Communication method and device

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device. The communication method is applied to a basic service set (BSS) transition scenario. The communication method comprises: sending a request frame to a first access point (AP), the request frame being used for triggering a response frame to be sent, and a station being not associated with the first AP; receiving the response frame from the first AP, the response frame comprising a first transmission power at which the response frame is sent; determining a downlink received signal quality; and sending the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality to a second AP, wherein the first transmission power and the downlink received signal quality are used for decision-making of BSS transition, the second AP is associated with the station, and the first AP and the second AP belong to a same extended service set. In this way, the efficiency of BSS transition of an AP associated with the current station can be improved.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202311086951.0 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 26, 2023, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more specifically to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0003] In wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios, channel sounding is typically used by access points (APs) to calculate the precoding matrix for downlink beamforming. Channel sounding is also called beam training.

[0004] Before the current station (STA) performs a basic service set (BSS) transfer, the current station needs to scan and measure its neighbors and report the measurement results of neighboring APs to the AP associated with the current station. The AP associated with the current station can then recommend at least one neighboring AP to the current station for BSS transfer based on the measurement results.

[0005] Due to differences in transmit power between stations and access points, there is uplink and downlink asymmetry. In this case, the AP associated with the current station may select a poor candidate AP for BSS transfer. As a result, BSS transfer efficiency for the AP associated with the current station is low.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can improve the efficiency of BSS transfer of an AP associated with a current site.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is applied to a station and includes: sending a request frame to a first access point, the request frame being used to trigger the sending of a response frame, wherein the station and the first access point are not associated; receiving a response frame from the first access point, the response frame including a first transmit power for sending the response frame; determining a downlink received signal quality; and sending the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality to a second access point, the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the station and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set (ESS).

[0009] It should be understood that, in the following, “first request frame” may be used to represent “request frame”, “first response frame” may be used to represent “response frame”, and “first site” may be used to represent “site”.

[0010] In the above technical solution, the station sends the determined downlink received signal quality and the first transmit power corresponding to the first access point to the second access point, providing the second access point with more information in the decision-making process of the target access point for BSS transfer. This can help the second access point make a more reasonable selection and avoid selecting a neighboring access point with poorer quality as the target access point based solely on the downlink received signal quality. This helps ensure the data transmission quality between the station and the target access point after the BSS transfer and improves the efficiency of BSS transfer for the currently associated AP.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the method further includes: receiving a first Null Data Packet (NDP) frame from the first access point. Determining the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality based on the first NDP frame.

[0013] In the above technical solution, the station and the first access point perform downlink channel quality measurement through control frames, such as NDPA frames and NDP frames. Since the interval between control frames is short, the time for the station to scan and measure neighbors can be greatly shortened, thereby reducing the impact of the neighbor measurement and scanning process on the station's own data transmission.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, after sending the request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: granting the first access point remaining transmission opportunities, where the remaining transmission opportunities are remaining transmission opportunities of the station.

[0015] In the above technical solution, during the process of neighbor scanning and measurement performed by the site, the transmission opportunity between the site and the second access point is granted to the first access point, that is, the process of beam training performed by the first access point and the process of neighbor scanning and measurement are combined, thereby improving the overall operation efficiency.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and the first value of the first AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the response frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0018] In the above technical solution, when the station performs channel measurement through the first NDP frame, it can perform multiple measurements based on multiple repeated first NDP frames, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the station on the downlink channel.

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

[0020] In the above technical solution, the NDP frame is set as an optional message frame through the field, which allows flexible message transmission. For example, for stations that only need to perform downlink channel measurement, bandwidth resources can be saved and signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a second NDP presence field, and the second value of the second NDP presence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0022] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the first NDP presence field indicates that a second NDP frame is sent following a second NDPA frame, the method further includes: sending a second NDP frame to the first access point, the second NDP frame being used by the first access point to measure a first uplink received signal quality. The first NDPA frame also includes the first uplink received signal quality.

[0023] In the above technical solution, the station can simultaneously obtain the channel quality between the station and the first access point, which can avoid the second access point selecting a poorer alternative access point when selecting an alternative access point for BSS transfer due to uplink and downlink asymmetry.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are types of public action frames. Determining the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality based on the TPC response frame.

[0025] In the above technical solution, the first transmit power of the first access point is obtained through TPC request and TPC response frames. This compares to the current measurement mode of downlink received signal quality measurement using Beacon frames or probe request frames. Because TPC request and response frames carry less information, this solution can help reduce channel resource consumption and signaling overhead. Furthermore, it helps the second access point make more reasonable subsequent selections, avoiding selecting a neighboring access point with poorer downlink received signal quality as the target access point, thereby helping to ensure data transmission quality between the site and the target access point after the BSS transfer.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, when the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame, determining the downlink received signal quality includes: determining the downlink received signal quality according to the measurement pilot frame.

[0027] In the above technical solution, the transmission of the measurement pilot frame is triggered by the measurement pilot frame request frame, and the current measurement mode of the measurement pilot frame is used. Compared with the current periodic detection of the measurement pilot frame, the time for the site to perform neighbor scanning and measurement can be reduced, thereby ensuring the site's own data transmission.

[0028] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first transmit power is equal to a transmit power corresponding to a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0029] In the above technical solution, when the first transmit power is the transmit power of a Beacon frame or a probe response frame, that is, when the first transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point, the subsequently obtained transmission path loss can be made more accurate. For example, if the distance between the station and the first access point is long, the first access point can send the first NDP response frame at the maximum transmit power to avoid inaccurate transmission path loss estimation due to the distance between the station and the first access point.

[0030] In conjunction with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, before sending the request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: receiving a radio measurement request frame from a second access point, the radio measurement request frame being used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, the at least one neighbor access point including the first access point; and sending a radio measurement report frame to the second access point, the radio measurement report frame carrying the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0031] In the above technical solution, the second access point can simultaneously obtain the uplink received signal quality and the downlink received signal quality between the first access point and the site, which can effectively address the uplink and downlink asymmetry problem caused by the large difference in transmit power between the first access point and the site, thereby helping the second access point select a more appropriate target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the data transmission quality of the site.

[0032] With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0033] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0034] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0035] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is applied to a first access point and includes: receiving a request frame from a station, the station being unassociated with the first access point; triggering transmission of a response frame to the station, the response frame including a first transmit power for transmitting the response frame, the first transmit power being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer.

[0036] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the second aspect is similar to that of the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0037] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0038] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the method also includes: sending a first empty data packet NDP frame to the site, the first NDP frame being used by the first site to determine the downlink received signal quality.

[0039] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, after sending a request frame to the first access point, the method further includes: receiving remaining transmission opportunities granted by the station, where the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the station, the station is associated with the second access point, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0040] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and the first value of the first AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0041] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the first NDPA frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0042] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the second NDPA frame further includes a first NDP presence field, and the first NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0043] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first NDPA includes a second NDP presence field, and the second value of the second NDP presence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0044] In conjunction with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, when the first NDP presence field indicates that a second NDP frame is sent following a second NDPA, after receiving a request frame from the station, the method further includes: receiving a second NDP frame from the station. Determining a first uplink received signal quality based on the second NDP frame, the first NDPA frame also including the first uplink received signal quality.

[0045] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames.

[0046] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the first transmit power is equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0047] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method is applied to a second access point and includes: receiving a first transmit power and a downlink received signal quality sent by a station, wherein the first transmit power is a transmit power corresponding to a response frame sent by the first access point to the station, and the downlink received signal quality is a downlink received signal quality between the station and the first access point, and the station and the first access point are not associated. A basic service set (BSS) transfer is performed based on the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality, and the second access point is associated with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set (ESS).

[0048] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the third aspect is similar to that of the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0049] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: sending a wireless measurement request frame to the station, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point. And receiving a wireless measurement report frame from the station, where the wireless measurement report frame includes the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0050] In conjunction with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: receiving a fourth transmit power of the station. Performing a basic service set (BSS) transfer based on the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality includes: determining a transmission path loss between the station and the first access point based on the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality. Estimating a second uplink received signal quality based on the transmission path loss and the fourth transmit power, where the second uplink received signal quality is the uplink received signal quality between the first access point and the station.

[0051] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0052] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0053] In combination with the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0054] It should be understood that in any implementation of the first aspect to the third aspect, the "downlink received signal quality" may also be expressed as the "first downlink received signal quality".

[0055] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a site, including: sending a third NDPA frame to a first access point, the third NDPA frame being used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the site and the first access point being not associated, and the third NDPA frame including a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. Receive a fourth NDP frame sent from the first access point at a second transmission power. According to the fourth NDP frame, obtain a second downlink received signal quality. Send the second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, wherein the second access point is associated with the site, the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set, and the second transmission power and the second downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0056] In the above technical solution, the station directly sends the desired transmit power corresponding to the first access point to the first access point via an NDPA frame. The first access point then sends an NDP frame using the desired transmit power, thereby enabling the second access point to reasonably select an appropriate target access point when subsequently performing a BSS transfer. For example, if the second transmit power, i.e., the desired transmit power, is learned in advance by the second access point from the first access point, the second access point can simultaneously learn the second transmit power and the second downlink received signal quality. In this case, not only can the second access point select an appropriate target access point for BSS transfer, but also the signaling overhead of the air interface can be reduced.

[0057] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0058] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0059] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0060] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, the third NDPA frame further includes a third NDP presence field, and the third NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0061] In combination with the fourth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourth aspect, when the third NDP presence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the method also includes: sending the third NDP frame to the first access point, the third NDP frame being used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0062] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a first access point, comprising: receiving a third NDPA frame from a station, the third NDPA frame being used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the station and the first access point being unassociated, the third NDPA frame including a second transmit power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. Sending the fourth NDP frame to the station at the second transmit power, the second transmit power being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer.

[0063] In the above technical solution, the first access point transmits an NDP frame using the expected transmit power, thereby enabling the second access point to select an appropriate target access point when subsequently performing a BSS transfer. For example, if the second access point obtains the second transmit power, i.e., the expected transmit power, from the first access point in advance, the second access point can simultaneously obtain the second transmit power and the second downlink received signal quality. In this case, the second access point can not only select an appropriate target access point for BSS transfer, but also reduce air interface signaling overhead.

[0064] In combination with the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0065] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0066] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0067] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the third NDPA frame further includes a third NDP presence field, and the third NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0068] In combination with the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, when the third NDP presence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the method also includes: sending the third NDP frame to the first access point, the third NDP frame being used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0069] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a site, comprising: determining that a first access point is performing channel measurement, and the site and the first access point are not associated. Receive a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, the fifth NDPA frame including a third transmission power for sending a third NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame. Determine a third downlink received signal quality based on the fifth NDP frame. Send a third transmission power and a third downlink received signal instruction to the second access point, the third transmission power and the third downlink received signal instruction are used for basic service set BSS transfer, the site and the second access point are associated, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0070] In the above technical solution, when the site discovers that the first access point is performing channel measurement, the site does not need to send a request frame, but follows the process of the first access point to perform channel measurement, and carries the third transmission power in the fifth NDPA frame. While reducing signaling overhead, it helps the second access point to subsequently select a more reasonable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the data transmission quality of subsequent sites.

[0071] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third AID field, and the fourth value of the third AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the third transmit power.

[0072] In combination with the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the third transmit power is equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0073] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to any one of at least one candidate access point, including: receiving a first frame from a site, the first frame including identification information of a second access point associated with the site, any one of the candidate access points and the site being not associated, and any one of the candidate access point and the second access point belonging to the same extended service set; receiving a second frame from the site, the second frame being used to obtain a second uplink received signal quality; and sending the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0074] In the above technical solution, the uplink received signal quality is measured by the candidate access point and directly fed back to the second access point, which not only reduces air interface resources but also does not affect the data transmission of the station itself.

