Communication method, communication device, and computer program product

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a communication method, a communication device and a computer program product. The communication method comprises allocating a first subset of data streams to be transmitted to a station to a first access point participating in a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, the first subset of data streams being transmitted via a first communication path between the first access point and the station; and allocating a second subset of data streams different from the first subset to a second access point participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, the second subset of data streams being transmitted via a second communication path between the second access point and the station. The amount of data of the first subset and the second subset is determined according to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path. By adjusting the amount of data of each transmission according to the throughput of the multiple communication paths between the multiple access points and the station, the efficiency of data transmission to the station can be improved and the throughput can be increased.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a communication method, a communication device and a computer program product. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the continuous development of wireless communication technology, Wi-Fi technology is also evolving. Until Wi-Fi 7, IEEE 802.11 technology emphasizes high throughput, while Wi-Fi 8 pays more attention to high reliability. Multi-Access Point Coordination (MAP-Co) is a technology that makes multiple access points (APs) work together to provide high reliability for stations (STAs) in the coverage area. Under the framework of multi-access point coordination, there are various cooperation modes, which are classified according to different cooperation complexity, mainly including coordinated orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (C-OFDMA), coordinated beamforming (CBF), coordinated spatial reuse (CSR) and joint transmission (JTX). Through the above various technologies, interference between access points can be reduced and efficient cooperation can be achieved.

[0003] Joint transmission, as an implementation of multi-access point coordination, can make multiple access points transmit data to a station through multiple different paths respectively. Although joint transmission originally emphasizes high reliability, there is still room for improvement in terms of rate improvement in the case of the station accepting multi-path service of multiple access points. SUMMARY

[0004] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method is provided, which includes: allocating a first subset of data streams to be transmitted to a station to a first access point participating in multi-access point coordination joint transmission, the first subset of data streams being transmitted via a first communication path between the first access point and the station; and allocating a second subset of the data streams different from the first subset to a second access point participating in the multi-access point coordination joint transmission, the second subset of the data streams being transmitted via a second communication path between the second access point and the station, wherein the data amount of the first subset and the second subset is determined according to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0005] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the data amount of the first subset and the second subset are determined in direct proportion to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0006] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path is predicted by a machine learning model according to link parameters of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0007] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the link parameters include an instantaneous link parameter value; or the link parameters include both a historical link parameter value and an instantaneous link parameter value.

[0008] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the link parameters include one or more of: a received signal strength indication (RSSI), an interference value, a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), an overlapping basic service set preamble detection value (OBSS_PD). The link parameters can also include a collision rate and / or a retry rate.

[0009] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the data amount of the first subset and the second subset are further determined according to an amount of data remaining in a buffer of the first access point and the second access point and / or further determined according to a load amount of the first access point and the second access point.

[0010] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the first communication path includes a plurality of sub-paths relayed by an additional access point, the plurality of sub-paths including at least a first sub-path between the first access point and the additional access point and a second sub-path between the additional access point and the station, and the throughput of the first communication path is determined according to the throughput of the first sub-path and the second sub-path. For example, the throughput of the first communication path is determined as the minimum of the throughput of the first sub-path and the throughput of the second sub-path.

[0011] In one or more embodiments of the above aspect of the present disclosure, the communication method is performed by one of the first access point and the second access point; or the communication method is performed by another device different from the first access point and the second access point.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method performed by an access point and comprising: receiving a first subset of data streams to be transmitted to a station; transmitting the first subset of data streams to the station during a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission for the station by the access point and another access point different from the access point, wherein the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission comprises at least: the access point transmitting the first subset of data streams via a first communication path between the access point and the station and the other access point transmitting a second subset of data streams via a second communication path between the other access point and the station, and wherein data amounts of the first subset and the second subset are determined according to throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method performed by a station and comprising: receiving a first subset of data streams of the station from a first access point participating in a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission via a first communication path between the station and the first access point; and receiving a second subset of data streams from a second access point participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission via a second communication path between the station and the second access point, the first subset of data streams being different from the second subset of data streams, wherein data amounts of the first subset and the second subset are determined according to throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication device comprising: a transceiver; a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon; and a processor coupled with the transceiver and the memory, which when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, causes the communication device to perform the communication method as described above.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising computer readable instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the communication method as described above.

[0016] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method comprising: dividing data streams to be transmitted to a station into a plurality of subsets to be respectively allocated to a plurality of access points participating in a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission; and transmitting a plurality of the subsets via a plurality of communication paths between the plurality of access points and the station respectively, wherein the plurality of communication paths respectively correspond to the plurality of access points, and the access point corresponding to the communication path with a greater throughput is allocated to the subset with a greater data amount.

[0017] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, transmission data distribution under a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission framework is implemented, which can improve data transmission efficiency to a station and increase throughput by adjusting data amounts transmitted by different communication paths according to throughputs of multiple communication paths between multiple access points and the station. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some example embodiments of the present disclosure, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor on the basis of these drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 An example schematic diagram of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] Figure 2 An example flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 3 Another example schematic diagram of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 4 Still another example schematic diagram of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 5 Another example flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Figure 6 Still another example flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 7 Still another example flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of throughput calculation for a communication path in a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 9 Another variant example schematic diagram of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 10 An exemplary diagram illustrating a communication architecture of a multi-link device (MLD) between an access point and a station based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to embodiments of the disclosure is shown.

[0029] Figure 11 An exemplary diagram illustrating a hardware block diagram of a communication device according to embodiments of the disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the disclosure will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings of the embodiments of the disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the disclosure. Based on the described embodiments of the disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort fall within the scope of the disclosure. The features of the various embodiments described can be combined or replaced with each other, unless explicitly excluded or should be excluded according to the context.

