EP-4742752-A1 - CHANNEL SWITCHING METHOD AND APPARATUS

EP4742752A1EP 4742752 A1EP4742752 A1EP 4742752A1EP-4742752-A1

Abstract

This application provides a channel switching method and an apparatus. The channel switching method includes: A wireless device performs communication frame transmission on a first channel, and performs radar sensing on a second channel; and before performing communication frame transmission on the first channel, the wireless device stops performing radar sensing on the second channel; or before performing radar sensing on the second channel, the wireless device stops performing communication frame transmission on the first channel. This application is implemented, so that the wireless device can implement both the communication frame transmission and the radar sensing, and improve radar sensing performance.

Inventors

Wang, Zhenzhong
LIU, Xiangfei
ZHAO, YONGHAO

Assignees

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240702

Claims (18)

A channel switching method, comprising: performing, by a wireless device, communication frame transmission on a first channel, and performing radar sensing on a second channel; and before performing communication frame transmission on the first channel, stopping, by the wireless device, performing radar sensing on the second channel; or before performing radar sensing on the second channel, stopping, by the wireless device, performing communication frame transmission on the first channel.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before performing radar sensing on the second channel, the method further comprises: switching, by the wireless device, from the first channel to the second channel, wherein the first channel and the second channel are different channels supported by the wireless device.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the first channel is a channel that is detected to be busy by the wireless device, and the second channel is a channel that is detected to be idle by the wireless device.
The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein after performing radar sensing on the second channel, the method further comprises: switching, by the wireless device, from the second channel to the first channel, and continuing to perform communication frame transmission on the first channel.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein one radar sensing procedure comprises one cyclic process or a plurality of cyclic processes, and the plurality of cyclic processes are continuous in terms of time; one cyclic process comprises a process of switching from the first channel to the second channel, performing radar sensing on the second channel, and switching from the second channel to the first channel; and the one radar sensing procedure is a procedure comprising a preset quantity of radar sensing operations, a time interval between two adjacent radar sensing operations in the preset quantity of radar sensing operations is a first time interval, and one radar sensing operation comprises sending a self clear to send Self-CTS frame and sending a radar signal associated with the Self-CTS frame.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the second channel comprises the first channel, and a bandwidth of the second channel is greater than a bandwidth of the first channel.
The method according to claim 6, wherein a primary channel on the first channel is the same as a primary channel on the second channel.
The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein before performing, by the wireless device, communication frame transmission on the first channel, and performing radar sensing on the second channel, the method further comprises: when a radar sensing service needs to be started, adjusting, by the wireless device, an operating bandwidth from a first bandwidth to a second bandwidth, wherein the first bandwidth is the bandwidth of the first channel, and the second bandwidth is the bandwidth of the second channel.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5 or 8, wherein before switching, by the wireless device, from the first channel to the second channel, or before adjusting, by the wireless device, the operating bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the method further comprises: sending, by the wireless device, a first frame on the first channel, wherein the first frame comprises first indication information, and the first indication information indicates that the wireless device is to stop performing communication frame transmission on the first channel; or the first frame comprises second indication information, the second indication information indicates time in which the wireless device occupies the first channel, and before time at which the wireless device ends occupying the first channel, the wireless device stops performing communication frame transmission on the first channel.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the wireless device is a station STA, and the method further comprises: receiving, by the wireless device, a first acknowledgement frame for the first frame on the first channel.
The method according to claim 4 or 8, wherein after switching, by the wireless device, from the second channel to the first channel, or after adjusting, by the wireless device, the operating bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, the method further comprises: sending, by the wireless device, a second frame on the first channel, wherein the second frame comprises third indication information, and the third indication information indicates that the wireless device is to start to perform communication frame transmission on the first channel.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the wireless device is a station STA, and the method further comprises: receiving, by the wireless device, a second acknowledgement frame for the second frame on the first channel.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the time at which the wireless device ends occupying the first channel is time at which the wireless device switches from the second channel to the first channel, or the time at which the wireless device ends occupying the first channel is after time at which the wireless device switches from the second channel to the first channel.
The method according to claim 9, wherein the time at which the wireless device ends occupying the first channel is time at which the wireless device completes adjusting the operating bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth, or the time at which the wireless device ends occupying the first channel is after time at which the wireless device completes adjusting the operating bandwidth from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 14, wherein the method further comprises: when the radar sensing service needs to be stopped, adjusting, by the wireless device, the operating bandwidth from the second bandwidth to the first bandwidth.
A communication apparatus, comprising a unit configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.
A communication apparatus, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is coupled to a memory; the memory is configured to store instructions; and the processor is configured to execute the instructions, so that the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 is performed.
A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is configured to store a computer program or instructions; and when the computer program or the instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 is performed.

