A power line communication time slot allocation method and apparatus

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application discloses a power line communication time slot allocation method, which comprises the following steps: a first relay node receives a first time slot allocation message sent by a superior node, the first time slot allocation message comprises forwarding information and first time slot information, wherein the forwarding information comprises a forwarding indication that at least one relay node needs to forward the first time slot allocation message; the first relay node updates the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indications in the first time slot information; and the first relay node sends a second time slot allocation message containing the forwarding information and the second time slot information. According to the embodiment, each relay node can delete the expired time slots before forwarding the time slot indication information, thereby saving transmission resources and improving processing efficiency.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of power line communication, and in particular to a power line communication time slot allocation method and device. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the application scenario of power line communication (PLC), there is a demand for long-distance multi-stage relaying. For example, airport approach lights use PLC for light control. Since the power line on the runway is up to several kilometers long, and the single-hop communication distance of PLC is up to about 1.2 km, multi-stage relaying is needed to achieve control of the remote lights. For example, PLC is used to realize the control of street lamps. The street lamps extend for a long distance, and unified control of the street lamps is needed, which requires relay nodes to forward control information.

[0003] Based on the characteristics of multi-stage relaying, messages sent by the head-end node, such as control messages, need to be forwarded by multiple relay nodes to reach the end node. In this way, the end node has a large delay in receiving messages, and the existing coping method is to reserve enough time for each relay node to forward messages. Obviously, this message forwarding mode is inefficient. SUMMARY

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a power line communication time slot allocation method, device and system, which can greatly improve the forwarding efficiency of relay nodes.

[0005] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a power line communication time slot allocation method, which is used in a multi-stage power line communication network. The multi-stage power line communication network includes at least one head-end node. Each head-end node is directly or indirectly connected to at least one relay node. A plurality of relay nodes in cascade can be considered as multi-stage. One of the at least one relay node (which can be referred to as the first relay node) is described as a representative. The method includes the following steps:

[0006] The first relay node receives a first time slot allocation message sent by an upper node. The first time slot allocation message includes forwarding information and first time slot information. The forwarding information includes a forwarding indication that at least one relay node needs to forward the first time slot allocation message. The first time slot information includes a forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the first time slot allocation message and a data time slot indication allocated to a plurality of nodes for sending service data.

[0007] The first relay node updates the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indications in the first time slot information, the expired time slot indications being time slot indications indicating that the indicated time slots have expired; and the second time slot information comprises data time slot indications of at least one node for transmitting service data.

[0008] The first relay node sends out a second time slot allocation message comprising the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

[0009] With the embodiment, each relay node can delete expired time slots before forwarding the time slot indication information. Not only is transmission resource saved, but also the processing efficiency of other nodes is improved after receiving the time slot indication information.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the updating comprises deleting time slot indications allocated to the first relay node in the first time slot information, the time slot indications allocated to the first relay node comprising forwarding time slots of the first relay node or forwarding time slots and data time slots of the first relay node.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the updating further comprises adjusting at least one un-deleted time slot indication; and the adjusting comprises increasing or decreasing a time slot.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the forwarding information in the second time slot allocation message comprises forwarding indications of the at least one relay node needing to forward the second time slot allocation message; and the second time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indications allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the second time slot allocation message.

[0013] With the embodiment, each relay node can flexibly adjust the time slot indication information sent to downstream nodes according to needs, avoiding problems such as not meeting the latest needs caused by the head-end node defining uniform pre-allocation time slots without considering subsequent transmission parameter changes in the prior art.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the first time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indications and data time slot indications of at least one relay node, and the forwarding time slot indications and the data time slot indications respectively indicate adjacent time slots.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the first relay node can also add time slot indication information of a new node. In this way, the upper relay node can not set too many time slot indications of nodes in advance, and can only indicate time slot indications of nodes at the next level or the next two levels. Time slot indications of lower levels can be added by the relay node at the upper level. In this way, time slot indications can be more flexible, and the actual allocation time is closer to the allocated time slot, which can not only avoid expiration but also better meet the latest time slot demand.