[0031] In the disclosure, the term “access point” or “AP” is used to refer to a network infrastructure component that provides wireless access to remote terminals. The terms “station” and “STA” are used to refer to a communication device that accesses an access point wirelessly to obtain various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc., whether the station is a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or smartphone) or a fixed device (e.g., a desktop computer, media player, fixed sensor, television, etc.). Depending on the network type, “access point” or “AP” can be replaced with other well-known terms such as “router” or “gateway”, and “station” or “STA” can be replaced with other well-known terms such as “mobile station”, “subscriber station”, “remote terminal”, “user device”, “wireless terminal”, or “user device”. Overall, a station can communicate with a network via an access point. For example, a station can communicate with the Internet via an access point according to the IEEE 802.11 set of standards, etc. In the disclosure, a station in a WLAN can work as an access point at different occasions, and vice versa. This is because a communication device in the context of IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) technology can include both station hardware components and access point hardware components. In this way, a communication device can switch between station mode and access point mode based on actual WLAN conditions and / or requirements.

[0032] First, the basic idea of transmission data allocation under the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission framework proposed in the disclosure is briefly outlined. As mentioned earlier, in the evolution process of Wi-Fi technology, multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, as a key technology to improve the performance of wireless networks, has attracted widespread attention. Although multi-access point cooperation has been discussed in Wi-Fi 7, the relevant specifications have not yet been officially included in the document. With the development of Wi-Fi 8 formulation process, the IEEE 802.11TGbn discussion group is also continuously exploring joint transmission technology, with the expectation of providing users with a better network experience.

[0033] Therefore, the disclosure focuses on the data transmission optimization problem under the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission mode. In actual wireless communication scenarios, the data transmission rate is affected by various factors, such as the characteristics of the transmission channel, the size of the bandwidth, and the signal shadowing caused by physical obstacles and mutual interference between access points. These factors work together to cause differences in efficiency and throughput of multiple different transmission paths from multiple access points to the station. In order to ensure that the data stream can reach the station at the fastest speed, the disclosure proposes to improve the overall transmission efficiency and throughput by adjusting the amount of data transmitted on different paths. For example, in the disclosure, the data flow on each path can be reasonably allocated and balanced according to the real-time transmission conditions of each wireless transmission path, and the overall transmission throughput of each transmission path is brought to a better level, thereby achieving efficient transmission of data, which not only effectively deals with complex and variable wireless environments, but also significantly enhances the performance and user experience of wireless networks.

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure is shown. Figure 2 A flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure is shown. The communication method will be described in detail below Figure 1 and Figure 2 .

[0035] As Figure 1 shown in the architecture 100, the exemplary multi-access point cooperative joint transmission framework 100 includes two access points (such as the access point 101a and the access point 101b shown in Figure 1 ) and a station (such as the station 102 shown in Figure 1(Site 102 shown). In this embodiment, access point 101a can be referred to as the master access point (Master AP or Primary AP), while access point 101b can be referred to as the slave access point (Slave AP) or secondary access point (Secondary AP). Access point 101a acts as a coordinator for multi-access point cooperative joint transmission and can be connected to an Ethernet network (not shown).

[0036] During data transmission, access points 101a and 101b work together, using their respective communication paths (such as...). Figure 1 The wireless communication paths L1 and L2 shown are used for joint transmission to station 102. For example... Figure 1 As shown, access point 101a acquires and buffers a data stream (labeled S) to be sent to site 102, such as voice, video, and game data streams to be sent to site 102. To achieve efficient data joint transmission, access point 101a divides the data stream S into two parts according to a preset algorithm or strategy (e.g., the throughput strategy described in detail below): one part (e.g....) Figure 1 The first subset S1 shown will be transmitted directly to station 102 via path L1; the other part (such as...) Figure 1 The second subset S2 shown will be shared with access point 101b via the link between access point 101a and access point 101b, and then transmitted by access point 101b to site 102 via path L2. This data splitting method can effectively balance the relative load of the two paths, avoid congestion or poor transmission capacity of a single path, thereby improving the efficiency and throughput of data transmission.

[0037] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the access point corresponding to the communication path with higher throughput can be assigned to a subset with a larger amount of data, as described in more detail below.

[0038] It should be noted that, Figure 1 Thick arrows indicate connections between access points, thin arrows indicate connections between access points and stations, and dashed arrows indicate wireless connections between devices. However, it can be understood that access points 101a and 101b can also be connected via a wired backhaul link. Although... Figure 1In order to more intuitively show the data flow direction of the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, only a one-way arrow is shown, but the present disclosure is not limited to one-way transmission. For example, the station 102 can also upload data to the access point 101a or the access point 101b, and the access point 101a and the access point 101b can share control information and data bidirectionally. In addition, although the access point 101a is taken as the master access point and the access point 101b is taken as the slave access point, the role allocation is flexible, and according to the actual application scenario, the access point 101b can also play the role of the master access point and be responsible for the allocation and coordination of the transmission data.

[0039] It is worth noting that, Figure 1 The shown is only an example communication system framework, and in actual applications, the connection topology can be adjusted appropriately. Although Figure 1 Only one station and two access points are depicted in the present disclosure, but the number of devices and the connection mode are not limited to the depicted scenario. For example, there can be more than two access points jointly transmitting to the same station 102, or there can be multiple stations obtaining joint transmission services (provided that these stations are within the coverage of multiple access points). The present disclosure can adapt to diversified wireless network environments and meet the data transmission requirements in different scenarios.

[0040] Next, with reference to the architecture 100 shown in Figure 2 , a communication method flowchart is described. It can be understood that Figure 2 The communication method 200 shown in Figure 1 may be performed by the access point 101a as the master access point in the present disclosure. Figure 2

[0041] As shown in Figure 1 , the method 200 includes: in step S210, allocating a first subset of a data stream to be sent to a station to a first access point participating in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, the first subset of the data stream being sent via a first communication path between the first access point and the station.

[0042] Referring back to Figure 1 , the access point 101a can be the first access point described above, that is, it can allocate the first subset S1 of the data stream S to itself, so that the first subset S1 is sent via the path L1 between the access point 101a and the station 102 during the joint transmission.

