Signal strength measurement system, method, and apparatus

Abstract

A signal strength measurement system, method, and device, which relate to the technical field of communications, and can enable an access point (AP) to acquire more signal strengths. The system comprises a first AP and one or more second APs, each second AP receives a scanning synchronization message that indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization messages instruct each second AP to switch between scanning channels according to the sequence of the at least one target scanning channel; when it is determined that a scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends to each second AP a coordinated scanning measurement request carrying an identifier of each terminal device associated with the first AP, so as to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to each terminal device; when a scanning channel of any second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, said any second AP sends to each terminal device a measurement request; and the first AP obtains a measurement result, the measurement result indicating the signal strength between each of the at least one second AP and the at least one terminal device.

Description

Signal strength measurement system, method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on August 16, 2023, with application number 202311038783.8 and application name “Signal Strength Measurement System, Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a signal strength measurement system, method, and device. Background Art

[0003] In wireless local area network (WLAN) communication systems, access points (APs) typically implement management policies such as radio resource management and roaming guidance. If an AP can obtain more signal strength information (for example, the signal strength between other APs in the WLAN communication system and the terminal devices associated with it) when implementing these policies, the effectiveness of these policies can be improved.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a signal strength measurement system, method, and device, which enable an AP to obtain more signal strength.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a signal strength measurement system, which may include multiple access points APs, the multiple APs including a first AP and one or more second APs, the one or more second APs being used to: receive a scan synchronization message, the scan synchronization message indicating at least one target scan channel, the scan synchronization message instructing each second AP to switch the scan channel in the order of at least one target scan channel; the first AP being used to: when determining that the system's scan channel is the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a collaborative scan measurement request to one or more second APs, the collaborative scan measurement request carries the identifiers of one or more terminal devices, the collaborative scan measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, the one or more terminal devices being terminal devices associated with the first AP; any second AP is also used to: when the scan channel of any second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, any second AP sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices; the first AP is also used to: obtain measurement results, the measurement results indicating the signal strength between each second AP in at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs including at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices including at least one terminal device.

[0007] Based on the first aspect, a scan synchronization message is sent to multiple APs in the WLAN system to instruct the multiple APs to switch scan channels in the order of at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message after receiving the scan synchronization message, so that multiple APs can switch to the same scan channel at the same time or as simultaneously as possible. In this way, the first AP whose working channel is the scan channel can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and the terminal device associated with the first AP in a collaborative scan measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scan measurement effect, thereby better supporting management strategies such as radio frequency resource management and roaming strategies, and improving communication performance.

[0008] In one possible design, the first AP is also used to send a scan synchronization message, and at least one target scan channel is a working channel of the first AP.

[0009] Based on this possible design, the first AP can actively send a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs according to the detection requirements. The scan synchronization message indicates a target scan channel, which is the working channel of the first AP, that is, the scan synchronization message instructs the one or more second APs to switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP. After receiving the scan synchronization message, the one or more second APs can switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP at the same time or as much as possible, and when receiving the collaborative scan measurement request sent by the first AP, send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP on the working channel of the first AP. In this way, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP in one collaborative scan measurement.

[0010] In one possible design, the coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in a scanning synchronization message.

[0011] Based on this possible design, when a scan synchronization message is sent by a first AP to one or more second APs, the first AP can include a coordinated scan measurement request in the scan synchronization message to reduce signaling overhead. It is understood that the first AP can also send the scan synchronization message and the coordinated scan measurement request independently without limitation.

[0012] In one possible design, the system also includes a first device, which is used to send scan synchronization messages to multiple APs.

[0013] Based on this possible design, the first device may send a scan synchronization message to multiple APs managed by the first device. Each AP that receives the scan synchronization message may simultaneously or as simultaneously as possible switch its scan channel to the same target scan channel among the at least one target scan channel in the order of the at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message, thereby synchronizing or as closely as possible the timing of scanning the same scan channel by each AP.

[0014] In one possible design, the first AP is also used to: switch the scanning channel of the first AP to a target scanning channel among at least one target scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; when the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, determine that the scanning channel of the system is the working channel of the first AP.

[0015] Based on this possible design, the first AP can synchronize its scanning timing with other APs (such as each second AP) based on the scan synchronization message. When the first AP's scanning channel is switched to its working channel, the first AP can trigger a collaborative scan measurement process to obtain the signal strength between more second APs and terminal devices associated with the first AP, improving the collaborative scan measurement effect, thereby better supporting management strategies such as radio resource management and roaming strategies, and improving communication performance.

[0016] In one possible design, the first AP is also used to send a first indication information to the first device, where the first indication information indicates a first target scanning channel, and the first target scanning channel is the working channel of the first AP; the first device is also used to generate a scanning synchronization message based on the first indication information, and at least one target scanning channel includes the first target scanning channel.

[0017] Based on this possible design, the first device can generate and send a scan synchronization message according to the first indication information sent by the first AP, so that each AP receiving the scan synchronization message switches the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP simultaneously or as simultaneously as possible.

[0018] In one possible design, the first device is also used to: periodically send scanning synchronization messages to multiple APs; or, send scanning synchronization messages to multiple APs within a preset time period; or, in response to the presence of a difference in the scanning channels of at least two APs being greater than or equal to a channel difference threshold, send scanning synchronization messages to multiple APs.

[0019] Based on this possible design, the first device can send a scan synchronization message to each AP based on any of the above methods, and can promptly discover the problem of asynchronous scanning timing, or synchronize the scanning timing in a timely manner, which can further improve the synchronization of scanning channels between APs.

[0020] In one possible design, the first device is also used to send a scanning synchronization query request to multiple APs, where the scanning synchronization query request is used to request the scanning channel that each AP last switched to; any AP among the multiple APs is also used to receive the scanning synchronization query request and send a scanning synchronization query response to the first device, where the scanning synchronization query response is used to indicate the scanning channel that any AP last switched to; the first device is also used to determine the difference between the scanning channels of any two APs among the multiple APs based on the scanning synchronization query responses of any two APs.

[0021] Based on this possible design, the first device can determine the difference in scanning channels of any two APs through scanning synchronization query response. When the difference is greater than or equal to the channel difference threshold, the first device can send a scanning synchronization message to multiple APs to promptly discover the problem of scanning timing asynchrony and perform global synchronization again in time.

[0022] In one possible design, the first AP is further used to: when it is determined that the system's scanning channel is the working channel of the first AP, send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices.

[0023] Based on this possible design, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device, so that when each second AP initiates a collaborative scanning measurement, the terminal device is in a wake-up state, so that the terminal device can obtain more measurement requests sent by the second AP and report the measurement results during a collaborative scanning measurement process. Then, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and the terminal devices associated with the first AP in a collaborative scanning measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scanning measurement effect.

[0024] In one possible design, the first AP is also used to: send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices within a first duration, the first duration is greater than or equal to a scanning duration, and the scanning duration is the duration of scanning the channel.

[0025] Based on this possible design, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device within the scanning duration. In order to ensure that the terminal device is in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device, the first AP can determine the first duration based on the scanning duration, that is, the first duration can be greater than or equal to the scanning duration. Then, when the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device within the first duration, it can ensure that the terminal device can be in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device within the scanning duration.

[0026] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0027] Based on this possible design, in order to avoid message collisions on the air interface caused by each second AP sending a measurement request to the terminal device in a strictly synchronized manner, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device based on a random backoff mechanism within a certain time range. At the same time, in order to ensure that the terminal device is in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device, the first AP can determine the first duration based on the random backoff mechanism on the basis of the scanning duration, that is, the start time of the first duration can be earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration can be later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0028] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0029] Based on this possible design, the first duration can be determined according to the random backoff duration, which can ensure that the terminal can still be in the awake state when each AP executes the backoff mechanism, and can also avoid the terminal being in the awake state for a long time, thereby reducing the energy consumption of the terminal.

[0030] In one possible design, the wake-up indication is a beacon frame and / or a data message, the DTIM count field of the beacon frame's sending traffic indication message is set to 0, or the DTIM duration field of the beacon frame is set to 1.

[0031] Based on this possible design, the first AP can send normal data packets to the terminal device when there is a business transmission demand, so that the terminal device is in an awake state. If the first AP currently has no business transmission demand, the first AP can send beacon frames and / or empty packets to the terminal device to put the terminal device in an awake state.

[0032] In one possible design, the first AP is also used to: receive a measurement report from a first terminal device, and obtain measurement results based on the measurement report, where the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0033] In one possible design, the first AP is also used to: when the first AP does not receive a measurement report about the third AP from the second terminal device within a second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold, one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and one or more second APs include the third AP.

[0034] Based on the two possible designs described above, when one or more second APs send measurement requests to a terminal device, the signal strength between some second APs and the terminal device (such as the first terminal device) may be relatively strong, and the terminal device may receive the measurement request sent by these second APs and report the measurement result to the first AP. Alternatively, the signal strength between some second APs (such as the third AP described above) and the terminal device (such as the second terminal device) may be relatively weak, and the terminal device may not be able to receive the measurement request sent by these second APs and thus be unable to report the measurement result to the first AP. In this case, the first AP may determine that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than the signal strength threshold.

[0035] In a second aspect, the present application provides a signal strength measurement method, which can be executed by a second AP, or by a component of the second AP (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the second AP function. The following takes the method being executed by the second AP as an example, and the method may include: the second AP receives a scan synchronization message, the scan synchronization message indicates at least one target scan channel, and the scan synchronization message instructs the second AP to switch the scan channel in the order of at least one target scan channel; the second AP obtains a collaborative scan measurement request, the collaborative scan measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scan measurement request is used to request the second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; when the scan channel of the second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the second AP sends a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices.

[0036] Based on the second aspect, each second AP can switch scanning channels according to the order of at least one target scanning channel indicated by the received scanning synchronization message, so that multiple second APs can switch to the same scanning channel simultaneously or as simultaneously as possible, thereby achieving scanning timing synchronization. In this way, the first AP whose operating channel is the scanning channel can obtain the signal strength between more second APs and terminal devices associated with the first AP in a collaborative scanning measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scanning measurement effect, thereby better supporting management strategies such as radio frequency resource management and roaming strategies, and improving communication performance.

[0037] In one possible design, the second AP receives a scanning synchronization message, including: the second AP receives a scanning synchronization message sent by the first AP, and at least one target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP.

[0038] Based on this possible design, the first AP can actively send a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs according to the detection requirements. The scan synchronization message indicates a target scan channel, which is the working channel of the first AP, that is, the scan synchronization message instructs the one or more second APs to switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP. After receiving the scan synchronization message, the one or more second APs can switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP at the same time or as much as possible, and when receiving the collaborative scan measurement request sent by the first AP, send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP on the working channel of the first AP. In this way, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP in one collaborative scan measurement.

[0039] In one possible design, the coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in a scanning synchronization message.

[0040] Based on this possible design, when a scan synchronization message is sent by a first AP to one or more second APs, the first AP can include a coordinated scan measurement request in the scan synchronization message to reduce signaling overhead. It is understood that the first AP can also send the scan synchronization message and the coordinated scan measurement request independently without limitation.

[0041] In one possible design, the second AP receives a scanning synchronization message, including: the second AP receives a scanning synchronization message sent by the first device.

[0042] Based on this possible design, the scan synchronization message may also be sent by the first device. Each second AP that receives the scan synchronization message may simultaneously or as nearly as possible switch its scan channel to the same target scan channel among the at least one target scan channel in the order of the at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message, thereby synchronizing or as nearly as possible synchronizing the scanning timing of each second AP for the same scan channel.

[0043] In one possible design, the second AP switches the scanning channel according to the order of at least one target scanning channel.

[0044] In one possible design, the second AP sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, including: the second AP sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices within a scanning duration.

[0045] Based on this possible design, when the scanning channel is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device associated with the first AP within the scanning duration of the scanning channel to improve the success rate of sending the measurement request.

[0046] In one possible design, the second AP sends a collaborative scanning measurement response to the first AP, where the collaborative scanning measurement response indicates a measurement request record that the second AP has sent to one or more terminal devices.

[0047] Based on this possible design, the second AP may also send a coordinated scan measurement response to the first AP, so that the first AP can determine whether the coordinated scan measurement is successfully performed based on the coordinated scan measurement response. Alternatively, the first AP can determine to which terminal devices the second AP sent the measurement request, etc.

[0048] In one possible design, the second AP periodically receives scan synchronization messages.

