Channel switching method and apparatus, terminal, and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of wireless communications, and disclose a channel switching method and apparatus, a terminal, and a storage medium. In the present application, the method comprises: performing channel switching by disconnecting a connection with a first access point on a first wireless channel and establishing a connection between a second wireless channel and a second access point; when the second access point allows a terminal to access a slave channel, allocating to the terminal, by means of the second access point, an operating channel in the second wireless channel according to each operating channel in the first wireless channel; and when the second access point does not allow the terminal to access the slave channel, allocating to the terminal, by means of the second access point, an operating channel in the second wireless channel according to a function of the terminal. This allows channel switching to be performed when both a master channel and a slave channel exist, and ensures that a plurality of wireless devices can fairly and effectively share radio resources.

Description

Channel switching method and device, terminal and storage medium Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] The present application is based on Chinese Patent Application No. 202410851266.0, filed on June 28, 2024, and claims priority to the aforementioned Chinese Patent Application, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wireless communication technology, in particular to a channel switching method and device, terminal and storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the development of Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology, the concepts of primary channel and secondary channel are introduced to expand the bandwidth of the original channel and improve the efficiency and capacity of data transmission. The primary channel, as the core channel of the Wi-Fi network, is responsible for managing the transmission of frames and maintaining the stability of the network. Its main function is to ensure the normal operation of the network, including device access, authentication, and network status broadcast. At the same time, the primary channel also ensures compatibility with existing devices, allowing new and old devices to coexist harmoniously in the same network environment. The secondary channel, as a supplement and extension of the primary channel, is mainly used for data transmission to improve the throughput and efficiency of the network. By introducing the secondary channel, the Wi-Fi system can achieve high-speed data transmission without interfering with the normal operation of the primary channel, thereby meeting the growing demand for data transmission.

[0004] The inventors have found that at least the following problems exist in the related art: In the current Wi-Fi protocol, a strict access strategy is followed. Only when both the primary channel and the secondary channel are idle, will the device access. If the primary channel is idle and the secondary channel is busy, the device will choose to access the primary channel to ensure smooth communication. However, when the primary channel is busy and the secondary channel is idle, the traditional access strategy chooses not to access any channel, which to some extent leads to waste of channel resources. Especially in the era of Wi-Fi 7, the maximum channel bandwidth has reached 320MHz, and the secondary channel bandwidth can also be as high as 160MHz or 80MHz, making this resource waste phenomenon even more pronounced. However, the current design for secondary channel access is not perfect, and how to switch channels when both primary and secondary channels exist is still a technical blank. The channel switching scheme after secondary channel access is also not perfect. SUMMARY

[0005] The embodiment of the present application aims to provide a channel switching method and device, a terminal and a storage medium, so that the potential of the secondary channel can be fully utilized when performing channel switching from the secondary channel, and the performance and efficiency of the Wi-Fi network are further improved.

[0006] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application provides a channel switching method applied to a terminal, comprising: performing channel switching by disconnecting the connection between the terminal and a first access point on a first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the terminal and a second access point on a second wireless channel; when the second access point supports the terminal to perform secondary channel access, allocating a working channel in the second wireless channel for the terminal according to each working channel in the first wireless channel through the second access point; and when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform secondary channel access, allocating a working channel in the second wireless channel for the terminal according to the functions possessed by the terminal through the second access point.

[0007] The embodiment of the present application also provides a channel switching device, comprising: a channel switching module, configured to perform channel switching by disconnecting the connection between the terminal and a first access point on a first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the terminal and a second access point on a second wireless channel; and a service allocation module, configured to allocate a working channel in the second wireless channel for the terminal according to each working channel in the first wireless channel through the second access point when the second access point supports the terminal to perform secondary channel access, and allocate a working channel in the second wireless channel for the terminal according to the functions possessed by the terminal through the second access point when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform secondary channel access.

[0008] The embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory connected with the at least one processor in communication; wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the channel switching method described above.

[0009] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the channel switching method described above.

