Communication method and device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device. The communication method is applied to a basic service set transfer scene. The communication method comprises the steps that a request frame is sent to a first access point, the request frame is used for triggering response frame sending, and a station and the first access point are not associated. A response frame is received from the first access point, the response frame including a first transmit power at which the response frame is transmitted. And determining the downlink receiving signal quality. The first transmitting power and the downlink receiving signal quality are sent to a second access point, the first transmitting power and the downlink receiving signal quality are used for a decision of basic service set BSS transfer, the second access point is associated with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set. In this way, the BSS transfer efficiency of the AP associated with the current station can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless local area network (WLAN) scenario, channel sounding is usually used by an access point (AP) to calculate a precoding matrix for downlink beamforming. Channel measurement is also called beam training.

[0003] Before the current station (STA) performs basic service set (BSS) transfer, the current station needs to perform neighbor scanning and measurement, and report the measurement results of neighbor APs to the AP associated with the current station, so that the AP associated with the current station can recommend at least one neighboring AP to the current station for BSS transfer based on the measurement results.

[0004] Due to the difference in transmission power between the station and the access point, there is asymmetry between the uplink and downlink. At this time, the AP associated with the current station may select a poor candidate AP as the object of BSS transfer. Therefore, the efficiency of BSS transfer of the AP associated with the current station is low. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and device, which can improve the efficiency of BSS transfer of an AP associated with a current site.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method being applied to a station, comprising: sending a request frame to a first access point, the request frame being used to trigger the sending of a response frame, the station being not associated with the first access point. Receiving a response frame from the first access point, the response frame comprising a first transmit power for sending the response frame. Determining a downlink received signal quality. Sending a first transmit power and a downlink received signal quality to a second access point, the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0007] It should be understood that, in the following, “first request frame” may be used to represent “request frame”, “first response frame” may be used to represent “response frame”, and “first site” may be used to represent “site”.

[0008] In the above technical solution, the site sends the determined downlink reception signal quality and the first transmission power corresponding to the first access point to the second access point, providing the second access point with more information in the decision-making process of the target access point for BSS transfer, which can help the second access point make a more reasonable choice and avoid selecting a poor neighbor access point as the target access point only based on the downlink reception signal quality, thereby helping to ensure the data transmission quality between the site and the target access point after the BSS transfer, and improving the efficiency of the currently associated AP in performing BSS transfer.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the method further includes: receiving a first null data packet NDP frame from a first access point. Determining the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality according to the first NDP frame.

[0011] In the above technical solution, the station and the first access point perform downlink channel quality measurement through control frames, such as NDPA frames and NDP frames. Since the interval between control frames is short, the time for the station to scan and measure neighbors can be greatly shortened, thereby reducing the impact of the neighbor measurement and scanning process on the station's own data transmission.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, after sending the request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: granting the first access point remaining transmission opportunities, where the remaining transmission opportunities are remaining transmission opportunities of the station.

[0013] In the above technical solution, during the process of neighbor scanning and measurement of the site, the transmission opportunity between the site and the second access point is granted to the first access point, that is, the process of beam training of the first access point and the process of neighbor scanning and measurement are combined, thereby improving the overall operation efficiency.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and a first value of the first AID field is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the response frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0016] In the above technical solution, when the station performs channel measurement through the first NDP frame, it can perform multiple measurements according to the multiple repeated first NDP frames, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the station on the downlink channel.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes a first NDP existence field, and the first NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0018] In the above technical solution, the NDP frame is set as an optional message frame through the field, so that the message can be sent flexibly. For example, for a station that only needs to perform downlink channel measurement, bandwidth resources and signaling overhead can be saved.

[0019] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a second NDP presence field, and the second value of the second NDP presence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the first NDP presence field indicates that the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame, the method further includes: sending the second NDP frame to the first access point, the second NDP frame being used by the first access point to measure the first uplink received signal quality. The first NDPA frame also includes the first uplink received signal quality.

[0021] In the above technical solution, the station can simultaneously obtain the channel quality between the station and the first access point, which can avoid the subsequent second access point selecting a poorer candidate access point when selecting a candidate access point for BSS transfer due to uplink and downlink asymmetry.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames. Determining the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality according to the TPC response frame.

[0023] In the above technical solution, the first transmission power of the first access point is obtained through the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame, and the measurement mode of the downlink received signal quality measurement is currently performed through the Beacon frame or the detection request frame. Since the TPC request frame and the response frame carry less information, this solution can help reduce channel resource consumption and signaling overhead. At the same time, it helps the second access point to make a more reasonable choice later, avoiding selecting a poor neighbor access point as the target access point only by the downlink received signal quality, thereby helping to ensure the data transmission quality between the site and the target access point after the BSS transfer.

[0024] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame, determining the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality according to the measurement pilot frame.

[0025] In the above technical solution, the sending of the measurement pilot frame is triggered by the measurement pilot frame request frame, and the current measurement mode of the measurement pilot frame is used. Compared with the current periodic detection of the measurement pilot frame, the time for the site to perform neighbor scanning and measurement can be reduced, and the site's own data transmission can be ensured.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first transmit power is equal to a transmit power corresponding to a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0027] In the above technical solution, when the first transmission power is the transmission power of the Beacon frame or the detection response frame, that is, when the first transmission power is the maximum transmission power of the first access point, the transmission path loss obtained subsequently can be made more accurate. For example, in the case where the distance between the station and the first access point is far, the first access point sends the first NDP response frame at the maximum transmission power to avoid inaccurate transmission path loss estimation due to the distance factor between the station and the first access point.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before sending a request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: receiving a wireless measurement request frame from the second access point, the wireless measurement request frame being used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, the at least one neighbor access point including the first access point. Sending a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality being carried in the wireless measurement report frame.

[0029] In the above technical solution, the second access point can simultaneously obtain the uplink reception signal quality and the downlink reception signal quality between the first access point and the site, and can well deal with the uplink and downlink asymmetry problem caused by the large difference in transmission power between the first access point and the site, thereby helping the second access point to select a more suitable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the data transmission quality of the site.

[0030] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0031] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0033] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, the method being applied to a first access point, comprising: receiving a request frame from a station, the station being not associated with the first access point, triggering sending a response frame to the station, the response frame comprising a first transmission power for sending the response frame, the first transmission power being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer.

[0034] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the second aspect is similar to that of the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0035] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0036] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the method also includes: sending a first empty data packet NDP frame to the site, the first NDP frame being used by the first site to determine the quality of the downlink received signal.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, after sending a request frame to the first access point, the method also includes: receiving remaining transmission opportunities granted by the site, the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the site, the site is associated with the second access point, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and a first value of the first AID field is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the first NDPA frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes a first NDP existence field, and the first NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first NDPA includes a second NDP existence field, and the second value of the second NDP existence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the first NDP presence field indicates that the second NDP frame follows the second NDPA, after receiving the request frame from the site, the method further includes: receiving the second NDP frame from the site. According to the second NDP frame, determining the first uplink received signal quality, the first NDPA frame also including the first uplink received signal quality.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames.

[0044] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first transmit power is equal to a transmit power corresponding to a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0045] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a second access point, including: receiving a first transmission power and a downlink received signal quality sent from a station, the first transmission power being the transmission power corresponding to the response frame sent by the first access point to the station, the downlink received signal quality being the downlink received signal quality between the station and the first access point, and the station and the first access point are not associated. A basic service set BSS is transferred according to the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality, the second access point is associated with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0046] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the third aspect is similar to that of the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0047] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending a wireless measurement request frame to the station, the wireless measurement request frame being used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, the at least one neighbor access point including the first access point. Receiving a wireless measurement report frame from the station, the wireless measurement report frame including the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0048] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving a fourth transmission power of the station. Performing a basic service set BSS transfer according to the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality includes: determining a transmission path loss between the station and the first access point according to the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality. Estimating a second uplink received signal quality according to the transmission path loss and the fourth transmission power, the second uplink received signal quality being the uplink received signal quality between the first access point and the station.

[0049] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0050] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0051] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0052] It should be understood that in any implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect, the "downlink received signal quality" may also be expressed as "first downlink received signal quality".

[0053] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a site, including: sending a third NDPA frame to a first access point, the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the site and the first access point are not associated, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. Receive a fourth NDP frame sent from the first access point at a second transmission power. According to the fourth NDP frame, obtain a second downlink received signal quality. Send the second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, wherein the second access point is associated with the site, the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set, and the second transmission power and the second downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0054] In the above technical solution, the station directly sends the expected transmit power corresponding to the first access point to the first access point through the NDPA frame, and then the first access point sends the NDP frame through the expected transmit power, so that the second access point can reasonably select a suitable target access point when performing BSS transfer. For example, if the second transmit power, that is, the expected transmit power, is known to the second access point from the first access point in advance, the second access point can simultaneously know the second transmit power and the second downlink received signal quality. At this time, not only can the second access point select a suitable target access point for BSS transfer, but also the signaling overhead of the air interface can be reduced.

[0055] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0056] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0057] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0058] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes a third NDP existence field, and the third NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0059] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, when the third NDP presence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the method also includes: sending the third NDP frame to the first access point, the third NDP frame being used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0060] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first access point, including: receiving a third NDPA frame from a station, the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the station and the first access point are not associated, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. Sending the fourth NDP frame to the station at the second transmission power, the second transmission power is used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0061] In the above technical solution, the first access point sends the NDP frame through the expected transmit power, so that the second access point can reasonably select a suitable target access point when performing BSS transfer later. For example, if the second transmit power, that is, the expected transmit power, is known in advance by the second access point from the first access point, the second access point can simultaneously know the second transmit power and the second downlink received signal quality. At this time, not only can the second access point select a suitable target access point for BSS transfer, but also the signaling overhead of the air interface can be reduced.

[0062] In combination with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0063] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0064] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0065] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes a third NDP existence field, and the third NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0066] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, when the third NDP existence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the method also includes: sending the third NDP frame to the first access point, the third NDP frame being used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0067] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a site, comprising: determining that a first access point is performing channel measurement, and the site and the first access point are not associated. Receive a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, the fifth NDPA frame including a third transmission power for sending a third NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame. According to the fifth NDP frame, determine the third downlink received signal quality. Send a third transmission power and a third downlink received signal instruction to the second access point, the third transmission power and the third downlink received signal instruction are used for basic service set BSS transfer, the site and the second access point are associated, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0068] In the above technical solution, when the site discovers that the first access point is performing channel measurement, the site does not need to send a request frame, but follows the process of the first access point to perform channel measurement, and carries the third transmission power in the fifth NDPA frame. While reducing signaling overhead, it helps the second access point to subsequently select a more reasonable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the data transmission quality of subsequent sites.

[0069] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third AID field, and the fourth value of the third AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the third transmit power.

[0070] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the third transmit power is equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0071] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to any one of at least one candidate access point, comprising: receiving a first frame from a site, the first frame including identification information of a second access point associated with the site, any one of the candidate access points and the site are not associated, and any one of the candidate access points and the second access point belong to the same extended service set; receiving a second frame from the site, the second frame being used to obtain a second uplink received signal quality; and sending the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0072] In the above technical solution, the uplink received signal quality is measured by the candidate access point and directly fed back to the second access point, which can not only reduce air interface resources but also does not affect the data transmission of the site itself.

[0073] In combination with the seventh aspect, in certain implementations of the seventh aspect, the first frame is the sixth NDPA frame, and the second frame is the sixth NDP frame.