[0049] In one possible design, the second AP receives a scanning synchronization query request from the first device, where the scanning synchronization query request is used to request the scanning channel to which the second AP last switched; the second AP sends a scanning synchronization query response to the first device, where the scanning synchronization query response indicates the scanning channel to which the second AP last switched.

[0050] Based on this possible design, the second AP can respond to the scan synchronization query request and send a scan synchronization query response to the first device, so that the first device can determine the difference in the scan channels of any two APs based on the scan synchronization query responses received from each AP, and then send a scan synchronization message to multiple APs including the second AP when the difference is greater than or equal to the preset threshold of the channel difference, so as to promptly discover the problem of scan timing asynchrony and perform global synchronization again in time, which can further improve the synchronization of scan channels between APs.

[0051] In a third aspect, the present application provides a signal strength measurement method, which can be executed by a first AP, or by a component of the first AP (such as a processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the first AP's functions. The following takes the method being executed by the first AP as an example, and the method may include: the first AP receives a scan synchronization message, the scan synchronization message indicates at least one target scan channel, and the scan synchronization message instructs the first AP to switch scan channels in the order of the at least one target scan channel; when the scan channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a collaborative scan measurement request to one or more second APs, the collaborative scan measurement request carries the identifiers of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scan measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, the one or more terminal devices being terminal devices associated with the first AP; the first AP obtains a measurement result, the measurement result indicating the signal strength between each second AP in at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs including at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices including at least one terminal device.

[0052] Based on the third aspect, the first AP can switch scanning channels according to the order of at least one target scanning channel indicated by the received scanning synchronization message, so that the first AP can switch to the same scanning channel simultaneously or as simultaneously as possible with other APs (such as one or more second APs), thereby achieving scanning timing synchronization. In this way, the first AP whose working channel is the scanning channel can obtain the signal strength between more second APs and terminal devices associated with the first AP in a collaborative scanning measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scanning measurement effect, thereby better supporting management strategies such as radio frequency resource management and roaming strategies, and improving communication performance.

[0053] In one possible design, the first AP switches the scanning channel of the first AP to the target scanning channel among the at least one target scanning channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scanning channel.

[0054] In one possible design, the first AP sends a first indication message to the first device, where the first indication message indicates a first target scanning channel, where the first target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP, and at least one target scanning channel includes the first target scanning channel.

[0055] Based on this possible design, by sending a first indication message to the first device, the first device can generate and send a scan synchronization message according to the first indication message, so that each AP that receives the scan synchronization message switches the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP at the same time or as much as possible at the same time.

[0056] In one possible design, the first AP periodically receives scan synchronization messages.

[0057] In one possible design, the first AP is further used to receive a scanning synchronization query request and send a scanning synchronization query response, where the scanning synchronization query response is used to indicate the scanning channel to which the first AP last switched.

[0058] Based on this possible design, the first AP can respond to the scan synchronization query request and send a scan synchronization query response to the first device, so that the first device can determine the difference in the scanning channels of any two APs based on the scan synchronization query responses received from each AP, and then send a scan synchronization message to multiple APs including the first AP when the difference is greater than or equal to the channel difference threshold, so as to promptly discover the problem of scan timing asynchrony and perform global synchronization again in time.

[0059] In one possible design, when the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices.

[0060] Based on this possible design, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device, so that when each second AP initiates a collaborative scanning measurement, the terminal device is in a wake-up state, so that the terminal device can obtain more measurement requests sent by the second AP and report the measurement results during a collaborative scanning measurement process. Then, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and the terminal devices associated with the first AP in a collaborative scanning measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scanning measurement effect.

[0061] In one possible design, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices within a first duration, where the first duration is greater than or equal to a scanning duration, and the scanning duration is the duration of scanning the channel.

[0062] Based on this possible design, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device within the scanning duration. In order to ensure that the terminal device is in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device, the first AP can determine the first duration based on the scanning duration, that is, the first duration can be greater than or equal to the scanning duration. Then, when the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device within the first duration, it can ensure that the terminal device can be in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device within the scanning duration.

[0063] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0064] Based on this possible design, in order to avoid message collisions on the air interface caused by each second AP sending a measurement request to the terminal device in a strictly synchronized manner, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device based on a random backoff mechanism within a certain time range. At the same time, in order to ensure that the terminal device is in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device, the first AP can determine the first duration based on the random backoff mechanism on the basis of the scanning duration, that is, the start time of the first duration can be earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration can be later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0065] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0066] Based on this possible design, the first duration can be determined according to the random backoff duration, providing a feasible solution for the design of the first duration.

[0067] In one possible design, the first AP receives a measurement report from a first terminal device and obtains a measurement result based on the measurement report, where the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0068] In one possible design, when the first AP does not receive a measurement report about the third AP from the second terminal device within a second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold, and one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and one or more second APs include the third AP.

[0069] Based on the two possible designs described above, when one or more second APs send measurement requests to a terminal device, the signal strength between some second APs and the terminal device (such as the first terminal device) may be relatively strong, and the terminal device may receive the measurement request sent by these second APs and report the measurement result to the first AP. Alternatively, the signal strength between some second APs (such as the third AP described above) and the terminal device (such as the second terminal device) may be relatively weak, and the terminal device may not be able to receive the measurement request sent by these second APs and thus be unable to report the measurement result to the first AP. In this case, the first AP may determine that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than the signal strength threshold.

[0070] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a signal strength measurement method, which can be executed by a first AP, or by a component of the first AP (such as a processor, chip, or chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the first AP function. The following takes the method executed by the first AP as an example, and the method may include: the first AP sends a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs, the scan synchronization message indicates at least one target scan channel, and the scan synchronization message instructs each first AP to switch the scan channel in the order of the at least one target scan channel; the first AP sends a collaborative scan measurement request to one or more second APs, the collaborative scan measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scan measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the first AP obtains a measurement result, and the measurement result indicates the signal strength between each second AP in the at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices include at least one terminal device.

[0071] Based on the fourth aspect, the first AP can actively send a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs based on the detection requirements. The scan synchronization message indicates a target scan channel, which is the working channel of the first AP, that is, the scan synchronization message instructs the one or more second APs to switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP. After receiving the scan synchronization message, the one or more second APs can switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP at the same time or as much as possible, and when receiving the collaborative scan measurement request sent by the first AP, send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP on the working channel of the first AP. In this way, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP in one collaborative scan measurement.

[0072] In one possible design, the coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in a scanning synchronization message.

[0073] Based on this possible design, when a scan synchronization message is sent by a first AP to one or more second APs, the first AP can include a coordinated scan measurement request in the scan synchronization message to reduce signaling overhead. It is understood that the first AP can also send the scan synchronization message and the coordinated scan measurement request independently without limitation.

[0074] In one possible design, when the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices.

[0075] In one possible design, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices within a first duration, where the first duration is greater than or equal to a scanning duration, and the scanning duration is the duration of scanning the channel.

[0076] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0077] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0078] In one possible design, the first AP receives a measurement report from a first terminal device and obtains a measurement result based on the measurement report, where the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0079] In one possible design, when the first AP does not receive a measurement report about the third AP from the second terminal device within the second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold, and the one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and the one or more second APs include the third AP.

[0080] Among them, the technical effects that can be brought about by the above six possible designs can refer to the technical effects that can be brought about by the relevant designs in the above third aspect, and will not be elaborated on.

[0081] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a signal strength measurement method, which can be executed by a first terminal device, or by a component of the first terminal device (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or by a logic module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the first terminal device. The following takes the method being executed by the first terminal device as an example, and the method may include: receiving a wake-up indication from a first AP within a first time period, the first terminal device is a terminal device associated with the first AP, the first time period is greater than or equal to a scanning time period, and the scanning time period is the duration of scanning the channel; receiving one or more measurement requests within the first time period, and sending a measurement report to the first AP based on the one or more measurement requests, the measurement report indicating the signal strength between the one or more second APs corresponding to the sending of the one or more measurement requests and the first terminal device.

[0082] Based on the fifth aspect, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device, so that when each second AP initiates a collaborative scanning measurement, the terminal device is in a wake-up state, so that the terminal device can obtain more measurement requests sent by the second AP and report the measurement results during a collaborative scanning measurement process. Then, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and the terminal devices associated with the first AP in a collaborative scanning measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scanning measurement effect.

[0083] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0084] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0085] Among them, the technical effects that can be brought about by the above two possible designs can refer to the technical effects that can be brought about by the relevant designs in the above third aspect, and will not be elaborated on.

[0086] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be applied to the second AP of the second aspect above to implement the functions performed by the second AP above. The communication device can be the second AP, or it can be a chip or chip system or system on chip of the second AP, etc. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the second AP above through hardware, or it can perform the corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can independently complete the following transceiver operations, or it can cooperate with the processing module to complete the following transceiver operations; accordingly, the processing module can also independently complete the following processing operations, or it can cooperate with the transceiver module to complete the following processing operations, without limitation.

[0087] Among them, the transceiver module can be used to receive a scanning synchronization message, which indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs the second AP to switch the scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; the transceiver module can also be used to obtain a collaborative scanning measurement request, which carries the identification of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request the second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the transceiver module can also be used to send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices when the processing module determines that the scanning channel of the second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP.

[0088] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the sixth aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in any possible design of the above-mentioned second aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the aforementioned related content.

[0089] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be applied to the first AP of the third aspect to implement the functions performed by the first AP. The communication device can be the first AP, or it can be a chip, chip system, or system on chip of the first AP. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the first AP through hardware, or it can perform corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can independently complete the following transceiver operations, or it can cooperate with the processing module to complete the following transceiver operations; accordingly, the processing module can also independently complete the following processing operations, or it can cooperate with the transceiver module to complete the following processing operations, without limitation.

[0090] Among them, the transceiver module can be used to receive a scanning synchronization message, which indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs the first AP to switch the scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; the transceiver module can also be used to send a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs when the processing module determines that the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP. The collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the transceiver module and the processing module can also be used to obtain measurement results, and the measurement results indicate the signal strength between each second AP in at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices include at least one terminal device.

[0091] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the seventh aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in any possible design of the third aspect mentioned above. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the aforementioned related content.

[0092] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The present application provides a communication device. The communication device can be applied to the first AP of the fourth aspect to implement the functions performed by the first AP. The communication device can be the first AP, or it can be a chip, chip system, or system on chip of the first AP. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the first AP through hardware, or it can perform corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can independently complete the following transceiver operations, or it can cooperate with the processing module to complete the following transceiver operations; accordingly, the processing module can also independently complete the following processing operations, or it can cooperate with the transceiver module to complete the following processing operations, without limitation.

[0093] Among them, the transceiver module can be used to send a scanning synchronization message to one or more second APs, the scanning synchronization message indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs each first AP to switch the scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; the transceiver module can also be used to send a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs, the collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the transceiver module and the processing module can also be used to obtain measurement results, and the measurement results indicate the signal strength between each second AP in at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices include at least one terminal device.

[0094] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the eighth aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in any possible design of the fourth aspect mentioned above. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be found in the aforementioned related content.

[0095] In the ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The present application provides a communication device. The communication device can be applied to the first terminal device of the fifth aspect to implement the functions performed by the first terminal device. The communication device can be the first terminal device, or it can be the chip or chip system or system on chip of the first terminal device. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the first terminal device through hardware, or it can perform the corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module. The transceiver module can independently complete the following transceiver operations, or it can cooperate with the processing module to complete the following transceiver operations; accordingly, the processing module can also independently complete the following processing operations, or it can cooperate with the transceiver module to complete the following processing operations, without limitation.

[0096] Among them, the transceiver module can be used to receive a wake-up indication from the first AP within a first time period, the first terminal device is a terminal device associated with the first AP, the first time period is greater than or equal to the scanning time period, and the scanning time period is the duration of the scanning channel; the transceiver module can also be used to receive one or more measurement requests within the first time period, and send a measurement report to the first AP based on the one or more measurement requests, and the measurement report indicates the signal strength between the one or more second APs corresponding to the sending of the one or more measurement requests and the first terminal device.

[0097] Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the eighth aspect can also perform the corresponding functions in any possible design of the above-mentioned fifth aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the aforementioned related content.

[0098] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising one or more processors; one or more processors for running computer programs or instructions, wherein when the one or more processors execute the computer instructions or instructions, the communication device performs the signal strength measurement method as described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or performs the signal strength measurement method as described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or performs the signal strength measurement method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect, or performs the signal strength measurement method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect.

