coding Type) field, Uplink EHT Modulation and Coding Strategy (UL EHT-MCS) field, Reserved field, Spatial Stream Allocation / RA Resource Unit Information (SS Allocation / RA-RU Information) field, Uplink Target Receive Power (UL Target Receive Power) field, PS160 field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field.

[0214] In this embodiment of the application, the value of the AID12 field of the user information field can be a second predetermined value, which means that there is a first field after the AID12 field.

[0215] In the case where the value of the AID12 field in the user information field is the second predetermined value, as shown in Figure 8, this user information field is a special user information field. All bits after the AID12 field in this special user information field are reserved bits. Some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field.

[0216] For example, the second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0217] In the fourth possible design, if the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the first field is the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0218] In this case, when the AID12 field takes the value of the second predetermined value, the AID12 field becomes the first field. Different second predetermined values ​​can be used to indicate different functions of the BSRP trigger frame, or different second predetermined values ​​can be used to indicate different types of response frames to the BSRP trigger frame.

[0219] For example, the second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0220] One possible implementation is that, when the AID12 field of the user information field takes the value of a second predetermined value, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits.

[0221] Based on the above description of the BSRP trigger frame, the second communication scenario in step 302 will be described in detail below:

[0222] In DUO mode, the site device can report its unavailability to the access point device. During the unavailability period of the site device, the access point device will not communicate with the site device, and the site device can use other wireless communication technologies besides Wi-Fi to communicate.

[0223] For example, an access point device can send an ICF (Information Request Form) to a site device to request unavailability information from the site device. After receiving the ICF, the site device can send an ICR (Information Response Form) frame to the access point device, carrying its own unavailability information. Alternatively, the access point device can send a data frame to the site device. After receiving the data frame, the site device can send an acknowledgment frame to the access point device, carrying its own unavailability information in the acknowledgment frame. This acknowledgment frame can be a multi-STA block ack (MBA) frame.

[0224] In both of the above methods, the site device passively sends unavailability information to the access point device, and the site device has poor flexibility in responding to unavailability information.

[0225] Based on this, in the second communication scenario described above in this application embodiment, it is proposed that the site device can also proactively send unavailability information to the access point device. That is, the site device can act as the first device and proactively send a BSRP trigger frame to the access point device (i.e., the second device). This BSRP trigger frame includes a first field and also includes unavailability information of the first device. Alternatively, the access point device can also act as the first device and proactively send a BSRP trigger frame to the site device. This BSRP trigger frame includes the first field and also includes unavailability information of the first device. This improves the flexibility of unavailability information feedback.

[0226] However, the existing 802.11 standard specifies that BSRP trigger frames are used to retrieve buffer status reports (BSRs) from site devices, or as ICFs to communicate with site devices operating in enhanced multi-link state report (eMLSR) or enhanced multi-link measurement report (eMLMR) modes. Therefore, how to use BSRP trigger frames to report the unavailability of a first device is currently missing.

[0227] Based on this, the following description provides a detailed explanation of how to use BSRP trigger frames to report unavailability information of the first device, thus filling the design gap of using BSRP trigger frames as the carrier of unavailability information in the ICF:

[0228] The BSRP trigger frame may include a first field indicating that the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to report unavailability information of a first device, or the first field indicating that the type of the BSRP trigger frame's response frame is an acknowledgment frame for unavailability information. The BSRP trigger frame may also include one or more of the following: a second field, or a field indicating unavailability information for the first device. The second field indicates whether the BSRP trigger frame includes a field indicating unavailability information for the first device.

[0229] For example, the second field may include at least 1 bit. For instance, if the second field includes 1 bit, the value of that 1 bit can be set to 1 to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device; or, the value of that 1 bit can be set to 0 to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame does not include the unavailability information field of the first device.

[0230] In another example, the second field can also use a second predetermined value to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device. For a description of the second predetermined value, please refer to the relevant description of the AID12 field below, which will not be repeated here.

