Enabling / disabling method for request to send mechanism, and related apparatus

Abstract

Provided are an enabling / disabling method for a request to send (RTS) mechanism, and a related apparatus. The method comprises: on the basis of the position of an AP and the position of at least one terminal, determining whether there is a hidden node of a first device in the at least one terminal; and if there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, sending first information for instructing the at least one terminal to enable an RTS mechanism. Thus, the probability of message collision is reduced. In addition, in the present application, by determining whether there is a hidden node of the first device, whether message collision is likely to occur can be determined more accurately, and whether to enable the RTS mechanism is determined on the basis of whether there is a hidden node, thereby improving the rationality of decision making.

Description

A switching method and related device of request sending mechanism

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on November 8, 2023, with application number 202311483653.5 and application name “A switching method and related device for a request sending mechanism”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a switching method and related devices for a request sending mechanism. Background Art

[0003] A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a local area network that uses wireless channels as its transmission medium. WLAN uses the 802.11 protocol for wireless data transmission over the air interface. The 802.11 protocol specifies the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) mechanism. This mechanism requires that before a device sends data, it first listens to see if there are any data packets being transmitted on the current channel. If so, it waits until the current data packet is transmitted before performing a random backoff. However, not every device can "detect" all other devices, which creates a hidden node problem. Because data can be transmitted simultaneously without being detected by the other party, data collisions can cause reception problems on the receiving side.

[0004] The request to send (RTS) / clear to send (CTS) mechanism (abbreviated as the RTS mechanism) is used to mitigate the problem of receiving side data failures caused by hidden nodes. The RTS mechanism effectively reduces the probability of message collisions in congested channels, but it can also reduce channel utilization when the channel is idle due to increased signaling overhead.

[0005] Therefore, how to decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a switching method and related devices for a request to send mechanism, in order to reasonably decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collision and improving channel utilization.

[0008] In the first aspect, the present application provides a switching method for a request sending mechanism, which can be executed by a switching device of the request sending mechanism. The switching device of the request sending mechanism can be an access point (AP), or it can be a component configured in the AP (such as a chip, chip system, etc.), or it can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the AP functions. The present application does not limit this.

[0009] Exemplarily, the method includes: determining whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal; if there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, sending first information, which instructs the at least one terminal to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0010] In the above technical solution, based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal, it is determined whether a hidden node of the first device exists in the at least one terminal. If so, it indicates that a message collision may occur between the first device and the hidden node of the first device. Therefore, a first message is sent to indicate the activation of the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collision. In addition, in the present application, determining whether a hidden node of the first device exists can more accurately determine whether a message collision is likely to occur, and then determine whether to activate the RTS mechanism based on the presence or absence of the hidden node, which is conducive to improving the rationality of decision-making.

[0011] Optionally, if there is no hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, second information is sent, where the second information indicates to disable the RTS mechanism.

[0012] Whether to turn on the RTS mechanism is determined by judging whether there is a hidden node of the first device in at least one of the above-mentioned terminals. If so, it means that a message collision may occur between the first device and the hidden node of the first device, so the first information is sent to indicate to turn on the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collision; if not, it means that the probability of message collision is low, therefore, the second information is sent to indicate to turn off the RTS mechanism, thereby improving channel utilization.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned at least one terminal, the AP, and the first device belong to the same basic service set (BSS); and the above-mentioned determining whether there is a hidden node of the first device in at least one terminal based on the position of the AP and the position of at least one terminal includes: determining the signal coverage range of the first device based on the position of the first device and the position of the AP, wherein the signal coverage range of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (1+r)×d as the radius, d is the distance between the first device and the AP, and r is a preset expansion factor; if there is a terminal among the above-mentioned at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage range of the first device, it is determined that there is a hidden node of the first device in the above-mentioned at least one terminal; or, if there is no terminal among the above-mentioned at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage range of the first device, it is determined that there is no hidden node of the first device in the above-mentioned at least one terminal.

[0014] In the scenario where the at least one terminal, the AP, and the first device belong to the same BSS, the first device can be any one of the at least one terminal. That is, in the BSS, the AP can determine whether any of the at least one terminal has a hidden node based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal served by the AP. If so, the AP instructs the at least one terminal to enable the RTS mechanism to reduce the probability of message collision. It can be understood that the first device above takes a certain terminal among the at least one terminal as an example and decides whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on whether there is a hidden node among the at least one terminal, but this should not constitute any limitation to the present application. For example, in actual applications, the AP can also determine whether each of the at least one terminal has a hidden node. If one or more terminals have a hidden node, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be enabled; if no hidden node exists for any terminal, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be disabled.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the AP and at least one terminal belong to a first BSS, the first device belongs to a second BSS, and the second BSS is a BSS that overlaps with the coverage of the first BSS; and the determining, based on the position of the AP and the position of the at least one terminal, whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal includes: determining the signal coverage of the first device based on the position of the first device and the position of the AP, wherein the signal coverage of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (d+d') as the radius, wherein d is the distance between the AP and the first device, and d' is the distance that the signal of the first device continues to propagate outward from the AP as the starting point; if there is a terminal in the at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage of the first device, it is determined that there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal; or, if there is no terminal in the at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage of the first device, it is determined that there is no hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal.

[0016] In a scenario where an AP and at least one terminal belong to a first BSS, and a first device belongs to a second BSS, the first device can be an AP or a terminal in the second BSS. That is, the AP in the first BSS can determine whether a hidden node of the first device in the second BSS exists in the at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal served by the AP. If a hidden node of the first device in the second BSS exists in the at least one terminal, it indicates that a message collision may occur between the first device and its hidden node. Therefore, the AP instructs the at least one terminal to enable the RTS mechanism to reduce the probability of message collision.