[0099] In one possible design, the communication device further includes one or more memories, the one or more memories being coupled to one or more processors, and the one or more memories being used to store the above-mentioned computer programs or instructions. In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device. In another possible implementation, the memory is located within the communication device. In an embodiment of the present application, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together. In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to receive information and / or send information.

[0100] In one possible design, the communication device further includes one or more communication interfaces, the one or more communication interfaces are coupled to one or more processors, and the one or more communication interfaces are used to communicate with other modules outside the communication device.

[0101] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes an input and output interface and a logic circuit; the input and output interface is used to input and / or output information; the logic circuit is used to execute the signal strength measurement method as described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or execute the signal strength measurement method as described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or execute the signal strength measurement method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect, or execute the signal strength measurement method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect, and process and / or generate information based on the information.

[0102] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions or programs. When the computer instructions or programs are executed on a computer, the signal strength measurement method as described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect is executed, or the signal strength measurement method as described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect is executed, or the signal strength measurement method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect is executed, or the signal strength measurement method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect is executed.

[0103] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect to be executed, or causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect to be executed, or causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect to be executed, or causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect to be executed.

[0104] In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect to be executed, or causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect to be executed, or causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect to be executed, or causes the signal strength measurement method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect to be executed.

[0105] In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a chip, comprising: a processor, the processor being coupled to a memory, the memory being used to store programs or instructions, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip executes the signal strength measurement method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect, or executes the signal strength measurement method described in the third aspect or any possible design of the third aspect, or executes the signal strength measurement method described in the fourth aspect or any possible design of the fourth aspect, or executes the signal strength measurement method described in the fifth aspect or any possible design of the fifth aspect.

[0106] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in aspects 10 to 15 can refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned first aspect or any possible design in the first aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned second aspect or any possible design in the second aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned third aspect or any possible design in the third aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned fourth aspect or any possible design in the fourth aspect, or refer to the technical effects brought about by the above-mentioned fifth aspect or any possible design in the fifth aspect, and no further details will be given. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0107] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a signal strength measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] FIG3 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] FIG4 is a flow chart of a signal strength measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a sequence of at least one target scanning channel according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of sending a measurement request to a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of sending a measurement request to a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] FIG8 is a flow chart of a signal strength measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a beacon frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a random backoff mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a first duration provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a process of sending a wake-up indication according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a collaborative scanning measurement mechanism provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG14 is a schematic diagram showing a comparison of verification results provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG15 is a schematic diagram showing a comparison of verification results provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG17 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0124] WLAN communication systems are based on the 802.11 series of standards. These standards began with 802.11a / b / g and have evolved through multiple generations, including 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, and even the next generation of 802.11 standards.

[0125] With the rapid development of WLAN communication systems, the deployment of access points (APs) in enterprise-level WLAN networks is becoming increasingly dense to meet the indoor coverage needs of campus networks, corporate parks, automated production workshops, hospitals, and other areas.

[0126] The WLAN system can implement centralized management of APs. Centralized management strategies can include radio resource management (RRM) and roaming strategies. The effectiveness of RRM and roaming strategies depends on the perceived downlink signal strength.

[0127] For example, when an AP makes a roaming decision for a terminal device associated with the AP (for example, whether to guide the terminal device to roam, or which destination AP to guide the terminal device to roam to), the AP needs to obtain the signal strength between as many neighboring APs as possible and the terminal device. Here, the AP can be called the associated AP of the terminal device. That is, the associated AP is the AP that establishes a connection relationship with the terminal device. The terminal device goes online on the associated AP and connects to the network through the associated AP. Accordingly, the terminal device can be called the associated terminal device of the AP.

[0128] For another example, when an associated AP detects that the downlink signal of a terminal device associated with the associated AP is weak, the associated AP may decide whether to adjust the transmission power of the associated AP based on the downlink signal strength between as many neighboring APs as possible and the terminal device.

[0129] In one possible implementation, an associated AP may send a collaborative scanning measurement request to a neighboring AP in the hope that the neighboring AP will initiate measurement of the associated AP's associated terminal device, thereby obtaining the signal strength between the neighboring AP and the associated AP's associated terminal device. Based on the collaborative scanning measurement request, the neighboring AP may initiate an active, deceptive, and spoofed measurement request to the terminal device when the scanning channel switches to the associated AP's working channel. Upon receiving the measurement request from the neighboring AP, the terminal device believes that the measurement request is initiated by the associated AP, and therefore sends the measurement result (which is actually the measurement result of the neighboring AP, not the measurement result of the associated AP) to the associated AP. Based on this, the associated AP can obtain the downlink signal strength from the neighboring AP to the terminal device.

[0130] For example, as shown in Figure 1, taking the working channel of the associated AP as channel (channel, ch) 36 as an example, the associated AP can send a collaborative scanning measurement request to the neighboring AP. The neighboring AP can initiate an active, deceptive pseudo-measurement request to the terminal device when the scanning channel is switched to ch36. The associated AP can also send a measurement request to the terminal device. The terminal device performs measurement according to the received measurement request and sends the measurement results to the associated AP (such as the measurement results of the associated AP1, the measurement results of the neighboring AP2, and the measurement results of the neighboring AP3).

[0131] For the coordinated scan measurement method shown in Figure 1, better coordinated scan measurement results can be achieved if neighboring APs can use independent radios for coordinated scan measurements. For example, in a triple-radio AP with two 5 GHz radios and one 2.4 GHz radio, the AP can use a single 5 GHz radio for coordinated scan measurements. During a single coordinated scan measurement, the associated AP can obtain measurement results from five to six neighboring APs.

[0132] If neighboring APs have limited radio resources and cannot use independent radios for collaborative scanning measurements, they can switch to various scanning channels between operating channels. (For example, if the operating channel has a 10-second cycle, the neighboring AP can switch to a scanning channel after every 10 seconds of operating on the operating channel, and then switch back to the operating channel after completing a scan.) When the neighboring AP's scanning channel switches to the associated AP's operating channel, the neighboring AP can perform signal strength measurements on that operating channel for its associated terminal devices. However, the start time of each neighboring AP in a WLAN system may not be consistent, or some neighboring APs may not strictly follow the operating channel duration for periodic switching of scanning channels due to special event handling. Various reasons may lead to the following phenomenon: when the associated AP attempts to obtain signal strength between each neighboring AP and its associated terminal devices, some neighboring APs' scanning channels may switch to the associated AP's operating channel, while others may wait a long time before switching to the associated AP's operating channel.

[0133] For example, if the associated AP is operating on channel 36, neighbor AP1 is currently scanning on channel 36, neighbor AP2 is currently scanning on channel 44, neighbor AP3 is currently scanning on channel 48, neighbor AP4 is currently scanning on channel 149, and neighbor AP5 is currently scanning on channel 36, then the scanning channels of neighbor AP2 through AP4 are different from the associated AP's operating channel, and the associated terminal devices of the associated AP can only receive messages / frames sent based on the associated AP's operating channel. Therefore, neighbor AP2 through AP4 cannot initiate measurements on the associated terminal devices of the associated AP. The associated AP can only obtain the signal strength between neighbor AP1 and neighbor AP5 and the associated terminal devices of the associated AP. In other words, this implementation method may cause the associated AP to only obtain a small amount of signal strength between the neighbor APs and their associated terminal devices during a collaborative scanning measurement, or even fail to obtain the signal strength between the neighbor APs and their associated terminal devices.

[0134] In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a signal strength measurement system, method, and related apparatus. The method sends a scan synchronization message to multiple APs in a WLAN system to instruct the multiple APs to switch scan channels in the order of at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message after receiving the scan synchronization message, thereby enabling the multiple APs to switch to the same scan channel simultaneously or as simultaneously as possible. In this way, an associated AP whose operating channel is the scan channel can obtain the signal strength between multiple neighboring APs and the associated terminal devices of the associated AP in a single collaborative scan measurement.

[0135] Optionally, the scan synchronization message may be sent by a first device to multiple APs in a WLAN system. The first device is, for example, a control device of the WLAN system (e.g., an access controller (AC)), and the first device is, for example, an AP in the WLAN system. For example, the AC sends a scan synchronization message to multiple APs in the WLAN system, where the scan synchronization message indicates three target scan channels, namely, ch36, ch44, and ch48. The multiple APs include AP1 to AP5, where the operating channels of AP1 to AP5 are ch36, ch149, ch44, ch48, and ch52, respectively. After receiving the scan synchronization message, the five APs switch scan channels in the order of the three target scan channels indicated by the scan synchronization message, i.e., AP1 to AP5 first switch scan channels to ch36, then switch scan channels to ch44 the next time they switch scan channels, then switch scan channels to ch48 the next time they switch scan channels, and then switch scan channels to ch36 after switching scan channels to ch48. When the scanning channel of the WLAN system is the working channel of a certain AP, the AP can send a collaborative scanning measurement request to other APs. The collaborative scanning measurement request can carry the identifiers of one or more associated terminal devices of the AP, thereby requesting other APs to perform measurements on the one or more associated terminal devices.

[0136] For example, when it is determined based on the scan synchronization message that the scanning channel of the WLAN system is ch36, AP1 whose working channel is ch36 sends a collaborative scan measurement request to AP2~AP5. The collaborative scan measurement request carries the identifier of the terminal device 1 associated with AP1, and AP2~AP5 sends a measurement request to the terminal device 1. In this way, AP1 can obtain the signal strength between the other four APs (AP2~AP5) and the terminal device 1 during a collaborative scan measurement process.

[0137] For another example, according to the order of target scanning channels in the scanning synchronization message (ch36, ch44, ch48), AP1~AP5 will switch the scanning channel to ch44 when switching the scanning channel next time. At this time, AP3 whose working channel is ch44 can send a collaborative scanning measurement request to AP1, AP2, AP4 and AP5. The collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identifiers of terminal device 2 and terminal device 3 associated with AP3. AP1, AP2, AP4 and AP5 send measurement requests to terminal device 2 and terminal device 3. In this way, AP3 can obtain the signal strength between the other four APs (AP1, AP2, AP4, AP5) and terminal device 2 and terminal device 3 during one collaborative scanning measurement process.

[0138] Optionally, the scanning synchronization message can be sent by one of the multiple APs to other APs in the multiple APs. For example, the multiple APs include AP1 to AP5, and AP1 can actively send a scanning synchronization message to AP2 to AP5 based on the detection requirements. The scanning synchronization message indicates a target scanning channel, and the target scanning channel is the working channel of AP1. That is, AP1 instructs AP2 to AP5 to switch the scanning channel to the working channel of AP1 by sending the scanning synchronization message. After that, AP2 to AP5 can simultaneously initiate measurement of the associated terminal device of AP1 on the working channel of AP1. In this way, AP1 can obtain the signal strength between multiple APs and the associated terminal device of AP1 in one collaborative scanning measurement. AP1 can carry the identifier of the associated terminal device of AP1 (for example, terminal device 1) in the scanning synchronization message to instruct AP2 to AP5 to initiate measurement of terminal device 1 when the scanning channel is switched to the working channel of AP1. AP1 may also first send a scan synchronization message, and then send a collaborative scan measurement request to AP2~AP5, in which the collaborative scan measurement request carries the identifier of AP1's associated terminal device (for example, terminal device 1) to instruct AP2~AP5 to initiate measurement on terminal device 1 when the scanning channel is switched to AP1's working channel.

[0139] The AP1 may determine the detection requirement based on implementation needs. For example, when the AP1 detects that the signal of the terminal device 1 is weak and needs to decide whether to guide the terminal device 1 to roam or determine the destination AP for the terminal device 1 to roam, the AP1 determines the detection requirement.

[0140] In the collaborative scanning measurement process described above, each AP indicating the terminal device identifier requests other APs to measure the signal strength between the other APs and the terminal device. Accordingly, in a collaborative scanning measurement process, the AP indicating the terminal device identifier is the associated AP of the terminal device. Optionally, in a collaborative scanning measurement process, the associated AP may also send a wake-up instruction to the terminal device to prompt the terminal device to be in a non-sleep state during the collaborative scanning measurement process, thereby avoiding the phenomenon that some terminal devices in a sleep state cannot receive the measurement request and are unable to feedback the measurement results, which can further improve the number of measurement results obtained by the associated AP or the accuracy of the measurement results.

[0141] The following describes in detail the implementation of the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0142] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication system may be a system that adopts the 802.11 standard. Exemplary 802.11 standards include, but are not limited to, 802.11ax, 802.11be, or even later generations of 802.11 standards.