[0010] In the embodiments of the present application, the channel switching is performed by disconnecting the connection between the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing the connection between the second access point on the second wireless channel; when the second access point supports the terminal to perform the slave channel access, the working channel in the second wireless channel is allocated to the terminal by the second access point according to the working channels in the first wireless channel; when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform the slave channel access, the working channel in the second wireless channel is allocated to the terminal by the second access point according to the function possessed by the terminal. Thus, the channel switching can be performed when the master and slave channels exist, and the multiple wireless devices can share the wireless resources fairly and effectively. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] One or more embodiments are illustrated by way of example in the figures that are part of this document and which illustrate key / representative principles of the one or more embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to the examples given herein and may, in some instances, include the features of the various examples given herein. Throughout the drawings, like-referenced numerals designate like elements, unless otherwise specifically noted. The figures are not necessarily to scale, nor are the dimensions of the various features of the figures intended to convey specific engineering information.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a channel switching method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the wireless connection relationship between a terminal and an access point according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the data transmission and reception relationship during seamless switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a channel switching apparatus according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0016] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art can understand that, in the embodiments of the present application, many technical details are presented in order to make the readers better understand the present application. However, the technical solutions claimed by the present application can be implemented even without these technical details and based on various changes and modifications of the following embodiments. The division of the following embodiments is for the convenience of description, and should not constitute any limitation on the specific implementation of the present application, and the embodiments can be combined and referenced each other without contradiction.

[0018] An embodiment of the present application relates to a channel switching method, which can be applied to a terminal (Station, STA for short) device such as a mobile phone or a computer. In the embodiment, channel switching is performed by disconnecting a connection with a first access point (AP) on a first wireless channel and establishing a connection with a second AP on a second wireless channel; when the second AP supports slave channel access of the terminal, the second AP allocates a working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to each working channel in the first wireless channel; and when the second AP does not support slave channel access of the terminal, the second AP allocates a working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to a function possessed by the terminal. This makes it possible to perform channel switching when both master and slave channels exist and ensures that multiple wireless devices can share wireless resources fairly and effectively. The following describes implementation details of the channel switching method of the embodiment, which are provided for the convenience of understanding and are not essential to implement the solution.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, in step 101, a terminal (STA) performs channel switching by disconnecting a connection with a first access point (AP1) on a first wireless channel and establishing a connection with a second AP (AP2) on a second wireless channel; and at the edge of a basic service set (BSS), a terminal device can be located exactly at an overlapping position of coverage ranges of two access points (APs). As shown in FIG. 2, in this example, the BSS is a base station, and inside BSS1, STA1 and STA2 are associated with the first AP (AP1) and can communicate normally. However, because STA1 and STA2 are located at the edge of BSS1 and overlap with the coverage range of BSS2, their communication with AP1 can be interfered by the second AP (AP2). According to actual conditions, in order to ensure communication quality and stability, STA1 and STA2 can need to switch to BSS2 with a better communication environment and associate with AP2. In this case, if STA1 communicates with AP1 on the master channel of BSS1 and STA2 communicates with AP1 on a slave channel, when switching to AP2, working channels of STA1 and STA2 must be configured properly. Related protocols have not provided a clear solution to this problem. The following discusses processing flows in different cases to ensure that a terminal device can complete channel configuration efficiently and stably when switching an AP, thereby optimizing overall network communication performance.

[0020] In step 102, when the second access point supports the terminal to perform the channel access, the terminal is allocated a working channel in the second wireless channel by the second access point according to each working channel in the first wireless channel; the terminal will process the service on the allocated working channel; in step 103, when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform the channel access, the terminal is allocated a working channel in the second wireless channel by the second access point according to the function possessed by the terminal; the terminal will process the service on the allocated working channel.

[0021] The switching flow is divided into two categories, the conventional switching and the seamless switching, which are respectively exemplified and discussed as follows:

[0022] The conventional switching flow requires the terminal device (STA) to first send a disassociation frame to the access point (AP) to inform the AP to cancel the current association state, and to start the association flow with the new AP (such as AP2). For the STAs 1 and 2 working on different channels, the disassociation mode can be flexible and various, and the following schemes are available:

[0023] The first scheme is to switch the STA 2 back to the main channel, and to send the disassociation frame to the AP 1 on the main channel to inform the AP 1 to cancel the association.

[0024] The second scheme is to send the disassociation frame to the AP 1 on the slave channel of the STA 2. The slave channel can be any sub-band on the slave channel.

