A communication connection method, device and WiFi chip for WiFi sites

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication connection method, device and WiFi chip for a WiFi site. The method includes setting a WiFi chip and a WiFi module at the WiFi site, and the WiFi module is implemented by computer executable instructions executed by a processor of the WiFi site. The WiFi chip is used to monitor whether a BEACON frame from an AP is received. In the case that the duration for which the WiFi chip does not receive a BEACON frame exceeds a first time interval, the WiFi module is triggered to send a test frame to the AP, and the WiFi module monitors whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame from the AP is received within a second time interval after the test frame is sent. If so, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is maintained. The communication connection method of the present application can avoid disconnecting the connection between the WiFi site and the AP due to misjudgment while keeping the WiFi module in a dormant state as much as possible, thereby reducing the time and power consumption overhead caused by the WiFi site reconnecting to the AP or connecting to a new AP.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a wireless communication device, and more specifically, to a communication connection method, device and WiFi chip for a WiFi site. Background Art

[0002] With the development of technology, wireless WiFi has been widely used. However, when connecting to a router, sites such as speakers or mobile phones often lose connection with the router due to power failure of the router or the site is out of the coverage of the router. The site generally determines whether the connection between the site and the router has been disconnected by whether it can receive the BEACON frame sent by the router within a period of time, or whether the unicast data frame is successfully sent. However, this judgment process is implemented inside the chip hardware of the site, which is not flexible enough and cannot accurately determine whether the site is still connected to the router. If the site does not receive the BEACON frame sent by the router within a period of time, or fails to send a unicast data frame, it is determined that it is in a disconnected state and directly chooses to disconnect from the router, causing the site to re-establish the connection, resulting in a waste of time and power. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application is provided to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the prior art. A communication connection method, device and WiFi chip for a WiFi site are needed, which can more accurately determine whether the WiFi site and the AP (Access Point) on the router side are connected while keeping the WiFi module in a dormant state as much as possible, avoid frequently waking up the software of the WiFi module to determine the AP connection status, or disconnecting the WiFi site and the AP due to misjudgment, and reduce the power and protocol time consumption caused by the WiFi site reconnecting to the AP or connecting to a new AP.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present application, a communication connection method of a WiFi site is provided, comprising: a WiFi chip and a WiFi module are set at the WiFi site, and the WiFi module is implemented by a computer executable instruction executed by a processor of the WiFi site. The WiFi chip is used to monitor whether a BEACON frame from an AP is received. When the duration for which the WiFi chip does not receive a BEACON frame exceeds a first time interval, the WiFi module is triggered to send a test frame to the AP. The WiFi module monitors whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame from the AP is received within a second time interval after the test frame is sent, and if so, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is maintained.

[0005] According to a second aspect of the present application, a communication connection device for a WiFi site is provided, the communication connection device comprising a WiFi chip and a WiFi module arranged at the WiFi site, wherein the WiFi module is implemented by computer executable instructions executed by a processor of the WiFi site. The WiFi chip is configured to monitor whether a BEACON frame from an AP is received, and trigger the WiFi module to send a test frame to the AP when the duration for which the WiFi chip does not receive a BEACON frame exceeds a first time interval. The WiFi module may be configured to send a test frame to the AP in response to the triggering of the WiFi chip. The WiFi module may also be configured to monitor whether the test frame is successfully sent or received within a second time interval after sending the test frame, and if so, maintain the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the present application, a WiFi chip for a WiFi site is provided, wherein the WiFi site is further provided with a WiFi module implemented by computer executable instructions executable by its processor, wherein the WiFi chip includes a wireless interface, which can be configured to wirelessly connect to an AP and receive a BEACON frame from the AP. The WiFi chip also includes a processing unit, which can be configured to monitor whether a BEACON frame from the AP is received, and trigger the WiFi module to send a test frame to the AP when the duration of not receiving a BEACON frame exceeds a first time interval. The processing unit can also be configured to receive an instruction from the WiFi module, and maintain or disconnect the connection with the AP based on the instruction.

