Communication method and apparatus for co-BF, and device and medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications, and discloses a communication method and apparatus for Co-BF, and a device, a medium, and a program product. The method is executed by a first access point, and comprises: sending a first PPDU, wherein the first PPDU is related to Co-BF, and the first PPDU is used for indicating UEQM-related information. In the method, Co-BF technology is combined with a UEQM mechanism, so that channel state information does not need to be repeatedly acquired, thereby saving time for acquiring channel state information, and reducing signaling overhead; in addition, the use of the UEQM mechanism can further improve data throughput.

Description

Communication methods, apparatus, devices and media for Co-BF Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, device, medium and program product for Coordinated Beamforming (Co-BF). Background Technology

[0002] In Co-BF, multiple access points (APs) can enhance the beam toward the target site and reduce the spatial radiation toward non-target sites to zero by sharing information and cooperating with each other.

[0003] In related technologies, when Co-BF transmission is performed, each AP can allocate multiple spatial streams to its associated non-AP sites, thereby further improving throughput. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, device, medium, and program product for Co-BF, the technical solution of which includes at least:

[0005] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a communication method for Co-BF is provided, the method being performed by a first access point, the method comprising: sending a first Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU);

[0006] The first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to Unequal Modulation (UEQM).

[0007] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a communication method for Co-BF is provided, the method being performed by a first access point, the method comprising: sending a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether a second AP is requested to provide feedback on recommended or suggested transmission parameters;

[0008] The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

[0009] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a communication method for Co-BF is provided, the method being performed by a station, the method comprising: receiving a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0010] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a communication method for Co-BF is provided, the method being performed by a second access point, the method comprising: receiving a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether a second AP is requested to provide feedback on recommended or suggested transmission parameters;

[0011] The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first PPDU is sent by the first AP, which is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

[0012] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a first apparatus for Co-BF is provided, the first apparatus comprising: a transmitting module for transmitting a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0013] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a first apparatus for Co-BF is provided. The first apparatus includes: a transmitting module for transmitting a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether a second apparatus is requested to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein the transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of a second PPDU by the second apparatus, the second PPDU and the first PPDU being used together for Co-BF, the first apparatus being an initiating apparatus, and the second apparatus being a responding apparatus.

[0014] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a second device for Co-BF is provided, the second device comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being configured to indicate whether a second device is requested to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein the transmission parameters are configured to indicate parameters related to the transmission of a second PPDU by the second device, the second PPDU and the first PPDU being used together for Co-BF, the first PPDU being sent by the first device, the first device being an initiating device, and the second device being a responding device.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a third device for Co-BF is provided, the third device comprising: a receiving module for receiving a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0016] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a first access point is provided, the first access point comprising:

[0017] Processor; transceiver connected to the processor; memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the Co-BF communication method as described above.

[0018] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a second access point is provided, the second access point comprising:

[0019] Processor; transceiver connected to the processor; memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the Co-BF communication method as described above.

[0020] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a site is provided, the site comprising:

[0021] Processor; transceiver connected to the processor; memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the Co-BF communication method as described above.

[0022] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores at least one program, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in the various aspects above.

[0023] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a chip is provided, the chip including programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions, which, when the chip is running at a first access point, are used to implement the Co-BF communication methods of the above aspects; when the chip is running at a second access point, are used to implement the Co-BF communication methods of the above aspects; and when the chip is running at a site, are used to implement the Co-BF communication methods of the above aspects.

[0024] According to another aspect of the embodiments of this application, a computer program product or computer program is provided, the computer program product or computer program including computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, a processor retrieving the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executing the computer instructions to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in the various aspects above.

[0025] The technical solutions provided in this application embodiment may include the following beneficial effects:

[0026] This method combines Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism by sending a first PPDU, which is associated with Co-BF and indicates UEQM-related information. Channel state information (CSO) can be acquired during the probe phase of Co-BF, and the UEQM mechanism also requires CSO to use different MCSs for different spatial flows. By combining Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism, the need for repeated acquisition of CSO is eliminated, saving time and reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, the use of the UEQM mechanism can further improve data throughput. Attached Figure Description

[0027] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0028] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 4 illustrates the format of the Co-BF PPDU parameter request field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the format of the Co-BF PPDU parameter response field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of the second field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of the second field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of the format of the second field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of the format of a control field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 12 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 13 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 14 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 15 shows a block diagram of a first device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 16 shows a block diagram of a first device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 17 shows a block diagram of a second device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 18 shows a block diagram of a third device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 19 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a site provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 20 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first access point or a second access point provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0048] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail here, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with this application. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of this application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0049] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0050] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when," "when," or "in response to determination."

[0051] The technical solutions described in some embodiments of this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) systems, New Radio (NR) systems, evolution systems of NR systems, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) systems, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) systems, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), 5th-Generation (5G) systems, cellular IoT systems, cellular passive IoT systems, and can also be applied to subsequent evolution systems of 5G NR systems, as well as 6G and subsequent evolution systems.

[0052] It should be understood that in some embodiments of this application, "5G" may also be referred to as "5G NR" or "NR".

[0053] It should be understood that in the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" may indicate that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between the two, or that there is an association between the two, or that there is a relationship of instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0054] In this embodiment of the application, "predefined" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device (e.g., including terminal devices and network devices). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0055] In this application embodiment, "protocol" may refer to standard protocols in the field of communication, such as IEEE 802.11ax protocol, IEEE 802.11be protocol, IEEE 802.11bn protocol, and related protocols applied in future communication systems. This application does not limit this.

[0056] It should be understood that the format, name, and value of the frames / elements / fields involved in the various embodiments of this application are merely examples and do not imply any limitation on the format, name, and value of the frames / elements / fields. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that one or more of the aforementioned element / field names, their positions in the frame, their arrangement order with other elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, or the number of bits occupied may change. Similarly, in different embodiments or designs, it is possible that one or more of the aforementioned frame names, included elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, or the number of bits occupied may change.

[0057] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The wireless communication system 100 includes a plurality of stations (STAs). In this application, STAs include access point STAs (AP STAs) and / or non-access point STAs (non-AP STAs), where an AP STA can be simply referred to as an AP. Communication between STAs can be implemented as communication between an AP and a non-AP STA, communication between two non-AP STAs, or communication between APs. Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 including AP 110, non-AP STA 120, AP 130, and non-AP STA 140.

[0058] Both AP 110 and AP 130 are devices deployed in Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) / Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems to provide wireless communication capabilities to non-AP STAs. 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. AP 110 can be a terminal device or network device (such as a router) with a WLAN / Wi-Fi chip. AP 130 can also be a terminal device or network device (such as a router) with a WLAN / Wi-Fi chip.

[0059] In some embodiments, AP 110 can be a device that supports various current and future Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of WLAN standards, including 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11bp, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. AP 110 can also be used in network environments that support next-generation WLAN systems / next-generation Wi-Fi communications.

[0060] In some embodiments, AP 130 can be a device that supports various current and future IEEE 802.11 family of WLAN standards, including 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11bp, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. AP 130 can also be used in network environments that support next-generation WLAN systems / next-generation Wi-Fi communication.

[0061] In some embodiments, the AP 110 may be of the same or different standard as the AP 130.

[0062] The non-AP STA 120 and non-AP STA 140 can be wireless communication devices that support WLAN / Wi-Fi technology, such as wireless communication devices with WLAN / Wi-Fi chips.

[0063] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA 120 can be a device that supports various current and future IEEE 802.11 family of WLAN standards, including 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11bp, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. The non-AP STA 120 can also be used in network environments that support next-generation WLAN systems / next-generation Wi-Fi communication.

[0064] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA 140 can be a device that supports various current and future IEEE 802.11 family of WLAN standards, including 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11bp, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. The non-AP STA 140 can also be used in network environments that support next-generation WLAN systems / next-generation Wi-Fi communication.

[0065] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA 120 may be the same as or different from the non-AP STA 140.

[0066] In this embodiment, the next-generation WLAN system is an evolution of the 802.11be system and is backward compatible with the 802.11be system. Next-generation Wi-Fi communication refers to any new generation of Wi-Fi communication after Wi-Fi 7 based on the 802.11be specification, such as Ultra High Reliability (UHR) communication.

[0067] In some embodiments, AP 110, non-AP STA 120, AP 130 and non-AP STA 140 all support the IEEE 802.11 protocol, but are not limited to the IEEE 802.11 protocol.

[0068] It's understandable that the role of a STA in wireless communication is not absolute. For example, when phone A is connected to a router, phone A is a non-AP STA, but when phone A acts as a hotspot for phone B, phone A acts as an AP.

[0069] In this application embodiment, the STA can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, such as one that supports the 802.11 series of protocols and can communicate with the AP or other STAs. For example, an STA is any user communication device that allows users to communicate with the AP and thus with the WLAN. STAs can be, for example, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc.

[0070] In this application embodiment, the STA can also be a device that provides voice / data / image connectivity to the user, such as a handheld device, vehicle device, home device, home appliance, gaming device, etc., with wireless connection function or equipped with a wireless communication module. Examples include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving vehicles, drones or aerial photography equipment, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices with wireless communication capabilities, other processing devices connected to wireless modems, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in 5G networks, and Beyond 5G. Terminal devices in 5G (B5G) networks, terminal devices in 6G networks, and terminal devices in future evolved Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) can also be televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, kitchen appliances, door locks, fish tanks, robot vacuum cleaners, game consoles, cameras / camcorders, sensors, etc. with wireless connectivity. This application embodiment is not limited to these.

[0071] By way of example and not limitation, the STA in the embodiments of this application can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that apply wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Examples include smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as devices that focus on a specific type of application function and require cooperation with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0072] Furthermore, the STA in this application embodiment can also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection. In this application embodiment, IoT technology can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and terminal power saving through technologies such as narrowband (NB).

[0073] Furthermore, the STA in this application embodiment can also be an in-vehicle communication device in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system or the vehicle itself. The communication methods in a V2X system are collectively referred to as V2X (where X represents anything). For example, V2X communication includes: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication, or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0074] In some embodiments, the frequency bands supported by the wireless communication system 100 include, but are not limited to: millimeter wave (mmWave) bands (such as 45GHz, 60GHz, etc., which belong to the 30-300GHz range) and low-frequency bands. Among them, low-frequency bands include Sub-7GHz bands (such as 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, etc., which belong to the 1-7.25GHz range).

[0075] In some embodiments, there are one or more links between AP 110 and non-AP STA 120.

[0076] In some embodiments, multi-band communication is supported between AP 110 and non-AP STA 120. For example, communication can occur simultaneously on one or more frequency bands such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 45 GHz, and 60 GHz. Alternatively, communication can occur simultaneously on different channels within the same frequency band or on different channels within different frequency bands. Multi-band communication can improve communication throughput and / or reliability between devices. Such a device supporting multi-band communication can be considered to have multi-link operation (MLO) capability and is commonly referred to as a multi-band device or multi-link device (MLD), sometimes also called a multi-band entity or multi-link entity. In other words, an MLD is an entity or device that supports communication with other MLD entities using multiple wireless links.

[0077] In some embodiments, there are one or more links between AP 130 and non-AP STA 140.

[0078] In some embodiments, multi-band communication is supported between AP 130 and non-AP STA 140.

