Communication method, apparatus and system

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication method, apparatus and system. In the method, a first PLC station can respectively receive discovery lists from other PLC stations in an MIMO mode and an SISO mode, so that a PLC system is maintained by using an MIMO technology. Moreover, a first discovery list received by the first PLC station in the MIMO mode can indicate a first-type PLC station, and a second discovery list received by the first PLC station in the SISO mode can indicate the first-type PLC station and / or a second-type PLC station, so that the first PLC station can distinguish the type of each station in the PLC system, and then the first PLC station can respectively communicate with corresponding PLC stations on the basis of the types of different PLC stations. For example, a destination station is the first-type PLC station, and the first PLC station can communicate with the destination station in the MIMO mode. Therefore, the data transmission rate is improved.

Description

Communication method, device and system

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on November 29, 2023, with application number 202311618620.7 and application name “A Communication Method, Device and System”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, device, and system. Background Art

[0004] Power line communication (PLC) is a communication technology that uses power lines as a communication medium to transmit signals via carrier waves. PLC technology is typically used in low-voltage areas, that is, in low-voltage power supply areas of transformers, to collect electricity consumption information (such as meter reading services). However, with the expansion of new power systems, PLC technology has gradually been applied in business scenarios such as line branch monitoring, photovoltaic grid connection, and charging piles. As business scenarios expand, the number of PLC sites gradually increases, and the requirements for the amount of data exchanged between PLC sites, the real-time nature of the interaction, and the reliability are gradually upgraded, thereby gradually increasing the demand for the communication bandwidth of the PLC system.

[0005] However, spectrum resources suitable for PLC communication are limited. Given this limited spectrum, multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) technology, implemented using three-phase, four-wire technology, can improve spectrum resource utilization for PLC communication. This technology has become an effective solution for increasing PLC communication speed and anti-interference capabilities. For two PLC stations to communicate based on MIMO technology, they must have a multi-wire connection—that is, a four-wire connection between the three phases and the neutral line. However, some PLC stations (such as single-phase electricity meters and single-phase circuit breakers) only have a two-wire connection—a phase line and a neutral line. Therefore, only single input, single output (SISO) technology can be used, and MIMO technology is not an option.

[0006] However, currently, MIMO technology cannot be used to maintain the PLC system, or for a PLC site in the PLC system, even if the PLC site has MIMO communication capabilities, MIMO technology cannot be used for communication in the PLC system, which makes it impossible for the PLC system to achieve a higher transmission rate. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device, and system for implementing network maintenance in a MIMO and SISO hybrid networking scenario.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a PLC site in a PLC system. The PLC site can be a site device in the PLC system that can implement the PLC function, or it can be other devices that include the PLC function, or it can be a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module. The chip system or functional module can implement the PLC function, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the site device. The terminal device is, for example, the first PLC site. In the following description, the method is performed by the first PLC site as an example. The method includes: the first PLC site receives a first message from a first adjacent site in a MIMO manner, the first message includes a first discovery list, the first discovery list includes information of M first-type PLC sites, the M first-type PLC sites include the first adjacent site, the first-type PLC site has MIMO communication capabilities, and M is an integer. A first PLC station receives a second message from a second neighboring station in a SISO manner, the second message including a second discovery list, the second discovery list including information of N PLC stations, the N PLC stations including the second neighboring station, the N PLC stations including first-type PLC stations and / or second-type PLC stations, the second-type PLC stations having SISO communication capabilities, and N being an integer. The first PLC station determines a discovery list stored by the first PLC station based on the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present application, the first PLC site can receive discovery lists from other PLC sites in MIMO and SISO modes, respectively, thereby realizing the use of MIMO technology to maintain the PLC system. In addition, the first discovery list received by the first PLC site in MIMO mode can indicate a first type of PLC site, and the second discovery list received by the first PLC site in SISO mode can indicate a first type of PLC site and / or a second type of PLC site, so that the first PLC site can distinguish the types of sites in the PLC system. When communicating, the first PLC site can communicate with the corresponding PLC site according to the types of different PLC sites. For example, if the destination site is a first type of PLC site, the first PLC site can communicate with the destination site in MIMO mode to increase the data transmission rate.

