Communication method, access point device, station device and communication device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, an access point device, a station device and a communication device. The communication method comprises: an access point device determining a first radio frame, wherein the first radio frame comprises first identification information, the first identification information comprises first sensing capability information of the access point device, and the first sensing capability information identifies: whether the access point device supports a station device to sense a secondary channel; and sending the first radio frame. Thus, when a primary channel is busy, a WLAN device can perform communication in a secondary channel, thereby improving the throughput of a communication system, and maximizing the utilization of channel resources.

Description

Communication method, access point device, station device and communication device Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, an access point device, a station device, and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Currently, Wi-Fi technology research focuses on Ultra High Reliability (UHR), with the goal of improving the reliability of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) connections, reducing latency, improving manageability, increasing throughput at different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels, and reducing device-level power consumption.

[0003] In UHR, in order to fully utilize channel resources and support WLAN devices to communicate on auxiliary channels, it is necessary to further improve the mechanism for WLAN devices to communicate on auxiliary channels to meet the transmission requirements of UHR.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, an access point device, a station device, and a communication device to further improve the communication mechanism of WLAN devices on auxiliary channels.

[0006] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0007] The access point device determines a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device;

[0008] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel;

[0009] The first radio frame is sent.

[0010] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0011] The access point device receives a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0012] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0013] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0014] The station device determines a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0015] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel;

[0016] The second radio frame is sent.

[0017] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0018] Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of an access point device;

[0019] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel.

[0020] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an access point device, the access point device comprising:

[0021] A first determining module is configured to determine a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, the first identification information including first listening capability information of the access point device; the first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel;

[0022] The first sending module is configured to send the first wireless frame.

[0023] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an access point device, the access point device comprising:

[0024] A first receiving module is configured to receive a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the site device;

[0025] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0026] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a site device, the site device including:

[0027] A second determining module is configured to determine a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0028] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel;

[0029] The second sending module is used to send the second wireless frame.

[0030] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a site device, the site device including:

[0031] A second receiving module is configured to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of an access point device;

[0032] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel.

[0033] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an access point device, including:

[0034] one or more processors;

[0035] The access point device is used to implement the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a site device, including:

[0037] one or more processors;

[0038] The site device is used to execute the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication device, including:

[0040] one or more processors;

[0041] The communication device is used to execute the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication system, including an access point device and a site device; wherein the access point device is configured to implement the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the site device is configured to implement the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a storage medium storing instructions. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure, or executes the communication method described in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, an access point device determines a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device; the first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports a site device listening to a secondary channel; and the first wireless frame is sent, so that when a primary channel is busy, WLAN devices can communicate in the secondary channel to improve communication system throughput and maximize channel resource utilization.

[0045] Additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be given in part in the following description, which will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following drawings required for describing the embodiments are introduced. The following drawings are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure and do not impose specific limitations on the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0048] FIG2 is one of exemplary interaction diagrams of a method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0049] FIG3 is a second exemplary interaction diagram of a method provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0050] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0051] FIG5 is a second flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0052] FIG6 is a third flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0053] FIG7 is a fourth flow chart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0054] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an access point device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0055] FIG9 is a second structural diagram of an access point device proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0056] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a site device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0057] FIG11 is a second structural diagram of a site device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0058] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0059] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, an access point device, a station device, and a communication device.

[0061] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0062] The access point device determines a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device;

[0063] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel;

[0064] The first radio frame is sent.

[0065] In the above embodiment, when the primary channel is busy, the WLAN device can communicate in the secondary channel to improve the throughput of the communication system and maximize the utilization of channel resources.

[0066] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening capability information identifies that the access point device supports the station device listening to the auxiliary channel,

[0067] The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to an auxiliary channel.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the listening period can be 0 ms (milliseconds), 2.7 ms, or 4 ms, or other time values. The first listening capability information also identifies the listening period times of the station devices supported by the access point device, or the listening period time finally determined by the access point device. By negotiating the listening period time, the mechanism for WLAN devices to communicate on the auxiliary channel is further improved to improve the communication system throughput.

[0069] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0070] The first listening period information is carried in the association response frame;

[0071] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0072] In the above embodiment, during the initial association process, the access point device and the station device negotiate the listening capability information of the access point device using at least one of the aforementioned beacon frames, probe response frames, and association response frames. The newly defined radio frames are radio frames sent after the initial association. After the initial association, the listening capability information of the access point device is negotiated using the newly defined radio frames to improve the throughput of the communication system.

[0073] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0074] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0075] In the above embodiment, the auxiliary channel may include one or more. For example, if the division is based on 20MHz as the basic bandwidth unit, when the channel bandwidth is 20MHz, there is only one main channel with a bandwidth of 20MHz; when the channel bandwidth is greater than 20MHz, a channel with a bandwidth of 20MHz is included as the main channel, and the remaining one or more 20MHz channels are auxiliary channels. For different auxiliary channels, the listening cycle time of each of the auxiliary channels can be the same, for example, 2.7ms or 4ms; or there may be at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths and different listening cycle times, for example, the listening cycle of the auxiliary channel of 20MHz is 2.7ms, and the listening cycle of the auxiliary channel of 40MHz is 4ms. By negotiating the listening cycle time, the mechanism of WLAN devices communicating in the auxiliary channel is further improved to improve the throughput of the communication system.

[0076] In combination with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0077] In the above embodiment, the listening period of the auxiliary channel can be determined by the difference between the bandwidth of the auxiliary channel and the bandwidth of the main channel; for example, a mapping relationship between the bandwidth difference and the listening period difference is established. For every 20MHz difference between the bandwidth of the auxiliary channel and the bandwidth of the main channel, the listening period length increases by 1ms, or the interval between the listening periods increases by 1ms. For channels with different bandwidths, different listening period times are set to reduce mutual interference.

