Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a WLAN system that supports the IEEE 802.11 series of protocols, such as 802.11be / Wi‑Fi 7, Wi‑Fi 8, EHT or the next generation protocol, etc. The method includes: determining the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; rounding the first starting time to obtain the second starting time. Thus, by rounding the starting time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, the starting time of the TWT SP is in time units TU, thereby avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the starting time of the TWT SP.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202211262708.5, and the original application date is October 14, 2022. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) has gone through IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax and other standards, and now the 802.11be that is being discussed in the industry, and its standard version continues to evolve and develop. At present, more and more wireless network applications and services have put forward more stringent requirements on delay characteristics, such as online games, virtual reality, industrial sites, etc. To this end, the 802.11be standard regards delay guarantee and delay jitter characteristics as a key technical goal, and plans to introduce restricted target wakeup time (TWT) technology to improve delay guarantee performance.

[0004] Among them, the TWT parameter information is carried in the TWT element of the beacon frame. For a broadcast TWT, the starting time of the TWT service period (TWT service period, TWTSP, or SP for short) included in the broadcast TWT ID can be determined by the information of the TWT element. The existing broadcast TWT method is prone to communication errors. Summary of the invention

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which rounds the start time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, so that the start time of the TWT SP is in time unit (TU), thereby avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the start time of the TWT SP.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by an access point, or may be executed by a component (such as a chip or a circuit) of the access point, which is not limited thereto. For ease of description, the method is described below by taking the access point as an example.

[0007] The method may include: determining a first starting time of a target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to a value of a target wake-up time TWT field in a first beacon frame and a TWT wake-up interval; and rounding the first starting time to obtain a second starting time.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, by rounding the start time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, the start time of the TWT SP is in units of TU, ​​avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the start time of the TWT SP.

[0009] In a possible implementation, rounding is to use a time unit TU as a unit.

[0010] A possible implementation method, rounding the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment, includes: rounding up the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment; or, rounding down the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment; or, rounding the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment. Based on the above scheme, a variety of methods can be used to round the first starting moment to achieve similar effects. In actual operation, you can choose any one of them, or you can choose different alignment methods for different scenarios to increase the flexibility of the rounding scheme for the first starting moment.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the second starting time is the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame after the first beacon frame.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending the first beacon frame and / or the second beacon frame.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the value of the broadcast target wake-up time identifier TWT ID field in the first beacon frame is the same as the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the second beacon frame.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame are Delayed Transmission Indication Mapping (DTIM) beacon frames; or, the first beacon frame is a DTIM beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is a regular beacon frame.

[0015] In a possible implementation manner, the first beacon frame is the first DTIM beacon frame.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: determining a first silence interval, the start time of the first silence interval being the second start time, and the first silence interval being an overlapping silence interval.

[0017] Based on the above scheme, the access point can determine the second starting time that is an integer multiple of TU as the starting time of the overlapping silent interval, so that the starting time of the overlapping silent interval is aligned with the starting time of the TWT SP.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame or the first beacon frame includes the first silent interval, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner, the starting time of the first silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, and the TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the second starting time is based on TSF.

[0021] Based on the above scheme, the access point can set the starting time of the first silent interval to an integer multiple of TU, ​​so that the starting time of the first silent interval is aligned with the starting time of the TWT SP, forming an overlapping silent interval.

[0022] In a possible implementation manner, the start time of the second silent interval is the second start time, and the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0023] Based on the above scheme, the access point can determine the second starting time that is an integer multiple of TU as the starting time of the overlapping silent interval, so that the starting time of the overlapping silent interval is aligned with the starting time of the TWT SP.

[0024] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame or the first beacon frame includes the second silent interval, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner, the start time of the second silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, where TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

[0026] Based on the above scheme, the access point can set the starting time of the first silent interval to an integer multiple of TU, ​​so that the actual time of the first silent interval is aligned with the starting time of the TWT SP, forming an overlapping silent interval.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: determining a third silent interval, the second starting time is located in the third silent interval, and the third silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0028] Based on the above scheme, when the starting time of the TWT SP is not an integer multiple of TU, ​​the access point determines a silence interval where the starting time of the TWT SP is located as an overlapping silence interval when setting the overlapping silence interval, so that even if TBTT is not an integer TU, the third silence interval can be set as an overlapping silence interval.

[0029] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: determining the TWT wake-up interval based on the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field and the TWT wake-up interval exponent field in the first beacon frame.

[0030] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a station, or may be executed by a component of the station (such as a chip or a circuit), which is not limited to this. For ease of description, the following description is based on an example of execution by a station.

[0031] The method may include: the site determines the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP based on the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame after the first beacon frame; the site rounds the first starting time to obtain the second starting time; the site determines whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval based on the second starting time and the starting time of the silent interval.

[0032] Based on the above scheme, the site rounds the start time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, so that the start time of the TWT SP is an integer multiple of the TU, so that the site can judge whether the silence interval is an overlapping silence interval based on the start time of the TWT SP and the start time of the received silence interval, avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment between the two.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the rounding is performed by taking a time unit TU as a unit.

[0034] A possible implementation manner, in which the site rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time, includes: the site rounds up the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time; or, the site rounds down the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time; or, the site rounds up the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

[0035] Based on the above scheme, the first starting moment can be rounded to an integer in a variety of ways with similar effects. In actual operation, any one of them can be selected. Different alignment methods can also be selected for different scenarios to increase the flexibility of the first starting moment rounding scheme.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the site determines whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval based on the second starting time and the starting time of the silent interval, including: when the second starting time and the starting time of the silent interval are the same, the site determines that the silent interval is the overlapping silent interval.

[0037] In a possible implementation manner, the starting time of the silence interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, where TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

[0038] Based on the above solution, the access point can set the starting time of the silent interval to an integer multiple of TU, ​​so that the starting time of the silent interval is aligned with the starting time of the TWT SP, forming an overlapping silent interval.

[0039] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the station receiving the beacon frame.

[0040] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame is a delayed transmission indication mapping DTIM beacon frame or a regular beacon frame.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the site determines whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval based on the second starting time and the starting time of the silent interval, including: the site determines the silent interval based on the starting time of the silent interval and the duration of the silent interval; when the second starting time is within the silent interval, the site determines that the silent interval is the overlapping silent interval.

[0042] Based on the above scheme, when the start time of the TWT SP cannot be aligned with the start time of the silent interval, the site can determine whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval by judging whether the start time of the TWT SP is within a silent interval.

[0043] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame includes an element corresponding to the silent interval.

[0044] In a possible implementation manner, when the station is an extremely high throughput station, the method further includes: the station ignoring the silence interval.