[0075] In combination with the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the first frame is the sixth NDPA frame, and the second frame is the sixth NDP frame.

[0076] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver unit and a processing unit, wherein the transceiver unit is configured to send a request frame to a first access point, the request frame being used to trigger the sending of a response frame, wherein the station and the first access point are not associated. The transceiver unit is configured to receive a response frame from the first access point, the response frame including a first transmit power for sending the response frame. The processing unit is configured to determine a downlink received signal quality. The transceiver unit is configured to send the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality to a second access point, the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set (ESS).

[0077] It should be understood that, in the following, “first request frame” may be used to represent “request frame”, “first response frame” may be used to represent “response frame”, and “first site” may be used to represent “site”.

[0078] It should be understood that the technical effects corresponding to the technical solution of the eighth aspect can be referred to the first aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0079] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0080] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a first Null Data Packet (NDP) frame from the first access point. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the downlink received signal quality based on the first NDP frame.

[0081] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, after sending the request frame to the first access point, the transceiver unit is further used to grant the first access point the remaining transmission opportunities, where the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the station.

[0082] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and the first value of the first AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0083] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the response frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0084] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the second NDPA frame further includes a first NDP presence field, and the first NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0085] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a second NDP presence field, and the second value of the second NDP presence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0086] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, when the first NDP presence field indicates that a second NDP frame is sent following a second NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a second NDP frame to the first access point, where the second NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the first uplink received signal quality. The first NDPA frame also includes the first uplink received signal quality.

[0087] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are types of public action frames. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine the downlink received signal quality based on the TPC response frame.

[0088] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, when the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame, the processing unit is specifically used to determine the downlink received signal quality based on the measurement pilot frame.

[0089] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the first transmit power is equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0090] In conjunction with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, before sending the request frame to the first access point, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a wireless measurement request frame from the second access point, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point. The transceiver unit is further configured to send a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, where the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality are carried in the wireless measurement report frame.

[0091] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0092] In combination with the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0093] In combination with the eighth aspect, in certain implementations of the eighth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0094] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver unit configured to receive a request frame from a station, where the station is not associated with a first access point. The transceiver unit is configured to trigger sending a response frame to the station, where the response frame includes a first transmit power for sending the response frame, where the first transmit power is used for basic service set (BSS) transfer.

[0095] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the ninth aspect is similar to that of the second aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0096] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the request frame is a second empty data packet announcement NDPA frame, and the response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the request frame is a transmission power control TPC request frame, and the response frame is a TPC response frame; or the request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0097] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, when the request frame is a second NDPA frame and the response frame is a first NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is also used to send a first empty data packet NDP frame to the site, and the first NDP frame is used by the first site to determine the downlink received signal quality.

[0098] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, after sending a request frame to the first access point, the transceiver unit is further used to receive the remaining transmission opportunities granted by the site, where the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the site, the site is associated with the second access point, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0099] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and the first value of the first AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0100] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the second NDPA frame also includes the first repetition number of the long training field LTFs set in the requested first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the requested first NDP frame; the first NDPA frame includes the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0101] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the second NDPA frame further includes a first NDP presence field, and the first NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0102] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the first NDPA includes a second NDP presence field, and the second value of the second NDP presence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0103] In conjunction with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, when the first NDP presence field indicates that the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA, after receiving the request frame from the station, the apparatus further includes: receiving the second NDP frame from the station. Determining the first uplink received signal quality based on the second NDP frame, the first NDPA frame also including the first uplink received signal quality.

[0104] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, when the request frame is a TPC request frame and the response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are public action frames.

[0105] In combination with the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the first transmit power is equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0106] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device comprising a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit being configured to receive a first transmit power and a downlink received signal quality transmitted from a station, the first transmit power being the transmit power corresponding to a response frame sent by a first access point to the station, the downlink received signal quality being the downlink received signal quality between the station and the first access point, and the station and the first access point being unassociated. The processing unit being configured to transfer a basic service set (BSS) based on the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality, associate a second access point with the station, and the first access point and the second access point belonging to the same extended service set (ESS).

[0107] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the tenth aspect is similar to that of the third aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0108] In conjunction with the tenth aspect, in certain implementations of the tenth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a wireless measurement request frame to the station, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the station, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point. The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a wireless measurement report frame from the station, where the wireless measurement report frame includes the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0109] In conjunction with the tenth aspect, in certain implementations of the tenth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a fourth transmit power of the station. The processing unit is specifically configured to determine a transmission path loss between the station and the first access point based on the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality. The processing unit is specifically configured to estimate a second uplink received signal quality based on the transmission path loss and the fourth transmit power, where the second uplink received signal quality is the uplink received signal quality between the first access point and the station.

[0110] In combination with the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to instruct the station to send the request frame.

[0111] In combination with the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame further includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0112] In combination with the tenth aspect, in certain implementations of the tenth aspect, the wireless measurement request frame also includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate that the wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point other than the first transmit power and the downlink received signal quality.

[0113] It should be understood that in any implementation of the eighth to tenth aspects, the "downlink received signal quality" can also be expressed as the "first downlink received signal quality".

[0114] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a transceiver unit and a processing unit, the transceiver unit is used to send a third NDPA frame to the first access point, the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the site and the first access point are not associated, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmission power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame expected to be sent by the first access point. The transceiver unit is used to receive a fourth NDP frame sent from the first access point at a second transmission power. The processing unit is specifically used to obtain a second downlink received signal quality based on the fourth NDP frame. The transceiver unit is used to send the second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, wherein the second access point is associated with the site, the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set, and the second transmission power and the second downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer.

[0115] It should be understood that the technical effects corresponding to the technical solutions of the eleventh aspect are similar to those of the fourth aspect and will not be elaborated here.

[0116] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in some implementations of the eleventh aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0117] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0118] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0119] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the third NDPA frame further includes a third NDP presence field, and the third NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0120] In combination with the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, when the third NDP presence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is also used to send the third NDP frame to the first access point, and the third NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the quality of the third uplink received signal.

[0121] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device including a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit being configured to receive a third NDPA frame from a station, the third NDPA frame being used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame, the station being not associated with a first access point, the third NDPA frame including a second transmit power corresponding to an expectation that the first access point send the fourth NDP frame. The transceiver unit is configured to send the fourth NDP frame to the station at the second transmit power, the second transmit power being used for basic service set (BSS) transfer.

[0122] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the twelfth aspect is similar to that of the fifth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0123] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the second transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0124] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the third NDPA frame includes a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0125] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the third NDPA frame also includes the number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the requested fourth NDP frame, or includes the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0126] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the third NDPA frame further includes a third NDP presence field, and the third NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame.

[0127] In combination with the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, when the third NDP presence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a third NDP frame from the site, and the third NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0128] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the processing unit is used to determine that the first access point is performing channel measurement and the site and the first access point are not associated. The transceiver unit is used to receive a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, and the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmission power for sending a third NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame. The processing unit is used to determine a third downlink received signal quality based on the fifth NDP frame. The transceiver unit is used to send a third transmission power and a third downlink received signal instruction to the second access point, and the third transmission power and the third downlink received signal instruction are used for basic service set BSS transfer, the site and the second access point are associated, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0129] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the thirteenth aspect is similar to that of the sixth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0130] In combination with the thirteenth aspect, in certain implementations of the thirteenth aspect, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third AID field, and the fourth value of the third AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the third transmit power.

[0131] In combination with the thirteenth aspect, in certain implementations of the thirteenth aspect, the third transmission power is equal to the transmission power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0132] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device including a transceiver unit, the transceiver unit configured to receive a first frame from a station, the first frame including identification information of a second access point associated with the station, any candidate access point being not associated with the station, and any candidate access point and the second access point belonging to the same extended service set; the transceiver unit configured to receive a second frame from the station, the second frame being used to obtain a second uplink received signal quality, and the transceiver unit configured to send the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0133] It should be understood that the technical effect corresponding to the technical solution of the fourteenth aspect is similar to that of the seventh aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0134] In combination with the fourteenth aspect, in certain implementations of the fourteenth aspect, the first frame is the sixth NDPA frame, and the second frame is the sixth NDP frame.

[0135] In the fifteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes: a memory for storing programs; a processor for executing computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer program or instructions stored in the memory are executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to seventh aspects above.

[0136] In one implementation, the device is a station. In another implementation, the device is a first access point or a second access point. In another implementation, the device is any one of at least one candidate access point.

[0137] In the sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the method provided by any one of the implementation methods of the first to seventh aspects above. In the process of executing these methods, the process of sending the above information and obtaining / receiving the above information in the above method can be understood as the process of the processor outputting the above information, and the process of the processor receiving the input above information. When outputting the above information, the processor outputs the above information to the interface and transmits it through the interface. After being output by the processor, the above information may also need to undergo other processing before reaching the interface. Similarly, when the processor receives the input above information, the interface obtains / receives the above information and inputs it into the processor. Furthermore, after the interface receives the above information, the above information may need to undergo other processing before being input into the processor.

[0138] For the operations involved, such as transmission, sending, and acquisition / reception, unless otherwise specified, or if they do not conflict with their actual functions or internal logic in the relevant descriptions, they can be understood as output and reception, input and other operations, and can also be understood as transmission, sending and receiving operations performed by radio frequency circuits and antennas. This application does not limit this.

[0139] During implementation, the processor may be a processor specifically configured to execute the methods, or may be a processor that executes computer programs or instructions in a memory to execute the methods, such as a general-purpose processor. The memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip or disposed on separate chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of memory or the configuration of the memory and the processor.

[0140] In the seventeenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the above-mentioned first aspect, a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the above-mentioned second aspect, and a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the above-mentioned third aspect; or, the system includes a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the above-mentioned first aspect, and a device for implementing any one of the implementation methods of the above-mentioned third aspect.

[0141] In the eighteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a program code for execution by a device, and the program code includes a method for executing any one of the implementation methods of the first to seventh aspects above.

[0142] In the nineteenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method provided in any one of the implementations of the first to seventh aspects.

[0143] In the twentieth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The processor reads instructions stored in the memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to seventh aspects above.

[0144] As an implementation method, the chip may also include a memory, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. The processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction stored in the memory. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the processor is used to execute the method provided in any one of the implementation methods of the first to seventh aspects above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0145] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0146] FIG2 is an interactive diagram of a neighbor measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0147] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0148] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement report frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0149] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a process interaction of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0150] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0151] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a process interaction of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0152] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the format of a first NDP request frame and a first NDP response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0153] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of an access point channel measurement process interaction provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0154] FIG10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0155] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a process interaction of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0156] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the formats of a third NDPA frame and a fourth NDP frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0157] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a process interaction of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0158] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the format of a fifth NDPA frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0159] FIG15 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0160] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the formats of a TPC request frame and a TPC response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0161] FIG17 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0162] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of the format of a measurement pilot frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0163] FIG19 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0164] FIG20 is a schematic diagram of the format of a measurement request field and a measurement report field provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0165] FIG21 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0166] FIG22 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 2200 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0167] FIG23 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2300 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0168] FIG24 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 2400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0169] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0170] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained:

[0171] First, in this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their internal logical relationships.

[0172] Second, in this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Wherein a, b and c can be single or multiple, respectively.