[0231] In the first possible design, if the BSRP trigger frame includes a second field, and if the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, then the BSRP trigger frame includes the first field, the second field, and the unavailability information field for the first device. If the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame does not include the unavailability information field for the first device, then the BSRP trigger frame includes the first field and the second field, but does not include the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0232] The second field can be located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the second field can be located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0233] In the first example, where the second field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0234] Specifically, the values ​​of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be predetermined values, meaning that a first field and a second field exist after bits 21 and 22. A description of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be found in the aforementioned descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0235] When the values ​​of the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are the first predetermined values, as shown in Figure 9, all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, and some bits can be defined as the second field.

[0236] For example, the first predetermined value can be 3.

[0237] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located in the common information field and after the second field.

[0238] For example, as shown in Figure 9, all bits after the 21st to 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, some as the second field, and some as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0239] In the second example, if the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field can be the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0240] In the case where the second field is the AID12 field within the user information field, the first field can be located after the AID12 field. In this case, if the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value, the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device; otherwise, the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame does not include the unavailability information field of the first device.

[0241] The second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0242] It is understandable that when the value of the AID12 field in the user information field is the second predetermined value, as shown in Figure 10, this user information field is a special user information field. All bits after the AID12 field in this special user information field are reserved bits, and some or all of the reserved bits can be defined as the first field.

[0243] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located within the user information field and after the second field. For example, some bits in the reserved bits after the AID12 field can be defined as the first field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0244] In the third example, where the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0245] In this context, the AID12 field takes a second predetermined value, which can mean that the AID12 field is the first field. A second field can also be included after the first field. In this case, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field in this special user information field are reserved bits. Some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field.

[0246] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located within the user information field and after the second field. For example, some bits in the reserved bits after the AID12 field can be defined as the second field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0247] Alternatively, the meaning of the AID12 field taking the second predetermined value can also be that the AID12 field includes both a first field and a second field. In this case, as shown in Figure 10, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, and some bits can be defined as the second field.

[0248] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located within the user information field and after the second field. For example, as shown in Figure 10, some bits in the reserved bits after the AID12 field can be defined as the first field, some bits as the second field, and some bits as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0249] The second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0250] In the second possible design, the BSRP trigger frame may also include a first field and a first device unavailability information field, but not a second field.

[0251] The unavailability information field of the first device can be located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, or the unavailability information field of the first device can be located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0252] In the first example, where the unavailable information field of the first device is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the unavailable information field of the first device is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0253] Specifically, the values ​​of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be predetermined values, which mean that there is a first field and an unavailable information field for the first device following bits 21 and 22. A description of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be found in the aforementioned descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0254] When the values ​​of bits 21 to 22 in the public information field are predetermined, all bits after bits 21 to 22 in the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0255] The first predetermined value can be 3.

[0256] In the second example, where the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the unavailability information field of the first device is located after the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0257] The AID12 field takes a second predetermined value, which can mean that the AID12 field is the first field. Following the first field, there may also be an unavailability information field for the first device. In this case, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits following the AID12 field in this special user information field are reserved bits. Some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0258] Alternatively, the meaning of the AID12 field taking the second predetermined value can also be that the AID12 field includes the first field and the unavailability information field of the first device. In this case, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the first field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailability information field of the first device.

[0259] The second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0260] In addition, the question of how the second device should respond when it receives a BSRP trigger frame carrying information about the unavailability of the first device in the second communication scenario mentioned above is currently missing.

[0261] Based on this, the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame can be described in detail below to fill the design gap of the unavailable information reply frame:

[0262] The response frame can be used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information by the first device; this response frame is an acknowledgment frame for the unavailable information. For example, the response frame can be an MBA frame, or an ACK frame, or a clear to send (CTS) frame.

[0263] The following is a detailed description of the response frame as an MBA frame:

[0264] As shown in Figure 11(a), the MBA frame may include the following fields: frame control field, duration field, RA field, TA field, block ACK (BA) control field, BA information field, and FCS field. The BA information field may include acknowledgment information for preceding data frames.

[0265] Specifically, the BA information field can contain one or more Per AID TID fields. The first 11 bits of each Per AID TID field are the AID11 field. When the value of the AID11 field is not equal to 2045, the frame structure of the Per AID TID field can be as shown in Figure 11(b), including the following fields: AID TID information field, Block Acknowledgment Start Sequence Control field, and Block Acknowledgment Bitmap field. The AID TID information field can include the AID11 field, Acknowledgment (ACK) type field, and TID field. The Block Acknowledgment Start Sequence Control field and the Block Acknowledgment Bitmap field contain acknowledgment information for the preceding data frame. When the value of the AID11 field is equal to 2045, the frame structure of the Per AID TID field can be as shown in Figure 11(c), including the following fields: AID TID information field, Reserved field, and RA field. The RA field is used to carry the site's media access control (MAC) address, indicating that a preceding data frame sent by the site device corresponding to that MAC address has been received.