[0045] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by an access point, or may be executed by a component (such as a chip or circuit) of the access point, which is not limited thereto. For ease of description, the following description is made by taking the access point as an example.

[0046] The method may include: determining the starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP based on the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; determining the silence interval, the starting time of the TWT SP is within the silence interval, and the silence interval is an overlapping silence interval.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame includes an element corresponding to the silent interval.

[0048] Based on the above scheme, when the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the first silent interval cannot be aligned, the access point can determine an overlapping silent interval by overlapping a silent interval with the starting time of the TWT SP when setting the overlapping silent interval.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a station, or may be executed by a component of the station (such as a chip or a circuit), which is not limited thereto. For ease of description, the method is described below by taking the station as an example.

[0050] The method may include: the site determines the starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP based on the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; the site determines whether the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval based on the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the silent interval.

[0051] Based on the above scheme, when the starting time of the TWT SP is not an integer multiple of the TU, the station can determine whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval by judging whether the starting time of the TWT SP is within a silent interval.

[0052] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame includes an element corresponding to the silent interval.

[0053] In one possible implementation, the site determines whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval based on the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the silent interval, including: the site determines the silent interval based on the starting time of the silent interval and the duration of the silent interval; when the starting time of the TWT SP is within the silent interval, the site determines that the silent interval is the overlapping silent interval.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, when the station is an extremely high throughput station, the method further includes: the station ignoring the silence interval.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit for executing the method shown in the first aspect above. The communication device may be an access point, or may be executed by a chip or circuit arranged in the access point, and the present application does not limit this.

[0056] The communication device comprises:

[0057] The processing unit is used to determine the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; the processing unit is also used to round the first starting time to obtain the second starting time.

[0058] In a possible implementation, rounding is to use a time unit TU as a unit.

[0059] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further used to round up the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment; or, the processing unit is further used to round down the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment; or, the processing unit is further used to round up the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the second starting time is the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame after the first beacon frame.

[0061] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is configured to send the first beacon frame and / or the second beacon frame.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the value of the broadcast target wake-up time identifier TWT ID field in the first beacon frame is the same as the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the second beacon frame.

[0063] In a possible implementation manner, the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame are Delayed Transmission Indication Mapping (DTIM) beacon frames; or, the first beacon frame is a DTIM beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is a regular beacon frame.

[0064] In a possible implementation manner, the first beacon frame is the first DTIM beacon frame.

[0065] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to determine a first silent interval, the start time of the first silent interval being the second start time, and the first silent interval being an overlapping silent interval.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame or the first beacon frame includes the first silent interval, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame.

[0067] In a possible implementation manner, the starting time of the first silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, and the TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

[0068] In a possible implementation manner, the second starting time is based on TSF.

[0069] In a possible implementation manner, the start time of the second silent interval is the second start time, and the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0070] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame or the first beacon frame includes the second silent interval, and the second beacon frame is a beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame.

[0071] In a possible implementation manner, the start time of the second silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, where TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

[0072] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further configured to determine a third silent interval, the second starting time is located within the third silent interval, and the third silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0073] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further used to determine the TWT wake-up interval based on the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field and the TWT wake-up interval exponent field in the first beacon frame.

[0074] The explanation of the communication device-related contents and beneficial effects provided in the fifth aspect can refer to the method shown in the first aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0075] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit for executing the method shown in the second aspect above. The communication device may be a site, or may be executed by a chip or circuit arranged in the site, and the present application does not limit this.

[0076] The communication device comprises:

[0077] The processing unit is used to determine the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; the processing unit is also used to round the first starting time to obtain a second starting time; the processing unit is also used to determine whether the silence interval is an overlapping silence interval according to the second starting time and the starting time of the silence interval.

[0078] In a possible implementation manner, the rounding is performed by taking a time unit TU as a unit.

[0079] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further used to round up the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment; or, the processing unit is further used to round down the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment; or, the processing unit is further used to round up the first starting moment to obtain the second starting moment.

[0080] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time is the same as the starting time of the silence interval, the processing unit is further configured to determine that the silence interval is the overlapping silence interval.

[0081] In a possible implementation manner, the starting time of the silence interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, where TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

[0082] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is configured to receive the beacon frame.

[0083] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame is a delayed transmission indication mapping DTIM beacon frame or a regular beacon frame.

[0084] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further used to determine the silent interval based on the starting time of the silent interval and the duration of the silent interval; when the second starting time is within the silent interval, the processing unit is further used to determine that the silent interval is the overlapping silent interval.

[0085] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame includes an element corresponding to the silent interval.

[0086] In a possible implementation manner, when the site is an extremely high throughput site, the processing unit is further configured to ignore the silent interval.

[0087] The explanation of the communication device-related contents and beneficial effects provided in the sixth aspect can refer to the method shown in the second aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0088] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit for executing the method shown in the third aspect above. The communication device may be an access point, or may be executed by a chip or circuit arranged in the access point, and the present application does not limit this.

[0089] The communication device comprises:

[0090] The processing unit is used to determine the starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; the processing unit is also used to determine the silence interval, the starting time of the TWT SP is within the silence interval, and the silence interval is an overlapping silence interval.

[0091] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame includes an element corresponding to the silent interval.

[0092] The explanation of the communication device-related contents and beneficial effects provided in the seventh aspect can refer to the method shown in the third aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0093] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit for executing the method shown in the fourth aspect above. The communication device may be a site, or may be executed by a chip or circuit arranged in the site, and the present application does not limit this.

[0094] The communication device comprises:

[0095] The processing unit is used to determine the starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; the processing unit is also used to determine whether the silence interval is an overlapping silence interval according to the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the silence interval.

[0096] In a possible implementation manner, the beacon frame includes an element corresponding to the silent interval.

[0097] In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit is further used to determine the silence interval based on the starting time of the silence interval and the duration of the silence interval; when the starting time of the TWT SP is within the silence interval, the processing unit is further used to determine that the silence interval is the overlapping silence interval.

[0098] In a possible implementation manner, when the site is an extremely high throughput site, the processing unit is further configured to ignore the silent interval.

[0099] The explanation of the communication device-related contents and beneficial effects provided in the eighth aspect can refer to the method shown in the fourth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0100] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a memory for storing programs; and at least one processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to execute a method of any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0101] In one implementation, the device is an access point.

[0102] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system, or a circuit used in an access point.

[0103] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the methods provided in the above aspects.

[0104] For the operations such as sending and acquiring / receiving involved in the processor, unless otherwise specified, or unless they conflict with their actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, they can be understood as operations such as processor output, reception, input, etc., or as sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna, and this application does not limit this.

