CN114846833B

CN114846833B - Wi-Fi channel measurement method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN114846833B
Application number: CN201980103269.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李帅; 李振宇; 吴毅凌; 胡磊
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-12-31
Filing date: 2019-12-31
Publication date: 2025-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-31
Also published as: WO2021134593A1; CN114846833A

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides a Wi‑Fi channel measurement method. In this method, an access point AP sends a trigger frame to a terminal STA to indicate an uplink channel measurement to the STA; the AP receives an empty data packet notification NDPA from the STA; wherein the NDPA is used to indicate partial bandwidth information partial BW Info, feedback type and subcarrier grouping feedback type and Ng, codebook size, and number of columns Nc related to the uplink channel measurement; the AP obtains the uplink channel weight by measuring the pilot of the empty data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA from the STA; wherein the uplink channel weight is used for uplink MIMO; the AP sends the above-mentioned uplink channel weight to the STA. Through the above method, the measurement of the uplink channel weight can be triggered by the AP, that is, the STA can be driven to perform uplink weight measurement before data transmission, which is beneficial for the STA to improve the capacity of uplink MIMO during uplink MIMO.

Description

Wi-Fi channel measurement method, device and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a Wi-Fi channel measurement method, device, and system.

Background

WiFi 6 is a 6 th generation Wi-Fi technology, and accommodates a large number of 5G key technologies, such as MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output, multiple-input multiple-output technology), 1024QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation ), OFDMA (orthogonal frequency division multiple access, orthogonal frequency division multiple access), and the like. Compared with Wi-Fi 5, wi-Fi 6 realizes 4 times of network bandwidth improvement, 4 times of concurrent user number improvement, and network time delay is reduced from 30ms to 20ms on average.

MIMO transmission is also known as space division multiplexing. MIMO can be classified into SU-MIMO (single-user MIMO) and MU-MIMO (multi-user MIMO). SU-MIMO refers to scheduling of spatially multiplexed data streams to a single terminal to improve the transmission rate and spectral efficiency of the terminal. In SU-MIMO, the time-frequency resources allocated to the terminal are exclusive to the terminal. MU-MIMO refers to that the space division multiplexing data stream is scheduled to a plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals share the same time-frequency resource in a space division mode, and the network can obtain additional multi-user diversity gain through the scheduling of the plurality of terminals in a space dimension. MU-MIMO can significantly improve the throughput and capacity of the network.

Wi-Fi 6 supports site backhaul scenarios. The site backhaul includes wired backhaul and wireless backhaul. Compared with the wired backhaul, the wireless backhaul is flexible to deploy and has the advantage of cost. For the site backhaul scenario, both the access point AP and the terminal STA may have multiple antenna capability, supporting uplink or downlink MIMO transmission. To support MIMO transmission, the channel needs to be measured, and uplink weights or downlink weights are determined. However, the current Wi-Fi channel measurement mechanism cannot fully meet the requirement of MIMO transmission.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application is used for providing a Wi-Fi channel measurement method, device and system, and is used for meeting the measurement requirement of MIMO transmission.

In order to achieve the above object, embodiments of the present application provide the following solutions.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a Wi-Fi channel measurement method, where an access point AP sends a trigger frame TRIGGER FRAME to a terminal STA, where the trigger frame TRIGGER FRAME is used to instruct uplink channel measurement, where the AP receives a null data packet from the STA to notify NDPA, where the NDPA is used to instruct partial bandwidth information, feedback type, subcarrier packet feedback TYPE AND NG, codebook size, and column number Nc related to the uplink channel measurement, where the AP obtains an uplink channel weight by measuring a pilot frequency of a null data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA from the STA, where the uplink channel weight is used for uplink MIMO, and where the AP sends the uplink channel weight to the STA.

The method realizes the mechanism of triggering uplink weight measurement by the AP, and opens up the uplink weight measurement and feedback channel. Before data transmission, the AP drives the STA to measure the uplink weight, and when the STA performs uplink MIMO transmission, the weighted weight is converted from an open-loop weight to a closed-loop weight, so that the uplink MIMO capacity can be improved. The Wi-Fi system has no open loop codebook design at present, compared with the open loop weight adopting a unit array, the closed loop weight can improve the uplink transmission capacity by 30% -99% when in 8 single-port transmission, and the requirement of MIMO transmission is met.