[0016] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide an access point, comprising a time slot processing unit and a transceiver unit; wherein,

[0017] The transceiver unit is configured to receive a first time slot allocation message sent by an upper node, the first time slot allocation message comprising forwarding information and first time slot information, wherein the forwarding information comprises forwarding indications of at least one relay node that needs to forward the first time slot allocation message; the first time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indications allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the first time slot allocation message and data time slot indications allocated to a plurality of nodes for sending service data; the plurality of nodes comprises the at least one relay node, and the at least one relay node comprises the first relay node;

[0018] The time slot processing unit is configured to update the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indications in the first time slot information, the expired time slot indications being time slot indications whose indicated time slots have expired; and the second time slot information comprises data time slot indications of at least one node for sending service data.

[0019] The transceiver unit is further configured to send a second time slot allocation message comprising the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the updating comprises deleting time slot indications allocated to the first relay node in the first time slot information, the time slot indications allocated to the first relay node comprising forwarding time slots of the first relay node or forwarding time slots and data time slots of the first relay node.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the updating comprises adjusting at least one un-deleted time slot indication; and the adjusting comprises increasing or decreasing a time slot.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the forwarding information in the second time slot allocation message comprises forwarding indications of the at least one relay node that needs to forward the second time slot allocation message; and the second time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indications allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the second time slot allocation message.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the forwarding time slot indication and the data time slot indication in the first time slot information respectively indicate time slots that are adjacent.

[0024] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an access point, comprising a processor and a transceiver. When the access point is running, the processor executes computer instructions, so that the access point performs the method in the first aspect.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the apparatus further comprises a memory. The memory is configured to store the computer instructions.

[0026] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a power line communication network, comprising at least one head-end node, each head-end node directly or indirectly connecting one or more relay nodes, and characterized in that the relay node is the access point as described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 A topology diagram of PLC multi-level relay;

[0028] Figure 2 A flow chart of a power line communication time slot allocation method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 A flow chart of another power line communication time slot allocation method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 A time slot allocation diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 5 Another time slot allocation diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 6 Another access point structure diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 7 Another access point structure diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. (if any) in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequential order. It should be understood that the numbers used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can, for example, be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

[0035] PLC network, also known as carrier communication network, is a communication network that uses low-voltage power lines as a communication medium to realize the aggregation, transmission and interaction of power consumption information of low-voltage power users. It mainly adopts orthogonal frequency division multiplexing technology. Generally, 1MHz and below are called narrowband PLC. 2MHz~12Mhz is called medium-frequency PLC, and 2~80MHz is called broadband PLC. Figure 1 As shown in the figure, a PLC network generally includes headend nodes, relay nodes, and slave nodes. The headend node is the central coordinator (CCO), which serves as the master node in the network and is responsible for completing network control, network maintenance and management, and other functions. Its corresponding device entity is the concentrator local communication unit. The relay node is the proxy coordinator (PCO), which is used to relay data between the central coordinator and the site or between sites, and is also called a proxy node. The slave node is an ordinary station (STA), which serves as a slave node in the communication network. Its corresponding device entity is a communication unit, including an energy meter carrier module, a type I collector carrier module, or a type II collector, etc. In this article, the headend node, master node, and central coordinator are the same concept and are collectively referred to as CCO for convenience. The relay node, proxy node, and proxy coordinator are the same concept and are collectively referred to as PCO.

[0036] Figure 1 This is a topology diagram of a PLC multi-stage relay. In the figure, node 1 is a CCO, nodes 4, 6, and 9 are PCOs, and the other nodes are STAs. Figure 1Just an example, it is understood that, in addition to the first level where the CCO is located and the last level where the end node is located, each level can have 1 to more PCOs. Because each node transmits messages generally by broadcast transmission, only nodes within a certain range (i.e. the length of the circuit connecting the nodes) can receive the broadcast message, and nodes that cannot receive the broadcast message can only receive the message forwarded by the upper PCO. Of course, each node can also transmit messages by unicast, i.e. indicating the target node in the message header. Nodes within a certain range can receive both types of messages, the difference being that for broadcast-transmitted messages, the received nodes will parse the message header and payload; for unicast-transmitted messages, the received nodes will discard the message if they parse the message header and find that it is not addressed to themselves, and will not parse the payload part.