[0173] Third, throughout this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical references (e.g., #1, #2, etc.) are used to distinguish between different access points for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, these terms are used to distinguish between different access points, rather than to describe a specific order or precedence. It should be understood that these terms are interchangeable, where appropriate, to allow for the description of solutions beyond the embodiments of this application.

[0174] It should be noted that, in the following text, information #1, resource indication information #1, and resource request information #1 have different meanings. It should be understood that the names of the various information are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting in this application and should not constitute any limitation on the technical solution of this application.

[0175] Fourth, in this application, expressions such as "when," "under the circumstances of," and "if" all imply that a corresponding action will be taken under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the timeframe, do not require a judgment action to be taken when the action is taken, and do not imply any other limitations. Furthermore, the judgment action following these conditional conjunctions does not imply that the judgment action following the conditional conjunctions is the only condition for achieving the result; additional conditions may also be included to achieve the result.

[0176] Fifth, in this application, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed or are inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatuses.

[0177] Sixth, in this application, "used to indicate" can include being used for direct indication and being used for indirect indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and it does not mean that the indication information must carry A.

[0178] The indication methods involved in the embodiments of this application should be understood to encompass various methods that enable the party to be indicated to obtain information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole or divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately. The transmission period and / or timing of these sub-information can be the same or different. This application does not limit the specific transmission method.

[0179] In the embodiments of the present application, the "indication information" may be an explicit indication, i.e., a direct indication via signaling, or may be obtained based on parameters indicated by the signaling, in combination with other rules, other parameters, or by deduction. It may also be an implicit indication, i.e., based on a rule or relationship, or based on other parameters, or by deduction. This application does not impose specific limitations on this.

[0180] Seventh, in this application, "storage" may refer to storage in one or more memories. The one or more memories may be provided separately or integrated into an encoder or decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The one or more memories may also be provided in part separately and in part integrated into a decoder, a processor, or a communication device. The memory may be any type of storage medium and is not limited in this application.

[0181] The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to wireless local area network (WLAN) scenarios, for example, supporting IEEE 802.11 related standards, such as 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay or 802.11bf, and Wi-Fi 8, etc. It can also be applied to wireless personal area network systems based on ultra wide band (UWB), such as the 802.15 series of standards, and can also be applied to sensing systems, such as the 802.11bf series of standards. Among them, the 802.11be standard is called extremely high throughput (EHT). Among them, 802.11bf includes two major categories of standards: low frequency (Sub-7GHz) and high frequency (60GHz). The implementation of Sub-7GHz mainly relies on standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11be and the next generation, and the implementation of 60GHz mainly relies on standards such as 802.11ad, 802.11ay and the next generation. 802.11ad may also be called a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) standard, and 802.11ay may also be called an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) standard.

[0182] Although the embodiments of the present application are primarily described using the deployment of a WLAN network, particularly a network using the IEEE 802.11 system standard, as an example, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the various aspects of the embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, such as a high-performance wireless local area network (HIPERLAN), a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), or other networks now known or developed in the future. Therefore, regardless of the coverage area and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0183] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various communication systems, such as WLAN communication systems, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) systems, fifth generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR), future sixth generation (6G) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) networks or vehicle to x (V2X), etc.

[0184] The above-mentioned communication system applicable to the present application is only an example, and the communication system applicable to the present application is not limited to this. It is described uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0185] In order to facilitate understanding of the solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief description of the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application is first given.

[0186] 1. Basic service set (BSS)

[0187] A BSS is a basic building block of an 802.11 network and is used to describe a group of mobile devices that communicate with each other in an 802.11 WLAN.

[0188] There are two types of basic service sets: one is the basic service set of infrastructure mode, which includes an access point (AP) and several stations (STA); the other is the basic service set of independent mode, which consists of several STAs.

[0189] Specifically, each basic service set has a unique identifier, called a basic service set identifier (BSSID), which corresponds to the MAC address of the AP. The BSS in the embodiment of the present application is an infrastructure mode BSS. The APs and STAs included in this type of BSS can be referred to as mutually associated APs and STAs. For example, the APs and STAs included in BSS#1 are mutually associated.

[0190] 2. Distributed system (DS)

[0191] A DS is a system that integrates local area networks (LANs) and interconnects multiple BSSs. The DS forms an extended service set (ESS). All BSSs within an ESS have the same service set identifier (SSID). The same ESS can include different access points (APs), which can communicate with each other through the DS.

[0192] 3. BSS transfer

[0193] BSS transfer is the process of a STA switching (or roaming) from its currently associated AP to another nearby AP. In other words, BSS transfer is the process of a STA switching from its currently associated AP#1 to AP#2, where BSS#1 associated with AP1 and BSS#2 associated with AP2 belong to the same ESS.

[0194] 4. Octet

[0195] An Octet consists of 8 bits.

[0196] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the measurement method provided by an embodiment of the present application is applicable between STAs and APs. The application scenario shown in Figure 1 is a scenario in which STAs perform neighbor scanning and measurements before BSS transfer in the same ESS. Among them, AP#1 and AP#2 belong to the same ESS. STA#2-1 and STA#2-2 are associated with AP#2, and AP#2, STA#2-1 and STA#2-2 belong to BSS#2. STA#1 is associated with AP#1. AP#1 and STA#1-1 belong to BSS#1, and the same ESS includes BSS#1 and BSS#2. The types of APs and STAs are briefly described below. It should be understood that AP#1 and AP#2 can be any of the following AP types, and STA#2-1 and STA#2-2 can also be any of the following STA types.

[0197] An AP is an access point for terminals (such as mobile phones) to access a wired (or wireless) network. It is primarily deployed in homes, buildings, and campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. It can also be deployed outdoors. An AP acts as a bridge between wired and wireless networks, connecting wireless network clients and then connecting the wireless network to the Ethernet.

[0198] Specifically, the AP can be a terminal or network device with a Wi-Fi chip, and the network device can be a server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, a network device in a future 6G network, or a network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The access point can be a device that supports the Wi-Fi standard. For example, the access point can also support one or more standards of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, and 802.11ay.

[0199] A STA may be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal, and may also be referred to as a user, user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. A STA may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, an Internet of Things device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, a terminal device in a future 6G network, or a terminal device in a PLMN, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. A STA may be a device that supports the WLAN standard. For example, the STA may support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 family, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, and 802.11ay.

[0200] For example, STAs can be mobile phones, tablets, set-top boxes, smart TVs, smart wearable devices, in-vehicle communication devices, computers, Internet of Things (IoT) nodes, sensors, smart homes such as smart cameras, smart remote controls, smart water and electricity meters, and sensors in smart cities.

[0201] The above-mentioned AP or STA may include a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, a processor, etc., wherein the transmitter and the receiver are used for sending and receiving packet structures respectively, the memory is used to store signaling information and store preset values ​​agreed in advance, etc., and the processor is used to parse signaling information, process related data, etc.

[0202] FIG2 is an interactive schematic diagram of a neighbor measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0203] S201, AP#2 sends a radio measurement request (Radio Measurement Request) frame to STA#1-1. The radio measurement request frame includes at least one measurement request element (Measurement Request element). The radio measurement request frame is used to request channel measurement results of surrounding neighboring APs.

[0204] It should be understood that the surrounding APs and AP#2 may or may not belong to the same ESS. The solution of the present invention focuses on the case where the surrounding APs and AP#2 belong to the same ESS. AP#2 is associated with STA#2-1.

[0205] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement request frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0206] As shown in FIG3 , the radio measurement request frame includes a Category field, a Radio Measurement Action field, a Dialog Token field, a Number of Repetitions field, and a Measurement Request elements field.

[0207] The Category field indicates the category of the action frame. The Category field is 1 octet (8 bits). For example, for a Radio Measurement request, this field is set to 5. Table 1 lists the meanings of the Radio Measurement Action field. As shown in Table 1, for a Radio Measurement Request, the Radio Measurement Action field is 0. When the Dialog Token field is set to a non-zero value, it indicates a specific request / report interaction. The Repeat Count field indicates the number of repetitions for all measurements requested in the frame.

[0208] Table 1

[0209] The Measurement Request Element field carries zero or more Measurement Request elements, as shown in Figure 3. The Measurement Request Element field may include an Element ID field, a Length field, a Measurement Token field, a Measurement Request Mode field, a Measurement Type field, and a Measurement Request field.

[0210] The Element Identifier field indicates the identifier corresponding to this element. The Element Identifier field has a size of 1 octet. For a Measurement Request element, this field can be set to 38. The Length field indicates the length of the element. It should be understood that the Length field includes the total length of the Element Identifier field and the Length field. The Length field has a size of 1 octet. When the Measurement Token field is set to a non-zero value, the Measurement Token field uniquely identifies the corresponding Measurement Request element in the Measurement Request Element field of the Radio Measurement Request frame. The Measurement Token field has a size of 1 octet.

[0211] The Measurement Request Mode field includes the Parallel subfield, the Enable subfield, the Request subfield, the Report subfield, the Duration Mandatory subfield, and the Reserved field. The Measurement Request Mode field is 1 octet (8 bits). The Parallel subfield indicates whether multiple measurement requests are to be performed in parallel or sequentially. The Parallel subfield is 1 bit long. The Enable subfield distinguishes whether the request is a measurement request, triggers the destination station, or autonomously reports. The Enable subfield is 1 bit long. The Request subfield indicates whether the destination station is allowed to send a measurement request for the specified measurement type. The Request subfield is 1 bit long. The Report subfield indicates whether the destination station is allowed to send a measurement report for the specified measurement type. The Report subfield is 1 bit long. The Duration Mandatory subfield indicates whether the specified measurement duration is mandatory. The Duration Mandatory subfield is 1 bit long. The Reserved field is 3 bits long.

[0212] The measurement type field is used to indicate the measurement type requested by the measurement request. For example, when the value of the measurement type field is 5, the measurement type field is used to indicate that the measurement type requested by the measurement request is a beacon request.

[0213] The Measurement Request field is used to carry the corresponding measurement request information. The measurement request field format shown in Figure 3 is the measurement request field corresponding to the Beacon request measurement type. The measurement request field includes the operating class field, the channel number field, the randomization interval field, the measurement duration field, the measurement mode field, the BSS identifier field, and the optional subelements field. The Operation Category field indicates the operation category of the corresponding channel and has a size of 1 octet. The Channel Number field indicates the corresponding channel number and has a size of 1 octet. Based on the Operation Category and Channel Number fields, the receiver can determine the corresponding channel frequency and channel bandwidth. The Random Interval field indicates the upper limit of the random delay that can be introduced before measurement and has a size of 2 octets. The Measurement Duration field indicates the desired or mandatory measurement duration in time units (TUs), for example, 1.024 microseconds. The Measurement Duration field has a size of 2 octets. The Measurement Mode field indicates the measurement mode used for the measurement. The specific settings are shown in Table 2 below. The Measurement Mode field has a size of 6 octets.

[0214] Table 2

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

[0216] The BSS Identifier field indicates the BSSID of the neighboring AP (also known as the measured AP) performing the Beacon request measurement. When set to a broadcast address, the BSS Identifier field indicates that all APs on the corresponding channel are measured. The size of the BSS Identifier field is 6 octets. The Optional Sub-Element field is used to carry zero or more sub-elements, as shown in Table 3. The size of the Optional Sub-Element field is variable.

[0217] Table 3

[0218] For example, the SSID field instructs a STA to scan only neighbors with a given SSID. The Beacon Report field indicates the triggering conditions for a STA to report a measurement. The Report Details field indicates the content of measured Beacon or Probe Response frames. The Access Point Channel Report field indicates the channels on which a STA is most likely to discover neighboring APs.