As an alternative embodiment, the value of the trigger type subfield TRIGGER TYPE subfield in the common information field common info field of TRIGGER FRAME is 0, i.e. the TRIGGER FRAME is the Basic trigger frame Basic TRIGGER FRAME, where the bit B63 in the common info field is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement, or the bit B39 in the user information field user info field of the Basic TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement, or the bit B5 in the trigger dependent user information subfield TRIGGER DEPENDENT user info subfield in the user information field user info field of the Basic trigger frame Basic TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement. The implementation mode multiplexes the triggering frames of Wi-Fi, the modification is small, and the implementation of the scheme is simple.

As an alternative embodiment, the value TRIGGER TYPE subfield in common info field of TRIGGER FRAME is one of 8-15 and the trigger dependent user information subfield TRIGGER DEPENDENT user info subfield in user info field of TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement. The implementation mode multiplexes the triggering type of the triggering frame of Wi-Fi, has small change and reduces the complexity of implementation.

As an alternative embodiment, the value of TRIGGER TYPE subfield in common Info field of TRIGGER FRAME is one of 8-15, and TRIGGER FRAME is also used to indicate the partial BW Info, the feedback TYPE AND NG, the codebook size, and the Nc. In this embodiment, the AP also indicates measurement and feedback parameters to the STA, which facilitates an advantageous arrangement of measurement and reporting by the STA, making the measurement more efficient.

As an alternative embodiment, the trigger dependent user information TRIGGER DEPENDENT user Info in the user Info field of TRIGGER FRAME includes the partial BW Info, the feedback TYPE AND NG, the codebook size, and the Nc. The implementation scheme of how to carry the measurement parameters is given, the specific domain of the trigger frame is multiplexed, and the implementation complexity is reduced.

As an optional implementation manner, the TRIGGER FRAME is further configured to indicate the number N of NDPs, and the AP obtains the uplink channel weight by measuring pilots of null data packets NDPs corresponding to the NDPAs from the STA, including that the AP obtains the uplink channel weight by measuring the pilots of the N NDPs. According to the embodiment, the comprehensive value of a plurality of measurements can be obtained, so that the measurement result is more objective and accurate, and the influence of sudden interference is small.

As an optional implementation manner, the AP obtains the uplink channel weight by measuring the N pilot frequencies of the NDPs, and the method comprises the steps that the AP obtains N measurement results by measuring the N pilot frequencies of the NDPs, and the AP obtains the uplink channel weight according to the N measurement results. In this embodiment, the uplink channel weight is obtained by obtaining N measurement results, so that the measurement results are more objective and accurate, and are less affected by bursty interference.

As an alternative embodiment, TRIGGER DEPENDENT user info in the user info field of TRIGGER FRAME includes the N. The implementation scheme of how to carry the measurement parameters is given, the specific domain of the trigger frame is multiplexed, and the implementation complexity is reduced.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a Wi-Fi channel measurement method, which includes a terminal STA receiving a trigger frame TRIGGER FRAME from an access point AP, where TRIGGER FRAME is used to instruct uplink channel measurement, the STA sending a null data packet to the AP to notify an NDPA, where the NDPA is used to instruct partial bandwidth information, feedback type, and subcarrier packet feedback TYPE AND NG, codebook size, and number of columns Nc related to the uplink channel measurement, the STA sending a null data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA to the AP, a pilot user of the NDP performing the uplink channel measurement, and the STA receiving an uplink channel weight from the AP, where the uplink channel weight is used for uplink MIMO.

The second aspect and its optional embodiments, and the gain may be referred to in relation to the first aspect and its embodiments. The following optional embodiments have been described in the first aspect, and are described below from the perspective of the STA, in order to more clearly understand the solution of the embodiment of the present application.

As an alternative embodiment, the TRIGGER FRAME is also used to indicate the number N of NDPs;

the STA sends the Null Data Packet (NDP) corresponding to the NDPA to the AP, which comprises the STA sends N NDPs to the AP.

As an alternative embodiment, the uplink channel weight is based on the N NDPs.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a Wi-Fi channel measurement method, where an access point AP sends a downlink physical layer protocol data unit DL PPDU to a terminal STA, where the DL PPDU is configured to indicate reporting configuration of periodic reporting of CQI, where the reporting configuration includes a reporting period, the AP sends a basic trigger frame basic TRIGGER FRAME to the STA according to the reporting period, the basic TRIGGER FRAME is configured to indicate uplink resources for reporting CQI, and the AP receives the CQI from the STA according to the uplink resources.

In the method, a periodic CQI reporting mechanism is realized, and the CQI reported by the STA periodically can be referred to when downlink transmission is carried out, so that the downlink scheduling can be more accurately carried out. In addition, the mechanism does not need the AP to send the NDPA and the NDP, thereby saving the cost and improving the capacity.