[0010] In an optional embodiment, the discovery list stored by the first PLC site may include a third discovery list and a fourth discovery list, the third discovery list is associated with the MIMO mode, and the fourth discovery list is associated with the SISO mode. Then, when the first PLC site determines the discovery list stored by the first PLC site based on the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list, the first PLC site may update the third discovery list stored by the first PLC site based on the first discovery list, and the updated third discovery list will include information of the M first-type PLC sites; and / or the first PLC site may update the fourth discovery list stored by the first PLC site based on the second discovery list, and the updated fourth discovery list will include information of the N PLC sites.

[0011] Through this implementation, the first PLC site can update its own stored third discovery list according to the first discovery list received in MIMO mode, and update its own stored fourth discovery list according to the second discovery list received in SISO mode, thereby realizing information maintenance of sites with different communication capabilities. This helps the first PLC site to distinguish the types of sites in the PLC system, and then be able to choose to communicate with the destination site via MIMO or SISO when communicating.

[0012] In an optional embodiment, the updated third discovery list includes one or more of the following information: the type of proxy site of the first PLC site; a first value, the first value being the total number of messages including the discovery list sent by the first PLC site in the MIMO mode during the last routing cycle; a first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the first type of PLC site discovered by the first PLC site; a second value, the second value being the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the first PLC site in the MIMO mode during the last routing cycle. In an embodiment of the present application, a discovery list corresponding to the MIMO mode is newly defined, and the first PLC site can maintain the above-mentioned contents in this type of discovery list, which helps the first PLC site and other PLC sites to distinguish the types of each PLC site in the PLC system, so that they can choose to communicate with the corresponding site in the MIMO mode in subsequent communications.

[0013] In an optional implementation, the second value includes the number of beacon messages received by the first PLC site in the previous routing cycle in the MIMO manner, wherein the value of the beacon usage flag in the beacon message is a third value.

[0014] In an optional embodiment, when the first PLC site updates the third discovery list stored by the first PLC site according to the first discovery list, the first communication quality information and the second communication quality information can be determined according to the first discovery list, the first communication quality information is used to indicate the quality of communication between the first PLC site and the first adjacent node based on the MIMO mode, and the second communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the first adjacent node is used as a proxy site. Then, the first PLC site can update the third discovery list according to one or more of the first discovery list, the first communication quality information or the second communication quality information.

[0015] Through the above implementation, the first PLC site determines and updates the first communication quality information and the second communication quality information through the first discovery list. For example, the first communication quality information can be information such as the communication success rate and channel quality of the communication between the first PLC site and the first adjacent site. The second communication quality information is information such as the full-link communication success rate, channel quality, and hierarchy of communication with other PLC sites when the first adjacent site is used as a proxy site. This helps the first PLC site to select a communication path with better communication quality based on this information when communicating in the future, thereby improving the PLC communication quality.

[0016] In an optional embodiment, the first PLC site may update the third discovery list stored by the first PLC site according to the first discovery list when determining that the first adjacent site has MIMO communication capability. One implementation method is to determine that the first adjacent site has MIMO communication capability based on the fact that the receiving method of the first message is the MIMO method. Another implementation method is to determine that the first adjacent site has the MIMO communication capability based on the second indication information included in the discovery list, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first adjacent site has the MIMO communication capability. Through the above embodiment, the first PLC site can specifically update the first discovery list sent by the first adjacent site with MIMO communication capability to the third discovery list stored in itself, and ensure that the third discovery list is used to store information related to the MIMO method.

[0017] In an optional embodiment, when the first PLC site updates the fourth discovery list stored by the first PLC site based on the second discovery list, third communication quality information and fourth communication quality information can be determined based on the second discovery list, wherein the third communication quality information is used to indicate the quality of communication between the first PLC site and the second adjacent node based on the SISO method, and the fourth communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the second adjacent node is used as a proxy site. Furthermore, the first PLC site can update the fourth discovery list based on one or more of the second discovery list, the third communication quality information, and the fourth communication quality information.