[0219] S202, STA#2-1 collects measurement results.

[0220] It should be understood that STA# 2 - 1 can perform neighbor scanning and measurement according to the wireless measurement request frame to collect measurement results of surrounding neighbor APs.

[0221] The following will take AP#2 among the surrounding APs as an example to illustrate the specific method for STA#2-1 to collect measurement results. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of APs that collect measurement results.

[0222] Method 1: STA#2-1 periodically detects the downlink signal sent by AP#1 to measure the downlink channel quality between STA#2-1 and AP#1.

[0223] For example, in S202a-1, AP#1 periodically transmits Beacon frames on a specific channel. In S202a-2, STA#2-1 monitors Beacon frames on each given channel. Measurement results may include downlink channel quality based on the monitored Beacon frames, as well as information about AP#1's capabilities or operating parameters included in the Beacon frames.

[0224] The sending period of AP#1 may be 100 milliseconds (ms).

[0225] In this example of method 1, the measurement mode for collecting measurement results of AP#2 is the passive mode. That is, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request element field in the wireless measurement request frame corresponding to this example is 0, as shown in Table 2.

[0226] In this example of the first approach, the periodically transmitted Beacon frames carry a large amount of information (eg, capability information, operating parameters, and other information of AP#2).

[0227] STA#2-1 obtains AP#1's measurement results using measurement mode 1. However, since STA#2-1 needs to monitor Beacon frames on a given channel, and AP#1 sends Beacon frames at a long interval, this takes STA#2-1 a long time. This, in turn, severely impacts STA#2-1's own data transmission while performing neighbor scanning and measurement.

[0228] For another example, in S202b-1, AP#1 periodically sends a measurement pilot frame on a determined channel.

[0229] S202b-2, STA#2-1 monitors the measurement pilot frame on each given channel. The measurement result may be the monitored measurement pilot frame.

[0230] It should be understood that, similar to the above example, this measurement mode is also a passive mode, the difference being that the transmission period of the measurement pilot frame in this example is shorter than the transmission period of the Beacon frame.

[0231] Although STA#2-1 takes less time to scan and measure neighbors than in the previous example, it still affects STA#1-1's data transmission to some extent. In addition, the measurement method used in this example is rarely implemented in products.

[0232] Method 2:

[0233] S202c-1, STA#2-1 sends a Probe Request frame to AP#1.

[0234] S202c-2, AP#1 sends an Acknowledgement frame to STA#2-1.

[0235] S202c-3, AP#1 sends a probe response frame to STA#2-1. The measurement result may be a probe response frame.

[0236] S202c-4, STA#2-1 sends an Acknowledgement frame to AP#1.

[0237] The measurement mode for collecting measurement results of AP#1 in mode 2 is active mode. That is, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request element field in the wireless measurement request frame corresponding to mode 2 is 1, as shown in Table 2.

[0238] It should be understood that since the probe request frame in S202c-1 and the probe response frame in S202c-3 are both management frames, for the receiving end AP#1 that receives the probe request frame, AP#1 needs to first return a confirmation frame (such as S202c-2) after receiving it, and then re-compete for the channel to send a probe response frame (such as S202c-3), and then STA#2-1 returns a confirmation frame (S202c-4).

[0239] In the second approach, the probe request frame and the probe response frame also carry a large amount of information (eg, capability information and operation parameter information of AP#1).

[0240] STA#2-1 obtains AP#1's measurement results using measurement mode 2. However, due to the long interaction time between STA#2-1 and AP#1, this takes STA#2-1 a long time, which in turn causes the neighbor scanning and measurement process to seriously affect STA#2-1's own data transmission.

[0241] S203, STA#2-1 sends a radio measurement report (Radio Measurement Response) frame to AP#2. The radio measurement report frame is used to feed back measurement results of neighboring APs.

[0242] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the format of a wireless measurement report frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0243] As shown in FIG4 , the radio measurement report frame includes a Category field, a Radio Measurement Action field, a Dialog Token field, and a Measurement Report elements field.

[0244] The Category field indicates the category of the action frame and is 1 octet in size. For example, for Radio Measurement, this field is set to 5. Table 1 lists the meanings of the Radio Measurement Action field values. As shown in Table 1, for a Radio Measurement Report, the Radio Measurement Action field value is 1. When the Dialog Token field is set to a non-zero value, it indicates a specific request / report interaction.

[0245] The Measurement Report Element field carries zero or more Measurement Report elements, as shown in Figure 4. The Measurement Report Element field may include an Element ID field, a Length field, a Measurement Token field, a Measurement Report Mode field, a Measurement Type field, and a Measurement Report field. The Element ID, Length field, and Measurement Token field in the Measurement Report Element field have similar functions to the corresponding fields in the Measurement Request Element field and are not described in detail here.

[0246] The measurement report mode field includes a late subfield, an incapable subfield, a rejected subfield, and a reserved subfield. The size of the measurement report mode field is 1 octet, that is, 8 bits. The late subfield is used to indicate whether the STA is unable to perform the measurement request. The size of the late subfield is 1 bit. For example, when the value of the late subfield is set to 1, the measurement request is too late. The incapable subfield is used to indicate whether the station is unable to generate the requested measurement report. The size of the incapable subfield is 1 bit. For example, when the value of the incapable subfield is set to 1, the STA is unable to generate the requested measurement report. The rejected subfield is used to indicate whether the STA refuses to generate the requested measurement report. The size of the rejected subfield is 1 bit. The size of the reserved field is 5 bits.

[0247] The measurement type field is used to indicate the measurement type reported in the measurement report. For example, when the value of the measurement type field is 5, the measurement type field is used to indicate that the measurement type reported in the measurement report is a beacon report.

[0248] The measurement report field is used to carry 0 or more measurement reports. The measurement report field format shown in Figure 4 is the measurement report field corresponding to the measurement type Beacon report. The measurement report field includes an operating class field, a channel number field, an actual measurement start time field, a measurement duration field, a reported frame information field, a received channel power indicator (RCPI) field, a received signal noise indicator (RSNI) field, a BSS identifier (BSSID) field, an antenna identifier (Antenna ID) field, a parent timing synchronization function (parent TSF) field, and an optional subelements field. Among them, the functions of the operating class field and the channel number field in the measurement report field are similar to those of the corresponding fields in the measurement request field and are not repeated here.

[0249] The Actual Measurement Start Time field indicates the start time of the STA's measurement and has a size of 8 octets. The Measurement Duration field indicates the duration of the STA's measurement and has a size of 2 octets. The Reported Frame Information field indicates the reported frame information and has a size of 1 octet, or 8 bits. The reported frame information includes the Condensed PHY Type field and the Reported Frame Type field. The Condensed PHY Type field indicates the physical layer type used by the measured frame and has a size of 7 bits. The Reported Frame Type field indicates the frame type of the measured frame and has a size of 1 bit. When the Reported Frame Type field is set to 0, the reported frame type is a Beacon frame or a Probe Response frame. When the Reported Frame Type field is set to 1, the reported frame type is a Measurement Pilot frame.

[0250] The RCPI field is used to indicate the channel power measured based on the Beacon frame, probe response frame or measurement pilot frame. The size of this field is 1 octet. The RSNI field is used to indicate the signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio measured based on the Beacon frame, probe response frame or measurement pilot frame. The size of this field is 1 octet. The BSS identifier field is used to indicate the BSS identifier corresponding to the measured Beacon frame, probe response frame or measurement pilot frame. The size of this field is 6 octets. The antenna identifier field is used to indicate the corresponding antenna identifier used to receive the measured signal. The size of this field is 1 octet. The root time field is used to indicate the lower four bytes of the STA time synchronization function, which corresponds to the time when the measured Beacon frame, measurement pilot frame or probe response frame is received. The size of this field is 4 octets. The optional sub-element field for the Beacon report is used to carry 0 or more sub-elements, as shown in Table 4. The size of the optional sub-element field is variable.

[0251] Table 4

[0252] For example, the Report Frame Body sub-element is used to carry part or all of the frame body of the measured frame. When the value of the field corresponding to the Report Details sub-element in the Optional Sub-element field in the Measurement Request field corresponding to the Beacon Request is set to 0, the Optional Sub-element field in the Measurement Report field corresponding to the Beacon Report does not include the Report Frame Body sub-element.

[0253] S204: AP#2 determines a target AP based on the measurement results of surrounding APs.

[0254] The target AP may include at least one neighboring AP.

[0255] Optionally, AP#2 sends a BSS transfer request to STA#2-1, where the BSS transfer request includes a target AP.

[0256] It should be understood that in S203, STA#2-1 can report the measurement results collected in S202 and information such as AP#1's capability information or operating parameters included in the Beacon frame or probe response frame to AP#2 via a wireless measurement report frame.

[0257] However, Beacon frames and probe response frames carry a large amount of information, including, for example, AP#1's capabilities and operating parameters. This results in significant signaling overhead. For scenarios with different APs in the same ESS, capabilities and operating parameters can be exchanged between APs using the DS, eliminating the need to waste air interface resources by feeding information back to AP#2 via STA#2-1.

[0258] Furthermore, different STAs implement neighbor scanning and measurement inconsistently. For example, even if AP#1 sends a wireless measurement request frame to STA#1-1 to perform neighbor scanning and measurement, some manufacturers' STA#1-1s simply ignore the request and do not perform neighbor scanning and measurement. Another example is that the calculation methods for the RCPI and RSNI fields reported by STA#1-1 from different manufacturers are inconsistent.

[0259] Finally, in either measurement mode, there may be uplink and downlink asymmetry between STA#2-1 and AP#1. This means that the downlink channel quality measured by STA#2-1 differs significantly from the uplink channel quality between AP#1 and STA#2-1. In this case, the candidate AP selected by AP#2 for BSS transfer based on the downlink measurement results collected by STA#2-1 may not be the most appropriate, which may affect the subsequent data transmission quality of STA#2-1.

[0260] To address the above issues, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figures 5 to 24.

[0261] FIG5 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the interaction diagram shown in FIG5 uses the first site, the first access point, and the second access point as examples to illustrate the corresponding method, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. For example, the first site in FIG5 may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the first site to implement the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first site. The first access point in FIG5 may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the first access point to implement the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first access point. The second access point in FIG5 may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the second access point to implement the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second access point.

[0262] It should be understood that the first station and the first access point are not associated with each other, the first station and the second access point are associated with each other, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same ESS.

[0263] It should be understood that, in the following, "first request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "first response frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "site", and "downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0264] Optionally, in S560, the second access point sends a wireless measurement request frame to the first station, where the wireless measurement request frame is used to request a channel quality measurement result between the first station and at least one neighbor access point, where the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point.

[0265] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement frame includes identification indication information of at least one neighbor access point.

[0266] Exemplarily, the wireless measurement request frame includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point.

[0267] Specifically, the BSS identification character field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame may include identification indication information of at least one neighbor access point, for example, address information of the first access point.

[0268] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first station to send the first request frame.

[0269] It should be understood that the first indication information indicates a new measurement mode, that is, the communication method between the first station and the first access point provided in the embodiment of the present application, that is, the channel measurement between the first station and the first access point.

[0270] Exemplarily, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 3, or the existing value of the measurement mode field can be combined with other fields to represent the first indication information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the first indication information.

[0271] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that a subsequent wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality.

[0272] Specifically, the value of the report details field in the optional sub-element field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 0. It should be understood that the third indication information can also be represented by other fields, and this embodiment of the application does not limit this.