[0037] The CCO, PCO and slave node message transmission mechanism is time-division multiplexing, and the time slots in which each can transmit messages are generally allocated uniformly by the CCO. In an allocated unit cycle, there are time slots for the COO and each PCO to transmit beacon messages and time slots for all nodes to transmit service data. For the sake of convenience, the time slots in which the PCOs transmit beacon messages will be referred to below as forwarding time slots, and the time slots in which each node transmits service data will be referred to as data time slots. The forwarded beacon messages are used to indicate the time slot allocation information. Generally, the CCO broadcasts the beacon messages to notify other nodes of their respective time slots. Since the broadcast beacon messages transmitted by the CCO cannot directly reach nodes far from the CCO, they will be forwarded to nodes far from the CCO by PCOs that can receive the beacon messages; the PCOs forward the received beacon messages according to the time slots allocated to themselves in the received beacon messages. In the prior art, in a unit cycle, all forwarding time slots are arranged in front of all data time slots, and before forwarding the beacon messages, the PCOs will not modify other contents basically except for modifying the destination node identifier and the like. This requires that all forwarding actions must be completed, i.e. all nodes must have received the time slots indicated by the beacon messages before starting to transmit service data. Even if some nodes have received the time slots indicated by the beacon messages early, they will wait until the last-hop PCO completes forwarding and enters the data time slot before starting to transmit service data, resulting in a large delay; a large number of nodes wait for a long time, and the node communication efficiency is too low.

[0038] The embodiment of the present application provides a power line communication time slot allocation method, as shown in the following formula: Figure 2

[0039] ​Step 201: The first relay node receives a first time slot allocation message sent by a superior node, the first time slot allocation message comprising forwarding information and first time slot information, wherein the forwarding information comprises forwarding indication of at least one relay node which needs to forward the first time slot allocation message; the first time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the first time slot allocation message and data time slot indication allocated to a plurality of nodes for sending service data; the plurality of nodes comprises the at least one relay node, and the at least one relay node comprises the first relay node.

[0040] Step 203: The first relay node updates the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indication in the first time slot information, the expired time slot indication being time slot indication indicating that the indicated time slot has expired; and the second time slot information comprises data time slot indication of at least one node for sending service data.

[0041] Specifically, the first relay node parses the received first time slot allocation message, identifies time slots indicated by each time slot indication in the first time slot information, and according to a local clock, considers a time slot as expired if the time slot is before a current time of the local clock. The expired time slot indicates a time period which has passed and has no actual meaning.

[0042] Step 205: The first relay node sends a second time slot allocation message comprising the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

[0043] With the embodiment, each relay node can delete expired time slots before forwarding time slot indication information. Not only transmission resources are saved, but also processing efficiency is improved because other nodes can avoid discarding the received time slot indication information after parsing the received time slot indication information.

[0044] The sending mode is broadcast sending. The first time slot allocation message and the second time slot allocation message can be a Beacon message defined in ITU-T G.hn standard or a MAP message defined in IEEE 1901.1 standard.

[0045] As an optional embodiment, the updating in step 205 further comprises deleting time slot indication allocated to the first relay node in the first time slot information, the time slot indication allocated to the first relay node comprising forwarding time slot of the first relay node or forwarding time slot and data time slot of the first relay node.

[0046] As another optional embodiment, the first relay node can adjust the at least one un-deleted time slot indication; the adjustment includes increasing or decreasing the time slot.

[0047] With the present embodiment, each relay node can flexibly adjust the time slot indication information sent to the downstream node according to the requirement, avoiding the problem that the head node in the prior art defines the uniformly pre-allocated time slot and does not consider the subsequent transmission parameter change and other conditions, thus failing to meet the latest time slot requirement.

[0048] As another optional embodiment, the first relay node can also add the time slot indication information of the new node. In this way, the upper relay node can not pre-set too many time slot indications of the node, but can only indicate the time slot indication of the next level or the next two levels of the node, and the time slot indication of the lower level can be added by the relay node of the upper level layer by layer. In this way, the time slot indication is more flexible, and the actual allocation time is closer to the allocated time slot, which not only avoids expiration but also better meets the latest time slot requirement.

[0049] As another optional embodiment, the forwarding information in the second time slot allocation message includes a forwarding indication that the at least one relay node needs to forward the second time slot allocation message; and the second time slot information includes a forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the second time slot allocation message.

[0050] As another optional embodiment, the forwarding time slot indication and the data time slot indication of at least one PCO in the first time slot information respectively indicate the time slot adjacency. That is, the data time slot of the same PCO is just after the forwarding time slot, and there is no gap between the two time slots, or there is a gap but the gap is not allocated to other nodes. In this way, after the PCO performs the forwarding action, it can directly send data without waiting for other nodes, thereby improving the data processing efficiency.