[0043] The method 200 further includes: in step S220, allocating a second subset of the data stream different from the first subset to a second access point participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, the second subset of the data stream being sent via a second communication path between the second access point and the station.

[0044] Referring back to​Figure 1 The access point 101a can allocate a second subset S2 of the data stream S to the access point 101b, such that the second subset S2 is transmitted via the path L2 between the access point 101b and the station 102 during the joint transmission. It is worth noting that the subsets S1 and S2 of data streams transmitted along different paths in the present disclosure contain different data, rather than the same data being transmitted twice along two different paths, which can effectively improve the overall throughput of data transmission to the station 102.

[0045] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the data amount of the first subset and the second subset needs to be determined according to a proper algorithm or strategy, for example, according to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path. As an exemplary implementation, the data amount of the first subset and the second subset is determined in direct proportion to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path, so that the access point corresponding to the communication path with greater throughput is allocated to the subset with greater data amount (for example, greater number of frames). In addition, since the above-mentioned first communication path and the second communication path are wireless communication paths, their link conditions are more likely to be affected by various factors, such as signal strength, interference, obstacles, etc., which can cause the link conditions to be unstable or change. The present disclosure also supports dynamically optimizing the data allocation ratio, for example, according to various factors such as real-time network conditions, load conditions of each access point, etc., to flexibly adjust the data amount of each subset of data streams, so as to maintain efficient data transmission performance and throughput under constantly changing network conditions. In order to make a reasonable data allocation decision, the master access point can collect information of the entire communication environment, including state information, buffer data amount, current load, channel quality, etc. of each slave access point, as well as path conditions between the station and the access point, etc.

[0046] In short, embodiments of the present disclosure propose a multi-access point cooperative transmission scheme for allocating data based on throughput, which allocates the data amount required to be transmitted by each path according to the throughput of the path, and the path with higher throughput will be allocated more data amount.

[0047] Referring back to Figure 3When there is a data stream S to be transmitted by the access point 101a and the access point 101b jointly to the station 102, the access point 101a will acquire the throughput TP1 (not shown in the figure) of the path L1 and the throughput TP2 (also not shown in the figure) of the path L2. According to the relative values of the throughputs TP1 and TP2, the access point 101a will allocate the frames contained in the subsets S1 and S2 of the data stream to be transmitted to the station 102 to the paths L1 and L2 respectively. For example, when the throughput TP1 of the path L1 is 700 Mbps and the throughput TP2 of the path L2 is 300 Mbps, the access point 101a will allocate 70% of the total data of the data stream to be transmitted to the station 102 (i.e. the subset S1 of the data stream) to the access point 101a itself, which will then transmit the data to the station 102 through the path L1; and allocate 30% of the total data of the data stream to the access point 101b, which will then transmit the data to the station 102 through the path L2. In this way, the efficiency and reliability of the data transmission are ensured, the transmission capacity of each path is fully utilized and balanced, and the transmission capacity and throughput are maximized.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the throughput parameter is used to optimize the data allocation in the multi-access point cooperative transmission. The throughput, as the average data amount successfully transmitted by a path, can reflect the state changes of the whole communication environment and the transmission efficiency of each transmission path in real time. Based on this, the system can dynamically adjust the data allocation and flexibly adapt to the network changes. Compared with the data allocation according to the cumulative data amount of the data already transmitted on each path, the system can capture the dynamic changes of the communication paths in real time, effectively avoid wasting resources on inefficient paths, ensure more data to be allocated to the paths with high transmission efficiency, and thus maximize the transmission efficiency of the whole system, reduce the data transmission delay, and provide better communication experience for users.

[0049] It can be understood that in the present disclosure, the throughputs of the paths can be calculated according to various link parameters in the network environment and by using various algorithms and strategies, and the data amount to be allocated to each path can be calculated accordingly, as described in detail below.

[0050] Figure 4 Another exemplary schematic diagram of the communication method based on the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 Another exemplary schematic diagram of the communication method based on the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. It can be understood that, Figure 4 and Figure 1 and Figure 1 are basically the same, with the only difference being that Figure 3 the access point responsible for the data allocation also participates in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, while Figure 4 and Figure 3In this context, the access point responsible for data allocation is not involved in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, and similar elements are indicated using similar reference numerals. In short, data allocation in this disclosure can be performed by one of the access points participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, or by another device different from the access points participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission. The following will combine... Figure 4 and Figure 3 To further describe the latter situation.

[0051] In a typical multi-access point collaboration scenario, there are multiple adjacent overlapping access points and multiple sites distributed under each access point. In multi-access point collaboration, there is a master controller (MC) or master access point (MA) acting as a coordinator connected to the Ethernet, and adjacent access points referred to as slave access points. Slave access points can connect to the master controller or master access point via wired or wireless links. Each site can wirelessly connect to a slave access point, and unless directly connected to the master controller or master access point, each site cannot directly receive information from the master controller or master access point. Correspondingly, the master controller or master access point can obtain information from each slave access point, and with the help of the slave access points, can also obtain information from the sites under them. This information is maintained and used by the master controller or master access point for various decisions (e.g., throughput-based data allocation as described above). For example, the master controller or master access point can obtain channel state information (CSI) from access points and sites by sending control commands, such as sending specific query or control frames to trigger feedback of channel state data from access points. However, this disclosure does not limit the specific method of obtaining information.

[0052] like Figure 3 As shown, in the multi-access point collaboration architecture 300 based on the master access point (MA), access point 301a is selected as the coordinator, i.e., the master access point, which can connect multiple slave access points (such as...). Figure 1 Access points 301b and 301c are shown, and they are responsible for coordinating data transmission between these access points. Furthermore, station 302 is within the coverage area of ​​access points 301b and 301c but not within the coverage area of ​​access point 301a. In this case, access points 301b and 301c participate in the joint transmission to station 302 via paths L1 and L2, respectively. (Refer to the above reference...) Figure 4Similarly, access point 301a obtains and buffers the data stream S to be sent to site 302, and divides it into two data stream subsets S1 and S2 according to the algorithm or strategy described throughout this document. Accordingly, access point 301a assigns data stream subset S1 to access point 301b, so that access point 301b sends it to site 302 via path L1; similarly, access point 301a assigns data stream subset S2 to access point 301c, so that access point 301c sends it to site 302 via path L2.