[0074] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver unit and a processing unit, including: the transceiver unit is used to send a request frame to a first access point, the request frame is used to trigger the sending of a response frame, and the station and the first access point are not associated. The transceiver unit is used to receive a response frame from the first access point, and the response frame includes a first transmission power for sending the response frame. The processing unit is used to determine the downlink received signal quality. The transceiver unit is used to send the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality to the second access point, and the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0075] It should be understood that, in the following, “first request frame” may be used to represent “request frame”, “first response frame” may be used to represent “response frame”, and “first site” may be used to represent “site”.

[0076] It should be understood that the technical effects corresponding to the technical solution of the eighth aspect can refer to the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0077] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0078] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first empty data packet NDP frame from the first access point. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the downlink received signal quality according to the first NDP frame.

[0079] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, after sending the request frame to the first access point, the transceiver unit is further used to grant the first access point remaining transmission opportunities, where the remaining transmission opportunities are remaining transmission opportunities of the site.

[0080] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and a first value of the first AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0081] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the response frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0082] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes a first NDP existence field, and the first NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0083] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a second NDP existence field, and the second value of the second NDP existence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0084] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, when the first NDP existence field indicates that the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is further used to send the second NDP frame to the first access point, and the second NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the first uplink received signal quality. The first NDPA frame also includes the first uplink received signal quality.

[0085] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the downlink received signal quality according to the TPC response frame.

[0086] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, when the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame, the processing unit is specifically used to determine the downlink received signal quality based on the measurement pilot frame.

[0087] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the first transmission power is equal to the transmission power corresponding to the beacon frame or the detection response frame sent by the first access point.

[0088] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, before sending a request frame to the first access point, the transceiver unit is further used to receive a wireless measurement request frame from the second access point, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point. The transceiver unit is also used to send a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, where the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality are carried in the wireless measurement report frame.

[0089] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0090] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0091] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0092] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit being used to receive a request frame from a station, the station being not associated with a first access point, the transceiver unit being used to trigger sending a response frame to the station, the response frame comprising a first transmission power for sending the response frame, the first transmission power being used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0093] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the ninth aspect is similar to that of the second aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0094] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0095] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is also used to send a first empty data packet NDP frame to the site, and the first NDP frame is used by the first site to determine the quality of the downlink received signal.

[0096] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, after sending a request frame to the first access point, the transceiver unit is also used to receive the remaining transmission opportunities granted by the site, the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the site, the site is associated with the second access point, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0097] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and a first value of the first AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0098] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the first NDPA frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0099] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes a first NDP existence field, and the first NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0100] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the first NDPA includes a second NDP existence field, and the second value of the second NDP existence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0101] In combination with the ninth aspect, in some implementations of the ninth aspect, when the first NDP existence field indicates that the second NDP frame follows the second NDPA to be sent, after receiving the request frame from the site, the device further includes: receiving the second NDP frame from the site. According to the second NDP frame, determining the first uplink received signal quality, the first NDPA frame also including the first uplink received signal quality.

[0102] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames.

[0103] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the first transmission power is equal to the transmission power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0104] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is used to receive a first transmission power and a downlink received signal quality sent from a site, the first transmission power is the transmission power corresponding to the response frame sent by the first access point to the site, the downlink received signal quality is the downlink received signal quality between the site and the first access point, and the site and the first access point are not associated. The processing unit is used to transfer a basic service set BSS according to the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality, the second access point is associated with the site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0105] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the tenth aspect is similar to that of the third aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0106] In combination with the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a wireless measurement request frame to the station, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a wireless measurement report frame from the station, where the wireless measurement report frame includes the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0107] In combination with the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the transceiver unit is further used to receive a fourth transmission power of the site. The processing unit is specifically used to determine the transmission path loss between the site and the first access point according to the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality. The processing unit is specifically used to estimate the second uplink received signal quality according to the transmission path loss and the fourth transmission power, and the second uplink received signal quality is the uplink received signal quality between the first access point and the site.

[0108] In combination with the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0109] In combination with the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0110] In combination with the tenth aspect, in certain implementations of the tenth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0111] It should be understood that in any implementation of the eighth to tenth aspects, the "downlink received signal quality" can also be expressed as the "first downlink received signal quality".

[0112] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, the device including a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is used to send a third NDPA frame to a first access point, the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the site and the first access point are not associated, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. The transceiver unit is used to receive a fourth NDP frame sent from the first access point with a second transmission power. The processing unit is specifically used to obtain a second downlink received signal quality according to the fourth NDP frame. The transceiver unit is used to send the second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, wherein the second access point is associated with the site, the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set, and the second transmission power and the second downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0113] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the eleventh aspect is similar to that of the fourth aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0114] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in some implementations of the eleventh aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0115] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and a third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0116] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0117] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes a third NDP existence field, and the third NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0118] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, when the third NDP existence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is also used to send the third NDP frame to the first access point, and the third NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the quality of the third uplink received signal.

[0119] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device including a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is used to receive a third NDPA frame from a station, the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the station is not associated with a first access point, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. The transceiver unit is used to send the fourth NDP frame to the station at the second transmission power, and the second transmission power is used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0120] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the twelfth aspect is similar to that of the fifth aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0121] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0122] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0123] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0124] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes a third NDP existence field, and the third NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0125] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, when the third NDP existence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a third NDP frame from the site, and the third NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0126] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, the processing unit is used to determine that the first access point is performing channel measurement, and the site and the first access point are not associated. The transceiver unit is used to receive a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, and the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmission power for sending a third NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame. The processing unit is used to determine the third downlink received signal quality according to the fifth NDP frame. The transceiver unit is used to send a third transmission power and a third downlink received signal instruction to the second access point, the third transmission power and the third downlink received signal instruction are used for basic service set BSS transfer, the site and the second access point are associated, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0127] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the thirteenth aspect is similar to that of the sixth aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0128] In combination with the thirteenth aspect, in certain implementations of the thirteenth aspect, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third AID field, and the fourth value of the third AID field is used to indicate the existence of a field corresponding to the third transmit power.

[0129] In combination with the thirteenth aspect, in certain implementations of the thirteenth aspect, the third transmission power is equal to the transmission power corresponding to the beacon frame or the detection response frame sent by the first access point.

[0130] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit is used to receive a first frame from a site, the first frame comprising identification information of a second access point associated with the site, any candidate access point is not associated with the site, and any candidate access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set; the transceiver unit is used to receive a second frame from the site, the second frame is used to obtain a second uplink received signal quality. The transceiver unit is used to send the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0131] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the fourteenth aspect is similar to that of the seventh aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0132] In combination with the fourteenth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourteenth aspect, the first frame is the sixth NDPA frame, and the second frame is the sixth NDP frame.

[0133] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a memory for storing programs; a processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program or instructions stored in the memory are executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the implementations of the first to seventh aspects above.

[0134] In one implementation, the device is a station. In another implementation, the device is a first access point or a second access point. In another implementation, the device is any one of at least one candidate access point.

[0135] In the sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the method provided by any one of the implementation modes of the first to seventh aspects above. In the process of executing these methods, the process of sending the above information and obtaining / receiving the above information in the above method can be understood as the process of outputting the above information by the processor, and the process of receiving the above information input by the processor. When outputting the above information, the processor outputs the above information to the interface and transmits it through the interface. After being output by the processor, the above information may also need to be processed in other ways before it reaches the interface. Similarly, when the processor receives the above information input, the interface obtains / receives the above information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the interface receives the above information, the above information may need to be processed in other ways before it is input into the processor.

[0136] For the operations involved, such as transmission, sending, and acquisition / reception, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as operations such as output and reception, input, etc., and can also be understood as transmission, sending, and receiving operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit this.

[0137] In the implementation process, the processor may be a processor specifically used to execute these methods, or a processor that executes computer programs or instructions in a memory to execute these methods, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or may be separately arranged on different chips. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor.

[0138] In the seventeenth aspect, a communication system is provided, the system comprising a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the first aspect, a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the second aspect, and a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the third aspect; or, the system comprises a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the first aspect, a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the third aspect.

[0139] In an eighteenth 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 one of the implementations of the first to seventh aspects above.

[0140] In the nineteenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the computer program product is run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in any one of the implementations of the first to seventh aspects.

[0141] In the twentieth 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 and executes the method provided in any one of the implementation modes of the first to seventh aspects.

[0142] As an implementation method, the chip may also include a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored, and a processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction stored in the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to seventh aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0143] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0144] Figure 2 is an interactive schematic diagram of a neighbor measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0145] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0146] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement report frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0147] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the process interaction of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0148] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the process interaction of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0149] Figure 7 This is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0150] Figure 8 It is a format diagram of a first NDP request frame and a first NDP response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0151] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of an access point performing channel measurement process interaction provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0152] Fig.10 It is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0153] Fig.11 This is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0154] Fig.12 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a third NDPA frame and a fourth NDP frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0155] Fig.13 This is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0156] Fig.14 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a fifth NDPA frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0157] Fig.15 It is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0158] Fig.16 It is a schematic diagram of the format of a TPC request frame and a TPC response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0159] Fig.17 It is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0160] Fig.18 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a measurement pilot frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0161] Fig.19 It is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0162] Fig. 20 It is a format diagram of a measurement request field and a measurement report field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0163] Fig.21 It is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0164] Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 2200 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0165] Fig.23 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2300 provided in an embodiment of the present application

[0166] Fig.24 It is a schematic diagram of a chip system 2400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0167] The technical solution in this application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0168] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained:

[0169] First, in this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0170] Second, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Where a, b and c can be single or multiple, respectively.

[0171] Third, in the present application, "first", "second" and various numerical numbers (e.g., #1, #2, etc.) indicate distinctions made for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, to distinguish between different access points, etc., rather than to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the objects described in this way can be interchanged where appropriate so as to be able to describe solutions other than the embodiments of the present application.

[0172] It should be noted that, in the following text, information #1, resource indication information #1, and resource request information #1 have different meanings. It should be understood that the names of the various information are only examples, and this application does not limit them, and should not constitute any limitation on the technical solution of this application;

[0173] Fourth, in this application, descriptions such as "when...", "under the circumstances of...", and "if" all refer to the corresponding processing being carried out under certain objective circumstances, and do not limit the time, nor do they require that there must be a judgment action when implementing, nor do they mean that there are other limitations. In addition, it does not mean that the judgment action after these conditional conjunctions is the only condition for achieving the result, and other additional conditions may also be included to achieve the result.

[0174] Fifth, in this application, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatuses.

[0175] Sixth, in this application, "used for indication" may include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used for indicating A, it may include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but it does not mean that the indication information must carry A.

[0176] The indication method involved in the embodiments of the present application should be understood to include various methods that can enable the party to be indicated to know the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending period and / or sending time of these sub-information can be the same or different. The present application does not limit the specific sending method.

[0177] The "indication information" in the embodiments of the present application may be an explicit indication, i.e., directly indicated by signaling, or obtained by combining other rules or other parameters or by deduction according to the parameters indicated by the signaling. It may also be an implicit indication, i.e., obtained by combining other rules or other parameters or by deduction according to a rule or relationship. The present application does not make any specific limitation on this.

[0178] Seventh, in this application, "storage" may refer to storage in one or more memories. The one or more memories may be separately set or integrated in an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The one or more memories may also be partially separately set and partially integrated in a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The type of memory may be any form of storage medium, which is not limited in this application.