[0017] It is understandable that the first device above uses the AP or terminal in the second BSS as an example to decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on whether its hidden node exists in the at least one terminal, but this should not constitute any limitation to this application. For example, in actual applications, the AP in the first BSS can also determine whether each device (including APs and terminals) in the second BSS has a hidden node in the at least one terminal. If at least one device in the second BSS has a hidden node in the at least one terminal, the AP in the first BSS instructs to enable the RTS mechanism; if no hidden node exists in any of the devices in the at least one terminal, the AP in the first BSS instructs to disable the RTS mechanism.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: determining whether there is an overlapping basic service set (OBSS) in the BSS to which the AP belongs, and the OBSS is a BSS that overlaps with the coverage range of the BSS to which the AP belongs.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some possible implementations of the first aspect, the first information is carried in a beacon frame.

[0020] Optionally, the beacon frame includes a high efficiency (HE) control element, and the HE control parameter field in the HE control element includes a flag bit that carries the first information.

[0021] The fields in the beacon frame are defined with reference to the fields in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11ax protocol. The beacon frame includes a HE control element, and the HE control parameter field in the HE control element includes a flag bit that carries the first information. However, this should not constitute any limitation for this application. In other or future protocols, the names of the various fields may be different, and this application does not limit this. In addition, the flag bit may reuse existing bits in the HE control parameter field, or may add a new bit to carry the first information, and this application does not limit this.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in certain possible implementations of the first aspect, the location of the above-mentioned AP and the location of at least one terminal are determined based on a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) digital map, where the Wi-Fi digital map is used to reflect the location coordinates of the AP and the terminal served by the AP in a single or multiple BSSs existing in the space.

[0023] On the second aspect, the present application provides a switching method for a request sending mechanism, which can be executed by a switching device of the request sending mechanism. The switching device of the request sending mechanism can be an AP, or it can be a component configured in the AP (such as a chip, chip system, etc.), or it can also be a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the AP functions. This application does not limit this.

[0024] Exemplarily, the method includes: determining whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal through a reinforcement learning model; and sending third information indicating whether to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0025] In the above technical solution, the AP can determine whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal through a reinforcement learning model, providing a reasonable way to decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collisions while improving channel utilization.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in some possible implementations of the second aspect, the above method also includes: determining a reward value, which is obtained based on the packet error rate within a preset time period after the AP sends the third information; and updating the parameters in the above reinforcement learning model based on the above reward value.

[0027] In a third aspect, the present application provides a switching device for a request sending mechanism, which can implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. The device includes corresponding modules for executing the above methods. The modules included in the device can be implemented in software and / or hardware.

[0028] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a switch device for a request sending mechanism, the device comprising a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be configured to execute a computer program in the memory to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to implement the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0029] Optionally, the apparatus further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. The communication interface is configured to receive signals from other communication devices outside the apparatus and transmit them to the processor, or to transmit signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the apparatus. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0030] Optionally, the device further comprises a memory, the processor being coupled to the memory, wherein the memory is used to store program instructions and data.

[0031] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed, it implements the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implements the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed, implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or implement the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0033] In the seventh aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or for supporting the implementation of the functions involved in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, for example, receiving or processing the data involved in the above method, etc.

[0034] In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory, which is used to store program instructions and data, and the memory is located inside or outside the processor.

[0035] The chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0036] It should be understood that the third to seventh aspects of the present application correspond to the technical solutions of the first and second aspects of the present application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation methods are similar and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the method provided in this application;

[0038] FIG2 is a schematic flow chart of a switching method of the RTS mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of various devices in a BSS scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the position relationship of various devices in a scenario of two BSSs provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of various fields in a beacon frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of another RTS mechanism switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a reinforcement learning model provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of a switching device of an RTS mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG9 is another schematic block diagram of a switching device of the RTS mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Before introducing the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained.

[0048] First, to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially identical functions and effects. For example, the first BSS and the second BSS are merely used to distinguish different BSSs and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily indicate differences.

[0049] Second, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0050] Third, in this application, indications include direct indications (also called explicit indications) and implicit indications (also called indirect indications). Direct indication of information A refers to including information A; implicit indication of information A refers to indicating information A through the correspondence between information A and information B and the direct indication of information B. The correspondence between information A and information B can be predefined, pre-stored, pre-burned, or pre-configured.

[0051] Fourth, in this application, information C is used to determine information D (or information D is determined based on information C), which includes both information D being determined based solely on information C and information D being determined based on information C and other information. Furthermore, information C can also be used to determine information D indirectly, for example, where information D is determined based on information E, and information E is determined based on information C.

[0052] Fifth, in this application, words such as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "example," "exemplarily," "for example," or "such as" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0053] Sixth, the "sending" and "receiving" in this application indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "sending information to the first device" can be understood as the destination end of the information is the first device, which can include direct sending through the air interface, and also include indirect sending through the air interface by other units or modules. "Receiving information from the first device" can be understood as the source end of the information is the first device, which can include direct receiving from the first device through the air interface, and also include indirect receiving from the first device through the air interface from other units or modules. "Sending" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receiving" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0054] In other words, sending and receiving can be performed between devices, for example, between a second device and a first device; or it can be performed within a device, for example, sending or receiving between components, modules, chips, software modules or hardware modules within the device through a bus, wiring or interface.

[0055] Seventh, in the embodiments of the present application, "when", "if" and "if" all mean that the device will make corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances, which does not limit the time, nor does it require that the device must perform judgment actions when it is implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0056] Eighth, the present application can be applied to wireless LAN systems that support previous Wi-Fi protocols, and can also be applied to wireless LAN systems that support the IEEE 802.11ax next-generation Wi-Fi protocol, such as the next-generation standard IEEE 802.11be (also known as Wi-Fi 7, or extremely high throughput (EHT) protocol, etc.), and can also be applied to wireless LAN systems that support the 802.11be next-generation Wi-Fi protocol, such as Wi-Fi 8 or ultra high reliability (UHR).