[0266] MBA frames are typically sent by an access point device (APD) to multiple site devices. For example, an APD might trigger one or more associated site devices to send data, and then send an MBA frame to acknowledge the data frames from these site devices. In this case, the AID11 field carries the AID of the associated site device, uniquely identifying it. As another example, an APD might trigger random access from an unassociated site device, and then send an MBA frame to acknowledge the random access transmission. In this case, the AID11 field is set to 2045, followed by RA, which carries the MAC address of the site device, indicating that a preceding frame from the site device corresponding to that MAC address has been received.

[0267] Based on the above description of the MBA frame, this application embodiment expands the use case of the MBA frame, that is, the second device can reply with an MBA frame as an acknowledgment after receiving the unavailability information from the first device. Specifically, a Per AID TID field in the MBA information field can be used to carry the acknowledgment information of the unavailability information of the first device, that is, the Per AID TID field is used to indicate the reception status of the unavailability information of the first device.

[0268] The Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field. The acknowledgment type field takes a third predetermined value, and the TID field takes a fourth predetermined value.

[0269] For example, the third predetermined value is 1. The fourth predetermined value is any of the following values: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, or 15.

[0270] Additionally, the Per AID TID field may also include an AID11 field, which indicates the AID of the first device.

[0271] It is understandable that, if the first device is a site device, the AID11 field can include the site device's AID; or, if the first device is an access point device, the AID11 field can be all 0s, all 1s, or a predefined value, without restriction.

[0272] Unlike the BSRP trigger frame described above, which includes a first field, a second field, and a field for unavailability information of the first device, when the first device reports its unavailability information to the second device, the communication method shown in Figure 12 below can also be referred to.

[0273] Figure 12 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 12, the method may include:

[0274] Step 1201: The first device generates the first control frame.

[0275] Step 1202: The first device sends a first control frame to the second device; correspondingly, the second device receives the first control frame from the first device.

[0276] The first control frame includes a second field, which is used to indicate whether the first control frame includes an unavailable information field for the first device.

[0277] For example, the second field may include at least 1 bit. For instance, if the second field includes 1 bit, the value of that 1 bit can be set to 1 to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device; or, the value of that 1 bit can be set to 0 to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame does not include the unavailability information field of the first device.

[0278] In another example, the second field can also use a second predetermined value to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device. For a description of the second predetermined value, please refer to the relevant description of the AID12 field below, which will not be repeated here.

[0279] For example, the first control frame is a BSRP trigger frame. Unlike the BSRP trigger frames in Figures 3 to 10 above, in the communication method shown in Figure 12, the BSRP trigger frame does not include the aforementioned first field.

[0280] The BSRP trigger frame may include the fields shown in Figure 4. The second field may be located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame; alternatively, the second field may be located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0281] In the first example, where the second field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0282] Specifically, the values ​​of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be predetermined values, which means that a second field exists after bits 21 and 22. A description of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be found in the aforementioned descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0283] When the values ​​of the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are the first predetermined values, as shown in Figure 13, all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits, and some of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field.

[0284] For example, the first predetermined value can be 3.

[0285] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located in the common information field and after the second field.

[0286] For example, as shown in Figure 13, all bits after the 21st to 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits. Some of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailable information field of the first device.

[0287] In the second example, if the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field can be the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0288] In the case where the second field is the AID12 field in the user information field, if the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value, the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device; otherwise, the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame does not include the unavailability information field of the first device.

[0289] The second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0290] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located within the user information field and after the second field. For example, some or all of the reserved bits following the AID12 field can be defined as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0291] In the third example, where the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0292] In this case, the AID12 field takes the value of a second predetermined value, which can mean that a second field is included after the AID12 field. In this case, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field in this special user information field are reserved bits. Some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the second field.