Description

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310951076.1, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on July 29, 2023, and entitled "CHANNEL SWITCHING METHOD AND APPARATUS", which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a channel switching method and an apparatus. BACKGROUND There are more wireless local area network (English: Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN) devices, and usually, the WLAN devices may perform communication, for example, receive and send communication frames. However, in a plurality of scenarios, there is also a strong need for using WLAN devices for radar sensing. Therefore, how to enable WLAN devices to implement both communication frame transmission and radar sensing is an urgent problem to be resolved. SUMMARY This application provides a channel switching method and an apparatus, so that a wireless device can implement both communication frame transmission and radar sensing. According to a first aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a channel switching method. The method may be performed by a wireless device, or may be performed by a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) of the wireless device. The channel switching method may include: A wireless device performs communication frame transmission on a first channel, and performs radar sensing on a second channel; and before performing communication frame transmission on the first channel, the wireless device stops performing radar sensing on the second channel; or before performing radar sensing on the second channel, the wireless device stops performing communication frame transmission on the first channel. According to the method described in the first aspect, the wireless device may separately perform communication frame transmission and radar sensing on different channels; and before performing communication frame transmission on the first channel, stop performing radar sensing on the second channel; or before performing radar sensing on the second channel, stop performing communication frame transmission on the first channel, so that the wireless device can implement both the communication frame transmission and the radar sensing. In a possible implementation, before performing radar sensing on the second channel, the method further includes: The wireless device switches from the first channel to the second channel, where the first channel and the second channel are different channels supported by the wireless device. The manner is implemented, so that before the wireless device performs radar sensing on the second channel, the wireless device needs to switch from the first channel to the second channel. That is, the wireless device may implement communication frame transmission and radar sensing on different channels through channel switching. In a possible implementation, the first channel is a channel that is detected to be busy by the wireless device, and the second channel is a channel that is detected to be idle by the wireless device. The manner is implemented, so that when the first channel on which the wireless device performs communication frame transmission is detected to be busy, the wireless device switches to the second channel that is detected to be idle for performing radar sensing, to improve radar sensing performance. In a possible implementation, that the wireless device performs radar sensing on the second channel includes: The wireless device performs one or more radar sensing operations on the second channel, where one radar sensing operation includes sending a self clear to send Self-CTS frame and sending a radar signal associated with the Self-CTS frame. The manner is implemented, so that the wireless device can perform the one or more radar sensing operations on the second channel, and can flexibly implement a quantity of radar sensing operations on the second channel. In a possible implementation, after performing radar sensing on a second channel, the method further includes: The wireless device switches from the second channel to the first channel, and continues to perform communication frame transmission on the first channel. The manner is implemented, so that after performing radar sensing on the second channel, the wireless device needs to switch to the first channel to continue to perform communication frame transmission, to ensure transmission of a communication frame. In a possible implementation, one radar sensing procedure includes one cyclic process or a plurality of cyclic processes, and the plurality of cyclic processes are continuous in terms of time; one cyclic process includes a process of switching from the first channel to the second channel, performing radar sensing on the second channel, and switching from the second channel to the first channel; andthe one radar sensing procedure is