[0057] Ninth, the communication devices involved in this application include, for example, APs and terminals. An AP may also be referred to as a wireless access point, hotspot, etc., and this application does not specifically limit its name. Specifically, an AP may be a network device with a wireless local area network chip, or an AP may be a device that supports WLAN.

[0058] A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user device. In this application, a terminal may also be referred to as a station (STA), a non-AP station (non-AP STA), etc., and this application does not specifically limit its name.

[0059] Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home appliances, and more.

[0060] In order to better understand the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the terms involved in the present application are briefly explained below.

[0061] 1. BSS: includes one or more devices. According to the connection method between the devices inside the BSS (that is, the topology of the network inside the BSS), the BSS can be divided into multiple types, such as a structural basic service set and an independent basic service set. Among them, the structural basic service set includes AP and non-AP station (non-AP STA), and non-AP STAs are connected to this AP to access a larger network (such as a distributed system (DS)). In this application, non-AP STA can also be directly referred to as STA, and this application does not specifically limit its name. There is no role similar to AP in the independent basic service set. The devices in the independent basic service set can be directly called STA, and any two STAs can communicate directly. It can be understood that the above-mentioned BSS types are only examples and should not constitute any limitation on the embodiments of this application. The method provided in this application can be applied to a structural basic service set, for example, in a home scenario, including one or more APs, each of which can be connected to one or more terminals. The method provided in this application can also be applied to an independent basic service set. For example, a STA stores a Wi-Fi digital map internally, determines whether there is a hidden node in the basic service set, and sends an indication message based on the judgment result to instruct other STAs to turn on or off the RTS mechanism. This application does not specifically limit the type of basic service set.

[0062] 2. Hidden nodes: These are nodes that cannot detect signals from their counterparts, or are not within their signal coverage. For example, device A is sending data to device B. Device C, unable to detect the data packet sent by device A (perhaps because device C is not within the signal coverage of device A), may simultaneously send data to device B, causing a data collision on device B and preventing it from receiving data properly. Device C is a hidden node of device A.

[0063] 3. RTS mechanism: The full name is the RTS / CTS mechanism. The RTS mechanism is a mechanism used to reduce the problem of receiving side data failure caused by hidden nodes. The specific process is as follows: Device A sends an RTS signal to Device B, indicating that Device A wants to send some data to Device B. After receiving the RTS signal, Device B sends a CTS signal to the other devices, indicating that it is ready and that Device A can send data. The remaining devices that want to send data to Device B suspend sending data. This helps prevent the problem of multiple invisible sending devices sending signals to the same receiving device at the same time, thereby reducing the problem of receiving side failure due to message collisions.

[0064] It is understandable that the RTS mechanism can effectively reduce the probability of message collisions when the channel is congested. However, when the channel is idle, the increased signaling overhead will cause a decrease in channel utilization. Therefore, how to decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism is crucial.

[0065] Currently, APs can use a fixed RTS mechanism to be turned on, but this will increase signaling overhead and reduce channel utilization in the absence of hidden nodes. APs can also use a fixed RTS mechanism to be turned off, but this will increase the probability of message collisions due to hidden nodes when multiple users compete for the channel. APs can also decide whether to turn on the RTS mechanism based on detection. For example, if the RTS mechanism is currently turned off, the AP can obtain the throughput in the off state, and then turn on the RTS mechanism. After a period of time, the throughput in the RTS mechanism-on state can be obtained. By comparing the throughput in the on and off states, the decision to turn the RTS mechanism on or off is made. However, due to the many factors that affect throughput, it is possible that in some cases where packet collisions are more severe, the detection result is to turn off the RTS mechanism. Therefore, the method of deciding whether to turn the RTS mechanism on or off by comparing throughput is less reasonable.

[0066] The ability to extract distance, speed, and angle information from radio signals can enable a wide range of new services. For example, location information gained from wireless sensing can be used to improve communication performance, a phenomenon known as "perception-assisted communication." In Wi-Fi, access points (APs) use wireless sensing to determine the location of terminals. This provides new insights into RTS switching strategies based on terminal location.

[0067] To this end, the present application provides a method for turning the RTS mechanism on and off. This method determines whether a hidden node of a first device exists in the at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal. If so, this indicates that a message collision may occur between the first device and its hidden node, and the RTS mechanism is activated, thereby reducing the probability of message collision. Furthermore, compared to comparing the throughput of the RTS mechanism in the on and off states to determine whether to activate the RTS mechanism, the determination of whether a hidden node of the first device exists in the present application can more accurately determine whether a message collision is likely to occur, and then determine whether to activate the RTS mechanism based on the presence or absence of the hidden node, which helps to improve the rationality of the decision.

[0068] Before describing in detail the switching method of the RTS mechanism provided by the present application, the system to which the present application is applicable will be described in detail with reference to FIG1 .

[0069] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the method provided in this application.

[0070] As shown in a) in Figure 1, the solid circle represents the coverage of a BSS in two dimensions (or this can be understood as the coverage of the AP). It can be seen from a) in Figure 1 that the BSS includes an AP and multiple terminals, such as terminal A, terminal B and terminal C. Each terminal is connected to the AP. In other words, the AP can communicate with the above-mentioned multiple terminals, and any two terminals cannot communicate directly with each other. If one of the above-mentioned multiple terminals (taking terminal A as an example) is sending data, the other terminal (taking terminal B as an example) cannot detect it (that is, terminal B is a hidden node of terminal A), then the data sent by terminal A and terminal B may collide on the AP side and cannot be received normally. Through the method provided in this application, when the AP determines that there is a hidden node in terminal A, the AP can instruct to turn on the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collision.