As an optional implementation manner, the reporting configuration further includes a bandwidth and/or a number of columns related to the periodic CQI reporting. By indicating the bandwidth and the number of columns to the STA, the AP can obtain the CQI more meeting the requirements thereof, and can improve the performance of downlink transmission.

As an alternative embodiment, the a-control subfield in the HT control field of the data frame DATA FRAME of the DL PPDU includes the reporting configuration. The report configuration is carried by utilizing the specific domain of the multiplexing data frame, so that the implementation complexity is reduced.

As an alternative embodiment, the AP receiving the CQI from the STA according to the uplink resource includes the AP receiving an a-MPDU from the STA according to the uplink resource, the a-MPDU including the CQI and uplink data. In this embodiment, CQI may be sent along with uplink data, saving overhead.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a Wi-Fi channel measurement method, where a terminal STA receives a DL PPDU from an AP, where the DL PPDU is used to indicate a CQI periodic reporting configuration, where the CQI periodic reporting configuration includes a period, the STA measures a downlink channel to obtain the CQI, the STA receives a basic trigger frame basic TRIGGER FRAME from the AP according to the period, the basic TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate an uplink resource for reporting the CQI, and the STA reports the CQI to the AP according to the uplink resource.

The fourth aspect and its alternative embodiments, as well as the gain, may be referred to in relation to the third aspect and its embodiments. The following optional embodiments have been described in the third aspect, and are described below from the perspective of the STA, in order to more clearly understand the solution of the embodiment of the present application.

As an optional implementation manner, the reporting configuration further includes a bandwidth and/or a column number related to the periodic reporting of the CQI;

the STA measures the downlink channel to obtain the CQI, including the STA measures the downlink channel to obtain the CQI corresponding to the bandwidth and/or the column number.

As an alternative embodiment, the STA reporting the CQI to the AP according to the uplink resource includes the STA transmitting an a-MPDU to the AP according to the uplink resource, the a-MPDU including the CQI and uplink data.

In a fifth aspect, to implement the functions of the access point AP in the above aspects, an embodiment of the present application provides an access point, which includes a processing circuit, where the processing circuit is configured to execute instructions to implement a method on the access point side in the above aspects.

In a sixth aspect, to implement the functions of the terminal STA in the above aspects, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal, including a processing circuit, where the processing circuit is configured to execute instructions to implement a method on a terminal side in the above aspects.

In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed at an access point, cause the access point to implement the method on the access point side in the above aspects.

In an eighth aspect, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, including the computer program product described above.

In a ninth aspect, the embodiment of the present application further provides a Wi-Fi system, including the access point of the fifth aspect and the terminal of the sixth aspect.

The description and gains of the fifth to ninth aspects described above may refer to the relevant matters of the first aspect and its implementation manners.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a Wi-Fi system;

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of a terminal;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an access point architecture;

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of a Wi-Fi channel measurement method;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the frame structure of a trigger frame and its internal part field, and the trigger type subfield values;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a trigger type subfield value;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of measurement and feedback information;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of measurement and feedback information;

fig. 9 is a flow chart of another Wi-Fi channel measurement method;

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a data frame carrying a periodic CQI reporting configuration.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly and completely describe the technical scheme of the application, the following description of the embodiments of the application is given with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the application is suitable for Wi-Fi systems. Fig. 1 shows an architecture diagram of a Wi-Fi system. As shown in fig. 1, the Wi-Fi system includes a terminal T100, an Access Point (AP) B200, and a gateway (gateway). Wireless communication between the terminal T100 and the access point B200 may be performed by Wi-Fi technology. The access point B200 is connected to the gateway for interaction with the external network. The external network may be the core network of the operator, the private network, or the internet of things.

In the application, the terminal has the capacity of beam forming, can send one or more signals in a specific beam direction and receive one or more signals in the specific beam direction, and the access point is used for scheduling uplink transmission or downlink transmission in a cell. The gateway is used for connecting with other networks. In the Wi-Fi system, both the terminal and the access point have multi-antenna capability, support MIMO, and support measurement of downlink channel weights/uplink channel weights.

The terminal is also called a Station (STA), and is a device capable of performing a wireless communication function using Wi-Fi technology. The terminal in the application can refer to the terminal or a Wi-Fi chip in the terminal. Among these are various forms of terminals, which may be Wi-Fi enabled cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (personal DIGITAL ASSISTANT, PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted or wearable devices, virtual Reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal devices, wireless terminals in industrial control (industrial control), wireless terminals in unmanned (selfdriving), wireless terminals in telemedicine (remote media), wireless terminals in smart grid (SMART GRID), wireless terminals in transportation security (transportation safety), wireless terminals in smart city (SMART CITY), wireless terminals in smart home (smart home), etc. The terminal may be mobile or stationary.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural view of the terminal. For convenience of explanation, fig. 2 shows only major components of the terminal. As shown in fig. 2, the terminal T100 includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting a baseband signal and a radio frequency signal and processing the radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are mainly used for receiving data input by a user and outputting data to the user. Some types of terminals do not have input-output means.