[0007] The communication connection method, device and WiFi chip for WiFi sites in various embodiments of the present application use the WiFi chip hardware and WiFi module software at the WiFi site to collaboratively complete the judgment process of whether the connection with the AP is normal. First, the WiFi chip hardware monitors the BEACON frame sent by the AP. When the BEACON frame is not received for more than a certain period of time, it indicates that the WiFi site may have disconnected from the AP. In this case, the software system of the WiFi module is further used to send a test frame to the AP and determine whether the test frame is successfully sent or received to decide whether to maintain or disconnect the connection between the WiFi site and the AP. Through the judgment process coordinated by the above hardware and software, the WiFi chip hardware can first preliminarily judge the connection status of the WiFi site and the AP without waking up the dormant software system as much as possible (or without increasing the additional overhead caused by using software for judgment). In the case of judging that it may have been disconnected, the software of the WiFi module is further used to more accurately judge the real connection status of the WiFi site and the AP by sending a test frame. In this way, the connection status of the WiFi site and the AP can be more accurately judged with as little power consumption and protocol overhead as possible, reducing the waste of time and power consumption caused by unnecessary reconnection and AP switching. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, the same reference numerals may describe similar parts in different views. The same reference numerals with letter suffixes or different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar parts. The accompanying drawings generally illustrate various embodiments by way of example and not limitation, and together with the specification and claims, are used to illustrate the disclosed embodiments. When appropriate, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. Such embodiments are illustrative and are not intended to be exhaustive or exclusive embodiments of the present apparatus or method.

[0009] Figure 1 A flowchart showing a communication connection method of a WiFi station according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0010] Figure 2 A flowchart showing a communication connection method of a WiFi station according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 3 A flowchart showing a communication connection method of a WiFi station according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a communication connection device for a WiFi site according to an embodiment of the present application; and

[0013] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a WiFi chip for a WiFi station according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present application, the present application is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but are not intended to limit the present application. The terms "first", "second" and "third" used in the present application are only intended to distinguish the corresponding features, do not represent the need for such an order, and do not necessarily represent only the singular form.

[0015] Figure 1 A flow chart of a communication connection method for a WiFi site according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. A WiFi chip 110 and a WiFi module 120 are set at the WiFi site, and the WiFi module 120 is implemented by a computer executable instruction executed by a processor of the WiFi site. The WiFi chip 110 and the WiFi module 120 can be independently set at the WiFi site, or the WiFi module 120 can be integrated on the WiFi chip 110, and the WiFi module 120 can send a test frame through the WiFi chip 110. The WiFi module 120 performs the judgment process according to the instruction. Since the judgment process is divided into the hardware part of the WiFi chip 110 and the software part of the WiFi module 120, the software part does not need to be executed in the process of judging only by hardware. Therefore, when the host is in sleep mode, the software part of the WiFi module 120 can also be in sleep mode. When the hardware part judges that a certain time domain value has been exceeded and no information from the AP has been received, the software is started to make a judgment. Therefore, the judgment process can be flexibly performed to avoid waking up the sleeping software system or increasing the additional overhead caused by using software for judgment. When the hardware part of the WiFi chip 110 preliminarily judges that it may be disconnected, the software part of the WiFi module 120 is further used to reduce power consumption and protocol overhead as much as possible.

[0016] The WiFi chip and the WiFi module are respectively operated by different processors, and the WiFi module can be operated by the host processor at the WiFi site, or the WiFi chip and the WiFi module can be integrated and run on the same processor to realize the operation of the wireless network card. The WiFi chip and the WiFi module can, for example, use various RISC (reduced instruction set computer) processor IPs purchased from ARM and the like as the processor of the SOC to perform corresponding functions, and can be implemented as an embedded system. Users can implement various communication modules by building ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) based on purchased IPs or self-developed modules to reduce power consumption and costs.