[0071] As shown in Figure 1(b), the solid circle represents the coverage of AP 1 in two dimensions, and the dashed circle represents the coverage of AP 2 in two dimensions. The BSS to which AP 1 belongs can be denoted as BSS 1, and the BSS to which AP 2 belongs can be denoted as BSS 2. The coverage of BSS 1 and BSS 2 overlaps. As shown in Figure 1(b), BSS 1 includes AP 1 and multiple terminals, such as Terminal A, Terminal B, and Terminal C. Each terminal is connected to AP 1. In other words, AP 1 can communicate with these terminals, but any two terminals cannot communicate directly with each other. BSS 2 includes AP 2 and multiple terminals, such as Terminal D, Terminal E, and Terminal F. Each terminal is connected to AP 2. In other words, AP 2 can communicate with the terminals it serves, but any two terminals cannot communicate directly with each other. One of the multiple terminals in BSS 1 (take terminal A as an example) is communicating with AP 1, and a terminal in BSS2 (take terminal D as an example) is communicating with AP 2. The signal of a device in BSS2 (take AP 2 as an example) covers AP 1. It is very likely that terminal A cannot detect the data packet sent by AP 2, resulting in a collision between the data sent by terminal A and AP 2 on the AP 1 side and the problem of being unable to be received normally. Similarly, terminal A may also send data at the same time because it cannot detect the data packet sent by a terminal in BSS2, thereby causing a message collision. Through the method provided by the present application, when AP 1 determines that there is a hidden node of a device in BSS2 in at least one terminal in BSS 1, AP 1 can instruct to enable the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collision.

[0072] It should be understood that the number of APs and terminals served in each BSS shown in FIG1 is merely illustrative and does not limit the embodiments of the present application. In practical applications, each BSS may include a greater or lesser number of APs and terminals served. Furthermore, the present application does not limit the type of each terminal.

[0073] It should also be understood that b) in FIG1 only shows two BSSs. In practical applications, the solution provided in this application can also be applicable to a larger number of BSSs, that is, the number of BSSs that overlap with the coverage of BSS 1 can be larger.

[0074] The switching method of the RTS mechanism provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0075] Figure 2 is a schematic flow chart of a method 200 for switching an RTS mechanism according to an embodiment of the present application. The method 200 shown in Figure 2 may include steps 210 and 220. The steps in the method 200 are described in detail below.

[0076] It should be understood that the embodiment shown in Figure 2 describes the method from the perspective of the AP, but should not constitute any limitation on the execution subject of the method. As long as it is possible to run a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be executed. For example, the AP can also be replaced by a component configured in the AP (such as a chip, a chip system, etc.), or other functional modules that can call and execute programs. The embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0077] In step 210, based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal, it is determined whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal.

[0078] Among them, whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the above-mentioned at least one terminal can be understood as whether there is a terminal in the above-mentioned at least one terminal that cannot detect the message of the first device, or whether there is a terminal in the above-mentioned at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage range of the first device.

[0079] A first possible scenario is that the at least one terminal, the AP, and the first device belong to the same BSS. In other words, there is only one BSS, or the BSS to which the AP belongs does not have an OBSS (that is, the coverage of the BSS to which the AP belongs does not overlap with other BSSs). In this scenario, determining whether there is a hidden node of the first device in at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal includes: determining the signal coverage of the first device based on the location of the first device and the location of the AP, wherein the signal coverage of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (1+r)×d as the radius, d is the distance between the first device and the AP, and r is a preset expansion factor; if there is a terminal in the at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage of the first device, determining that there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal; or if there is no terminal in the at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage of the first device, determining that there is no hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal.

[0080] The first device may be any one of the at least one terminal. That is, in the BSS, the AP may determine whether there is a hidden node of any terminal in the at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal served by the AP.

[0081] For example, it is assumed that the at least one terminal includes terminal A, terminal B, and terminal C, wherein the position coordinates of terminal A are (a1, a2), the position coordinates of terminal B are (b1, b2), the position coordinates of terminal C are (c1, c2), and the position coordinates of AP are (0, 0). Taking terminal A as an example, in the BSS, the AP can determine the signal coverage range of terminal A based on the position of the AP and the position of terminal A. The signal coverage range of terminal A is centered at (a1, a2). The distance between terminal B and terminal A is The distance between terminal C and terminal A if Then terminal B is outside the signal coverage of terminal A, that is, terminal B is a hidden node of terminal A. Similarly, if Terminal C is located outside the signal coverage of terminal A, that is, terminal C is a hidden node of terminal A.

[0082] It is understood that, in the above description, the first device uses a terminal among the at least one terminal as an example and determines whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on whether a hidden node exists in the at least one terminal. For example, if a hidden node exists in the at least one terminal, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be enabled; if a hidden node does not exist in the at least one terminal, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be disabled. However, this does not constitute any limitation to the present application.

[0083] For example, in actual applications, the AP may also determine whether each of at least one terminal has a hidden node. If one or more terminals have a hidden node, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be enabled; if no hidden node exists in any of the at least one terminals, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be disabled. For example, the at least one terminal includes terminal A, terminal B, and terminal C. If one or more of terminals A, terminal B, and terminal C have a hidden node (e.g., terminal B is a hidden node of terminal A), the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be enabled; if no hidden node exists in terminal A, terminal B, and terminal C in the at least one terminal, the AP instructs the RTS mechanism to be disabled. The method for determining whether a hidden node exists for terminal A, terminal B, or terminal C in the at least one terminal can be found in the above description of the method for determining whether a hidden node exists for terminal A, and will not be described in detail here.