[0079] An AP MLD can include one or more APs; that is, an AP MLD's associated STAs include one or more APs. A non-AP MLD can include one or more non-AP STAs; that is, a non-AP MLD's associated STAs include one or more non-AP STAs. One or more links can be formed between AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs, allowing communication between APs associated with an AP MLD and between non-AP STAs associated with a non-AP MLD. One or more peer-to-peer (P2P) links can also be formed between non-AP MLDs, allowing communication between non-AP STAs associated with two different non-AP MLDs. Similarly, one or more P2P links can be formed between AP MLDs, allowing communication between APs associated with two different AP MLDs.

[0080] A Basic Service Set (BSS) is the fundamental topology in WLAN / Wi-Fi communication. The communication devices constituting a BSS include one Access Point (AP) and several non-AP STAs (Standard Target Units). After joining the AP's radio domain, each non-AP STA establishes an association with the AP. Associated non-AP STAs and the AP can transmit data, and non-AP STAs within the same BSS can exchange data through the AP.

[0081] In some embodiments, there are one or more links between AP 110 and AP 130. For example, in a multi-AP coordination scenario, the link between AP 110 and AP 130 can meet the requirements of multi-AP coordination to reduce mutual interference between BSS1 to which AP 110 belongs and BSS2 to which AP 130 belongs, improve spectrum utilization efficiency, throughput and transmission reliability, and the number of APs participating in multi-AP coordination can be two or more.

[0082] In this application embodiment, Multi-AP cooperation includes one or more of the following schemes: Coordinated Beamforming (Co-BF), Coordinated Spatial Reuse (Co-SR), Coordinated Time Division Multiple Access (Co-TDMA), Coordinated Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (Co-OFDMA), and Coordinated Nulling.

[0083] Co-BF technology allows the AP to enhance the beam toward the target STA and reduce the spatial radiation toward non-target STAs to zero, thereby achieving interference suppression.

[0084] The following section describes the relevant technologies involved in the embodiments of this application:

[0085] • Trigger Frame (TF):

[0086] In related technologies, when transmitting uplink Trigger-Based (TB) Physical Protocol Data Units (PPDUs), the access point first sends a trigger frame. Each station prepares and transmits the TB PPDU based on parameters indicated in the received trigger frame, such as Uplink Length (UL Length), Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW), Low-Density Parity-Check Code (LDPC) Extra Symbol Segment, Pre-Forward Error Correction (Pre-FEC) Padding Factor, Packet Extension (PE) Disambiguity, Resource Unit Allocation (RU Allocation), Uplink Forward Error Correction Coding Type (UL FEC Coding Type), and Uplink Extremely High Throughput (EHT) Modulation and Coding Scheme (UL EHT-MCS).

[0087] A trigger frame includes a Common Info field, a User Info List field, and a Padding field. The format is shown in Table 1, including: a Frame Control field, a Duration field, a Receiver Address (RA) field, a Transmitter Address (TA) field, a Common Info field, a User Info List field, a Padding field, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field. In this embodiment, subfields can be simply referred to as fields.

[0088] Table 1

[0089] The public information field mainly carries the public information of each STA, and its format is shown in Table 2. It includes: Trigger Type, Uplink Length (UL Length), More Trigger Frames (MoreTF), Carrier Sense Required (CS Required), Uplink Bandwidth (UL BW), Guard Interval (GI), High Efficiency Long Training Field (HE-LTF) type or Transmission Opportunity Sharing (TXS) mode (GI and HE-LTF Type / TXS Mode), Reserved, Number of HE-LTF Symbols and Midamble Periodicity, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, Pre-FEC Padding Factor, PE Disambiguity, and Uplink Spatial Multiplexing (UL Spatial). The fields include: Reuse, HE / EHT P160, Special User Info Field Flag, EHT Reserved, and Trigger Dependent Common Info.

[0090] Table 2

[0091] The user information list field consists of one or more user information fields. For an EHT trigger frame, the user information list field contains a special user information field and multiple EHT variant user information fields.

[0092] The Special User Info field carries the necessary Universal Signal field (U-SIG) of the requested EHT TB PPDU. The Special User Info field is located after the common information field in the trigger frame, and its AID12 subfield should be set to 2007. Its format is shown in Table 3, including: Association Identifier (AID)12 field, PHY Version Identifier field, UL Bandwidth Extension field, Spatial Reuse 1 field, Spatial Reuse 2 field, U-SIG Disregard And Validate field, Reserved field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field.

[0093] Table 3

[0094] The EHT variant User Info field carries information about the non-AP STA indicated by AID12, in the format shown in Table 4, including: Associated Identifier 12 (AID 12) field, Resource Unit Allocation (RU Allocation) field, Uplink Forward Error Correction Coding Type (UL FEC Coding Type) field, Uplink Very High Throughput Modulation Coding (UL EHT-MCS) field, Reserved field, Spatial Stream Allocation (SS Allocation) field, Uplink Target Receive Power (UL Target Receive Power) field, PS160 field, and Trigger Dependent User Info field.

[0095] Table 4

[0096] The padding field may appear in the trigger frame to extend the frame length, giving the receiving STA enough time to prepare a response PPDU for transmission after receiving the trigger frame interval Short Interframe Space (SIFS).

[0097] The Trigger Type field indicates the variant of the trigger frame. See Table 5 for details.

[0098] Table 5

[0099] • Multi-user request to send trigger frame (MU-RTS Trigger Frame):

[0100] The Trigger Dependent Common Info subfield and the Trigger Dependent User Info subfield do not exist in the MU-RTS trigger frame.

[0101] The following fields in the Public Information Fields are reserved: UL Length, GI and HE-LTF Type, MU-MIMO HE-LTF Mode, Number of HE-LTF Symbols and Midamble Periodicity, UL Space-Time Block Coding (UL STBC), LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, AP Tx Power, Pre-FEC Padding Factor, PE Disambiguity, UL Spatial Reuse, and Doppler and UL HE-SIG-A2 Reserved fields.

[0102] The following fields in the User Information field are reserved: UL HE-MCS field, UL FEC Coding Type field, UL Dual Carrier Modulation (UL DCM) field, Spatial Stream (SS) Allocation / RA-RU Information and UL Target Receive Power field.

[0103] If the TXS mode subfield in the common information field of the MU-RTS frame sent by the EHT AP is set to a non-zero value, the frame indicates that time has been allocated within the acquired transmission opportunity for the associated non-AP EHT STA to continuously transmit one or more non-TB PPDUs; otherwise, the subfield should be set to 0.

[0104] A MU-RTS trigger frame with the TXS mode subfield set to a non-zero value is called a MU-RTS TXS trigger frame.

[0105] In MU-RTS frames that are not MU-RTS TXS triggered frames, the UL EHT-MCS field, UL FEC coding type field, spatial stream allocation / random access resource element information, and uplink target received power field in the EHT variant user information field are reserved.

[0106] • Buffer Status Report Poll (BSRP) Trigger Frame:

[0107] The Trigger Dependent Common Info subfield and the Trigger Dependent User Info subfield do not exist in the BSRP trigger frame.

[0108] • Block Ack frame (BA frame):

[0109] The block acknowledgment frame format is shown in Table 6, including: Frame Control field, Duration field, Receiver Address (RA) field, Sender Address (TA) field, Block Acknowledgment Control (BA Control) field, Block Acknowledgment Information (BA Information) field, and FCS.

[0110] Table 6

[0111] The format of the block acknowledgment control field is shown in Table 7, including: Reserved field, Block Acknowledgment Type (BA Type) field, No Memory Kept field, Memory Configuration Tag field, Management Ack field, and Traffic ID Information (TID_INFO) field.

[0112] Table 7

[0113] The Block Acknowledgment Type field in the Block Acknowledgment Control field indicates a variant of the block acknowledgment frame, as shown in Table 8:

[0114] Table 8

[0115] • Multi-STA BA frame:

[0116] The block acknowledgment information field (BA Information field) of a multi-site block acknowledgment frame contains one or more subfields divided by AID and TID (Per AID TID Info).

[0117] The format of the subfields divided by AID and TID (Per AID TID Info) is shown in Table 9, including: Associated Identifier (AID) field, Acknowledgment Type (Ack Type) field, and Flow Identifier (TID) field.

[0118] Table 9

[0119] If the value of the AID11 subfield in the subfield division by AID and TID is not 2045, then the format of the subfield division by AID and TID is as shown in Table 10, including: AID TID info field, Block Ack Starting Sequence Control field, and Block Ack Bitmap field.

[0120] Table 10

[0121] • Common U-SIG field of Co-BF PPDU:

[0122] In the relevant standards, Co-BF is only applicable to DL non-OFDMA MU MIMO transmissions. B20-B25 of U-SIG-1 are used to indicate the second BSS color for Co-BF or Co-SR, as shown in Table 11.

[0123] Table 11

[0124] • Ultra-high reliability signal field (UHR-SIG) of Co-BF PPDU:

[0125] The ultra-high reliability signal field includes a common field and a user field.

[0126] The format of the common fields is shown in Table 12, including: Spatial Reuse field, GI and LTF Size field, Number of UHR-LTF Symbols field, LDPC Extra Symbol Segment field, Pre-FEC Padding Factor field, PE Disambiguity field, Disregard field, and Number of non-OFDMA Users field.

[0127] The "Number of non-OFDMA Users" field indicates the total number of users participating in Co-BF.

[0128] Table 12

[0129] Based on the non-OFDMA MU-MIMO user field format, the coding subfield (B21) of the user field is reused to distinguish between two BSS colors. For example, a value of 0 in the coding subfield indicates that the user is associated with an AP of the first BSS color indicated by U-SIG; a value of 1 in the coding subfield indicates that the user is associated with an AP of the second BSS color indicated by U-SIG. B16-B19 reuse the coding of the spatial configuration subfield from related standards.

[0130] The user fields are formatted as shown in Table 13, including: Site Identifier (STA-ID) field, MCS field, Spatial Configuration field, Reserved field, BSS color indication field, and 2×LDPC field.

[0131] Table 13

[0132] • Unequal Modulation (UEQM):

[0133] UEQM refers to using different modulation methods for different spatial streams.

[0134] Related technologies propose adding UEQM signaling indications to the User field format for a non-MU-MIMO allocation in the UHR-SIG field of the UHR MU PPDU, as shown in Table 14.

[0135] Table 14

[0136] The UEQM field occupies B19 and is used to indicate either EQM or UEQM. When B19 is set to 0, it indicates EQM; in this case, B20 indicates the beamforming field, and B21 indicates the coding field. When B19 is set to 1, it indicates UEQM; in this case, B20-B21 indicate the modulation pattern field.

[0137] The Modulation pattern field is used to indicate the modulation pattern, as shown in Table 15.

[0138] Table 15

[0139] For example, when B20-B21 is set to 00 and NSS=2, the constellation index used to indicate the first spatial stream is M and the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-1; when B20-B21 is set to 01 and NSS=3, the constellation index used to indicate the first spatial stream is M, the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M, and the constellation index of the third spatial stream is M-2.