[0273] It should be understood that the communication method provided in this embodiment can be applied between the first station and each neighboring access point. The following is a detailed description taking the first access point as an example.

[0274] S510: A first station sends a first request frame to a first access point, where the first request frame is used to trigger the sending of a first response frame.

[0275] S520: The first access point sends a first response frame to the first station, where the first response frame includes a first transmit power for sending the first response frame.

[0276] It should be understood that the first request frame and the first response frame in the embodiment of the present application are not request frames and response frames in the strict sense, and may include multiple forms.

[0277] The first transmission power included in the first response frame may be the first transmission power information itself or information indicating the first transmission power, and this embodiment of the present application does not limit this. In other words, the first response frame includes the first transmission power information used when sending the first response frame. It should be understood that other transmission powers in the embodiments of the present application may also be transmission powers of this application, or information indicating other transmission powers, and this will not be specifically explained later.

[0278] As a possible implementation manner, the first request frame is a second null data packet announcement (NDPA) frame, and the first response frame is a first NDPA frame; or the first request frame is a transmit power control (TPC) request frame, and the first response frame is a TPC response frame; or the first request frame is a measurement pilot request frame, and the first response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0279] It should be understood that the above-mentioned different first request frames and first response frames will be described in detail later in conjunction with Figures 6, 15 and 17.

[0280] As a possible implementation manner, the first transmit power may be equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0281] S530: The first station determines a first downlink received signal quality.

[0282] The first downlink reception quality signal may include one or more of a first downlink received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a first downlink received channel power indicator (RCPI), and a first downlink received signal-to-noise ratio indicator (RSNI).

[0283] As a possible implementation method, when the first request frame is the second NDPA frame and the first response frame is the first NDPA frame, the first station receives the first NDP frame from the first access point, and determines the first downlink received signal quality based on the first NDPA frame and / or the first NDP frame.

[0284] It should be understood that the NDPA frame in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail later in conjunction with Figure 8.

[0285] As a possible implementation method, when the first request frame is a TPC request frame and the first response frame is a TPC response frame, the types of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame are defined as Class 1 frames, or as Public Action frames, and the first downlink received signal quality is determined based on the TPC response frame.

[0286] As a possible implementation manner, when the first request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the first response frame is a measurement pilot frame, the first downlink received signal quality is determined according to the measurement pilot frame.

[0287] S540: The first station sends a first transmit power and a first downlink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0288] As a possible implementation manner, the first station sends a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, where the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality are carried in the wireless measurement report frame.

[0289] Optionally, the first station sends the transmit power from other neighboring access points and the downlink received signal quality corresponding to the other neighboring access points to the second access point.

[0290] S550: The second access point performs BSS transfer according to the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality.

[0291] In other words, the second access point makes a BSS transfer decision based on the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality, that is, decides a target access point for BSS transfer.

[0292] As a possible implementation manner, the second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighboring access point based on the first downlink received signal quality and the downlink received signal qualities corresponding to other neighboring access points.

[0293] As a possible implementation, the second access point determines the transmission path loss between the first station and the first access point based on the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality. The second access point also determines the transmission path loss between other neighboring access points and the first station based on the transmit power of other neighboring access points and the corresponding downlink received signal quality of the other neighboring access points. The second access point estimates the uplink received signal quality between the first station and different access points based on the corresponding transmission path loss of different access points and the maximum transmit power of the first station. The second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighboring access point based on the corresponding uplink received signal quality and downlink received signal instruction of the different access points.

[0294] As a possible implementation manner, the second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighboring access point according to the estimated uplink received signal qualities corresponding to different access points.

[0295] It should be understood that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific process of the second access point selecting the target access point for BSS transfer.

[0296] In the above technical solution, the first station sends the determined first downlink received signal quality and the first transmit power corresponding to the first access point to the second access point, providing the second access point with more information in the decision-making process of the target access point for BSS transfer. This can help the second access point make a more reasonable selection and avoid selecting a neighboring access point with poorer quality as the target access point based solely on the downlink received signal quality, thereby helping to ensure the data transmission quality between the first station and the target access point after the BSS transfer.

[0297] The above solution will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 6 to FIG. 9 and FIG. 17 to FIG. 20 .

[0298] FIG6 is a flow diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the interaction diagram shown in FIG6 uses the first site and the first access point as examples to illustrate the corresponding method, but the present application does not limit the execution of the interaction diagram. For example, the first site in FIG6 may also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first site to implement the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first site. The first access point in FIG6 may also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first access point to implement the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first access point.

[0299] It should be understood that, in the following, "first NDP request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "first NDP response frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent "site", and "first downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0300] S610: A first station sends a first NDP request frame to a first access point, requesting a first NDPA frame and a first NDP frame.

[0301] The first station and the first access point are not associated. For example, as shown in FIG1 , the first station may be STA#2-1, and the first access point may be AP#1.

[0302] It should be understood that the first NDP request frame is not a request frame in the strict sense.

[0303] As a possible implementation, the first NDP request frame may be an NDPA frame, such as a second NDPA frame. The transmission method and specific format when the first NDP request frame is a second NDPA frame will be described in detail below with reference to FIG7 and FIG8 .

[0304] S620: The first access point triggers the sending of a first NDP response frame according to the first NDP request frame, where the first NDP response frame includes a first transmit power.

[0305] It should be understood that the first NDP response frame is not a response frame in the strict sense.

[0306] The first NDP response frame is a first NDPA frame, and the first NDPA frame includes a first transmit power.

[0307] Optionally, the first access point sends a first NDP frame to the first station, and a short interface space (SIFS) is separated between the first NDPA frame and the first NDP frame.

[0308] It should be understood that the transmission power of the first NDPA frame and the first NDP frame can both be the first transmission power.

[0309] S630: The first station obtains a first downlink received signal quality according to the first NDPA frame and / or the first NDP frame.

[0310] The first transmission power and the first downlink received signal quality are used for BSS transfer.

[0311] In the above technical solution, the first station and the first access point perform downlink channel quality measurement through control frames, such as NDPA frames and NDP frames. Since the interval between control frames is short, the time for the first station to scan and measure neighbors can be greatly shortened, thereby reducing the impact of the neighbor measurement and scanning process on the first station's own data transmission.

[0312] As a possible implementation, the first transmit power may be equal to the transmit power of a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the first access point. The transmit power of the beacon frame or the probe response frame may be the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0313] In this way, when the first transmit power is the transmit power of a Beacon frame or a probe response frame, that is, when the first transmit power is the maximum transmit power of the first access point, the subsequently obtained transmission path loss can be made more accurate. For example, if the distance between the first station and the first access point is long, the first access point can send the first NDP response frame at the maximum transmit power to avoid inaccurate transmission path loss estimation due to the distance between the first station and the first access point.

[0314] Optionally, in S640, the first station grants the remaining transmission opportunities (TXOPs) to the first access point, where the remaining transmission opportunities are the remaining transmission opportunities of the first station.

[0315] The first station and the second access point are associated with each other. For example, as shown in FIG1 , the first station may be STA#2-1, and the second access point may be AP#2.

[0316] As a possible implementation manner, the protocol presupposes that after the first station sends the first NDP request frame to the first access point, the first access point is granted the remaining TXOP.

[0317] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame includes fourth indication information, where the fourth indication information is used to indicate the remaining TXOP granted to the first access point.

[0318] For example, a reverse direction grant (RDG) field is added to the second NDPA frame to indicate that the remaining TXOP is granted to the first access point.

[0319] Optionally, the first access point uses the remaining transmission opportunities to instruct one or more associated stations corresponding to the first access point to perform channel measurement in the first NDPA frame. In other words, the first access point uses the remaining transmission opportunities to instruct the stations associated with the first access point to perform beam training.

[0320] Optionally, after S620 , the seventh NDPA frame sent by the first access point to the station associated with the first access point instructs the station associated with the first access point to collect channel measurement information.

[0321] For example, as shown in Figure 1, the first access point may be AP#1 in Figure 1, and the station associated with the first access point may be STA#1 in Figure 1. It should be understood that the process of the first access point instructing the associated station to perform channel measurement will be described in detail later in conjunction with Figure 9.

[0322] In the above technical solution, during the process of neighbor scanning and measurement performed by the first site, the transmission opportunity between the first site and the second access point is given to the first access point, that is, the process of beam training performed by the first access point and the process of neighbor scanning and measurement are combined, thereby improving the overall operation efficiency.

[0323] The following will describe in detail the process interaction diagram of the communication method shown in Figure 6 in conjunction with Figure 7. Figure 7 is a process interaction diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The execution body shown in Figure 7 is similar to that in Figure 6, and the relevant explanation is not repeated here.

[0324] In the first step, the first station sends a first NDP request frame to the first access point. The first NDP request frame may be an NDPA frame, for example, a second NDPA frame.

[0325] Optionally, in a second step, after a short frame interval, the first station may send a second NDP frame to the first access point.

[0326] In the third step, after a short frame interval, the first access point sends a first NDPA frame to the first station.

[0327] Optionally, in the fourth step, after a short frame interval, the first access point sends a first NDP frame to the first station.

[0328] It should be understood that each of the above steps may be separated by the same short frame interval, or may be separated by different short frame intervals, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Since the second step is optional, if the second step is not present, only one short frame interval is required between the first and third steps.

[0329] The formats of the first NDP request frame and the first NDP response frame will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 8. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the formats of a first NDP request frame and a first NDP response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. The first NDP request frame shown in (a) of Figure 8 is taken as an example of the second NDPA frame, and Figure 8 (b) is taken as an example of the first NDP response frame being the first NDPA frame.

[0330] As shown in FIG8(a), the second NDPA frame includes a Frame Control field, a Duration field, a Receiver Address (RA) field, a Transmitter Address (TA) field, a Sounding Dialog Token field, a Station Information List (STA Info List) field, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS) field. The Frame Control field has a size of 2 octets, the Duration field has a size of 2 octets, the Receiver Address field has a size of 6 octets, the Transmitter Address field has a size of 6 octets, the Sounding Dialog Token field has a size of 1 octet, the Station Information List field has a variable size, and the Frame Control field has a size of 4 octets.

[0331] The Frame Control field carries protocol version information and frame type information. The frame type information includes two fields: Type and Subtype. For the second NDPA frame, which is a control frame, the Type and Subtype fields can be set to 01 and 0101, respectively. The Duration field indicates the remaining time of the transmission opportunity. The Receiver Address field indicates the receiving address. The Transmitter Address field indicates the transmitting address.

[0332] As shown in Figure 8(a), the Measurement Dialog Token field includes the NDP Announcement Variant field and the Sounding Dialog Token Number field. The NDP Announcement Variant field is 2 bits long, and the Sounding Dialog Token Number field is 6 bits long. Specific values ​​for the NDP Announcement Variant field can be as shown in Table 5.

[0333] Table 5

[0334] For example, the length of each Site Information field for VHT NDPA is 2 bytes. The length of each Site Information field for Sensing NDPA is 4 bytes, and the value of the Association Identifier (AID) field in the first Site Information field is 2045, and the value of the 32nd bit (i.e., bit numbered B31) of the Site Information field is 1. The length of each Site Information field for HE NDPA is 4 bytes. The length of each Site Information field for EHT NDPA is 4 bytes.

[0335] The following describes in detail the format of the site information field corresponding to the variant of the second NDPA frame in the embodiment of the present application, taking VHT NDPA and HE NDPA as examples. At this time, the values ​​of the NDP announcement variant are 0 and 2 respectively.

