Communication method, communication device, communication system, computing device and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method, a communication device, a communication system, computing equipment and a storage medium. The communication method comprises the following steps: a scheduling strategy determination step: determining a scheduling strategy of an access point to a client according to a predetermined communication optimization target; a scheduling plan determination step: determining a scheduling plan based on the scheduling strategy, the scheduling plan at least comprising which client is to be scheduled by each access point in the current scheduling time slot; a scheduling indication step: sending the scheduling plan to the access point, and indicating the access point to schedule a corresponding client for communication according to the scheduling plan; a scheduling state judgment step: scheduling state information is collected from the access point, and the scheduling state information comprises whether scheduling succeeds or not; and a repetitive control step: determining a scheduling plan of the next scheduling time slot based on the scheduling state information and a predetermined decision algorithm, and returning to the scheduling indication step to execute the method.

Description

Communication method, communication device, communication system, computing device and storage medium Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a communication method, a communication apparatus, a communication system, a computing device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] The ongoing digital transformation in the industrial sector would be impossible without modern communications technologies. To provide companies with the optimal infrastructure for exchanging all types of data, a series of specialized industrial wireless LAN (iWLAN) products have been developed. These products feature unique enhancements to meet the specific requirements of industrial Wi-Fi within control cabinets, indoors, and outdoors, such as iPRP (Industrial Parallel Redundancy Protocol) and iPCF (Industrial Point Coordination Function).

[0003] iPRP is an extension of PRP (Parallel Redundancy Protocol) for wireless data transmission via IWLAN. iPRP enables high-availability, redundant, uninterrupted connections in wireless networks. It is based on duplicating Layer 2 frames over two independent (redundant) wireless links.

[0004] iPCF is another important technology for wireless transmission of PROFINET services. iPCF replaces the random channel access scheme (DCF) of traditional WLAN systems with a polled channel access scheme. That is, the client sends uplink data only when requested (polled) by the AP.

[0005] iPRP and iPCF have their own specific application scenarios in industry and can provide corresponding technical advantages.

[0006] But if you simply combine them together, the AP and client are not coordinated in their settings, which may cause some wireless performance issues.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] A brief overview of the present invention is provided below to provide a basic understanding of certain aspects of the present invention. It should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive overview of the present invention. It is not intended to identify key or important aspects of the present invention, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Its purpose is simply to present certain concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description discussed later.

[0009] In view of this, the present disclosure proposes a communication method that can combine the technical advantages of both redundancy technology (such as iPRP) and scheduling access technology (such as iPCF).

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method for an industrial wireless communication system is provided. The industrial wireless communication system includes a first terminal device, a second terminal device, multiple access points, and multiple clients. The first terminal device is associated with the multiple access points, each of the second terminal devices is associated with at least two of the multiple clients, at least two of the associated clients are redundant client pairs, all access points are time synchronized, and the access points implement communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device by scheduling the clients. The method includes:

[0011] a scheduling strategy determination step, determining a scheduling strategy of the access point to the client according to a predetermined communication optimization goal;

[0012] a scheduling plan determining step, determining a scheduling plan based on the scheduling policy, wherein the scheduling plan at least includes which client each access point is to schedule in the current scheduling time slot;

[0013] a scheduling instruction step, sending the scheduling plan to an access point, instructing the access point to schedule corresponding clients to communicate according to the scheduling plan;

[0014] a scheduling status determination step, collecting scheduling status information from the access point, the scheduling status information including whether the scheduling is successful; and

[0015] Repeat the control step, determine the scheduling plan for the next scheduling time slot based on the scheduling status information and a predetermined decision algorithm, and return to the scheduling indication step to execute the method.

[0016] In this way, a comprehensive solution is provided to coordinate the scheduling of clients by access points. Different client scheduling schemes are adopted according to the requirements for communication performance to meet the optimization requirements for different communication performance requirements.

[0017] Optionally, in an example of the above aspect, the scheduling strategy includes any one of the following:

[0018] The access point schedules only one client in a redundant client pair at a time;

[0019] The access point schedules both clients in a redundant client pair simultaneously.

[0020] Optionally, in an example of the above aspect, the communication optimization goal includes any one of the following:

[0021] Improve data throughput, reduce communication delay, and reduce packet loss rate.