[0051] As an optional feature, the data time slots allocated to multiple nodes for sending service data can be data time slots exclusively occupied by each node, or data time slot indications shared by all nodes, or a part of nodes have exclusive time slots, but a part of nodes need to occupy shared data time slots.

[0052] The following will be described in detail in conjunction with the network as shown in Figure 1 As shown in Figure 3

[0053] Step 3011: Node 1 as CCO, marked as CCO1, constructs a first time slot allocation message at time T 1T ​broadcasting, the first time slot assignment message comprises forwarding information and first time slot information, wherein the forwarding information is used to indicate that all PCOs in the network need to forward the first time slot assignment message; and the first time slot information is used to indicate forwarding time slots assigned to each PCO and data time slots of each PCO and STA.

[0054] Step 3041: Node 4, as a PCO, marked as PCO4, at time T 4R After receiving the first time slot assignment message, PCO4 updates the first time slot information in the first time slot assignment message to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indications in the first time slot information, and optionally adjusting non-expired time slot indications, which will be described in detail later.

[0055] Step 3042: PCO4, at time T 4T broadcasts a second time slot assignment message containing the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

[0056] Step 3043: If the data time slot assigned to PCO4 is just after its forwarding time slot, PCO will then send service data in its data time slot.

[0057] PCO6 is also a relay node, and its processing is similar to that of PCO4.

[0058] Step 3061: PCO6, at time T 6R After receiving the first time slot assignment message, PCO6 updates the second time slot information in the second time slot assignment message to obtain third time slot information; wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indications in the second time slot information, and optionally adjusting non-expired time slot indications.

[0059] Step 3062: PCO6, at time T 6T broadcasts a third time slot assignment message containing the forwarding information and the third time slot information.

[0060] Step 30X1: Node 10, as a normal station, marked as STA10, at time T 10R receives the third time slot assignment message. Step 30X2: If T 10R is followed by a shared time slot assigned to all nodes (including normal stations and relay nodes), STA10 will perform a pre-empting time slot operation, and if at least a part of the time slot is pre-empted, it will send service data in the time slot. If it cannot be pre-empted, it will wait for other data time slot indications. If T 10R is followed by a data time slot assigned to T 10RThe exclusive time slot, STA 10 will send business data in the time slot.

[0061] It should be noted that the nodes 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11 and 12 are also ordinary stations and will receive the time slot allocation message broadcast by CCO1, PCO4 or PCO6; they will send business data according to the data time slot indication allocated to them in the message. Similar to the processing of STA10, Figure 3 The processing steps of these are not shown. Of course, the data time slots allocated to them can be exclusive time slots for a certain node, or shared time slots for multiple nodes but need to be preempted.

[0062] The following will be explained in conjunction with Figure 4 the adjustment of time slot indication in Figure 3 . As shown in Figure 4 , node 1 at time T 1T broadcasts the first allocation message, including the forwarding indication of the first time slot allocation message that nodes 4, 6 and 9 need to forward, and the time slot information for nodes 2-12 to use exclusively, wherein the time slot information of nodes 4, 6 and 9 includes forwarding time slot and data time slot information, and the time slot information of nodes 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 only includes data time slot information.

[0063] Node 4 receives the first time slot allocation message at time T 4R , since time T 4R is earlier than the time slot allocated to node 4, node 4 needs to wait until its own time slot before forwarding the time slot allocation message and sending business data. And when it reaches the forwarding time slot of node 4, the time slots allocated to nodes 2 and 3 have expired, and node 4 needs to delete them; node 4 will also delete its own time slot indication to form new time slot information, and then broadcast the forwarding indication of the first time slot allocation message and the new time slot information as the second time slot allocation message. As shown in Figure 4 , the current second time slot allocation message has no forwarding indication of node 4 and time slot information of nodes 2-4 relative to the first time slot allocation message. The sending time T 4T is within the forwarding time slot of node 4. Although this scenario is for each node to have an exclusive time slot, it can be understood that the processing method for shared time slots of state-owned enterprises is similar, as shown in Figure 5 , node 4 will delete the first expired time slot and its own time slot, and adjust the following time slots as needed to form new time slot information. Figure 5 In , the time slots marked as PC04, PC06, PC09 or STA10 are the exclusive time slots of nodes 4, 6, 9 and 10 respectively, and the time slots marked as shared time slots are time slots that all nodes can preempt.