[0025] The third scheme is to combine the temporary main channel to be mentioned below to disassociate. If the STA 2 defines the temporary main channel on the slave channel, it can only send the disassociation frame to the AP 1 on the temporary main channel to inform the AP 1 to cancel the association. The related definition and generation method of the temporary main channel are various, which will be described in detail below, and will not be described in detail here. The above three different disassociation modes can also be selected according to the actual network environment and device configuration.

[0026] After the terminal disassociates from the original access point (AP1), the edge terminal devices (STAl, STA2) must reconfigure to access the new basic service set (BSS) and establish a connection with the new access point (AP2) using the conventional handover method. In some cases, the new AP2 does not support the secondary channel access function or is configured to not enable the function, and therefore STAl and STA2 can only establish a connection with AP2 through the primary channel and send authentication, association and other related frames on the primary channel. That is, it can be directly and undoubtedly concluded that when the secondary channel access function is not supported or not enabled by the second access point, the channel switching will be performed on the primary channel of the first wireless channel. After STAl and STA2 are associated with AP2, whether to allocate the corresponding STAs to work on the secondary channel is allocated by AP2 according to the actual situation.

[0027] In some cases, if the secondary channel access function is supported and enabled by the second access point (AP2), the edge terminal devices (STAl, STA2) can switch according to the originally allocated working channel in BSS1. For example, in BSS1, STAl transmits data on the primary channel (i.e., the paging channel, PCH), and STA2 operates on the secondary channel (i.e., the non-paging channel, NPCH). When these devices switch to the new BSS2, they will maintain the original channel allocation: STAl continues to transmit on the primary channel, and STA2 remains on the secondary channel. AP2 should broadcast the beacon frame on the primary channel and the secondary channel in the new BSS2 to inform all terminal devices about the working status and related configuration information of the primary channel and the secondary channel. In this way, STAl and STA2 can establish a connection with AP2 on the designated primary channel and secondary channel, respectively. In combination with the previous embodiment, STA2 can establish a connection with AP2 through the temporary primary channel in the secondary channel. That is, it can be directly and undoubtedly concluded that when the secondary channel access function is supported and enabled by the second access point (AP2), the channel switching is allowed to be performed on the temporary primary channel.

[0028] In some cases, the edge terminal devices (STA1, STA2) have the flexibility to autonomously select the connection channel. They can decide whether to establish a connection with the new access point (AP2) through the primary channel or the secondary channel based on their actual needs and channel quality, among other factors. When AP2 supports and enables the secondary channel access function, STA1 and STA2 will consider various factors such as network traffic, signal strength, interference conditions, etc. to make the optimal channel selection decision. If both terminal devices select the same channel for access, the access point (AP2) will determine how to allocate the channel and notify STA1 and STA2 through a broadcast Beacon frame or other management or control frames which channel they should reside on for subsequent data transmission.

[0029] Next, an example of seamless handover is discussed. In future Wi-Fi systems, to ensure high reliability of the system and reduce data packet loss, the concept of seamless roaming is proposed. In the current Wi-Fi system, once the terminal device moves, it may trigger the handover of the access point. When performing access point handover, the terminal will first disconnect from the current access point and then establish a new connection with the target access point. After completing the authentication and association process, the terminal and the target access point will perform four handshakes to generate an encryption key, and then start transmitting encrypted data. However, this switching method of first disconnecting and then connecting is prone to data packet loss. Seamless roaming, also known as seamless handover, aims to solve the above problem. The core idea is to maintain the connection with the original access point while establishing a connection with the target access point. In this way, the terminal can complete the smooth handover of the access point without interrupting data transmission, thereby significantly reducing the risk of data packet loss and improving the continuity and stability of network connection. This technology is of great significance for improving the performance and user experience of future Wi-Fi systems.

[0030] The current seamless handover process is shown in Figure 3. The terminal first sends a seamless roaming request frame to access point 2 (the target access point). After receiving the seamless roaming request frame, access point 2 sends a seamless roaming response frame to the terminal, and then the terminal switches to connect to the target access point. The switching process can switch the terminal's connection to access point 2 one by one, or switch the terminal's connection to the target access point multiple times at once. After the switching is completed, the terminal sends a seamless roaming confirmation frame to access point 1 (the initial access point) to indicate that the switching is complete. In some cases, transmitting the seamless roaming confirmation frame is optional. In some cases, no seamless roaming confirmation frame is sent to access point 1.