[0179] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios, for example, supporting IEEE802.11 related standards, such as 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay or 802.11bf, and Wi-Fi 8, etc. It can also be applied to wireless personal area network systems based on ultra wide band (UWB), such as the 802.15 series of standards, and can also be applied to sensing systems, such as the 802.11bf series of standards. Among them, the 802.11be standard is called extremely high throughput (EHT). Among them, 802.11bf includes two major categories of standards: low frequency (Sub-7GHz) and high frequency (60GHz). The implementation of Sub-7GHz mainly relies on standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11be and the next generation, and the implementation of 60GHz mainly relies on standards such as 802.11ad, 802.11ay and the next generation. Among them, 802.11ad may also be called a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) standard, and 802.11ay may also be called an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) standard.

[0180] 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 embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as a high performance radio local area network (HIPERLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), or other networks known now or developed later. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0181] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various communication systems, such as: WLAN communication system, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, fifth generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), future sixth generation (6G) system, Internet of Things (IoT) network or vehicle to x (V2X), etc.

[0182] 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.

[0183] In order to facilitate understanding of the solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are first briefly explained.

[0184] 1. Basic service set (BSS)

[0185] BSS is a basic building block of 802.11 network, which is used to describe a group of mobile devices that communicate with each other in an 802.11 WLAN.

[0186] There are two types of basic service sets: one is the basic service set of infrastructure mode, which includes an access point (AP) and several stations (STA); the other is the basic service set of independent mode, which consists of several STAs.

[0187] Specifically, each basic service set has a unique identifier, called a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which corresponds to the MAC address of the AP. The BSS in the embodiment of the present application is an infrastructure mode BSS, and the AP and STA included in the BSS under this type can be called mutually associated AP and STA. For example, the AP and STA included in BSS#1 are mutually associated.

[0188] 2. Distributed system (DS)

[0189] DS is a system that is interconnected by multiple BSSs and integrates a local area network. An extended service set (ESS) is constructed through DS. All BSSs under the same ESS have the same service set identifier (SSID). The same ESS can include different access points (APs), and these different APs can communicate with each other through DS.

[0190] 3. BSS transfer

[0191] BSS transfer is the process of STA switching (or roaming) from the currently associated AP to another neighboring AP. In other words, BSS transfer is the process of STA switching from the currently associated AP#1 to AP#2, where BSS#1 corresponding to AP 1 and BSS#2 corresponding to AP 2 belong to the same ESS.

[0192] 4. Octet

[0193] An Octet consists of 8 bits.

[0194] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the measurement method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applicable between STA and AP. Figure 1 The application scenario shown is a scenario in which a STA performs neighbor scanning and measurement before BSS transfer in the same ESS. Among them, AP#1 and AP#2 belong to the same ESS. STA#2-1 and STA#2-2 are associated with AP#2, and AP#2, STA#2-1 and STA#2-2 belong to BSS#2. STA#1 is associated with AP#1. AP#1 and STA#1-1 belong to BSS#1, and the same ESS includes BSS#1 and BSS#2. The types of AP and STA are briefly described below. It should be understood that AP#1 and AP#2 can be any of the following AP types, and STA#2-1 and STA#2-2 can also be any of the following STA types.

[0195] AP is an access point for terminals (such as mobile phones) to enter the wired (or wireless) network. It is mainly deployed in homes, buildings and campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to Ethernet.

[0196] Specifically, the AP may be a terminal or network device with a Wi-Fi chip, and the network device may be a server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, and a network device in a future 6G network or a network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The access point may be a device that supports the Wi-Fi standard. For example, the access point may also support one or more standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, etc.

[0197] STA can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor or a wireless communication terminal, etc., and can also be called a user, user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user device. STA can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, an Internet of Things device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, a terminal device in a future 6G network or a terminal device in a PLMN, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. STA can be a device that supports the WLAN standard. For example, the STA may support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 family, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, and 802.11ay.

[0198] For example, STA can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, set-top box, smart TV, smart wearable device, vehicle communication equipment, computer, Internet of Things (IoT) node, sensor, smart home such as smart camera, smart remote control, smart water meter, smart electricity meter, and sensors in smart city.

[0199] The above-mentioned AP or STA may include a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, a processor, etc., wherein the transmitter and the receiver are respectively used for sending and receiving packet structures, the memory is used to store signaling information and store preset values ​​agreed in advance, etc., and the processor is used to parse signaling information, process related data, etc.

[0200] Figure 2 It is an interactive schematic diagram of a neighbor measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0201] S201, AP#2 sends a radio measurement request (Radio Measurement Request) frame to STA#1-1. The radio measurement request frame includes at least one measurement request element (Measurement Request elements). The radio measurement request frame is used to request channel measurement results of surrounding neighboring APs.

[0202] It should be understood that the surrounding APs and AP#2 may or may not belong to the same ESS, and the solution of the present invention focuses on the case where the surrounding APs and AP#2 belong to the same ESS. AP#2 is associated with STA#2-1.

[0203] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0204] like Figure 3 As shown, the radio measurement request frame includes a Category field, a Radio Measurement Action field, a Dialog Token field, a Number of Repetitions field, and a Measurement Request elements field.

[0205] Among them, the category field is used to indicate which category the action frame belongs to. The size of the category field is 1 octet, that is, 8 bits. For example, for radio measurement, this field is set to 5. The meanings corresponding to the values ​​of the radio measurement action field are shown in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, for a radio measurement request, the value of the radio measurement action field is 0. When the dialogue token field is set to a non-zero value, it is used to indicate a specific request / report interaction. The repetition count field is used to indicate the number of repetitions of all measurements requested in the frame.

[0206] Table 1

[0207]

[0208] The Measurement Request Element field carries 0 or more Measurement Request elements. Figure 3 The measurement request element field may include an element identifier (Element ID) field, a length (Length) field, a measurement token (Measurement Token) field, a measurement request mode (Measurement Request Mode) field, a measurement type (Measurement Type) field, and a measurement request (Measurement Request) field.

[0209] Among them, the element identifier field is used to indicate the identifier corresponding to the element, and the size of the element identifier field is 1 octet. For the measurement request element, this field can be set to 38. The length field is used to indicate the length of the element. It should be understood that the length field includes the total length of the element identifier field and the length field. The size of the length field is 1 octet. The measurement token field is set to a non-zero value, and the measurement token field is used to uniquely identify the corresponding measurement request element in the measurement request element field in the wireless measurement request frame. The size of the measurement token field is 1 octet.

[0210] The measurement request mode field includes the Parallel subfield, the Enable subfield, the Request subfield, the Report subfield, the Duration Mandatory subfield, and the Reserved field. The size of the measurement request mode field is 1 octet, that is, 8 bits. The Parallel subfield is used to indicate whether multiple measurement requests need to be performed in parallel or in sequence. The size of the Parallel subfield is 1 bit; the Enable subfield is used to distinguish whether the request is a measurement request or triggering the destination site or autonomous reporting. The size of the Enable subfield is 1 bit; the Request subfield is used to indicate whether the destination site is allowed to send a measurement request of the specified measurement type. The size of the Request subfield is 1 bit; the Report subfield is used to indicate whether the destination site is allowed to send a measurement report of the specified measurement type. The size of the Report subfield is 1 bit; the Duration Mandatory subfield is used to indicate whether the specified measurement duration is mandatory. The size of the Duration Mandatory subfield is 1 bit; the size of the Reserved field is 3 bits.

[0211] The measurement type field is used to indicate the measurement type requested by the measurement request. For example, when the value of the measurement type field is 5, the measurement type field is used to indicate that the measurement type requested by the measurement request is a beacon request.

[0212] The measurement request field is used to carry corresponding measurement request information. Figure 3 The measurement request field format shown is the measurement request field corresponding to the measurement type Beacon request. The measurement request field includes an operating class field, a channel number field, a random interval field, a measurement duration field, a measurement mode field, a BSS ID field, and an optional subelements field. The operation category field is used to indicate the operation category of the corresponding channel, and the size of the operation category field is 1 octet; the channel number field is used to indicate the corresponding channel number, and the size of the channel number field is 1 octet. According to the operation category field and the channel number field, the receiving end can determine the corresponding channel frequency and channel bandwidth; the random interval field is used to indicate the upper limit of the random delay that can be introduced before the measurement, and the size of the random interval field is 2 octets; the measurement duration field is used to indicate the expected or mandatory measurement duration, in time units (TU), for example, 1.024 microseconds, and the size of the measurement duration field is 2 octets; the measurement mode field is used to indicate the measurement mode used for the measurement, and the specific settings are shown in Table 2 below. The size of the measurement mode field is 6 octets.

[0213] Table 2

[0214] model The value of the Measurement Mode field Passive 0 Active 1 Beacon Table 2 Reserved 3-255

[0215] When the value of the measurement mode field is 0, it indicates passive monitoring, that is, STA passively monitors, for example, monitors Beacon frames. When the value of the measurement mode field is 1, it indicates active detection, that is, STA sends a probe request (Probe Request), and the AP returns a probe response (Probe Response) to scan and measure the surrounding neighbors. When the value of the measurement mode field is 2, it indicates a beacon table (Beacon Table), that is, the STA directly feeds back the recorded measurement results to the associated AP without performing additional measurements.

[0216] The BSS identification field is used to indicate the BSSID of the neighbor AP (also called the measured AP) that performs the Beacon request measurement. When set to a broadcast address, the BSS identification field indicates that all APs on the corresponding channel are measured. The size of the BSS identification field is 6 octets. The optional sub-element field is used to carry 0 or more sub-elements, as shown in Table 3. The size of the optional sub-element field is variable.

[0217] Table 3

[0218]

[0219]

[0220] For example, SSID is used to instruct STA to scan only neighbors with a given SSID. Beacon report is used to indicate the triggering conditions for STA to report measurement reports. Report details are used to indicate that STA needs to report the content of the measured Beacon frame or ProbeResponse frame. Access point channel report is used to indicate on which channels STA is likely to find neighboring APs.

[0221] S202, STA#2-1 collects measurement results.

[0222] It should be understood that STA#2-1 can perform neighbor scanning and measurement according to the wireless measurement request frame to collect measurement results of surrounding neighbor APs.

[0223] The following will take AP#2 among the surrounding APs as an example to illustrate the specific method in which STA#2-1 collects measurement results. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of APs that collect measurement results.

[0224] Method 1: STA#2-1 periodically detects the downlink signal sent by AP#1, thereby measuring the downlink channel quality between STA#2-1 and AP#1.

[0225] For example, S202a-1, AP#1 periodically sends Beacon frames on a determined channel. S202a-2, STA#2-1 monitors Beacon frames on each given channel. The measurement result may be the downlink channel quality obtained based on the monitored Beacon frames, as well as information such as capability information or operating parameters of AP#1 included in the Beacon frames.

[0226] The sending period of AP#1 may be 100 milliseconds (ms).

[0227] In this example of method 1, the measurement mode for collecting the measurement results of AP#2 is the passive mode. That is, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field in the wireless measurement request frame corresponding to this example is 0, as shown in Table 2.

[0228] In this example of the first approach, the periodically transmitted Beacon frames carry a large amount of information (eg, capability information, operating parameters, and other information of AP#2).