[0143] As shown in FIG2 , the communication system may include multiple access point devices and one or more terminal devices (or may also be referred to as site devices).

[0144] The access point device may be an AP, or a chip or processing system installed in an AP; the terminal device may be a station (STA), or a chip or processing system installed in a STA, etc., without limitation.

[0145] The access point device may be a device with wireless communication capabilities, supporting communication using the WLAN protocol, and having the ability to communicate with other devices in the WLAN network (such as terminal devices or other access point devices). The device with wireless communication capabilities may be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in the complete device. The device installed with these chips or processing systems may implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system. The access point device in the embodiments of the present application is a device that provides services for terminal devices and may support multiple 802.11 series protocols such as the 802.11a / b / g standard, the 802.11n standard, the 802.11ac standard, the 802.11ax standard, the 802.11be standard, or the next generation 802.11 standard.

[0146] For example, an access point device can be a communication entity such as a communication server, router, switch, bridge, computer, mobile phone, etc. An access point device can also be various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. An access point device can also be a chip and processing system in these various forms of devices. An access point device can also be a network device with a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip. An access point device can also be an access point for mobile users to enter a wired network. It is mainly deployed in homes, inside buildings, and inside campuses. The typical coverage radius is tens to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. An access point device 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.

[0147] The terminal device may be a device with wireless communication capabilities, supporting communication using the WLAN protocol and capable of communicating with other terminal devices or access point devices in a WLAN network. The device with wireless communication capabilities may be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in the complete device. Devices equipped with these chips or processing systems may implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chips or processing systems, and may support multiple 802.11 series protocols, such as the 802.11a / b / g standards, 802.11n standards, 802.11ac standards, 802.11ax standards, 802.11be standards, or even the next generation 802.11 standards.

[0148] For example, the terminal device may be a communication server, router, switch, bridge, computer, tablet computer, desktop, laptop, notebook computer, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), handheld computer, netbook, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, set-top box, smart TV, smart wearable device, or other user equipment that can be connected to the Internet of Things, or an Internet of Things node, or an in-vehicle communication device in the Internet of Vehicles, or an entertainment device, gaming device or system, or a global positioning system device. The terminal device may also be the chip and processing system in the above-mentioned terminal devices. The terminal device may also be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, or wireless communication terminal.

[0149] Optionally, the communication system may further include one or more access control devices, each of which may manage one or more access point devices. The access control device may be an AC, or a chip or processing system installed in the AC. The access control device may be a device with wireless or wired communication capabilities, supporting communication using the WLAN protocol, and having the function of communicating with other devices in the WLAN network (such as access point devices). The device with wireless communication capabilities may be a complete device, or a chip or processing system installed in the complete device. The devices in which these chips or processing systems are installed may implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system. The access control device in the embodiments of the present application is a device that provides services for one or more access point devices, and may support a variety of 802.11 series protocols such as the 802.11a / b / g standard, the 802.11n standard, the 802.11ac standard, the 802.11ax standard, the 802.11be standard, or the next generation 802.11 standard.

[0150] Based on the above description of the communication system, the access point devices can be divided into associated access point devices and neighbor access point devices according to the connection between the terminal device and the access point device.

[0151] The associated access point device can be responsible for downlink signal measurement of the terminal device and can also initiate a coordinated scan measurement request to a neighboring access point device. The neighboring access point device can be responsible for responding to the coordinated scan measurement request initiated by the associated access point device, switching to a designated scan channel, and initiating a spoofed downlink signal measurement request to the terminal device associated with the associated access point device on the scan channel.

[0152] The access control device can be responsible for centrally managing all APs to synchronize global scan timings, or the AC can designate an AP as a central AP (leader AP) to manage all APs to synchronize global scan timings.

[0153] It should be noted that the access point devices, terminal devices, and access control devices in the embodiments of the present application can be one or more chips, or a system on chip (SOC), etc. Figure 2 is only an exemplary figure, and the number of devices included is not limited. In addition, in addition to the devices shown in Figure 2, the communication system can also include other devices, such as wireless backhaul devices. The names of the various devices and the names of the various links in Figure 2 are not limited. In addition to the names shown in Figure 2, the various devices and links can also be named other names without limitation.

[0154] In specific implementations, the access point devices, terminal devices, and access control devices shown in Figure 2 may adopt the structure shown in Figure 3, or include the components shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 300 may be an access point device or a chip or system-on-chip within an access point device; it may also be a terminal device or a chip or system-on-chip within a terminal device; or it may be an access control device or a chip or system-on-chip within an access control device. As shown in Figure 3, the communication device 300 includes a processor 301, a transceiver 302, and a communication circuit 303.

[0155] Furthermore, the communication device 300 may further include a memory 304 , wherein the processor 301 , the memory 304 and the transceiver 302 may be connected via a communication line 303 .

[0156] The processor 301 is a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. The processor 301 may also be other devices with processing functions, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0157] Transceiver 302 is used to communicate with other devices or other communication networks. Such other communication networks may be Ethernet, radio access networks (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. Transceiver 302 may be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any other device capable of communication.

[0158] The communication line 303 is used to transmit information between the components included in the communication device 300.

[0159] The memory 304 is used to store instructions, where the instructions may be computer programs.

[0160] The memory 304 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and / or instructions, or a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and / or instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0161] It should be noted that memory 304 can exist independently of processor 301 or can be integrated with processor 301. Memory 304 can be used to store instructions, program code, or data. Memory 304 can be located within or outside of communication device 300, without limitation. Processor 301 is configured to execute instructions stored in memory 304 to implement the signal strength measurement method provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0162] In an example, the processor 301 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 3 .

[0163] As an optional implementation, the communication device 300 includes multiple processors. For example, in addition to the processor 301 in FIG. 3 , it may also include a processor 307 .

[0164] As an optional implementation, the communication apparatus 300 further includes an output device 305 and an input device 306. For example, the input device 306 is a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a joystick, or the like, and the output device 305 is a display screen, a speaker, or the like.

[0165] It should be noted that the communication device 300 may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, a chip system, or a device having a structure similar to that shown in FIG3 . Furthermore, the structure shown in FIG3 does not limit the communication device. In addition to the components shown in FIG3 , the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0166] In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0167] In addition, the actions and terms involved in the various embodiments of this application can refer to each other without limitation. The message names or parameter names in the messages exchanged between the various devices in the embodiments of this application are only examples, and other names can also be used in specific implementations without limitation.

[0168] In conjunction with the communication system shown in Figure 2, with reference to Figure 4 below, the signal strength measurement method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described, wherein the terminal device can be any terminal device in the communication system shown in Figure 2, the first AP can be an access point device associated with the terminal device in the communication system shown in Figure 2, the second AP can be a neighboring access point device of the first AP in the communication system shown in Figure 2, and the access control device can be an access control device for managing the first AP and the second AP in the communication system shown in Figure 2. The first AP, the second AP, the terminal device, and the access control device described in the following embodiments can all have the components shown in Figure 3. The processing performed by a single execution subject (such as the first AP, the second AP, the terminal device, or the access control device) shown in the embodiment of the present application can also be divided into executions by multiple execution subjects, and these execution subjects can be logically and / or physically separated without restriction.

[0169] FIG4 is a flow chart of a signal strength measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4 , the method may include steps 401 to 404 .

[0170] Step 401: One or more second APs receive a scan synchronization message.

[0171] The scanning synchronization message indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs each second AP to switch the scanning channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scanning channel.

[0172] In a first possible design, the scan synchronization message may be sent by the first AP to one or more second APs.

[0173] Among them, the first AP can actively send a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs according to the detection requirements. The scan synchronization message indicates a target scan channel, and the target scan channel is the working channel of the first AP, that is, the scan synchronization message instructs the one or more second APs to switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP. After receiving the scan synchronization message, the one or more second APs can switch the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP at the same time or as much as possible, and based on the following steps 402 and 403, when receiving the collaborative scan measurement request sent by the first AP, the working channel of the first AP (that is, the switched scan channel) sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP. In this way, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP in one collaborative scan measurement.

[0174] Optionally, the first AP may determine the detection requirement based on implementation needs. For example, when the first AP detects that the signal of a terminal device associated with itself is weak and needs to decide whether to guide the terminal device to roam, or determine the destination AP for the terminal device to roam, the first AP determines the detection requirement and then sends a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs to obtain more signal strengths between the second APs and the terminal device during a collaborative scan measurement process.

[0175] Optionally, the scanning synchronization message sent by the first AP may also include the identifiers of one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP. The second AP that receives the scanning synchronization message may immediately switch the scanning channel to the working channel of the first AP and send a measurement request to the terminal device corresponding to the identifiers of the one or more terminal devices.

[0176] In a second possible design, the scanning synchronization message may also be sent by the first device to one or more second APs.

[0177] The first device may be a control device of the WLAN system (eg, AC), or an AP in the WLAN system (eg, a central AP designated by the AC, or any AP in the WLAN system, etc.), without limitation.

[0178] Among them, the first device can send a scan synchronization message to multiple APs managed by the first device, and the multiple APs may include one or more second APs and may also include the first AP. Each AP that receives the scan synchronization message can switch the scan channel to the same target scan channel in at least one target scan channel at the same time or as much as possible in the order of at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message, so as to synchronize or synchronize as much as possible the scanning timing of each AP for the same scan channel. When each AP switches the scan channel to the working channel of the first AP, based on the following steps 402 and 403, each second AP can send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP on the working channel of the first AP when receiving the collaborative scan measurement request sent by the first AP. In this way, the first AP can obtain more signal strengths between the second AP and one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP in one collaborative scan measurement.

[0179] For example, as shown in FIG5 , multiple APs include a first AP, a second AP1, a second AP2, a second AP3, ..., and a second AP12, and a scan synchronization message indicates thirteen target scan channels (e.g., ch36, ch40, ch44, ch48, ..., ch161, ch165). After receiving the scan synchronization message, the first AP, the second AP1, the second AP2, and the second AP3 may all switch scan channels in the order of the thirteen target scan channels indicated by the scan synchronization message, i.e., the first AP, the second AP1, the second AP2, and the second AP3. The second AP12 may first switch the scan channel to ch36, and the next time it switches the scan channel, it may switch the scan channel to ch40. When switching the scan channel after ch40, it may switch the scan channel to ch44, ..., when switching the scan channel after ch161, it may switch the scan channel to ch165, and when switching the scan channel after ch165, it may switch the scan channel to ch36. In this way, after each AP receives the scan synchronization message, it can switch the scan channel to ch36 simultaneously or almost simultaneously, and each subsequent scan channel switch can switch the scan channel to the same target scan channel in the order of the target scan channels carried in the scan synchronization message.

[0180] Optionally, the order of scanning the at least one target channel may be predefined by a protocol or determined by the first device, without limitation.

[0181] Optionally, the first AP may also send first indication information to the first device, and the first device may generate a scan synchronization message based on the first indication information. The first indication information may indicate a first target scan channel, which is the working channel of the first AP. The at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message generated by the first device based on the first indication information may include the first target scan channel.

[0182] In a first possible example, the first device may periodically send scanning synchronization messages to multiple APs.

[0183] For example, considering that network events may affect the switching of scanning channels of each AP, resulting in deviations in the subsequent scanning timing of each AP for the same scanning channel, the first device can periodically send scanning synchronization messages to multiple APs to synchronize or synchronize as much as possible the scanning timing of each AP for the same scanning channel.

[0184] In a second possible example, the first device may send scan synchronization messages to multiple APs within a preset time period.

[0185] For example, the first device can send scan synchronization messages to multiple APs when the network is idle (such as a certain period in the early morning) to synchronize or synchronize as much as possible the scanning timing of each AP for the same scan channel, and can also reduce the impact of the scan synchronization message on network communication.

[0186] In a third possible example, when the difference between the scan channels of at least two APs is greater than or equal to a channel difference threshold, the first device may send a scan synchronization message to multiple APs. The first device may request each AP to provide the scan channel it most recently switched to, or each AP may proactively send the scan channel it most recently switched to to the first device. If the difference between the scan channels of at least two APs is greater than or equal to the channel difference threshold, the first device may send a scan synchronization message to the multiple APs to resynchronize the scan channels of each AP.