[0031] Then, under the premise of seamless handover, if the edge terminal within the BSS needs to switch the BSS, it also needs to make corresponding adjustments in the seamless handover link. In this case, the following solutions are given:

[0032] 1) Seamless handover through the primary channel

[0033] First, if the new access point (or called target access point, also called access point 2) does not support the slave channel access or does not configure this function, the terminal (for example, STA2 in figure 2) should first switch back to the master channel, and then proceed with the seamless handover. In this process, the seamless roaming request frame will contain the master channel, the slave channel and the terminal's residence information on the corresponding channel. The new access point will evaluate whether to allow seamless handover according to these information, and give feedback by sending the seamless roaming response frame. If the access point 2 allows seamless handover, the switching process will start, and the access point 2 will decide and confirm which channel the newly accessed terminal should reside on.

[0034] After completing the seamless roaming handover, the terminal will send the seamless roaming confirmation frame to the original access point (access point 1) to inform that the handover has ended. In addition, in some cases, the terminal can also choose to include the channel switching result between it and the access point 2 in this confirmation frame, so that the access point 1 can make other decisions based on this information.

[0035] 2) Master channel and slave channel switching respectively

[0036] If the new access point (access point 2) supports the slave channel access and configures this function, the terminal (for example, STA2 in figure 2) can initiate seamless handover in the original channel, that is, include the request for seamless handover on the slave channel in the seamless roaming request frame, and on this basis, the seamless roaming request frame should also contain the master channel, the slave channel and the terminal's residence information on the corresponding channel. The new access point will evaluate whether to allow seamless handover on the channel suggested by the terminal according to these information, and give feedback by sending the seamless roaming response frame. If the access point 2 allows seamless handover on the channel suggested by the terminal, the switching process will start. If the access point 2 does not allow seamless handover on the channel suggested by the terminal, it will indicate the channel where the terminal should reside in the seamless roaming response frame, and the terminal should start the seamless handover process based on the indication of the access point 2. In addition, the above slave channel can also be a temporary master channel in the slave channel. It can be seen that through the seamless handover, when the second access point supports the terminal to access the slave channel, the terminal will start the channel switching by initiating the seamless roaming request frame on the current working channel; when the second access point does not support the terminal to access the slave channel, the terminal will switch the current working channel to the master channel of the first wireless channel, and then initiate the seamless roaming request frame to start the channel switching.

[0037] After the seamless roaming handover is completed, the terminal sends a seamless roaming confirmation frame to the original access point (access point 1) to inform that the handover has ended. In addition, in some cases, the terminal can also choose to include the channel switching result between it and the access point 2 in this confirmation frame, so that the access point 1 can make other decisions based on this information.

[0038] In some cases, it is particularly important to reasonably group the terminals. In particular, those terminals with channel access capabilities should be uniformly divided into at least one independent group to clearly distinguish those terminals without such capabilities. In one example, the second access point assigns the terminals to process services on corresponding working channels according to the functions possessed by the terminals. This can be: first, according to whether the terminal supports channel access function, the terminal is divided into two groups of supporting channel access and not supporting channel access, and for terminals supporting channel access function, further grouping is performed according to supported bandwidth, channel granularity and other factors, or it can be that through the second access point, according to the bandwidth supported by the terminal, the granularity of the access channel supported by the terminal, the terminals with channel access function accessing the second access point are grouped to achieve the purpose of assigning working channels to terminals with channel access function. Further, this process can be realized through the joint identification of group number and terminal identification (ID), which can accurately indicate the terminals with channel access function, and improve the accuracy and efficiency of identification. Terminals without channel access capability continue to use terminal ID for identification.

[0039] As for how to group these terminals with channel access capability, it can also be based on the bandwidth they support, the granularity of channel access, or the number of temporary primary channels on a specific granularity. Such grouping strategy not only can better meet the demand of channel access, but also can optimize the utilization efficiency of channel and overall performance. Grouping indication can be indicated by beacon frame, or trigger frame, etc. control frame.