[0018] Through the above implementation, the first PLC site determines and updates the third communication quality information and the fourth communication quality information through the first discovery list. For example, the third communication quality information can be information such as the communication success rate and channel quality of the communication between the first PLC site and the second adjacent site. The fourth communication quality information is information such as the full-link communication success rate, channel quality, and hierarchy of communication with other PLC sites when the second adjacent site is used as a proxy site. This helps the first PLC site to select a communication path with better communication quality based on this information when communicating subsequently, thereby improving the PLC communication quality.

[0019] In an optional embodiment, after determining the discovery list stored by the first PLC site based on the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list, the first PLC site may further determine a proxy site of the first PLC site based on the updated third discovery list and the updated fourth discovery list. The updated third discovery list and the updated fourth discovery list contain updated site information in the current PLC system, and the first PLC site can select a proxy site with better communication quality for itself based on this information to improve the communication quality and efficiency of its own communication.

[0020] In an optional embodiment, when determining a proxy site, the first PLC station may, on the one hand, determine fifth communication quality information corresponding to a first candidate site in the third discovery list, where the first candidate site is a PLC site adjacent to the first PLC site, and the fifth communication quality information indicates the communication quality between the first PLC site and the other PLC sites when the first candidate site is used as the proxy site; and determine sixth communication quality information based on the fifth communication quality information and a first weight corresponding to the MIMO mode. Furthermore, the first PLC station may also determine seventh communication quality information corresponding to a second candidate site in the fourth discovery list, where the second candidate site is a PLC site adjacent to the first PLC site, and the seventh communication quality information indicates the communication quality between the first PLC site and the other PLC sites when the second candidate site is used as the proxy site; and determine eighth communication quality information based on the seventh communication quality information and a second weight corresponding to the SISO mode. Finally, the first PLC station may determine the proxy site from the first and second candidate sites based on the sixth and eighth communication quality information.

[0021] Through the above implementation, when selecting a proxy site, the first PLC site can evaluate the communication quality of the first candidate site with MIMO communication capability and the second candidate site with SISO communication capability respectively, and obtain the final communication quality evaluation value based on the weights corresponding to the MIMO mode and the SISO mode, so as to select the site with better communication quality as its own proxy site.

[0022] In an optional implementation, the first weight is greater than or equal to the second weight, so that the first candidate site with MIMO communication capability is preferentially selected as the proxy site to improve data transmission efficiency in subsequent communication processes.

[0023] In an optional embodiment, the first PLC site may further receive a third message from the first neighboring site and / or the second neighboring site in the SISO mode, where the third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message. For example, regardless of the communication capability of each PLC site, beacon messages or heartbeat detection messages are uniformly sent in the SISO mode, and correspondingly, the receiving site also receives them in the SISO mode. This can reduce the number of messages involved in PLC system maintenance and thus reduce PLC system maintenance overhead.

[0024] On the second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a PLC site in a PLC system. The PLC site can be a site device in the PLC system that can implement the PLC function, or it can be other devices that include the PLC function, or it can be a chip system (or, chip) or other functional module. The chip system or functional module can implement the PLC function, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, set in the site device. The terminal device is, for example, a second PLC site. In the following description, the method is performed by the second PLC site as an example. The method includes: the second PLC site sends a first message in MIMO mode; the first message includes a first discovery list, the first discovery list includes information of M first-type PLC sites, the M first-type PLC sites include the second PLC site and the first-type PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, the first-type PLC site has MIMO communication capabilities, and M is an integer. The second PLC site sends a second message in SISO mode; the second message includes a second discovery list, the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites include the second PLC site, and the first type of PLC site and / or the second type of PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, the second type of PLC site has SISO communication capability, and N is an integer.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present application, the first discovery list received by the first PLC site in MIMO mode can indicate a first type of PLC site, and the second discovery list received by the first PLC site in SISO mode can indicate a first type of PLC site and / or a second type of PLC site, so that the first PLC site can exchange site communication capability information with adjacent sites in MIMO mode and SISO mode respectively, thereby enabling the first PLC site to distinguish the types of PLC sites in the PLC system, and then be able to choose to communicate with the destination site in MIMO mode or SISO mode when communicating. For example, when the destination site is a first type of PLC site, the first PLC site can choose to communicate with the destination site in MIMO mode to improve the data transmission rate of the communication process.