[0229] STA#2-1 obtains the measurement result of AP#1 through the measurement mode of method 1. Since STA#2-1 needs to monitor Beacon frames on a given channel and AP#1 has a long period of sending Beacon frames, this will take STA#2-1 a long time, which will cause STA#2-1's neighbor scanning and measurement process to seriously affect STA#2-1's own data transmission.

[0230] For another example, in S202b-1, AP#1 periodically sends a measurement pilot frame (Measurement Pilot frame) on a determined channel.

[0231] S202b-2, STA#2-1 monitors the measurement pilot frame on each given channel. The measurement result may be the monitored measurement pilot frame.

[0232] It should be understood that, similar to the above example, the measurement mode is also a passive mode, the difference being that the transmission period of the measurement pilot frame in this example is shorter than the transmission period of the Beacon frame.

[0233] Although STA#2-1 takes less time to scan and measure neighbors in this example than in the previous example, it still affects STA#1-1's own data transmission to a certain extent, and the measurement method in this example is rarely implemented in products.

[0234] Method 2:

[0235] S202c-1, STA#2-1 sends a Probe Request frame to AP#1.

[0236] S202c-2, AP#1 sends an Acknowledgement frame to STA#2-1.

[0237] S202c-3, AP#1 sends a probe response frame to STA#2-1. The measurement result may be a probe response frame.

[0238] S202c-4, STA#2-1 sends an Acknowledgement frame to AP#1.

[0239] The measurement mode for collecting the measurement results of AP#1 in the second method is the active mode. That is, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field in the wireless measurement request frame corresponding to the second method is 1, as shown in Table 2.

[0240] It should be understood that since the probe request frame in S202c-1 and the probe response frame in S202c-3 are both management frames, for the receiving end AP#1 that receives the probe request frame, AP#1 needs to first return a confirmation frame (such as S202c-2) after receiving it, and then re-compete for the channel to send a probe response frame (such as S202c-3), and then STA#2-1 returns a confirmation frame (S202c-4).

[0241] In the second mode, the probe request frame and the probe response frame also carry a large amount of information (eg, capability information and operation parameter information of AP#1).

[0242] STA#2-1 obtains the measurement result of AP#1 through the measurement mode of method 2. Since the interaction time between STA#2-1 and AP#1 is long, this will take STA#2-1 a long time, which will cause the neighbor scanning and measurement process to seriously affect STA#2-1's own data transmission.

[0243] S203, STA#2-1 sends a radio measurement report (Radio Measurement Response) frame to AP#2. The radio measurement report frame is used to feed back measurement results of surrounding neighboring APs.

[0244] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement report frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0245] like Figure 4 As shown, the radio measurement report frame includes a Category field, a RadioMeasurement Action field, a Dialog Token field, and a Measurement Report elements field.

[0246] The Category field is used to indicate which category the action frame belongs to, and the size of the Category field is 1 octet. For example, for Radio Measurement, this field is set to 5. The meanings of the values ​​of the Radio Measurement Action field are shown in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, for a Radio Measurement Report, the value of the Radio Measurement Action field is 1. When the Dialog Token field is set to a non-zero value, it is used to indicate a specific request / report interaction.

[0247] The Measurement Report Element field carries 0 or more Measurement Report elements. Figure 4As shown. The measurement report element field may include an element identifier (Element ID) field, a length (Length) field, a measurement token (Measurement Token) field, a measurement report mode (Measurement Report Mode) field, a measurement type (Measurement Type) field and a measurement report (Measurement Report) field. Among them, the element identifier word, length field and measurement token field in the measurement report element field have similar functions to the corresponding fields in the measurement request element field, and are not described in detail here.

[0248] The measurement report mode field includes a late subfield, an incapable subfield, a rejected subfield, and a reserved subfield. The size of the measurement report mode field is 1 octet, that is, 8 bits. The late subfield is used to indicate whether the STA is unable to perform the measurement request. The size of the late subfield is 1 bit. For example, when the value of the late subfield is set to 1, the measurement request is too late. The incapable subfield is used to indicate whether the station is unable to generate the requested measurement report. The size of the incapable subfield is 1 bit. For example, when the value of the incapable subfield is set to 1, the STA is unable to generate the requested measurement report. The rejected subfield is used to indicate whether the STA refuses to generate the requested measurement report. The size of the rejected subfield is 1 bit. The size of the reserved field is 5 bits.

[0249] The measurement type field is used to indicate the measurement type reported in the measurement report. For example, when the value of the measurement type field is 5, the measurement type field is used to indicate that the measurement type reported in the measurement report is a beacon report.

[0250] The Measurement Report field is used to carry zero or more measurement reports. Figure 4The measurement report field format shown is the measurement report field corresponding to the measurement type Beacon report. The measurement report field includes an operating class field, a channel number field, an actual measurement start time field, a measurement duration field, a reported frame information field, a received channel power indicator (RCPI) field, a received signal noise interference indicator (RSNI) field, a BSS identifier (BSSID) field, an antenna identifier (Antenna ID) field, a root time (parent timing synchronization function, parent TSF) field, and an optional sub-element (Optionalsubelements) field. Among them, the functions of the operating class field and the channel number field in the measurement report field are similar to those of the corresponding fields in the measurement request field, and are not repeated here.

[0251] The actual measurement start time field is used to indicate the start time of the STA measurement, and the size of the actual measurement start time field is 8 octets. The measurement duration field is used to indicate the duration of the STA measurement, and the size of the measurement duration field is 2 octets. The reported frame information field is used to indicate the reported frame information, and the size of the reported frame information field is 1 octet, that is, 8 bits. The reported frame information includes a compressed physical layer type (Condensed PHY Type) field and a reported frame type (Reported Frame Type) field. Among them, the compressed physical layer type field is used to indicate the physical layer type adopted by the measured frame, and the size of the compressed physical layer type field is 7 bits. The reported frame type field is used to indicate the frame type of the measured frame, and the size of the reported frame type field is 1 bit. When the reported frame type field is set to 0, the reported frame type is a Beacon frame or a probe response frame. When the reported frame type field is set to 1, the reported frame type is a measurement pilot frame.

[0252] The RCPI field is used to indicate the channel power measured based on the Beacon frame, the probe response frame or the measurement pilot frame. The size of this field is 1 Octet. The RSNI field is used to indicate the signal-to-noise-interference ratio measured based on the Beacon frame, the probe response frame or the measurement pilot frame. The size of this field is 1 Octet. The BSS identifier field is used to indicate the BSS identifier corresponding to the measured Beacon frame, the probe response frame or the measurement pilot frame. The size of this field is 6 Octet. The antenna identifier field is used to indicate the corresponding antenna identifier used to receive the measured signal. The size of this field is 1 Octet. The root time field is used to indicate the lower four bytes of the STA time synchronization function, which corresponds to the time when the measured Beacon frame, the measurement pilot frame or the probe response frame is received. The size of this field is 4 Octet. The optional sub-element field for the Beacon report is used to carry 0 or more sub-elements, as shown in Table 4. The size of the optional sub-element field is variable.

[0253] Table 4

[0254]

[0255]

[0256] For example, the reporting frame body sub-element is used to carry part or all of the frame body of the measured frame. When the value of the field corresponding to the report details sub-element in the optional sub-element field in the measurement request field corresponding to the Beacon request is set to 0, the optional sub-element field in the measurement report field corresponding to the Beacon report does not include the report frame body sub-element.

[0257] S204, AP#2 determines a target AP according to the measurement results of surrounding APs.

[0258] The target AP may include at least one neighbor AP.

[0259] Optionally, AP#2 sends a BSS transfer request to STA#2-1, where the BSS transfer request includes a target AP.

[0260] It should be understood that in S203, STA#2-1 can report the measurement results collected in S202 and information such as capability information or operating parameters of AP#1 included in the Beacon frame or the probe response frame to AP#2 via a wireless measurement report frame.

[0261] However, the information carried in the Beacon frame and the probe response frame is relatively large, for example, including the capability information and operation parameters of AP#1. This will generate a large signaling overhead. For scenarios with different APs in the same ESS, the capability information or operation parameters of different APs can be exchanged through the DS, without wasting air interface resources to feed back to AP#2 through STA#2-1.

[0262] In addition, different STAs have different behaviors in implementing neighbor scanning and measurement. For example, even if AP#1 asks STA#1-1 to perform neighbor scanning and measurement through a wireless measurement request frame, STA#1-1 of some manufacturers directly ignores the request and does not perform neighbor scanning and measurement. For another example, the calculation methods of the RCPI field and RSNI field fed back by STA#1-1 of different manufacturers are inconsistent.

[0263] Finally, no matter in any of the above measurement modes, there may be uplink and downlink asymmetry between STA#2-1 and AP#1, that is, the downlink channel quality measured by STA#2-1 and the uplink channel quality between AP#1 and STA#2-1 are quite different. At this time, the candidate AP selected by AP#2 for BSS transfer based on the downlink measurement results collected by STA#2-1 may not be the most suitable, which will affect the subsequent data transmission quality of STA#2-1.

[0264] In view of the above problems, the present application provides a communication method and device. Figures 5 to 24 Detailed description.

[0265] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the process interaction of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Figure 5 The interaction diagram shown is to illustrate the corresponding method by taking the first station, the first access point and the second access point as the execution subjects of the interaction diagram as an example, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. Figure 5 The first site in the method may also be a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first site to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first site. Figure 5 The first access point in the method may also be a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first access point to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first access point. Figure 5 The second access point in the method may also be a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the second access point to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second access point.

[0266] It should be understood that the first site and the first access point are not associated with each other, the first site and the second access point are associated with each other, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same ESS.

[0267] It should be understood that, in the following, "first request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "first response frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "site", and "downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0268] Optionally, S560, the second access point sends a wireless measurement request frame to the first station, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the first station and at least one neighbor access point, and the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point.

[0269] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement frame includes identification indication information of at least one neighbor access point.

[0270] Exemplarily, the wireless measurement request frame includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0271] Specifically, the BSS identification character field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame may include identification indication information of at least one neighbor access point, for example, including address information of the first access point.

[0272] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first station to send the first request frame.

[0273] It should be understood that the first indication information indicates a new measurement mode, that is, the communication method between the first station and the first access point provided in the embodiment of the present application, that is, the channel measurement between the first station and the first access point.

[0274] Exemplarily, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 3, or the existing value of the measurement mode field and other fields can be combined to represent the first indication information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the first indication information.

[0275] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that a subsequent wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality.

[0276] Specifically, the value of the report details field in the optional sub-element field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 0. It should be understood that the third indication information can also be represented by other fields, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0277] It should be understood that the communication method provided in the embodiment may be applied between the first station and each neighboring access point, and is described in detail below by taking the first access point as an example.

[0278] S510: A first station sends a first request frame to a first access point, where the first request frame is used to trigger the sending of a first response frame.

[0279] S520: The first access point sends a first response frame to the first station, where the first response frame includes a first transmission power for sending the first response frame.

[0280] It should be understood that the first request frame and the first response frame in the embodiment of the present application are not request frames and response frames in the strict sense, and may include multiple forms.

[0281] Among them, the first response frame includes the first transmission power, which may be the first transmission power information itself or the indication information of the first transmission power, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. In other words, the first response frame includes the first transmission power information used when sending the first response frame. It should be understood that the other transmission powers in the embodiment of the present application may also be the transmission power of the present application, or the indication information of other transmission powers, and no special explanation will be given later.