[0084] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the positional relationship of various devices in a BSS scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0085] As shown in Figure 3, the at least one terminal includes terminal A, terminal B, and terminal C, wherein the position coordinates of terminal A are (-5, 0), the position coordinates of terminal B are (6, 3), the position coordinates of terminal C are (-7, -5), and the position coordinates of AP are (0, 0). Taking terminal A as an example, in the BSS, the AP can determine the signal coverage range of terminal A based on the position of the AP and the position of terminal A. The signal coverage range of terminal A is centered at (-5, 0). The distance between terminal B and terminal A is The distance between terminal C and terminal A m, it can be seen that terminal B is outside the signal coverage of terminal A, meaning that terminal B is a hidden node of terminal A. Terminal C is within the signal coverage of terminal A, meaning that terminal C is not a hidden node of terminal A. In summary, at least one of the above terminals contains a hidden node of terminal A. Similarly, the AP can determine whether there are hidden nodes for terminals B and C, which will not be detailed here.

[0086] It should be understood that the location coordinates of each device and the number of terminals shown in FIG3 are merely examples and should not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application.

[0087] A second possible scenario is that the AP and at least one terminal belong to a BSS (e.g., a first BSS), and the first device belongs to another BSS (e.g., a second BSS), and the second BSS overlaps with the coverage of the first BSS. That is, the BSS to which the AP belongs has an OBSS (i.e., the coverage of the BSS to which the AP belongs overlaps with the coverage of the other BSS). In this scenario, determining whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal includes: determining the signal coverage of the first device based on the location of the first device and the location of the AP, wherein the signal coverage of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (d+d') as the radius, wherein d is the distance between the AP and the first device, and d' is the distance that the signal of the first device continues to propagate outward from the AP; if there is a terminal in the at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage of the first device, then determining that there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal; or if there is no terminal in the at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage of the first device, then determining that there is no hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal.

[0088] The first device may be an AP or a terminal in the second BSS. That is, the AP in the first BSS may determine whether there is a hidden node of the AP or terminal in the second BSS in the at least one terminal based on the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal served by the AP.

[0089] For example, assume that the first BSS includes terminal A and AP 1, and the second BSS includes terminal B and AP 2, where the location coordinates of terminal A are (a1, a2), the location coordinates of AP 1 are (0, 0), the location coordinates of terminal B are (b1, b2), and the location coordinates of AP 2 are (x1, x2). Taking AP 2 as an example, AP 1 can determine the signal coverage range of AP 2 based on the locations of AP 1 and AP 2. The signal coverage range of AP 2 is centered at (x1, x2). The distance between terminal A and AP 2 is a circle with a radius of s, where s represents the signal strength of AP 2 detected at AP 1 and s0 represents the predefined minimum signal detection threshold. If d1≥d+d′, terminal A is outside the signal coverage of AP 2 , that is, terminal A is a hidden node of AP 2 .

[0090] It is understandable that the first device above uses the AP or terminal in the second BSS as an example to decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on whether its hidden node exists in the at least one terminal, but this should not constitute any limitation to this application. For example, in actual applications, the AP in the first BSS can also determine whether each device (including APs and terminals) in the second BSS has a hidden node in the at least one terminal. If at least one device in the second BSS has a hidden node in the at least one terminal, the AP in the first BSS instructs to enable the RTS mechanism; if no hidden node exists in any of the devices in the at least one terminal, the AP in the first BSS instructs to disable the RTS mechanism.

[0091] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the position relationship of various devices in a scenario of two BSSs provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0092] As shown in Figure 4, it is assumed that the first BSS includes terminal A and AP 1, and the second BSS includes terminal B and AP 2. The location coordinates of terminal A are (-2, 4), the location coordinates of AP 1 are (0, 0), the location coordinates of terminal B are (15, -5), and the location coordinates of AP 2 are (10, 0). Taking AP 2 as an example, AP 1 can determine the signal coverage range of AP 2 based on the locations of AP 1 and AP 2. The signal coverage range of AP 2 is centered at (10, 0). The distance between terminal A and AP 2 is s, where s represents the signal strength of AP 2 detected at AP 1, taking -78dBm as an example, and s0 represents the predefined minimum signal detection threshold, taking -82dBm as an example. It can be seen that terminal A is within the signal coverage of AP 2, meaning that terminal A is not a hidden node of AP 2. Therefore, there is no hidden node of AP 2 in at least one of the above terminals. Similarly, AP 1 can determine whether there is a hidden node of terminal B, which will not be detailed here.

[0093] It should be understood that the location coordinates of each device and the number of terminals shown in FIG4 are merely examples and should not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application.

[0094] It should also be understood that, in the above description, AP 1 is able to detect AP 2, or in other words, AP 2's signal strength covers AP 1, and AP 1 can determine whether terminal A served by AP 1 is outside the signal coverage range of AP 2. However, this should not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application. For example, in actual applications, AP 1 may first determine whether AP 2's signal strength can cover AP 1. If AP 2's signal strength can cover AP 1, AP 1 then proceeds to determine whether at least one terminal served by AP 1 is within the signal coverage range of AP 2. If all terminals are within the signal coverage range of AP 2, AP 1 determines that there is no hidden node of AP 2 among the at least one terminal served by AP 1. If there is a terminal that is not within the signal coverage range of AP 2, AP 1 determines that there is a hidden node of AP 2 among the at least one terminal served by AP 1.

[0095] Optionally, the method 200 further includes: determining whether an OBSS exists in the BSS to which the AP belongs, where the OBSS is a BSS with coverage overlapping with that of the BSS to which the AP belongs.