[0022] Optionally, in an example of the above aspect, the scheduling plan further includes at least one of the following:

[0023] The expected uplink data type and the predetermined timeout if no response is received from the client.

[0024] Optionally, in an example of the above aspect, the decision factors of the predetermined decision algorithm include:

[0025] Each client is scheduled at least once in a period. If no response is received from the client, the decision on when to schedule again is based on the availability of scheduling slots and the number of available scheduling slots.

[0026] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method for an industrial wireless communication system is provided, the industrial wireless communication system comprising a first terminal device, a second terminal device, multiple access points, and multiple clients, wherein the first terminal device is associated with the multiple access points, all access points are time-synchronized, each of the second terminal devices is associated with at least two of the multiple clients, at least two of the associated clients are redundant client pairs, one client in the redundant client pair is marked with a first characteristic, and the other client is marked with a second characteristic, all access points are time-synchronized, each access point maintains two lists for its associated clients, wherein the first list includes clients in the redundant client pair having the first characteristic, and the second list includes the other client in the redundant client pair having the second characteristic, the access point knows the redundant client partner of each client associated with it, and the redundant access point partner associated with the redundant client partner, the method comprising:

[0027] Each access point schedules the corresponding client in its first list in turn;

[0028] The access point notifies its corresponding redundant access point partner whether the scheduling is successful; and

[0029] If the scheduling is successful, the redundant access point partner will no longer schedule the corresponding redundant client partner in the current scheduling period. If the scheduling fails, the redundant access point partner will schedule the corresponding redundant client partner if the redundant client partner has not been called.

[0030] In this way, access points can exchange information with each other, coordinate client scheduling, reduce unnecessary redundant transmission, save network resources, and thus improve data throughput.

[0031] Optionally, in an example of the above aspect, the method further includes:

[0032] When a client leaves its associated access point, the corresponding access point deletes the client from the list it maintains; if a new client associates with the access point, the access point adds the client to the corresponding list based on the client.

[0033] In this way, the management of client joining and leaving can be easily achieved.

[0034] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device in an industrial wireless communication system is provided. The industrial wireless communication system includes a first terminal device, a second terminal device, multiple access points, and multiple clients. The first terminal device is associated with the multiple access points, each of the second terminal devices is associated with at least two of the multiple clients, at least two of the associated clients are redundant client pairs, all access points are time synchronized, and the access points implement communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device by scheduling the clients. The communication device includes:

[0035] a scheduling strategy determining unit, configured to determine a scheduling strategy of the access point to the client according to a predetermined communication optimization target;

[0036] a scheduling plan determining unit configured to determine a scheduling plan based on the scheduling policy, the scheduling plan at least including which client each access point is to schedule in a current scheduling time slot;

[0037] a scheduling instruction unit, configured to send the scheduling plan to the access point, instructing the access point to schedule the corresponding client to communicate according to the scheduling plan;

[0038] a scheduling status judgment unit, configured to collect scheduling status information from the access point, the scheduling status information including whether the scheduling is successful; and

[0039] The repetitive control unit is configured to determine a scheduling plan for a next scheduling time slot based on the scheduling state information and a predetermined decision algorithm.

[0040] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an industrial wireless communication system is provided, comprising a first terminal device, a second terminal device, multiple access points, multiple clients, and the communication apparatus described above, wherein the communication apparatus controls the scheduling of the clients by the access points to achieve communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

[0041] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computing device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory being configured to store instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the processor to perform the method described above.

[0042] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium is provided, which stores executable instructions. When the instructions are executed, the machine is caused to perform the method described above.

[0043] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided, comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method described above.

[0044] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, which is tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method described above.