[0105] In an eleventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, and the program code includes a method for executing any possible implementation of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0106] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method in any possible implementation manner of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0107] In the thirteenth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in a memory through the communication interface to execute a method of any possible implementation method of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0108] Optionally, as an implementation method, the chip also includes a memory, in which a computer program or instructions are stored, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is used to execute the method of any possible implementation method of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0109] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising one or more of the access points and stations described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0110] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the R-TWT mechanism.

[0111] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the frame structure of the TWT element.

[0112] Figure 3 The figure is a schematic diagram of a service arrival cycle taking a service rate of 75 frames per second as an example.

[0113] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application.

[0114] Figure 5 A schematic flowchart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0115] Figure 6 A schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0116] Figure 7 A schematic flowchart of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0117] Figure 8 A schematic flowchart of a communication method 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0118] Fig. 9 A schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in the present application.

[0119] Fig.10 A schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in this application.

[0120] Fig.11 A schematic flowchart of a communication method 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0121] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0122] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of this application, we first briefly introduce the relevant technologies involved in this application.

[0123] Under 802.11be, there are many real-time applications (RTA) in extremely high throughput stations (EHT STA) that are non-access points (non-AP). The traffic of these applications has very strict latency requirements. Based on this, a restricted target wakeup time (TWT) mechanism is proposed. The restricted target wakeup time (R-TWT) mechanism is a new mechanism to ensure low-latency services derived from the existing broadcast TWT in 802.11ax.

[0124] See also Figure 1 , Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the R-TWT mechanism. Figure 1In the R-TWT mechanism, the access point (AP) broadcasts one or more R-TWT service periods (SP) through beacon frames or probe response frames. When an EHT STA in the basic service set (BSS) receives information about any R-TWTSP broadcast by the AP, if the dot11RestrictedTWTOptionImplemented of the EHT STA is set to true, the EHT STA ends its transmission opportunity (TXOP) before the start time of the R-TWT SP. In addition, the AP can set an overlapping silent interval corresponding to the start time of the R-TWT SP in the beacon frame or the probe response frame, with a duration of 1 time unit (TU)TU. The EHT STA can ignore the above-mentioned overlapping silent interval and compete for the channel after the start of the R-TWT SP. The legacy station (legacy STA) needs to remain silent according to the overlapping silent interval, which will reduce the number of stations (STA) competing for channels in the BSS and increase the probability of EHT STA with low-latency services obtaining channels.

[0125] Among them, the R-TWT parameter information is indicated in the TWT element.

[0126] See also Figure 2 , Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the frame structure of the broadcast TWT element. Figure 2 For a broadcast TWT element, it includes element identification field, length field, control field and TWT parameter information field.

[0127] The TWT parameter information field includes the request type field, the target wakeup time (TWT) field, the minimum TWT wakeup duration field, the TWT wakeup interval mantissa field and the broadcast TWT info field.

[0128] The TWT field is used to indicate the start time of the first TWT SP after the frame carrying the broadcast TWT element. The TWT field is 2 bytes long, of which the least significant bit corresponds to bit 10 of the timing synchronization function (TSF) value.

[0129] It should be understood that TSF indicates the current time of the site, and provides time information for a variety of mechanisms and processes that require time synchronization. The Timestamp field indicating TSF is 64 bits (bit 0-bit 63), of which bit 63 is the highest bit and bit 0 is the lowest bit. The lowest bit corresponds to 1 microsecond, so bit 10 corresponds to 2^10 microseconds. Therefore, it can be said that the unit (ie, granularity) of the TSF is 1 microsecond (us), and the unit (granularity) of the TWT domain is 2^10us=1024us. At present, 1024us is defined as 1 time unit (TU) in the standard, and is set in units of 1TU when setting the TWT domain.

[0130] It should be noted that in daily communication, time units (such as the data arrival period of a service) are mostly described in milliseconds, and 1TU = 1.024ms, which are approximately equal. For the convenience of illustration, in this application, the TWT domain is described in units of 1ms, that is, in this application, 1ms can be equated with 1TU. However, it should be understood that when using 1TU as a unit, the alignment and adjustment method is the same as the alignment and adjustment method using 1ms as a unit.

[0131] Among them, the unit (ie, granularity) of the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field is 1us.

[0132] The request type field includes a TWT wake interval exponent field, and the minimum value of the TWT wake interval exponent field is 0.

[0133] The TWT wake-up interval mantissa field and the TWT wake-up interval index field are used to determine the TWT wake-up interval (TWT wakeinterval), and the TWT wake-up interval is used to indicate the interval between the start times of two consecutive TWT SPs. The TWT wake-up interval is the value of the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field × 2^(the value of the TWT wake-up interval index field), and the unit (i.e., granularity) of the TWT wake-up interval is 1us.

[0134] The broadcast TWT information field includes a broadcast TWT identity (broadcast TWT ID), which is used to indicate the ID of the broadcast TWT element. It should be understood that for the same group of broadcast TWT elements, the broadcast TWT IDs of the same group of broadcast TWT elements are the same.

[0135] It should be understood that the description here about the frame structure of the broadcast TWT element is also applicable to the following embodiments and will not be repeated.

[0136] from Figure 2 It can be seen that based on the current frame structure setting of the broadcast TWT element, when the TWT wake-up interval is determined by the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field and the TWT wake-up interval exponent field, the unit of the TWT wake-up interval is 1us, and the unit of the TWT field is 1ms. In this way, the starting time of the TWT SP determined by the TWT field and the TWT wake-up interval is not an integer multiple of 1ms, that is, the starting time of the TWT SP cannot be aligned with 1ms (or 1TU).

[0137] The following is a specific description with an example.

[0138] join Figure 3 , Figure 3 The figure is a schematic diagram of a service arrival cycle taking a service rate of 75 frames per second as an example.

[0139] For ease of description, in this application, a service rate of 75 frames per second is used as an example for illustration, but it should be understood that the solution of this application is not limited to this specific frame rate.

[0140] Figure 3 In the figure, the beacon frame interval is 100ms, and the interval of the delayed transmission indication map (delivery traffic indication map, DTIM) beacon frame is three times the beacon frame interval, that is, 300ms. The service arrival period is 1 / 75s, that is, 13.333ms. The service arrival time can also be understood as the starting time of the TWT SP. For example, the starting time of the first TWT SP of DTIM beacon frame #1 is 0.00ms, the starting time of the second TWT SP of DTIM beacon frame #1 is 13.333ms, the starting time of the first TWT SP of beacon frame #1 is 106.67ms, the starting time of the first TWT SP of beacon frame #2 is 200.00ms, and the starting time of the first TWT SP of DTIM beacon frame #2 is 306.67ms. Then from Figure 3 It can be seen that the TWT SP start time after the first non-DTIM beacon frame (beacon frame #1) is 106.67ms, which is not an integer multiple of 1ms.