[0293] Additionally, when the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device, the unavailability information field for the first device can be located within the user information field and after the second field. For example, some bits in the reserved bits after the AID12 field can be defined as the second field, and some bits can be defined as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0294] The second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0295] Step 1203: The second device parses the first control frame.

[0296] In one possible implementation, the second device can also send a response frame to the first device; correspondingly, the first device receives a response frame from the second device.

[0297] The response frame is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information from the first device. The response frame can be an MBA frame, an ACK frame, or a CTS frame. A description of this response frame can be found in the above description of the response frame for the second communication scenario, and will not be repeated here.

[0298] Based on the method shown in Figure 12, the first device can proactively report its unavailability information to the second device via the first control frame, increasing the flexibility of unavailability information feedback and filling the design gap of using BSRP trigger frames as ICF to carry unavailability information. Furthermore, after receiving the first control frame, the second device can send a response frame to the first device, filling the design gap of unavailability information reply frames.

[0299] Unlike the BSRP trigger frame in Figure 14 above, which includes a second field and information about the unavailability of the first device, when the first device reports its unavailability to the second device, the communication method shown in Figure 14 below can also be used.

[0300] Figure 14 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 14, the method may include:

[0301] Step 1401: The first device sends a second control frame to the second device; correspondingly, the second device receives the second control frame from the first device.

[0302] The second control frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device.

[0303] For example, the second control frame is a BSRP trigger frame. Unlike the BSRP trigger frame in Figure 12 above, in the communication method shown in Figure 14, the BSRP trigger frame may not include the aforementioned second field.

[0304] The BSRP trigger frame may include the fields shown in Figure 4. The unavailability information field of the first device may be located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the unavailability information field of the first device may be located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

[0305] In the first example, where the unavailable information field of the first device is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the unavailable information field of the first device is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

[0306] Specifically, the values ​​of bits 21 and 22 of the public information field can be predetermined values, which mean that an unavailable information field for the first device exists after bits 21 and 22. A description of bits 21 and 22 of this public information field can be found in the aforementioned descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0307] When the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field have a first predetermined value, all bits after the 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are reserved bits, and some of these reserved bits can be defined as unavailable information fields of the first device.

[0308] The first predetermined value can be 3.

[0309] It is understood that a second field may also be included between bits 21 and 22 of the public information field and the unavailability information field of the first device. This second field is used to indicate that the second control frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device. In this case, the second control frame is equivalent to the first control frame described above.

[0310] In the second example, where the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the unavailability information field of the first device is located after the AID12 field in the user information field.

[0311] The AID12 field takes the value of a second predetermined value, which can mean that the AID12 field includes an unavailability information field for the first device. In this case, the user information field is a special user information field, and all bits after the AID12 field of this special user information field are reserved bits. Some or all of these reserved bits can be defined as the unavailability information field for the first device.

[0312] The second predetermined value is any value in the following range: [2008, 2044].

[0313] It is understood that a second field may also be included between the AID12 field and the unavailability information field of the first device, and this second field is used to indicate that the second control frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device. Alternatively, the AID12 field may be used to indicate that the second control frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device. In this case, the second control frame is equivalent to the first control frame described above.

[0314] Step 1402: The second device sends a response frame to the first device; correspondingly, the first device receives a response frame from the second device.

[0315] The response frame is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information from the first device. The response frame can be an MBA frame, an ACK frame, or a CTS frame. A description of this response frame can be found in the above description of the response frame for the second communication scenario, and will not be repeated here.

[0316] Based on the method shown in Figure 14, the first device can proactively report its unavailability information to the second device via the second control frame, increasing the flexibility of unavailability information feedback and filling the design gap of using BSRP trigger frames as ICF to carry unavailability information. Furthermore, after receiving the second control frame, the second device can send a response frame to the first device, filling the design gap of unavailability information reply frames.