[0045] According to the communication method and communication device disclosed in the present invention, both centralized and decentralized solutions are provided, which can be applied to a variety of different industrial scenarios; by adopting different scheduling mechanisms, different communication performance optimization goals can be achieved very flexibly, such as improving data throughput. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present invention will be more easily understood by referring to the following description of the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The components in the accompanying drawings are only for illustrating the principles of the present invention. In the accompanying drawings, the same or similar technical features or components will be represented by the same or similar reference numerals. In the accompanying drawings:

[0047] FIG1 is a simplified schematic diagram of an industrial wireless communication system that can employ the communication method of the present invention;

[0048] FIG2 is another schematic diagram of an industrial wireless communication system that can adopt the communication method of the present invention;

[0049] FIG3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process of a communication method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG5 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a communication device for executing the communication method shown in FIG2 ; and

[0052] FIG6 shows a block diagram of a computing device for implementing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0053] The accompanying drawings are numerals as follows:

[0054] AP1, AP2, AP3: Access points 102, 202: First terminal device

[0055] STA1, STA2, STA3, STA4, 106-1, 106-2, 108: Redundant boxes

[0056] STA1a, STA1b, STA2a, STA2b,

[0057] STA3a, STA3b, STA4a, STA4b,

[0058] STA5a, STA5b: Client

[0059] 104-1, 104-2, 204-1, 204-2, 204-3, 100, 200: Industrial wireless communication systems

[0060] 204-4, 204-5: Second terminal device

[0061] 300: Communication method S302, S304, S306, S308, S310: Steps

[0062] 400: Communication method S402, S404, S406, S408: Steps

[0063] 500: Communication device 502: Scheduling strategy determination unit

[0064] 504: Scheduling plan determination unit 506: Scheduling instruction unit

[0065] 508: Scheduling status determination unit 510: Repeat control unit

[0066] 600: Computing device 602: Processor

[0067] 604: Memory DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] The subject matter described herein will now be discussed with reference to example embodiments. It should be understood that discussing these embodiments is intended only to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and implement the subject matter described herein, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. The functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed without departing from the scope of protection of this disclosure. Various examples may omit, replace, or add various processes or components as needed. For example, the described method may be performed in an order different from the described order, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, features described relative to some examples may also be combined in other examples.

[0069] As used herein, the term "including" and its variations are open terms meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" means "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" mean "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" means "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or the same objects. Other definitions may be included below, whether explicit or implicit. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the definition of a term is consistent throughout the specification.

[0070] In view of this, the present invention proposes a communication solution that can combine the technical advantages of iPRP and iPCF.

[0071] FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of an industrial wireless communication system that can employ the communication method of the present invention.

[0072] The industrial wireless communication system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a first terminal device 102 , second terminal devices 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 , access points AP1 and AP2 , clients STA1 , STA2 , STA3 , and STA4 , and redundant boxes 106 - 1 , 106 - 2 , and 108 .

[0073] All access points (APs) and clients (STAs) can support both iPRP and iPCF functions, or can implement similar functional features of redundant and scheduled access modes.

[0074] Here, the first terminal device may be, for example, a server, cloud, computer, etc., and the second terminal device may be, for example, a PLC, AGV, gateway, etc. The redundancy box is used to convert one path into two paths or merge two paths into one path.

[0075] FIG1 shows a first terminal device and two second terminal devices as an example for explanation. It can be understood that the number of devices in the communication system can be any number as needed and is not limited to that shown in FIG1 .

[0076] Assume that STA1 and STA3 are a pair of redundant WLAN client devices connected to the same end device 104-1 (e.g., a typical Profinet IO (PNIO) device) via "redundancy box 106-1." Therefore, they need to send and receive the same layer 2 traffic to and from their respective access points (AP1 and AP2). The same is true for STA2 and STA4, which are connected to the end device 104-2 via redundancy box 106-2.

[0077] For simplicity, Figure 1 assumes that both redundant client pairs are served by the same pair of access points, AP1 and AP2. (In practice, since clients can roam freely in a larger wireless network, the mapping of clients to access points can be more complex and change over time.) As a further simplification, it can be assumed that all traffic is periodic PNIO traffic, and that all data frames have the same duration. In an actual IWLAN network, multiple APs may belong to different LAN networks, and each end device may deploy one or two WLAN clients, resulting in a more complex mapping relationship between APs and clients. These simplifications are intended only to more clearly illustrate the problem and solution, and the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to them.