When the terminal is started, the processor can read the software program (instruction) in the storage unit, interpret and execute the instruction of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data need to be sent, the processor carries out baseband processing on the data to be sent and then outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit carries out radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal outwards in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal, the radio frequency circuit receives a radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

For ease of illustration, fig. 2 shows only one memory and processor. In an actual user equipment, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or storage device, etc., and embodiments of the present application are not limited in this respect.

As an alternative implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor, which is mainly used to process the communication protocol and the communication data, and/or a central processor, which is mainly used to control the whole terminal, execute the software program, and process the data of the software program. The processor in fig. 2 integrates the functions of a baseband processor and a central processing unit, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may be separate processors, interconnected by bus technology, etc. Optionally, the terminal may include multiple baseband processors to accommodate different network formats. Alternatively, the terminal may include a plurality of central processors to enhance its processing power. Alternatively, the functions of the baseband processor and the central processor may be integrated on one processor. Alternatively, the various components of the terminal may be connected by various buses. The baseband processor may also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or baseband processing chip. The central processor may also be expressed as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. Alternatively, the function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built in the processor, or may be stored in the storage unit in the form of a software program, which is executed by the processor to realize the baseband processing function.

In the embodiment of the application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit with the receiving and transmitting functions can be regarded as a receiving and transmitting unit of the terminal, and the processor with the processing function can be regarded as a processing unit of the terminal. As shown in fig. 2, the terminal T100 includes a transceiving unit 101 and a processing unit 102. The transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver device, etc. The processing unit may also be called a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in the transceiver unit 101 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function in the transceiver unit 101 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 101 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

The access point is a device deployed in a Wi-Fi radio access network to provide wireless communication functionality. The structure of the access point B200 may be as shown in fig. 3. As shown in fig. 3, access point B200 includes a portion 201 and a portion 202. The part 201 is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals and baseband signals, and the part 202 is mainly used for carrying out baseband processing, controlling access points and the like. Portion 201 may be generally referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver circuitry, transceiver, etc. Portion 202 may be generally referred to as a processing unit. Generally 202 is part of the control center of the access point.

As an alternative embodiment, part 201 may include an antenna and a radio frequency unit, where the radio frequency unit is mainly used for performing radio frequency processing. Alternatively, the device for implementing the receiving function in part 201 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device for implementing the transmitting function may be regarded as a transmitting unit, i.e. part 201 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. For example, the receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc., and the transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, etc.

As an alternative embodiment, the portion 202 may include one or more boards, each of which may include a processor and a memory, where the processor is configured to read and execute programs in the memory to implement baseband processing functions and control of access points. If there are multiple boards, the boards can be interconnected to increase processing power.

As another alternative implementation manner, with the development of System-on-chip (SoC) technology, all or part of the functions of the 202 part and the 201 part may be implemented by SoC technology, for example, by an access point function chip, where a processor, a memory, an antenna interface, and other devices are integrated, and a program of an access point related function is stored in the memory, and the processor executes the program to implement the related function of the access point. Optionally, the access point function chip can also read the memory outside the chip to realize the related functions of the access point.

The above description of fig. 2 and 3 with respect to terminals, access points may be applied to terminals, access points in the present application.

In the present application, uplink weights, uplink channel weights, and uplink channel weights are sometimes used in combination, but all express the same meaning, i.e., are used for uplink spatial mapping, for example, superimposed on multiple streams as an uplink precoding matrix.

In the present application, the downlink weight, the downlink channel weight, and the downlink channel weight are sometimes mixed, but all express the same meaning, that is, are used for downlink space mapping, for example, are superimposed on multiple streams as a downlink precoding matrix.

The WiFi channel measurement method according to the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to the terminal T100 and the access point B200. As shown in fig. 4, the method includes:

S401, the access point B200 sends a trigger frame to the terminal T100, where the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink channel measurement.

Wherein the trigger frame TRIGGER FRAME is a data format defined by Wi-Fi.

S402, the terminal T100 sends a null packet announcement to the access point B200.

In other words, the access point B200 receives a null packet notification from the terminal T100.