[0141] It should be understood that if Figure 3 After the unit is changed to 1TU, the beacon frame interval is 100TU, and the DTIM beacon frame interval is three times the beacon frame interval, that is, 300TU. The service arrival period is 13.333TU, so the starting time of the first TWT SP of DTIM beacon frame #1 is 0.00TU, the starting time of the second TWT SP of DTIM beacon frame #1 is 13.333TU, the starting time of the first TWT SP of beacon frame #1 is 106.67TU, the starting time of the first TWT SP of beacon frame #2 is 200.00TU, and the starting time of the first TWT SP of DTIM beacon frame #2 is 306.67TU.

[0142] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which rounds the starting time of the TWT SP determined by the TWT element so that the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the silence interval are in time units TU, so that the two can match each other, avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the two.

[0143] The technical solution provided in this application can be applicable to WLAN scenarios, for example, it can be applicable to IEEE 802.11 system standards, such as supporting IEEE 802.11ax next-generation Wi-Fi protocols, such as 802.11be, 802.15.4z, 802.15.4ab, Wi-Fi7 or EHT, and wireless LAN systems of 802.11 series protocols such as 802.11be next generation, Wi-Fi8, etc., can also be applied to wireless personal area network systems based on ultra-wideband UWB, and sensing systems.

[0144] Although the embodiments of the present application are mainly described by deploying a WLAN network, especially a network using the IEEE 802.11 system standard, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the various aspects involved in the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as a high performance radio local area network (HIPERLAN) and a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (PAN) or other networks known now or developed later. Among them, HIPERLAN is a wireless standard similar to the IEEE802.11 standard, mainly used in Europe. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0145] The embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to wireless local area network systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) network or vehicle to X (V2X). Of course, the embodiments of the present application may also be applicable to other possible communication systems, such as the long term evolution (LTE) system, the LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, the fifth generation (5G) communication system, and the future sixth generation (6G) communication system.

[0146] The above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example for illustration, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. A unified description is given here and no further elaboration is given below.

[0147] See also Figure 4 , Figure 4 Schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 The communication method provided in the present application is applicable to data communication between an AP and one or more STAs (for example, data communication between AP1 and STA1, STA2). Optionally, the STA here includes at least a legacy STA, for example, STA1. In addition, an EHTSTA, for example, STA 2, may also be included.

[0148] Among them, the access point can be an access point for terminal devices (for example, mobile phones) to enter the wired (or wireless) network. It is mainly deployed in homes, buildings and parks, with a typical coverage radius of tens of meters to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. The access point is equivalent to a bridge connecting the wired network and the wireless network. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, the access point can be a terminal device (such as a mobile phone) or a network device (such as a router) with a Wi-Fi chip. The access point can be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. The access point can also be a device that supports 802.11be, as well as various wireless local area networks (WLAN) standards of the 802.11 family such as the next generation of 802.11be. The access point in this application can be a high-efficiency (HE) AP or an extremely high throughput (EHT) AP, or it can be an access point applicable to a future generation of Wi-Fi standards.

[0149] The site can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor or a wireless communication terminal, etc., and can also be called a user. For example, the site can be a mobile phone that supports Wi-Fi communication function, a tablet computer that supports Wi-Fi communication function, a set-top box that supports Wi-Fi communication function, a smart TV that supports Wi-Fi communication function, a smart wearable device that supports Wi-Fi communication function, a vehicle-mounted communication device that supports Wi-Fi communication function, and a computer that supports Wi-Fi communication function, etc. Optionally, the site can support the 802.11be standard. The site can also support multiple wireless local area networks (WLAN) standards of the 802.11 family, such as 802.11be and 802.11be next generation.

[0150] The technical solution of this application is introduced below.

[0151] It should be noted that for Figure 5-Figure 7 The method shown is applicable to the R-TWT mechanism. For the sake of convenience of description, R-TWT will be referred to as TWT below.

[0152] See also Figure 5 , Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 500 may include the following steps.

[0153] S510, determining the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0154] Specifically, the access point (AP) or the chip module in the AP determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0155] The first starting time is the actual starting time of the first TWT SP after the second beacon frame. The second beacon frame is a beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame.

[0156] In each embodiment of the present application, the value of the target wake-up time TWT field is carried in the first beacon frame or the second beacon frame. The value of the target wake-up time TWT field can also be carried in other management frames, which is not limited here.

[0157] The TWT field is used to indicate the starting time of the first TWT SP after the first beacon frame.

[0158] Among them, the TWT wake-up interval is determined by the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval index field in the first beacon frame.

[0159] Specifically, the TWT wake-up interval is the value of the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field×2^(the value of the TWT wake-up interval exponent field).

[0160] It should be noted that in the present application, the TWT field in the first beacon frame, the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field in the first beacon frame, the TWT wake-up interval index field in the first beacon frame, etc. can be understood as the TWT field, TWT wake-up interval mantissa field, TWT wake-up interval index field, etc. carried in the TWT element in the first beacon frame, and are hereinafter referred to as the TWT field in the first beacon frame, the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field in the first beacon frame, the TWT wake-up interval index field in the first beacon frame, etc., and the present application is not limited to this.

[0161] S520, round the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0162] Specifically, after determining the first starting time, the AP rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

[0163] The second starting time is based on TSF.

[0164] It should be understood that the second starting time is an integer multiple of TU, ​​for example, the second starting time is 1TU, for example, the second starting time is 10TU, etc., and this application is not limited to this.

[0165] Among them, the second starting time is the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is the beacon frame after the first beacon frame.

[0166] It should be understood that the second beacon frame being a beacon frame after the first beacon frame can be understood as the second beacon frame being any beacon frame after the first beacon frame, and the present application does not limit this.

[0167] It should be understood that the second starting time being the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame can be understood as that after the AP obtains the second starting time, the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame is set to the second starting time.

[0168] The rounding is done by taking the time unit TU as the unit, and 1TU is equal to 1024us.

[0169] In a possible implementation manner, the AP rounds up the first starting time to obtain the second starting time.

[0170] Exemplarily, when the first starting time is 10.3 ms, the second starting time obtained by rounding up the first starting time by the AP is 11 ms.

[0171] In a possible implementation, the first starting time is rounded down to obtain the second starting time.

[0172] Exemplarily, when the first starting time is 10.3 ms, the second starting time obtained by the AP rounding down the first starting time is 10 ms.