[0078] In the traditional iPRP communication method of WLAN, a basic feature of iPRP is that the redundant box can copy the data frame. The two data frames have the same source MAC address and different destination MAC addresses. Then, the access point sends them to the corresponding client. When an access point receives confirmation from the client that the downlink data packet has been successfully sent, it notifies the redundant access point of the successful transmission. The redundant access point can then delete the corresponding data packet from its transmission queue to avoid wasting time and radio resources due to repeated transmission. The above description only describes downlink data; the same principle applies to uplink data. However, by default, there is no coordination mechanism between access points and no time synchronization. Therefore, when two access points send / receive data to / from a client (STA), the following scheduling modes may occur.

[0079] Scheduling Mode 1: At the same time, access point AP1 schedules client STA1 and AP2 schedules STA3, or AP1 schedules STA2 and AP2 schedules STA4. This mode is characterized by the two clients in a redundant client pair being scheduled simultaneously by their respective access points.

[0080] In this disclosure, one client in a redundant client pair is referred to as the redundant client partner of the other client, the access points corresponding to the two clients in the redundant client pair are referred to as a redundant access point pair, and one access point is referred to as the redundant access point partner of the other access point.

[0081] Scheduling mode 2: At the same time, access point AP1 schedules client STA1 and AP2 schedules STA4, or AP1 schedules STA2 and AP2 schedules STA3. This mode is characterized by the two clients in a redundant client pair being scheduled at different times (no time overlap).

[0082] Scheduling Mode 3: Access point AP1 schedules client STA1, AP2 schedules STA4, or AP1 schedules STA2, AP2 schedules STA3, or AP1 schedules STA2, AP2 schedules STA4, or other scheduling methods. This mode is characterized by the scheduling times of the two clients in the redundant client pair overlapping by a random amount.

[0083] Since there is no coordinated scheduling on the access point side, these scheduling modes may exist at the same time or be mixed when the access point schedules the client.

[0084] As you can see, scheduling mode 2 is a situation where the two copies of the same data packet are sent without time overlap. This feature will cause the data to be successfully transmitted by access point AP1 and then discarded by access point AP2. In this way, access point AP2 can use this idle time slot to transmit other data. The same effect occurs for the client: data is successfully transmitted by client STA1 and then discarded by client STA3. In this way, there is no need for AP1 to schedule STA2, and AP2 schedules STA3. Then AP1 and AP2 can use this idle time slot to transmit other data at the same time. Scheduling modes 1 and 3, on the other hand, are a situation where the two copies of the same data packet are sent with time overlap. In these two cases, AP2 cannot use the idle time slot to transmit other data. This is because before the transmission on the first link is completed, the other copy of the same data packet has already been transmitted on the redundant link. However, scheduling modes 1 and 3 can ensure the real-time and redundancy requirements of data transmission.

[0085] If the scheduling mode can be controlled, for example, using only scheduling mode 2, and the access point's data transmission behavior can be coordinated, unnecessary scheduling of the access point can be avoided. For example, if data has already been successfully received from one client in a redundant client pair, there is no need to schedule its redundant client partner. When wireless connectivity is very good, many idle time slots may be available. If these time slots are used to schedule clients, more data can be transmitted, thereby improving data throughput.

[0086] The above describes a typical scenario of applying the technical solution of the present disclosure by taking improving data throughput as an example. If other scheduling modes are designed, such as using scheduling mode 1, the communication time limit of certain devices may be reduced.

[0087] Based on the above analysis, the present invention proposes a comprehensive solution that can coordinate the scheduling of clients by access points and adopt different client scheduling schemes according to the requirements for communication performance to achieve the optimization of target communication performance.

[0088] The term "communication performance" is a general concept that covers a wide range, such as high throughput, low latency, etc. The technical solution of the present invention is not targeted at a specific communication performance, but is a general solution that can meet different communication performance requirements.

[0089] Specifically, the present invention proposes two implementation methods, and the specific implementation methods of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0090] In the technical solution of the present disclosure, the access point and the client meet the following basic requirements.

[0091] 1. Both the access point and the client support iPRP and iPCF, or similar features that enable redundant and scheduled access modes.

[0092] 2. To coordinate the scheduling behavior of access points, time synchronization must be established between all access points. For example, mechanisms commonly used in TSN (Time Sensitive Networking) such as NTP, PTP, or gPTP can be used to achieve this time synchronization. It should be noted that client synchronization is not required, and the accuracy of synchronization is not very high. In addition, the beacon timing or physical layer timing of the access points does not need to be synchronized, as the purpose of synchronization is only to coordinate polling scheduling.