[0017] First, in the judgment process 111, the WiFi chip 110 monitors whether a BEACON frame is received from the AP. The wireless access point AP of the router sends a broadcast BEACON frame to multiple station ends, and the WiFi station monitors whether the BEACON frame is received through the hardware part of the WiFi chip 110. In this way, it is determined from the hardware perspective whether the AP is connected to the WiFi station. If the judgment result of the judgment process 111 is yes, that is, the BEACON frame from the AP is received. Then the judgment process 111 continues.

[0018] The result of the judgment process 111 is no, that is, the BEACON frame from the AP is not received. Then, the judgment process 112 is performed, and the duration of the WiFi chip 110 not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds the first time interval. If the result of the judgment process 112 is no, continue to monitor whether the BEACON frame is received. If the result of the judgment process 112 is yes, that is, the duration of the WiFi chip 110 not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds the first time interval. Next, step 121 is performed, and step 121 is that the WiFi chip 110 triggers the WiFi module 120 to send a test frame to the AP. The WiFi chip 110 determines that the connection with the AP may have been disconnected, so it communicates with the WiFi module 120, so that the WiFi module 120 determines to send a test frame. The specific process of sending the test frame can be that the WiFi module 120 sends an instruction to the WiFi chip 110, and after the WiFi chip 110 receives the instruction information, it parses the instruction information, and then sends the test frame to the AP according to the instruction information. Further, the first time interval can be pre-set in the WiFi chip 110, which can be 5s, 6s, etc.

[0019] Next, a judgment process 122 is performed, and the WiFi module 120 monitors whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame is received from the AP within a second time interval after the test frame is sent. After the judgment process 122 is completed, if the judgment result is yes, that is, there is a connection between the WiFi chip 110 and the AP, then step 123 is performed, and step 123 is to maintain the connection between the WiFi chip 110 and the AP. The software system of the WiFi module 120 determines that the test frame is successfully sent, or the data frame from the AP is received, and chooses to maintain the connection with the AP. After the WiFi module 120 sends the test frame, the AP will send a response frame to the WiFi module 120 after receiving the test frame. After the WiFi module 120 receives the response frame, it means that the test frame is sent successfully. At this time, it means that the AP is available, so the connection with the AP is maintained. Before the WiFi module 120 receives the response frame, in some cases, since the AP receives the test frame and activates the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP, the WiFi module 120 may also receive the data frame sent by the AP to the WiFi module 120, which can also indicate that the connection between the WiFi station and the AP can be used for normal communication. Therefore, in this case, the connection between the WiFi chip 110 and the AP should be maintained. There is no restriction on the order of receiving the response frame and the data frame. It is possible to receive the response frame first or the data frame first, as long as one of the conditions is met.

[0020] The above judgment process is performed by the WiFi chip hardware and the WiFi module software respectively. The WiFi chip hardware first judges whether the broadcast BEACON frame is successfully sent, and then judges whether it exceeds the first time interval. Then the WiFi module software judges whether the test frame is successfully sent or the data frame from the AP is received by sending a test frame to the AP, which indicates that the WiFi station and the AP are in a connected state, so it is chosen to maintain the connection between the WiFi station and the AP, so as to avoid disconnecting the connection between the WiFi station and the AP due to misjudgment, and reduce the time and power consumption of the WiFi station reconnecting to the AP or connecting to a new AP. In the collaborative judgment process of the WiFi chip hardware and the WiFi module, the WiFi chip hardware first preliminarily judges the connection state of the WiFi station and the AP. When it is judged that it may be disconnected, the software of the WiFi module is further used to more accurately judge the real connection state of the WiFi station and the AP by sending a test frame. In this way, the connection state of the WiFi station and the AP can be more accurately judged with as little power consumption and protocol overhead as possible. In the judgment process, the WiFi chip hardware can be used to make a judgment first, and the software does not need to be frequently enabled for judgment. For example, when the host is in a dormant state, the WiFi chip hardware is used to make a judgment first. When the WiFi chip judges that it may be disconnected, the WiFi module is started for judgment. The whole process is carried out flexibly, avoiding extra power consumption caused by frequently starting the software.