[0064] Node 6 at time T 6R After receiving the second time slot allocation message, due to time T 6R Earlier than the time slot assigned to node 6, node 6 also needs to wait until its own time slot arrives before forwarding the time slot allocation message and sending service data. And when the time slot assigned to node 4 expires when node 6's forwarding time slot arrives, node 6 needs to delete it; node 6 will also delete its own time slot indication, and as needed, lengthen the time slot of node 10 and shorten the time slot of node 11 to form new time slot information, and then broadcast the forwarding indication of the second time slot allocation message and the new time slot information as the third time slot allocation message. Figure 4 As shown, the current third time slot allocation message does not have the forwarding instruction of node 4 and the time slot information of nodes 2-3 compared to the second time slot allocation message. 6T It is within the forwarding time slot of node 6. Node 6 can decide whether to adjust the time slot size of other nodes based on other conditions, such as the historical data busyness of other nodes or the quality of the channel. As an alternative, if node 12 has other nodes, node 6 can extend the time axis of the newly generated time slot information backward to indicate other time slots.

[0065] Node 10 at time T 10R The third time slot allocation message is received, and service data is sent in the data time slot allocated to itself in the third time slot allocation message.

[0066] In a PLC network, a node may receive multiple time slot allocation messages at different times. Whenever a time slot allocation message is received, it will forward the message or send service data based on the time slot indicated in the message. If the time slot indicated by the previous time slot allocation message has not yet arrived, and a new time slot allocation message is received, and the time slot indicated by the new time slot allocation message is earlier than the time slot indicated by the previous time slot allocation message, the time slot allocation message will be forwarded or service data will be sent in the time slot indicated by the new time slot allocation message. If the time slot indicated by the new time slot allocation message received later is later than the time slot indicated by the previous time slot allocation message, the time slot allocation message will be forwarded or service data will be sent in the time slot indicated by the previous time slot allocation message.

[0067] See Figure 6 , the embodiment of the present application provides an access point. The access point may include a time slot processing unit 610 and a transceiver unit 620; wherein,

[0068] The transceiver unit 620 is configured to receive a first time slot allocation message sent by a superior node, wherein the first time slot allocation message comprises forwarding information and first time slot information, the forwarding information comprises forwarding indication of at least one relay node which needs to forward the first time slot allocation message, and the first time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the first time slot allocation message and data time slot indication allocated to a plurality of nodes for sending service data, the plurality of nodes comprises the at least one relay node, and the at least one relay node comprises the first relay node.

[0069] The time slot processing unit 610 is configured to update the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information, wherein the updating comprises deleting expired time slot indication in the first time slot information, the expired time slot indication is time slot indication indicating that the indicated time slot has expired, and the second time slot information comprises data time slot indication of at least one node for sending service data; and the transceiver unit 620 is further configured to send a second time slot allocation message comprising the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

[0070] The sending mode is broadcast sending. The first time slot allocation message and the second time slot allocation message can be Beacon message or MAP message.

[0071] The updating further comprises deleting time slot indication allocated to the first relay node in the first time slot information, and the time slot indication allocated to the first relay node comprises forwarding time slot of the first relay node or forwarding time slot and data time slot of the first relay node.

[0072] The time slot processing unit 610 can adjust at least one un-deleted time slot indication, and the adjusting comprises increasing or decreasing time slot.

[0073] The forwarding information in the second time slot allocation message comprises forwarding indication of the at least one relay node which needs to forward the second time slot allocation message, and the second time slot information comprises forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the second time slot allocation message.

[0074] The forwarding time slot indication and the data time slot indication of at least one PCO in the first time slot information respectively indicate time slots in an adjacent state.

[0075] The access point can be Figure 3 Any one node except the head node, Figure 3 The processing mode of the corresponding embodiment of the node should be cooperatively completed by the time slot processing unit 610 and the transceiver unit 620, and specific details can be referred to Figure 3 Corresponding contents.

[0076] Referring to Figure 7 The embodiments of the present application provide an access point. The access point can comprise a processor 710, a transceiver 720. In the running of the access point, the processor 710 executes computer instructions, so that the access point performs the method as shown in Figure 2 The optional embodiments corresponding to Figure 2 The access point of the present embodiments, and specific details are not described again.