[0282] As a possible implementation manner, the first request frame is a second null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame, and the first response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the first request frame is a transmit power control (TPC) request frame, and the first response frame is a TPC response frame; or the first request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the first response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0283] It should be understood that the following will be combined Figure 6 , 15 and 17 provide detailed descriptions of the above-mentioned different first request frames and first response frames.

[0284] As a possible implementation manner, the first transmit power may be equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0285] S530: The first station determines a first downlink received signal quality.

[0286] Among them, the first downlink reception quality signal may include one or more of a first downlink received signal strength indicator (received signal strength indicator, RSSI), a first downlink received channel power indicator (received channel power indicator, RCPI) and a first downlink received signal-to-noise ratio indication (received signal-to-noise indicator, RSNI).

[0287] As a possible implementation method, when the first request frame is the second NDPA frame and the first response frame is the first NDPA frame, the first station receives a first NDP frame from the first access point, and determines the first downlink received signal quality based on the first NDPA frame and / or the first NDP frame.

[0288] It should be understood that the following will be combined Figure 8 The NDPA frame in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail.

[0289] As a possible implementation method, when the first request frame is a TPC request frame and the first response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are defined as Class 1 frames or as Public Action frames, and the first downlink received signal quality is determined based on the TPC response frame.

[0290] As a possible implementation manner, when the first request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the first response frame is a measurement pilot frame, the first downlink received signal quality is determined according to the measurement pilot frame.

[0291] S540: The first station sends a first transmit power and a first downlink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0292] As a possible implementation manner, the first station sends a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, and the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality are carried in the wireless measurement report frame.

[0293] Optionally, the first station sends, to the second access point, transmit power from other neighboring access points and corresponding downlink received signal qualities of the other neighboring access points.

[0294] S550: The second access point performs BSS transfer according to the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality.

[0295] In other words, the second access point makes a BSS transfer decision according to the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality, that is, decides on a target access point for BSS transfer.

[0296] As a possible implementation manner, the second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighbor access point according to the first downlink received signal quality and the downlink received signal qualities corresponding to other neighbor access points.

[0297] As a possible implementation, the second access point determines the transmission path loss between the first site and the first access point based on the first transmission power and the first downlink received signal quality; the second access point determines the transmission path loss between other neighbor access points and the first site based on the transmission power of other neighbor access points and the downlink received signal quality corresponding to other neighbor access points. The second access point estimates the uplink received signal quality between the first site and different access points based on the transmission path loss corresponding to different access points and the maximum transmission power of the first site. The second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighbor access point based on the uplink received signal quality corresponding to different access points and the downlink received signal instruction.

[0298] As a possible implementation manner, the second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighboring access point according to the estimated uplink received signal qualities corresponding to different access points.

[0299] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific process of the second access point selecting the target access point for BSS transfer.

[0300] In the above technical solution, the first site sends the determined first downlink received signal quality and the first transmission power corresponding to the first access point to the second access point, providing the second access point with more information in the decision-making process of the target access point for BSS transfer, which can help the second access point make a more reasonable choice and avoid selecting a poor neighbor access point as the target access point only based on the downlink received signal quality, thereby helping to ensure the data transmission quality between the first site and the target access point after the BSS transfer.

[0301] The following will be combined Figures 6 to 9 ,as well as Figures 17 to 20 The above scheme is described in detail.

[0302] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the process interaction of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Figure 6 The interaction diagram shown is to illustrate the corresponding method by taking the first station and the first access point as the execution subjects of the interaction diagram as an example, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. Figure 6The first site in the method may also be a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first site to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first site. Figure 6 The first access point in the method may also be a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first access point to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first access point.

[0303] It should be understood that, in the following, "first NDP request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "first NDP response frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent "site", and "first downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0304] S610: A first station sends a first NDP request frame to a first access point, requesting a first NDPA frame and a first NDP frame.

[0305] The first station and the first access point are not associated, for example, Figure 1 As shown, the first station may be STA#2-1, and the first access point may be AP#1.

[0306] It should be understood that the first NDP request frame is not a request frame in a strict sense.

[0307] As a possible implementation, the first NDP request frame may be an NDPA frame, such as a second NDPA frame. Figure 7 and Figure 8 The transmission method and specific format when the type of the first NDP request frame is the second NDPA frame are described in detail.

[0308] S620: The first access point triggers the sending of a first NDP response frame according to the first NDP request frame, where the first NDP response frame includes a first transmit power.

[0309] It should be understood that the first NDP response frame is not a response frame in the strict sense.

[0310] The first NDP response frame is a first NDPA frame, and the first NDPA frame includes a first transmit power.

[0311] Optionally, the first access point sends a first NDP frame to the first station, and a short interface space (SIFS) is separated between the first NDPA frame and the first NDP frame.

[0312] It should be understood that the transmission power of the first NDPA frame and the first NDP frame can both be the first transmission power.

[0313] S630: The first station obtains a first downlink received signal quality according to the first NDPA frame and / or the first NDP frame.

[0314] The first transmission power and the first downlink received signal quality are used for BSS transfer.

[0315] In the above technical solution, the first station and the first access point perform downlink channel quality measurement through control frames, such as NDPA frames and NDP frames. Since the interval between control frames is short, the time for the first station to scan and measure neighbors can be greatly shortened, thereby reducing the impact of the neighbor measurement and scanning process on the first station's own data transmission.

[0316] As a possible implementation, the first transmit power may be equal to the transmit power of a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the first access point. The transmit power of the Beacon frame or the probe response frame may be the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0317] In this way, when the first transmission power is the transmission power of the Beacon frame or the detection response frame, that is, when the first transmission power is the maximum transmission power of the first access point, the transmission path loss obtained subsequently can be made more accurate. For example, in the case where the distance between the first station and the first access point is far, the first access point sends the first NDP response frame at the maximum transmission power to avoid inaccurate transmission path loss estimation due to the distance factor between the first station and the first access point.

[0318] Optionally, in S640, the first station grants the remaining transmission opportunities (transmit opportunity, TXOP) to the first access point, where the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the first station.

[0319] The first station and the second access point are associated with each other, for example, Figure 1 As shown, the first station may be STA#2-1, and the second access point may be AP#2.

[0320] As a possible implementation manner, the protocol predetermines that after the first station sends the first NDP request frame to the first access point, the first access point is granted the remaining TXOP.

[0321] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate the remaining TXOP granted to the first access point.

[0322] For example, a reverse direction grant (RDG) field is added to the second NDPA frame to indicate that the remaining TXOP is granted to the first access point.

[0323] Optionally, the first access point uses the remaining transmission opportunities to instruct one or more associated stations corresponding to the first access point to perform channel measurement in the first NDPA frame. In other words, the first access point uses the remaining transmission opportunities to instruct the stations associated with the first access point to perform beam training.

[0324] Optionally, after S620, the seventh NDPA frame sent by the first access point to the station associated with the first access point indicates that the station associated with the first access point collects channel measurement information.

[0325] For example, Figure 1 As shown, the first access point may be Figure 1 The first access point associated with AP#1 in the example may be Figure 1 STA#1 in the figure. It should be understood that the following will be combined with Fig. 9 The detailed description is a process in which the first access point instructs the associated station to perform channel measurement.

[0326] In the above technical solution, during the process of neighbor scanning and measurement performed by the first site, the transmission opportunity between the first site and the second access point is given to the first access point, that is, the process of beam training performed by the first access point is combined with the process of neighbor scanning and measurement, thereby improving the overall operation efficiency.

[0327] The following will be combined Figure 7 Detailed description Figure 6 A flow chart of the communication method shown. Figure 7 This is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 The execution entities and Figure 6 Similarly, the relevant explanations are not repeated here.

[0328] In the first step, the first station sends a first NDP request frame to the first access point, and the first NDP request frame may be a NDPA frame, for example, a second NDPA frame.

[0329] Optionally, in a second step, after a short frame interval, the first station may send a second NDP frame to the first access point.

[0330] In the third step, after a short frame interval, the first access point sends a first NDPA frame to the first station.

[0331] Optionally, in the fourth step, after a short frame interval, the first access point sends a first NDP frame to the first station.

[0332] It should be understood that each of the above steps may be separated by the same short frame interval corresponding to the time, or may be separated by different short frame intervals corresponding to the time, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Since the second step is an optional step, when the second step does not exist, only one short frame interval time is required between the first step and the third step.

[0333] The following will be combined Figure 8 The formats of the first NDP request frame and the first NDP response frame are described in detail. Figure 8 : is a schematic diagram of the format of a first NDP request frame and a first NDP response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 The first NDP request frame shown in (a) is taken as an example of the second NDPA frame. Figure 8 (b) is explained by taking the first NDP response frame being the first NDPA frame as an example.

[0334] like Figure 8 As shown in (a), the second NDPA frame includes a frame control (Frame Control) field, a duration (Duration) field, a receiver address (RA) field, a transmitter address (TA) field, a sounding dialog token (Sounding Dialog Token) field, a station information list (STA InfoList) field and a frame check sequence (Frame Check Sequence, FCS) field. Among them, the size of the frame control field is 2Octet, the size of the duration field is 2Octet, the size of the receiver address field is 6Octet, the size of the transmitter address field is 6Octet, the size of the sounding dialog token field is 1Octet, the size of the station information list field is variable, and the size of the frame control field is 4Octet.

[0335] Among them, the frame control field is used to carry protocol version information and frame type information, etc. For the frame type information, it specifically includes two fields: type (Type) and subtype (Subtype). For the second NDPA frame as a control frame, the two fields of Type and Subtype can be set to 01 and 0101 respectively. The duration field is used to indicate the remaining time of the transmission opportunity. The receiving end address field is used to indicate the receiving address. The sending end address field is used to indicate the sending address.

[0336] like Figure 8As shown in (a), the measurement dialogue token field includes an NDP announcement variant (NDP Announcement Variant) field and a measurement dialogue token number (Sounding Dialog Token Number) field. Among them, the size of the NDP announcement variant field is 2 bits and the size of the measurement dialogue token number field is 6 bits. The specific value of the NDP announcement variant field can be shown in Table 5.

[0337] Table 5

[0338]

[0339] For example, the length of each site information field corresponding to VHT NDPA is 2 bytes. The length of each site information field corresponding to Sensing NDPA is 4 bytes, and the value of the association identifier (AID) field in the first site information field is 2045, and the value of the 32nd bit (that is, the bit numbered B31) of the site information field is 1. The length of each site information field corresponding to HE NDPA is 4 bytes. The length of each site information field corresponding to EHT NDPA is 4 bytes.

[0340] The following takes VHT NDPA and HE NDPA as examples to explain in detail the format of the site information field corresponding to the variant of the second NDPA frame in the embodiment of the present application. At this time, the values ​​of the NDP announcement variant are 0 and 2 respectively.

[0341] In an embodiment of the present application, as a possible implementation, the second NDPA frame includes a fourth AID field, and the fifth value of the fourth AID field is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitter. At this time, the transmit power of the transmitter is the transmit power of the first station sending the second NDPA frame to the first access point, or the transmit power of the first station sending the second NDPA frame and the second NDP frame to the first access point, wherein the transmit power of the second NDPA frame and the second NDP frame may be the same.

[0342] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (a), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA indicates that there is a transmit power field of the transmitter in the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA through a special value in the AID12 field, for example, 2046. Alternatively, the site information field corresponding to the variant of HE NDPA indicates that there is a transmit power field of the transmitter in the site information field corresponding to the variant of HE NDPA through a special value in the AID11 field, for example, 2046.