[0078] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0079] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0080] In the above embodiment, the AP and the STA may adjust their listening cycle information to a fixed listening cycle according to the BSS loading information in the primary channel; for example, a configured value in the BSS loading information is selected as the final listening cycle time.

[0081] In conjunction with some embodiments of the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0082] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the access point device.

[0083] In the above embodiment, the listening period of the BSS ultimately determined by the access point device and the station device is different from the listening period of other BSSs, thereby avoiding interference with other BSSs. In addition, the access point device broadcasts the negotiated listening period to other WLAN devices in the OBSS, allowing other WLAN devices to determine the listening period of their own BSS based on the received listening period of other BSSs, thereby avoiding interference with other BSSs.

[0084] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0085] The access point device receives a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0086] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0087] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening capability information identifies that the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel,

[0088] The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a supplementary channel supported by the site device.

[0089] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0090] The second listening period information is carried in the association request frame;

[0091] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0092] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0093] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0094] In combination with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0095] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0096] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0097] In conjunction with some embodiments of the second aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0098] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the site device.

[0099] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0100] The station device determines a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0101] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel;

[0102] The second radio frame is sent.

[0103] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening capability information identifies that the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel,

[0104] The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a supplementary channel supported by the site device.

[0105] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0106] The second listening period information is carried in the association request frame;

[0107] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0108] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0109] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0110] In combination with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0111] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0112] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0113] In conjunction with some embodiments of the third aspect, in some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0114] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the site device.

[0115] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising:

[0116] The station device receives a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device;

[0117] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel.

[0118] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening capability information identifies that the access point device supports the station device listening to the auxiliary channel,

[0119] The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to an auxiliary channel.

[0120] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0121] The first listening period information is carried in the association response frame;

[0122] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0123] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0124] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0125] In combination with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0126] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0127] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0128] In conjunction with some embodiments of the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0129] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the access point device.

[0130] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an access point device, comprising at least one of a determination module and a sending module; wherein the access point device is configured to execute the optional implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0131] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a site device, comprising: a first receiving module; wherein the above-mentioned site device is used to execute the optional implementation method of the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0132] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an access point device, including:

[0133] one or more processors;

[0134] The access point device is used to execute the optional implementation of the first aspect and the second aspect.

[0135] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a site device, including:

[0136] one or more processors;

[0137] The site device is used to execute the optional implementation of the third aspect and the fourth aspect.

[0138] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication system, comprising an access point device and a site device; wherein the access point device is configured to execute the optional implementation methods described in the first and second aspects, and the site device is configured to perform the optional implementation methods described in the third and fourth aspects.

[0139] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a storage medium storing instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the optional implementation methods described in the first, second, third, and fourth aspects.

[0140] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a program product. When the program product is executed by a communication device, the communication device executes the method described in the optional implementation of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, and the fourth aspect.

[0141] In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the optional implementation of the first, second, third and fourth aspects.

[0142] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a chip or a chip system, which includes a processing circuit configured to execute the method described in the optional implementation of the first, second, third, and fourth aspects above.

[0143] It is understandable that the aforementioned access point devices, station devices, communication systems, storage media, program products, computer programs, chips, or chip systems are all used to perform the methods proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the beneficial effects that can be achieved can refer to the beneficial effects of the corresponding methods and will not be repeated here.

[0144] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, an access point device, a station device, and a communication device. In some embodiments, the terms communication method, signal transmission method, wireless frame transmission method, etc. are interchangeable, and the terms information processing system, communication system, etc. are interchangeable.

[0145] The embodiments of the present disclosure are not exhaustive and are merely illustrative of some embodiments, and are not intended to be a specific limitation on the scope of protection of the present disclosure. In the absence of contradiction, each step in a certain embodiment can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the steps can be arbitrarily combined. For example, a solution after removing some steps in a certain embodiment can also be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the order of the steps in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily exchanged. In addition, the optional implementation methods in a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined; in addition, the embodiments can be arbitrarily combined. For example, some or all steps of different embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and a certain embodiment can be arbitrarily combined with the optional implementation methods of other embodiments.

[0146] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specified or provided for by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between the embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0147] The terms used in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

[0148] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, “plurality” refers to two or more.

[0149] In some embodiments, the terms "at least one," "one or more," "a plurality of," "multiple," etc. may be used interchangeably.

[0150] In some embodiments, descriptions such as "at least one of A and B," "A and / or B," "A in one case, B in another case," or "in response to one case A, in response to another case B" may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed); and in some embodiments, A and B (both A and B are executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, and C.

[0151] In some embodiments, "A or B" and other descriptions may include the following technical solutions depending on the situation: in some embodiments, A (A is executed independently of B); in some embodiments, B (B is executed independently of A); in some embodiments, execution is selected from A and B (A and B are selectively executed). The above is also applicable when there are more branches such as A, B, C, etc.

[0152] The prefixes such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different description objects and do not constitute any restriction on the position, order, priority, quantity or content of the description objects. For the statement of the description object, please refer to the description in the context of the claims or embodiments, and no unnecessary restriction should be constituted due to the use of prefixes. For example, if the description object is a "field", the ordinal number before the "field" in the "first field" and the "second field" does not limit the position or order between the "fields". "First" and "second" do not limit whether the "fields" they modify are in the same message, nor do they limit the order of the "first field" and the "second field". For another example, if the description object is a "level", the ordinal number before the "level" in the "first level" and the "second level" does not limit the priority between the "levels". For another example, the number of description objects is not limited by the ordinal number and can be one or more. Taking "first device" as an example, the number of "devices" can be one or more. In addition, the objects modified by different prefixes can be the same or different. For example, if the description object is "device", then the "first device" and the "second device" can be the same device or different devices, and their types can be the same or different; for another example, if the description object is "information", then the "first information" and the "second information" can be the same information or different information, and their contents can be the same or different.