[0053] like Figure 1 As shown, in the MC-based multi-access point collaboration architecture 400, there is a master controller (e.g., master controller 401a) that acts as a multi-access point coordinator, connected to each slave access point (i.e., access point 401b and access point 401c) via wired links. Furthermore, station 402 is within the coverage area of ​​access points 401b and 401c, and in this case, access points 401b and 401c participate in the joint transmission to station 402 via paths L1 and L2, respectively. (Referring to the above reference...) Figure 3 and Figure 3 Similarly, the main controller 401a acquires and buffers the data stream S to be sent to the station 402, and divides it into two data stream subsets S1 and S2 according to the algorithm or strategy described herein. Accordingly, the main controller 401a distributes the data stream subset S1 to the access point 401b via a wired link, so that the access point 401b wirelessly transmits the data to the station 402 via path L1; similarly, the main controller 401a distributes the data stream subset S2 to the access point 401c via a wired link, so that the access point 401c wirelessly transmits the data to the station 402 via path L2.

[0054] It is worth noting that, Figure 4 The dashed arrows in the image indicate the wireless connection between access points, while... Figure 3 The solid arrows in the diagram indicate the wired connection between the main controller and the access point. However, it is understandable that... Figure 5 The access points in the process can also be connected by wires, but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0055] According to the embodiments of this disclosure, the throughput-based data allocation scheme proposed in this disclosure is applicable to various multi-access point cooperative architectures, fully adapts to different network environments and needs, and has wide applicability.

[0056] Figure 1 Another exemplary flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. This method can be implemented by access points participating in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission that can or cannot make data allocation decisions (e.g., ...).Figures 3-4 and Figure 6 as shown in the access points in

[0057] The method 500 comprises: at step S510, receiving a first subset of data streams to be transmitted to a station. It can be understood that if the method 500 is performed by an access point participating in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission and making data allocation decisions, the access point can receive the first subset from itself; if the method is performed by an access point participating in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission but not making data allocation decisions, the access point can receive the first subset from an access point making data allocation.

[0058] The method 500 further comprises: at step S520, transmitting the first subset of data streams to the station during multi-access point cooperative joint transmission of the station by the access point and another access point different from the access point.

[0059] In the method 500, the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission at least comprises: the access point transmitting the first subset of data streams via a first communication path between the access point and the station and the other access point transmitting a second subset of data streams via a second communication path between the other access point and the station, and the data amount of the first subset and the second subset is determined according to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0060] Figure 1 Another exemplary flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission is shown, which can be performed by a station receiving data from multiple access points in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission (for example Figures 3-4 and Figures 1-4 as shown in the station in

[0061] The method 600 comprises: at step S610, receiving a first subset of data streams of the station from a first access point participating in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission via a first communication path between the station and the first access point.

[0062] The method 600 further comprises: at step S620, receiving a second subset of data streams from a second access point participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission via a second communication path between the station and the second access point, the first subset of data streams being different from the second subset of data streams.

[0063] In the method 600, the data amount of the first subset and the second subset is determined according to the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path.

[0064] Since the above-mentioned methods are performed by the access points and the station, the access points and the station can perform the above-mentioned methods. Figure 7In the multi-access point cooperative joint transport architectures 100, 300 and 400, the operation of access points and sites has been described in detail, and will not be repeated here for methods 500 and 600.

[0065] Figures 1-6 A further exemplary flowchart of a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. It should be noted that the above-described combination of the present disclosure... Figure 7 The described embodiment uses the example of two access points jointly transmitting data to a single site to illustrate the data allocation concept in a two-path scenario. However, this disclosure is not limited to the two-path scenario alone. For example, there can be two or more access points collaboratively transmitting data to a site. The following will combine... Figure 7 Describe it.

[0066] Method 700 includes: in step S710, dividing the data stream to be sent to the site into multiple subsets, and distributing them to multiple access points participating in multi-access point cooperative joint transmission.

[0067] Method 700 further includes: in step S720, sending the plurality of subsets respectively via a plurality of communication paths between the plurality of access points and the site.

[0068] In method 700, the multiple communication paths correspond to multiple access points, and the access point corresponding to the communication path with the larger throughput is assigned to the subset with the larger data volume.

[0069] Understandable. Figures 1-6 The described throughput-based data allocation concept is combined with the above. Figure 1 The basic idea described in the two-path scenario is essentially the same, and the same principles can be applied to [other scenarios]. Figures 3-4 , Figure 4 In various architectures. For example, suppose in Figure 4 In this architecture, there are three access points (e.g., access point 401b, access point 401c, and...). Figure 1 Another slave access point (not shown) is connected to the main controller 401a, and the station 402 is within the coverage area of ​​these three slave access points, enabling the three slave access points to perform multi-access point cooperative joint transmission to the station 402 via their respective paths. In this case, the main controller 401a can divide the entire data stream S to be sent to the station into three data stream subsets of appropriate size according to the throughput of each path. The access point corresponding to the communication path with higher throughput is assigned to the subset with more data, thereby improving the overall throughput of data transmission to the station.

[0070] It should be noted that in the above embodiments of this disclosure, it is assumed that there is a connection between the master and slave access points (e.g., Figure 3 andFigure 4 or between the master controller and the slave access points (as shown in Figure 8 The access points are connected to the master controller and the slave access points (as shown in

[0071] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of throughput calculation for communication paths in a communication method based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As described above, in the present disclosure, the throughput of each path can be calculated according to various link parameters in the network environment and using various algorithms and strategies, and the amount of data to be allocated to each path can be calculated accordingly.