[0343] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame includes indication information of the transmit power of the transmitting end.

[0344] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (a), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA may also include a transmit power field of the transmitting end, which may indicate the transmit power of the second NDPA frame. Alternatively, the transmit power field may indicate the transmit power of the second NDPA frame and the transmit power of the second NDPA frame sent immediately thereafter.

[0345] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame may also include a request for a first repetition number of a long training fields (LTFs) set in the first NDP frame, or include a request for a second repetition number of the first NDP frame.

[0346] It should be understood that the fourth AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of a field of the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0347] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (a), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA may also include a first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the first NDP frame requested, or include a second repetition number of the first NDP frame requested.

[0348] In this way, when the first station performs channel measurement through the first NDP frame, it can perform multiple measurements based on the multiple repeated first NDP frames, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the first station on the downlink channel.

[0349] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame further includes a first NDP existence field, and the first NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0350] It should be understood that the fourth AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of the first NDP presence field.

[0351] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (a), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA may also include a first NDP existence field, and the second NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0352] Specifically, 1 bit is used in the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA to indicate whether the second NDP frame exists.

[0353] In this way, by setting the NDP frame as an optional message frame through the field, the message can be sent flexibly. For example, if only the first station needs to perform downlink channel measurement, bandwidth resources can be saved and signaling overhead can be saved.

[0354] Accordingly, Figure 8 The format of the first NDPA frame described in (b) is similar to the format of the second NDPA frame.

[0355] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and the first value of the first AID is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0356] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (b), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA indicates that there is a first transmit power field in the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA through a special value in the AID12 field, for example, 2046. Alternatively, the site information field corresponding to the variant of HE NDPA indicates that there is a first transmit power field in the site information field corresponding to the variant of HE NDPA through a special value in the AID11 field, for example, 2046.

[0357] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame includes a first transmit power field.

[0358] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (b), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA includes a first transmit power field, and the first transmit power field is used to indicate the transmit power of the first NDPA frame and the first NDP frame.

[0359] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the LTFs set in the first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the first NDP frame.

[0360] It should be understood that the first AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of a field of the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0361] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (b), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA includes the first repetition number of the LTFs set in the first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the first NDP frame.

[0362] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame includes a second NDP existence field, and the second value of the second NDP existence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0363] It should be understood that the first AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of the second NDP presence field.

[0364] For example, Figure 8 As shown in (b), if the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA includes a second NDP existence field, the value of the second NDP existence field is set to 1, indicating that the first NDP frame is sent after the first NDPA frame at an interval of SIFS.

[0365] As a possible implementation manner, when the second NDPA frame includes a first NDP existence field indicating that the second NDP frame is sent immediately after the second NDPA frame, the first access point can obtain the uplink received signal quality based on the second NDP frame, and the first NDPA frame can also include the uplink received signal quality.

[0366] For example, the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA also includes uplink received signal quality.

[0367] In this way, the first station can simultaneously obtain the channel quality between the first station and the first access point, which can avoid the situation where the subsequent second access point selects an inappropriate candidate access point when selecting a candidate access point for BSS transfer due to uplink and downlink asymmetry.

[0368] For the optional implementation of S640, the following will be combined with Fig. 9 Provide detailed explanation. Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of an access point performing channel measurement process interaction provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig. 9 The execution subjects shown are the first access point and the second station. The explanation of the first access point and the second station is similar to that of the first access point and the first station. Figure 6 . The second site can be Figure 1 As shown in STA#2, the station is associated with the first access point.

[0369] Fig. 9 The interactive process shown is based on an example in which the first access point sends an NDPA frame and the second station measures the downlink channel quality and provides feedback. Fig. 9 The measurement method shown can be divided into two channel measurement methods according to the number of beamforming receivers. The first one is as follows: Fig. 9 As shown in (a), it is a non-trigger (non-TB) channel measurement with only one beamforming receiver. Fig. 9 As shown in (b), it is a trigger-based (TB) channel measurement with multiple beamforming receivers. Since channel measurement can also be called beam training, Fig. 9The first access point in the communication system may also be referred to as a beamforming transmitter, and the second access point may also be referred to as a beamforming receiver.

[0370] like Fig. 9 As shown in (a), in the first step, the first access point sends NDPA#3 to the second station. In the second step, after an interval of SIFS, the first access point sends NDP#3 to the second station. In the third step, after an interval of SIFS, the second station sends compressed beamforming or channel quality indicator (CQI) to the first access point.

[0371] For example, NDPA #3 may be a HE NDPA.

[0372] Among them, NDPA#3 indicates which sites need to measure the next NDP and the corresponding parameters of the NDP.

[0373] like Fig. 9 As shown in (b), in the first step, the first access point sends NDPA#4 to multiple second sites. In the second step, after an interval of SIFS, the first access point sends NDP#4 to multiple second sites. In the third step, after an interval of SIFS, the first access point sends a BFRP trigger frame to multiple second sites. In the fourth step, after an interval of SIFS, multiple second sites send compressed beamforming or channel quality indication to the first access point in sequence.

[0374] Among them, when doing beam training, the number of high efficiency long training fields (HE-LTF) carried by NDP#3 or NDP#4 is the maximum number of supported transmission streams, which is generally equal to the number of transmitting antennas.

[0375] Fig.10 It is a flow chart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig.10 The execution subject and Figure 6 Similar, I will not go into details here.

[0376] S1010. The first station sends a third NDPA frame to the first access point, where the third NDPA frame includes a second transmit power of an expected fourth NDP frame.

[0377] As a possible implementation manner, the second transmit power may be carried by the second access point in a wireless measurement request frame, for example, through a wireless measurement request frame whose measurement type is Beacon request.

[0378] As a possible implementation, the first access point sends the second transmit power to the second access point through wired communication of the DS. Or the second transmit power is the expected transmit power of the second access point, or the second transmit power is the expected transmit power of the first station.

[0379] It should be understood that the specific format of the third NDPA frame will be Fig.12 The transmission method of the third NDPA frame will be described in detail in (a) of Fig.11 Described in detail in.

[0380] S1020: The first access point sends a fourth NDP frame to the first station at a second transmission power.

[0381] S1030: The first station obtains a second downlink received signal quality according to the fourth NDP frame.

[0382] It should be understood that the second downlink received signal quality may include one or more of a second downlink RSSI, a second downlink RCPI and a second downlink RSNI.

[0383] S1040: The first station sends a second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, where the second downlink received signal quality is used for BSS transfer.

[0384] In the above technical solution, the first station directly sends the expected transmit power corresponding to the first access point to the first access point through the NDPA frame, and then the first access point sends the NDP frame through the expected transmit power, so that the second access point can reasonably select a suitable target access point when performing BSS transfer. For example, if the second transmit power, that is, the expected transmit power, is known in advance by the second access point from the first access point, the second access point can simultaneously know the second transmit power and the second downlink received signal quality. At this time, not only can the second access point select a suitable target access point for BSS transfer, but also the signaling overhead of the air interface can be reduced.

[0385] Optionally, Fig.10 In the scheme, the receiving address in the third NDPA frame may include identification information of the first access point. Fig.10 The solution process can also set the receiving address field in the third NDPA frame to the broadcast address, that is, the third NDPA frame carries the identification or address information of at least one neighbor access point. Each neighbor access point that receives the broadcast third NDPA frame sends an NDP frame to the first site in sequence, for example, the first access point sends the fourth NDP frame to the first site.

[0386] It should be understood that, in this optional solution, the expected second transmit power carried in the third NDPA frame may be the smallest one of at least one transmit power sent by at least one neighbor access point to the second access point via a wired manner of the DS.

[0387] The following will be combined Fig.11 Detailed description Fig.10 A flow chart of the communication method shown. Fig.11 This is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.11 The execution entities and Fig.10 Similarly, the relevant explanations are not repeated here.

[0388] In the first step, the first station sends a third NDPA frame to the first access point.

[0389] Optionally, in the second step, after a short frame interval, the first station may send a third NDP frame to the first access point.

[0390] In the fourth step, after a short frame interval, the first access point sends a fourth NDP frame to the first station.

[0391] It should be understood that each of the above steps may be separated by the same short frame interval corresponding to the time, or may be separated by different short frame intervals corresponding to the time, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. Since the second step is an optional step, when the second step does not exist, only one short frame interval time is required between the first step and the third step.

[0392] The following will be combined Fig.12 The formats of the third NDPA frame and the fourth NDP frame are described in detail. Fig.12 : is a schematic diagram of the format of a third NDPA frame and a fourth NDP frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.12 The third NDPA frame shown in (a) is a variant of the NDPA frame as an example. Fig.12 (b) is the fourth NDP frame and is illustrated by taking the high-efficiency measurement NDP as an example.

[0393] It should be understood that Fig.12 A detailed description of the general fields in (a) can be found in Figure 8 (a). I will not go into details here.

[0394] As a possible implementation manner, the third NDPA frame may include a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the second transmit power. Fig.12 As described in (a), a special value in the AID11 field, for example, 2046, can be used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0395] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame may include a desired second transmit power field. Fig.12 As shown in (a), for example, a variant of the NDPA frame includes a desired second transmit power field.

[0396] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame may also include a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitting end. Fig.12 As shown in (a), for example, the variant of the NDPA frame includes a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitter.

[0397] It should be understood that the second AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitting end.

[0398] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame further includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame. Fig.12 As shown in (a), for example, the variant of the NDPA frame includes a fourth NDP frame repetition count field.

[0399] It should be understood that the second AID field can also be used to indicate the number of repetitions of the LTFs set, or include a field corresponding to the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0400] As a possible implementation manner, the third NDPA frame further includes a third NDP existence field, and the third NDP existence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame. Fig.12 As shown in (a).

[0401] It should be understood that the second AID field can also be used to indicate the presence of the third NDP presence field.

[0402] As a possible implementation, when the third NDP existence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, after sending the third NDPA frame to the first access point, a short frame interval is interval and a third NDP frame is sent to the first access point. The third NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0403] like Fig.12As shown in (b), if the fourth NDP frame is a high-efficiency measurement NDP frame, it includes a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), a legacy signaling field (L-SIG), a repeated legacy signaling field (RL-SIG), a high-efficiency signaling field (HE-SIG-A), a high-efficiency short training field (HE-STF) and a high-efficiency long training field (HE-LTF).

[0404] Fig.13 This is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig.13 The execution subject and Figure 6 Similar, I will not go into details here.

[0405] S1310: The first station determines that the first access point is performing channel measurement.

[0406] Specifically, when the first station is preparing to send a first request frame in the contention channel, it is determined that the first access point is performing channel measurement.

[0407] S1320: The first station receives a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, where the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmit power.

[0408] The third transmission power may be understood as the transmission power of the first access point sending the fifth NDPA frame and the fifth NDP frame.

[0409] It should be understood that the following will be combined Fig.14 A possible format of the fifth NDPA frame is described in detail.

[0410] It should be understood that the first access point does not perceive the action of the first station determining the first access point to perform channel measurement itself. S1320 combines the current first access point channel measurement process and carries the third transmit power therein.

[0411] As a possible implementation manner, the third transmit power may be equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0412] S1330: The first station obtains a third downlink received signal quality according to the fifth NDPA frame and / or the fifth NDP frame.