[0153] In some embodiments, “including A,” “comprising A,” “used to indicate A,” and “carrying A” can be interpreted as directly carrying A or indirectly indicating A.

[0154] In some embodiments, terms such as "in response to...", "in response to determining...", "in the case of...", "at the time of...", "when...", "if...", "if...", etc. can be used interchangeably.

[0155] In some embodiments, terms such as "greater than", "greater than or equal to", "not less than", "more than", "more than or equal to", "not less than", "higher than", "higher than or equal to", "not less than", and "above" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "less than", "less than or equal to", "not greater than", "less than", "less than or equal to", "not more than", "lower than", "lower than or equal to", "not higher than", and "below" can be replaced with each other.

[0156] In some embodiments, devices and equipment can be interpreted as physical or virtual, and their names are not limited to the names recorded in the embodiments. In some cases, they can also be understood as "equipment", "device", "circuit", "network element", "node", "function", "unit", "section", "system", "network", "chip", "chip system", "entity", "subject", etc.

[0157] In some embodiments, obtaining data, information, etc. may comply with the laws and regulations of the country where the data is obtained.

[0158] In some embodiments, data, information, etc. may be obtained with the user's consent.

[0159] In addition, each element, each row, or each column in the table of the embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of any elements, any rows, and any columns can also be implemented as an independent embodiment.

[0160] FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0161] As shown in Figure 1, in a WLAN, channels are typically divided into primary channels and secondary channels (or non-primary channels, or secondary channels, non-primary channels); a primary channel is, for example, the primary 20 MHz channel in Figure 1; wherein, a secondary channel may include one or more sub-channels, such as the 20 MHz secondary channel and the 40 MHz secondary channel in Figure 1.

[0162] During channel contention, if the primary channel is in an OBSS busy state (OBSS interference), as shown in time periods T1 and T2 in the figure, for example, if it is occupied by other devices in the same OBSS as the WLAN and these other devices are sending physical protocol data units (PPDUs) on the primary channel, the primary channel is in an OBSS busy state. If the primary channel is in an OBSS busy state, to fully utilize channel resources, communication can be switched to a secondary channel to improve system throughput and maximize channel resource utilization. For example, switching to a 20MHz secondary channel during time period T1 or a 40MHz secondary channel during time period T2 can be used.

[0163] If the primary channel is idle, as shown in the T3 time period in the figure, the AP and STA can send PPDUs to each other.

[0164] FIG2 is a schematic diagram showing the architecture of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0165] As shown in FIG2 , a communication system 100 includes a station device (STA) 101 and an access point device (AP) 102 .

[0166] In some embodiments, the site device 101 includes, for example, a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal that supports WiFi communication. Optionally, the wireless communication terminal includes, but is not limited to, at least one of a mobile phone, a wearable device, an Internet of Things device that supports WiFi communication, a car with WiFi communication, a smart car, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device used in industrial control, a wireless terminal device used in self-driving, a wireless terminal device used in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal device used in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device used in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device used in a smart city, and a wireless terminal device used in a smart home.

[0167] Specifically, the station device 101 may be a terminal device or network device equipped with a wireless fidelity (WiFi) chip. Optionally, the station device 101 may support multiple WLAN standards, such as 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11bf, and 802.11bn, as well as the next generation 802.11 protocol, but is not limited thereto.

[0168] In some embodiments, the access point device 102 can be an access point for a mobile terminal to enter a wired network. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, the AP can be a terminal device or a network device with a wireless fidelity chip. Optionally, the AP can support multiple WLAN standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a, 802.11bf, 802.11bn, and support the next generation 802.11 protocol, but is not limited to this.

[0169] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP and STA may be devices supporting multiple connections, for example, they may be represented as a multi-connection access point device (AP MLD) and a multi-link site device (Non-Access Point Multi-Link Device, Non-AP MLD), respectively; the AP MLD may represent an access point supporting multi-connection communication functions, and the non-AP MLD may represent a site supporting multi-connection communication functions.

[0170] It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution proposed in the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0171] The following embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to the communication system 100 shown in FIG2 , or a portion thereof, but are not limited thereto. The entities shown in FIG2 are illustrative only. The communication system may include all or part of the entities shown in FIG2 , or may include other entities outside of FIG2 . The number and form of the entities are arbitrary. The entities may be physical or virtual. The connection relationship between the entities is illustrative only. The entities may be connected or disconnected, and the connection may be in any manner, including direct or indirect, wired or wireless.

[0172] The various embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to wireless local area networks (WLANs), such as those using the 802.11 series of protocols. In a WLAN, a Basic Service Set (BSS) is a fundamental component of a WLAN. A BSS network consists of station devices with some association within a specific coverage area. One scenario of association is that stations communicate directly with each other in an ad hoc network, which is called an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS). Another more common scenario is that in a BSS network, there is only one central station dedicated to managing the BSS, called an access point, and all other STAs in the network are associated with it. Other stations in the BSS network that are not the central station are called terminals, also called non-AP STAs. Terminals and non-AP STAs are collectively referred to as STAs. When describing STAs, there is no need to distinguish between APs and non-AP STAs. In the same BSS network, due to distance, transmission power, and other factors, a STA cannot detect other STAs that are farther away from it, and the two STAs are each other's hidden nodes.

[0173] As shown in FIG2 , the above method includes:

[0174] In step 201, the access point device 102 determines a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device; the first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel.

[0175] In WLAN, channels are usually divided into primary channels and secondary channels (or non-primary channels). A secondary channel can contain one or more sub-channels. For example, if the basic bandwidth unit is 20 MHz, when the channel bandwidth is 20 MHz, there is only one primary channel with a bandwidth of 20 MHz. When the channel bandwidth is greater than 20 MHz, there is one channel with a bandwidth of 20 MHz as the primary channel, and the remaining one or more 20 MHz channels are secondary channels. The primary 20 MHz channel is the common channel of operation for stations that are members of the basic service set (BSS). Stations in the BSS can compete for channels on the primary 20 MHz channel to seize channel resources.