[0072] In the following, a method of quickly inferring throughput values using machine learning (ML) and weight parameters will be described, and the amount of data allocated to different paths is dynamically adjusted in an adaptive manner according to the obtained throughput, so as to optimize the overall data transmission efficiency and throughput. Specifically, by using a neural network model, the throughput of a path can be quickly predicted by finding the vector similarity relationship according to the current input parameters (such as various link parameters of the path). When the station moves or the network conditions change dynamically, the model can still update the transmission throughput in real time, thereby helping to optimize and dynamically adjust the data transmission in real time. In the present disclosure, by establishing a machine learning model (such as a neural network model), the relevant link parameters and throughput between the paths of the access points and the station are used as training data to train the machine learning model. After the training phase is completed, the model can quickly infer the throughput prediction value of each communication path based on the link parameters of each path in the current communication environment as the model input, and then calculate the most suitable data transmission amount allocation scheme for different paths in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission process. In the following, for the sake of simplicity, the case of two access points performing joint transmission to the station through two corresponding communication paths will still be described as an example, and those skilled in the art can understand that the same idea can be used in the case of more paths.

[0073] In embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to decide the data subset size to be transmitted to the station via the first communication path and the second communication path based on the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path, the throughput of the first communication path and the second communication path is predicted by using a machine learning model according to the link parameters of the first communication path and the second communication path. According to the scheme for predicting the throughput by using the machine learning model in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the throughput under the current network condition can be accurately predicted by learning the patterns and rules in the historical data, thereby providing an accurate basis for data allocation. In contrast, the traditional throughput calculation method based on theoretical calculation and formula not only has a complex process and a long time-consuming, but also may cause result deviation due to inaccurate model assumptions or unsuitable formula. The machine learning model of the present disclosure can analyze and decide in real time and quickly according to the current network state, avoiding the lengthy theoretical derivation process, and more efficiently determining the throughput of each path, and then accurately allocating the data subset size to be transmitted by each path. In this way, the data transmission strategy can be dynamically and timely adjusted according to the dynamically changing network conditions, so as to improve the overall transmission efficiency.

[0074] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the link parameters used in the machine learning model can be divided into two categories.

[0075] The first category of link parameters is the physical layer (Physical Layer, PHY) parameters, which include one or more of the following: received signal strength indicator (Received Signal Strength Indicator, RSSI), interference value, signal to interference plus noise ratio (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio, SINR), overlapping basic service set preamble detection value (Overlapping Basic Service Set Preamble Detection, OBSS_PD). These parameters can directly reflect the physical characteristics of the wireless channel, such as signal strength, interference level, etc., which have a direct impact on the throughput of the transmission path.

[0076] The second category of link parameters is the medium access control layer (Medium Access Control, MAC) parameters, which include one or more of the following: collision rate, retry rate. These parameters can reflect the access and control characteristics of the network, such as the frequency of packet collision and the number of retry transmissions, etc., which also affect the throughput.

[0077] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the various link parameters described above can be calculated by a suitable method, and the present disclosure does not limit the specific calculation method.

[0078] According to embodiments of this disclosure, by combining the parameters of the PHY and MAC layers as inputs into the neural network, the performance of each path can be analyzed more comprehensively. This integration of cross-layer information helps improve the accuracy of throughput prediction, thereby making the data allocation strategy more consistent with the actual transmission capacity of each path. For example, PHY layer parameters can directly reflect the physical characteristics of the wireless channel, such as signal strength and interference level, but they focus more on characterizing the path conditions under ideal circumstances. In real network environments, there are a large number of devices contending for the wireless medium, the hidden node problem is also quite common, and the access conflicts of multiple devices to the wireless communication medium are random, which may affect the collision rate and retry rate of data packets transmitted on the corresponding path. These factors also have a significant impact on the throughput of the communication path. In view of this, relying solely on physical layer parameters may not yield the most accurate throughput value that best reflects reality, while MAC layer parameters can reflect these throughput-affecting parameters, such as collision rate and retry rate, from another dimension. Therefore, by combining PHY and MAC layer parameters, the network environment can be more comprehensively characterized, providing richer feature information for model training and prediction.

[0079] In the first example of this disclosure, the link parameters used in the training and / or prediction phases of the machine learning model include instantaneous link parameter values, i.e., the link parameters measured at the current moment. As an illustrative example, a feed-forward neural network (FFNN) model can be used for instantaneous decision-making.

[0080] like Figure 8 As shown, the model 800 may include an input layer 802, hidden layers 803a and 803b, and an output layer 804. Furthermore, Figure 8 The input 801 and output 805 to model 800 are also shown. Input 801 of model 800 includes various link parameters for each communication path, which may include various MAC layer and / or PHY layer parameters as described above. Input layer 802 receives the aforementioned link parameters as input features and then passes the received parameters to the next layer. Hidden layers 803a and 803b are located between input layer 802 and output layer 804. In model 800, the hidden layers can be one or more (…). Figure 1The model 800 includes an input layer 801, two hidden layers 803a and 803b (but not limited thereto), and an output layer 804. Each of the hidden layers 803a and 803b can include a ReLU activation function, so that the model 800 can learn the nonlinear relationship in the data. The output layer 804 is the last layer of the model, which outputs the result of the processing of the input data by the neural network. The output 805 of the model 800 includes a predicted throughput value. In the example, a suitable loss function can be selected to measure the error between the true value and the predicted value, and the weight parameters of the model are updated iteratively. It can be understood that the number of neurons in each layer of the model 800 and the connection mode between the layers are only examples, and can be flexibly designed according to the specific neural network architecture.