[0140] UHR PPDU:

[0141] (1) UHR MU PPDU;

[0142] The format of UHR MU PPDU is shown in Table 16, including: Legacy Short Training Field (L-STF), Legacy Long Training Field (L-LTF), Legacy SIGNAL field (L-SIG), Repeated L-SIG (RL-SIG), U-SIG, UHR-SIG, UHR Short Training Field (UHR-STF), UHR Long Training Field (UHR-LTF), Data field, and PE field.

[0143] Table 16

[0144] Among them, L-STF is mainly used for signal detection, automatic gain control, time synchronization, and coarse frequency offset estimation; L-LTF is mainly used for channel estimation and further frequency offset estimation; L-SIG is used for transmission rate and length information; RL-SIG is a repetition of L-SIG; U-SIG and UHR-SIG are used to carry information for decoding the PPDU; UHR-STF is used to improve automatic gain control estimation in MIMO transmission; UHR-LTF is used for MIMO channel estimation from constellation mapping output to the receive link; the data field transmits information; and the PE field is a packet extension. In the UHR MU PPDU, L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, U-SIG, and UHR-SIG are called pre-UHR modulation fields; UHR-STF, UHR-LTF, the data field, and the PE field are called UHR modulation fields.

[0145] (2) UHR TB PPDU;

[0146] The format of the UHR TB PPDU is shown in Table 17, and it is used to transmit a response trigger frame from an AP.

[0147] Table 17

[0148] L-STF, L-LTF, L-SIG, and U-SIG are called pre-UHR modulation fields; UHR-STF, UHR-LTF, the data field, and the PE field are called UHR modulation fields. The duration of the UHR-STF field in the UHR TB PPDU is twice the duration of the UHR-STF field in the UHR MU PPDU.

[0149] In Co-BF (Co-Band Array), multiple access points (APs) collaborate by sharing information to enhance the beam toward the target site while reducing spatial radiation toward non-target sites to zero. In related technologies, during Co-BF transmission, each AP can allocate multiple spatial streams to its associated non-AP sites, thereby further improving throughput.

[0150] However, different APs typically use the same modulation scheme, i.e., EQM, for different spatial streams, which limits data throughput. To address the above problem, embodiments of this application provide a communication method for Co-BF. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a Co-BF communication method provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, which is executed by a first AP and a second AP.

[0151] Co-BF transmission comprises a sounding phase, a pre-transmission phase (Pre-Tx phase), and a transmission phase (Tx phase). During the sounding phase, the first access point (AP) acquires first channel state information (CSI), which is the CSI reported by the site associated with the first AP; the second AP acquires second CSI, which is the CSI reported by the site associated with the second AP. The sounding phase is for illustrative purposes only; the feedback times of the first and second CSIs are not identical, and this is only used to indicate that the first and second APs acquire channel state information reported by their associated sites during this phase.

[0152] During the pre-transmission phase, the first AP and the second AP need to negotiate transmission parameters in advance. These transmission parameters are used to indicate the parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP.

[0153] During the pretransmission phase, the first AP sends the first frame. After SIFS, the second AP replies with the second frame. The example is illustrated by taking the first frame as the Initial Control Frame and the second frame as the Response Frame.

[0154] The first AP can be called the initiating AP or the sharing AP; the second AP can be called the responding AP or the shared AP, and this application embodiment does not limit it in this way.

[0155] In some embodiments, the first AP requests the second AP to provide feedback on the transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second AP. The transmission parameters include one or more of the following: bandwidth; BSS color; punched channel information; GI and LTF size; UHR-LTF symbol count; number of sites; site ID; MCS; spatial stream configuration; 2x LDPC; UEQM; UEQM pattern.

[0156] In some embodiments, the second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0157] Optionally, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0158] By way of example and not limitation, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0159] Optionally, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

[0160] In some embodiments, the first AP sends a trigger frame, which is used to indicate whether the first AP sends the first PPDU using the above-recommended or suggested transmission parameters.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first AP sends a first PPDU to the STA; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0162] Information related to UEQM includes one or more of the following: whether UEQM is used; the corresponding UEQM pattern.

[0163] In some embodiments, the first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which indicates whether UEQM is used; or, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which indicates a UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both a UEQM field and a UEQM pattern field.

[0164] Taking the first PPDU carrying the UEQM field and the UEQM pattern field as an example, the UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field. The first position bit includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; the 24th bit.

[0165] The UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field, which includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; bits 24 to 25; bits 25 to 26.

[0166] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field remains unchanged, the UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

[0167] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field increases, with the UEQM field occupying the 21st bit of the user field and the UEQM pattern field occupying the 24th and 25th bits of the user field; or,

[0168] The UEQM field occupies the 24th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 25th to 26th bits of the user field.

[0169] In summary, by sending a first PPDU (Programmable Component Distribution Unit), which is associated with Co-BF and indicates UEQM-related information, Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism are combined. Since channel state information can be obtained during the probe phase of Co-BF, and the UEQM mechanism also requires channel state information to use different MCSs for different spatial flows, combining Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism eliminates the need for repeatedly acquiring channel state information, saving time and reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, using the UEQM mechanism can further improve data throughput.

[0170] Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The method is performed by a first AP and includes:

[0171] Step 310: Send the first PPDU.

[0172] The first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to UEQM.

[0173] In some embodiments, the first PPDU is a PPDU transmitted using Co-BF technology, or a PPDU transmitted during the Co-BF process.

[0174] Before Co-BF transmission, the first AP and the second AP obtain the channel state information of their respective associated non-AP STAs through sounding. During Co-BF transmission, the first AP and the second AP can use different modulation schemes, i.e., UEQM, for the different spatial streams allocated to their respective associated non-AP STAs based on this channel state information.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first AP may be called the initiating AP or the sharing AP, and is the initiator of the transmission opportunity; the second AP may be called the responding AP or the shared AP, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0176] The expressions "transmit PPDU" and "receive PPDU" in the embodiments of this application can also be equivalently understood as "transmit data" and "receive data". The embodiments of this application typically use PPDU as an example for illustration.

[0177] By sending a first PPDU, which is associated with Co-BF and used to indicate UEQM-related information, the Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism are combined. Since channel state information can be obtained during the Co-BF process, the UEQM mechanism can determine a more accurate MCS through the channel state information, thereby improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0178] 1.1 UEQM and UEQM patterns;

[0179] In some embodiments, UEQM-related information includes one or more of the following: whether UEQM is used; and the UEQM pattern corresponding to UEQM.

[0180] UEQM patterns are used to indicate the specific modulation schemes used in different UEQM schemes.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which indicates whether UEQM is used; or, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which indicates a UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both a UEQM field and a UEQM pattern field.

[0182] The embodiments of this application are typically illustrated using the example of a first PPDU carrying a UEQM field and a UEQM pattern field.

[0183] In some embodiments, the UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field, which includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; and the 24th bit.

[0184] In some embodiments, the UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field, and the second position bit includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; the 24th to 25th bits; and the 25th to 26th bits.

[0185] For any change in the number of bits in the user field, the first bit position occupied by the UEQM field and the second bit position occupied by the UEQM pattern field are different.

[0186] 1.1.1 The number of bits in the user field remains unchanged;

[0187] In Co-BF transmission, each BSS's AP supports a maximum of two non-AP STAs for downlink transmission, and the total number of non-AP STAs across all BSSs does not exceed four. The maximum number of spatial streams allocated to each non-AP STA is two. Therefore, by reducing the number of bits in the Spatial Configuration field, the extra bits can be used to indicate whether UEQM is used and the corresponding UEQM pattern.

[0188] In some embodiments, the UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

[0189] As shown in Table 18, B16-B17 of the User field are set as the Spatial Stream Configuration field, totaling 2 bits, used to indicate the number of spatial streams allocated to non-AP STAs. B18 is set as the UEQM field, totaling 1 bit, used to indicate whether UEQM or EQM is used. B19 is set as the UEQM Pattern field, totaling 1 bit, used to indicate the UEQM pattern corresponding to UEQM.

[0190] Table 18

[0191] For example, a value of 0 for B18 indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 1 indicates the use of UEQM. Alternatively, a value of 1 for B18 indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 0 indicates the use of UEQM. This embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0192] In some embodiments, the value of the UEQM pattern field is a first value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M, the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-1, and M-1 is one order lower than M; the value of the UEQM pattern field is a second value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M, the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-2, and M-2 is two orders lower than M.

[0193] For example, a value of 0 for B19 indicates that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M and the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-1; a value of 1 indicates that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M and the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-2.

[0194] The value of M is determined by the MCS field. Constellation index 0 represents Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), constellation index 1 represents Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), constellation index 2 represents 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (16-QAM), constellation index 3 represents 64-QAM, constellation index 4 represents 256-QAM, constellation index 5 represents 1024-QAM, and constellation index 6 represents 4096-QAM.

[0195] In some embodiments, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field when the UEQM field is used to indicate that UEQM is not used (EQM is used).

[0196] In some embodiments, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which occupies bits 19 to 20 of the user field.

[0197] As shown in Table 19, B18-B19 are set as UEQM pattern fields, totaling 2 bits, used to indicate whether UEQM or EQM is used, and when UEQM is used, the corresponding UEQM pattern.

[0198] Table 19

[0199] For example, a value of 00 in the UEQM pattern field indicates the use of EQM; a value of 10 in the UEQM pattern field indicates that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M and the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-1; a value of 11 indicates that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M and the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-2. This application does not limit the value of the UEQM pattern field in its embodiments; this is merely an example for illustration.

[0200] 1.1.2 The number of bits in the user field has been increased;

[0201] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 or 26 bits.

[0202] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 bits, with the UEQM field occupying the 21st bit (B20) of the user field and the UEQM pattern field occupying the 24th to 25th bits (B23-B24) of the user field, as shown in Table 20.

[0203] Table 20

[0204] For example, a value of 0 for B20 indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 1 indicates the use of UEQM. Alternatively, a value of 1 for B20 indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 0 indicates the use of UEQM. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0205] If the UEQM field indicates the use of UEQM, the value of the UEQM pattern field is referenced in Table 15, and will not be repeated here; if the UEQM field indicates the use of EQM, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field.

[0206] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 26 bits, with the UEQM field occupying the 24th bit (B23) of the user field and the UEQM pattern field occupying the 25th to 26th bits (B24-B25) of the user field, as shown in Table 21.

[0207] Table 21

[0208] For example, a value of 0 for B23 indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 1 indicates the use of UEQM. Alternatively, a value of 1 for B23 indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 0 indicates the use of UEQM. This embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0209] If the UEQM field indicates the use of UEQM, the value of the UEQM pattern field is referenced in Table 15, and will not be repeated here; if the UEQM field indicates the use of EQM, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field.

[0210] 1.2 Signaling interaction before Co-BF transmission;

[0211] Before Co-BF transmission, i.e., during the pre-transmission phase, the first AP and the second AP need to negotiate transmission parameters in advance. This application proposes two parameter interaction methods: (1) a requested parameter interaction method (Solicited); and (2) an unsolicited parameter interaction method (Unsolicited).

[0212] In some embodiments, in the request-based parameter interaction mode, after the first AP receives the transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second AP, it sets the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU according to the transmission parameters.

[0213] In some embodiments, in the request-based parameter interaction mode, after receiving the recommended or suggested transmission parameters from the second AP, the first AP does not set the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU according to the transmission parameters. Instead, the first AP sets the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU using other transmission parameters it has set, based on the channel probing results.