The null data packet notification NDPA is used to indicate parameters related to uplink channel measurement, such as partial bandwidth BW Info, feedback type and subcarrier packet feedback TYPE AND NG, codebook size, and number of columns Nc. The partial BW Info is used to indicate the bandwidth range that needs feedback, feedback TYPE AND NG and Codebook size are used together to indicate the feedback type, subcarrier grouping and Codebook format, nc is used to indicate the number of columns of the compressed beamforming feedback matrix and is set to Nc-1, which is the number of space-time streams measured by the terminal in physical sense.

After receiving the trigger frame, the terminal T100 may determine partial bandwidth information relevant to uplink channel measurement, feedback type and subcarrier packet feedback TYPE AND NG, codebook size, and number Nc, and notify the access point B200 through null packet notification.

S403, the terminal T100 sends a null packet to the access point B200.

Wherein, the null data packet NDP corresponds to the NDPA. As an example, NDP is transmitted after NDPA by SIFS (short INTERFRAME SPACE, short inter-frame space).

S404, the access point B200 measures the pilot frequency of the NDP to obtain the uplink channel weight;

Wherein, the uplink channel weight is used for uplink MIMO. For example, in uplink transmission, the access point B200 schedules the terminal T100 to perform uplink transmission through TRIGGER FRAME, where the uplink transmission may be multi-stream transmission, and when the terminal T100 performs transmission, the uplink channel weight fed back by the access point B200 is used as a precoding matrix to be transmitted and is overlapped on the multi-stream to be transmitted to perform SPATIAL MAPPING (spatial mapping) transmission.

S405, the access point B200 sends the uplink channel weight to the terminal T100.

In other words, the terminal T100 receives the uplink channel weight from the access point B200.

By the method, an uplink channel weight measurement mechanism triggered by the access point B200 is realized, and an uplink channel weight measurement and feedback channel is opened. Before data transmission, the access point B200 drives the terminal T100 to measure uplink weight, when the terminal T100 performs uplink MIMO transmission, the weighted weight is converted from open loop weight to closed loop weight, thereby improving uplink MIMO capacity, and compared with the open loop weight adopting a unit array, the closed loop weight can improve uplink transmission capacity by 30% -99% when the WIFI system adopts the open loop weight of the unit array at present.

As a first alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the trigger type subfield TRIGGER TYPE subfield in the common information field common info field of TRIGGER FRAME has a value of 0, that is, TRIGGER FRAME is the basic trigger frame basic TRIGGER FRAME, where a bit B63 in common info field of basic TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement, or a bit B39 in the user info field of basic TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement, or a bit B5 in the trigger dependent user info field TRIGGER DEPENDENT user info subfield in the user info field of basic TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement. The implementation mode multiplexes the triggering frames of Wi-Fi, the modification is small, and the implementation of the scheme is simple.

As a second alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, TRIGGER TYPE subfield in common info field of TRIGGER FRAME has a value of one of 8-15 (fig. 6 is taken as an example with a value of 8), and the triggered dependent user information subfield TRIGGER DEPENDENT user info subfield in user info field of TRIGGER FRAME is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement. The implementation mode multiplexes the triggering type of the triggering frame of Wi-Fi, has small change and reduces the complexity of implementation.

As a third alternative embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, TRIGGER TYPE subfield of common Info field of TRIGGER FRAME has a value of one of 8-15 (FIG. 6 is taken as an example of a value of 8), and TRIGGER FRAME is also used to indicate measurement related parameters such as partial BW Info, feedback TYPE AND NG, codebook size, and Nc. In this embodiment, the AP also indicates measurement and feedback parameters to the STA, which facilitates an advantageous arrangement of measurement and reporting by the STA, making the measurement more efficient.

As a fourth alternative embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, 6, and 7, the trigger slave user information TRIGGER DEPENDENT user Info in the user Info field of TRIGGER FRAME includes the partial BW Info, the feedback TYPE AND NG, the codebook size, and the Nc. The implementation scheme of how to carry the measurement parameters is given, the specific domain of the trigger frame is multiplexed, and the implementation complexity is reduced.

As a fifth alternative embodiment, in S401, the TRIGGER FRAME is also used to indicate the number N of NDPs. Accordingly, in S403, the terminal T100 transmitting null data packets to the access point B200 comprises the terminal T100 transmitting N null data packets to the access point B200. In S404, the access point B200 measures the pilots of the NDPs to obtain uplink channel weights, including the access point B200 measuring the pilots of the N NDPs to obtain uplink channel weights. According to the embodiment, the comprehensive value of a plurality of measurements can be obtained, so that the measurement result is more objective and accurate, and the influence of sudden interference is small.