[0081] In a second example of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the link parameters used in the training phase and / or the prediction phase of the machine learning model include both historical link parameter values and real-time link parameter values, i.e., a time series of link parameters. As an illustrative example, a model such as a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) or a Dilated Temporal Convolutional Network (dilatedTCN) can be used. It is recognized in the present disclosure that in a throughput prediction task, the throughput of a communication path usually has a time correlation, i.e., the throughput at the current time is related not only to the current link parameter, but also to the link state and throughput at previous times. The above-mentioned model learns how the trends of changes in these link parameters affect the throughput by capturing the long-term dependencies in the time series, and makes predictions based on the link parameters obtained in real time and historical parameters.

[0082] In the example of the LSTM model, the parameters input into the model include a time series composed of historical link parameter values and real-time link parameter values. Taking PHY layer parameters as an example, the input parameters can include RSSI(t), interference(t), SINR(t), OBSS_PD(t), etc. at each time t in a certain time period. The model also has an LSTM layer to capture the time correlation of the link parameters of the communication path, and outputs the throughput value through a fully connected layer. In the training phase of the model, supervised learning can be performed using historical data, and the loss function can select mean square error (MSE) or mean absolute error (MAE), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0083] The above describes a method of throughput prediction according to a machine learning model, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In actual applications, the machine learning model can be selected and the model structure can be adjusted according to specific needs. If the throughput of each communication path needs to be determined in real time, such as in an adaptive scheduling scenario, a model that only depends on current parameters is more concise and efficient, which can quickly provide throughput prediction and timely adjust the data transmission strategy. On the contrary, if the impact of the change of link parameters over time on the throughput needs to be considered, a model that considers historical parameters is more advantageous. By analyzing the time series data of the parameters, the trend of the change of the throughput is captured, so that more accurate prediction is achieved.

[0084] According to another example of the present disclosure, various link parameters, such as the various MAC parameters and PHY parameters described above, can be used in the training phase and / or the prediction phase of the machine learning model. However, it should be noted that the more parameters input into the machine learning model, the better the performance of the trained model is not necessarily. If the feature selection is improper, for example, parameters that have less impact on the throughput are selected, it may cause dimension disaster, overfitting risk or significant increase in computational complexity, which in turn affects the prediction performance.

[0085] Therefore, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, when multiple link parameters are available, a part of the parameters can be selected for training and prediction of the model, and the selection of the parameters is based on the correlation between each link parameter and the throughput. For example, the PHY layer parameters, RSSI, SINR and interference have greater impact on the throughput, so these parameters can be used in the training and prediction of the model, or these parameters are given greater weights in the case of using all parameters, so as to ensure that the model can be trained and predicted based on the most critical features, so as to improve the accuracy and reliability of the model for throughput prediction. In addition, OBSS_PD has less impact on the throughput, so this parameter can not be used in the model or this parameter is given a smaller weight.

[0086] The above describes an example of determining the size of the subset of data allocated to be transmitted to the station by each communication path based on the throughput of each communication path, but it can be understood that in the disclosed embodiments, the data allocation can not only consider the throughput of each path, but also be comprehensively considered based on additional factors. For simplicity, still taking the example of joint transmission of two access points to a station through two corresponding communication paths, for example, the following will be referred to Figure 1 for description.

[0087] In one example of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the data amount of the first subset and the second subset is further determined according to the amount of data remaining in the buffers of the first access point and the second access point. For example, as shown inFigure 1 As shown, the amount of data flow subsets S1 and S2 to be jointly transmitted by the access point 101a and the access point 101b to the station 102 via the paths L1 and L2 can be determined based on the throughput TP1 and TP2 of the paths L1 and L2, and further according to the amount of data remaining in the buffers of the access point 101a and the access point 101b (not shown in the figure).

[0088] For example, the total amount of data flow obtained by the access point 101a to be transmitted to the station can be represented as N, and the amount of data flow allocated to the subsets of the paths L1 and L2 can be represented as n1 and n2, and satisfy N = n1 + n2. According to the principle that the amount of data allocated to the path is proportional to the throughput, i.e., the path with higher throughput is allocated with more data frames, the calculation can be performed according to the proportion of n1 and n2 corresponding to the proportion of the throughputs TP1 and TP2. On this basis, if the amount of data remaining in the buffer of the access point is further considered, the calculation method can be adjusted to TP1 / TP2 = (n1 + BUF1) / (n2 + BUF2) and satisfy N = n1 + n2, but the present application is not limited to this formula. By taking the amount of data remaining in the buffer into account, the data allocation can be more accurately adjusted to avoid the situation that the data transmission is stalled due to the buffer capacity limitation of the access point to effectively process the allocated data or the access point leaves more untransmitted data in the buffer due to the priority of the access point to process other transmission tasks, thereby improving the data processing efficiency of the entire system.

[0089] In another example of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the amount of data of the first subset and the second subset is further determined according to the load of the first access point and the second access point. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the amount of data flow subsets S1 and S2 to be jointly transmitted by the access point 101a and the access point 101b to the station 102 via the paths L1 and L2 can be determined based on the throughput TP1 and TP2 of the paths L1 and L2, and further according to the load of the access point 101a and the access point 101b. Figure 9 As shown, the amount of data flow subsets S1 and S2 to be jointly transmitted by the access point 101a and the access point 101b to the station 102 via the paths L1 and L2 can be determined based on the throughput TP1 and TP2 of the paths L1 and L2, and further according to the amount of data remaining in the buffers of the access point 101a and the access point 101b (not shown in the figure).

[0090] Figure 9 FIG. 7 shows another variant example of the communication method based on the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0091] In some scenarios, users may want to use the client in areas beyond the range of the wireless access device. For example, signal strength may decrease with increasing distance between the access device and the client device, interference may degrade the wireless connection quality in certain areas, or the user may lose wireless network access as they move the client further out of the access device's coverage area. To address these issues, users can add additional wireless access points to the network, such as repeaters or relays, or Wi-Fi range extenders, to extend the coverage of the existing access points. The following section will combine... Figure 9 This situation is described.