[0187] For example, taking the order of at least one target scanning channel as shown in Figure 5 (such as ch36, ch40, ch44, ch48, ch52..., ch165), and the channel difference threshold as 3, assuming that the scanning channel that AP1 last switched to is ch36, the scanning channel that AP2 last switched to is ch36, and the scanning channel that AP3 last switched to is ch52, according to the order shown in Figure 5, it can be determined that the ranking of ch36 is 1 and the ranking of ch52 is 5, then it can be determined that the difference between ch52 and ch36 is 4, and the difference is greater than the channel difference threshold, then the first device can send a scanning synchronization message to each AP to assist each AP to synchronize or synchronize the scanning timing of the same scanning channel as much as possible.

[0188] Optionally, the first device may send a scan synchronization query request to each AP, requesting the scanning channel to which each AP most recently switched. In response to the scan synchronization query request, each AP may send a scan synchronization query response to the first device, indicating the scanning channel to which each AP most recently switched. Based on the received scan synchronization query responses from each AP, the first device may determine the difference between the scanning channels of any two APs and, based on the difference and a channel difference threshold, determine whether to send a scan synchronization message. For example, the first device may send a scan synchronization query request to a first AP, requesting the scanning channel to which the first AP most recently switched. Based on the scan synchronization query request, the first AP may send a scan synchronization query response to the first device, indicating the scanning channel to which the first AP most recently switched. For another example, the first device may send a scan synchronization query request to a second AP, requesting the scanning channel to which the second AP most recently switched. Based on the scan synchronization query request, the second AP may send a scan synchronization query response to the first device, indicating the scanning channel to which the second AP most recently switched.

[0189] Exemplarily, the scanning synchronization message may include the content shown in Table 1 below:

[0190] Table 1

[0191] Among them, ac_token is the identifier of the first device; ap_token is the identifier of the AP; type is the type, specifying the collaborative scanning function; radio_id is the radio frequency identification number (ie, at least one target scanning channel); action is the action field, and its value can be as shown in Table 2 below.

[0192] Table 2

[0193] When the action value is 0, it indicates that the message is a scan synchronization message. When the action value is 1, it indicates that the message is a scan synchronization query response. When the action value is 2, it indicates that the message is a scan synchronization query request.

[0194] It is understandable that the above three possible examples can be used independently or in combination with each other without limitation.

[0195] Based on the above description of the scanning synchronization message, when each AP receives the scanning synchronization message from the first device, it can switch the scanning channel (or reset the state machine) according to the sequence of at least one target scanning channel to achieve scanning timing synchronization.

[0196] The time difference between the scan synchronization messages reaching different APs may be less than or equal to a third threshold, and the time difference between the APs switching to the same scan channel may be less than or equal to the third threshold.

[0197] In one possible design, when the first device sends a scan synchronization message to each AP, the scan synchronization message may be sent from the first device's configuration command main core to the same secondary core, and the scan synchronization message may be sent to each AP via the same secondary core, thereby ensuring that the time difference between the scan synchronization message reaching different APs is less than or equal to a third threshold. Exemplarily, the first device may control the time at which the secondary core processes the scan synchronization message to ensure that the time difference between the scan synchronization message reaching different APs is controlled to the millisecond level.

[0198] In another possible design, the first device may also use multi-core processing (e.g., multi-CPU core processing) to send scan synchronization messages to each AP, i.e., different CPU cores may send scan synchronization messages to different APs, ensuring that the time difference between the scan synchronization messages reaching different APs is less than or equal to a third threshold. For example, each CPU core of the first device may use a millisecond (ms) timer to send scan synchronization messages to each AP, ensuring that the time difference between the scan synchronization messages reaching different APs is controlled at the ms level.

[0199] Step 402: When it is determined that the scanning channel of the system is the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a cooperative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs; correspondingly, the one or more second APs receive the cooperative scanning measurement request from the first AP.

[0200] If the first AP and one or more second APs receive a scan synchronization message from the first device, the first AP may switch the scan channel of the first AP to a target scan channel among the at least one target scan channel in the order of the at least one target scan channel; when the scan channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the first AP may determine that the scan channel of the system is the working channel of the first AP. Alternatively, step 402 may also be described as the first AP sending a collaborative scan measurement request to one or more second APs when the scan channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP. The collaborative scan measurement request may carry the identifiers of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scan measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, where the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP.

[0201] If the first AP sends a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs, the first AP can directly determine that the system's scan channel is the working channel of the first AP when sending the scan synchronization message, and the first AP sends a collaborative scan measurement request to one or more second APs. At this time, the first AP can send a scan synchronization message and a collaborative scan measurement request separately, or the first AP can only send one type of message. If the first AP only sends one type of message, the message carries both the scan synchronization message and the collaborative scan measurement request, or in other words, the message is a scan synchronization message, and the collaborative scan measurement request is carried on the scan synchronization message, or in other words, the message is a collaborative scan measurement request, and the scan synchronization message is carried on the collaborative scan measurement request. Optionally, the collaborative scan measurement request can also carry indication information, which indicates that one or more second APs initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices on a specified channel, and the specified channel is the working channel of the first AP. Exemplarily, the indication information can include an identifier of the working channel of the first AP, or the indication information can also include an identifier of the first AP, and the second AP determines the working channel of the first AP based on the identifier of the first AP.

[0202] Optionally, the first AP may send a cooperative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs in any of the following ways:

[0203] Method 1: The first AP sends a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs in a broadcast manner, wherein the collaborative scanning measurement request may not specify an AP, and all APs that receive the collaborative scanning measurement request may be the second AP in the embodiment of the present application, and may send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP based on the received collaborative scanning measurement request.

[0204] Method 2: The first AP sends a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs in a broadcast manner, wherein the collaborative scanning measurement request can carry the identifier of the second AP, and the second AP specified by the collaborative scanning measurement request sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP.

[0205] Method 3: The first AP sends a coordinated scanning measurement request to one or more second APs in a unicast manner, and the second APs that receive the coordinated scanning measurement request send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP.

[0206] Optionally, when a scanning synchronization message is sent by a first AP to one or more second APs, the first AP may include a coordinated scanning measurement request in the scanning synchronization message to reduce signaling overhead. It is understood that the first AP may also send the scanning synchronization message and the coordinated scanning measurement request independently without limitation.

[0207] Step 403: When the scanning channel of any second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, any second AP sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices; correspondingly, at least one first terminal device receives the one or more measurement requests.

[0208] Among them, the second AP can switch the scanning channel of the second AP to the target scanning channel among at least one target scanning channel according to the scanning synchronization message and the order of at least one target scanning channel. When the scanning channel of the second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the second AP can impersonate the first AP and send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP.

[0209] In a first possible implementation, each AP may be pre-configured with its own working channel information (including its own working channel and the working channels of other APs). The second AP may determine the working channel of the first AP based on the pre-configured working channel information.

[0210] In a second possible implementation, the first AP may also send indication information indicating the first AP's operating channel to the second AP, and the second AP may determine the first AP's operating channel based on the indication information. The frame containing the indication information and the collaborative scan measurement request may not be the same frame, without limitation.

[0211] In a third possible implementation, the first AP may also carry indication information that may indicate the working channel of the first AP in the coordinated scanning measurement request, and the second AP may determine the working channel of the first AP according to the indication information.

[0212] In the above-mentioned second possible design and third possible design, the indication information may include the identifier of the working channel of the first AP, or the indication information may also include the identifier of the first AP, and the second AP determines the working channel of the first AP based on the identifier of the first AP.

[0213] Optionally, the measurement request may include an identifier of the first AP, such as a media access control (MAC) address or a basic service set identifier (BSSID) of the first AP, without limitation.

[0214] When the second AP impersonates the first AP and sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP, the source address of the message to which the measurement request belongs can be set to the identifier of the first AP. When the terminal device receives the measurement request, it determines that the measurement request is sent by the first AP based on the identifier of the first AP, and then the terminal device can send the measurement result to the first AP.

[0215] Optionally, the measurement request may also include the identifier of the second AP. When the terminal device subsequently sends the measurement result to the first AP according to the measurement request, the measurement result may carry the identifier of the second AP in the measurement request, so that the first AP can determine the second AP corresponding to the measurement result based on the identifier of the second AP.

[0216] For example, the second AP can set the source MAC address in the measurement request to the MAC address of the first AP, and set other fields in the measurement request that can carry the AP identifier (such as ap_token) to the identifier of the second AP. In this way, when the terminal device receives the measurement request, it can determine that the measurement request is sent by the first AP based on the source MAC address, and then send the measurement result to the first AP. The measurement result can carry the identifier of the second AP in the measurement request, so that the first AP can determine the second AP corresponding to the measurement result.

[0217] Optionally, the second AP may send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP within the scanning duration when the scanning channel of the second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP. The scanning duration may be the duration during which the AP switches to the scanning channel, or may be described as the duration during which the AP is in the scanning channel, or may be described as the duration during which the AP stays in the scanning channel, without limitation. The scanning duration of the scanning channel may be configured by the first device or may be predefined by the protocol, without limitation. Exemplarily, the scanning duration may be 60ms.

[0218] Based on the above description of the measurement request, the second AP may send the measurement request to the terminal device in multiple ways, for example, by referring to any one of the following two examples:

[0219] In a first example, the second AP may send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP by using a transmission power control (TPC) method.

[0220] The second AP may measure the downlink signal strength of one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP by sending a TPC request (ie, a measurement request) to the terminal device based on the 802.11h TPC report protocol.

[0221] For example, as shown in FIG6 , the second AP may send a TPC request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP. The terminal device may return a TPC report (TPC report) to the first AP based on the TPC request. The TPC report may also be called a measurement report. The TPC report may include a power field and a link margin field. The power field is used to indicate the transmit power used by the terminal device to send the TPC report. The link margin field is used to indicate the difference between the signal quality (such as signal strength) of the TPC request received by the terminal device and the worst signal quality that the terminal device can tolerate. When the first AP receives the TPC report, it can determine the signal strength of the TPC request received by the terminal device based on the difference indicated by the link margin field and the worst signal quality that the terminal device can tolerate. The signal strength is the downlink signal strength between the second AP and the terminal device corresponding to the TPC report. Alternatively, the first AP may also determine the difference between the multiple TPC report indications based on the multiple TPC reports reported by the terminal device. The larger the difference, the stronger the downlink signal strength between the second AP corresponding to the difference and the terminal device. When the first AP makes a roaming decision for the terminal device (for example, whether to guide the terminal device to roam, or to which destination AP to guide the terminal device to roam), it may determine whether to guide the terminal device to roam based on the difference between the multiple TPC report indications. If the terminal device is guided to roam, a suitable second AP is selected as the destination AP for the terminal device. For example, the second AP corresponding to the largest difference is selected as the destination AP.

[0222] The TPC request may include the content shown in Table 3 below:

[0223] Table 3

[0224] In the second example, the second AP may also send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP by using a link measure (LM) method.

[0225] The first AP and the second AP may implement downlink signal strength measurement of one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP by sending an LM request (ie, a measurement request) to the terminal device based on the 802.11k LM protocol.

[0226] For example, as shown in Figure 7, the second AP can send an LM request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP. The terminal device can return an LM report (LM report) to the first AP based on the LM request. The LM report can also be called a measurement report. The LM report may include a power field and a received channel power indicator (RCPI) field. The power field is used to indicate the transmit power used by the terminal device to send the TPC report, and the RCPI field is used to indicate the downlink signal strength obtained by the terminal device.

[0227] The LM request may include the content shown in Table 4 below:

[0228] Table 4

[0229] In the above two examples, the Dialog token field was originally intended to match each measurement request with the measurement report. In the embodiment of the present application, the purpose of distinguishing neighboring APs can be achieved by setting the ID number of the Dialog token field to the identifier of the second AP. For example, when each second AP sends a measurement request (such as a TPC request or a LM request) to a terminal device, each second AP can set the Dialog token field in the measurement request to its own identifier. When the terminal device sends a measurement report to the first AP, the Dialog token field in the measurement request can be carried in the measurement report. When the first AP receives the measurement report sent by the terminal device, it can determine the second AP corresponding to the measurement report based on the Dialog token field in the measurement report.

[0230] Optionally, the first AP may also send a measurement request to the terminal device. The measurement request may include the identifier of the first AP. For example, the source MAC address in the measurement request may be the identifier of the first AP, and other fields in the measurement request that can carry the identifier of the AP (such as ap_token) are filled with the identifier of the first AP. In this way, when the terminal device receives the measurement request, it may consider that the measurement request is a measurement request sent by the first AP based on the source MAC address, and then send a measurement result to the first AP. The measurement result may carry the identifier of the first AP in the measurement request, so that the first AP can determine that the measurement result corresponds to the first AP.