[0336] In an embodiment of the present application, as a possible implementation, the second NDPA frame includes a fourth AID field, and the fifth value of the fourth AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitter. In this case, the transmit power of the transmitter is the transmit power of the second NDPA frame sent by the first station to the first access point, or the transmit power of the second NDPA frame and the second NDP frame sent by the first station to the first access point, wherein the transmit power of the second NDPA frame and the second NDP frame may be the same.

[0337] For example, as shown in FIG8(a), the Site Information field corresponding to the VHT NDPA variant indicates that the transmit power field of the transmitter is present in the Site Information field corresponding to the VHT NDPA variant by using a special value in the AID12 field, for example, 2046. Alternatively, the Site Information field corresponding to the HE NDPA variant indicates that the transmit power field of the transmitter is present in the Site Information field corresponding to the HE NDPA variant by using a special value in the AID11 field, for example, 2046.

[0338] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame includes indication information of the transmit power of the transmitting end.

[0339] For example, as shown in FIG8(a), the site information field corresponding to the VHT NDPA or HE NDPA variant may also include a transmit power field of the transmitting end, which may indicate the transmit power of the second NDPA frame. Alternatively, the transmit power field may indicate the transmit power of the second NDPA frame and the transmit power of the second NDPA frame transmitted immediately thereafter.

[0340] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame may further include a request for a first repetition number of a long training fields (LTFs) set in the first NDP frame, or include a request for a second repetition number of the first NDP frame.

[0341] It should be understood that the fourth AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of a field with the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0342] For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 8, the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA may also include a request for a first repetition count of the long training field LTFs set in the first NDP frame, or a request for a second repetition count of the first NDP frame.

[0343] In this way, when the first station performs channel measurement through the first NDP frame, it can perform multiple measurements based on the multiple repeated first NDP frames, thereby improving the measurement accuracy of the downlink channel by the first station.

[0344] As a possible implementation manner, the second NDPA frame further includes a first NDP presence field, where the first NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0345] It should be understood that the fourth AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of the first NDP presence field.

[0346] For example, as shown in (a) of FIG8 , the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA may further include a first NDP presence field, and a second NDP presence field is used to indicate whether the second NDP frame is sent following the second NDPA frame.

[0347] Specifically, 1 bit is used in the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA to indicate whether the second NDP frame exists.

[0348] In this way, by setting the NDP frame as an optional message frame through the field, the message can be sent flexibly. For example, if only the first station needs to perform downlink channel measurement, bandwidth resources can be saved and signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0349] Accordingly, the format of the first NDPA frame and the format of the second NDPA frame described in FIG8( b ) are similar.

[0350] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame includes a first AID field, and the first value of the first AID is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the first transmit power.

[0351] For example, as shown in FIG8(b), the site information field corresponding to the VHT NDPA variant indicates the presence of the first transmit power field in the site information field corresponding to the VHT NDPA variant by using a special value in the AID12 field, for example, 2046. Alternatively, the site information field corresponding to the HE NDPA variant indicates the presence of the first transmit power field in the site information field corresponding to the HE NDPA variant by using a special value in the AID11 field, for example, 2046.

[0352] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame includes a first transmit power field.

[0353] For example, as shown in FIG8( b ), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA includes a first transmit power field, which is used to indicate the transmit power of the first NDPA frame and the first NDP frame.

[0354] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame further includes the first repetition number of the LTFs set in the first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the first NDP frame.

[0355] It should be understood that the first AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of a field with the first repetition number or the second repetition number.

[0356] For example, as shown in FIG8( b ), the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA includes the first repetition number of the LTFs set in the first NDP frame, or includes the second repetition number of the first NDP frame.

[0357] As a possible implementation manner, the first NDPA frame includes a second NDP presence field, and the second value of the second NDP presence field is used to indicate that the first NDP frame is sent following the first NDPA frame.

[0358] It should be understood that the first AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of the second NDP presence field.

[0359] For example, as shown in (b) of FIG8 , if the site information field corresponding to the variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA includes a second NDP presence field, the value of the second NDP presence field is set to 1, indicating that the first NDP frame is sent after the first NDPA frame at an interval of SIFS.

[0360] As a possible implementation method, when the second NDPA frame includes a first NDP presence field indicating that the second NDP frame is sent immediately after the second NDPA frame, the first access point can obtain the uplink received signal quality based on the second NDP frame, and the first NDPA frame can also include the uplink received signal quality.

[0361] For example, the site information field corresponding to a variant of VHT NDPA or HE NDPA also includes uplink received signal quality.

[0362] In this way, the first station can simultaneously obtain the channel quality between the first station and the first access point, which can avoid the second access point selecting an inappropriate candidate access point when selecting a candidate access point for BSS transfer due to uplink and downlink asymmetry.

[0363] An optional implementation of S640 will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 9 . Figure 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the interaction process for performing channel measurement on an access point, provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the execution entities shown in Figure 9 are a first access point and a second station. The explanation of the first access point and the second station is similar to that of the first access point and the first station, and reference may be made to Figure 6 . The second station may be STA#2 shown in Figure 1 , which is associated with the first access point.

[0364] The interaction process shown in Figure 9 is based on the example of the first access point sending an NDPA frame and the second station measuring the downlink channel quality and providing feedback. The measurement method shown in Figure 9 can be divided into two channel measurement methods according to the number of beamforming receivers. The first method, as shown in Figure 9 (a), is a non-trigger (non-TB) channel measurement with only one beamforming receiver. The second method, as shown in Figure 9 (b), is a trigger-based (TB) channel measurement with multiple beamforming receivers. Since channel measurement can also be called beam training, the first access point in Figure 9 can also be called a beamforming transmitter, and the second station can also be called a beamforming receiver.

[0365] As shown in Figure 9(a), in the first step, the first access point sends NDPA#3 to the second station. In the second step, after a SIFS interval, the first access point sends NDP#3 to the second station. In the third step, after a SIFS interval, the second station sends a compressed beamforming or channel quality indicator (CQI) to the first access point.

[0366] For example, NDPA #3 may be a HE NDPA.

[0367] NDPA#3 indicates which sites need to measure the next NDP and the corresponding parameters of the NDP.

[0368] As shown in Figure 9(b), in the first step, the first access point sends NDPA#4 to multiple second stations. In the second step, after a SIFS interval, the first access point sends NDP#4 to the multiple second stations. In the third step, after a SIFS interval, the first access point sends a BFRP trigger frame to the multiple second stations. In the fourth step, after a SIFS interval, the multiple second stations sequentially send compressed beamforming or channel quality indicators to the first access point.

[0369] During beam training, the number of high-efficiency long training fields (HE-LTFs) carried by NDP#3 or NDP#4 is the maximum number of supported transmit streams, which is generally equal to the number of transmit antennas.

[0370] Figure 10 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the execution subject of the flow interaction diagram of the method shown in Figure 10 is similar to that of Figure 6 and will not be repeated here.

[0371] S1010: A first station sends a third NDPA frame to a first access point, where the third NDPA frame includes a second transmit power of a desired fourth NDP frame.

[0372] As a possible implementation, the second transmit power may be carried by the second access point in a wireless measurement request frame, for example, through a wireless measurement request frame whose measurement type is Beacon request.

[0373] As a possible implementation, the first access point sends the second transmit power to the second access point via wired communication of the DS. Alternatively, the second transmit power is the expected transmit power of the second access point, or the second transmit power is the expected transmit power of the first station.

[0374] It should be understood that the specific format of the third NDPA frame will be described in detail in (a) of Figure 12. The transmission method of the third NDPA frame will be described in detail in Figure 11.

[0375] S1020: The first access point sends a fourth NDP frame to the first station at the second transmit power.

[0376] S1030. The first station obtains a second downlink received signal quality according to the fourth NDP frame.

[0377] It should be understood that the second downlink received signal quality may include one or more of a second downlink RSSI, a second downlink RCPI, and a second downlink RSNI.

[0378] S1040: The first station sends a second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, where the second downlink received signal quality is used for BSS transfer.

[0379] In the above technical solution, the first station directly sends the desired transmit power corresponding to the first access point to the first access point via an NDPA frame. The first access point then sends an NDP frame using the desired transmit power, thereby enabling the second access point to reasonably select an appropriate target access point when subsequently performing a BSS transfer. For example, if the second transmit power, that is, the desired transmit power, is learned in advance by the second access point from the first access point, the second access point can simultaneously learn the second transmit power and the second downlink received signal quality. In this case, not only can the second access point select an appropriate target access point for BSS transfer, but also the signaling overhead of the air interface can be reduced.

[0380] Optionally, in the solution of Figure 10, the receiving address in the third NDPA frame may include identification information of the first access point. The solution process of Figure 10 can also set the receiving address field in the third NDPA frame to a broadcast address, that is, the third NDPA frame carries the identification or address information of at least one neighbor access point. Each neighbor access point that receives the broadcast third NDPA frame sends an NDP frame to the first station in sequence. For example, the first access point sends a fourth NDP frame to the first station.

[0381] It should be understood that in this optional solution, the expected second transmit power carried in the third NDPA frame may be the smallest of at least one transmit power sent by at least one neighboring access point to the second access point via a wired DS.

[0382] The following will describe in detail the process interaction diagram of the communication method shown in Figure 10 in conjunction with Figure 11. Figure 11 is a process interaction diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The execution body shown in Figure 11 is similar to that in Figure 10, and the relevant explanation is not repeated here.

[0383] In the first step, the first station sends a third NDPA frame to the first access point.

[0384] Optionally, in the second step, after a short frame interval, the first station may send a third NDP frame to the first access point.

[0385] In the fourth step, after a short frame interval, the first access point sends a fourth NDP frame to the first station.

[0386] It should be understood that each of the above steps may be separated by the same short frame interval, or may be separated by different short frame intervals, and this is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. Since the second step is optional, if the second step is not present, only one short frame interval is required between the first and third steps.

[0387] The formats of the third NDPA frame and the fourth NDP frame will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 12. Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the formats of a third NDPA frame and a fourth NDP frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. The third NDPA frame shown in (a) of Figure 12 is an example of a variant of the NDPA frame, and Figure 12 (b) is an example of the fourth NDP frame, which is described using the high-efficiency measurement NDP as an example.

[0388] It should be understood that the detailed description of the regular fields in (a) of FIG12 can refer to (a) of FIG8 , which will not be described in detail here.

[0389] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame may include a second AID field, and the third value of the second AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power. As described in FIG12(a), a special value in the AID11 field, for example, 2046, may be used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the second transmit power.

[0390] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame may include a desired second transmit power field. As shown in FIG12( a ), for example, a variant of the NDPA frame includes a desired second transmit power field.

[0391] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame may further include a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitter. As shown in FIG12(a), for example, a variant of the NDPA frame includes a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitter.

[0392] It should be understood that the second AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the transmit power of the transmitting end.

[0393] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame also includes the requested number of repetitions of the long training field LTFs set in the fourth NDP frame, or includes the requested number of repetitions of the fourth NDP frame. As shown in (a) of Figure 12, for example, a variant of the NDPA frame includes a fourth NDP frame repetition count field.

[0394] It should be understood that the second AID field can also be used to indicate the number of repetitions of the LTFs set, or include a field corresponding to the number of repetitions of the requested fourth NDP frame.

[0395] As a possible implementation, the third NDPA frame further includes a third NDP presence field, and the third NDP presence field is used to indicate whether a third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, as shown in FIG12(a).

[0396] It should be understood that the second AID field may also be used to indicate the presence of the third NDP presence field.