[0317] It should be noted that the various embodiments of this application can be implemented independently or in combination, without limitation. Unless otherwise specified or in conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between the different embodiments provided in this application are consistent and can be referenced mutually. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0318] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the executing entity may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also perform other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the various steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0319] The foregoing primarily describes the solutions provided in this application from the perspective of device-to-device interaction. It is understood that each device, in order to achieve the aforementioned functions, includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0320] This application embodiment can divide each device into functional modules according to the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0321] With each function module divided according to its corresponding function, Figure 15 shows a communication device 150. This communication device 150 can perform the actions performed by the first device or the second device in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 14. All relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module. The technical effects that can be obtained can be referred to the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0322] The communication device 150 may include a transceiver module 1501 and a processing module 1502. Exemplarily, the communication device 150 may be a communication equipment, or a chip or other combination device or component having the aforementioned communication device functions. When the communication device 150 is a communication equipment, the transceiver module 1501 may be a transceiver, which may include an antenna and radio frequency circuits; the processing module 1502 may be a processor (or processing circuit), such as a baseband processor, which may include one or more CPUs. When the communication device 150 is a component having the aforementioned communication device functions, the transceiver module 1501 may be a radio frequency unit; the processing module 1502 may be a processor (or processing circuit), such as a baseband processor. When the communication device 150 is a chip system, the transceiver module 1501 may be an input / output interface of a chip (e.g., a baseband chip); the processing module 1502 may be a processor (or processing circuit) of the chip system, and may include one or more central processing units. It should be understood that the transceiver module 1501 in the embodiments of this application can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit components; the processing module 1502 can be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components (or, referred to as processing circuit).

[0323] For example, transceiver module 1501 can be used to perform all the transceiver operations performed by the communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 14, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein; processing module 1502 can be used to perform all operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 3 to 14, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0324] As another possible implementation, the transceiver module 1501 in FIG15 can be replaced by a transceiver that can integrate the functions of the transceiver module 1501; the processing module 1502 can be replaced by a processor that can integrate the functions of the processing module 1502. Furthermore, the communication device 150 shown in FIG15 may also include a memory.

[0325] Alternatively, when the processing module 1502 is replaced by a processor and the transceiver module 1501 is replaced by a transceiver, the communication device 150 involved in the embodiments of this application can also be the communication device 160 shown in FIG. 16. The processor can be logic circuit 1601, and the transceiver can be interface circuit 1602. Furthermore, the communication device 160 shown in FIG. 16 can also include a memory 1603.

[0326] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0327] This application also provides a computer program that, when executed by a computer, can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0328] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. This program can be stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the terminal (including a data sending end and / or a data receiving end) of any of the foregoing embodiments, such as the terminal's hard disk or memory. The computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the terminal, such as a plug-in hard disk, smart media card (SMC), secure digital (SD) card, flash card, etc., equipped on the terminal. Further, the computer-readable storage medium can include both the terminal's internal storage unit and external storage devices. The computer-readable storage medium is used to store the computer program and other programs and data required by the terminal. The computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or will be output.

[0329] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. "First" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this embodiment, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0330] Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0331] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more. "More than one" means two or more. "At least two (items)" means two or three or more. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one (item) of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. Both "...when" and "if" indicate that a corresponding action will be taken under certain objective circumstances. They are not time limits, nor do they require a judgment action to be taken when the action is taken, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0332] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0333] In this application, "sending information to...(terminal device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the terminal device. "Receiving information from...(terminal device)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal device, and can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the terminal device. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source.

[0334] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, only the division of the above functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0335] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of modules or units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0336] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. A component shown as a unit can be one or more physical units; that is, it can be located in one place or distributed in multiple different locations. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0337] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0338] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application embodiment, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a device (which may be a microcontroller, chip, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Generate a buffer status report and poll a BSRP trigger frame; wherein the BSRP trigger frame includes a first field, the first field being used to indicate the function of the BSRP trigger frame, or the first field being used to indicate the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame; The BSRP trigger frame is sent to the second device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The BSRP trigger frame has one or more of the following functions: for requesting unavailability information of the second device, for reporting unavailability information of the first device, for requesting low-latency service transmission requirement information of the second device, for requesting cooperative beamforming (Co-BF) transmission parameters of the second device, for reporting Co-BF transmission parameters of the first device, for requesting cooperative spatial multiplexing (Co-SR) transmission parameters of the second device, for reporting Co-SR transmission parameters of the first device, for requesting cooperative time division multiple access (Co-TDMA) transmission parameters of the second device, or for reporting Co-TDMA transmission parameters of the first device.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The response frame type of the BSRP trigger frame includes one or more of the following: unavailable information, unavailable information acknowledgment frame, low latency service transmission request report, Co-BF response frame, Co-SR response frame, or Co-TDMA response frame.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first field is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the first field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, The first field is located in some or all of the bit positions from the 57th to the 64th bit of the public information field; or The first field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the public information field.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are set to a first predetermined value.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field is located after the associated identifier AID12 field in the user information field, and the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value.