[0214] In some embodiments, in a non-requested parameter interaction mode, after receiving recommended or suggested transmission parameters from the second AP, the first AP does not set the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU according to the transmission parameters. Instead, the first AP sets the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU using other transmission parameters it has set, based on channel probing results.

[0215] 1.2.1 Request-based parameter interaction method;

[0216] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether a second AP is requested to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein the transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of a second PPDU by the second AP, the second PPDU and the first PPDU being used together for Co-BF, the first AP being the initiating AP, and the second AP being the responding AP.

[0217] In some embodiments, the UHR-STF field and the fields following the UHR-STF field in the first PPDU and the second PPDU are different.

[0218] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters are those recommended by the second AP or suggested by the first AP.

[0219] By way of example and not limitation, transmission parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth; BSS Color; Punctured Channel Information; GI and LTF Size; Number of UHR-LTF Symbols; Number of Users; STA ID; MCS; Spatial Configuration; 2×LDPC; UEQM; UEQM Pattern.

[0220] Specifically, bandwidth indicates the bandwidth used by the second AP to send second PPDUs to one or more associated sites; BSS color indicates the BSS color of the BSS where the second AP is located; puncturing channel information indicates the puncturing information of the bandwidth used by the second AP to send second PPDUs to one or more associated sites; GI and LTF size indicate the GI duration and UHR-LTF type used by the second AP to send second PPDUs to one or more associated sites; UHR-LTF symbol count indicates the number of LTF symbols used by the second AP to send second PPDUs to one or more associated sites; and the number of sites indicates the number of associated sites. The number of sites; the site ID is used to indicate the ID of the site to which the second PPDU is sent; the MCS is used to indicate the MCS used by the second AP to send the second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites; the spatial flow configuration is used to indicate the spatial flow configuration of the second PPDU sent by the second AP to one or more of its associated sites; 2x LDPC is used to indicate whether the second PPDU sent by the second AP to one or more of its associated sites uses 2x LDPC; the UEQM is used to indicate whether the modulation scheme used by the second AP to send the second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites in different spatial flows is EQM or UEQM; the UEQM pattern is used to indicate the UEQM pattern.

[0221] 1.2.1.1 First frame;

[0222] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters are Co-BF PPDU parameters, and the first field is the Co-BF PPDU parameter request field.

[0223] Figure 4 illustrates the format of a Co-BF PPDU parameter request field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below the field indicate the number of bits it may occupy.

[0224] The Co-BF PPDU Parameter-Request field occupies 1 bit.

[0225] The format of the Co-BF PPDU parameter request field described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the design aspects, such as the number of bits occupied by the field or the field name, may change. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0226] For example, the transmission parameter is the Overlapping BSS (OBSS) Co-BF PPDU parameter, and the first field is the OBSS Co-BF PPDU Parameter-Request field.

[0227] In some embodiments, the value of the first field is a first numerical value, used to indicate a request for the second AP to provide feedback on transmission parameters; the value of the first field is a second numerical value, used to indicate that the second AP is not requested to provide feedback on transmission parameters.

[0228] For example, a value of 1 in the first field indicates a request for the second AP to provide transmission parameters; a value of 0 in the first field indicates no request for the second AP to provide transmission parameters; or a value of 0 in the first field indicates a request for the second AP to provide transmission parameters; a value of 1 in the first field indicates no request for the second AP to provide transmission parameters. This application does not limit the specifics of this embodiment.

[0229] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a first BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

[0230] Optionally, the first frame is the first BSRP trigger frame, and the first field occupies any one of the reserved bits in the first BSRP trigger frame.

[0231] For example, B22, B26, B53, B56-B63 of the Common Info field; or B25-B39 of the Special User Info field; or B25 of the User Info field.

[0232] Optionally, the first frame is the second BSRP trigger frame, and the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3. The first field occupies any one of the reserved bits in the second BSRP trigger frame.

[0233] For example, B22, B26, B53, B56-B63 in the public information field; or B25-B39 in the special user information field; or B25 in the user information field.

[0234] Optionally, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the first field occupies any one of the reserved bits in the MU RTS trigger frame.

[0235] For example, B22, B26, B53, B56-B63 of the public information field; or B25-B39 of the special user information field; or B25 of the user information field; or B29-B38 of the user information field in the MU-RTS TXS trigger frame.

[0236] Optionally, the first frame may be another trigger frame, and the first field may be carried in the other trigger frame.

[0237] For example, the first frame is at least one of the following: basic trigger frame; BFRP trigger frame; MU-BAR trigger frame; MU-RTS trigger frame; BSRP trigger frame; GCR MU-BAR trigger frame; BQRP trigger frame; NFRP trigger frame; and range trigger frame.

[0238] 1.2.1.2 Second frame;

[0239] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a second frame, the second frame being used in response to the first frame; wherein the second frame carries a second field, the second field being used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0240] After receiving the first field, the second AP sends the second field back to the first AP. The second field is the Co-BF PPDU parameter response field.

[0241] Figure 5 illustrates the format of a Co-BF PPDU parameter response field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below the fields indicate the number of bits they may occupy.

[0242] The number of bits used in the Co-BF PPDU Parameter-Response field is variable. See Figures 6 to 8 below for specific format details.

[0243] The format of the Co-BF PPDU parameter response field described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the design aspects, such as the number of bits occupied by the field or the field name, may change. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0244] For example, the transmission parameter is the OBSS Co-BF PPDU parameter, and the second field is the OBSS Co-BF PPDU parameter-response field.

[0245] In some embodiments, the first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a TB PPDU; or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a Multi-STA BlockAck field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a CTS frame.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0247] In some embodiments, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0248] Figure 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of a second field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bits it may occupy. In this embodiment, subfields may be simply referred to as fields.

[0249] The second field includes at least one of the following fields: Bandwidth (BW), BSS color, Punctured Channel Information, GI and LTF Size, Number of users, and STA list.

[0250] The BW field occupies 3 bits, the BSS color field occupies 6 bits, the punch channel information field occupies 5 bits, the GI and LTF size fields occupies 2 bits, the user number field occupies 1 bit, and the site list field occupies 24n bits, where n is a positive integer.

[0251] The BW field indicates the bandwidth used by the second AP to send a second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites. A BW value of 0 represents 20MHz, 1 represents 40MHz, 2 represents 80MHz, 3 represents 160MHz, 4 represents 320MHz-1, 5 represents 320MHz-2, and values ​​6 to 7 are reserved.

[0252] The BSS color field is used to indicate the BSS color of the BSS where the second AP is located.

[0253] The punched channel information field is used to indicate the punched bandwidth used by the second AP to send a second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites.

[0254] The GI and LTF size fields indicate the GI duration and UHR-LTF type used by the second AP to send the second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites. A value of 0 in the GI and LTF size fields indicates 2×LTF+0.8usGI, meaning two LTFs are used with a protection interval of 0.8 microseconds; a value of 1 indicates 2×LTF+1.6usGI; a value of 2 indicates 4×LTF+0.8usGI; and a value of 3 indicates 4×LTF+3.2usGI.

[0255] The UHR-LTF symbol number field is used to indicate the number of LTF symbols used by the second AP to send a second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites.

[0256] The Site Count field indicates the number of sites associated with the second AP. A value of 0 indicates 1 site, and a value of 1 indicates 2 sites.

[0257] The site list fields include at least one of the following fields: Site Identifier (STA-ID) field, MCS field, Spatial Configuration field, 2×LDPC field, UEQM field, and UEQM pattern field.

[0258] The STA-ID field occupies 11 bits, the MCS field occupies 5 bits, the spatial stream configuration field occupies 4 bits, the 2×LDPC field occupies 1 bit, the UEQM field occupies 1 bit, and the UEQM pattern field occupies 2 bits.

[0259] The site list field includes n groups of first fields, which contain fields from the STA-ID field to the UEQM pattern field.

[0260] The Site ID field is used to indicate the ID of the site to which the second PPDU is sent.

[0261] The MCS field is used to indicate the MCS used by the second AP to send the second PPDU to one or more associated stations. An MCS value of 0 indicates BPSK modulation with a code rate of 1 / 2, meaning that of the 2 bits of data transmitted, 1 bit is valid data and the other bit is used for error correction coding; an MCS value of 1 indicates QPSK modulation with a code rate of 1 / 2; an MCS value of 2 indicates QPSK modulation with a code rate of 3 / 4; an MCS value of 3 indicates 16-QAM modulation with a code rate of 1 / 2; an MCS value of 4 indicates 16-QAM modulation with a code rate of 3 / 4; an MCS value of 5 indicates 64-QAM modulation with a code rate of 2 / 3; and an MCS value of 6 indicates 64-QAM modulation with a code rate of 3 / 4. A value of 7 in the MCS field indicates 64-QAM modulation with a code rate of 5 / 6; a value of 8 indicates 256-QAM modulation with a code rate of 3 / 4; a value of 9 indicates 256-QAM modulation with a code rate of 5 / 6; a value of 10 indicates 1024-QAM modulation with a code rate of 3 / 4; a value of 11 indicates 1024-QAM modulation with a code rate of 5 / 6; a value of 12 indicates 4096-QAM modulation with a code rate of 3 / 4; a value of 13 indicates 4096-QAM modulation with a code rate of 5 / 6; and a value of 14 indicates EHT. DUP transmission; an MCS field value of 15 indicates BPSK-DCM modulation with a code rate of 1 / 2; an MCS field value of 17 indicates QPSK modulation with a code rate of 2 / 3; an MCS field value of 19 indicates 16-QAM modulation with a code rate of 2 / 3; an MCS field value of 20 indicates 16-QAM modulation with a code rate of 5 / 6; an MCS field value of 23 indicates 256-QAM modulation with a code rate of 2 / 3; all other MCS field values ​​are reserved.

[0262] The Spatial Flow Configuration field is used to indicate the spatial flow configuration of the second PPDU sent by the second AP to one or more of its associated sites.

[0263] The 2x LDPC field is used to indicate whether the second PPDU sent by the second AP to one or more of its associated sites uses 2x LDPC. A value of 0 in the 2x LDPC field indicates the use of a standard LDPC codeword of length 648, 1296, or 1944, while a value of 1 indicates the use of a standard LDPC codeword of length 3888.

[0264] The UEQM field is used to indicate whether the modulation scheme used by the second AP to send the second PPDU to one or more of its associated sites is EQM or UEQM in different spatial streams. A value of 0 in the UEQM field indicates the use of EQM, and a value of 1 in the UEQM field indicates the use of UEQM.

[0265] The UEQM pattern field is used to indicate the UEQM pattern. For specific implementation details, please refer to Table 15, which will not be repeated here.

[0266] The format of the second field and the site list field mentioned above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or different designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above field in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0267] Figure 7 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of a second field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bits it may occupy. In embodiments of this application, subfields may be simply referred to as fields.

[0268] The second field includes at least one of the following fields: bandwidth (BW), BSS color, punched channel information, GI and LTF size, second STA Info present, and STA Info.

[0269] The BW field occupies 3 bits, the BSS color field occupies 6 bits, the punch channel information field occupies 5 bits, the GI and LTF size fields occupies 2 bits, the second station information occurrence field occupies 1 bit, and the station information field occupies 24 or 48 bits.