[0173] In a possible implementation manner, the first starting time is rounded to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0174] Exemplarily, when the first starting time is 10.3 ms, the second starting time obtained by rounding up the first starting time by the AP is 10 ms.

[0175] Exemplarily, when the first starting time is 10.7 ms, the second starting time obtained by rounding up the first starting time by the AP is 11 ms.

[0176] For example, when the first starting time is 10.5 ms, the AP rounds up the first starting time to obtain the second starting time of 11 ms according to the usual rounding method. However, it should be understood that if it is agreed that when 0.5 ms appears, rounding down is also feasible, that is, 10.5 ms will be rounded to 10 ms.

[0177] It should be understood that the above method of rounding the first starting time to obtain the second starting time is only an example, and the present application is not limited to this.

[0178] Based on the above scheme, by rounding the starting time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, the starting time of the TWT SP is in units of TU, ​​thereby avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the starting time of the TWT SP. In a possible implementation, the method 500 also includes: S530, determining a first silence interval.

[0179] Specifically, the AP determines a first quiet interval for the TWT SP, where the first quiet interval is an overlapping quiet interval.

[0180] It should be understood that the overlapping silent interval is a silent interval whose starting time is the same as the starting time of the TWT SP.

[0181] It should be noted that the AP can configure an overlapping silent interval for all TWT SPs corresponding to the broadcast TWT ID, or can configure an overlapping silent interval for one or more TWT SPs. The present application does not limit the number of overlapping silent intervals determined by the AP. For the sake of ease of description, the following takes the example of AP determining an overlapping silent interval for a TWT SP. The way in which the AP determines overlapping silent intervals for other TWT SPs can refer to the following description.

[0182] The start time of the first silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time (TBTT).

[0183] In a possible implementation manner, when the AP sets the start time of the first silent interval to be an integer multiple of TU, ​​the AP determines the start time of the first silent interval to be the second start time.

[0184] It should be understood that when the starting time of the first silent interval is an integer multiple of TU, ​​that is, the second starting time and the starting time of the first silent interval are both integer multiples of TU, ​​then TSF can be said to be aligned with TBTT.

[0185] In a possible implementation, when the start time of the first silent interval set by the AP is not an integer multiple of TU, ​​the AP determines the first silent interval, the second start time is within the first silent interval, and the duration of the first silent interval is 1TU. In other words, the AP determines the silent interval of 1TU duration including the second start time as the first silent interval.

[0186] It should be understood that when the starting time of the first silent interval is not an integer multiple of TU, ​​it can be said that TSF is not aligned with TBTT.

[0187] The first beacon frame or the second beacon frame includes a first silent interval.

[0188] It should be noted that the first beacon frame or the second beacon frame including the first silent interval can be understood as the first silent element (quiet element) carried in the first beacon frame includes the starting time of the first silent interval, or the first silent element carried in the second beacon frame includes the starting time of the first silent interval. Specifically, the quiet offset field of the first quiet element and the quiet count field of the first quiet element are used to determine the starting time of the first silent interval, and the value of the quiet duration field of the first quiet element is used to indicate the duration of the first silent interval, and the value of the quiet duration field of the first quiet element is the second starting time.

[0189] In a possible implementation manner, the method 500 further includes: S540, sending a first beacon frame and / or a second beacon frame.

[0190] Specifically, the AP sends a first beacon frame and / or a second beacon frame to the station.

[0191] Accordingly, the station receives the first beacon frame and / or the second beacon frame from the AP.

[0192] It should be understood that the AP can send the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame to the site, the AP can also send only the first beacon frame to the site, and the AP can also send only the second beacon frame to the site, and this application does not limit this.

[0193] The site may be an extremely high throughput site (eg, an EHT STA), which is not limited in this application.

[0194] Among them, the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the first beacon frame is the same as the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the second beacon frame.

[0195] It should be understood that the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the first beacon frame is the same as the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the second beacon frame, which can be understood as the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame indicating the same broadcast TWT.

[0196] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame may be a delayed transmission indication mapping DTIM beacon frame, and the second beacon frame may also be a non-DTIM beacon frame.

[0197] It should be noted that in this implementation, since there is no need to distinguish between DTIM beacon frames and non-DTIM beacon frames, the method is relatively simple. However, for non-DTIM beacon frames, the stations that receive the non-DTIM beacon frames and those that do not receive the non-DTIM beacon frames will have an error of less than 1TU in determining the start time of the TWT SP.

[0198] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame is only a delayed transmission indication mapping DTIM beacon frame and cannot be a non-DTIM beacon frame.

[0199] It should be noted that, under this implementation, for non-DTIM beacon frames, there will be no error in the determination of the start time of the TWT SP by the stations that receive the non-DTIM beacon frame and those that do not receive the non-DTIM beacon frame. The non-DTIM beacon frame will no longer carry the TWT element corresponding to the broadcast TWT ID, so that no matter the station that receives the non-DTIM beacon frame or the station that does not receive the non-DTIM beacon frame calculates the start time of the TWT SP based on the TWT parameters in the previous DTIM beacon frame, so there will be no error in the determination of the start time of the TWT SP by the station.

[0200] In a possible implementation manner, the first beacon frame may be a delayed transmission indication mapping DTIM beacon frame.

[0201] In a possible implementation manner, the second beacon frame may be a DTIM beacon frame, or a non-DTIM beacon frame, such as a regular beacon frame, which is not limited in the present application.

[0202] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the order of sending the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame. For example, the AP may send the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame after determining the second starting time. The AP may also first send the first beacon frame, further determine the second starting time, and send the second beacon frame after determining the second starting time.

[0203] It should be noted that the present application does not limit the order of determining the first silent interval and sending the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame. For example, the AP can first determine the first silent interval, and then send the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame after determining the first silent interval. The indication information of the first silent interval is carried in the first beacon frame or the second beacon frame. The AP can also first send the first beacon frame, further determine the first silent interval, and then send the second beacon frame after determining the first silent interval. The first silent interval is carried in the second beacon frame.

[0204] In a possible implementation manner, the method 500 further includes: S550, the station determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0205] Specifically, after receiving the beacon frame, the station determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0206] It should be understood that the beacon frame may be the first beacon frame or the second beacon frame in S540.

[0207] It should be understood that when the site receives the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame in S540, the site determines the first start time of the TWT SP between the first beacon frame and the second beacon frame according to the value of the TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval, and the site determines the first start time of the TWTSP after the second beacon frame according to the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; when the site only receives the first beacon frame in S540, the site determines the first start time of the TWT SP after the first beacon frame according to the value of the TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; when the site only receives the second beacon frame in S540, the site determines the first start time of the TWT SP after the first and second beacon frames according to the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0208] In a possible implementation manner, the method 500 further includes: S560, the site rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0209] Specifically, after determining the first starting time, the site rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

[0210] The rounding is to round up using the time unit TU as the unit.