[0040] In the process of accessing the secondary channel, a temporary primary channel can be defined in the secondary channel, which can replace the original primary channel and perform part of the functions. That is, the terminal establishes a connection with the second AP on the secondary channel corresponding to the temporary primary channel in the second wireless channel, wherein the temporary primary channel is in the secondary channel of the second wireless channel and is formed by the second AP through definition; wherein the temporary primary channel can perform part of the functions of the primary channel in the second wireless channel; for example, the terminal can access the current AP on the temporary primary channel. In some embodiments, the terminal cannot directly access the current AP through the temporary primary channel, and therefore needs to access through the beacon information of the primary channel of the current AP. After accessing the second AP, the second AP processes the business of the terminal on the working channel allocated to the terminal according to the function possessed by the terminal, wherein the function possessed by the terminal is determined by the current self-capability of the terminal, for example, the function possessed by the terminal can be: the primary channel, the secondary channel, and the residence function of the terminal on the corresponding channel, the secondary channel access function, the bandwidth supported by the terminal, the granularity of the secondary channel supported by the terminal, etc.

[0041] In one example, when the working channel belongs to the primary channel in the wireless channel, and the primary channel is in a busy state and the secondary channel is in an idle state, the terminal with the secondary channel access function will process the business on the secondary channel in the idle state through the secondary channel access function. Specifically, when the primary channel is in a busy (BUSY) state and the secondary channel is in an idle (IDLE) state, the data transmission and reception on the secondary channel is a capability. The configuration of this capability is included in the capability element (capability element), the beacon (beacon), or the probe response frame (probe response frame).

[0042] In some cases, the access to the current AP through the temporary primary channel is a capability, which is configured in the beacon or the probe response frame. In some cases, the temporary primary channel access capability is included in the enhanced multi-link element (multi-link element) or the basic multi-link element (basic multi-link element). At the same time, the above-mentioned capability can also be included in the newly defined secondary channel access element (secondary channel access element) or the newly defined non-primary channel access element (non-primary channel access element, NPCA element). In some embodiments, the association request frame is recommended, and the association response frame is recommended.

[0043] In the slave channel, there can be multiple temporary primary channels. In the second wireless channel, there is one or more temporary primary channels, and at least one of the temporary primary channels allows the terminal to directly access the access point; that is, in these temporary primary channels, at least one has access function, allowing the terminal to directly access. The presence or absence of such access function is usually indicated by beacon broadcast. That is, before accessing the second access point through the temporary primary channel in the second wireless channel, the terminal confirms the channel in the second wireless channel that allows the terminal to directly access the access point by receiving the beacon frame sent by the access point in broadcast form. In some cases, this indication is also included in the probe response frame. It is worth noting that this indication is not used to identify which is the primary channel, but to indicate which subchannel or slave channel has access capability, thereby allowing the terminal to directly access. In some cases, the indication can be in the form of a bitmap, with the subchannels having access capability marked as 1 and otherwise as 0 in the slave channel channel granularity. Such design aims to clearly show which channel resources can be directly used by the terminal.

[0044] In some cases, the terminal working in the slave channel is indicated by [slave channel indication, terminal ID] joint indication. The slave channel indication indicates a specific slave channel granularity or a temporary primary channel in a specific slave channel, which can be a bitmap.

[0045] In some cases, the terminal ID indicates that the terminal works in the primary channel, and when the primary channel is busy and the slave channel is idle, the terminal can transmit and receive data on the slave channel. The terminal ID can be AID (Association ID) or STA_ID.

[0046] In some cases, all terminals with slave channel access capability use [slave channel indication, terminal ID] joint indication.

[0047] In some cases, all terminals with slave channel access capability only use terminal ID indication.

[0048] In some cases, the terminal directly accessing the AP through the slave channel uses [slave channel indication, terminal ID] joint indication.

[0049] In some cases, the terminal indication for slave channel access can also be completed by jointly defining a field or slave channel access element related information, such as slave channel access element ID, with the original terminal ID.

[0050] In some cases, the terminal indication is a combination of terminal operating band / frequency point number and terminal ID, such as [band change, terminal ID]. In some cases, the number is an operation class related number of the terminal.

[0051] In some cases, the number of terminals supported by the temporary primary channel should be limited, and the limited number of terminals can directly access the temporary primary channel from the channel; in some cases, the limited number of terminals can also access the primary channel of the AP and then switch to the secondary channel for transmission and park in the secondary channel; in some cases, the limited number of terminals is the total number of the above two terminals.