[0176] During the channel contention process, if the primary channel is in the OBSS busy state, for example, if it is occupied by other devices in the same OBSS as access point device 102 and other devices are sending physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) on the primary channel, then the primary channel is in the OBSS busy state. If the primary channel is in the OBSS busy state, in order to fully utilize channel resources, the secondary channel can be switched to communicate with site device 101, and site device 101 can be scheduled to the secondary channel. Data can be sent and received with site device 101, thereby improving communication system throughput and maximizing channel resource utilization.

[0177] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the primary channel is busy, the access point device 102 identifies its first listening capability information in the first radio frame, and the first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device 102 supports the site device 101 to sense the auxiliary channel.

[0178] Typically, before sending data, each station device on the network must listen to see if there is other data being transmitted on the channel, for example, through a carrier sense mechanism. When about to switch to the auxiliary channel for communication, the access point device 102 will notify the station device 101, for example, by sending a request to send (RTS) frame or a buffer status report poll (BSRP) control frame to the station device 101. When the access point device 102 sends the RTS frame or BSRP control frame, the station device 101 needs to listen on the auxiliary channel to receive the RTS frame or BSRP control frame; therefore, to switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the primary channel is busy, the access point device 102 needs to support the station device 101 to sense the auxiliary channel.

[0179] The first listening capability information indicates whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel. For example, a first flag bit is set in the first listening capability information. If the first flag bit is set to "1", it indicates that the access point device 102 supports the site device 101 listening to the auxiliary channel, and can subsequently switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the primary channel is busy. If the first flag bit is set to "0", it indicates that the access point device 102 does not support the site device 101 listening to the auxiliary channel, and cannot subsequently switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the primary channel is busy.

[0180] Optionally, the first wireless frame may be a frame sent by the access point device 102 and the site device 101 during the initial association process, such as a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or at least one of a newly defined wireless frame; and a new wireless frame may also be newly defined after the initial association to carry the first identification information.

[0181] Step 202: The access point device 102 sends the first wireless frame.

[0182] The access point device 102 sends the first wireless frame. In this way, when the primary channel is busy, the WLAN device can communicate in the secondary channel. For example, when non-periodic data transmission occurs between the access point device 102 and the site device 101, or when the access point device 102 has downlink data to send to the site device 101, when the WLAN device senses that the primary channel is busy, it can switch to the secondary channel to send an RTS or BSRP control frame. The site device 101 listens on the secondary channel and replies with a clear to send (CTS) frame to the access point device 102, so that the access point device 102 confirms that the secondary channel is idle according to the CTS frame and can send data, thereby realizing communication in the secondary channel, thereby improving the throughput of the communication system and maximizing the utilization of channel resources.

[0183] Step 203: The station device 101 receives the first radio frame.

[0184] After receiving the first wireless frame, the site device 101 determines whether the access point device 102 supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel based on the first listening capability information; if supported (and the site device 101 itself also supports it), it performs listening on the auxiliary channel, for example, through clear channel assessment (CCA) operation, energy detection (ED) operation or network allocation vector (NAV) operation listening.

[0185] In some embodiments, the first listening capability information indicates that the access point device supports the station device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

[0186] The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to an auxiliary channel.

[0187] The listening period can be 0ms (milliseconds), 2.7ms or 4ms, or other time values. The first listening capability information also identifies the listening period time of the station device 101 supported by the access point device 102, or the listening period time finally determined by the access point device 102.

[0188] In some embodiments, the first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame; for example, during the initial association process, the access point device 102 and the site device 101 negotiate the listening capability information of the access point device 102 through at least one of the aforementioned beacon frame, probe response frame, and association response frame; the newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association, and after the initial association, the listening capability information of the access point device 102 is negotiated through the newly defined radio frame.

[0189] The first listening cycle information is carried in the association response frame. For example, the listening cycle time to be finally executed is determined through the association response.

[0190] In some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0191] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0192] The auxiliary channel may include one or more channels.

[0193] For example, if 20MHz is used as the basic bandwidth unit for division, when the channel bandwidth is 20MHz, there is only one main channel with a bandwidth of 20MHz; when the channel bandwidth is greater than 20MHz, a channel with a bandwidth of 20MHz is included as the main channel, and the remaining one or more 20MHz channels are auxiliary channels. For different auxiliary channels, the listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel can be the same, for example, 2.7ms or 4ms, so that the WLAN device can uniformly manage the listening cycles of different channels; there can also be at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths with different listening cycle times, for example, the listening cycle of the auxiliary channel of 20MHz is 2.7ms, and the listening cycle of the auxiliary channel of 40MHz is 4ms. Different listening cycle times are set for channels with different bandwidths to reduce mutual interference.

[0194] In some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0195] The listening period of the auxiliary channel can be determined by the difference between the bandwidth of the auxiliary channel and the bandwidth of the main channel. For example, a mapping relationship between the bandwidth difference and the listening period difference is established. For every 20MHz difference between the bandwidth of the auxiliary channel and the bandwidth of the main channel, the listening period length increases by 1ms, or the interval between the listening periods increases by 1ms.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0197] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0198] The AP and STA may adjust their listening cycle information to a fixed listening cycle according to the BSS loading information in the primary channel; for example, a configured value in the BSS loading information may be selected as the final listening cycle time.

[0199] In some embodiments, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0200] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the access point device.

[0201] The listening period of the BSS ultimately determined by the access point device 102 and the station device 101 is different from the listening period of other BSSs to avoid interference with other BSSs. In addition, the access point device 102 broadcasts the negotiated listening period to other WLAN devices in the OBSS, allowing other WLAN devices to determine the listening period of their own BSS based on the received listening periods of other BSSs.