[0021] Through the above judgment process, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP can be maintained under certain circumstances, although the AP may lose power and cannot be connected for a short period of time or the WiFi site is not within the coverage of the router. However, in some cases, the WiFi site and the AP can still perform data transmission connection. For example, although the AP loses power, it may be restored after a short period of time or the power quality can basically meet the standard, or although it is not within the coverage of the router, it may be that the BEACON frame is not sent well, but data transmission can be performed, etc. It is not necessary to disconnect directly when an abnormality occurs. In some cases, the connection can continue to be used without disconnecting, which can save the time waste caused by re-establishing the connection or establishing a new connection, the protocol overhead and the increase in power consumption.

[0022] Figure 2A flow chart of a communication connection method of a WiFi station according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. A WiFi chip 210 and a WiFi module 220 are set at the WiFi station, and the WiFi module 220 is implemented by a computer executable instruction executed by a processor of the WiFi station. First, a judgment process 211 is performed, and the WiFi chip 210 is used to monitor whether a BEACON frame from an AP is received. Secondly, a judgment process 212 is performed, and the duration of the WiFi chip 210 not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds the first time interval. If the result of the judgment process 212 is no, then continue to receive. If the result of the judgment process 212 is yes, that is, the duration of the WiFi chip 210 not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds the first time interval. Next, step 221 is performed, and step 221 is that the WiFi chip 210 triggers the WiFi module 220 to send a test frame to the AP. Then a judgment process 222 is performed, and the WiFi module 220 monitors whether the test frame is successfully sent within the second time interval after sending the test frame, or receives a data frame from the AP. If the judgment result of the judgment process 222 is yes, that is, the test frame reception is successfully sent within the second time interval, or the data frame from the AP is received, then step 223 is selected, and step 223 is to maintain the connection between the WiFi chip 210 and the AP. If the judgment result of step 223 is no, that is, the test frame is not successfully sent within the second time interval, and no data frame is received from the AP, the WiFi module 220 determines whether there is a situation 224, and the situation 224 is that the number of times the test frame is sent is less than or equal to N. If the situation 224 is met, the WiFi module 220 proceeds to step 225, and step 225 is to trigger the WiFi module to send a test frame to the AP. After the judgment result of step 222 is no, the WiFi module 220 continuously monitors the number of times the test frame is sent. When the number of times the test frame is sent is less than or equal to N, the test frame is sent to the AP again through the WiFi chip 210. The WiFi module 220 continuously sends test frames to further confirm whether the WiFi chip 210 and the AP are connected, thereby improving the accuracy of the judgment. Further, the N is a pre-set natural number, such as 20, 30, etc.

[0023] Next, the WiFi module determines whether there is a situation 226, where the test frame is not successfully sent within the second time interval after each test frame is sent, and no data frame sent by the AP is received. Under the condition of situation 226, step 227 is performed, and step 227 is to disconnect the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP. In the second time interval after determining that the test frames sent for a preset number of times are not successfully sent, and no data frame sent by the AP is received, it may be that the AP is powered off or the WiFi site is not within the coverage of the router, resulting in a failure to connect. It is determined that the WiFi chip 210 and the AP are in a disconnected state, so the connection between the WiFi chip 210 and the AP is disconnected.

[0024] exist Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, the judgment process 222 judges whether the test frame is successfully sent or the data frame is received from the AP within the second time interval. If not, the test frame sent by the WiFi module to the AP does not receive the response frame of the AP, nor does it receive the data frame sent by the AP. If yes, the response frame may be received, or the data frame may be received. There is no restriction on the order of receiving the response frame and the data frame. Only when neither of the two is received, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is disconnected.