[0077] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 7 The apparatus further comprises a memory 730. The memory 730 can be used to store the above computer instructions and the like.

[0078] The embodiments of the present application also provide a power line communication network, comprising at least one head-end node, each head-end node is directly or indirectly connected to at least one relay node, and the relay node is the access point as shown in 6 or Figure 7 The embodiments of the present application also provide a power line communication network, comprising at least one head-end node, each head-end node is directly or indirectly connected to at least one relay node, and the relay node is the access point as shown in 6 or

[0079] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0080] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC.

[0081] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted by the computer-readable storage medium. The computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (such as DVDs), or semiconductor media (such as solid state disks (SSD)), etc.

[0082] Finally, it should be noted that: the above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for allocating time slots in power line communication, characterized in that: include: The first relay node receives a first time slot allocation message sent by an upper node, where the first time slot allocation message includes forwarding information and first time slot information, where the forwarding information includes a forwarding indication that at least one relay node needs to forward the first time slot allocation message; The first time slot information includes a forwarding time slot indicator allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the first time slot allocation message and a data time slot indicator allocated to a plurality of nodes for sending service data; the plurality of nodes include the at least one relay node, and the at least one relay node includes the first relay node; The first relay node updates the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating includes deleting an expired time slot indication in the first time slot information, wherein the expired time slot indication is a time slot indication that the indicated time slot has expired; the second time slot information includes a data time slot indication for sending service data of at least one node; the updating also includes adjusting at least one non-deleted time slot indication; the adjustment includes increasing or decreasing a time slot; The first relay node sends a second time slot allocation message including the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The updating includes deleting the time slot indication allocated to the first relay node in the first time slot information, where the time slot indication allocated to the first relay node includes the forwarding time slot of the first relay node, or the forwarding time slot and data time slot of the first relay node.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The forwarding information in the second time slot allocation message includes a forwarding indication that the at least one relay node needs to forward the second time slot allocation message; the second time slot information includes a forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the second time slot allocation message.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first time slot information includes at least one time slot adjacency indicated by a forwarding time slot indicator and a data time slot indicator of a relay node.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first time slot allocation message and the second time slot allocation message are beacon messages defined in the ITU-T G.hn standard or MAP messages defined in the IEEE 1901.1 standard.

6. An access point, characterized in that: It includes a time slot processing unit 610 and a transceiver unit 620; wherein, The transceiver unit 620 is configured to receive a first time slot allocation message sent by an upper-level node, where the first time slot allocation message includes forwarding information and first time slot information, wherein the forwarding information includes a forwarding indication that at least one relay node needs to forward the first time slot allocation message; the first time slot information includes a forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the first time slot allocation message and data time slot indications allocated to multiple nodes for sending service data; the multiple nodes include the at least one relay node, and the at least one relay node includes the first relay node; The time slot processing unit 610 is configured to update the first time slot information to obtain second time slot information; wherein the updating includes deleting an expired time slot indication in the first time slot information, wherein the expired time slot indication is a time slot indication indicating that the indicated time slot has expired; the second time slot information includes a data time slot indication for sending service data of at least one node; the updating includes adjusting at least one non-deleted time slot indication; the adjustment includes increasing or decreasing a time slot; The transceiver unit 620 is further configured to send a second time slot allocation message including the forwarding information and the second time slot information.

7. The access point according to claim 6, wherein: The updating includes deleting the time slot indication allocated to the first relay node in the first time slot information, where the time slot indication allocated to the first relay node includes the forwarding time slot of the first relay node, or the forwarding time slot and data time slot of the first relay node.

8. The access point according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: The forwarding information in the second time slot allocation message includes a forwarding indication that the at least one relay node needs to forward the second time slot allocation message; the second time slot information includes a forwarding time slot indication allocated to the at least one relay node for forwarding the second time slot allocation message.

9. The access point according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: The first time slot information includes at least one time slot adjacency indicated by a forwarding time slot indicator and a data time slot indicator of a relay node.

10. The access point according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The first relay node adds time slot indication information of the new node.

11. A power line communication network comprising at least one head-end node, each head-end node being directly connected to or connected to at least one or more relay nodes, characterized in that: The relay node is the access point according to any one of claims 6 to 10.

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