[0096] The AP can determine whether the BSS to which the AP belongs has an OBSS. If not, the AP determines whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal according to the method for the AP to determine whether there is a hidden node of the first device in at least one terminal under the first possible scenario mentioned above; if so, the AP can determine whether there is a hidden node of the AP and / or terminal in the OBSS in at least one terminal, and determine whether there is a terminal in this BSS that is a hidden node of a terminal in this BSS.

[0097] Optionally, the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal are determined based on a Wi-Fi digital map. The Wi-Fi digital map is used to reflect the location coordinates of the APs and the terminals served by the APs in one or more BSSs in the space.

[0098] That is, the AP can obtain a Wi-Fi digital map, and then determine the location coordinates of the AP and the terminals served by the AP based on the Wi-Fi digital map.

[0099] In step 220, if there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, first information is sent, where the first information instructs the at least one terminal to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0100] As an example, in a first possible scenario, if there is a hidden node of a certain terminal (the certain terminal is any one of the at least one terminal) among the at least one terminal, the AP sends a first message to indicate that the RTS mechanism is turned on; if there is no hidden node of the terminal among the at least one terminal, the AP sends a second message to indicate that the RTS mechanism is turned off, or if there is no hidden node for each terminal among the at least one terminal, the AP sends a second message to indicate that the RTS mechanism is turned off.

[0101] As an example, in a second possible scenario, if there is a hidden node of a device (such as an AP or terminal) in the second BSS in at least one terminal in the first BSS, the AP in the first BSS sends a first information to indicate that the RTS mechanism is turned on; if there is no hidden node of the device in the above-mentioned at least one terminal, the AP in the first BSS sends a second information to indicate that the RTS mechanism is turned off, or if there is no hidden node for each device in the second BSS in the above-mentioned at least one terminal, the AP in the first BSS sends a second information to indicate that the RTS mechanism is turned off.

[0102] Optionally, the AP may send the first information (or second information) to the at least one terminal via broadcast; or, the AP may send the first information (or second information) to the at least one terminal via unicast; or, the AP may send the first information (or second information) to the at least one terminal via multicast. Accordingly, the terminal receives the first information (or second information). This application does not specifically limit the manner in which the AP sends the first information.

[0103] Optionally, the first information is carried in a beacon frame.

[0104] Exemplarily, the beacon frame includes a HE control element, and the HE control parameter field in the HE control element includes a flag bit that carries the first information.

[0105] The fields in the beacon frame are defined with reference to the fields in the IEEE 802.11ax protocol. The beacon frame includes a HE control element, and the HE control parameter field in the HE control element includes a flag bit that carries the first information. However, this should not constitute any limitation for this application. In other or future protocols, the names of the fields may differ, and this application does not limit this. In addition, the flag bit may reuse existing bits in the HE control parameter field, or may add a new bit to carry the first information, and this application does not limit this.

[0106] As an example, two bits are added to the HE Control Parameters field in the HE Control Element to indicate whether the RTS mechanism is enabled. For example, 00 indicates that the AP does not recommend enabling or disabling the RTS mechanism for the terminal; 10 indicates that the AP instructs the terminal to disable the RTS mechanism; and 11 indicates that the AP instructs the terminal to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0107] It should be understood that the first information carried in the beacon frame is only an example and should not constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application. For example, a management frame or a control frame can be defined separately to carry the first information.

[0108] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of various fields in a beacon frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0109] As shown in Figure 5, the above-mentioned beacon frame includes a HE control element, which includes an element identifier (element ID) field, a length field, an element ID extension field, HE control parameters, a BSS color information field, a basic HE modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and number of spatial streams (NSS) set (basic HE MCS and NSS set) field, a very high throughput (VHT) control information (VHT operation information) field, a maximum co-hosted BSSID indicator field, and a 6 gigahertz (GHz) control information (operation information) field.

[0110] The HE control parameter field includes fields such as default pad extension (PE) duration, target wake time (TWT required), transmission opportunity (TXOP) duration (RTS threshold), VHT operation information present, co-hosted BSS, ER SU disable, 6 GHz operation information, default RTS control, and reserved. The number below each field indicates the number of bits occupied by the field. The default RTS control field is a new field used to indicate whether the terminal has the RTS mechanism enabled. For example, 00 indicates that the AP does not recommend the terminal to enable the RTS mechanism; 10 indicates that the AP instructs the terminal to disable the RTS mechanism; and 11 indicates that the AP instructs the terminal to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0111] Based on the above technical solution, based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal, it is determined whether a hidden node of the first device exists in the at least one terminal. If so, it indicates that a message collision may occur between the first device and its hidden node. Therefore, a first message is sent to indicate the activation of the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collision. In addition, since there are many factors that affect throughput, compared to comparing the throughput with the RTS mechanism enabled and disabled to determine whether to activate the RTS mechanism, determining whether a hidden node of the first device exists in the present application can more accurately determine whether a message collision is likely to occur, and then determine whether to activate the RTS mechanism based on the presence or absence of the hidden node, which is conducive to improving the rationality of the decision.

[0112] FIG6 is a schematic flowchart of another RTS mechanism switching method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0113] In step 610, a reinforcement learning model is used to determine whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal.

[0114] The AP and at least one terminal may belong to the same BSS. The reinforcement learning model may be, for example, a Markov decision model based on Q-learning. The main idea of ​​the Markov decision model based on Q-learning is to evaluate the evaluation value Q(S, a) of each state-action pair, that is, the reward value of performing action a under state S, and then select the optimal action, where Q in Q-learning represents Q(S, a). In an embodiment of the present application, the position of the AP and the position of at least one terminal are used as states, turning on or off the RTS mechanism is used as an action, and (1-packet error rate within a preset time length) is used as the reward value.