[0025] Furthermore, the calculation process of the number of test frame transmissions is as follows: when the WiFi module is triggered, the initial count value can be set to 0, and the count value is accumulated when the WiFi module sends the test frame. For example, N is set to 20, the initial count value cnt is 0, and cnt is 1 after the first test frame is sent. When the test frame is not sent successfully and the data frame sent by the AP is not received, the test frame is sent for the second time. After the second test frame is sent, cnt is 2. In this way, when the number of test frame transmissions cnt≤20, the WiFi module continues to send test frames to the AP until cnt>20. If the test frame is still not sent successfully and the data frame sent by the AP is not received, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is disconnected. If the test frame is sent successfully or the data frame sent by the AP is received within the set number of N, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is maintained. Avoid disconnecting the connection between the WiFi station and the AP due to misjudgment, and reduce the time waste, protocol overhead and power consumption increase caused by the WiFi station reconnecting to the AP or connecting to a new AP.

[0026] Figure 3A flow chart of a communication connection method of a WiFi station according to another embodiment of the present application is shown. A WiFi chip 310 and a WiFi module 320 are set at the WiFi station, and the WiFi module 310 is implemented by a computer executable instruction executed by a processor of the WiFi station. First, a judgment process 311 is performed, and the WiFi chip 310 is used to monitor whether a BEACON frame from an AP is received. If the judgment result of the judgment process 311 is yes, that is, the BEACON frame sent by the AP is received, then the monitoring continues. If the judgment result of 311 is no, a judgment process 312 is performed. The judgment process 312 is that the duration of the WiFi chip 310 not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds the first time interval. If the judgment result of the judgment process 312 is yes, then step 321 is performed. Step 321 is that the WiFi chip 310 triggers the WiFi module 320 to send a test frame to the AP. If the judgment result of the WiFi chip 310 is no, that is, the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame does not exceed the first time interval, then step 313 is performed, and step 313 is to maintain the connection between the WiFi chip 310 and the AP. After step 313, continue to monitor whether the BEACON frame is received. In the case where the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame does not exceed the first time interval, it can also be understood that the BEACON frame is received again within the first time interval. At this time, the WiFi chip hardware determines that the WiFi site and the AP are in a connected state, and at this time, it will choose to continue to maintain the connection between the WiFi site and the AP. In this way, the WiFi chip hardware makes a judgment process, and there is no need for the WiFi module to perform the judgment process again, and there is no need to frequently start the software part, and the judgment process is flexible.

[0027] After step 321, step 322 is performed, and step 322 is for the WiFi module 320 to monitor whether the test frame is successfully sent or the data frame from the AP is received within the second time interval after the test frame is sent. If the judgment result of step 322 is yes, that is, the test frame is successfully sent within the second time interval, or the data frame sent by the AP is received, step 323 is selected to maintain the connection between the WiFi chip 310 and the AP.

[0028] In some embodiments, the WiFi chip is used to monitor whether a BEACON frame is received from an AP, and if so, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is maintained. Further, after the step of maintaining the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is performed, the BEACON frame is continuously monitored whether it is received from the AP.

[0029] In some embodiments, since the data frame sent by the WiFi module is only used to test whether the connection with the AP is maintained, the test frame can be an empty data frame.

[0030] In some embodiments, the second time interval is 100ms. After the WiFi chip triggers the WiFi module to send a test frame, the WiFi module determines whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame from the AP is received within the second time interval. The WiFi module does not make a judgment immediately after sending the test frame, so as to make a correct judgment on whether the test frame is successfully sent or the data frame is received, so as to improve the accuracy of the judgment on whether the WiFi station actually maintains a normal connection with the AP.

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication connection device for a WiFi site according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The communication connection device includes a WiFi chip 4011 and a WiFi module 4012 arranged at the WiFi site 401, wherein the WiFi module 4012 is implemented by a computer executable instruction executed by a processor of the WiFi site 401. The WiFi chip 4011 and the WiFi module 4012 can be arranged independently at the WiFi site 401, or the WiFi module 4012 can be integrated on the WiFi chip 4011, and the WiFi module 4012 can trigger the WiFi chip 4011 to send a test frame through the WiFi chip 4011.