Based on the fifth alternative embodiment, an alternative embodiment that the access point B200 measures the pilots of the N NDPs to obtain the uplink channel weight may include that the access point B200 obtains N measurement results by measuring the pilots of the N NDPs, and the access point B200 obtains the uplink channel weight according to the N measurement results. In this embodiment, the uplink channel weight is obtained by obtaining N measurement results, so that the measurement results are more objective and accurate, and are less affected by bursty interference.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 5,6 and 8, TRIGGER DEPENDENT user info in the user info field of TRIGGER FRAME may include N as described above. In the Wi-Fi system, the transmission interval of N NDPs is SIFS.

As an alternative implementation of S405, the access point B200 may send the above uplink channel weight to the terminal T100 through HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI Report (efficient compression beamforming/channel quality indication Report). Wherein HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI report is configured in SU (single user) mode.

The method shown in fig. 4 provides a method of uplink channel measurement. The measurement of the downlink channel is described below with reference to fig. 9. As shown in fig. 9, the method includes:

s501, the access point B200 transmits the CQI periodic reporting configuration to the terminal T100.

In other words, the terminal T100 receives the CQI periodic reporting configuration from the access point B200.

As an optional implementation manner, a downlink physical layer protocol data unit (DL PPDU, downlink PHYSICAL LAYER protocol data unit) may be used to indicate a CQI (channel quality indication, channel quality indicator) periodic reporting configuration, where the CQI periodic reporting configuration includes a reporting period T, that is, the terminal T100 is instructed to report the CQI with the period T as a period. Optionally, the CQI periodic reporting configuration further includes a bandwidth and/or a number of columns related to the CQI periodic reporting, that is, the terminal T100 is instructed to report the CQI for the bandwidth and/or the number of columns. Illustratively, as shown in fig. 10, the control subfield (a-control subfield) of the a control subfield (HT control field) of the high throughput control field (HT control field) of the data frame (DATA FRAME) included in the DL PPDU may carry the above-described CQI periodic reporting configuration.

S502, the terminal T100 measures the downlink channel.

The terminal T100 measures the downlink channel to obtain CQI. Optionally, the CQI corresponds to a bandwidth and/or a number of columns in the CQI periodic reporting configuration.

As a possible implementation manner, the terminal T100 may start to time with the reception of the DL PPDU and measure the downlink channel in the period. For example, after receiving the PPDU, the terminal T100 may start a timer with a duration of T, and before the timer does not expire, the terminal T100 continuously measures the downlink channel between the terminal T100 and the access point B200, or at a certain interval, or when there is downlink data transmission. After the timer expires, the terminal T100 performs CQI reporting, and restarts the timer, i.e. starts the measurement of the next period.

Wherein, as a possible implementation of measuring the downlink channel, the access point B200 may send one or more DL PPUD to the terminal T100 after 501, and the terminal T100 may perform measurement on the downlink channel by measuring the one or more DL PPDUs.

S503, the access point B200 transmits the basic trigger frame to the terminal T100 according to the period T. The basic trigger frame is used for indicating uplink resources for reporting CQI.

In other words, the terminal T100 receives the basic trigger frame from the access point B200 according to the period T.

The access point B200 transmitting the basic trigger frame to the terminal T100 according to the period T may also be expressed as that the access point B200 transmits the basic trigger frame to the terminal T100 at intervals of the period T, that is, the terminal T100 receives the basic trigger frame from the access point B200 at intervals of the period T.

S504, the terminal T100 reports CQI to the access point B200 according to the uplink resource.

In other words, the access point B200 receives CQI from the terminal T100 on the uplink resource.

Wherein the CQI may be used for downlink transmission, e.g., determining the MCS (modulation and coding scheme ) for downlink transmission based on the CQI, etc.

As an alternative embodiment, the terminal T100 may send an uplink physical layer protocol data unit UL (uplink) PPDU to the access point B200, where the UL PPDU includes HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI report, and the HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI report is used to indicate the CQI. Wherein HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI report is configured as CQI mode.

As a possible scenario, in 503, the access point B200 may fail to instruct the terminal T100 of reporting the uplink resource of the CQI, and the terminal T100 may wait until S503 before transmitting the CQI when there is the uplink resource last time.

As an alternative embodiment, when the terminal T100 has uplink data, CQI and uplink data may be transmitted along with the channel. For example HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI report is sent with MPDUs (MAC Protocol Data Unit, aggregated medium access control protocol data unit) comprising uplink data. Wherein, the channel associated transmission means that MPDUs including HE Compressed Beamforming/CQI report and MPDUs including uplink data are combined into A-MPDU (Aggregated MPDU) for transmission.