[0202] FIG3 is a second interactive diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG3 , the method includes:

[0203] In step 301, the site device 101 determines a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the site device; the second listening capability information includes whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0204] In WLAN, channels are usually divided into primary channels and secondary channels (or non-primary channels). A secondary channel can contain one or more sub-channels. For example, if the basic bandwidth unit is 20 MHz, when the channel bandwidth is 20 MHz, there is only one primary channel with a bandwidth of 20 MHz. When the channel bandwidth is greater than 20 MHz, there is one channel with a bandwidth of 20 MHz as the primary channel, and the remaining one or more 20 MHz channels are secondary channels. The primary 20 MHz channel is the common channel of operation for stations that are members of the basic service set (BSS). Stations in the BSS can compete for channels on the primary 20 MHz channel to seize channel resources.

[0205] During the channel contention process, if the primary channel is in the OBSS busy state, for example, if it is occupied by other devices in the same OBSS as access point device 102 and other devices are sending physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) on the primary channel, then the primary channel is in the OBSS busy state. If the primary channel is in the OBSS busy state, in order to fully utilize channel resources, the secondary channel can be switched to communicate with site device 101, and site device 101 can be scheduled to the secondary channel. Data can be sent and received with site device 101, thereby improving communication system throughput and maximizing channel resource utilization.

[0206] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the primary channel is busy, the access point device 102 identifies its second listening capability information in the second radio frame, and the second listening capability information identifies whether the site device supports sensing the auxiliary channel.

[0207] Typically, before sending data, each station device on the network must listen to whether there is other data being transmitted on the channel, for example, through a carrier sense mechanism. When switching to the auxiliary channel for communication, the access point device 102 will notify the station device 101, for example, by sending a request to send (RTS) frame or a buffer status report poll (BSRP) control frame to the station device 101. When the station device 101 sends the RTS frame or the BSRP control frame, the station device 101 needs to listen on the auxiliary channel to receive the RTS frame or the BSRP control frame; therefore, to switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the primary channel is busy, the station device 101 needs to support sensing the auxiliary channel.

[0208] The second listening capability information identifies: whether the site device supports listening to the auxiliary channel; for example, a second identification bit is set in the second listening capability information. If the second identification bit is set to "1", it indicates that the site device 101 supports listening to the auxiliary channel, and can subsequently switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the main channel is busy; if the second identification bit is set to "0", it indicates that the site device 101 does not support listening to the auxiliary channel, and cannot subsequently switch to the auxiliary channel for communication when the main channel is busy.

[0209] Optionally, the second wireless frame can be a frame sent by the access point device 102 and the site device 101 during the initial association process, such as a probe response probe request frame, an association response association request frame, or at least one of a newly defined wireless frame; and after the initial association, a new wireless frame can be defined to carry the second identification information.

[0210] Step 302: The site device 101 sends the second radio frame.

[0211] Among them, the site device 101 sends the second wireless frame. In this way, when the primary channel is busy, the WLAN device can communicate in the secondary channel. For example, when non-periodic data transmission occurs between the access point device 102 and the site device 101, or when the access point device 102 has downlink data to send to the site device 101, when the WLAN device senses that the primary channel is busy, it can switch to the secondary channel to send an RTS or BSRP control frame. The site device 101 listens on the secondary channel and replies with a clear to send (CTS) frame to the access point device 102, so that the access point device 102 confirms that the secondary channel is idle according to the CTS frame and can send data, thereby realizing communication in the secondary channel, thereby improving the throughput of the communication system and maximizing the utilization of channel resources.

[0212] Step 303: The access point device 102 receives the second radio frame.

[0213] After receiving the second radio frame, the access point device 102 determines whether the access point device 102 supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel based on the second listening capability information; if supported (and the site device 101 itself also supports it), it performs listening on the auxiliary channel, for example, through a clear channel assessment (CCA) operation, an energy detection (ED) operation, or a network allocation vector (NAV) operation.

[0214] In some embodiments, the second listening capability information indicates that the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0215] The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a supplementary channel supported by the site device.

[0216] The listening period may be 0ms (milliseconds), 2.7ms or 4ms, or other time values. The second listening capability information also identifies the listening period time supported by the site device 101, or the finally determined listening period time.

[0217] In some embodiments, the second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame; for example, during the initial association process, the access point device 102 and the site device 101 negotiate the listening capability information of the access point device 102 through at least one of the aforementioned, probe request frame, and association request frame; the newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association, and after the initial association, the listening capability information of the access point device 102 is negotiated through the newly defined radio frame.

[0218] The second listening cycle information is carried in the association request frame. For example, the listening cycle time supported by the site device 101 is determined through the association request.

[0219] In some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0220] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0221] Among them, the auxiliary channel can include one or more. For example, if the division is based on 20MHz as the basic bandwidth unit, when the channel bandwidth is 20MHz, there is only one main channel with a bandwidth of 20MHz; when the channel bandwidth is greater than 20MHz, it includes a channel with a bandwidth of 20MHz as the main channel, and the remaining one or more 20MHz channels are auxiliary channels. For different auxiliary channels, the listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel can be the same, for example, 2.7ms or 4ms, so that the WLAN device can uniformly manage the listening cycles of different channels; there can also be at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths and different listening cycle times, for example, the listening cycle of the auxiliary channel of 20MHz is 2.7ms, and the listening cycle of the auxiliary channel of 40MHz is 4ms. For channels with different bandwidths, different listening cycle times are set to reduce mutual interference.

[0222] In some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the primary channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0223] The listening period of the auxiliary channel can be determined by the difference between the bandwidth of the auxiliary channel and the bandwidth of the main channel. For example, a mapping relationship between the bandwidth difference and the listening period difference is established. For every 20MHz difference between the bandwidth of the auxiliary channel and the bandwidth of the main channel, the listening period increases by 1ms.