[0397] As a possible implementation, when the third NDP presence field indicates that the third NDP frame is sent following the third NDPA frame, after the third NDPA frame is sent to the first access point, a third NDP frame is sent to the first access point at a short frame interval. The third NDP frame is used by the first access point to measure the third uplink received signal quality.

[0398] As shown in (b) of Figure 12, if the fourth NDP frame is a high-efficiency measurement NDP frame, it includes a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), a legacy signaling field (L-SIG), a repeated legacy signaling field (RL-SIG), a high-efficiency signaling field (HE-SIG-A), a high-efficiency short training field (HE-STF) and a high-efficiency long training field (HE-LTF).

[0399] Figure 13 is a flow diagram of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the execution body of the flow diagram of the method shown in Figure 13 is similar to that of Figure 6 and will not be repeated here.

[0400] S1310: The first station determines that the first access point is performing channel measurement.

[0401] Specifically, when the first station is preparing to send a first request frame in the contention channel, it is determined that the first access point is performing channel measurement.

[0402] S1320: The first station receives a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, where the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmit power.

[0403] The third transmit power may be understood as the transmit power used by the first access point to send the fifth NDPA frame and the fifth NDP frame.

[0404] It should be understood that the possible format of the fifth NDPA frame will be described in detail later in conjunction with FIG. 14 .

[0405] It should be understood that the first access point is not aware of the action of the first station determining the first access point to perform channel measurement. S1320 combines the current first access point channel measurement process and carries the third transmit power therein.

[0406] As a possible implementation manner, the third transmit power may be equal to the transmit power corresponding to the beacon frame or the probe response frame sent by the first access point.

[0407] S1330. The first station obtains a third downlink received signal quality according to the fifth NDPA frame and / or the fifth NDP frame.

[0408] It should be understood that the third downlink received signal quality may include one or more of a third downlink RSSI, a third downlink RCPI, and a third downlink RSNI.

[0409] S1340: The first station sends a third transmit power and a third downlink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0410] In the above technical solution, when the first site discovers that the first access point is performing channel measurement, the first site does not need to send the first request frame, but follows the process of the first access point to perform channel measurement, and carries the third transmission power in the fifth NDPA frame. While reducing signaling overhead, it helps the second access point to subsequently select a more reasonable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the subsequent data transmission quality of the first site.

[0411] The format of the fifth NDPA frame will be described in detail below with reference to FIG14. FIG14 is a schematic diagram of the format of a fifth NDPA frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. The fifth NDPA frame shown in FIG14 is an example of a variant of the NDPA frame.

[0412] As a possible implementation, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmit power field. For example, as shown in FIG14 , a variant of the NDPA frame includes the third transmit power field.

[0413] As a possible implementation, the fifth NDPA frame includes a third AID field, and the fourth value of the third AID field is used to indicate the presence of a field corresponding to the third transmit power. For example, as shown in FIG14 , a special value of the AID11 field, such as 2046, can be used to indicate that a variant of the HE NDPA frame includes the third transmit power field.

[0414] Figure 15 is a flow chart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the execution subject of the flow interaction diagram of the method shown in Figure 15 is similar to that of Figure 6 and is not further described here. Figure 15 illustrates the case in Figure 5 where the first request frame is a TPC request frame and the first response frame is a TPC response frame.

[0415] It should be understood that, in the following, "TPC request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "TPC response frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "site", and "first downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0416] S1510 , a first station sends a TPC request frame to a first access point, where the type of the TPC request frame is defined as a Class 1 frame.

[0417] The category 1 frame may also be defined as a public action frame. It should be understood that when the type of the TPC request frame is a public action frame, the first station may send the TPC request frame to the unassociated first access point.

[0418] S1520: The first access point sends an acknowledgment frame of the TPC request frame to the first station.

[0419] S1530: The first access point sends a TPC response frame to the first station, where the TPC response frame includes a first transmit power.

[0420] It should be understood that the first access point re-performs channel contention to send the TPC response frame.

[0421] It should be understood that the specific formats of the TPC request frame and the TPC response frame will be described in detail in FIG. 16 .

[0422] S1540: The first station sends an acknowledgment frame of the TPC response frame to the first access point.

[0423] S1550: The first station determines the first downlink received signal quality according to the TPC response frame.

[0424] In the above technical solution, the first transmit power of the first access point is obtained through TPC request and TPC response frames. This compares to the current measurement mode of downlink received signal quality measurement using Beacon frames or probe request frames. Because TPC request and response frames carry less information, this solution can help reduce channel resource consumption and signaling overhead. Furthermore, it helps the second access point make more reasonable subsequent selections, avoiding the selection of a neighboring access point with poorer downlink received signal quality as the target access point. This helps ensure data transmission quality between the first station and the target access point after BSS transfer.

[0425] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the format of a TPC request frame and a TPC response frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0426] As shown in Figure 16(a), the TPC request frame includes a Category field, a Radio Management Action field, a Dialog Token field, and a TPC Request element field. The Category field is 1 octet long, the Radio Measurement Action field is 1 octet long, the Dialog Token field is 1 octet long, and the TPC Request field is 2 octets long. The Category field indicates the category to which the action frame belongs. For example, for a radio measurement, the Category field is set to 0. Table 6 shows a detailed description of the Radio Measurement Action field.

[0427] Table 6

[0428] When the value of the Dialog Token field is set to a non-zero value, the Dialog Token field is used to indicate a specific request / report interaction.

[0429] The TPC request element field includes an element identifier (Element ID) field and a length (Length) field.

[0430] As shown in FIG16( b ), a TPC response frame (also referred to as a TPC report frame) may include a category field, a spectrum management action field, a dialog token field, and a TPC report element field. The category field, spectrum management action field, and dialog token field have similar functions to those of the corresponding fields in the TPC request frame and are not further described here.

[0431] The TPC Report Element field includes an Element Identifier field, a Length field, a Transmit Power field, and a Link Margin field. The Link Margin field indicates the link margin measured based on the TPC Request frame. When the TPC Report Element field is carried in a Beacon frame or a Probe Response frame, the Link Margin field is retained.

[0432] The transmission frequency field is used to indicate the transmission power of the frame carrying the TPC report element field.

[0433] In an embodiment of the present application, the first transmission power included in the TPC response frame can be specifically indicated by a transmission frequency field.

[0434] Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the execution entities of the flowchart interaction diagram of the method shown in Figure 17 are similar to those in Figure 6 and are not further described here. Figure 17 illustrates the case in Figure 5 where the first request frame is a measurement pilot request frame and the first response frame is a measurement pilot frame.

[0435] It should be understood that, in the following, "measurement pilot request frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "request frame", "measurement pilot frame" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "response frame", "first site" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "site", and "first downlink received signal quality" can be used to represent the above-mentioned "downlink received signal quality".

[0436] S1710: A first station sends a measurement pilot request frame to a first access point. The measurement pilot request frame is used to trigger the sending of a measurement pilot frame.

[0437] S1720: The first access point sends a measurement pilot frame to the first station, where the measurement pilot frame includes a first transmit power.

[0438] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of the format of a measurement pilot frame provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0439] As shown in Figure 18, the measurement pilot frame includes a category field, a common action field, a dense capability information field, a dense country string field, an operation class field, a channel field, a measurement pilot interval field, and an optional sub-element field. The category field is 1 octet in size, the common action field is 1 octet in size, the dense capability information field is 1 octet in size, the dense country string field is 2 octets in size, the operation class field is 1 octet in size, the channel field is 1 octet in size, the measurement pilot interval field is 1 octet in size, and the optional sub-element field is variable in size. The measurement pilot field is used to indicate the transmission interval of the measurement pilot frame.

[0440] As a possible implementation method, the first transmit power included in the measurement pilot frame can be a sub-element of the TPC report element field shown in Figure 16 as an optional sub-element field of the measurement pilot frame, wherein the TPC report element field includes an indication field of the first transmit power.

[0441] S1730. The first station determines the first downlink received signal quality according to the TPC response frame.

[0442] In the above technical solution, the sending of the measurement pilot frame is triggered by the measurement pilot frame request frame, and the current measurement mode of the measurement pilot frame is used. Compared with the current periodic detection of the measurement pilot frame, the time for the first site to perform neighbor scanning and measurement can be reduced, thereby ensuring the first site's own data transmission.

[0443] Figure 19 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the execution subject of the flow interaction diagram of the method shown in Figure 19 is similar to that of Figure 5 and will not be repeated here.

[0444] S1910: A second access point sends a wireless measurement request frame to a first station, requesting a channel quality measurement result between the first station and at least one neighbor access point corresponding to the first station, wherein the at least one neighbor access point includes the first access point.

[0445] It should be understood that the specific fields of the wireless measurement request frame will be described in detail in FIG. 20 .

[0446] S1920: The first station sends a wireless measurement report frame to the second access point, where the wireless measurement report frame includes the first transmit power and the fourth downlink received signal quality.

[0447] It should be understood that the first station may obtain the first transmit power in any of the above solutions. The fourth downlink received signal quality may be the first downlink received signal quality, the second downlink received signal quality, or the third downlink received signal quality in the above solution.

[0448] S1930. The first station sends a fourth transmit power to the second access point, where the fourth transmit power is the transmit power of the first station.

[0449] S1940: The second access point determines a transmission path loss between the first station and the first access point based on the first transmit power and the fourth downlink received signal quality; and estimates a second uplink received signal quality based on the transmission path loss and the fourth transmit power.

[0450] The second uplink received signal quality and the fourth downlink received signal quality are used for BSS transfer.

[0451] Specifically, the second access point determines the transmission path loss between the other neighboring access points and the first station based on the transmit power of the other neighboring access points and the downlink received signal quality corresponding to the other neighboring access points. The second access point estimates the uplink received signal quality between the first station and the different access points based on the transmission path loss corresponding to the different access points and the maximum transmission power corresponding to the first station. The second access point selects a target access point for BSS transfer from at least one neighboring access point based on the uplink received signal quality and downlink received signal instructions corresponding to the first station and the different access points.

[0452] Optionally, at S1950 , the first access point sends a fifth transmit power to the second access point. The fifth transmit power may be a transmit power for sending a beacon frame or a probe response frame by the first access point.

[0453] As a possible implementation manner, the first access point transmits the fifth transmit power to the second access point in a wired manner of the DS.

[0454] The fifth transmit power may also be understood as the maximum transmit power of the first access point.

[0455] Optionally, in S1960, the second access point determines the transmission path loss between the first site and the first access point based on the first transmission power and the fourth downlink received signal quality; and estimates the downlink received signal quality of the first access point based on the fifth transmission power based on the transmission path loss and the fifth transmission power.

[0456] If the first access point subsequently sends a Beacon frame or a probe response frame using the fifth transmit power, the second access point can estimate the downlink received signal quality of the first access point based on the Beacon frame or the probe response frame according to the above steps.

[0457] In the above technical solution, the second access point can simultaneously obtain the uplink received signal quality and the downlink received signal quality between the first access point and the first site, which can effectively deal with the uplink and downlink asymmetry problem caused by the large difference in transmission power between the first access point and the first site, thereby helping the second access point to select a more suitable target access point for BSS transfer, thereby ensuring the data transmission quality of the first site.

[0458] Figure 20 is a schematic diagram of the format of a measurement request field and a measurement report field provided in an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that Figure 20 (a) takes the measurement request field of the measurement type Beacon request as an example, and Figure 20 (b) takes the measurement report field of the measurement type Beacon report as an example. It should be understood that other fields of the wireless measurement request frame are omitted in Figure 20 (a). For details, please refer to Figure 3. Other fields of the wireless measurement request frame are omitted in Figure 20 (b). For details, please refer to Figure 4.