[0413] It should be understood that the third downlink received signal quality may include one or more of a third downlink RSSI, a third downlink RCPI and a third downlink RSNI.

[0414] S1340: The first station sends a third transmit power and a third downlink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0415] In the above technical solution, when the first site discovers that the first access point is performing channel measurement, the first site does not need to send the first request frame, but follows the process of the first access point performing channel measurement and carries the third transmission power in the fifth NDPA frame. While reducing signaling overhead, it helps the second access point to subsequently select a more reasonable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the subsequent data transmission quality of the first site.

[0416] The following will be combined Fig.14 The format of the fifth NDPA frame is described in detail. Fig.14 : is a schematic diagram of the format of a fifth NDPA frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.14 The fifth NDPA frame shown is an example of a variant of the NDPA frame.

[0417] As a possible implementation, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmit power field. Fig.14 As shown, a variant of the NDPA frame includes a third transmit power field.

[0418] As a possible implementation, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third AID field, and the fourth value of the third AID field is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the third transmit power. Fig.14 As shown, a special value of the AID11 field, such as 2046, may be used to indicate that a variant of the HE NDPA frame includes a third transmit power field.

[0419] Fig.15 It is a flow chart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig.15 The execution subject and Figure 6 Similar, I will not go into details here. Fig.15 for Figure 5 The first request frame is a TPC request frame, and the first response frame is a TPC response frame.

[0420] It should be understood that, in the following, "TPC request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "TPC response frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "site", and "first downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0421] S1510: A first station sends a TPC request frame to a first access point, wherein the type of the TPC request frame is defined as a Class 1 frame.

[0422] The category 1 frame may also be defined as a public action frame. It should be understood that when the type of the TPC request frame is a public action frame, the first station may send the TPC request frame to the unassociated first access point.

[0423] S1520: The first access point sends an acknowledgment frame of the TPC request frame to the first station.

[0424] S1530: The first access point sends a TPC response frame to the first station, where the TPC response frame includes a first transmit power.

[0425] It should be understood that the first access point re-performs channel contention to send the TPC response frame.

[0426] It should be understood that the specific formats of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame will be described in Fig.16 Detailed description in.

[0427] S1540: The first station sends an acknowledgment frame of the TPC response frame to the first access point.

[0428] S1550: The first station determines a first downlink received signal quality according to the TPC response frame.

[0429] In the above technical solution, the first transmission power of the first access point is obtained through the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame, and the measurement mode of the downlink received signal quality measurement is currently performed through the Beacon frame or the detection request frame. Since the TPC request frame and the response frame carry less information, this solution can help reduce channel resource consumption and signaling overhead. At the same time, it helps the second access point to make a more reasonable choice later, avoiding selecting a poor neighbor access point as the target access point only by the downlink received signal quality, thereby helping to ensure the data transmission quality between the first station and the target access point after the BSS transfer.

[0430] Fig.16 This is a format diagram of a TPC request frame and a TPC response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0431] like Fig.16As shown in (a), the TPC request frame includes a Category field, a Radio Management Action field, a Dialog Token field, and a TPC Request Element field. The size of the Category field is 1 Octet, the size of the Radio Measurement Action field is 1 Octet, the size of the Dialog Token field is 1 Octet, and the size of the TPC Request field is 2 Octet. Among them, the Category field is used to indicate which category the action frame belongs to. For example, for spectrum measurement, the value of the Category field is set to 0. The specific description of the Spectrum Measurement Action field is shown in Table 6.

[0432] Table 6

[0433]

[0434] When the value of the Dialog Token field is set to a non-zero value, the Dialog Token field is used to indicate a specific request / report interaction.

[0435] The TPC request element field includes an element identifier (Element ID) field and a length (Length) field.

[0436] like Fig.16 As shown in (b), the TPC response frame (also referred to as the TPC report frame) may include a category field, a spectrum management action field, a dialog token field, and a TPC report element field. Among them, the category field, the spectrum management action field, and the dialog token field have similar functions to the fields corresponding to the TPC request frame, and are not described in detail here.

[0437] The TPC report element field includes an element identifier field, a length field, a transmit power field, and a link margin field. The link margin field is used to indicate the link margin measured based on the TPC request frame. When the TPC report element field is carried in a Beacon frame or a probe response frame, the link margin field is reserved.

[0438] The transmission frequency field is used to indicate the transmission power of the frame carrying the TPC report element field.

[0439] In an embodiment of the present application, the first transmission power included in the TPC response frame can be specifically indicated by a transmission frequency field.

[0440] Fig.17 It is a flow chart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig.17 The execution subject and Figure 6 Similar, I will not go into details here. Fig.17 for Figure 5 In the case where the first request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the first response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0441] It should be understood that, in the following, "measurement pilot request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "measurement pilot frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "site", and "first downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0442] S1710. A first station sends a measurement pilot request frame to a first access point. The measurement pilot request frame is used to trigger the sending of a measurement pilot frame.

[0443] S1720. The first access point sends a measurement pilot frame to the first station, where the measurement pilot frame includes a first transmit power.

[0444] Fig.18 This is a schematic diagram of the format of a measurement pilot frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0445] like Fig.18 As shown, the measurement pilot frame includes a category field, a public action field, a dense capability information field, a dense country string field, an operation class field, a channel field, a measurement pilot interval field, and an optional sub-element field. The size of the category field is 1 Octet, the size of the public action field is 1 Octet, the size of the dense capability information field is 1 Octet, the size of the dense country string field is 2 Octet, the size of the operation class field is 1 Octet, the size of the channel field is 1 Octet, the size of the measurement pilot interval field is 1 Octet, and the size of the optional sub-element field is changeable. Among them, the measurement pilot field is used to indicate the sending interval of the measurement pilot frame.

[0446] As a possible implementation, the first transmission power included in the measurement pilot frame may be Fig.16 The TPC report element field is shown as a sub-element of an optional sub-element field of a measurement pilot frame, wherein the TPC report element field includes an indication field of a first transmit power.

[0447] S1730: The first station determines the quality of the first downlink received signal according to the TPC response frame.

[0448] In the above technical solution, the sending of the measurement pilot frame is triggered by the measurement pilot frame request frame, and the current measurement mode of the measurement pilot frame is used. Compared with the current periodic detection of the measurement pilot frame, the time for the first site to perform neighbor scanning and measurement can be reduced, thereby ensuring the first site's own data transmission.

[0449] Fig.19 It is a flow chart of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig.19 The execution subject and Figure 5 Similar, I will not go into details here.

[0450] S1910: The second access point sends a wireless measurement request frame to the first station, for requesting a channel quality measurement result between the first station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the first station. The at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point.

[0451] It should be understood that the specific fields of the wireless measurement request frame will be Fig. 20 Described in detail in.

[0452] S1920: The first station sends a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, where the wireless measurement report frame includes a first transmit power and a fourth downlink received signal quality.

[0453] It should be understood that the first station may obtain the first transmit power in any of the above solutions. The fourth downlink received signal quality may be the first downlink received signal quality, the second downlink received signal quality or the third downlink received signal quality in the above solution.

[0454] S1930. The first station sends a fourth transmission power to the second access point, where the fourth transmission power is the transmission power of the first station.

[0455] S1940, the second access point determines a transmission path loss between the first station and the first access point according to the first transmission power and the fourth downlink received signal quality; and estimates a second uplink received signal quality according to the transmission path loss and the fourth transmission power.

[0456] The second uplink received signal quality and the fourth downlink received signal quality are used for BSS transfer.

[0457] Specifically, the second access point determines the transmission path loss between other neighbor access points and the first site according to the transmission power of other neighbor access points and the downlink received signal quality corresponding to the other neighbor access points. The second access point estimates the uplink received signal quality between the first site and different access points according to the transmission path loss corresponding to different access points and the maximum transmission power corresponding to the first site. The second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighbor access point according to the uplink received signal quality and downlink received signal instruction corresponding to the first site and different access points.

[0458] Optionally, at S1950, the first access point sends a fifth transmit power to the second access point, where the fifth transmit power may be a transmit power for sending a beacon frame or a probe response frame by the first access point.

[0459] As a possible implementation manner, the first access point transmits the fifth transmit power to the second access point in a wired manner of the DS.

[0460] The fifth transmit power may also be understood as the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0461] Optionally, S1960, the second access point determines the transmission path loss between the first site and the first access point based on the first transmission power and the fourth downlink received signal quality; and estimates the downlink received signal quality of the first access point based on the fifth transmission power based on the transmission path loss and the fifth transmission power.

[0462] If the first access point subsequently sends a Beacon frame or a probe response frame using the fifth transmit power, the second access point can estimate the downlink received signal quality of the first access point based on the Beacon frame or the probe response frame according to the above steps.

[0463] In the above technical solution, the second access point can simultaneously obtain the uplink reception signal quality and the downlink reception signal quality between the first access point and the first site, and can well deal with the uplink and downlink asymmetry problem caused by the large difference in transmission power between the first access point and the first site, thereby helping the second access point to select a more suitable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the data transmission quality of the first site.

[0464] Fig. 20 This is a format diagram of a measurement request field and a measurement report field provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Fig. 20 (a) takes the measurement request field of the measurement type Beacon request as an example. Fig. 20 (b) is an example of a measurement report field whose measurement type is Beacon report. It should be understood that Fig. 20 Other fields of the wireless measurement request frame are omitted in (a). For details, please refer to Figure 3 . Fig. 20 Other fields of the wireless measurement request frame are omitted in (b). For details, please refer to Figure 4 .

[0465] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement frame includes identification indication information of at least one neighbor access point.

[0466] Exemplarily, the wireless measurement request frame includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point. Fig. 20 As shown in (a), the BSS identification character field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame may include address information of the first access point.

[0467] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first station to send the first request frame.

[0468] It should be understood that the first indication information indicates a new measurement mode, that is, the communication method between the first station and the first access point provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0469] For example, Fig. 20 As shown in (a), the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 3, or the existing value of the measurement mode field and other fields can be combined to represent the first indication information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the first indication information.

[0470] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that a subsequent wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality.

[0471] Specifically, Fig. 20 As shown in (a), the value of the report details field in the optional sub-element field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 0. It should be understood that the third indication information can also be represented by other fields, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0472] As a possible implementation, the first transmit power included in the wireless measurement report frame may be Fig.16 The TPC report element field shown is a sub-element of an optional sub-element field in a measurement report field of a wireless measurement report frame, wherein the TPC report element field includes an indication field of a first transmit power.

[0473] For example, Fig. 20 (b), the first transmission power indication information can be carried in an optional sub-element field.

[0474] Fig.21 It is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. Fig.21 The execution subject may include the first station, the candidate access point #1, the candidate access point #2 and the second access point. It should be understood that the detailed explanation of the execution subject can be referred to Figure 5 , I will not elaborate on this. It should be understood that Fig.21 The number of candidate access points in is only an example, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of candidate access points.

[0475] S2110: The first station sends a sixth NDPA frame to any candidate access point by broadcasting.

[0476] As a possible implementation manner, the sixth NDPA frame includes identification information of the second access point associated with the first station, for example, address information of the second access point.

[0477] Wherein, any candidate access point is not associated with the first station, and any candidate access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set. For example, any candidate access point can be Fig.21 Candidate access point #1 or candidate access point #2 in .

[0478] Optionally, the identifier of the second access point may also be carried in other messages and broadcasted to allow at least one candidate access point to know it.