[0026] In an optional embodiment, the first discovery list includes one or more of the following information: the type of proxy site of the second PLC site; a fourth value, the fourth value being the total number of messages including the discovery list sent by the first PLC site in the MIMO manner during the last routing cycle; third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate the first type of PLC site discovered by the second PLC site; a fifth value, the fifth value being the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the second PLC site in the MIMO manner during the last routing cycle.

[0027] In an optional implementation, the fifth value includes the number of beacon messages received by the second PLC site in the previous routing cycle in the MIMO manner, wherein the value of the beacon usage flag in the beacon message is the third value.

[0028] In an optional implementation, the second PLC site may further send a third message in the SISO manner, where the third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message.

[0029] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the second aspect or various optional implementations, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding implementations.

[0030] According to a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which is applied to a PLC system, wherein the PLC system includes a first PLC site and a second PLC site, wherein the first PLC site and the second PLC site are both PLC sites of the first type, and the PLC site of the first type has MIMO communication capability; the method includes: the second PLC site sends a first message in MIMO mode, and the first PLC site receives the first message in the MIMO mode; the first message includes a first discovery list, the first discovery list includes information of M PLC sites of the first type, and the M PLC sites of the first type include the second PLC site and the PLC sites of the first type discovered by the second PLC site, where M is an integer; the second PLC site sends a second message in SISO mode, and the first PLC site receives the second message in SISO mode; the second message includes a second discovery list, the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites include the second PLC site, and the PLC sites of the first type and / or the PLC sites of the second type discovered by the second PLC site, where N is an integer; the first PLC site determines the discovery list of the first PLC site based on the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list.

[0031] In an optional embodiment, the PLC system further includes a third PLC site, which is a second-type PLC site, and the second-type PLC site has SISO communication capabilities. The method further includes: the third PLC site sends a fourth message in the SISO mode, and the first PLC site receives the fourth message in the SISO mode; the fourth message includes the fifth discovery list, and the fifth discovery list includes information on L PLC sites, where the L PLC sites include the third PLC site and PLC sites of the first type and / or PLC sites of the second type discovered by the third PLC site, where L is an integer; and the first PLC site further determines its discovery list based on the fifth discovery list.

[0032] In an optional embodiment, the method further includes: the first PLC site sending a third message to the second PLC site and / or the third PLC site in a SISO manner, where the third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message. The second PLC site receives the third message in the SISO manner, and / or the third PLC site receives the third message in the SISO manner.

[0033] In an optional embodiment, the method may also include the method performed by the first PLC site in the first aspect, and / or the method performed by the second PLC site in the second aspect.

[0034] Regarding the technical effects brought about by the third aspect or various optional implementations, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the first aspect or the second aspect and their corresponding implementations.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a PLC device is provided. The PLC device may be the first PLC site described in any one of the first to third aspects. The PLC device has the functions of the first PLC site. The PLC device may be, for example, the first PLC site, or a larger device including the first PLC site, or a functional module in the first PLC site, such as a chip or a chip system. In an optional implementation, the PLC device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit is capable of performing both sending and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit performs the sending function, it may be referred to as a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module); when the transceiver unit performs the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is referred to as a transceiver unit and is capable of performing both sending and receiving functions; alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, with the transceiver unit being a general term for these functional modules.

[0036] In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit (or the receiving unit) is configured to receive a first message from a first neighboring site in MIMO mode, the first message including a first discovery list including information of M first-type PLC sites, the M first-type PLC sites including the first neighboring site, the first-type PLC site having MIMO communication capabilities, and M being an integer. And receive a second message from a second neighboring site in SISO mode, the second message including a second discovery list including information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites including the second neighboring site, the N PLC sites including the first-type PLC site and / or the second-type PLC site, the second-type PLC site having SISO communication capabilities, and N being an integer.

[0037] The processing unit is configured to determine a discovery list stored at the first PLC site according to the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list.