[0224] In some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0225] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0226] The AP and STA may adjust their listening cycle information to a fixed listening cycle according to the BSS loading information in the primary channel; for example, a configured value in the BSS loading information may be selected as the final listening cycle time.

[0227] In some embodiments, the second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0228] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the site device.

[0229] The listening period of the BSS ultimately determined by the access point device 102 and the station device 101 is different from the listening period of other BSSs to avoid interference with other BSSs. In addition, the station device 101 broadcasts the negotiated listening period to other WLAN devices in the OBSS, so that other WLAN devices can determine the listening period of their own BSS based on the received listening periods of other BSSs.

[0230] In some embodiments, the names of information, etc. are not limited to the names described in the embodiments, and terms such as "information", "message", "signal", "signaling", "report", "configuration", "indication", "instruction", "command", "channel", "parameter", "domain", "field", "symbol", "codepoint", "bit", "data", "program", and "chip" can be used interchangeably.

[0231] In some embodiments, terms such as "moment", "time point", "time", and "time position" can be replaced with each other, and terms such as "duration", "period", "time window", "window", and "time" can be replaced with each other.

[0232] In some embodiments, terms such as wireless access scheme and waveform may be used interchangeably.

[0233] In some embodiments, terms such as "certain", "preset", "preset", "setting", "indicated", "a certain", "any", and "first" can be interchangeable. "Specific A", "preset A", "preset A", "setting A", "indicated A", "a certain A", "any A", and "first A" can be interpreted as A pre-specified in a protocol, etc., or as A obtained through setting, configuration, or indication, etc., or as specific A, a certain A, any A, or first A, etc., but not limited to this.

[0234] In some embodiments, the determination or judgment can be performed by a value represented by 1 bit (0 or 1), or by a true or false value (Boolean value) represented by true or false, or by comparison of numerical values ​​(for example, comparison with a predetermined value), but is not limited thereto.

[0235] In some embodiments, "not expecting to receive" can be interpreted as not receiving on time domain resources and / or frequency domain resources, or as not performing subsequent processing on the data after receiving it; "not expecting to send" can be interpreted as not sending, or as sending but not expecting the recipient to respond to the content sent.

[0236] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of the aforementioned steps and embodiments. For example, step 201 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 204 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, step 205 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 206 can be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 201 and step 202 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, and the combination of step 204 and step 205 can be implemented as an independent embodiment, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0237] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 2 .

[0238] FIG4 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0239] As shown in FIG4 , the above method may be applied to an access point device 102, and the above method includes:

[0240] Step 401: The access point device determines a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device;

[0241] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel;

[0242] Step 402: Send the first wireless frame.

[0243] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening capability information indicates that the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

[0244] The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to an auxiliary channel.

[0245] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0246] The first listening period information is carried in the association response frame;

[0247] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0248] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0249] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0250] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0251] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0252] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0253] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0254] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the access point device.

[0255] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of the aforementioned steps and embodiments. For example, step 401 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 402 may be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 401 and step 402 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0256] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 4 .

[0257] FIG5 is a second flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0258] As shown in FIG5 , the above method may be applied to an access point device 102, and the above method includes:

[0259] Step 501: The access point device receives a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0260] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0261] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening capability information indicates that the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0262] The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a supplementary channel supported by the site device.

[0263] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0264] The second listening period information is carried in the association request frame;

[0265] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0266] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0267] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0268] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0269] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes the listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0270] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0271] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes the listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0272] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the site device.

[0273] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of the aforementioned steps and embodiments. For example, step 501 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 502 may be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 501 and step 502 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0274] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 5 .

[0275] FIG6 is a third flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0276] As shown in FIG6 , the above method may be applied to the site device 101, and the above method includes:

[0277] Step 601: The station device determines a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0278] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel;

[0279] Step 602: Send the second radio frame.

[0280] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening capability information indicates that the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0281] The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a supplementary channel supported by the site device.

[0282] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0283] The second listening period information is carried in the association request frame;

[0284] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0285] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0286] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0287] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0288] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes the listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0289] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0290] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second listening cycle information includes the listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0291] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the site device.

[0292] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of the aforementioned steps and embodiments. For example, step 601 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 602 may be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 601 and step 602 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0293] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 6 .

[0294] FIG7 is a second flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0295] As shown in FIG7 , the above method may be applied to the site device 101, and the above method includes:

[0296] Step 701: A station device receives a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of an access point device;

[0297] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel.

[0298] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening capability information indicates that the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

[0299] The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to an auxiliary channel.

[0300] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame;

[0301] The first listening period information is carried in the association response frame;

[0302] The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

[0303] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a plurality of listening cycle times of the auxiliary channels;

[0304] The listening cycle time of each auxiliary channel is the same, or the listening cycle time of at least two auxiliary channels with different bandwidths is different.

[0305] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

[0306] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0307] The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the primary channel.

[0308] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel;

[0309] The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the access point device.

[0310] The communication method involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may include at least one of the aforementioned steps and embodiments. For example, step 701 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, and step 702 may be implemented as an independent embodiment; the combination of step 701 and step 702 may be implemented as an independent embodiment, but is not limited thereto.

[0311] In some embodiments, reference may be made to other optional implementations described before or after the description corresponding to FIG. 7 .

[0312] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide an apparatus for implementing any of the above methods. For example, an apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a terminal in any of the above methods. For another example, another apparatus is provided, comprising units or modules for implementing each step performed by a network device (e.g., an access network device, a core network function node, a core network device, etc.) in any of the above methods.