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the first field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame. The first field is the AID12 field in the user information field.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a response frame from the BSRP trigger frame of the second device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, When the function of the BSRP trigger frame is to report the unavailability of the first device, or when the type of the response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is an acknowledgment frame of unavailability information, The BSRP trigger frame includes a second field, which indicates whether the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The second field is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, In the case where the second field is located in the common information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the 21st to 22nd bits of the common information field.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The 21st and 22nd bits of the public information field are set to a first predetermined value.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that, In the case where the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device, the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the common information field and after the second field.

15. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, When the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is the associated identifier AID12 field in the user information field; When the value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value, the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device.

16. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, In the case where the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame, the second field is located after the AID12 field in the user information field.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The value of the AID12 field is a second predetermined value.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that, In the case where the second field is used to indicate that the BSRP trigger frame includes the unavailability information field of the first device, the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the user information field and after the second field.

19. The method according to any one of claims 10-18, characterized in that, The response frame of the BSRP trigger frame is a Multi-Site Device Block Acknowledgment (MBA) frame, or the response frame is an Acknowledgment (ACK) frame, or the response frame is a CTS (Complete Transmission) frame.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, In the case that the response frame is the MBA frame, the MBA frame includes a Per AID TID field, which is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information of the first device.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field. The acknowledgment type field takes a third predetermined value, and the TID field takes a fourth predetermined value.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that, The Per AID TID field also includes an AID11 field, which is used to indicate the AID of the first device.

23. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Generate a first control frame; wherein the first control frame includes a second field, the second field being used to indicate whether the first control frame includes an unavailability information field for the first device; The first control frame is sent to the second device.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The first control frame is the Buffer Status Report Polling BSRP trigger frame.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The second field is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the second field is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

26. The method according to any one of claims 23-25, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a response frame from the second device; wherein the response frame is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information from the first device.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The response frame is a Multi-Site Device Block Acknowledgment (MBA) frame, or an Acknowledgment (ACK) frame, or a CTS (Complete Transmission) frame.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, In the case that the response frame is the MBA frame, the MBA frame includes a Per AID TID field, which is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information of the first device.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, The Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field. The acknowledgment type field takes a third predetermined value, and the TID field takes a fourth predetermined value.

30. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive a second control frame from the first device; wherein the second control frame includes an unavailability information field of the first device; Send a response frame to the first device; wherein the response frame is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information of the first device, and the response frame is a Multi-Site Device Block Acknowledgment (MBA) frame, or an Acknowledgment (ACK) frame, or a CTS (Clear Transmission) frame.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, In the case that the response frame is the MBA frame, the MBA frame includes a Per AID TID field, which is used to indicate the reception status of unavailable information of the first device.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The Per AID TID field includes an acknowledgment type field and a TID field. The acknowledgment type field takes a third predetermined value, and the TID field takes a fourth predetermined value.

33. The method according to any one of claims 30-32, characterized in that, The second control frame is the Buffer Status Report Polling BSRP trigger frame.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The unavailability information field of the first device is located in the public information field of the BSRP trigger frame; or, the unavailability information field of the first device is located in the user information field of the BSRP trigger frame.

35. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-22; or includes a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in any one of claims 23-29; or includes a module or unit for performing the communication method as described in any one of claims 30-34.

36. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions that cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-22 to be executed, or cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 23-29 to be executed, or cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 30-34 to be executed.

37. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes an interface circuit and a logic circuit; the interface circuit is used to input and / or output information; the logic circuit is used to execute the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-22, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 23-29, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 30-34, and to process and / or generate the information based on the information.

38. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs that, when some or all of the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-22 to be executed, or cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 23-29 to be executed, or cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 30-34 to be executed.

39. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions or programs; when some or all of the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, they cause the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-22 to be executed, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 23-29 to be executed, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 30-34 to be executed.

Images