[0270] The field for the appearance of the second site information can be set to 0 to indicate that the second site information does not appear, or 1 to indicate that the second site information appears; or, 1 to indicate that the second site information does not appear, or 0 to indicate that the second site information appears. This application does not limit this.

[0271] In some embodiments, when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate the occurrence of the second site information, the site information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 2; when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate the absence of the second site information, the site information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 1.

[0272] The site information field includes at least one of the following fields: Site Identifier (STA-ID) field, MCS field, Spatial Configuration field, 2×LDPC field, UEQM field, and UEQM pattern field.

[0273] The STA-ID field occupies 11 bits, the MCS field occupies 5 bits, the spatial stream configuration field occupies 4 bits, the 2×LDPC field occupies 1 bit, the UEQM field occupies 1 bit, and the UEQM pattern field occupies 2 bits.

[0274] For specific implementation details, please refer to the site list field; they will not be repeated here.

[0275] The format of the second field and the site information field mentioned above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or different designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above field in the frame, the order of arrangement with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0276] In some embodiments, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

[0277] Figure 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of a second field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bits it may occupy. In this embodiment, subfields may be simply referred to as fields.

[0278] The second field includes at least one of the following fields: Bandwidth (BW), Punctured Channel Information, Number of users, BSS color, and Common MCS.

[0279] The BW field occupies 3 bits, the punched channel information field occupies 5 bits, the user digital segment occupies 1 bit, the BSS color field occupies 6 bits, and the common MCS field occupies 5 bits.

[0280] The common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs, for example, the lowest-order MCS among all associated STAs.

[0281] The format of the second field mentioned above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or different designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the field in the frame, its arrangement order with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0282] In some embodiments, the second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined MAC frame.

[0283] When the second field is carried in a block acknowledgment frame, it is assumed that the block acknowledgment frame is a multi-STA BlockAck variant. The second field is a Co-BF PPDU parameter response field if: the Ack Type subfield value is 1 and the TID subfield value is 13; or, the Ack Type subfield value is 0 or 1 and the TID subfield value is one of 8 to 12; or, the Ack Type subfield value is 0 and the TID subfield value is 14 or 15.

[0284] When the second field is carried in a newly defined control field, the newly defined control field may be carried in a Quality of Service (QoS) Data (QoSData) frame, a QoS Null (QoS Null) frame, or a management frame.

[0285] Figure 9 illustrates a schematic diagram of the format of a control field provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The numbers below each field indicate the number of bits it may occupy. In this embodiment, subfields may be simply referred to as fields.

[0286] The control fields include at least one of the following fields: Control ID field and Control Information field.

[0287] The control ID field occupies 4 bits, and the control information field occupies 20 bits.

[0288] The Control ID field indicates the variant type of the aggregate control (A-Control) and takes any integer between 10 and 14. For example, a value of 10 indicates the OBSS Co-BF PPDU Parameter-Response Control field.

[0289] The second field is carried in the control information field. The format of the second field is shown in the embodiment of Figure 8, and will not be repeated here.

[0290] The format of the control field and the second field described above is an exemplary possibility. In different embodiments or designs, it is possible that at least one of the following designs may change: the position of the above field in the frame, its arrangement order with other fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied, the element name, and the field name. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0291] By sending a first frame, which carries a first field indicating whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters, and receiving a second frame in response to the first frame, the first and second APs can negotiate transmission parameters in advance, thereby optimizing the transmission strategy and improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0292] 1.2.1.3 For the first and second frames of multiple second APs;

[0293] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent to at least two second APs.

[0294] In some embodiments, a second frame is received from at least two second APs, the second frame being used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF.

[0295] Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, which is performed by a first AP (AP1) and two second APs (AP2 and AP3).

[0296] Co-BF transmission consists of a pre-transmission phase (Pre-Tx phase) and a transmission phase (Tx phase). In the pre-transmission phase, the first AP (AP1) and the two second APs (AP2 and AP3) need to negotiate transmission parameters in advance.

[0297] During the pretransmission phase, AP1 sends the first frame to AP2 and AP3. After SIFS, AP2 and AP3 reply with a second frame. Based on the two second frames, AP1 selects one AP to perform Co-BF. For example, if the transmission parameters carried in the two second frames indicate that AP2 uses more bandwidth to send the second PPDU, then AP1 selects AP2 to perform Co-BF.

[0298] In some embodiments, the second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second AP.

[0299] In some embodiments, the first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of at least two stations associated with the second AP.

[0300] The site list field in the second field of feedback from multiple second APs can include information on at least two sites. The first AP selects only one or two associated sites of one of the multiple second APs to transmit PPDU.

[0301] By sending a first frame to at least two second APs and receiving a second frame sent by at least two second APs, the first AP selects one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF, thereby selecting a more suitable second AP to perform Co-BF and improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0302] 1.2.1.4 Trigger Frame;

[0303] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a trigger frame, the trigger frame being used to indicate whether the first AP sends a first PPDU using transmission parameters.

[0304] The transmission parameters are recommended or suggested by the second AP. For example, the trigger frame carries a third field, which indicates whether the first AP uses the transmission parameters to send the first PPDU. A value of 1 in the third field indicates that the first AP uses the transmission parameters to send the first PPDU, and a value of 0 in the third field indicates that the first AP does not use the transmission parameters to send the first PPDU; or, a value of 0 in the third field indicates that the first AP uses the transmission parameters to send the first PPDU, and a value of 1 in the third field indicates that the first AP does not use the transmission parameters to send the first PPDU. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0305] In some embodiments, the trigger frame is used to indicate the transmission parameters used by the second AP when transmitting the second PPDU. That is, the transmission of the second AP is controlled by the first AP.

[0306] In some embodiments, the transmission parameters (transmission parameters indicated by the trigger frame) used by the second AP when transmitting the second PPDU may be the same as or different from the transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second AP.

[0307] For example, the trigger frame carries a fourth field, which indicates the transmission parameters used by the second AP when transmitting the second PPDU. These transmission parameters may be recommended or suggested by the second AP, or they may be other transmission parameters determined by the first AP.

[0308] In some embodiments, the trigger frame is a Coordinated Spatial Reuse (Co-SR) trigger frame.

[0309] 1.2.2 Parameter interaction method based on non-request;

[0310] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a third frame, the third frame being used to indicate transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second AP;

[0311] The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

[0312] In some embodiments, after receiving the third frame, the first AP sets the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU according to the transmission parameters indicated by the third frame.

[0313] In some embodiments, after receiving the third frame, the first AP does not use the transmission parameters indicated by the third frame. Instead, based on the channel detection results, the first AP sets the U-SIG and / or UHR-SIG of the first PPDU using other transmission parameters it has set.

[0314] In some embodiments, the third frame is any MAC frame, including a QoS empty frame or a management frame.

[0315] The second AP carries transmission parameters in any MAC frame sent to the first AP, for example, by carrying the transmission parameters in a QoS empty frame or in the control field of a management frame, thereby reporting the transmission parameters to the first AP.

[0316] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, which is performed by a first AP and a second AP.

[0317] During the pre-transmission phase, the second AP sends a third frame to the first AP. This third frame indicates the recommended or suggested transmission parameters for the second AP. The first AP can use these transmission parameters to transmit the first PPDU during the transmission phase. Alternatively, it can choose not to use these transmission parameters and set other transmission parameters for transmitting the first PPDU.

[0318] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment combines Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism by sending a first PPDU, which is associated with Co-BF and indicates UEQM-related information. Since channel state information can be obtained during the probe phase of Co-BF, and the UEQM mechanism also requires channel state information to use different MCSs for different spatial flows, combining Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism eliminates the need for repeatedly acquiring channel state information, saving time and reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, using the UEQM mechanism can further improve data throughput.

[0319] The method provided in this embodiment also involves sending a first frame, which carries a first field indicating whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters, and receiving a second frame in response to the first frame. The second frame carries a second field indicating the transmission parameters, thereby enabling the first AP and the second AP to negotiate transmission parameters in advance, thus optimizing the transmission strategy and improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0320] The method provided in this embodiment also improves channel transmission efficiency by sending a first frame to at least two second APs and receiving a second frame sent by at least two second APs. The second frame is used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF, thereby selecting a more suitable second AP to perform Co-BF.

[0321] The method provided in this embodiment also receives a third frame, which is used to indicate the transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second AP, so that the first AP does not need to send a request frame. The first AP can transmit the first PPDU according to the transmission parameters indicated by the third frame, or it can set other transmission parameters to transmit the first PPDU, making the transmission more flexible and convenient.

[0322] Figure 12 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, the method being performed by a first AP, the method including:

[0323] Step 1210: Send the first frame.

[0324] The first frame carries a first field, which indicates whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters. The transmission parameters indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

[0325] By way of example and not limitation, transmission parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth; BSS Color; Punctured Channel Information; GI and LTF Size; Number of UHR-LTF Symbols; Number of Users; STA ID; MCS; Spatial Configuration; 2×LDPC; UEQM; UEQM Pattern.

[0326] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0327] 2.1 First frame;

[0328] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a first BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

[0329] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0330] 2.2 Second frame;

[0331] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a second frame, the second frame being used in response to the first frame; wherein the second frame carries a second field, the second field being used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0332] In some embodiments, the first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a TB PPDU; or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a Multi-STA BlockAck field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a CTS frame.

[0333] In some embodiments, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0334] In some embodiments, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0335] In some embodiments, when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate the occurrence of the second site information, the site information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 2;

[0336] In the case where the second site information appears, indicating that the second site information does not appear, the site information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 1.

[0337] In some embodiments, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

[0338] In some embodiments, the second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined MAC frame.

[0339] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0340] 2.3 For the first and second frames of multiple second APs;

[0341] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent to at least two second APs.

[0342] In some embodiments, a second frame is received from at least two second APs, the second frame being used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF.

[0343] In some embodiments, the second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second AP.

[0344] In some embodiments, the first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of at least two stations associated with the second AP.

[0345] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.3 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0346] 2.4 Trigger Frame;

[0347] In some embodiments, the first AP sends a trigger frame, which is used to indicate whether the first AP sends a first PPDU using transmission parameters.

[0348] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.4 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0349] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment, by sending a first frame carrying a first field indicating whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters, and receiving a second frame in response to the first frame, wherein the second frame carries a second field indicating transmission parameters, enables the first AP and the second AP to negotiate transmission parameters in advance, thereby optimizing the transmission strategy and improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0350] The method provided in this embodiment also improves channel transmission efficiency by sending a first frame to at least two second APs and receiving a second frame sent by at least two second APs. The second frame is used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF, thereby selecting a more suitable second AP to perform Co-BF.

[0351] Figure 13 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, the method being performed by a site and including:

[0352] Step 1310: Receive the first PPDU.

[0353] The first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to UEQM.

[0354] In some embodiments, the first PPDU is a PPDU transmitted using Co-BF technology, or a PPDU transmitted during the Co-BF process.

[0355] The expressions "transmit PPDU" and "receive PPDU" in the embodiments of this application can also be equivalently understood as "transmit data" and "receive data". The embodiments of this application typically use PPDU as an example for illustration.