By the method shown in fig. 9, periodic channel detection is realized, and downlink channels can be measured without using NDPA, thereby reducing overhead. In addition, the measurement is based on the downlink data and the pilot frequency of the downlink data, so that the reference of the channel quality can be provided more accurately, and the capacity of downlink data transmission can be improved.

For the requirements of the description of the technical solutions, only a part of the domains/sub-domains, or the values, are shown, and the remaining blank domains are described in Wi-Fi standard 802.11ax, which is not repeated here.

In order to implement the technical solution of the present application, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which is used to implement the method on the terminal T100 side in fig. 4 and fig. 9. The communication means may be a terminal or a baseband chip. The structure of the terminal may be as shown in fig. 2.

As an alternative design, the communication device comprises a processor and a transceiver component. The processor and transceiver component may be configured to implement the functions of the various parts of the terminal-side method described above. In this design, if the communication device is a terminal, its transceiver component may be a transceiver, and if the communication device is a baseband chip, its transceiver component may be an input/output circuit of the baseband chip.

As another alternative design, the communication device includes a processor. The processor is configured to run the program to cause the terminal-side method to be implemented. Optionally, the communication apparatus may further include a memory for storing a program for implementing the above-described terminal-side method.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication device for realizing the method of the side of the access point B200 in fig. 4 and 9. The communication means may be an access point, or a baseband chip, or a baseband board.

As an alternative design, the communication device comprises a processor and a transceiver component. The processor and transceiver component may be configured to implement the functionality of various portions of the methods on the access point side described above. In this design, if the communication device is an access point, its transceiver component may be a transceiver, and if the communication device is a baseband chip or baseband board, its transceiver component may be an input/output circuit of the baseband chip or baseband board.

As another alternative design, the communication device includes a processor. The processor is configured to run the program to cause the method on the access point side to be implemented. Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory, where the memory is configured to store a program for implementing the above access point side method.

The embodiment of the application also provides a computer program product, which comprises a program which, when executed, causes the terminal side or access point side method described above to be performed.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a program which, when executed, causes the above-described terminal-side or access point-side method to be performed.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various optional components/implementations described above, etc. may be combined and replaced according to different network needs.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate units may or may not be physically separate, and units shown as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in hardware plus software functional units.

The software functional portion described above may be stored in a storage unit. The storage unit includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform some of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The Memory unit includes one or more memories such as Read-Only Memory (ROM), random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), electrically erasable programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and the like. The memory unit may exist alone or may be integrated with the processor.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, only the above-described division of the functional modules is illustrated, and in practical application, the above-described functional allocation may be performed by different functional modules according to needs, i.e. the internal structure of the apparatus is divided into different functional modules to perform all or part of the functions described above. The specific working process of the above-described device may refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which is not described herein again.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the various numbers of first, second, etc. referred to herein are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of embodiments of the application.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that, in the various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-described processes do not imply that the execution sequence of the processes should be determined by the functions and the inherent logic, and should not be construed as limiting the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

In the above embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. In the present application, the program may also be referred to as computer instructions. When loaded and executed on a computer, produces a flow or function in accordance with embodiments of the present application, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that contains an integration of one or more available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid state disk Solid STATE DISK (SSD)), etc.

It should be noted that the above embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical solution of the present application and not for limiting the same, and although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution described in the above embodiments may be modified or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced, and these modifications or substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution deviate from the scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A Wi-Fi channel measurement method, comprising:

The access point AP sends a trigger frame to the terminal STA, where the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink channel measurement;

The AP receives a null data packet notification NDPA from the STA; wherein the NDPA is used to indicate partial bandwidth information partial BW Info, feedback type and subcarrier grouping feedback type and Ng, codebook size, and number of columns Nc related to the uplink channel measurement;

The AP obtains an uplink channel weight by measuring a pilot of a null data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA from the STA; wherein the uplink channel weight is used for uplink MIMO;

The AP sends the uplink channel weight to the STA.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the trigger frame is a basic trigger frame; wherein,

Bit B63 in the common info field of the basic trigger frame is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement; or,

Bit B39 in the user info field of the basic trigger frame is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement; or,

Bit B5 in the trigger dependent user information subfield in the user info field of the basic trigger frame is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the trigger type subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame is a value in the range of 8-15;

The trigger-dependent user information subfield triggerdependent user info subfield in the user info field of the trigger frame is used to indicate the uplink channel measurement.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the value of the trigger type subfield in the common info field of the trigger frame is a value in the range of 8-15;