[0052] In one example, not only the number of terminals supported by the temporary primary channel should be limited, but also the number of terminals allowed to simultaneously park in each channel of the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel. After completing the channel switching, the number of terminals parked on each channel should also be limited to ensure the performance and stability of the network, and to optimize resource management, improve security and improve user experience. The following three schemes are exemplified in this paper:

[0053] 1. Specify the number of terminals parked on each channel

[0054] First, the number of terminals parked on each channel can be limited, and the specific value of the limit should be determined by the access point (AP) according to multiple factors, including but not limited to the bandwidth of the channel, the data volume of the access terminal, etc. If the number of access terminals exceeds the threshold, the terminal devices accessed later are disconnected or assigned to the secondary channel for communication according to the order of access. Optionally, the threshold can be notified to the terminal through the Beacon frame when the terminal device accesses the channel.

[0055] 2. Specify the terminal traffic on each channel

[0056] In addition, the throughput on the channel can also be used as a basis. When the throughput on the channel exceeds the pre-set threshold, the communication of part of the terminals is interrupted, and the interrupted terminals can be determined according to the order of terminal access or the priority of terminal transmission. The interrupted terminals can be assigned to the secondary channel for transmission according to the actual situation, or disassociated with the current AP. Similarly, the threshold can be determined by the AP according to multiple factors, including but not limited to the bandwidth of the channel, the data volume of the access terminal, etc.

[0057] 3. Specify the service type of the terminal on each channel

[0058] Based on the above two schemes, the terminal transmission service type can be further managed in detail. If there is a terminal transmitting low-latency service on the current channel, the AP has the right to suspend the transmission of other non-low-latency service terminal devices, and reconfigure these non-low-latency service terminals to other channels (such as slave channels) for transmission, to ensure that low-latency services are not disturbed. In addition, the TID (Traffic Identifier) or AC (Access Category) type of the terminal device transmission service can also be limited. For example, if the number of terminal devices residing on the current channel exceeds the preset threshold, the AP can preferentially retain terminals with TID higher than Th1 for transmission, and other terminals can be switched to slave channels or temporarily terminated. The value of Th1 should be dynamically determined by the AP according to the current channel bandwidth, transmission quality, and other network conditions, to achieve more intelligent and flexible resource management. Through these measures, not only can the network performance be optimized and the user experience be improved, but also the efficient and stable transmission of critical services can be ensured.

[0059] In the embodiment, the channel switching is performed by disconnecting the connection between the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the second access point on the second wireless channel; when the second access point supports the terminal to access the slave channel, the second access point allocates the working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to the working channels in the first wireless channel; when the second access point does not support the terminal to access the slave channel, the second access point allocates the working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to the functions possessed by the terminal. The channel switching can be performed when both master and slave channels exist, and multiple wireless devices can share wireless resources fairly and effectively.

[0060] The steps of the above method are only for clear description, and can be combined into one step or split into multiple steps in implementation, as long as the same logical relationship is included, and all are within the protection scope of the application; adding irrelevant modifications or introducing irrelevant designs in the algorithm or flow, but not changing the core design of the algorithm and flow, are within the protection scope of the application.

[0061] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a channel switching device, as shown in Fig. 4, comprising: a channel switching module 401, configured to perform channel switching by disconnecting the connection between the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing the connection between the second access point on the second wireless channel; a service distribution module 402, configured to distribute the working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal through the second access point according to the working channel in the first wireless channel when the second access point supports the terminal to perform the from-channel access; and distribute the working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal through the second access point according to the function possessed by the terminal when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform the from-channel access.

[0062] In one example, the terminal with the from-channel access function accessing the second access point is grouped according to the bandwidth supported by the terminal and the granularity of the access from-channel supported by the terminal to distribute the working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal with the from-channel access function through the second access point.

[0063] In one example, the channel switching by disconnecting the connection between the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing the connection between the second access point on the second wireless channel comprises: performing channel switching by the way of seamless switching, starting channel switching by initiating the seamless roaming request frame on the current working channel when the second access point supports the terminal to perform the from-channel access; and starting channel switching by initiating the seamless roaming request frame after switching the current working channel to the primary channel of the first wireless channel when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform the from-channel access.