[0032] The WiFi chip 4011 is configured to monitor whether a BEACON frame is received from the AP 402. The WiFi chip 4011 is a hardware configuration at the WiFi site 401, and its communication connection with the wireless access point AP 402 enables it to receive the broadcast BEACON frame sent by the AP 402. In addition, the WiFi chip 4011 is further configured to trigger the WiFi module 4012 to send a test frame to the AP when the duration for which the WiFi chip 4011 does not receive a BEACON frame exceeds a first time interval.

[0033] The WiFi module 4012 is configured to: send a test frame to the AP 402 in response to the trigger of the WiFi chip 4011; monitor whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame sent by the AP 402 is received within a second time interval after the test frame is sent, and if so, maintain the connection between the WiFi chip 4012 and the AP 402. The WiFi module 4012 is a software configuration at the WiFi station 401. The WiFi module 4012 uses WiFi to complete the sending of test frames to the AP through the execution process of instructions. Based on the judgment of the WiFi chip 4011, it can further judge whether the WiFi chip 4011 and the AP 402 are still in a connected state, thereby improving the accuracy of the judgment of the connection between the WiFi chip 4011 and the AP 402, avoiding disconnection of the WiFi station and the AP due to misjudgment, and reducing the time and power consumption of the WiFi station reconnecting to the AP or connecting to a new AP. The WiFi chip 4011 and the WiFi module 4012 implement a hardware and software collaborative judgment process. After the judgment process of the WiFi chip 4011 is completed, if the judgment result is that the connection may be disconnected, the WiFi module 4012 is enabled. In this way, the WiFi module 4012 of the WiFi site 401 can be in a sleep state before being enabled, which is beneficial to maintaining the sleep state of the software part. If the judgment result of the WiFi chip 4011 is in a connected state, it is not necessary to enable the WiFi module 4012, thereby avoiding the power consumption and additional impact on the operation of the original program of the host caused by frequently enabling the software judgment process.

[0034] In some embodiments, the WiFi module is further configured to: when the WiFi module detects that the test frame is not successfully sent or the data frame sent by the AP is not received within a second time interval after the test frame is sent, and the number of times the test frame is sent is less than or equal to N, send the test frame to the AP again, where N is a preset natural number. When the WiFi module detects that the test frame is not successfully sent or the data frame sent by the AP is not received, and the number of times the test frame is sent is less than or equal to N, the WiFi module selects to send the test frame again through the WiFi chip.

[0035] In some embodiments, the WiFi module disconnects the WiFi chip from the AP when it determines that the test frame is not successfully sent within the second time interval after each test frame is sent, and the test frame sent by the AP is not received. The WiFi module sends the test frame N times, and the test frames sent N times are not successfully sent, and the data frame sent by the AP is not received after each test frame is sent. It is determined that the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is disconnected, so the WiFi chip and the AP are disconnected.

[0036] In some embodiments, the WiFi chip is further configured to: maintain the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP when the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame does not exceed the first time interval. A further result of the judgment process of the WiFi chip hardware is that the WiFi chip receives the BEACON frame within the first time interval, indicating that the WiFi chip and the AP may be in a connected state, so it is selected to maintain the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP.

[0037] In some embodiments, since the data frame sent by the WiFi module is only used to test whether the connection with the AP is maintained, the test frame can be an empty data frame.

[0038] In some embodiments, the second time interval is 100ms. The WiFi module waits for the second time interval instead of making a judgment immediately, so as to make a correct judgment on whether the test frame is sent or received successfully, so as to improve the accuracy of judging whether the WiFi station is actually connected to the AP normally.

[0039] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a WiFi chip 501 for a WiFi station according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The WiFi station is also provided with a WiFi module 503 implemented by computer executable instructions executable by its processor, and the WiFi chip 501 includes a wireless interface 5011, which is configured to wirelessly connect to an AP 502 and receive a BEACON frame from the AP 502. The wireless interface 5011 receives wireless information sent by the AP 502, and the wireless information includes a BEACON frame, a data frame, etc.