The trigger frame is also used to indicate the partialBW Info, the feedback type and Ng, the codebook size, and the Nc.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the trigger dependent user information in the user info field of the trigger frame includes the partial BW Info, the feedback type and Ng, the codebook size, and the Nc.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the trigger frame is also used to indicate the number N of the NDPs;

The AP obtains an uplink channel weight by measuring a pilot of a null data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA from the STA, including:

The AP obtains the uplink channel weight by measuring the pilot signals of N NDPs.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the AP obtains the uplink channel weight by measuring the pilot signals of the N NDPs, comprising:

The AP obtains N measurement results by measuring the pilot signals of the N NDPs;

The AP obtains the uplink channel weight according to the N measurement results.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7 is characterized in that the trigger dependent user info in the user infofield of the trigger frame includes the N.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the method further comprises:

The AP sends a downlink physical layer protocol data unit (DL) PPDU to the STA, where the DL PPDU is used to indicate a CQI periodic reporting configuration; wherein the CQI periodic reporting configuration includes a reporting period;

The AP sends a basic trigger frame to the STA according to the reporting period, where the basic trigger frame is used to indicate an uplink resource for reporting the CQI;

The AP receives the CQI from the STA according to the uplink resource.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the CQI periodic reporting configuration further includes a bandwidth and/or a number of columns related to the CQI periodic reporting;

The CQI received from the STA corresponds to the bandwidth and/or the number of columns.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the A-control subfield in the HT control field of the data frame of the DL PPDU includes the CQI periodic reporting configuration.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the AP receives the CQI from the STA according to the uplink resource, comprising:

The AP receives an aggregated medium access control protocol data unit A-MPDU from the STA according to the uplink resource, where the A-MPDU includes the CQI and uplink data.

13. A Wi-Fi channel measurement method, comprising:

The terminal STA receives a trigger frame from the access point AP, where the trigger frame is used to indicate uplink channel measurement;

The STA sends a null data packet notification NDPA to the AP; wherein the NDPA is used to indicate partial bandwidth information partial BW Info, feedback type and subcarrier grouping feedback type and Ng, codebook size codebook size, and number of columns Nc related to the uplink channel measurement;

The STA sends a null data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA to the AP, and a pilot signal of the NDP is used for uplink channel measurement;

The STA receives an uplink channel weight from the AP, where the uplink channel weight is used for uplink MIMO.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the trigger frame is a basic trigger frame; wherein,

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the value of the trigger type subfield in the common infofield of the trigger frame is a value in the range of 8-15;

16. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the value of the trigger type subfield in the common infofield of the trigger frame is a value in the range of 8-15;

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the trigger dependent user information in the user info field of the trigger frame includes the partial BW Info, the feedback type and Ng, the codebook size, and the Nc.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the trigger frame is also used to indicate the number N of the NDPs;

The STA sending a null data packet NDP corresponding to the NDPA to the AP includes:

The STA sends N of the NDPs to the AP.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that the uplink channel weight is based on the N NDPs.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that the trigger dependent user info in the userinfofield of the trigger frame includes the N.

21. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 20, characterized in that the method further comprises:

The STA receives a downlink physical layer protocol data unit (DL) PPDU from the AP, where the DL PPDU is used to indicate a CQI periodic reporting configuration; wherein the CQI periodic reporting configuration includes a reporting period;

The STA measures the downlink channel to obtain a CQI;

The STA receives a basic trigger frame from the AP according to the period, where the basic trigger frame is used to indicate an uplink resource for reporting the CQI;

The STA reports the CQI to the AP according to the uplink resource.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the CQI periodic reporting configuration further includes a bandwidth and/or a number of columns related to the CQI periodic reporting;

The STA measures the downlink channel to obtain the CQI, including:

The STA measures the downlink channel to obtain a CQI corresponding to the bandwidth and/or the number of columns.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that the A-control subfield in the HT controlfield of the data frame of the DL PPDU includes the CQI periodic reporting configuration.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that the STA reports the CQI to the AP according to the uplink resource, comprising:

The STA sends an A-MPDU to the AP according to the uplink resource, where the A-MPDU includes the CQI and uplink data.

25. An access point, characterized by comprising a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is used to execute instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-12.

26. A terminal, characterized by comprising a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is used to execute instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 13-24.

27. A computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed at an access point, enable the access point to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising the computer program product according to claim 27.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that it comprises instructions, which, when executed in a local terminal, enable the local terminal to implement the method according to any one of claims 13 to 24.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising the computer program product according to claim 29.