[0211] In a possible implementation manner, the site rounds up the first starting time to obtain the second starting time.

[0212] In a possible implementation manner, the site rounds down the first starting time to obtain the second starting time.

[0213] In a possible implementation manner, the site rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0214] It should be understood that the description of rounding the first starting time to obtain the second starting time can refer to the description in S520. Here, in order to avoid redundancy, its detailed description is omitted.

[0215] It should be understood that the above method of rounding the first starting time to obtain the second starting time is only an example, and the present application is not limited to this.

[0216] In a possible implementation manner, the method 500 further includes: S570, the station determines whether the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval according to the second starting time and the starting time of the first silent interval.

[0217] Specifically, according to whether the start time of the first silent interval is an integer multiple of TU, ​​the station determines whether the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval according to the second start time and the start time of the first silent interval in the following ways.

[0218] Mode 1: When the start time of the first silent interval is an integer multiple of TU, ​​the station determines whether the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval according to whether the second start time is the same as the start time of the first silent interval.

[0219] The starting time of the first silent interval being an integer multiple of TU can be understood as TBTT being N×TU, where N is an integer. For example, the starting time of the first silent interval is 1TU, and for another example, the starting time of the first silent interval is 10TU, etc., which is not limited in this application.

[0220] It should be understood that when the starting time of the first silent interval is an integer multiple of TU, ​​that is, the second starting time and the starting time of the first silent interval are both integer multiples of TU, ​​then TSF can be said to be aligned with TBTT.

[0221] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time is the same as the starting time of the first silent interval, the station determines that the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0222] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time is different from the starting time of the first silent interval, the station determines that the first silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval.

[0223] Mode 2: When the start time of the first silent interval is not an integer multiple of TU, ​​the station determines whether the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval according to whether the second start time is within the first silent interval.

[0224] It should be understood that when the starting time of the first silent interval is not an integer multiple of TU, ​​it can be said that TSF is not aligned with TBTT.

[0225] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time is within the first silent interval, the station determines that the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0226] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time is not within the first silent interval, the station determines that the first silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval.

[0227] In a possible implementation manner, the method 500 further includes: S580, the station ignores the first silence interval.

[0228] Specifically, when the station is an extremely high throughput station (eg, an EHT STA), when the station determines that the first silent interval is an overlapping silent interval, the station ignores the first silent interval, that is, the station does not remain silent in the first silent interval.

[0229] In a possible implementation manner, the method 500 further includes: S590, the station is silent within the first silence interval.

[0230] Specifically, when the station is an extremely high throughput station (eg, an EHT STA), when the station determines that the first silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval, the station is silent in the first silent interval.

[0231] It should be understood that the station being silent in the first silent interval can be understood as being silent in a silent interval in the prior art, and reference may be made to the description of silence in the prior art, and its detailed description is omitted here.

[0232] Based on the above scheme, by rounding the starting time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, the starting time of the TWT SP is an integer multiple of TU. On the other hand, when the AP configures an overlapping silence interval, the starting time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element can be set as the starting time of the overlapping silence interval by rounding the starting time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, so that the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the silence interval are in time units TU, so that the two can match each other, avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the two.

[0233] See also Fig.11 , Fig.11 A schematic diagram of a communication method 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 1100 may include the following steps.

[0234] S1110, determining the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0235] Specifically, the access point (AP) or the chip module in the AP determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0236] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S1110 is similar to the process of S510, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0237] S1120, round the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0238] Specifically, after determining the first starting time, the AP rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

[0239] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S1120 is similar to the process of S520. Here, in order to avoid redundancy, its detailed description is omitted.

[0240] S1130, set the value of the TWT field of the second beacon frame to the second starting time.

[0241] Specifically, after obtaining the second starting time, the AP sets the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame to the second starting time.

[0242] The second beacon frame is a beacon frame subsequent to the first beacon frame.

[0243] It should be understood that the second beacon frame being a beacon frame after the first beacon frame can be understood as the second beacon frame being any beacon frame after the first beacon frame, and the present application does not limit this.

[0244] Based on the above scheme, by rounding the start time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element, the start time of the TWT SP is in units of TU, ​​avoiding the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment of the start time of the TWT SP.

[0245] It should be noted that for Fig.11 The provided method is applicable to all broadcast TWT mechanisms, including but not limited to the R-TWT mechanism, and this application is not limited to this.

[0246] See also Figure 6 , Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a communication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 600 may include the following steps.

[0247] S610: Determine the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the third beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0248] Specifically, the access point (AP) determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the third beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0249] It should be noted that the process of S610 is similar to the process of S510, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy. S620, rounding the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0250] Specifically, after determining the first starting time, the AP rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

[0251] The second starting time is based on TSF.

[0252] It should be noted that the process of rounding the first starting time may refer to the description of the process of rounding the first starting time in S520.

[0253] It should be noted that the difference between S620 and S520 is that, in S520, after obtaining the second starting time, the AP sets the value of the TWT field in the second beacon frame to the second starting time; while in S620, the AP does not need to set the value of the TWT field in the third beacon frame to the second starting time.

[0254] It should be noted that if the third beacon frame includes multiple TWT SPs, the starting times of the multiple TWT SPs can be determined according to S610-S620, that is, the starting times of the multiple TWT SPs determined by S610-S620 are all integer multiples of TU.

[0255] S630: Determine a second silence interval.

[0256] Specifically, the AP determines a second silent interval for the TWT SP, where the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0257] It should be noted that the AP can configure an overlapping silent interval for all TWT SPs included in the broadcast TWT ID, or can configure an overlapping silent interval for one or more TWT SPs. The present application does not limit the number of overlapping silent intervals determined by the AP. For the sake of ease of description, the following takes the example of AP determining an overlapping silent interval for a TWT SP. The way in which the AP determines overlapping silent intervals for other TWT SPs can refer to the following description.

[0258] Specifically, the AP sets the start time of the second silent interval to an integer multiple of TU, ​​and the AP determines the start time of the first silent interval to be the second start time, and the duration of the first silent interval is 1TU.

[0259] Among them, the second starting time is based on TSF, and the starting time of the second silent interval is based on TBTT. It should be understood that when the starting time of the second silent interval is an integer multiple of TU, ​​that is, the second starting time and the starting time of the second silent interval are both integer multiples of TU, ​​then TSF can be said to be aligned with TBTT.

[0260] The third beacon frame includes a second silent interval.