[0356] 3.1 UEQM and UEQM pattern;

[0357] In some embodiments, UEQM-related information includes one or more of the following: whether UEQM is used; and the UEQM pattern corresponding to UEQM.

[0358] In some embodiments, the first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which indicates whether UEQM is used; or, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which indicates a UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both a UEQM field and a UEQM pattern field.

[0359] In some embodiments, the UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field, which includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; and the 24th bit.

[0360] In some embodiments, the UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field, and the second position bit includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; the 24th to 25th bits; and the 25th to 26th bits.

[0361] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0362] 3.1.1 The number of bits in the user field remains unchanged;

[0363] In some embodiments, the UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

[0364] In some embodiments, the value of the UEQM pattern field is a first value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M, the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-1, and M-1 is one order lower than M; the value of the UEQM pattern field is a second value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial stream is M, the constellation index of the second spatial stream is M-2, and M-2 is two orders lower than M.

[0365] In some embodiments, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field when the UEQM field is used to indicate that UEQM is not used (EQM is used).

[0366] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0367] 3.1.2 The number of bits in the user field has been increased;

[0368] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 or 26 bits.

[0369] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 bits, the UEQM field occupies the 21st bit (B20) of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 24th to 25th bits (B23-B24) of the user field.

[0370] In some embodiments, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 26 bits, with the UEQM field occupying the 24th bit (B23) of the user field and the UEQM pattern field occupying the 25th to 26th bits (B24-B25) of the user field.

[0371] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0372] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment combines Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism by receiving a first PPDU, which is associated with Co-BF and used to indicate UEQM-related information. Since channel state information can be obtained during the probe phase of Co-BF, and the UEQM mechanism also requires channel state information to use different MCSs for different spatial flows, combining Co-BF technology and the UEQM mechanism eliminates the need for repeatedly acquiring channel state information, saving time and reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, the use of the UEQM mechanism can further improve data throughput.

[0373] Figure 14 shows a flowchart of a communication method for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application, the method being performed by a second AP, the method including:

[0374] Step 1410: Receive the first frame.

[0375] The first frame carries a first field, which indicates whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters. The transmission parameters indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first PPDU is sent by the first AP, which is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

[0376] By way of example and not limitation, transmission parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth; BSS Color; Punctured Channel Information; GI and LTF Size; Number of UHR-LTF Symbols; Number of Users; STA ID; MCS; Spatial Configuration; 2×LDPC; UEQM; UEQM Pattern.

[0377] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0378] 4.1 First frame;

[0379] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a first BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

[0380] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0381] 4.2 Second frame;

[0382] In some embodiments, the method further includes: sending a second frame, the second frame being used in response to the first frame; wherein the second frame carries a second field, the second field being used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0383] In some embodiments, the first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a TB PPDU; or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a Multi-STA BlockAck field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a CTS frame.

[0384] In some embodiments, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0385] In some embodiments, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0386] In some embodiments, when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate the occurrence of the second site information, the site information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 2;

[0387] In the case where the second site information appears, indicating that the second site information does not appear, the site information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 1.

[0388] In some embodiments, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

[0389] In some embodiments, the second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined MAC frame.

[0390] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0391] 4.3 For the first and second frames of multiple second APs;

[0392] In some embodiments, the second AP is at least two second APs, and at least two second APs receive the first frame.

[0393] In some embodiments, the second AP is at least two second APs, and the at least two second APs send a second frame, which is used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF.

[0394] In some embodiments, the second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second AP.

[0395] In some embodiments, the first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of at least two stations associated with the second AP.

[0396] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.3 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0397] 4.4 Trigger Frame;

[0398] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a trigger frame, the trigger frame being used to indicate whether the first AP sends a first PPDU using transmission parameters.

[0399] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.4 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0400] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment receives a first frame carrying a first field indicating whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters, and sends a second frame in response to the first frame. The second frame carries a second field indicating the transmission parameters, thereby enabling the first AP and the second AP to negotiate transmission parameters in advance, thus optimizing the transmission strategy and improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0401] The method provided in this embodiment also involves at least two second APs receiving the first frame and at least two second APs sending the second frame. The second frame is used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform Co-BF, thereby selecting a more suitable second AP to perform Co-BF and improving channel transmission efficiency.

[0402] In the above embodiments, the embodiments corresponding to FIG3, FIG12, FIG13 and FIG14 can be implemented individually or in combination. For example, the embodiments corresponding to FIG3 and FIG13 can be implemented in combination, and the embodiments corresponding to FIG12 and FIG14 can be implemented in combination. This application does not limit this.

[0403] Figure 15 shows a block diagram of a first device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The device can be implemented as a first access point, or as part of a first access point, by software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes:

[0404] Transmitting module 1510 is used to transmit the first PPDU;

[0405] The first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to UEQM.

[0406] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first PPDU is a PPDU transmitted using Co-BF technology, or a PPDU transmitted during the Co-BF process.

[0407] The expressions "transmit PPDU" and "receive PPDU" in the embodiments of this application can also be equivalently understood as "transmit data" and "receive data". The embodiments of this application typically use PPDU as an example for illustration.

[0408] 5.1 UEQM and UEQM patterns;

[0409] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM-related information includes one or more of the following: whether UEQM is used; and the UEQM pattern corresponding to UEQM.

[0410] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which is used to indicate whether UEQM is used; or, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which is used to indicate a UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both a UEQM field and a UEQM pattern field.

[0411] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field, which includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; and the 24th bit.

[0412] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field. The second position bit includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; the 24th to 25th bits; and the 25th to 26th bits.

[0413] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0414] 5.1.1 The number of bits in the user field remains unchanged;

[0415] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

[0416] In one possible design of this embodiment, the value of the UEQM pattern field is a first value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-1, and M-1 is one order lower than M; the value of the UEQM pattern field is a second value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-2, and M-2 is two orders lower than M.

[0417] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field when the UEQM field is used to indicate that UEQM is not used (EQM is used).

[0418] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0419] 5.1.2 The number of bits in the User field has been increased;

[0420] In one possible design of this embodiment, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 or 26 bits.

[0421] In one possible design of this embodiment, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 bits, the UEQM field occupies the 21st bit (B20) of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 24th to 25th bits (B23-B24) of the user field.

[0422] In one possible design of this embodiment, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 26 bits, the UEQM field occupies the 24th bit (B23) of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 25th to 26th bits (B24-B25) of the user field.

[0423] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0424] 5.2 Signaling interaction before Co-BF transmission;

[0425] Before Co-BF transmission, i.e., in the pre-transmission stage, the first device and the second device need to negotiate transmission parameters in advance. This application proposes two parameter interaction methods: (1) a requested parameter interaction method (Solicited); and (2) an unsolicited parameter interaction method (Unsolicited).

[0426] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0427] 5.2.1 Request-based parameter interaction method;

[0428] In one possible design of this embodiment, the sending module 1510 is further configured to send a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether to request the second device to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein, the transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second device, the second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF, the first device is an initiating device, and the second device is a responding device.

[0429] By way of example and not limitation, transmission parameters include one or more of the following: bandwidth; BSS color; punched channel information; GI and LTF size; number of UHR-LTF symbols; number of sites; site ID; MCS; spatial stream configuration; 2x LDPC; UEQM; UEQM pattern.

[0430] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0431] 5.2.1.1 First frame;

[0432] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a first BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

[0433] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0434] 5.2.1.2 Second frame;

[0435] In one possible design of this embodiment, the receiving module 1520 is used to receive a second frame, which is used to respond to the first frame; wherein the second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0436] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a TB PPDU; or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU, the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a Multi-STA BlockAck field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a CTS frame.

[0437] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0438] In one possible design of this embodiment, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0439] In one possible design of this embodiment, when the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate the occurrence of the second station information, the station information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second device is 2; when the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second station information does not occur, the station information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second device is 1.

[0440] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second device.

[0441] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined MAC frame.

[0442] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0443] 5.2.1.3 For the first and second frames of multiple second devices;

[0444] In one possible design of this embodiment, the sending module 1510 is used to send the first frame to at least two second devices.

[0445] In one possible design of this embodiment, the receiving module 1520 is used to receive a second frame sent by at least two second devices, the second frame being used by the first device to select one of the at least two second devices to perform Co-BF.

[0446] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second device.

[0447] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of at least two stations associated with the second device.

[0448] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.3 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0449] 5.2.1.4 Trigger Frame;

[0450] In one possible design of this embodiment, the sending module 1510 is further configured to send a trigger frame, which is used to indicate whether the first device sends the first PPDU using transmission parameters.

[0451] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.4 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0452] 5.2.2 Parameter interaction method based on non-request;

[0453] In one possible design of this embodiment, the receiving module 1520 is further configured to receive a third frame, which is used to indicate the transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second device.

[0454] The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second device. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first device is the initiating AP, and the second device is the responding AP.

[0455] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0456] This embodiment uses one transmitting module 1510 and one receiving module 1520 as an example for illustration, and the number of transmitting modules 1510 and receiving modules 1520 is not limited.

[0457] For a description of the function of the sending module 1510, please refer to step 310 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3. For a description of the function of the receiving module 1520, please refer to step 310 in the embodiment shown in Figure 3.

[0458] Figure 16 shows a block diagram of a first device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The device can be implemented as a first access point, or as part of a first access point, by software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes:

[0459] The sending module 1610 is used to send a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether to request the second device to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters;

[0460] The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second device. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first device is the initiating device and the second device is the responding device.

[0461] By way of example and not limitation, transmission parameters include one or more of the following: bandwidth; BSS color; punched channel information; GI and LTF size; number of UHR-LTF symbols; number of sites; site ID; MCS; spatial stream configuration; 2x LDPC; UEQM; UEQM pattern.

[0462] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0463] 6.1 First frame;

[0464] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a first BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

[0465] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0466] 6.2 Second frame;

[0467] In one possible design of this embodiment, the receiving module 1620 is used to receive a second frame, which is used to respond to the first frame; wherein the second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0468] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a TB PPDU; or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU, the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a Multi-STA BlockAck field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a CTS frame.

[0469] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0470] In one possible design of this embodiment, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0471] In one possible design of this embodiment, when the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate the occurrence of the second station information, the station information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second device is 2;

[0472] In the case where the second station information appears, the station information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second device is 1.

[0473] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second device.

[0474] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined MAC frame.

[0475] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0476] 6.3 For the first and second frames of multiple second devices;

[0477] In one possible design of this embodiment, the sending module 1610 is used to send the first frame to at least two second devices.

[0478] In one possible design of this embodiment, the receiving module 1620 is used to receive a second frame sent by at least two second devices, the second frame being used by the first device to select one of the at least two second devices to perform Co-BF.

[0479] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second device.

[0480] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of at least two stations associated with the second device.

[0481] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.3 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0482] 6.4 Trigger Frame;

[0483] In one possible design of this embodiment, the sending module 1610 is used to send a trigger frame, which is used to indicate whether the first device sends a first PPDU using transmission parameters.

[0484] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.4 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0485] This embodiment uses one transmitting module 1610 and one receiving module 1620 as an example for illustration, and the number of transmitting module 1610 and receiving module 1620 is not limited.