[0064] In one example, the device further comprises a channel access module, configured to access the second access point through the temporary primary channel in the second wireless channel after establishing the second wireless channel; wherein the temporary primary channel is in the from-channel in the second wireless channel and is formed by the second access point by definition; wherein the temporary primary channel can perform the function of the primary channel in the second wireless channel; and process the service on the working channel distributed by the second access point to the terminal according to the function possessed by the terminal after accessing the second access point; wherein the function possessed by the terminal comprises the from-channel access function.

[0065] In one example, when the working channel belongs to the primary channel or the temporary primary channel in the wireless channel and the primary channel or the temporary primary channel is in the busy state and the from-channel is in the idle state, the terminal with the from-channel access function will process the service on the from-channel in the idle state through the from-channel access function.

[0066] In one example, there are one or more temporary master channels in the second wireless channel, and at least one of the temporary master channels allows the terminal to directly access the access point; the apparatus further includes a signal receiving module for receiving a beacon frame broadcasted by the access point before accessing the second access point through the temporary master channel in the second wireless channel, to confirm the channel in the second wireless channel that allows the terminal to directly access the access point.

[0067] In one example, the number of terminals allowed to simultaneously reside in each channel in the first wireless channel and the second wireless channel is limited.

[0068] In the embodiment, the channel switching is performed by disconnecting the connection between the terminal and the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the terminal and the second access point on the second wireless channel; when the second access point supports the terminal to perform slave channel access, the second access point allocates a working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to each working channel in the first wireless channel; when the second access point does not support the terminal to perform slave channel access, the second access point allocates a working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to the function possessed by the terminal. This makes it possible to perform channel switching when both master and slave channels exist and ensures that multiple wireless devices can fairly and effectively share wireless resources.

[0069] It can be found that the embodiment is a device embodiment corresponding to the above-mentioned method embodiment, and the embodiment can be implemented in cooperation with the above-mentioned method embodiment. The related technical details mentioned in the above-mentioned method embodiment are still valid in the embodiment. In order to reduce repetition, they will not be described here. Correspondingly, the related technical details mentioned in the embodiment can also be applied to the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0070] It is worth mentioning that each module involved in the embodiment is a logical module. In actual application, a logical unit can be a physical unit, a part of a physical unit, or a combination of multiple physical units. In addition, in order to highlight the innovative part of the present application, units not closely related to solving the technical problems proposed in the present application are not introduced in the embodiment, but this does not mean that there are no other units in the embodiment.

[0071] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a terminal, as shown in FIG. 5, including at least one processor 501; and a memory 502 in communication connection with the at least one processor; wherein the memory 502 stores instructions executable by the at least one processor 501, and the instructions are executed by the at least one processor 501 to enable the at least one processor 501 to perform the channel switching method as described above.

[0072] The memory 502 and the processor 501 are connected in a bus manner, the bus can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, the bus connects one or more processors 501 and various circuits of the memory 502 together. The bus can also connect various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage stabilizers and power management circuits together, which are well known in the art, therefore, they will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface between the bus and the transceiver. The transceiver can be one element or multiple elements such as multiple receivers and transmitters, which provide units for communicating with various other devices on the transmission medium. The data processed by the processor 501 is transmitted on the wireless medium through the antenna, further, the antenna also receives data and transmits the data to the processor 501.

[0073] The processor 501 is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, and can also provide various functions including timing, peripheral interface, voltage regulation, power management and other control functions. The memory 502 can be used to store data used by the processor 501 in performing operations.

[0074] Another embodiment of the present application relates to a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method embodiments described above.

[0075] That is, those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by programs instructing related hardware, the programs are stored in a storage medium, and include a plurality of instructions for causing an apparatus (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), a random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), a magnetic disk or an optical disk and various program code storage media.