[0093] FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of an industrial wireless communication system that can adopt the communication method of the present invention.

[0094] The industrial wireless communication system includes a first terminal device 202, second terminal devices 204-1, 204-2, 204-3, 204-4, and 204-5, access points AP1, AP2, and AP3, and clients STA1a, STA1b, STA2a, STA2b, STA3a, STA3b, STA4a, STA4b, STA5a, and STA5b. The first terminal device can be, for example, a server, cloud, or computer, while the second terminal device can be, for example, a PLC, AGV, or gateway. For simplicity, redundancy boxes are omitted in Figure 2.

[0095] Block 500 in FIG. 2 is a communication device for coordinating scheduling of an access point to a client according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which will be described in detail later.

[0096] FIG2 illustrates the communication between one first terminal device and five second terminal devices as an example. It is understandable that the number of devices in the communication system can be any number as needed and is not limited to that shown in FIG2 .

[0097] In Figure 2, a first terminal device is associated with three access points, and each second terminal device is associated with two clients. These two clients form a redundant client pair. For example, STA1a and STA1b form a redundant client pair. Communication between the first and second terminal devices is achieved through communication between the access points and the clients. Here, all access points are time synchronized. In the communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, a second terminal device is associated with two clients, and these two clients form a redundant client pair. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a terminal device can also be associated with more clients, and more than two clients can be redundant clients. This is not discussed in detail in this specification.

[0098] FIG3 is a flow chart of an exemplary process of a communication method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The following describes in detail the execution steps of the communication method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in conjunction with FIG3 and FIG2 .

[0099] The communication method 300 is a communication method adopted in the industrial wireless communication system 200 .

[0100] In FIG3 , first, in block S302 , a scheduling policy determination step is performed to determine the access point's scheduling policy for the client according to a predetermined communication optimization target.

[0101] The communication optimization goal here can be to improve data throughput, reduce communication delay, reduce packet loss rate, etc. Users can set appropriate communication optimization goals according to the needs of specific application scenarios, thereby determining different scheduling strategies.

[0102] For example, the scheduling strategy may include that the access point schedules only one client in a redundant client pair at a time, or the access point schedules both clients in a redundant client pair at the same time. Users may also design other scheduling strategies as needed.

[0103] Next, in block S304 , a scheduling plan determination step is performed to determine a scheduling plan based on the scheduling policy. The scheduling plan at least includes which client each access point is to schedule in the current scheduling time slot.

[0104] In this step, scheduling of all clients is planned based on the scheduling policy. In addition to the clients to be scheduled by the access point, the scheduling plan may also include information such as the expected uplink data type and a predetermined timeout period if no response is received from the client. It is understood that the information included in the scheduling plan is not limited to this and can be configured as needed, which will not be detailed here.

[0105] Next, in block S306 , a scheduling instruction step is performed to send the scheduling plan determined in the above steps to the access point to instruct the access point to schedule the corresponding client to communicate according to the scheduling plan.

[0106] Next, in block S308 , a scheduling status determination step is performed to collect scheduling status information from the access point, where the scheduling status information includes whether the scheduling is successful.

[0107] This step is used to check whether the call to the client by each access point is successful, for example, it can be checked whether the access point receives the response message from the client.

[0108] In block S310 , a scheduling plan for the next scheduling time slot is determined based on the scheduling status information and a predetermined decision algorithm, and the process returns to block S306 to continue executing the scheduling indication step.

[0109] The decision algorithm can be predetermined based on actual user needs and communication optimization goals. For example, if PROFINET service data is to be sent and data throughput is to be increased, the decision algorithm can at least consider the following factors:

[0110] 1. Each client is scheduled at least once in a cycle

[0111] 2. If no response is received from the client, decide when to schedule again based on the availability of scheduling slots

[0112] 3. The number of available scheduling slots.

[0113] In step S310, the scheduling plan for the next scheduling is determined based on whether the last scheduling was successful and a predetermined decision algorithm, and then the process returns to step S306 to instruct the access point to schedule the corresponding client according to the scheduling plan.