[0486] For a description of the function of the sending module 1610, please refer to step 1210 in the embodiment shown in Figure 12. For a description of the function of the receiving module 1620, please refer to step 1210 in the embodiment shown in Figure 12.

[0487] Figure 17 shows a block diagram of a second device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. This device can be implemented as a second access point, or as part of a second access point, by software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes:

[0488] The receiving module 1710 is used to receive a first frame, which carries a first field. The first field is used to indicate whether to request the second device to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters.

[0489] The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second device. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF. The first PPDU is sent by the first device, which is the initiating device, and the second device is the responding device.

[0490] By way of example and not limitation, transmission parameters include one or more of the following: bandwidth; BSS color; punched channel information; GI and LTF size; number of UHR-LTF symbols; number of sites; site ID; MCS; spatial stream configuration; 2x LDPC; UEQM; UEQM pattern.

[0491] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0492] 7.1 First frame;

[0493] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a first BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

[0494] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0495] 7.2 Second frame;

[0496] In one possible design of this embodiment, the sending module 1720 is used to send a second frame, which is used to respond to the first frame; wherein the second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate transmission parameters.

[0497] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a TB PPDU; or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-HT PPDU, the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a Multi-STA BlockAck field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a CTS frame.

[0498] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

[0499] In one possible design of this embodiment, the site list field or site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

[0500] In one possible design of this embodiment, when the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate the occurrence of the second station information, the station information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second device is 2;

[0501] In the case where the second station information appears, the station information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second device is 1.

[0502] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field includes one or more of the following fields: bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; number of stations field; common MCS field; wherein the common MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second device.

[0503] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined MAC frame.

[0504] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0505] 7.3 For the first and second frames of multiple second APs;

[0506] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second device is at least two second devices, and the receiving module 1710 in the at least two second devices is used to receive the first frame.

[0507] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second device is at least two second devices, and the transmitting module 1720 of the at least two second devices is used to transmit a second frame. The second frame is used for the first device to select one of the at least two second devices to perform Co-BF.

[0508] In one possible design of this embodiment, the second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second device.

[0509] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of at least two stations associated with the second device.

[0510] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.3 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0511] 7.4 Trigger Frame;

[0512] In one possible design of this embodiment, the receiving module 1710 is further configured to receive a trigger frame, which is used to indicate whether the first device sends a first PPDU using transmission parameters.

[0513] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.2.1.4 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0514] This embodiment uses one receiving module 1710 and one transmitting module 1720 as an example for illustration, and the number of receiving modules 1710 and transmitting modules 1720 is not limited.

[0515] For a description of the function of the receiving module 1710, please refer to step 1410 in the embodiment shown in Figure 14. For a description of the function of the sending module 1720, please refer to step 1410 in the embodiment shown in Figure 14.

[0516] Figure 18 shows a block diagram of a third device for Co-BF provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. This device can be implemented as a site, or as part of a site, by software or hardware, or a combination of both. The device includes:

[0517] Receiver module 1810 is used to receive the first PPDU;

[0518] The first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to UEQM.

[0519] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first PPDU is a PPDU transmitted using Co-BF technology, or a PPDU transmitted during the Co-BF process.

[0520] The expressions "transmit PPDU" and "receive PPDU" in the embodiments of this application can also be equivalently understood as "transmit data" and "receive data". The embodiments of this application typically use PPDU as an example for illustration.

[0521] 8.1 UEQM and UEQM patterns;

[0522] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM-related information includes one or more of the following: whether UEQM is used; and the UEQM pattern corresponding to UEQM.

[0523] In one possible design of this embodiment, the first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which is used to indicate whether UEQM is used; or, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which is used to indicate a UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both a UEQM field and a UEQM pattern field.

[0524] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field, which includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; and the 24th bit.

[0525] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field. The second position bit includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; the 24th to 25th bits; and the 25th to 26th bits.

[0526] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0527] 8.1.1 The number of bits in the user field remains unchanged;

[0528] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

[0529] In one possible design of this embodiment, the value of the UEQM pattern field is a first value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-1, and M-1 is one order lower than M; the value of the UEQM pattern field is a second value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-2, and M-2 is two orders lower than M.

[0530] In one possible design of this embodiment, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field when the UEQM field is used to indicate that UEQM is not used (EQM is used).

[0531] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1.1 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0532] 8.1.2 The number of bits in the User field has been increased;

[0533] In one possible design of this embodiment, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 or 26 bits.

[0534] In one possible design of this embodiment, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 25 bits, the UEQM field occupies the 21st bit (B20) of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 24th to 25th bits (B23-B24) of the user field.

[0535] In one possible design of this embodiment, the number of bits in the user field is increased to 26 bits, the UEQM field occupies the 24th bit (B23) of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 25th to 26th bits (B24-B25) of the user field.

[0536] For specific implementation details, please refer to section 1.1.2 of the embodiment shown in Figure 3, which will not be repeated here.

[0537] This embodiment uses one receiving module 1810 as an example, and the number of receiving modules 1810 is not limited.

[0538] For a description of the function of the receiving module 1810, please refer to step 1310 in the embodiment shown in Figure 13.

[0539] Figure 19 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a station provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The station 1900 may include a processor 1901, a transceiver 1902, and a memory 1903. The processor 1901 can be used to control transmission and / or reception. The transceiver 1902 can be used to implement transmission and / or reception functions, such as implementing the functions of the receiving module 1810 described above.

[0540] The processor 1901 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 1901 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0541] The transceiver 1902 may include a receiver and a transmitter, for example, the receiver and transmitter may be implemented as the same wireless communication component, which may include a wireless communication chip and a radio frequency antenna.

[0542] Transceiver 1902 is used to receive a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0543] The memory 1903 can be connected to the processor 1901 and the transceiver 1902.

[0544] The memory 1903 can be used to store a computer program executed by the processor, and the processor 1901 is used to execute the computer program to implement the various steps in the above method embodiments.

[0545] Furthermore, the memory 1903 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic disks or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static on-demand memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0546] For details not described in this embodiment, please refer to the method-side embodiment above, which will not be repeated here.

[0547] Figure 20 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a first access point or a second access point provided in an exemplary embodiment of this application. The first access point or second access point 2000 may include a processor 2001, a transceiver 2002, and a memory 2003. The processor 2001 can be used to control transmission and / or reception. The transceiver 2002 can be used to implement transmission and / or reception functions, such as implementing the functions of at least one of the aforementioned transmission module 1510, reception module 1520, transmission module 1610, reception module 1620, reception module 1710, and transmission module 1720.

[0548] The processor 2001 includes one or more processing cores, and the processor 2001 executes various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0549] The transceiver 2002 may include a receiver and a transmitter. For example, the transceiver 2002 may include a wired communication component, which may include a wired communication chip and a wired interface (such as a fiber optic interface). Optionally, the transceiver 2002 may also include a wireless communication component, which may include a wireless communication chip and a radio frequency antenna.

[0550] Transceiver 2002 is used to transmit a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0551] Alternatively, it can be used to send a first frame, which carries a first field indicating whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein, the transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP, the second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF, the first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

[0552] Alternatively, it can be used to receive a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information.

[0553] The memory 2003 can be connected to the processor 2001 and the transceiver 2002.

[0554] The memory 2003 can be used to store a computer program executed by the processor, and the processor 2001 is used to execute the computer program to implement the various steps in the above method embodiments.

[0555] Furthermore, the memory 2003 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic disks or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, static on-demand memory, read-only memory, magnetic memory, flash memory, and programmable read-only memory.

[0556] For details not described in this embodiment, please refer to the method-side embodiment above, which will not be repeated here.

[0557] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for execution by a processor to implement the aforementioned communication method for Co-BF. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium may include ROM (Read-Only Memory), RAM (Random-Access Memory), SSD (Solid State Drives), or optical disc, etc. The random access memory may include ReRAM (Resistance Random Access Memory) and DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0558] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is running on a first access point, it is used to implement the communication method for Co-BF on the first access point side.

[0559] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is running on a second access point, it is used to implement the aforementioned communication method for Co-BF on the second access point side.

[0560] This application also provides a chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the chip is running on a site, it is used to implement the above-mentioned communication method for Co-BF on the site side.

[0561] This application embodiment also provides a first chip, the first chip including programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions, when the first chip is running on a first access point, for "sending a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is related to Co-BF, and the first PPDU is used to indicate UEQM-related information"; and / or, for "sending a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether to request the second AP to provide feedback on recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein the transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP, the second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF, the first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP."

[0562] This application embodiment also provides a second chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the second chip is running on the second access point, it is used to "receive a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; wherein, the transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP, the second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together for Co-BF, the first PPDU is sent by the first AP, the first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP."

[0563] This application embodiment also provides a third chip, which includes programmable logic circuits and / or program instructions. When the third chip is running on the site, it is used to "receive a first PPDU; wherein the first PPDU is associated with Co-BF and is used to indicate UEQM-related information".

[0564] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor reads from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer program to implement the above-described communication method for Co-BF.

[0565] It should be understood that the term "instruction" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct instruction, an indirect instruction, or an indication of a relationship. For example, A instructing B can mean that A directly instructs B, such as B being able to obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly instructs B, such as A instructing C, so B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that there is a relationship between A and B.

[0566] In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "correspondence" may indicate that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between two things, or that there is an association between two things, or that there is a relationship of instruction and being instructed, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0567] In some embodiments of this application, "predefined" can be implemented by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and this application does not limit the specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to what is defined in the protocol.

[0568] In some embodiments of this application, "protocol" may refer to standard protocols in the field of communications, such as LTE protocol, NR protocol and related protocols applied to future communication systems, and this application does not limit it.

[0569] In this article, "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0570] In this article, "greater than or equal to" can mean greater than or equal to, and "less than or equal to" can mean less than or equal to.

[0571] Furthermore, the step numbers described herein are merely illustrative of one possible execution order between steps. In some other embodiments, the steps may not be executed in the order of their numbers, such as two steps with different numbers being executed simultaneously, or two steps with different numbers being executed in the reverse order of the illustration. This application does not limit this.

[0572] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the functions described in the embodiments of this application in one or more of the above examples can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer.

[0573] The above are merely exemplary embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application shall be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method for Cooperative Beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The method is performed by a first access point (AP), and the method includes: Send the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU); The first PPDU is associated with the Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to unequal modulation UEQM.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The UEQM-related information includes one or more of the following: whether the UEQM is used; the UEQM pattern corresponding to the UEQM.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which is used to indicate whether the UEQM is used; Alternatively, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which is used to indicate the UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both the UEQM field and the UEQM pattern field.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field. The first position bit includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; and the 24th bit.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field. The second position bit includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; the 24th to 25th bits; and the 25th to 26th bits.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The value of the UEQM pattern field is a first value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-1, and M-1 is one order lower than M; the value of the UEQM pattern field is a second value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-2, and M-2 is two orders lower than M.

8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The UEQM field occupies the 21st bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 24th to 25th bits of the user field.

9. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The UEQM field occupies the 24th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 25th to 26th bits of the user field.

10. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that, When the UEQM field is used to indicate that the UEQM is not used, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first frame, which carries a first field, which is used to indicate whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together in the Co-BF. The first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The transmission parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth; Basic Service Set (BSS) color; Punched Channel Information; Guard Interval (GI) and Long Training Field (LTF) Size; Ultra-Reliable Long Training Field (UHR-LTF) Symbol Count; Number of Sites; Site Identifier (ID); Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS); Spatial Stream Configuration; 2x Low Density Parity-Check Code (LDPC); UEQM; UEQM Pattern.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The first frame includes one or more of the following: a first cache status report polling BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the GI and high efficiency or ultra-high reliability long training HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a multi-user request to send MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second frame, which is used in response to the first frame; The second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate the transmission parameters.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU); or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-high throughput physical layer protocol data unit (non-HT PPDU), wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a multi-site block acknowledgment field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a clear transmission CTS frame.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The second field includes one or more of the following fields: Bandwidth field; BSS color field; Punch-hole channel information field; GI and LTF size fields; Number of stations field; Station list field; Second station information occurrence field; Station information field; The second site information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second site information has occurred.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, The site list field or the site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that, When the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second site information has occurred, the site information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 2; when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second site information has not occurred, the site information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 1.

19. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The second field includes one or more of the following fields: Bandwidth field; BSS color field; Punch-hole channel information field; Number of sites field; Public MCS field; The public MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that, The second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined media access control (MAC) frame.

21. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 20, characterized in that, The method further includes: A trigger frame is sent, which is used to indicate whether the first AP should send the first PPDU using the transmission parameters.

22. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 21, characterized in that, Sending the first frame includes: The first frame is sent to at least two second APs.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that, Receiving the second frame includes: The first AP receives a second frame sent by at least two second APs, the second frame being used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform the Co-BF.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second AP.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of the at least two stations associated with the second AP.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a third frame, which is used to indicate the transmission parameters recommended or suggested by the second AP; The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second PPDU by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together in the Co-BF. The first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

27. A communication method for Cooperative Beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The method is performed by a first access point (AP), and the method includes: Send a first frame, which carries a first field, which is used to indicate whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together in the Co-BF. The first AP is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The transmission parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth; Basic Service Set (BSS) color; Punched Channel Information; Guard Interval (GI) and Long Training Field (LTF) Size; Ultra-Reliable Long Training Field (UHR-LTF) Symbol Count; Number of Sites; Site Identifier (ID); Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS); Spatial Stream Configuration; 2x Low Density Parity-Check Code (LDPC); UEQM; UEQM Pattern.

29. The method according to claim 27 or 28, characterized in that, The first frame includes one or more of the following: a first cache status report polling BSRP trigger frame; or, a second BSRP trigger frame, wherein the GI and high efficiency or ultra-high reliability long training HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3; or, a multi-user request to send MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

30. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second frame, which is used in response to the first frame; The second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate the transmission parameters.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU); or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-high throughput physical layer protocol data unit (non-HT PPDU), wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a multi-site block acknowledgment field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a clear transmission CTS frame.

32. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that, The second field includes one or more of the following fields: Bandwidth field; BSS color field; Punch-hole channel information field; GI and LTF size fields; Number of stations field; Station list field; Second station information occurrence field; Station information field; The second site information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second site information has occurred.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The site list field or the site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

34. The method according to claim 32 or 33, characterized in that, When the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second site information has occurred, the site information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 2; when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second site information has not occurred, the site information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 1.

35. The method according to claim 30 or 31, characterized in that, The second field includes one or more of the following fields: Bandwidth field; BSS color field; Punch-hole channel information field; Number of sites field; Public MCS field; The public MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

36. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 35, characterized in that, The second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined media access control (MAC) frame.

37. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 36, characterized in that, The method further includes: A trigger frame is sent, which is used to indicate whether the first AP should send the first PPDU using the transmission parameters.

38. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 37, characterized in that, Sending the first frame includes: The first frame is sent to at least two second APs.

39. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 36, characterized in that, Receiving the second frame includes: The first AP receives a second frame sent by at least two second APs, the second frame being used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform the Co-BF.

40. The method according to claim 39, characterized in that, The second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second AP.

41. The method according to claim 40, characterized in that, The first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of the at least two stations associated with the second AP.

42. A communication method for Cooperative Beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The method is performed by the site STA, and the method includes: Receive first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU); The first PPDU is associated with the Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to unequal modulation UEQM.

43. The method according to claim 42, characterized in that, The UEQM-related information includes one or more of the following: whether the UEQM is used; the UEQM pattern corresponding to the UEQM.

44. The method according to claim 43, characterized in that, The first PPDU carries a UEQM field, which indicates whether the UEQM is used; or, the first PPDU carries a UEQM pattern field, which indicates the UEQM pattern; or, the first PPDU carries both the UEQM field and the UEQM pattern field.

45. The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The UEQM field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM field occupies the first position bit of the user field. The first position bit includes one or more of the following: the 19th bit; the 21st bit; and the 24th bit.

46. ​​The method according to claim 44, characterized in that, The UEQM pattern field is carried in the user field of the first PPDU. The UEQM pattern field occupies the second position bit of the user field. The second position bit includes one or more of the following: the 20th bit; the 24th to 25th bits; and the 25th to 26th bits.

47. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that, The UEQM field occupies the 19th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 20th bit of the user field.

48. The method according to claim 47, characterized in that, The value of the UEQM pattern field is a first value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-1, and M-1 is one order lower than M; the value of the UEQM pattern field is a second value, used to indicate that the constellation index of the first spatial flow is M, the constellation index of the second spatial flow is M-2, and M-2 is two orders lower than M.

49. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that, The UEQM field occupies the 21st bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 24th to 25th bits of the user field.

50. The method according to claim 46, characterized in that, The UEQM field occupies the 24th bit of the user field, and the UEQM pattern field occupies the 25th to 26th bits of the user field.

51. The method according to any one of claims 44 to 50, characterized in that, When the UEQM field is used to indicate that the UEQM is not used, the UEQM pattern field is a reserved field.

52. A communication method for Cooperative Beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The method is performed by the second access point (AP), and the method includes: Receive a first frame, the first frame carries a first field, the first field is used to indicate whether to request the second AP to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) by the second AP. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together in the Co-BF. The first PPDU is sent by the first AP, which is the initiating AP, and the second AP is the responding AP.

53. The method according to claim 52, characterized in that, The transmission parameters include one or more of the following: Bandwidth; Basic Service Set (BSS) color; Punched Channel Information; Guard Interval (GI) and Long Training Field (LTF) Size; Ultra-Reliable Long Training Field (UHR-LTF) Symbol Count; Number of Sites; Site Identifier (ID); Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS); Spatial Stream Configuration; 2x Low Density Parity-Check Code (LDPC); UEQM; UEQM Pattern.

54. The method according to claim 52 or 53, characterized in that, The first frame includes one or more of the following: The first cache status report polls the BSRP trigger frame; or, the second BSRP trigger frame, where the GI and the high efficiency or ultra-high reliability long training HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are both 3; or, the multi-user request to send MU RTS trigger frame; or, other trigger frames.

55. The method according to any one of claims 52 to 54, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second frame, which is used in response to the first frame; The second frame carries a second field, which is used to indicate the transmission parameters.

56. The method according to claim 55, characterized in that, The first frame is a first BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a trigger-based physical layer protocol data unit (TB PPDU); or, the first frame is a second BSRP trigger frame, and the second frame is carried in a non-high throughput physical layer protocol data unit (non-HT PPDU), wherein the values ​​of the GI and HE / UHR-LTF type fields of the second BSRP trigger frame are 3, and the non-HT PPDU includes a multi-site block acknowledgment field; or, the first frame is a MU RTS trigger frame, and the second frame is a clear transmission CTS frame.

57. The method according to claim 55 or 56, characterized in that, The second field includes one or more of the following fields: Bandwidth field; BSS color field; punch channel information field; GI and LTF size field; number of stations field; station list field; second station information occurrence field; station information field; wherein, the second station information occurrence field is used to indicate whether the second station information has occurred.

58. The method according to claim 57, characterized in that, The site list field or the site information field includes one or more of the following fields: site ID field; MCS field; spatial flow configuration field; 2x LDPC field; UEQM field; UEQM pattern field.

59. The method according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that, When the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second site information has occurred, the site information field occupies 48 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 2; when the second site information occurrence field is used to indicate that the second site information has not occurred, the site information field occupies 24 bits, and the number of STAs associated with the second AP is 1.

60. The method according to claim 55 or 56, characterized in that, The second field includes one or more of the following fields: Bandwidth field; BSS color field; Punch-hole channel information field; Number of sites field; Public MCS field; The public MCS field is used to indicate the same MCS used by one or more associated STAs of the second AP.

61. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 60, characterized in that, The second field is carried in the block acknowledgment frame; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined control field; or, the second field is carried in a newly defined media access control (MAC) frame.

62. The method according to any one of claims 52 to 61, characterized in that, The method further includes: A trigger frame is received, which is used to indicate whether the first AP sends the first PPDU using the transmission parameters.

63. The method according to any one of claims 52 to 62, characterized in that, The second AP is at least two second APs, and receiving the first frame includes: The at least two second APs receive the first frame.

64. The method according to any one of claims 55 to 61, characterized in that, The second AP is at least two second APs, and the sending of the second frame includes: The at least two second APs send the second frame, which is used by the first AP to select one of the at least two second APs to perform the Co-BF.

65. The method according to claim 64, characterized in that, The second frame includes a site list field, which indicates information about at least two sites associated with the second AP.

66. The method according to claim 65, characterized in that, The first station is used to receive the first PPDU, and the first station is one or two of the at least two stations associated with the second AP.

67. A first device for cooperative beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The first device includes: The transmitting module is used to transmit the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). The first PPDU is associated with the Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to unequal modulation UEQM.

68. A first device for Cooperative Beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The first device includes: The sending module is used to send a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether to request the second device to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) by the second device. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together in the Co-BF. The first device is an initiating device, and the second device is a responding device.

69. A second device for Cooperative Beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The second device includes: A receiving module is used to receive a first frame, the first frame carrying a first field, the first field being used to indicate whether the second device is requested to provide recommended or suggested transmission parameters; The transmission parameters are used to indicate parameters related to the transmission of the second physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) by the second device. The second PPDU and the first PPDU are used together in the Co-BF. The first PPDU is sent by the first device, which is an initiating device, and the second device is a responding device.

70. A third device for cooperative beamforming (Co-BF), characterized in that, The third device includes: The receiving module is used to receive the first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU). The first PPDU is associated with the Co-BF and is used to indicate information related to unequal modulation UEQM.

71. A first access point, characterized in that, The first access point includes: A processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the communication method for Co-BF as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 26; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as claimed in any one of claims 27 to 41.

72. A second access point, characterized in that, The second access point includes: A processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 52 to 66.

73. A site, characterized in that, The sites include: A processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 42 to 51.

74. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores at least one program, which is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 1 to 26; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 27 to 41; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 42 to 51; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 52 to 66.

75. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes programmable logic circuitry and / or program instructions. When the chip operates at a first access point, it is used to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 1 to 26; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 27 to 41; when the chip operates at a site, it is used to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 42 to 51; and when the chip operates at a second access point, it is used to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 52 to 66.

76. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, wherein a processor retrieves the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions to implement the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 1 to 26; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 27 to 41; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 42 to 51; and / or the communication method for Co-BF as described in any one of claims 52 to 66.

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