[0261] S640: Send a third beacon frame.

[0262] Specifically, the AP sends a third beacon frame to the station.

[0263] Accordingly, the station receives the third beacon frame from the AP.

[0264] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S640 is similar to the process of S540, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0265] S650: The station determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the third beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0266] Specifically, after receiving the third beacon frame, the station determines the first starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the third beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0267] It should be noted that the process of S650 is similar to the process of S550, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0268] S660: The site rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain a second starting time.

[0269] Specifically, after determining the first starting time, the site rounds the first starting time to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

[0270] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S660 is similar to the process of S560, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0271] S670: The station determines whether the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval according to the second starting time and the starting time of the second silent interval.

[0272] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time and the starting time of the second silent interval are the same, the station determines that the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0273] In a possible implementation manner, when the second starting time and the starting time of the second silent interval are different, the station determines that the second silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval.

[0274] In a possible implementation manner, the method 600 further includes: S680, the station ignores the second silence interval.

[0275] Specifically, when the station is an extremely high throughput station (eg, an EHT STA), when the station determines that the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval, the station ignores the second silent interval, that is, the station does not remain silent in the second silent interval.

[0276] In a possible implementation manner, the method 600 further includes: S690, the station is silent in a second silent interval.

[0277] Specifically, when the station is an extremely high throughput station (eg, an EHT STA), when the station determines that the second silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval, the station is silent in the second silent interval.

[0278] Based on the above scheme, when the AP configures an overlapping silence interval, the start time of the TWT SP included in the broadcast TWT ID determined by the information of the TWT element can be rounded off and set as the start time of the overlapping silence interval, so that the start time of the TWT SP is aligned with the start time of the overlapping silence interval in units of TU, ​​so that the two can match each other and avoid the problem of misreading caused by the misalignment between the two.

[0279] See also Figure 7 , Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method 700 may include the following steps.

[0280] S710, determining the start time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the fourth beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0281] Specifically, the access point (AP) determines the starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the fourth beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0282] Among them, the starting time of TWT SP is based on TSF.

[0283] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S710 is similar to the process of S510, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0284] S720: Determine a fourth silence interval.

[0285] Specifically, the AP determines a fourth silent interval for the TWT SP, where the fourth silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0286] It should be noted that the AP can configure an overlapping silent interval for all TWT SPs included in the broadcast TWT ID, or can configure an overlapping silent interval for one or more TWT SPs. The present application does not limit the number of overlapping silent intervals determined by the AP. For the sake of ease of description, the following takes the example of AP determining an overlapping silent interval for a TWT SP. The way in which the AP determines overlapping silent intervals for other TWT SPs can refer to the following description.

[0287] Specifically, the AP determines a fourth silent interval, the start time of the TWT SP is within the fourth silent interval, and the duration of the first silent interval is 1TU. In other words, the AP determines a silent interval of 1TU duration including the start time of the TWT SP as the fourth silent interval.

[0288] Among them, the starting time of the fourth silent interval is based on TBTT.

[0289] It should be noted that the starting time of the fourth silent interval may be an integer multiple of TU or may not be an integer multiple of TU, ​​and this application is not limited to this.

[0290] The fourth beacon frame includes a fourth silent interval

[0291] S730: Send a fourth beacon frame.

[0292] Specifically, the AP sends a fourth beacon frame to the station.

[0293] Accordingly, the station receives the fourth beacon frame from the AP.

[0294] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S730 is similar to the process of S540, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0295] S740: The station determines the starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the fourth beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0296] Specifically, after receiving the fourth beacon frame, the station determines the starting time of the TWT SP according to the value of the TWT field in the fourth beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval.

[0297] It should be noted that the above-mentioned process of S740 is similar to the process of S550, and its detailed description is omitted here to avoid redundancy.

[0298] S750: The station determines whether the fourth silent interval is an overlapping silent interval according to the start time of the TWT SP and the start time of the fourth silent interval.

[0299] Specifically, the site determines the fourth silence interval according to the start time of the fourth silence interval and the duration of the fourth silence interval, and further determines whether the fourth silence interval is an overlapping silence interval according to whether the start time of the TWT SP is within the fourth silence interval.

[0300] In a possible implementation manner, when the start time of the TWT SP is within the fourth silent interval, the site determines that the fourth silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

[0301] In a possible implementation manner, when the starting time of the TWT SP is not within the fourth silent interval, the station determines that the fourth silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval.

[0302] In a possible implementation manner, the method 700 further includes: S760, the station ignores the fourth silence interval.

[0303] Specifically, when the station is an extremely high throughput station (eg, an EHT STA), when the station determines that the fourth silent interval is an overlapping silent interval, the station ignores the fourth silent interval, that is, the station does not remain silent in the fourth silent interval.

[0304] In a possible implementation manner, the method 700 further includes: S770, the station is silent during a second silence interval.

[0305] Specifically, when the station is an extremely high throughput station (eg, an EHT STA), when the station determines that the fourth silent interval is not an overlapping silent interval, the station is silent in the fourth silent interval.

[0306] Based on the above scheme, when the starting time of the TWT SP and the starting time of the first silent interval cannot be aligned, the access point can determine an overlapping silent interval by overlapping a silent interval with the starting time of the TWT SP when setting the overlapping silent interval; the site can determine whether the silent interval is an overlapping silent interval by judging whether the starting time of the TWT SP is within a silent interval.

[0307] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application Figures 5 to 7 The examples are only for the convenience of those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to the specific scenarios illustrated. Figures 5 to 7 It is obvious that various equivalent modifications or changes can be made, and such modifications or changes also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0308] It can also be understood that some optional features in the embodiments of the present application may not depend on other features in some scenarios, or may be combined with other features in some scenarios, without limitation.

[0309] It can also be understood that the solutions in the various embodiments of the present application can be used in reasonable combination, and the explanations or descriptions of the various terms appearing in the embodiments can be mutually referenced or explained in the various embodiments, without limitation.

[0310] It can also be understood that the sizes of the various digital serial numbers in the embodiments of the present application do not mean the order of execution, but are only distinguished for the convenience of description and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0311] It can also be understood that some frame names are involved in the various embodiments of the present application, such as the first beacon frame or the second beacon frame, etc. It should be understood that their naming does not limit the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0312] It can also be understood that in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, the methods and operations implemented by the access point can also be implemented by components that can be implemented by the access point (such as chips or circuits); in addition, the methods and operations implemented by the site can also be implemented by components that can be implemented by the site (such as chips or circuits), without limitation. Corresponding to the methods given in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide corresponding devices, which include modules for executing the corresponding embodiments of the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The module can be software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. It can be understood that the technical features described in the above-mentioned various method embodiments are also applicable to the following device embodiments.