[0231] Optionally, when the first AP determines that the system's scanning channel is the first AP's working channel, it may send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with it within the scanning duration. For example, when the first AP's scanning channel is switched to the first AP's working channel, the first AP sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with it within the scanning duration. For another example, when the first AP sends a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs, it sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with it within the scanning duration.

[0232] Optionally, the first AP may also send a measurement request to the terminal device with reference to the above-mentioned TPC method or LM method. The relevant description may refer to the above-mentioned specific description of the TPC method and the LM method and will not be repeated here.

[0233] Optionally, when the first AP and each second AP send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP, the measurement request may be encrypted to prevent non-AP devices from impersonating the AP to perform collaborative scanning and measurement interference.

[0234] Optionally, after each second AP sends a measurement request to one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP, each second AP may also send a coordinated scanning measurement response to the first AP, wherein the coordinated scanning measurement response may indicate a measurement request record sent by the second AP.

[0235] Exemplarily, the collaborative scanning measurement response may carry one or more of the following information: the number of measurement requests sent by the second AP, the identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the sent measurement request, the number of times the measurement request is sent to each terminal device, etc., without limitation.

[0236] For example, when the collaborative scanning measurement response sent by the second AP carries the number of measurement requests sent by the second AP, the first AP can determine whether the collaborative scanning measurement is successfully performed based on the number. For example, if the number is less than or equal to a threshold (for example, 0), it can be determined that the collaborative scanning measurement of the second AP is not successfully performed; otherwise, it is determined that the collaborative scanning measurement of the second AP is successfully performed.

[0237] For another example, when the collaborative scanning measurement response sent by the second AP carries the identifier of the terminal device corresponding to the measurement request sent by the second AP, the first AP can determine to which terminal devices the second AP has sent the measurement request. Alternatively, the first AP can also compare the identifier with the terminal device corresponding to the measurement result to determine to which terminal devices the second AP has sent the measurement request and the first AP has received the measurement results reported by these terminal devices, or determine to which terminal devices the second AP has sent the measurement request but the first AP has not received the measurement results reported by these terminal devices, and then determine the signal strength between each second AP and each terminal device (for example, if a second AP sends a measurement request to a terminal device, but the first AP does not receive the measurement result corresponding to the second AP reported by the terminal device, then the first AP can determine that the signal strength between the terminal device and the second AP is weak).

[0238] For another example, when the second AP sends a measurement request to each terminal device, it can send multiple measurement requests to each terminal device to improve the success rate of the collaborative scanning measurement. When the second AP sends a collaborative scanning measurement response to the first AP, it can carry the number of times the second AP has sent measurement requests to each terminal device. Based on the collaborative scanning measurement response, the first AP can determine that the second AP has sent multiple measurement requests to each terminal device. If the first AP does not subsequently receive the measurement result corresponding to the second AP reported by a terminal device, it can be determined that the signal strength between the terminal device and the second AP is weak.

[0239] Step 404: The first AP obtains a measurement result.

[0240] The measurement result may indicate a signal strength between each of the at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include the at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP include the at least one terminal device.

[0241] In one possible design, one or more first terminal devices may send a measurement report to the first AP based on the received one or more measurement requests, and the measurement report may include measurement results.

[0242] The one or more first terminal devices may be one or more terminal devices among the at least one terminal device mentioned above.

[0243] Optionally, when the first terminal device sends a measurement report to the first AP, each measurement report may be sent separately through different signaling, or measurement reports within a period of time may be aggregated into one signaling and sent to the first AP to reduce signaling overhead.

[0244] Optionally, the first AP may further send the received measurement reports to the first device separately through different signaling, or may aggregate the measurement reports within a period of time into one signaling and send it to the first device, so as to reduce signaling overhead.

[0245] In another possible design, when the first AP does not receive a measurement report regarding the third AP from the second terminal device within a second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold. The one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP include the second terminal device, and the one or more second APs include the third AP.

[0246] When one or more second APs send measurement requests to a terminal device, the signal strength between some of the second APs and the terminal device may be relatively strong, and the terminal device (such as the first terminal device described above) may receive the measurement requests sent by these second APs and then send the measurement results to the first AP. Alternatively, the signal strength between some of the second APs and the terminal device may be relatively weak, and the terminal device (such as the second terminal device described above) may not be able to receive the measurement requests sent by these second APs (such as the third AP described above), and thus may not be able to send the measurement results to the first AP. In this case, the first AP may determine that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold.

[0247] Based on the method shown in Figure 4 above, a scan synchronization message is sent to multiple second APs in the WLAN system to instruct the multiple second APs to switch scan channels in the order of at least one target scan channel indicated by the scan synchronization message after receiving the scan synchronization message, so that the multiple second APs can switch to the same scan channel simultaneously or as simultaneously as possible. In this way, the associated AP whose working channel is the scan channel can obtain more signal strengths between neighboring APs and the associated terminal devices of the associated AP in a collaborative scan measurement, thereby improving the collaborative scan measurement effect, thereby better supporting management strategies such as radio frequency resource management and roaming strategies, and improving communication performance.

[0248] Based on the method shown in FIG. 4 above, optionally, as shown in step 402a in FIG. 8 , the first AP may also send a wake-up instruction to one or more terminal devices associated with itself when determining that the system's scanning channel is the first AP's working channel; accordingly, at least one terminal device receives the wake-up instruction from the first AP. Alternatively, step 402a may also be described as the first AP sending a wake-up instruction to one or more terminal devices when the first AP's scanning channel is switched to the first AP's working channel. The wake-up instruction is used to wake up the terminal device, or may be described as the wake-up instruction being used to put the terminal device into an awake state (or described as being in a non-sleep state).

[0249] In a first possible implementation, the wake-up indication may be a beacon frame.

[0250] For example, as shown in FIG9 , the delivery traffic indication message (DTIM) count field (i.e., the DTIM count field) of the beacon frame can be set to 0 to indicate that the beacon frame is a wake-up indication, or the DTIM duration field (i.e., the DTIM period field) of the beacon frame can be set to 1 to indicate that the beacon frame is a wake-up indication.

[0251] Optionally, as shown in Figure 9, the beacon frame may also carry the identifier (Association ID) of the terminal device associated with the beacon frame to indicate the terminal device that needs to be awakened. For example, by setting the Association ID to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, the terminal devices that need to be awakened are terminal devices 1 to 8.

[0252] Optionally, as shown in FIG9 , the beacon frame may further include the following contents: a traffic indication message (TIM) field, a tag number field, a tag length field, a bitmap control field, a partial virtual bitmap field, etc. For example, the tag number field may be TIM(5), the tag length field may be 5, the bitmap control field may be 0x00, and the partial virtual bitmap field may be 7e01.

[0253] In a second possible implementation, the wake-up indication may also be a data message.

[0254] Exemplarily, the data packet may be a service packet, or a null packet (whose packet type is no data), without limitation. For example, the packet type (i.e., the type field) in the packet header may be set to quality of service null data (QoS Null data), indicating that the data packet is a No data packet.

[0255] Among them, the first AP can send normal business messages to the terminal device when there is a business transmission demand, so that the terminal device is in an awake state. If the first AP currently has no business transmission demand, the first AP can send an empty message to the terminal device, so that the terminal device is in an awake state.

[0256] In a third possible implementation, the above two possible designs may be used in combination, that is, the wake-up indication may include the above beacon frame and the above data message.

[0257] For example, the first AP may send normal service messages to the terminal device when there is a service transmission demand, so that the terminal device is in an awake state. If the first AP currently has no service transmission demand, the first AP may send beacon frames and / or empty messages to the terminal device, so that the terminal device is in an awake state.

[0258] Based on the description of the wake-up indication in the above three possible implementations, when the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices associated with itself, it can adopt a multicast method to ensure that all associated terminal devices can be awakened, or it can adopt a unicast method to wake up one or some terminal devices on demand without restriction.

[0259] For example, using multicast to send a beacon frame with a wake-up function, the DTIM period field of the beacon frame can be set to 1, and the first bit of the TIM bitmap control field can be set to 1, so that each beacon frame can indicate the multicast cache status. The More Data bit of the Frame Control field of the multicast data frame is set to 1 to keep the terminal device in the state of receiving subsequent multicast frames and avoid dormancy.

[0260] In another example, using unicast beacon frames with wake-up functionality, the Bitmap Control field and the Partial Vitual Bitmap field in the TIM field of the beacon frame can be set so that the corresponding bitmap bit of the target terminal device is 1, allowing each beacon frame to indicate the cache status of the target terminal device. The More Data bit in the Frame Control field of the target terminal device's data frame is set to 1, allowing the terminal device to remain in the state of receiving subsequent unicast frames and avoid dormancy.

[0261] Optionally, in the above two examples, in addition to sending the data frame, the more data field in the data frame can also be set to 1, which can also avoid dormancy.

[0262] Optionally, when the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device, the wake-up indication may be sent to the terminal device within a first duration, so that the terminal device remains in an awake state within the first duration.

[0263] In a first possible design, the first duration may be equal to the scanning duration.

[0264] Among them, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device within the scanning duration. In order to ensure that the terminal device is in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device, the first AP can determine the first duration based on the scanning duration, that is, the first duration is equal to the scanning duration. The first AP sends a wake-up indication to the terminal device within the scanning duration, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can be in an awake state when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device within the scanning duration.

[0265] In a second possible design, the first duration may be greater than the scanning duration.

[0266] To avoid message collisions on the air interface caused by each second AP sending a measurement request to the terminal device in a strictly synchronized manner, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device within a certain time range based on a random backoff mechanism. At the same time, to ensure that the terminal device is awake when each second AP sends a measurement request to the terminal device, the first AP can determine the first duration based on the random backoff mechanism based on the scanning duration, i.e., the start time of the first duration can be earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration can be later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0267] For example, as shown in Figure 10, each second AP (such as AP1, AP2, ..., APn, etc.) can switch to the scanning channel in the gap of the working channel. If the switched scanning channel is the working channel of the first AP, each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device associated with the first AP based on the random backoff mechanism within the scanning duration of the scanning channel to reduce the probability of message collision.

[0268] The duration of the working channel may be configured by the first device or predefined by the protocol, and is not limited. For example, the duration of the working channel may be 10 seconds.

[0269] Optionally, the random backoff range does not exceed 1s. For example, the random backoff range may be (-60ms, 60ms), (-120ms, 120ms), etc., without limitation.

[0270] Based on the above-mentioned random backoff mechanism, optionally, the difference between the starting time of the first duration and the starting time of the scanning duration can be a first threshold, and the difference between the ending time of the first duration and the ending time of the scanning duration can be a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff duration between multiple second APs.

[0271] Among them, based on the first AP and each second AP synchronizing or synchronizing as much as possible the scanning timing of the same scanning channel based on the scanning synchronization message, the first AP can obtain the timing when each second AP switches the scanning channel to the working channel of the first AP by observing the timing when itself switches the scanning channel to the working channel of the first AP.

[0272] For example, as shown in FIG11 , the first threshold and the second threshold are both T Δ For example, the first AP and each second AP can switch the scanning channel every 10 seconds according to the scanning synchronization message in the order of at least one target scanning channel in FIG5 (such as ch36, ch40, ch44, ch48, ..., ch165). When each second AP switches the scanning channel to the working channel of the first AP (such as ch44), each second AP can send a measurement request to the terminal device associated with the first AP within the scanning time Ts of the scanning channel. The first AP can send a measurement request in advance Ts. Δ Send a wake-up instruction to the terminal device and last for 2*T Δ +Ts (i.e. the first duration mentioned above), so that the terminal device is at 2*T Δ The device remains in the awake state within +Ts, so as to receive measurement requests sent by each second AP.

[0273] In another example, as shown in FIG12, taking the first AP sending a wake-up indication to each terminal device according to the first duration shown in FIG11 as an example, assuming that the first AP and each second AP synchronize or synchronize the scanning timing as much as possible according to the scan synchronization message, trigger the collaborative scan according to the collaborative scan timer t1, the first AP can initialize the timer t0, and the timing state of the timer t0 is T ahead of the collaborative scan timer t1. Δ If the timer t0 is triggered, the first AP can generate a wake-up indication, T Δ Send a wake-up instruction to each terminal device and last for 2*T Δ +Ts, so that the terminal equipment is at 2*T Δ The first AP remains in the awake state for +Ts, so as to receive measurement requests sent by each second AP. If the timer t0 has not been triggered, the first AP does not need to generate a wake-up indication.