[0040] The WiFi chip 501 also includes a processing unit 5012, which is configured to monitor whether a BEACON frame is received from the AP 502, and trigger the WiFi module to send a test frame to the AP when the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds a first time interval; receive an instruction from the WiFi module, and maintain or disconnect the connection with the AP based on the instruction.

[0041] In addition to the functions according to the various embodiments of the present application, the above-mentioned WiFi chip may also have general functions commonly possessed by existing WiFi chips, which are not described in detail here. In specific implementation, the above-mentioned WiFi chip can be obtained by, for example, integrating the various functions in the processing unit in the various embodiments of the present application with the functions of the existing WiFi chip, and adaptively modifying the interfaces, interaction protocols, etc. between various devices and modules, which is not limited here.

[0042] The above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. The protection scope of the present application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or equivalent substitutions to the present application within the essence and protection scope of the present application, and such modifications or equivalent substitutions shall also be deemed to fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication connection method for a WiFi site, characterized in that: include: A WiFi chip and a WiFi module are provided at the WiFi site, wherein the WiFi module is implemented by computer executable instructions executed by a processor of the WiFi site; Using the WiFi chip to monitor whether a BEACON frame is received from an AP; When the WiFi chip does not receive a BEACON frame for a period exceeding a first time interval, triggering the WiFi module to send a test frame to the AP; as well as The WiFi module monitors whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame from the AP is received within a second time interval after the test frame is sent. If yes, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is maintained.

2. The communication connection method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication connection method further includes: When the WiFi module detects that the test frame is not successfully sent or received within a second time interval after sending the test frame, and the number of times the test frame is sent is less than or equal to N, sending the test frame to the AP again, where N is a preset natural number; When it is determined that the test frames are not successfully sent within the second time interval after each test frame is sent, and no data frame sent by the AP is received, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is disconnected.

3. The communication connection method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication connection method further includes: maintaining the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP when the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame does not exceed the first time interval.

4. The communication connection method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The test frame is an empty data frame.

5. The communication connection method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The second time interval is 100 ms.

6. A communication connection device for a WiFi site, characterized in that: The communication connection device includes a WiFi chip and a WiFi module provided at the WiFi site, wherein the WiFi module is implemented by computer executable instructions executed by a processor of the WiFi site; The WiFi chip is configured as follows: Monitor whether BEACON frames are received from the AP; When the WiFi chip does not receive a BEACON frame for a period exceeding a first time interval, triggering the WiFi module to send a test frame to the AP; The WiFi module is configured as follows: In response to the triggering of the WiFi chip, sending a test frame to the AP; Monitor whether the test frame is successfully sent or a data frame sent by the AP is received within a second time interval after the test frame is sent. If yes, maintain the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP.

7. The communication connection device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The WiFi module is further configured as follows: When the WiFi module detects that the test frame is not successfully sent or received within a second time interval after sending the test frame, and the number of times the test frame is sent is less than or equal to N, sending the test frame to the AP again, where N is a preset natural number; When it is determined that the test frames are not successfully sent within the second time interval after each test frame is sent, and no data frame sent by the AP is received, the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP is disconnected.

8. The communication connection device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The WiFi chip is further configured to maintain the connection between the WiFi chip and the AP when the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame does not exceed a first time interval.

9. The communication connection device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The test frame is an empty data frame.

10. The communication connection device according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The second time interval is 100 ms.

11. A WiFi chip for a WiFi site, characterized in that: The WiFi station is also provided with a WiFi module implemented by computer executable instructions executable by its processor, and the WiFi chip includes: A wireless interface configured to: wirelessly connect to an AP and receive a BEACON frame from the AP; and The processing unit is configured as follows: Monitoring whether a BEACON frame is received from the AP; In the case that the duration of not receiving the BEACON frame exceeds the first time interval, the WiFi module is triggered to send a test frame to the AP; an instruction from the WiFi module is received, and based on the instruction, the connection with the AP is maintained or disconnected.

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