[0076] Those skilled in the art can understand that the above-mentioned embodiments are specific embodiments for implementing the present application, and in actual applications, various changes can be made in form and details without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A channel switching method, applied to a terminal, comprising: Channel switching is performed by disconnecting the connection with the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the second access point and the second wireless channel; When the second access point supports the terminal to access the channel from the second access point, the terminal is assigned a working channel in the second wireless channel according to each working channel in the first wireless channel through the second access point. When the second access point does not support the terminal to access the channel from the second access point, the terminal is assigned a working channel in the second wireless channel by the second access point according to the functions of the terminal. The step of disconnecting the connection with the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the second access point and the second wireless channel includes: The channel switching is performed using a conventional switching method, first disconnecting the connection with the first access point, and then establishing a connection with the second access point; or, The channel switching is performed in a seamless manner, establishing a connection with the second access point while maintaining a connection with the first access point. After the switching is completed, the connection with the first access point is disconnected. When the second access point supports the terminal to access from the channel, the channel switching is started by initiating a seamless roaming request frame on the current working channel. When the second access point does not support the terminal to access the secondary channel, the current working channel is switched to the primary channel of the first wireless channel, and then the seamless roaming request frame is initiated to start the channel switching.

2. The channel switching method according to claim 1, wherein, The step of allocating a working channel in the second wireless channel for the terminal through the second access point, based on the functions of the terminal, includes: Through the second access point, based on the bandwidth supported by the terminal and the granularity of access to the secondary channel supported by the terminal, the terminals with secondary channel access function that access the second access point are grouped, and the working channels in the second wireless channel are allocated to the terminals with secondary channel access function.

3. The channel switching method according to claim 1, wherein, Establishing a connection between the second wireless channel and the second access point includes: A connection is established with the second access point on the slave channel corresponding to the temporary master channel in the second wireless channel; The temporary primary channel is located in the secondary channel corresponding to the temporary primary channel, and the temporary primary channel is formed by the second access point through definition. The temporary main channel is capable of performing some of the functions of the main channel in the second wireless channel; After accessing the second access point, the second access point processes services on the working channel allocated to the terminal according to the functions of the terminal. The terminal has the following functions: channel access function.

4. The channel switching method according to claim 3, wherein, The method further includes: When the current working channel belongs to the primary channel of the first wireless channel or the second wireless channel, and the primary channel of the first wireless channel or the second wireless channel is busy, while the secondary channel of the first wireless channel or the second wireless channel is idle, the terminal with the secondary channel access function will process services on the idle secondary channel of the first wireless channel or the second wireless channel through the secondary channel access function of the first wireless channel or the second wireless channel.

5. The channel switching method according to claim 3, wherein, The second wireless channel contains one or more of the temporary master channels, and at least one of the temporary master channels allows the terminal to directly access the access point; The method further includes: Before accessing the second access point via the temporary primary channel in the second wireless channel, the terminal confirms the channel in the second wireless channel that allows direct access to the access point by receiving a beacon frame broadcast by the access point.

6. The channel switching method according to claim 3, wherein, The method further includes: When the second access point does not support or has not enabled the secondary channel access function, the channel switching will be performed on the primary channel of the first wireless channel; When the second access point supports and enables the access function via the secondary channel, the channel switching is permitted to be performed on the temporary primary channel.

7. The channel switching method according to claim 1, wherein, The number of terminals allowed to camp simultaneously on each of the first and second wireless channels is limited.

8. A channel access device, comprising: The channel switching module is used to perform channel switching of the terminal by disconnecting the connection with the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the second wireless channel and the second access point. The service allocation module is used to allocate a working channel in the second wireless channel to the terminal according to each working channel in the first wireless channel when the second access point supports the terminal to access the channel from the second access point. When the second access point does not support the terminal to access the channel from the second access point, the terminal is assigned a working channel in the second wireless channel by the second access point according to the functions of the terminal. The step of disconnecting the connection with the first access point on the first wireless channel and establishing a connection between the second access point and the second wireless channel includes: The channel switching is performed using a conventional switching method, first disconnecting the connection with the first access point, and then establishing a connection with the second access point; or, The channel switching is performed in a seamless manner, establishing a connection with the second access point while maintaining a connection with the first access point. After the switching is completed, the connection with the first access point is disconnected. When the second access point supports the terminal to access from the channel, the channel switching is started by initiating a seamless roaming request frame on the current working channel. When the second access point does not support the terminal to access the secondary channel, the current working channel is switched to the primary channel of the first wireless channel, and then the seamless roaming request frame is initiated to start the channel switching.

9. A terminal, comprising: At least one processor; as well as, A memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores instructions that can be executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to perform the channel switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the channel switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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