[0479] S2120: After a short frame interval, the first station sends a sixth NDP frame to any candidate access point by broadcasting.

[0480] S2130: Any candidate access point determines a second uplink received signal quality according to the sixth NDP frame, and sends the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0481] For example, in S2130a, candidate access point #1 determines the second uplink received signal quality #1 based on the sixth NDP frame, and sends the second uplink received signal quality #1 to the second access point; in S2130b, candidate access point #2 determines the second uplink received signal quality #2 based on the sixth NDP frame, and sends the second uplink received signal quality #2 to the second access point.

[0482] Specifically, the candidate access point is transmitted to the second access point via a wired manner of the DS.

[0483] S2140: The second access point performs BSS transfer according to at least one second uplink received signal quality.

[0484] Specifically, the second access point selects a suitable target access point for BSS transfer according to at least one second uplink received signal quality.

[0485] In the above technical solution, the uplink received signal quality is measured by the candidate access point and directly fed back to the second access point, which can not only reduce air interface resources but also does not affect the data transmission of the first station itself.

[0486] The following, combined Figure 22 to Figure 24 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.

[0487] Fig. 22 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 2200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 2200 may include a processing unit 2220, which is used to perform data processing. The device 2200 may also include a transceiver unit 2210, which may implement corresponding communication functions, and the transceiver unit 2210 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit or an interface unit. It should be understood that for the operations such as sending and receiving involved in this application, if there is no special explanation, or if it does not conflict with its actual role or internal logic in the relevant description, it can be more generally understood as operations such as output and input, rather than sending and receiving operations directly performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna.

[0488] Optionally, the device 2200 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and / or data, and the processing unit 2220 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0489] The device 2200 can be used to execute the actions performed by the first site in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 2200 can be a communication device or a component that can be configured on a communication device. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations on the communication device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 2220 is used to execute the processing-related operations of the first site in the above method embodiment.

[0490] As a design, the device 2200 is used to perform the above Figure 5 or Figure 6 or Fig.15 or Fig.17 or Fig.19The actions performed by the first station in the method embodiment shown may be performed by a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first station to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first station.

[0491] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is used to send a first request frame to the first access point, where the first request frame is used to trigger the sending of a first response frame, and the first station is not associated with the first access point.

[0492] The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a first response frame from a first access point, where the first response frame includes a first transmit power when sending the first response frame.

[0493] The processing unit 2220 is configured to determine the first downlink received signal quality.

[0494] The transceiver unit 2210 is used to send a first transmission power and a first downlink received signal quality to a second access point, where the first transmission power and the first downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the first site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0495] For matters not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0496] As a design, the communication device 2200 is used to execute the above Figure 5 or Figure 6 or Fig.15 or Fig.17 The actions performed by the first access point in the method embodiment shown may be performed by a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first access point to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first access point.

[0497] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is used to receive a first request frame from a first station, where the first station is not associated with the first access point. The processing unit 2210 is used to trigger sending a first response frame to the first station, where the first response frame includes a first transmit power when sending the first response frame, and the first transmit power is used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0498] For matters not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0499] As a design, the communication device 2200 is used to execute the above Figure 5 or Fig.19 The actions performed by the second access point in the method embodiment shown may be performed by a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the second access point to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second access point.

[0500] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is used to receive a first transmission power and a first downlink received signal quality sent from the first site, the first transmission power is the transmission power corresponding to the first response frame sent by the first access point to the first site, the first downlink received signal quality is the downlink received signal quality between the first site and the first access point, and the first site and the first access point are not associated. The processing unit 2220 is used to transfer the basic service set BSS according to the first transmission power and the first downlink received signal quality, the second access point is associated with the first site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0501] For matters not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0502] As a design, the communication device 2200 is used to execute the above Fig.10 The actions performed by the first station in the method embodiment shown may be performed by a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first station to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first station.

[0503] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is used to send a third NDPA frame to the first access point, the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of the fourth NDP frame, the first site and the first access point are not associated, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to receive the fourth NDP frame sent from the first access point with the second transmission power. The processing unit 2220 is used to obtain the second downlink received signal quality according to the fourth NDP frame. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to send the second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, wherein the second access point is associated with the first site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0504] For matters not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0505] As a design, the communication device 2200 is used to execute the above Fig.13 The actions performed by the first station in the method embodiment shown may be performed by a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports the first station to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first station.

[0506] Specifically, the processing unit 2220 is used to determine that the first access point is performing channel measurement, and the first site and the first access point are not associated. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to receive the fifth NDPA frame and the fifth NDP frame from the first access point, and the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmission power for sending the third NDPA frame and the fifth NDP frame. The processing unit 2220 is used to determine the third downlink received signal quality according to the fifth NDP frame. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to send a third transmission power and a third downlink received signal instruction to the second access point, and the third transmission power and the third downlink received signal instruction are used for basic service set BSS transfer, the first site and the second access point are associated, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0507] For matters not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0508] As a design, the communication device 2200 is used to execute the above Fig.21 The actions performed by any one of the at least one candidate access point in the method embodiment shown. The execution subject may be a chip, a chip system or a processor that supports any one of the at least one candidate access point to implement the corresponding method, or may be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of any one of the at least one candidate access point.

[0509] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is used to receive a first frame from the first site, the first frame includes identification information of a second access point associated with the first site, any candidate access point is not associated with the first site, and any candidate access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to receive a second frame from the first site, the second frame is used to obtain a second uplink received signal quality. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to send the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0510] For matters not described in detail, reference may be made to the above method embodiments.

[0511] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0512] The processing unit 2220 in the above embodiment may be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuits. The transceiver unit 2210 may be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit. The storage unit may be implemented by at least one memory.

[0513] Fig.23 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2300 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0514] like Fig.23As shown, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 2300. The device 2300 includes a processor 2310, the processor 2310 is coupled to a memory 2320, the memory 2320 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data, and the processor 2310 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions and / or data stored in the memory 2320, so that the method in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0515] Optionally, the device 2300 includes one or more processors 2310.

[0516] Optional, such as Fig.23 As shown, the device 2300 may further include a memory 2320 .

[0517] Optionally, the memory 2320 included in the device 2300 may be one or more.

[0518] Optionally, the memory 2320 may be integrated with the processor 2310 or provided separately.

[0519] Optional, such as Fig.23 As shown, the device 2300 may further include a transceiver 2330, and the transceiver 2330 is used for receiving and / or sending signals. For example, the processor 2310 is used to control the transceiver 2330 to receive and / or send signals.

[0520] As a solution, the device 2300 is used to implement the operations performed by the first station, the first access point, the second access point or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment.

[0521] For example, the processor 2310 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the first site, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver 2330 is used to implement transceiver-related operations performed by the first site, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment.

[0522] Fig.24 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 2400 provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Fig.24As shown. The chip system 2400 (or it may also be referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 2410 and an input / output interface (input / output interface) 2420, the logic circuit is used to couple with the input interface, and transmit data parameters through the input / output interface to execute the method in the above method embodiment. The device installed with the chip system 2400 can implement the method and function of the embodiment of the present application. For example, the logic circuit 2410 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 2400, which realizes the control of the device installed with the chip system 2400, and can also be coupled to a storage unit to call instructions in the storage unit so that the device can implement the method and function of the embodiment of the present application, and the input / output interface 2420 can be an input and output circuit in the chip system 2400, which outputs the information processed by the chip system 2400, or inputs the data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 2400 for processing.

[0523] As a solution, the chip system 2400 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device (such as the first station, the first access point, the second access point or any one of the at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0524] For example, the logic circuit 2410 is used to implement the processing-related operations performed by the first site, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment, and the input / output interface 2420 is used to implement the sending and receiving-related operations performed by the first site, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment.

[0525] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium on which are stored computer instructions for implementing the method executed by a communication device (such as a first site, a first access point, a second access point, or any one of at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0526] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the communication device (such as the first station, the first access point, the second access point or any one of the at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0527] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by a communication device (such as a first site, a first access point, a second access point, or any one of at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0528] 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.

[0529] 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.

[0530] 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 may include 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).

[0531] 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.

[0532] 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.

[0533] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of protection of this application.

[0534] 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 units is only a logical function division, and 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.

[0535] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to implement the solution provided by the present application.

[0536] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0537] 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 loading and executing computer program instructions on a computer, the process or function according to 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 instruction 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 instruction can be transmitted from a website site, a computer, a server or a 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, a data center, etc. 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 may include, 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.

[0538] 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: The method is applied to a site and comprises: Sending a request frame to a first access point, where the request frame is used to trigger the sending of a response frame, and the station is not associated with the first access point; receiving the response frame from the first access point, the response frame comprising a first transmit power for sending the response frame; Determine the downlink received signal quality; The transmit power and the downlink received signal quality are sent to a second access point, where the transmit power and the downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The request frame is a second null data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that In the case where the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the method further includes: receiving a first null data packet NDP frame from the first access point; The determining of the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality according to the first NDP frame.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: After sending the request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: The first access point is granted remaining transmission opportunities, where the remaining transmission opportunities are remaining transmission opportunities of the station.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The first NDPA frame includes a first field, and a first value of the first field is used to indicate that there is a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that: The second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the first NDP frame; the response frame also includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that: The second NDPA frame further includes a first NDP existence field, where the first NDP existence field is used to indicate whether a second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

8. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that: The first NDPA frame includes a second NDP existence field, and a second value of the second NDP existence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: When the first NDP presence field indicates that the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame, the method further includes: Sending the second NDP frame to the first access point, where the second NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the quality of a first uplink received signal; The first NDPA frame also includes the first uplink received signal quality.

10. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that In the case where the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames; Determining the downlink received signal quality includes: The downlink received signal quality is determined according to the TPC response frame.

11. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that In a case where the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame, determining the downlink received signal quality includes: The downlink received signal quality is determined according to the measurement pilot frame.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The first transmission power is equal to the transmission power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: Before sending the request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: receiving a wireless measurement request frame from the second access point, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point; A wireless measurement report frame is sent to the second access point, where the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality are carried in the wireless measurement report frame.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that The wireless measurement request frame further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a second access point, comprising: receiving a first transmission power and a downlink received signal quality from a station, where the first transmission power is a transmission power corresponding to a response frame sent by a first access point to the station, and the downlink received signal quality is a downlink received signal quality between the station and the first access point, and the station and the first access point are not associated; A basic service set BSS transfer is performed according to the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality, the second access point is associated with the site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending a wireless measurement request frame to a station, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point; A wireless measurement report frame is received from the site, where the wireless measurement report frame includes a first transmit power and a downlink received signal quality.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a fourth transmission power corresponding to the site; The transferring of the basic service set BSS according to the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality comprises: determining a transmission path loss between the station and the first access point according to the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality; A second uplink received signal quality is estimated according to the transmission path loss and the fourth transmit power, where the second uplink received signal quality is an uplink received signal quality between the first access point and the station.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, characterized in that The wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, characterized in that: The wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, characterized in that: The wireless measurement request frame further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The device includes a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, or the device includes a unit for implementing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program or instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory, so that the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, or the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 22.

25. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a device for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16 and a device for implementing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 22.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instruction, and when the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, or the computer executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 22.

27. A chip, characterized in that: The chip is coupled to a memory and is used to read and execute program instructions stored in the memory to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, or to implement the method as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 22.

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