[0115] Exemplarily, at a first moment, the AP's location and the location of at least one terminal are input into the Q-learning-based Markov decision model. An action is output, such as enabling the RTS mechanism. The AP then sends third information to instruct the terminal to enable the RTS mechanism. After sending the third information, the AP calculates the packet error rate over a preset time period to obtain a reward value. Based on the reward value, the parameters in the Q-learning-based Markov decision model (such as the probability of enabling the RTS mechanism and the probability of disabling the RTS mechanism) are updated. At a second moment, the current AP's location and the location of at least one terminal (the location of the at least one terminal may differ from the location of the at least one terminal at the first moment) are input into the Q-learning-based Markov decision model (the parameters in the model may differ from the parameters in the model at the first moment). An action is output, such as disabling the RTS mechanism. The AP then sends third information to instruct the terminal to disable the RTS mechanism.

[0116] Optionally, when selecting an action (i.e., whether to enable or disable the RTS mechanism), the action selection can be based on an improved greedy algorithm (ε-gready) to improve the model's adaptability to the environment. For example, the AP, through a reinforcement learning model, determines to enable the RTS mechanism based on the AP's location and the location of at least one terminal. Furthermore, based on the improved greedy algorithm (ε-gready), the AP makes an action opposite to the above decision, i.e., determines to disable the RTS mechanism.

[0117] In step 620, third information is sent, where the third information indicates whether the RTS mechanism is enabled.

[0118] Exemplarily, the AP determines whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal through a reinforcement learning model, and then sends third information to instruct the at least one terminal whether to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0119] Optionally, the AP may send the third information to the at least one terminal via broadcast; or, the AP may send the third information to the at least one terminal via unicast; or, the AP may send the first information (or the second information) to the at least one terminal via multicast. Accordingly, the terminal receives the third information. This application does not specifically limit the manner in which the AP sends the third information.

[0120] Optionally, the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal are determined according to a Wi-Fi digital map, where the Wi-Fi digital map is used to reflect the location coordinates of the AP and the terminal served by the AP.

[0121] That is, the AP can obtain a Wi-Fi digital map, and then determine the location coordinates of the AP and the terminals served by the AP based on the Wi-Fi digital map.

[0122] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a reinforcement learning model provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0123] As shown in Figure 7, the location coordinates on the Wi-Fi digital map at each moment are used as state S, which is a continuous value. The AP decides whether to enable the RTS mechanism as action a. (1-packet error rate) is used as the reward value R. The external environment can be the environment in which the AP sends data packets to the terminal. At the first moment, the AP's location and the location of at least one terminal are input into the Q-learning-based Markov decision model. A decision is made based on the strategy. For example, at the initial moment, the probability of enabling the RTS mechanism and the probability of disabling the RTS mechanism are both 0.5. The model then outputs an action, such as enabling the RTS mechanism, and the AP sends a third message to instruct the terminal to enable the RTS mechanism. Optionally, the AP can also make an action opposite to the above decision based on the improved greedy algorithm ε-gready, that is, decide to disable the RTS mechanism. After a period of time, the packet error rate is calculated to obtain a reward value. Based on this reward value, the probabilities of enabling and disabling the RTS mechanism are updated. For example, if the reward value R is greater than or equal to a threshold, the probability of enabling the RTS mechanism in the model is increased. Similarly, at the next moment, the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal at the next moment are continuously input to determine whether to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0124] Based on the above technical solution, the AP can determine whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal through a reinforcement learning model, providing a reasonable way to decide whether to enable the RTS mechanism, thereby reducing the probability of message collisions while improving channel utilization.

[0125] The above describes in detail the RTS mechanism switching method provided by the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0126] It should be understood that the apparatus shown in Figures 8 and 9 can be used to implement the functions of the AP in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the apparatus can be the AP in the method embodiments shown in Figures 2 or 6, or a component configured in the AP (such as a chip, chip system, processor, etc.), or a logic module or software capable of implementing some or all of the functions of the AP.

[0127] FIG8 is a schematic block diagram of a switching device 800 of the RTS mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0128] As shown in Figure 8, the apparatus 800 includes a transceiver module 810 and a processing module 820. The apparatus 800 can be used to implement the functions of the AP in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 6 above.

[0129] When the device 800 is used to implement the function of the AP in the method embodiment shown in Figure 2, the processing module 820 can be used to determine whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal based on the position of the AP and the position of the at least one terminal; the transceiver module 810 can be used to send first information if there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, and the first information instructs the at least one terminal to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0130] Optionally, the above-mentioned at least one terminal, AP, and first device belong to the same BSS; and the processing module 820 is specifically used to: determine the signal coverage range of the first device based on the position of the first device and the position of the AP, wherein the signal coverage range of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (1+r)×d as the radius, d is the distance between the first device and the AP, and r is a preset expansion factor; if there is a terminal among the above-mentioned at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage range of the first device, it is determined that there is a hidden node of the first device among the above-mentioned at least one terminal; or, if there is no terminal among the above-mentioned at least one terminal that is outside the signal coverage range of the first device, it is determined that there is no hidden node of the first device among the above-mentioned at least one terminal.

[0131] Optionally, the AP and at least one terminal belong to a first BSS, and the first device belongs to a second BSS, and the second BSS is a BSS that overlaps with the coverage of the first BSS; and the processing module 820 is specifically used to: determine the signal coverage range of the first device based on the position of the first device and the position of the AP, wherein the signal coverage range of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (d+d') as the radius, wherein d is the distance between the AP and the first device, and d' is the distance that the signal of the first device continues to propagate outward with the AP as the starting point; if there is a terminal outside the signal coverage range of the first device among the at least one terminal, it is determined that there is a hidden node of the first device among the at least one terminal; or, if there is no terminal outside the signal coverage range of the first device among the at least one terminal, it is determined that there is no hidden node of the first device among the at least one terminal.