[0114] The communication method 300 described above with reference to FIG3 is a centralized solution that provides an overview and control of the entire communication system, including the network structure, the relationships between different devices, the operating status of each device, and the mapping between access points and clients. Access point scheduling of clients can be coordinated based on actual user needs and communication optimization goals, thereby providing a fully optimized scheduling mechanism for the entire communication system.

[0115] The present invention also proposes a decentralized solution, in which there is no overall overview of the entire system and no global scheduling mechanism, but access points can exchange information with each other and coordinate the scheduling of clients, thereby avoiding unnecessary transmission of redundant data packets.

[0116] A specific example of a decentralized solution is described below.

[0117] First, some initial setup conditions that must be met when adopting a decentralized solution for industrial wireless communication systems must be explained.

[0118] A terminal device is associated with two clients, called a redundant client pair, which are pre-labeled with odd or even tags. Here, we use a terminal device associated with two clients as an example, but it can also be associated with more clients, and there can be more than two redundant clients.

[0119] Each access point maintains two client lists, an odd-numbered client list and an even-numbered client list, for all clients associated with it.

[0120] Each client can tell the access point whether it is marked as odd or even during the association process, and the access point will then put the client into the corresponding list.

[0121] Each access point knows the redundant client partner of each client associated with it (i.e., the two clients in a redundant client pair are each other's redundant client partners) and knows which access point the redundant client partner is associated with. In this way, each access point knows which access point to exchange information with, and the access points associated with the redundant client partners are each other's redundant access point partners.

[0122] All access points share a time synchronization scheduling period (ie, time synchronization). As mentioned above, NTP, PTP, or gPTP protocols may be used between access points to implement time synchronization.

[0123] Still referring to the communication system in Figure 2, where the associated access points and clients are connected by dotted lines, based on Figure 2, the odd-numbered client list and the even-numbered client list for each access point can be obtained as shown in Table 1 below.

[0124] Odd-numbered client list Even-numbered client list AP1 {STA1a, STA 3a, …} {STA2a, STA5a, …} AP2 {STA2b, STA4a, …} {STA1b, STA3b, …} AP3 {STA5b, …} {STA4b, …}

[0125] Table 1

[0126] In this specific example, the clients are divided into two groups by marking the two clients in a redundant client pair as odd-numbered clients and even-numbered clients, respectively. Each access point maintains lists of the two groups of clients. It will be appreciated that other methods can also be used to group the clients, such as marking the two clients in a redundant client pair as high priority and low priority, respectively, or randomly assigning a first tag and a second tag to the two clients in the redundant client pair. The present invention does not limit the specific method for grouping the clients.

[0127] Under the conditions of the above wireless communication system, the communication method shown in Figure 4 can be executed. Figure 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary process of a communication method 400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0128] First, in block S402 , each access point first schedules the corresponding clients in its first list in turn.

[0129] In block S404 , the access point notifies its corresponding redundant access point partner whether the scheduling is successful.

[0130] In block S406, if the scheduling is successful, the redundant access point partner will no longer schedule the corresponding redundant client partner in the current scheduling period; if the scheduling fails, the redundant access point partner will schedule the corresponding redundant client partner if the redundant client partner has not been called.

[0131] In this way, access points can exchange information with each other, coordinate client scheduling, reduce unnecessary redundant transmission, save network resources, and thus improve data throughput.

[0132] If scheduling is successful, both the redundant access point partner and the redundant client partner can be used to transmit other data. The method of the present invention mainly solves the coordination scheduling problem of the access point to the client, and does not explain how to use the idle redundant access point to communicate with the client.

[0133] In addition, the method 400 may further include step S408, where if a client leaves its associated access point, the corresponding access point deletes the client from the list it maintains; if a new client associates with the access point, the access point adds the client to the corresponding list.

[0134] In this way, the management of client joining and leaving can be easily achieved.

[0135] According to the communication method and communication device disclosed in the present invention, both centralized and decentralized solutions are provided, which can be applied to a variety of different industrial scenarios; by adopting different scheduling mechanisms, different communication performance optimization goals can be achieved very flexibly, such as improving data throughput.

[0136] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a communication device 500 for executing the communication method shown in Figure 2. In Figure 5, the communication device 500 includes a scheduling strategy determination unit 502, a scheduling plan determination unit 504, a scheduling instruction unit 506, a scheduling state determination unit 508, and a repetition control unit 510.