[0274] Optionally, before the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices, the first AP may obtain a measurement requirement and send a wake-up indication to the terminal device based on the measurement requirement. For example, the first AP may determine that a measurement requirement exists when it detects that the signal quality of one or more terminal devices associated with the first AP is poor, and then send a wake-up indication to the terminal device and trigger the signal strength measurement method.

[0275] In another example, when other devices other than the first AP (such as a second AP, a terminal device, etc.) detect that the signal quality or service quality of the terminal device is poor, the other device can send a measurement request to the first AP. Based on the measurement request, the first AP can send a wake-up indication to the terminal device and trigger the signal strength measurement method.

[0276] Optionally, different from the above-mentioned first AP sending a wake-up indication to the terminal device according to the measurement requirements, before the first AP sends a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices, the first AP can send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices in response to the scanning channel being switched to the working channel of the first AP.

[0277] Based on the methods shown in Figures 4 to 12 above, as shown in Figure 13, the embodiment of the present application can add scanning timing synchronization (scanning timing synchronization can be achieved by the first device sending a scanning synchronization message, or scanning timing synchronization can be achieved by the first AP sending a scanning synchronization message) and terminal device wake-up strategy on the basis of the collaborative scanning measurement mechanism, and cooperate and coordinate with each other to achieve the purpose of enhancing the collaborative scanning effect.

[0278] Among them, the scanning timing synchronization mechanism can synchronize the scanning timing of the global AP. The global AP can coordinate the scanning timing of the same scanning channel to the same or similar scanning timing to ensure the global synchronization of the scanning timing of each AP network. Based on this, the first AP can identify the collaborative scanning measurement timing of the second AP (that is, identify the second AP to switch the scanning timing to the scanning timing of the working channel of the first AP), and execute a short-cycle and first-duration wake-up strategy for the terminal device associated with itself (that is, periodically send a wake-up indication to the terminal device within the first duration, and the cycle can be a short cycle), to ensure that when each second AP initiates the collaborative scanning measurement process, the terminal device is in an awake state, reducing the sleep time of the terminal device during the measurement period, and promptly stop the wake-up strategy at the end of the collaborative scanning measurement to reduce the power loss of the terminal device.

[0279] At the same time, since the scanning timing of each second AP for the working channel of the first AP is synchronized, more second APs can send measurement requests to the terminal device associated with the first AP at a similar time. Since the terminal device is in an awake state, the terminal device can obtain more measurement requests sent by the second AP and report the measurement results during a collaborative scanning measurement process. The first AP can obtain more signal strengths between neighboring APs and terminal devices associated with the first AP in a collaborative scanning measurement, effectively enhancing the collaborative scanning efficiency of the first AP and the second AP, effectively avoiding the problem of missing neighbors, and improving the accuracy of neighbor detection, and then effectively guiding the TPC scheme to adjust the power according to the measurement results (such as the first AP can determine whether to adjust the transmission power according to the measurement results reported by the terminal device), or timely select a suitable second AP as the target AP according to the measurement results reported by the terminal device when guiding the terminal device to roam, effectively supporting management strategies and improving communication performance.

[0280] The inventors of this application verified the technical solution provided in the embodiment of this application based on the following test environment, and the verification results are shown in Figures 14, 15, Table 5 and Table 6.

[0281] The test environment is as follows: the channel bandwidth is 40 MHz, at least one target scanning channel includes 6 target scanning channels, namely {ch36, ch44, ch52, ch60, ch149, ch157}, the scanning time interval is 10 seconds, and the collaborative scanning duration (i.e., scanning duration) is 60 ms, that is, the scanning is performed in the order of ch36, ch44, ch52, ch60, ch149, and ch157. The scanning interval between two channels is 10 seconds, and the scanning of each channel lasts 60 ms. For any channel, the interval between two scans of the same channel is 60 seconds.

[0282] Referring to Figure 14, the horizontal axis of each sub-graph in Figure 14 represents the number of neighboring APs whose signal strength can be obtained in a single scanning time, and the vertical axis represents the number of times the number is measured. The two sub-graphs in each column of Figure 14 are the results of verification for the same terminal device, that is, the number of signal strengths obtained by the associated AP from the neighboring AP to terminal device 1, terminal device 2, terminal device 3, and terminal device 4. In the existing collaborative scanning measurement mechanism (without implementing scanning synchronization), a large number of tests have shown that a single scanning time is likely to only obtain the signal strength of one neighboring AP. For example, in the four sub-graphs above Figure 14, there are approximately 600 tests that can only obtain the signal strength of one neighboring AP. In the embodiment of the present application, the number of neighboring APs whose signal strength can be obtained in a single scanning time is mainly concentrated in 6-10. That is, the solution of the embodiment of the present application enables more neighboring APs to complete the scan of the same channel in a shorter time, and the number of neighboring AP signal strengths that the associated AP can obtain in a single scanning time is greatly improved.

[0283] Referring to Figure 15, Figure 15 shows the distribution of time intervals for the associated AP to successively obtain the signal strength from the neighbor AP to a certain terminal device for a single neighbor AP. The horizontal axis of each sub-graph in Figure 15 represents the time interval in seconds (s), and the vertical axis represents the number. For a specified associated AP (for example, AP1 with channel ch36), if the scanning channel switches to ch36 each time, other neighbor APs are also performing a scan of ch36, then the time interval for AP1 to successively obtain the signal strength of a certain neighbor AP is exactly the interval time of two scans of ch36 (the scanning interval of a single channel, i.e. 60s). If there is a synchronization problem in the scanning timing, when the scan of ch36 is being performed, the neighbor AP may be on the working channel or other scanning channels, resulting in AP1 being unable to obtain the signal strength of the neighbor AP. In this way, multiple scanning intervals are required to obtain the signal strength of the neighbor AP. The four upper sub-graphs in Figure 15 show the measurement results of the existing collaborative scanning measurement mechanism (scan synchronization is not implemented). The measurement results show that the time intervals for the associated AP to successively obtain the signal strength from a neighboring AP to a certain terminal device are not concentrated in the scanning interval of a single channel, but are relatively dispersedly distributed in other integer multiples of the scanning interval of a single channel (such as 120s, 240s, 360s, 480s, 600s, 720s, 840s, etc.). The four lower sub-graphs in Figure 15 show the measurement result intervals of an embodiment of the present application. The measurement results show that the time intervals for the associated AP to successively obtain the signal strength from a neighboring AP to a certain terminal device can be concentrated in the scanning interval of a single channel, that is, the solution of the embodiment of the present application can make the scanning timing of the associated AP and the neighboring AP more synchronized, so that the associated AP can obtain the signal strength of more neighboring APs in one collaborative scanning measurement request, which effectively improves the collaborative scanning measurement effect.

[0284] During the scanning test, if there is data transmission between the associated AP and the terminal device, the terminal device may be in an awake state. If there is no data transmission between the associated AP and the terminal device, the terminal may be in a dormant state. If a wake-up strategy is executed for the terminal (such as the associated AP sending a wake-up instruction to the terminal device as shown above), the terminal device can be in an awake state during the scanning duration, further improving the collaborative scanning measurement effect. The following Table 5 shows the wake-up effect of the terminal device. After testing and comparing various terminal devices, compared with the solution that does not implement the wake-up strategy, the embodiment of the present application can significantly reduce the sleep ratio of the terminal device after implementing the wake-up strategy.

[0285] Table 5

[0286] In addition, referring to the two rounds of tests in Table 6 below (i.e., Test 1 and Test 2), it can be seen that by executing different wake-up strategies, the embodiment of the present application can adjust the sleep ratio of the terminal. For example, by increasing the interval of the wake-up indication from seconds to milliseconds (such as from 1s to 100ms), the sleep duration ratio of each terminal device model can be significantly reduced.

[0287] Table 6

[0288] It should be noted that the various methods provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented individually or in combination without limitation.

[0289] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0290] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, each device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0291] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of each device according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0292] In the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, Figure 16 shows a communication device 160, which can execute the actions performed by each AP in Figures 4 to 15, or execute the actions performed by the terminal device in Figures 4 to 15, or execute the actions performed by the first device in Figures 4 to 15.

[0293] The communication device 160 may include a transceiver module 1601 and a processing module 1602. Exemplarily, the communication device 160 may be a communication device, or a chip used in a communication device, or other combined device or component having the aforementioned communication device functionality. When the communication device 160 is a communication device, the transceiver module 1601 may be a transceiver, which may include an antenna and radio frequency circuits, etc.; the processing module 1602 may be a processor (or processing circuit), such as a baseband processor, which may include one or more CPUs. When the communication device 160 is a component having the aforementioned communication device functionality, the transceiver module 1601 may be a radio frequency unit; the processing module 1602 may be a processor (or processing circuit), such as a baseband processor. When the communication device 160 is a system-on-chip (SoC), the transceiver module 1601 may be the input / output interface of the SoC (e.g., a baseband chip); the processing module 1602 may be the SoC's processor (or processing circuit), which may include one or more central processing units. It should be understood that the transceiver module 1601 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component; the processing module 1602 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component (or, referred to as a processing circuit).

[0294] For example, the transceiver module 1601 can be used to perform all transceiver operations performed by the communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 15, and / or to support other processes of the technology described herein; the processing module 1602 can be used to perform all operations other than transceiver operations performed by the communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 4 to 15, and / or to support other processes of the technology described herein.

[0295] In the first possible example, taking the example that the communication device 160 can execute the action executed by the above-mentioned second AP, the transceiver module 1601 can be used to receive a scanning synchronization message, the scanning synchronization message indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs the second AP to switch the scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to obtain a collaborative scanning measurement request, the collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identification of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request the second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a measurement request to one or more terminal devices when the processing module 1602 determines that the scanning channel of the second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP.

[0296] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can be specifically used to receive a scan synchronization message sent by the first AP, and at least one target scan channel is a working channel of the first AP.

[0297] In one possible design, the coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in a scanning synchronization message.

[0298] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can be specifically used to receive a scan synchronization message sent by the first device.

[0299] In one possible design, the processing module 1602 may be specifically configured to switch the scanning channel according to the order of at least one target scanning channel.

[0300] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can be specifically used to send measurement requests to one or more terminal devices within the scanning duration.

[0301] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a collaborative scanning measurement response to the first AP, where the collaborative scanning measurement response indicates a measurement request record that the second AP has sent to one or more terminal devices.

[0302] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to periodically receive scan synchronization messages.

[0303] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to receive a scanning synchronization query request from the first device and send a scanning synchronization query response to the first device; the scanning synchronization query request is used to request to obtain the scanning channel to which the second AP last switched, and the scanning synchronization query response indicates the scanning channel to which the second AP last switched.

[0304] In a second possible example, taking the example that the communication device 160 can execute the action executed by the above-mentioned first AP, the transceiver module 1601 can be used to receive a scanning synchronization message, the scanning synchronization message indicates at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs the first AP to switch the scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs when the processing module 1602 determines that the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the transceiver module 1601 and the processing module 1602 can also be used to obtain measurement results, and the measurement results indicate the signal strength between each second AP in at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices include at least one terminal device.

[0305] In one possible design, the processing module 1602 may also be configured to switch the scanning channel of the first AP to a target scanning channel among the at least one target scanning channel according to a sequence of the at least one target scanning channel.

[0306] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a first indication message to the first device, where the first indication message indicates a first target scanning channel, where the first target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP, and at least one target scanning channel includes the first target scanning channel.

[0307] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to periodically receive scan synchronization messages.

[0308] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to receive a scan synchronization query request and send a scan synchronization query response, where the scan synchronization query response is used to indicate the scan channel to which the first AP last switched.

[0309] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices when the processing module 1602 determines that the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP.

[0310] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can be specifically used to send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices within a first time period, where the first time period is greater than or equal to a scanning time period, and the scanning time period is the duration of scanning the channel.

[0311] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0312] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0313] In one possible design, the first AP receives a measurement report from a first terminal device and obtains a measurement result based on the measurement report, where the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0314] In one possible design, when the first AP does not receive a measurement report about the third AP from the second terminal device within a second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold, and one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and one or more second APs include the third AP.

[0315] In a third possible example, taking the example that the communication device 160 can execute the actions executed by the above-mentioned first AP, the transceiver module 1601 can be used to send a scanning synchronization message to one or more second APs, the scanning synchronization message indicating at least one target scanning channel, and the scanning synchronization message instructs each first AP to switch the scanning channel in the order of at least one target scanning channel; the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs, the collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; the transceiver module 1601 and the processing module 1602 can also be used to obtain measurement results, and the measurement results indicate the signal strength between each second AP in at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices include at least one terminal device.