[0313] It should be understood that the access point and the station can perform some or all of the steps in the above embodiments, and these steps or operations are only examples. The embodiments of the present application can also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps can be performed in different orders presented in the above embodiments, and it is possible that not all operations in the above embodiments need to be performed.

[0314] Combined with the above Figure 5-Figure 7 The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail. Figure 8-Figure 10 The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment, so the contents not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiment above, and some contents will not be repeated for the sake of brevity.

[0315] Figure 8 800 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 800 includes a transceiver unit 810, which can be used to implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 810 can also be called a communication interface or a communication unit.

[0316] In a possible implementation manner, the device 800 may further include a processing unit 820, and the processing unit 820 may be used to perform data processing.

[0317] In one possible implementation, the device 800 also includes a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 820 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the device implements the actions of different terminal devices in the aforementioned method embodiments, for example, the actions of an access point or a station.

[0318] The device 800 can be used to execute the actions performed by the access point or station in the above method embodiments. In this case, the device 800 can be an access point or station, or a component of an access point or station. The transceiver unit 810 is used to execute the operations related to the transceiver of the access point or station in the above method embodiments, and the processing unit 820 is used to execute the operations related to the processing of the access point or station in the above method embodiments.

[0319] It should also be understood that the device 800 here is embodied in the form of a functional unit. The term "unit" here may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor, etc.) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a merged logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions. In an optional example, those skilled in the art can understand that the device 800 can be specifically an access point or a station in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the access point or the station in the above-mentioned method embodiments, or the device 800 can be specifically an access point or a station in the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be used to execute the various processes and / or steps corresponding to the access point or the station in the above-mentioned method embodiments. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0320] The device 800 of each of the above schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the access point or station in the above method, or the device 800 of each of the above schemes has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the access point or station in the above method. The function can be implemented by hardware, or the corresponding software can be implemented by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the sending and receiving operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0321] In addition, the transceiver unit 810 may also be a transceiver circuit (for example, may include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing unit may be a processing circuit.

[0322] It should be pointed out that Figure 8 The device in the embodiment may be an access point or station in the foregoing embodiment, or may be a chip or a chip system, such as a system on chip (SoC). The transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface; the processing unit may be a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. This is not limited here.

[0323] like Fig. 9 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides another communication device 900. The device 900 includes a processor 910, the processor 910 is coupled to a memory 920, the memory 920 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data, and the processor 910 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory 920, or read the data stored in the memory 920, so as to execute the methods in the above method embodiments.

[0324] In one possible implementation, there are one or more processors 910 .

[0325] In a possible implementation manner, the memory 920 is one or more.

[0326] In a possible implementation manner, the memory 920 and the processor 910 are integrated together or separately provided.

[0327] A possible implementation method is as follows: Fig. 9 As shown, the device 900 further includes a transceiver 930, which is used to receive and / or send signals. For example, the processor 910 is used to control the transceiver 930 to receive and / or send signals.

[0328] As a solution, the device 900 is used to implement the operations performed by the access point or station in the above various method embodiments.

[0329] For example, the processor 910 is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory 920 to implement the operations related to the access point in the above various method embodiments. Figures 5 to 7 An access point in any of the embodiments shown in , or Figures 5 to 7 A method for an access point in any one of the illustrated embodiments.

[0330] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0331] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM includes the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0332] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0333] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0334] like Fig.10 The embodiment of the present application provides a chip system 1000. The chip system 1000 (or also referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 1010 and an input / output interface 1020.

[0335] Among them, the logic circuit 1010 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1000. The logic circuit 1010 can be coupled to a storage unit and call instructions in the storage unit so that the chip system 1000 can implement the methods and functions of each embodiment of the present application. The input / output interface 1020 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1000, outputting information processed by the chip system 1000, or inputting data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 1000 for processing.

[0336] As a solution, the chip system 1000 is used to implement the operations performed by the access point or station in the above various method embodiments.

[0337] For example, the logic circuit 1010 is used to implement operations related to the processing by the access point in the above method embodiment, such as Figures 5 to 7 The input / output interface 1020 is used to implement the operations related to sending and / or receiving by the access point in the above method embodiment, such as Figures 5 to 7 The sending and / or receiving related operations are performed by the access point in any one of the illustrated embodiments.

[0338] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which are stored computer instructions for implementing the methods executed by the access point or station in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0339] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the access point or station in each embodiment of the above method.

[0340] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, implement the methods performed by an access point or a station in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0341] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0342] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0343] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium includes, but is not limited to, various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0344] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the present technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine the first starting time of the target wake-up time service phase TWT SP according to the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the first beacon frame and the TWT wake-up interval; Rounding the first starting time to obtain a second starting time; The second starting time is the value of the target wake-up time TWT field in the second beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is the beacon frame after the first beacon frame.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The rounding is performed by taking the time unit TU as a unit.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The step of rounding the first starting time to obtain a second starting time includes: The first starting time is rounded up to obtain the second starting time; or, The first starting time is rounded down to obtain the second starting time; or, The first starting time is rounded to an integer to obtain the second starting time.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first beacon frame and / or the second beacon frame are sent.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The value of the broadcast target wake-up time identifier TWT ID field in the first beacon frame is the same as the value of the broadcast TWT ID field in the second beacon frame.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first beacon frame and the second beacon frame are delayed transmission indication mapping DTIM beacon frames; or, The first beacon frame is a DTIM beacon frame, and the second beacon frame is a regular beacon frame.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: A first silence interval is determined, where a start time of the first silence interval is the second start time, and the first silence interval is an overlapping silence interval.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The second beacon frame or the first beacon frame includes the first silent interval.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The starting time of the first silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, and the TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The starting time of the second silent interval is the second starting time, and the second silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The second beacon frame or the first beacon frame includes the second silent interval.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The starting time of the second silent interval is based on the target beacon transmission time TBTT, and the TBTT is N×time unit TU, where N is an integer.

13. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: A third silent interval is determined, the second starting time is located in the third silent interval, and the third silent interval is an overlapping silent interval.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: The TWT wake-up interval is determined according to the TWT wake-up interval mantissa field and the TWT wake-up interval index field in the first beacon frame.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to execute a computer program stored in a memory, so that the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: A computer program or instruction is stored thereon, and when the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 is performed.

17. A computer program product comprising instructions, characterized in that When it is run on a computer, the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14 is executed.

18. A chip system, characterized in that: It comprises: a processor, used to call and run a computer program or instruction from a memory, so that a communication device equipped with the chip system implements the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14.

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