[0137] The scheduling strategy determining unit 502 is configured to determine a scheduling strategy of the access point to the client according to a predetermined communication optimization target.

[0138] The scheduling plan determining unit 504 is configured to determine a scheduling plan based on the scheduling policy, where the scheduling plan at least includes which client each access point is to schedule in a current scheduling time slot.

[0139] The scheduling instruction unit 506 is configured to send the scheduling plan to the access point, instructing the access point to schedule the corresponding client to communicate according to the scheduling plan.

[0140] The scheduling status determination unit 508 is configured to collect scheduling status information from the access point, where the scheduling status information includes whether the scheduling is successful.

[0141] The repetition control unit 510 is configured to determine a scheduling plan for the next scheduling time slot based on the scheduling state information and a predetermined decision algorithm.

[0142] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 500 and its constituent units shown in FIG5 is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art may modify the structural block diagram shown in FIG5 as needed.

[0143] The details of the operations and functions of the various parts of the communication device 500 may be the same as or similar to the relevant parts of the embodiment of the communication method of the present disclosure described with reference to Figures 1-3, and will not be described in detail here.

[0144] As described above with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 , embodiments of a communication method and a communication device according to embodiments of the present disclosure are described.

[0145] As an example, the various steps of the above-described communication method and the various modules and / or units of the above-described communication device can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof. In the case of implementation via software or firmware, a program constituting the software for implementing the above-described method can be installed from a storage medium or a network to a computing device having a dedicated hardware structure. When the various programs are installed, the computing device can perform various functions, etc.

[0146] 6 shows a block diagram of a computing device 600 for implementing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment, the computing device 600 may include at least one processor 602 that executes at least one computer-readable instruction (i.e., the aforementioned elements implemented in software form) stored or encoded in a computer-readable storage medium (i.e., memory 604).

[0147] In one embodiment, memory 604 stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed, enable at least one processor 602 to perform operations performed by the data relay device. Furthermore, memory 604 may also store computer-executable instructions that enable processor 602 to perform operations performed by the container management device.

[0148] It should be understood that the computer executable instructions stored in the memory 604, when executed, cause the at least one processor 602 to perform the various operations and functions described above in conjunction with Figures 1-5 in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0149] According to one embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium is provided. The non-transitory machine-readable medium may have machine-executable instructions (i.e., the elements implemented in software above), which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform the various operations and functions described above in conjunction with Figures 1-5 in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0150] According to one embodiment, a computer program is provided, including computer-executable instructions, which, when executed, enable at least one processor to perform the various operations and functions described above in conjunction with Figures 1-5 in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0151] According to one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, including computer-executable instructions, which, when executed, enable at least one processor to perform the various operations and functions described above in conjunction with Figures 1-5 in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0152] The specific embodiments described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe exemplary embodiments, but do not represent all embodiments that can be implemented or fall within the scope of protection of the claims. The term "exemplary" used throughout this specification means "used as an example, instance or illustration" and does not mean "preferred" or "having advantages" over other embodiments. For the purpose of providing an understanding of the described technology, the specific embodiments include specific details. However, these technologies can be implemented without these specific details. In some instances, in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described embodiments, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.

[0153] The foregoing description of the present disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to implement or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but is intended to be consistent with the widest range of principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0154] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication method (300) of an industrial wireless communication system, the industrial wireless communication system comprising a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a plurality of access points and a plurality of clients, wherein: The first terminal device is associated with the plurality of access points, each of the second terminal devices is associated with at least two of the plurality of clients, at least two of the associated clients are redundant client pairs, all access points are time synchronized, and the access points implement communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device by scheduling the clients. The method (300) includes: Scheduling strategy determination step (S302), determining the access point's scheduling strategy for the client based on a predetermined communication optimization goal; a scheduling plan determination step (S304), determining a scheduling plan based on the scheduling policy, wherein the scheduling plan at least includes which client each access point is to schedule in the current scheduling time slot; Scheduling instruction step (S306), sending the scheduling plan to the access point, instructing the access point to schedule the corresponding client to communicate according to the scheduling plan; a scheduling status determination step (S308), collecting scheduling status information from the access point, the scheduling status information including whether the scheduling is successful; and Repeat the control step (S310), determine the scheduling plan for the next scheduling time slot based on the scheduling status information and the predetermined decision algorithm, and return to the scheduling indication step to execute the method.