[0313] It should be understood that the division of the various units or modules in the above device is merely a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they may be fully or partially integrated into a physical entity, or they may be physically separated. In addition, the units or modules in the device may be implemented in the form of a processor calling software: for example, the device includes a processor, the processor is connected to a memory, and the memory stores instructions. The processor calls the instructions stored in the memory to implement any of the above methods or implement the functions of the various units or modules of the above device, wherein the processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a microprocessor, and the memory is a memory within the device or a memory outside the device. Alternatively, the units or modules in the device can be implemented in the form of hardware circuits, and the functions of some or all of the units or modules can be realized by designing the hardware circuits. The above-mentioned hardware circuits can be understood as one or more processors; for example, in one implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which realizes the functions of some or all of the above units or modules by designing the logical relationship of the components in the circuit; for example, in another implementation, the above-mentioned hardware circuit can be realized by a programmable logic device (PLD). Taking a field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an example, it can include a large number of logic gate circuits, and the connection relationship between the logic gate circuits is configured by configuring the configuration file, thereby realizing the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. All units or modules of the above devices can be realized in the form of software called by the processor, or in the form of hardware circuits, or in part by the form of software called by the processor, and the rest by hardware circuits.

[0314] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor is a circuit with signal processing capability. In one implementation, the processor can be a circuit with instruction reading and execution capability, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a graphics processing unit (GPU) (which can be understood as a microprocessor), or a digital signal processor (DSP); in another implementation, the processor can implement certain functions through the logical relationship of the hardware circuit, and the logical relationship of the above hardware circuit is fixed or reconfigurable, such as a hardware circuit implemented by a processor as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a programmable logic device (PLD), such as an FPGA. In a reconfigurable hardware circuit, the process of the processor loading a configuration document and implementing the hardware circuit configuration can be understood as the process of the processor loading instructions to implement the functions of some or all of the above units or modules. In addition, it can also be a hardware circuit designed for artificial intelligence, which can be understood as an ASIC, such as a neural network processing unit (NPU), a tensor processing unit (TPU), a deep learning processing unit (DPU), etc.

[0315] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access point device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG8 , the access point device 800 may include at least one of a first determining module 801 and a first sending module 802 .

[0316] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned first determination module 801 is used to determine a first wireless frame; wherein, the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device; the first listening capability information identifies: whether the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

[0317] Optionally, the determining module 801 is configured to execute at least one of the communication steps (eg, step 201 and step 401) executed by the access point device 102 in any of the above methods, and the sending module 802 is configured to execute step 202 and step 402, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0318] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an access point device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG9 , the access point device 900 may include: a first receiving module 901 .

[0319] In some embodiments, the first receiving module 901 is configured to receive a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0320] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel.

[0321] Optionally, the first receiving module 901 is configured to execute at least one of the communication steps (eg, step 303 and step 501 , but not limited thereto) executed by the access point device 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0322] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a site device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG10 , the site device 1000 may include: a second determining module 1001 and a second sending module 1002 .

[0323] In some embodiments, the second determining module 1001 is configured to determine a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device;

[0324] The second listening capability information includes: whether the site device supports listening to an auxiliary channel;

[0325] The second sending module 1002 is configured to send the second radio frame.

[0326] Optionally, the above-mentioned second determination module 1001 is used to execute at least one of the communication steps (such as step 301, step 601, but not limited to this) performed by the site device 101 in any of the above methods, and the second sending module 1002 executes step 302 and step 602, which are not repeated here.

[0327] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a station device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG11 , the station device 1100 may include: a second receiving module 1101 .

[0328] In some embodiments, the second receiving module 1101 is configured to receive a first radio frame; wherein the first radio frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of an access point device;

[0329] The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device listening to the auxiliary channel.

[0330] Optionally, the second receiving module 1101 is configured to execute at least one of the communication steps (eg, step 203 and step 701 , but not limited thereto) executed by the access point device 102 in any of the above methods, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0331] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal 1200 (e.g., user equipment) proposed in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Terminal 1200 can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports a network device implementing any of the above methods, or a chip, chip system, or processor that supports a terminal implementing any of the above methods. Terminal 1200 can be used to implement the methods described in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description of the above method embodiments.

[0332] As shown in Figure 12, terminal 1200 includes one or more processors 1201. Processor 1201 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, for example, a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control communication devices (such as base stations, baseband chips, terminal devices, terminal device chips, DUs or CUs, etc.), execute programs, and process program data. Terminal 1200 is used to perform any of the above methods.

[0333] In some embodiments, the terminal 1200 further includes one or more memories 1202 for storing instructions. Optionally, all or part of the memories 1202 may be located outside the terminal 1200.

[0334] In some embodiments, the terminal 1200 further includes one or more transceivers 1204. When the terminal 1200 includes one or more transceivers 1204, the transceiver 1204 performs at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (for example, step 202, step 203, step 302, step 303, step 402, step 501, step 602, and step 701, but not limited thereto), and the processor 1201 performs at least one of the other steps (for example, step 201, step 301, step 401, step 501, step 601, and step 701, but not limited thereto).

[0335] In some embodiments, a transceiver may include a receiver and / or a transmitter. The receiver and transmitter may be separate or integrated. Optionally, the terms transceiver, transceiver unit, transceiver, and transceiver circuit may be used interchangeably; the terms transmitter, transmitting unit, transmitter, and transmitting circuit may be used interchangeably; and the terms receiver, receiving unit, receiver, and receiving circuit may be used interchangeably.

[0336] In some embodiments, terminal 1200 may include one or more interface circuits 1203. Optionally, interface circuit 1203 is connected to memory 1202. Interface circuit 1203 may be configured to receive signals from memory 1202 or other devices, and may be configured to send signals to memory 1202 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 1203 may read instructions stored in memory 1202 and send the instructions to processor 1201.