[0092] Understandable. Figure 3 Architecture 900 and Figure 3 The architecture is basically the same as that of the 300 series, with similar elements marked using similar diagram labels. The only difference is... Figure 9 Access point 301c, participating in multi-access point collaborative transmission, directly transmits data to site 302 along L2 because site 302 is within the coverage area of ​​access point 301c; while Figure 9 In this case, since site 902 is not within the coverage area of ​​access point 901c, an additional access point (e.g., ...) is used. Figure 9 Repeater 903 (shown in the diagram) is used to amplify the signal transmitted from access point 901c to repeater 903, extending the signal's range and thus the network's coverage. In this mode, station 902 establishes a connection with access point 901c via repeater 903 and obtains data from it.

[0093] like Figure 3 As shown, the total communication path L2 from access point 901c to site 902 includes multiple sub-paths L21 and L22 relayed by repeater 903, namely, a first sub-path L21 between access point 901c and repeater 903 and a second sub-path L22 between repeater 903 and site 902. Accordingly, the throughput of path L2 from access point 901c to site 902 is determined by combining the throughputs of the first sub-path L21 and the second sub-path L22. For example, the throughput of this communication path L2 is determined to be the minimum of the throughputs of the first sub-path L21 and the second sub-path L22. Correspondingly, with... Figure 3 Similarly, access point 901a receives and buffers the data stream S to be sent to station 902, dividing it into two data stream subsets S1 and S2. Then, access point 901a allocates data stream subset S1 to access point 901b, so that access point 901b sends it to station 902 via path L1. Figure 9Differently, the access point 901a allocates the data stream subset S2 to the access point 901c, and the path L2 from the access point 901c to the station 902 can be considered as two sub-paths L21 and L22. Specifically, the access point 901c sends the data stream subset S2 to the repeater 903 through the sub-path L21, so that the repeater 903 forwards the data stream subset S2 to the station 902 via the sub-path L22. It can be understood that the calculation of the data amount of the data stream subsets S1 and S2 is as described above, taking the lowest throughput of both the sub-paths L21 and L22 as the bottleneck.

[0094] It can be understood that, although Figure 10 The access point 901c is shown in FIG. 10 to transmit data to the station 902 through the repeater 903 as an additional access point, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and the access point 901b can also extend its coverage through another additional access point, and other access point devices not shown in the entire communication network can also do so.

[0095] According to the above embodiments, the data allocation idea based on throughput proposed by the disclosure can be widely adapted to network topologies with repeaters or extenders, and the communication bottlenecks that can exist in multiple sub-paths are considered. By comprehensively evaluating the throughputs of the sub-paths, the data amount that should be allocated to each access point participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission is accurately determined, and the influence of these bottlenecks can be identified and mitigated.

[0096] Figure 10 FIG. 11 shows an exemplary schematic diagram of a multi-link device (MLD) communication architecture between an access point and a station based on multi-access point cooperative joint transmission according to an embodiment of the disclosure. It can be understood that in the standardization process of WLAN, the MLD architecture is introduced, which allows multiple links to be established between an access point and a station to enable simultaneous transmission or reception of data.

[0097] As described above, as part of the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission, a specific data stream subset can be sent from an access point to a station. In this embodiment, by adopting the MLD architecture, multiple links of different frequency bands can be allowed to be established between an access point and a station. For example, Figure 1 The connection established between the access point 1001 and the station 1002 is shown in FIG. 10, where the access point 1001 can be any access point performing cooperative data transmission to a station as described with reference to Figures 3-4 , Figure 9 and Figure 1 The station 1002 can be any station receiving data from an access point as described with reference to Figures 3-4 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 respectively. As Figure 1As shown, three links 1003-1, 1003-2 and 1003-3 can be established between the access point 1001 and the station 1002. For example, the three links can be established at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, respectively. The links can be established at different bands by different chips or at the same band by the same chip. The specific bands can be determined according to actual needs, and are not limited to the above bands. Figure 10 As shown, three links can be established between the access point 101a and the station 102, and similarly, three links can also be established between the access point 101b and the station 102, which can operate at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands, respectively. The links can be established at different bands by different chips or at the same band by the same chip. The specific bands can be determined according to actual needs, and are not limited to the above bands.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 10, Figure 11 To support the corresponding three links, the access point 1001 includes three access point entities, i.e., the access point entity 1001-1, the access point entity 1001-2 and the access point entity 1001-3, which correspond to different bands, respectively. Similarly, the station 1002 also includes three station entities, i.e., the station entity 1002-1, the station entity 1002-2 and the station entity 1002-3, which also correspond to different bands, respectively. As an illustrative example, the link 1003-1 between the access point entity 1001-1 and the station entity 1002-1 can operate at the 2.4 GHz band; the link 1003-2 between the access point entity 1001-2 and the station entity 1002-2 can operate at the 5 GHz band; and the link 1003-3 between the access point entity 1001-3 and the station entity 1002-3 can operate at the 6 GHz band. It can be understood that the above three links are only illustrative examples, and there can be more or fewer links, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, data can be transmitted or received on these links at the same time, thereby realizing efficient data communication.

[0099] Figure 11 A hardware block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in FIG. 11, Figures 1-10 The communication device 1100 can be, for example, an access point (AP), a station (STA), a master controller (MC), a repeater or a range extender (RE) as described above.

[0100] The processor 1110 can be any device with processing capability that can implement the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, it can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein.

[0101] The memory 1120 can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory, and / or in the form of non-volatile memory, such as read only memory (ROM), hard drives, floppy disks, or other mass storage devices.

[0102] The bus 1130 is used to connect the above-mentioned processor 1110 and the memory 1120, and mainly functions as a channel for data transmission, ensuring that the processor 1110 and the memory 1120 can efficiently exchange data and instructions. It can be understood that although not shown in the figure, the device 1100 can also include additional components, such as transceivers, antennas, and the like for communication, and input / output devices, such as display screens, keyboards, mice, and the like. These additional components can be configured according to specific application scenarios and needs to expand the functions of the device 1100. The present disclosure does not limit the specific components included in the communication device, as long as these components can support the device 1100 to realize the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0103] In the present embodiment, the memory 1120 stores computer program instructions, and the processor 1110 can run the instructions stored in the memory 1120. When the computer program instructions are run by the processor, the processor executes the communication method of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication method is basically the same as described above for the device, and for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated. ​

[0104] The communication technology according to the present disclosure can also be implemented by providing a computer program product containing program code for implementing the method or device, or by any storage medium storing such a computer program product.