[0459] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement frame includes identification indication information of at least one neighbor access point.

[0460] Exemplarily, the wireless measurement request frame includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate identification information of the first access point. As shown in FIG20(a), the BSS identification character field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame may include address information of the first access point.

[0461] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to instruct the first station to send the first request frame.

[0462] It should be understood that the first indication information indicates a new measurement mode, that is, the communication method between the first station and the first access point provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0463] For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 20, the value of the measurement mode field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 3. Alternatively, the existing value of the measurement mode field and other fields can be combined to represent the first indication information. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the first indication information.

[0464] As a possible implementation manner, the wireless measurement request frame further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that a subsequent wireless measurement report frame does not include information related to the first access point except the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality.

[0465] Specifically, as shown in (a) of Figure 20 , the value of the report details field in the optional sub-element field in the measurement request field in the measurement request element field of the wireless measurement request frame is set to 0. It should be understood that the third indication information can also be represented by other fields, and this embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0466] As a possible implementation method, the first transmission power included in the wireless measurement report frame can be a sub-element of the TPC report element field shown in Figure 16 as an optional sub-element field in the measurement report field of the wireless measurement report frame, wherein the TPC report element field includes an indication field of the first transmission power.

[0467] Exemplarily, as shown in (b) of FIG20 , the first transmit power indication information may be carried in an optional sub-element field.

[0468] Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The execution entities of Figure 21 may include a first station, candidate access point #1, candidate access point #2, and a second access point. It should be understood that a detailed explanation of the execution entities can be found in Figure 5 and will not be repeated here. It should be understood that the number of candidate access points in Figure 21 is merely illustrative and is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0469] S2110: The first station sends a sixth NDPA frame to any candidate access point by broadcasting.

[0470] As a possible implementation manner, the sixth NDPA frame includes identification information of the second access point associated with the first station, for example, address information of the second access point.

[0471] Wherein, any candidate access point is not associated with the first station, and any candidate access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set. For example, any candidate access point may be candidate access point #1 or candidate access point #2 in FIG21 .

[0472] Optionally, the identifier of the second access point may also be carried in other messages and broadcasted to allow at least one candidate access point to learn of it.

[0473] S2120: After a short frame interval, the first station sends a sixth NDP frame to any candidate access point by broadcasting.

[0474] S2130: Any candidate access point determines a second uplink received signal quality according to the sixth NDP frame, and sends the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0475] For example, in S2130a, candidate access point #1 determines the second uplink received signal quality #1 based on the sixth NDP frame, and sends the second uplink received signal quality #1 to the second access point; in S2130b, candidate access point #2 determines the second uplink received signal quality #2 based on the sixth NDP frame, and sends the second uplink received signal quality #2 to the second access point.

[0476] Specifically, the candidate access point is transmitted to the second access point in a wired manner via the DS.

[0477] S2140: The second access point performs BSS transfer according to at least one second uplink received signal quality.

[0478] Specifically, the second access point selects a suitable target access point for BSS transfer according to at least one second uplink received signal quality.

[0479] In the above technical solution, the uplink received signal quality is measured by the candidate access point and directly fed back to the second access point, which not only reduces air interface resources but also does not affect the data transmission of the first station itself.

[0480] The communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to Figures 22 to 24. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiment corresponds to the description of the method embodiment. Therefore, for matters not described in detail, reference can be made to the method embodiment above. For the sake of brevity, some contents are not repeated here.

[0481] Figure 22 is a schematic diagram of a communication device 2200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 2200 may include a processing unit 2220, which is used to perform data processing. The device 2200 may also include a transceiver unit 2210, which may implement corresponding communication functions. The transceiver unit 2210 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a communication unit or an interface unit. It should be understood that for the operations such as sending and receiving involved in this application, if there is no special explanation, or if it does not conflict with its actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, it can be more generally understood as operations such as output and input, rather than sending and receiving operations directly performed by the radio frequency circuit and antenna.

[0482] Optionally, the device 2200 may further include a storage unit, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing unit 2220 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage unit so that the device implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0483] The device 2200 can be used to execute the actions performed by the first site in the above method embodiment. In this case, the device 2200 can be a communication device or a component that can be configured on a communication device. The transceiver unit 2210 is used to execute the transceiver-related operations on the communication device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 2220 is used to execute the processing-related operations of the first site in the above method embodiment.

[0484] As a design, the device 2200 is used to execute the actions performed by the first station in the method embodiments shown in Figures 5, 6, 15, 17, or 19 above. The execution entity can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first station in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first station.

[0485] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is configured to send a first request frame to the first access point, where the first request frame is used to trigger the sending of a first response frame, and the first station is not associated with the first access point.

[0486] The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a first response frame from a first access point, where the first response frame includes a first transmit power when sending the first response frame.

[0487] The processing unit 2220 is configured to determine the first downlink received signal quality.

[0488] The transceiver unit 2210 is used to send a first transmit power and a first downlink received signal quality to a second access point, where the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality are used for basic service set BSS transfer, wherein the second access point is associated with the first site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0489] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0490] As a design, the communication device 2200 is configured to execute the actions performed by the first access point in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 , FIG. 15 , or FIG. 17 . The execution entity may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first access point in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the first access point's functions.

[0491] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a first request frame from a first station, where the first station is not associated with the first access point. The processing unit 2210 is configured to trigger sending a first response frame to the first station, where the first response frame includes a first transmit power when sending the first response frame, where the first transmit power is used for basic service set (BSS) transfer.

[0492] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0493] As a design, the communication device 2200 is configured to execute the actions performed by the second access point in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 19 . The execution entity may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the second access point in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the second access point's functions.

[0494] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a first transmit power and a first downlink received signal quality sent from a first station, where the first transmit power is the transmit power corresponding to the first response frame sent by the first access point to the first station, and the first downlink received signal quality is the downlink received signal quality between the first station and the first access point, and the first station and the first access point are not associated. The processing unit 2220 is configured to transfer a basic service set (BSS) based on the first transmit power and the first downlink received signal quality, associate the second access point with the first station, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set (ESS).

[0495] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0496] As a design, the communication device 2200 is configured to execute the actions performed by the first station in the method embodiment shown in FIG10 . The execution entity may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first station in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the first station's functions.

[0497] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is configured to send a third NDPA frame to the first access point, where the third NDPA frame is used to trigger the sending of a fourth NDP frame. The first site and the first access point are not associated, and the third NDPA frame includes a second transmit power corresponding to the fourth NDP frame that the first access point is expected to send. The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a fourth NDP frame sent from the first access point at the second transmit power. The processing unit 2220 is configured to obtain a second downlink received signal quality based on the fourth NDP frame. The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to send the second downlink received signal quality to the second access point, where the second access point is associated with the first site, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0498] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0499] As a design, the communication device 2200 is used to execute the actions performed by the first station in the method embodiment shown in Figure 13. The execution entity can be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the first station in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first station.

[0500] Specifically, the processing unit 2220 is configured to determine that the first access point is performing channel measurement and that the first station and the first access point are not associated. The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a fifth NDPA frame and a fifth NDP frame from the first access point, where the fifth NDPA frame includes a third transmit power for transmitting the third NDPA frame and the fifth NDP frame. The processing unit 2220 is configured to determine a third downlink received signal quality based on the fifth NDP frame. The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to send a third transmit power and a third downlink received signal instruction to the second access point, where the third transmit power and the third downlink received signal instruction are used for basic service set (BSS) transfer, the first station and the second access point are associated, and the first access point and the second access point belong to the same extended service set.

[0501] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0502] As a design, the communication device 2200 is configured to execute the actions performed by any one of the at least one candidate access point in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 21 . The execution entity may be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports any one of the at least one candidate access point in implementing the corresponding method, or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of any one of the at least one candidate access point.

[0503] Specifically, the transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a first frame from a first station, the first frame including identification information of a second access point associated with the first station, any candidate access point being not associated with the first station, and any candidate access point and the second access point belonging to the same extended service set. The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to receive a second frame from the first station, the second frame being used to obtain a second uplink received signal quality. The transceiver unit 2210 is configured to send the second uplink received signal quality to the second access point.

[0504] For details not described in detail, please refer to the above method embodiment.

[0505] It should be understood that the specific process of each unit executing the above corresponding steps has been described in detail in the above method embodiment, and for the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0506] The processing unit 2220 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuit. The transceiver unit 2210 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuit. The storage unit can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0507] FIG23 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 2300 provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0508] As shown in Figure 23, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 2300. The device 2300 includes a processor 2310, which is coupled to a memory 2320. The memory 2320 is used to store computer programs or instructions and / or data. The processor 2310 is used to execute the computer programs or instructions and / or data stored in the memory 2320, so that the method in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0509] Optionally, the device 2300 includes one or more processors 2310.

[0510] Optionally, as shown in FIG23 , the device 2300 may further include a memory 2320 .

[0511] Optionally, the device 2300 may include one or more memories 2320.

[0512] Optionally, the memory 2320 can be integrated with the processor 2310 or set separately.

[0513] Optionally, as shown in Figure 23, the device 2300 may further include a transceiver 2330, which is used to receive and / or send signals. For example, the processor 2310 is used to control the transceiver 2330 to receive and / or send signals.

[0514] As a solution, the apparatus 2300 is configured to implement the operations performed by the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment.

[0515] For example, the processor 2310 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment, and the transceiver 2330 is used to implement transceiver-related operations performed by the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment.

[0516] Figure 24 is a schematic diagram of a chip system 2400 provided in an embodiment of the present application, as shown in Figure 24. The chip system 2400 (or it can also be called a processing system) includes a logic circuit 2410 and an input / output interface (input / output interface) 2420. The logic circuit is used to couple with the input interface and transmit data parameters through the input / output interface to execute the method in the above method embodiment. The device installed with the chip system 2400 can implement the method and function of the embodiment of the present application. For example, the logic circuit 2410 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 2400, which realizes the control of the device installed with the chip system 2400, and can also be coupled to a storage unit to call the instructions in the storage unit so that the device can implement the method and function of the embodiment of the present application. The input / output interface 2420 can be an input and output circuit in the chip system 2400, which outputs the information processed by the chip system 2400, or inputs the data or signaling information to be processed into the chip system 2400 for processing.

[0517] As a solution, the chip system 2400 is used to implement the operations performed by the communication device (such as the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0518] For example, the logic circuit 2410 is used to implement processing-related operations performed by the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment, and the input / output interface 2420 is used to implement transmission-reception-related operations performed by the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point in the above method embodiment.

[0519] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for implementing the method executed by a communication device (such as a first station, a first access point, a second access point, or any one of at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0520] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer can implement the method performed by the communication device (such as the first station, the first access point, the second access point, or any one of the at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0521] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computer, enables the computer to implement the method performed by a communication device (such as a first station, a first access point, a second access point, or any one of at least one candidate access point) in the above method embodiment.

[0522] The explanation of the relevant contents and beneficial effects of any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, which will not be repeated here.

[0523] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0524] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM). For example, RAM can be used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, RAM may include the following forms: static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0525] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0526] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to comprise, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0527] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of protection of this application.

[0528] 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 only schematic. For example, the division of units is only 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 system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0529] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to implement the solutions provided in this application based on actual needs.

[0530] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one unit, each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0531] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function according to the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). For example, the aforementioned available medium may include, but is not limited to, various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0532] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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