[0132] Optionally, the processing module 820 is further configured to determine whether an OBSS exists in the BSS to which the AP belongs, and the OBSS is a BSS having a coverage overlapping with that of the BSS to which the AP belongs.

[0133] Optionally, the first information is carried in a beacon frame.

[0134] Optionally, the beacon frame includes a HE control element, and the HE control parameter field in the HE control element includes a flag bit that carries the first information.

[0135] Optionally, the location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal are determined according to a Wi-Fi digital map, where the Wi-Fi digital map is used to reflect the location coordinates of the AP and the terminal served by the AP.

[0136] When the device 800 is used to implement the function of the AP in the method embodiment shown in Figure 6, the processing module 820 can be used to determine whether to enable the RTS mechanism based on the location of the AP and the location of at least one terminal through a reinforcement learning model; the transceiver module 810 can be used to send third information, which indicates whether to enable the RTS mechanism.

[0137] Optionally, the processing module 820 is further configured to: determine a reward value, which is obtained based on a packet error rate within a preset time period after the AP sends the third information; and update parameters in the reinforcement learning model according to the reward value.

[0138] A more detailed description of the transceiver module 810 and the processing module 820 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 6 , and is not repeated here.

[0139] It should be understood that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically as separate modules, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0140] FIG9 is another schematic block diagram of a switching device 900 of the RTS mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0141] The device 900 may be a chip system, or may be a device configured with a chip system for implementing the method described in the above method embodiment. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0142] As shown in Figure 9, the apparatus 900 may include a processor 910 and a communication interface 920. The communication interface 920 may be used to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, thereby enabling the apparatus 900 to communicate with other devices. The communication interface 920 may be, for example, a transceiver, an interface, a bus, a circuit, or a device capable of performing transceiver functions. The processor 910 may utilize the communication interface 920 to input and output data and to implement the methods described in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 2 or 6.

[0143] Optionally, the device 900 further includes at least one memory 930 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 930 is coupled to the processor 910. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 910 may operate in conjunction with the memory 930. The processor 910 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 930. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0144] The specific connection medium between the processor 910, communication interface 920, and memory 930 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 9, the embodiment of the present application shows that the processor 910, communication interface 920, and memory 930 are connected via a bus 940. The bus 940 is represented by a bold line in Figure 9, and the connection methods between other components are only for schematic illustration and are not limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, only one bold line is used in Figure 9, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0145] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method described in the embodiment shown in Figure 2 or Figure 6 can be implemented.

[0146] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions). When the computer program is executed, the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 6 can be implemented.

[0147] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the AP and the terminal as described above.

[0148] It should be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-mentioned method.

[0149] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0150] The terms "unit", "module", etc. used in this specification can be used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. The terms "unit" and "module" in the embodiments of this application have the same meaning and can be used interchangeably.

[0151] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application. In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices, equipment, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not performed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, and can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0152] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0153] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0154] In the above embodiments, the functions of each functional unit can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can 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 (programs). When the computer program instructions (program) are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. 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 or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a digital versatile disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0155] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the technology or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0156] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for switching a request sending mechanism, characterized in that: include: Determine, according to a position of an access point AP and a position of at least one terminal, whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal; If there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, first information is sent, where the first information instructs the at least one terminal to enable a request to send (RTS) mechanism.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The at least one terminal, the AP, and the first device belong to the same basic service set BSS; and determining, according to the position of the AP and the position of the at least one terminal, whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, comprises: Determine, according to the position of the first device and the position of the AP, a signal coverage range of the first device, wherein the signal coverage range of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (1+r)×d as the radius, d is the distance between the first device and the AP, and r is a preset expansion factor; If there is a terminal located outside the signal coverage of the first device among the at least one terminal, determining that there is a hidden node of the first device among the at least one terminal; or, If there is no terminal located outside the signal coverage of the first device among the at least one terminal, it is determined that there is no hidden node of the first device among the at least one terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The AP and the at least one terminal belong to a first BSS, the first device belongs to a second BSS, and the second BSS is a BSS with overlapping coverage with the first BSS; And, determining whether there is a hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal according to the position of the AP and the position of the at least one terminal includes: Determine, according to the position of the first device and the position of the AP, a signal coverage range of the first device, wherein the signal coverage range of the first device is a circle with the first device as the center and (d+d') as the radius, wherein d is the distance between the AP and the first device, and d' is the distance that the signal of the first device continues to propagate outward from the AP as the starting point; If there is a terminal located outside the signal coverage of the first device among the at least one terminal, determining that there is a hidden node of the first device among the at least one terminal; or, If there is no terminal located outside the signal coverage of the first device among the at least one terminal, it is determined that there is no hidden node of the first device among the at least one terminal.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: It is determined whether there is an overlapping basic service set OBSS to which the AP belongs, where the OBSS is a BSS that overlaps with the coverage of the BSS to which the AP belongs.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The first information is carried in a beacon frame.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The beacon frame includes a High Efficiency Radio Standard (HE) control element, and a HE control parameter field in the HE control element includes a flag bit that carries the first information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The location of the AP and the location of the at least one terminal are determined according to a Wireless Fidelity Wi-Fi digital map, and the Wi-Fi digital map is used to reflect the location coordinates of the AP and the terminal served by the AP.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: If there is no hidden node of the first device in the at least one terminal, second information is sent, where the second information indicates to close the RTS mechanism.

9. A switch device for a request sending mechanism, characterized in that: The method comprises means for implementing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A switch device for a request sending mechanism, characterized in that: comprising a processor and a memory, wherein: The memory is used to store computer programs; The processor is configured to call the computer program so that the apparatus implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is implemented.

12. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is implemented.

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