[0105] The above describes the basic principles of the present disclosure in combination with specific embodiments, but it should be pointed out that the advantages, advantages, effects and the like mentioned in the present disclosure are only examples and are not limiting, and these advantages, advantages, effects and the like cannot be considered as the various embodiments of the present disclosure must have. In addition, the above specific details are only for the purpose of example and for the purpose of understanding, and are not limited to the above specific details, and the above details do not limit the present disclosure to the above specific details. In addition, the features from one embodiment can be combined with the features of another or more embodiments to obtain more embodiments.

[0106] ​The block diagrams of the devices, apparatuses, equipment, systems referred to in the present disclosure are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the connection, arrangement, configuration must be as shown in the block diagrams. As those skilled in the art will recognize, these devices, apparatuses, equipment, systems can be connected, arranged, configured in any manner. Words such as "include," "contain," "have," and the like are open-ended words that indicate "including but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably with each other. The words "or" and "and" as used herein indicate the word "and / or," and can be used interchangeably with each other, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The word "such as" as used herein indicates the phrase "such as but not limited to," and can be used interchangeably with each other.

[0107] In addition, as used herein, "or" in the cases of an enumeration of items prefaced by "at least one of" means any single one of the items and also any combination of two or more of the items, unless otherwise indicated by context. Further, the phrase "example of" as used herein indicates "example, but not the only example of," and can be used interchangeably with each other.

[0108] It is also important to note that the devices and methods of the present disclosure can be embodied in a computer-readable medium which can be a built-in medium or an external medium, and can include various types of memory.

[0109] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or any portion of the methods and apparatus of the present disclosure can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system such as, for example, a processor-based system. Computer-readable media can include any medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray® disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0110] In the foregoing description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present disclosure. However, implementations of the present disclosure can be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail since not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present disclosure. While some aspects have been described above, it is expected that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the above description is meant to be taken only by way of example, and the true scope of the present disclosure is meant to be indicated by the following claims.

[0111] The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0112] The foregoing description has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the description is not intended to limit the embodiments of the disclosure to the forms disclosed herein. Although the various example aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a variety of modifications, permutations, additions, and sub-combinations, which fall within the scope of the disclosed concepts.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: allocating a first subset of data streams to be transmitted to a station to a first access point participating in Multi-Access Point Coordination Joint Transmission, the first subset of data streams being transmitted via a first communication path between the first access point and the station; and allocating a second subset of data streams different from the first subset to a second access point participating in the Multi-Access Point Coordination Joint Transmission, the second subset of data streams being transmitted via a second communication path between the second access point and the station, wherein an amount of data of the first subset and the second subset is determined according to throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of data of the first subset and the second subset is determined in direct proportion to the throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path are predicted from link parameters of the first communication path and the second communication path using a machine learning model. 4.The method of claim 3, wherein the link parameters comprise instantaneous link parameter values; or the link parameters comprise both historical link parameter values and instantaneous link parameter values. 5.The method of claim 3, wherein the link parameters comprise one or more of: a received signal strength indication (RSSI), an interference value, a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), an overlapping basic service set preamble detection value (OBSS_PD). 6.The method of claim 5, wherein the link parameters further comprise a collision rate and / or a retry rate. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of data of the first subset and the second subset is further determined according to an amount of data remaining in buffers of the first access point and the second access point. 8.The method of claim 1, wherein the amount of data of the first subset and the second subset is further determined according to load amounts of the first access point and the second access point. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication path comprises a plurality of sub-paths relayed by an additional access point, the plurality of sub-paths comprising at least a first sub-path between the first access point and the additional access point and a second sub-path between the additional access point and the station, and the throughput of the first communication path is determined according to throughputs of the first sub-path and the second sub-path. 10.The method of claim 9, wherein the throughput of the first communication path is determined as a minimum of the throughput of the first sub-path and the throughput of the second sub-path. 11.The method of claim 1, wherein ​ The communication method is performed by one of the first access point and the second access point; or The communication method is performed by another device different from the first access point and the second access point.

12. A communication method performed by an access point and comprising: receiving a first subset of data streams to be transmitted to a station; transmitting the first subset of data streams to the station during a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission for the station between the access point and another access point different from the access point, wherein the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission comprises at least the access point transmitting the first subset of data streams via a first communication path between the access point and the station and the another access point transmitting a second subset of data streams via a second communication path between the another access point and the station, and wherein amounts of data of the first subset and the second subset are determined according to throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path.

13. A communication method performed by a station and comprising: receiving a first subset of data streams of the station from a first access point participating in a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission via a first communication path between the station and the first access point; and receiving a second subset of data streams from a second access point participating in the multi-access point cooperative joint transmission via a second communication path between the station and the second access point, the first subset of data streams being different from the second subset of data streams, wherein amounts of data of the first subset and the second subset are determined according to throughputs of the first communication path and the second communication path.

14. A communication device comprising: a transceiver; a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and the memory, which when the computer readable instructions are executed by the processor, causes the communication device to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1-13.

15. A computer program product comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1-13.

16. A communication method comprising: dividing data streams to be transmitted to a station into a plurality of subsets to be respectively allocated to a plurality of access points participating in a multi-access point cooperative joint transmission; and transmitting the plurality of subsets via a plurality of communication paths between the plurality of access points and the station respectively, wherein the plurality of communication paths respectively correspond to the plurality of access points, and an access point corresponding to a communication path with a larger throughput is allocated to a subset with a larger amount of data. ​ ​ ​

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