2. The method (300) of claim 1, wherein: The scheduling strategy includes any one of the following: The access point schedules only one client in a redundant client pair at a time; The access point schedules both clients in a redundant client pair simultaneously.

3. The method (300) of claim 1, wherein: The communication optimization goal includes any one of the following: Improve data throughput, reduce communication delay, and reduce packet loss rate.

4. The method (300) of claim 1, wherein: The scheduling plan further includes at least one of the following: The expected uplink data type and the predetermined timeout if no response is received from the client.

5. The method (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The decision factors of the predetermined decision algorithm include: Each client is scheduled at least once in a period. If no response is received from the client, the decision on when to schedule again is based on the availability of scheduling slots and the number of available scheduling slots.

6. A communication method (400) for an industrial wireless communication system, the industrial wireless communication system comprising a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a plurality of access points, and a plurality of clients, wherein: The first terminal device is associated with the plurality of access points, all access points are time synchronized, each of the second terminal devices is associated with at least two clients of the plurality of clients, at least two of the associated clients are a redundant client pair, one client in the redundant client pair is marked with a first characteristic, and the other client is marked with a second characteristic, all access points are time synchronized, each access point maintains two lists for its associated clients, wherein the first list includes clients with the first characteristic in the redundant client pair, and the second list includes the other client with the second characteristic in the redundant client pair, the access point knows the redundant client partner of each client associated with it, and the redundant access point partner associated with the redundant client partner, and the method (400) includes: Each access point schedules the corresponding client in its first list in turn (S402); The access point notifies its corresponding redundant access point partner whether the scheduling is successful (S404); and If the scheduling is successful, the redundant access point partner will no longer schedule the corresponding redundant client partner in the current scheduling period. If the scheduling fails, the redundant access point partner will schedule the corresponding redundant client partner if the redundant client partner has not been called (S406).

7. The communication method (400) according to claim 6, further comprising: When a client leaves its associated access point, the corresponding access point deletes the client from the list it maintains; If a new client is associated with the access point, the access point adds the client to a corresponding list according to the client (S408).

8. A communication device (500) in an industrial wireless communication system, the industrial wireless communication system comprising a first terminal device, a second terminal device, a plurality of access points and a plurality of clients, wherein: The first terminal device is associated with the plurality of access points, each of the second terminal devices is associated with at least two of the plurality of clients, at least two of the associated clients are redundant client pairs, all access points are time synchronized, the access points implement communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device by scheduling the clients, and the communication device (500) includes: A scheduling strategy determining unit (502) is configured to determine a scheduling strategy of an access point to a client according to a predetermined communication optimization target; A scheduling plan determining unit (504) is configured to determine a scheduling plan based on the scheduling policy, wherein the scheduling plan at least includes which client each access point is to schedule in a current scheduling time slot; A scheduling instruction unit (506) is configured to send the scheduling plan to the access point, instructing the access point to schedule the corresponding client to communicate according to the scheduling plan; a scheduling status judgment unit (508), configured to collect scheduling status information from the access point, the scheduling status information including whether the scheduling is successful; and The repetition control unit (510) is configured to determine a scheduling plan for the next scheduling time slot based on the scheduling state information and a predetermined decision algorithm.

9. An industrial wireless communication system (200), comprising a first terminal device (202), a second terminal device (204-1, 204-2, 204-3, 204-4, 204-5), a plurality of access points (AP1, AP2, AP3) and a plurality of clients (STA1a, STA1b, STA2a, STA2b, STA3a, STA3b, STA4a, STA4b, STA5a, STA5b) and the communication apparatus (500) according to claim 8, wherein: The communication device (500) controls the access point to schedule the client to achieve communication between the first terminal device and the second terminal device.

10. A computing device (600), comprising: at least one processor (602); as well as A memory (604) coupled to the at least one processor (602), the memory (604) being configured to store instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor (602), cause the processor (602) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, which, when executed, cause the machine to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

12. A computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and comprising computer-executable instructions which, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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