[0316] In one possible design, the coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in a scanning synchronization message.

[0317] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices when the processing module 1602 determines that the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP.

[0318] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can be specifically used to send a wake-up indication to one or more terminal devices within a first time period, where the first time period is greater than or equal to a scanning time period, and the scanning time period is the duration of scanning the channel.

[0319] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0320] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0321] In one possible design, the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to receive a measurement report from a first terminal device, and the processing module 1602 can also be used to obtain measurement results based on the measurement report, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

[0322] In one possible design, the processing module 1602 can also be used to determine that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold when the transceiver module 1601 does not receive a measurement report about the third AP from the second terminal device within a second time period, and one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and one or more second APs include the third AP.

[0323] In a fourth possible example, taking the example that the communication device 160 can execute the action executed by the above-mentioned first terminal device, the transceiver module 1601 can be used to receive a wake-up indication from the first AP within a first time period, the first terminal device is a terminal device associated with the first AP, the first time period is greater than or equal to the scanning time period, and the scanning time period is the duration of scanning the channel; the transceiver module 1601 can also be used to receive one or more measurement requests within the first time period, and send a measurement report to the first AP based on the one or more measurement requests, the measurement report indicating the signal strength between the one or more second APs corresponding to the sending of the one or more measurement requests and the first terminal device.

[0324] In one possible design, the first duration is greater than the scanning duration, the start time of the first duration is earlier than the start time of the scanning duration, and the end time of the first duration is later than the end time of the scanning duration.

[0325] In one possible design, the difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and both the first threshold and the second threshold are greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time duration between multiple second APs.

[0326] As another possible implementation, the transceiver module 1601 in FIG16 may be replaced by a transceiver that integrates the functionality of the transceiver module 1601; and the processing module 1602 may be replaced by a processor that integrates the functionality of the processing module 1602. Furthermore, the communication device 160 shown in FIG16 may further include a memory.

[0327] Alternatively, when the processing module 1602 is replaced by a processor and the transceiver module 1601 is replaced by a transceiver, the communication device 160 involved in the embodiment of the present application may also be the communication device 170 shown in Figure 17, wherein the processor may be the logic circuit 1701 and the transceiver may be the interface circuit 1702. Furthermore, the communication device 170 shown in Figure 17 may also include a memory 1703.

[0328] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which, when executed by a computer, can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0329] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program, which, when executed by a computer, can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0330] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments can be completed by a computer program to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program can be stored in the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above-mentioned method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the terminal (including the data sending end and / or the data receiving end) of any of the above-mentioned embodiments, such as the hard disk or memory of the terminal. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above-mentioned terminal, such as a plug-in hard disk equipped on the above-mentioned terminal, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. Further, the above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the above-mentioned terminal and an external storage device. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above-mentioned computer program and other programs and data required by the above-mentioned terminal. The above-mentioned computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0331] It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. "First" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

[0332] Furthermore, the terms "include," "comprise," and "have," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus comprising a series of steps or elements is not limited to the listed steps or elements, but may optionally include steps or elements not listed, or may optionally include other steps or elements inherent to the process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0333] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more. "Multiple" refers to two or more. "At least two (items)" refers to two or three and more. "And / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c, or at least one of a, b, and c, can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple. "When" and "if" both mean that corresponding measures will be taken under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require any judgment action when it is implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0334] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner to facilitate understanding.

[0335] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0336] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0337] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0338] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0339] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A signal strength measurement system, characterized in that: The system includes a plurality of access points (APs), wherein the plurality of APs include a first AP and one or more second APs. The one or more second APs are used to: receive a scan synchronization message, the scan synchronization message indicating at least one target scan channel, the scan synchronization message instructing each second AP to switch the scan channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scan channel; The first AP is used to: when determining that the scanning channel of the system is the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a coordinated scanning measurement request to the one or more second APs, the coordinated scanning measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the coordinated scanning measurement request is used to request each of the second APs to initiate a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; Any second AP is further configured to: when a scanning channel of any second AP is switched to a working channel of the first AP, any second AP sends a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices; The first AP is also used to: obtain a measurement result, wherein the measurement result indicates a signal strength between each second AP of at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs include the at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices include the at least one terminal device.

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The first AP is further used to send the scanning synchronization message, and the at least one target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP.

3. The system according to claim 2, characterized in that The coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in the scanning synchronization message.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that The system also includes a first device configured to send the scanning synchronization message to the plurality of APs.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that The first AP is further configured to: Switching the scanning channel of the first AP to a target scanning channel among the at least one target scanning channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scanning channel; When the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the scanning channel of the system is determined to be the working channel of the first AP.

6. The system according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The first AP is further used to send first indication information to the first device, where the first indication information indicates a first target scanning channel, and the first target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP; The first device is further configured to generate the scanning synchronization message based on the first indication information, and the at least one target scanning channel includes the first target scanning channel.

7. The system according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The first device is also used for: periodically sending the scanning synchronization message to the multiple APs; or Sending the scanning synchronization message to the multiple APs within a preset time period; or In response to the existence of at least two APs whose scan channel difference is greater than or equal to a channel difference threshold, the scan synchronization message is sent to the multiple APs.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that The first device is further used to send a scan synchronization query request to the multiple APs, where the scan synchronization query request is used to request the scan channel that each AP switched to most recently; Any AP among the multiple APs is further used to receive the scanning synchronization query request and send a scanning synchronization query response to the first device, where the scanning synchronization query response is used to indicate the scanning channel that the any AP switched to most recently; The first device is further configured to determine a difference in scan channels of any two APs among the multiple APs according to scan synchronization query responses of the any two APs.

9. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The first AP is further used to: when it is determined that the scanning channel of the system is the working channel of the first AP, send a wake-up indication to the one or more terminal devices.

10. The system according to claim 9, characterized in that The first AP is further used to: send the wake-up indication to the one or more terminal devices within a first duration, where the first duration is greater than or equal to a scanning duration, and the scanning duration is a duration of scanning a channel.

11. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that The first duration is greater than the scanning duration, a start time of the first duration is earlier than a start time of the scanning duration, and an end time of the first duration is later than an end time of the scanning duration.

12. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that The difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and the first threshold and the second threshold are both greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time durations between the multiple second APs.

13. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: The first AP is further used to: receive a measurement report from a first terminal device, and obtain the measurement result based on the measurement report, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

14. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that: The first AP is also used for: when the first AP does not receive a measurement report about the third AP from the second terminal device within a second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold, the one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and the one or more second APs include the third AP.

15. A signal strength measurement method, characterized in that: Applied to a second access point AP, the method includes: The second AP receives a scan synchronization message, the scan synchronization message indicates at least one target scan channel, and the scan synchronization message instructs the second AP to switch the scan channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scan channel; The second AP obtains a coordinated scanning measurement request, where the coordinated scanning measurement request carries an identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the coordinated scanning measurement request is used to request the second AP to initiate a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices, where the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; When the scanning channel of the second AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the second AP sends a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The second AP receives the scanning synchronization message, including: The second AP receives the scanning synchronization message sent by the first AP, and the at least one target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The coordinated scanning measurement request is carried in the scanning synchronization message.

18. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The second AP receives the scanning synchronization message, including: The second AP receives the scanning synchronization message sent by the first device.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second AP switches the scanning channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scanning channel.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that: The second AP sending a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices includes: The second AP sends a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices within the scanning duration.

21. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second AP sends a cooperative scanning measurement response to the first AP, where the cooperative scanning measurement response indicates a measurement request record sent by the second AP.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second AP periodically receives the scanning synchronization message.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 22, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The second AP receives a scanning synchronization query request from the first device, where the scanning synchronization query request is used to request to obtain a scanning channel that the second AP switched to most recently; The second AP sends a scanning synchronization query response to the first device, where the scanning synchronization query response indicates a scanning channel that the second AP switched to most recently.

24. A signal strength measurement method, characterized in that: Applied to a first access point AP, the method includes: The first AP receives a scan synchronization message, the scan synchronization message indicates at least one target scan channel, and the scan synchronization message instructs the first AP to switch the scan channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scan channel; When the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a collaborative scanning measurement request to one or more second APs, the collaborative scanning measurement request carries the identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the collaborative scanning measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices, and the one or more terminal devices are associated with the The terminal device of the first AP; The first AP obtains a measurement result indicating a signal strength between each of at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs including the at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices including the at least one terminal device.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first AP switches the scanning channel of the first AP to the target scanning channel among the at least one target scanning channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scanning channel.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first AP sends first indication information to the first device, where the first indication information indicates a first target scanning channel, where the first target scanning channel is a working channel of the first AP, and the at least one target scanning channel includes the first target scanning channel.

27. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 26, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first AP periodically receives the scanning synchronization message.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first AP is further used to receive a scanning synchronization query request and send a scanning synchronization query response, where the scanning synchronization query response is used to indicate a scanning channel that the first AP switched to most recently.

29. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 28, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the scanning channel of the first AP is switched to the working channel of the first AP, the first AP sends a wake-up indication to the one or more terminal devices.

30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first AP sends the wake-up indication to the one or more terminal devices within a first duration, where the first duration is greater than or equal to a scanning duration, and the scanning duration is a duration of scanning a channel.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that The first duration is greater than the scanning duration, a start time of the first duration is earlier than a start time of the scanning duration, and an end time of the first duration is later than an end time of the scanning duration.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that The difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and the first threshold and the second threshold are both greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time durations between the multiple second APs.

33. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 32, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first AP receives a measurement report of a first terminal device, and obtains the measurement result based on the measurement report, and the one or more terminal devices include the first terminal device.

34. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 33, characterized in that: The method further comprises: When the first AP does not receive a measurement report about a third AP from a second terminal device within a second time period, the first AP determines that the signal strength between the third AP and the second terminal device is less than a signal strength threshold, and the one or more terminal devices include the second terminal device, and the one or more second APs include the third AP.

35. A signal strength measurement method, characterized in that: Applied to a first access point AP, the method includes: The first AP sends a scan synchronization message to one or more second APs, the scan synchronization message indicating at least one target scan channel, and the scan synchronization message instructs each second AP to switch the scan channel according to the sequence of the at least one target scan channel; The first AP sends a coordinated scanning measurement request to the one or more second APs, where the coordinated scanning measurement request carries an identifier of one or more terminal devices, and the coordinated scanning measurement request is used to request each second AP to initiate a measurement request to the one or more terminal devices, where the one or more terminal devices are terminal devices associated with the first AP; The first AP obtains a measurement result indicating a signal strength between each of at least one second AP and at least one terminal device, the one or more second APs including the at least one second AP, and the one or more terminal devices including the at least one terminal device.

36. A signal strength measurement method, characterized in that: Applied to a first terminal device, the method includes: The first terminal device receives a wake-up instruction from a first access point AP within a first duration, the first terminal device is a terminal device associated with the first AP, the first duration is greater than or equal to a scanning duration, and the scanning duration is a duration of scanning a channel; The first terminal device receives one or more measurement requests within the first time period; The first terminal device sends a measurement report to the first AP according to the one or more measurement requests, and the measurement report indicates The signal strength between the one or more second APs that send the one or more measurement requests and the first terminal device.

37. The method according to claim 36, characterized in that The first duration is greater than the scanning duration, a start time of the first duration is earlier than a start time of the scanning duration, and an end time of the first duration is later than an end time of the scanning duration.

38. The method according to claim 37, characterized in that The difference between the start time of the first time duration and the start time of the scanning time duration is a first threshold, the difference between the end time of the first time duration and the end time of the scanning time duration is a second threshold, and the first threshold and the second threshold are both greater than or equal to the maximum value of the random backoff time durations between the multiple second APs.

39. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a processor; the processor is used to run a computer program or instructions so that the communication device executes the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 15 to 23, or executes the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 24 to 34, or executes the signal strength measurement method described in claim 35, or executes the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 36 to 38.

40. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs. When the computer instructions or programs are executed on a computer, the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 15 to 23 is executed, or the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 24 to 34 is executed, or the signal strength measurement method described in claim 35 is executed, or the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 36 to 38 is executed.

41. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product includes computer instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 15 to 23 is executed, or the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 24 to 34 is executed, or the signal strength measurement method described in claim 35 is executed, or the signal strength measurement method described in any one of claims 36 to 38 is executed.

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