[0337] The terminal 1200 described in the above embodiment may be a communication device such as a user device, but the scope of the terminal 1200 described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the terminal 1200 may not be limited by FIG. 12 . The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be: (1) an independent integrated circuit IC, or a chip, or a chip system or subsystem; (2) a collection of one or more ICs, optionally, the above IC collection may also include a storage component for storing data and programs; (3) an ASIC, such as a modem; (4) a module that can be embedded in other devices; (5) a receiver, a terminal device, an intelligent terminal device, a cellular phone, a wireless device, a handheld device, a mobile unit, an in-vehicle device, a network device, a cloud device, an artificial intelligence device, etc.; (6) others, etc.

[0338] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip 1300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the case where the terminal 1200 may be a chip or a chip system, reference may be made to the schematic diagram of the structure of the chip 1300 shown in FIG13 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0339] The chip 1300 includes one or more processors 1301 , and the chip 1300 is configured to execute any of the above methods.

[0340] In some embodiments, chip 1300 further includes one or more 1303. Optionally, interface circuit 1303 is connected to memory 1302. Interface circuit 1303 can be used to receive signals from memory 1302 or other devices, and interface circuit 1303 can be used to send signals to memory 1302 or other devices. For example, interface circuit 1303 can read instructions stored in memory 1302 and send the instructions to processor 1301.

[0341] In some embodiments, the interface circuit 1303 executes at least one of the communication steps such as sending and / or receiving in the above method (for example, step 202, step 203, step 302, step 303, step 402, step 501, step 602, step 701, but not limited to these), and the processor 1301 executes at least one of the other steps (for example, step 201, step 301, step 401, step 501, step 601, step 701, but not limited to these).

[0342] In some embodiments, terms such as interface circuit, interface, transceiver pin, and transceiver may be used interchangeably.

[0343] In some embodiments, chip 1300 also includes one or more memories 1302 for storing instructions. Alternatively, all or part of memory 1302 may be external to chip 1300.

[0344] The present disclosure also provides a storage medium having instructions stored thereon. When the instructions are executed on the terminal 1200, the terminal 1200 executes any of the above methods. Optionally, the storage medium is an electronic storage medium. Optionally, the storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a storage medium readable by other devices. Optionally, the storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium, but is not limited thereto and may also be a transient storage medium.

[0345] The present disclosure also provides a program product, which, when executed by the terminal 1200, enables the terminal 1200 to perform any of the above methods. Optionally, the program product is a computer program product.

[0346] The present disclosure also proposes a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform any one of the above methods.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The access point device determines a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device; The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel; The first radio frame is sent.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first listening capability information indicates that the access point device supports the station device to listen to the auxiliary channel, The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame; The first listening period information is carried in the association response frame; The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

4. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

5. The communication method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel; The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the main channel; or, The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other basic service sets BSS, and the other BSS is a BSS in the same overlapping basic service set OBSS as the access point device.

6. A communication method, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The access point device receives a second wireless frame; wherein the second wireless frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the station device; The second intercept capability information includes: whether the site device supports intercepting an auxiliary channel.

7. The communication method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The second intercept capability information indicates that the site device supports intercepting an auxiliary channel. The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a listening auxiliary channel supported by the site device.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame; The second listening period information is carried in the association request frame; The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

9. The communication method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

10. The communication method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that: The second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel; The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the main channel; or, The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other basic service sets BSS, and the other BSS is a BSS in the same overlapping basic service set OBSS as the site equipment.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The site device determines a second wireless frame; wherein the second wireless frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the site device; The second intercept capability information includes: whether the site equipment supports intercepting auxiliary channels; The second radio frame is sent.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The second intercept capability information indicates that the site device supports intercepting an auxiliary channel. The second identification information further includes: second listening cycle information, where the second listening cycle information includes listening cycle information of a listening auxiliary channel supported by the site device.

13. The communication method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The second radio frame includes at least one of a probe request frame, an association request frame, or a newly defined radio frame; The second listening period information is carried in the association request frame; The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

14. The communication method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that: The second listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

15. The communication method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that: The second listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel; The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the main channel; or, The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the site device.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The station device receives a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device; The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

17. The communication method according to claim 16, characterized in that: The first listening capability information indicates that the access point device supports the station device to listen to the auxiliary channel, The first identification information further includes: first listening cycle information, where the first listening cycle information includes listening cycle information for the site device supported by the access point device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

18. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The first radio frame includes at least one of a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, or a newly defined radio frame; The first listening period information is carried in the association response frame; The newly defined radio frame is a radio frame sent after the initial association.

19. The communication method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The first listening cycle information includes a bandwidth difference between the auxiliary channel and the main channel, and each bandwidth difference corresponds to a preset listening cycle time.

20. The communication method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The first listening cycle information includes a listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel; The listening cycle time is a value configured in the BSS loading information of the main channel; or, The listening cycle time of the auxiliary channel is different from the listening cycle time of other BSSs, and the other BSSs are BSSs in the same OBSS as the access point device.

21. An access point device, characterized in that: The access point device comprises: A first determination module is configured to determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of the access point device; the first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel; The first sending module is used to send the first wireless frame.

22. An access point device, characterized in that: The access point device comprises: A first receiving module, configured to receive a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the site device; The second intercept capability information includes: whether the site device supports intercepting an auxiliary channel.

23. A site device, characterized in that: The site equipment includes: A second determination module, configured to determine a second radio frame; wherein the second radio frame includes second identification information, and the second identification information includes second listening capability information of the site device; The second intercept capability information includes: whether the site equipment supports intercepting auxiliary channels; The second sending module is used to send the second wireless frame.

24. A site device, characterized in that: The site equipment includes: A second receiving module, configured to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes first identification information, and the first identification information includes first listening capability information of an access point device; The first listening capability information identifies whether the access point device supports the site device to listen to the auxiliary channel.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; The communication device is used to execute the communication method described in any one of claims 1 to 10 or 11 to 20.

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