[0038] In an optional embodiment, the PLC device also includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is used to couple with the storage unit and execute the program or instructions in the storage unit, enabling the PLC device to perform the function of the first PLC site described in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0039] In a fifth aspect, a PLC device is provided. The PLC device may be the second PLC site described in any one of the first to third aspects. The PLC device has the functions of the second PLC site. The PLC device may be, for example, the second PLC site, or a larger device including the second PLC site, or a functional module in the second PLC site, such as a chip or a chip system. In an optional implementation, the PLC device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module). The transceiver unit is capable of implementing both sending and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it may be referred to as a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module); when the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is referred to as a transceiver unit and is capable of implementing both sending and receiving functions; alternatively, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, with the transceiver unit being a general term for these functional modules.

[0040] In an optional embodiment, the transceiver unit (or the sending unit) is configured to send a first message in MIMO mode; the first message includes a first discovery list, the first discovery list includes information of M first-type PLC sites, the M first-type PLC sites include the second PLC site and the first-type PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, the first-type PLC site has MIMO communication capabilities, and M is an integer. Furthermore, a second message is configured to be sent in SISO mode; the second message includes a second discovery list, the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites include the second PLC site, and the first-type PLC site and / or the second-type PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, the second-type PLC site has SISO communication capabilities, and N is an integer.

[0041] In an optional embodiment, the PLC device also includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is used to couple with the storage unit and execute the program or instructions in the storage unit, enabling the PLC device to perform the function of the second PLC site described in any one of the first to third aspects above.

[0042] In a sixth aspect, a PLC system is provided, comprising a first PLC device and a second PLC device; wherein the first PLC device is configured to execute the method described in the first aspect by the first PLC station, and the second PLC device is configured to execute the method described in the fourth aspect by the second PLC station. For example, the first PLC device may be implemented by the PLC device described in the fourth aspect, and the second PLC device may be implemented by the PLC device described in the fifth aspect.

[0043] In a seventh aspect, a PLC device is provided. The PLC device can be a PLC station in a PLC system, or a chip or chip system used in a PLC station. The PLC device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program. The processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, the PLC device executes the method performed by the first PLC station or the second PLC station in each of the above aspects.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, enables the method performed by the first PLC station or the second PLC station in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0045] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the methods described in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0046] In the tenth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided, comprising a processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to call and execute instructions from the interface so that the chip or chip system implements the methods in the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the device wiring method in the PLC system;

[0048] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a PLC system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams of transmission timing of a discovery list message according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a routing evaluation process according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

[0053] 7A to 7C are schematic diagrams of PLC system topologies provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a PLC device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of another PLC device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0057] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "At least one" means one or more, and "plural" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. 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. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0058] The ordinal numbers "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of multiple objects. In addition, the numbering of the steps in the various embodiments introduced in this application is only to distinguish different steps and is not used to define the order between the steps. For example, S302 can occur before S301, or after S301, or at the same time as S301.

[0059] PLC refers to a communication technology that uses power lines as a communication medium, transmitting signals via carrier waves. A key advantage of PLC over other communication technologies is that it can utilize existing power lines, eliminating the need to construct new lines, significantly reducing initial deployment costs. It also eliminates the need for separate line maintenance, further reducing ongoing maintenance costs. Due to the widespread deployment of power lines, power line communication is widely used.

[0060] In the embodiment of the present application, the PLC site may also be referred to as a PLC device or a PLC node, and the PLC system (also referred to as a PLC network) is composed of one to multiple PLC sites. Generally speaking, a PLC site is a device that supports PLC functions in a PLC system. For example, a PLC site may be any device in a low-voltage transformer-side device, a line-side device, and a user-side device, line-side devices such as smart switches, fault indicators, and pre-meter switches, transformer-side devices such as distribution transformer terminals, outgoing line switches, incoming line switches, fault indicators, etc., user-side devices such as smart meters (energy meters, gas meters, water meters, etc.), three-phase unbalancers, reactive power compensators, leakage protectors, lighting control devices, smoke alarms, exhaust fans, door magnets, local amplifiers, environmental monitors, or temperature sensors, etc.

[0061] In PLC systems, low-frequency communication generates high noise but low attenuation, while high-frequency communication generates low noise but high attenuation. Furthermore, in practice, the physical distance between devices that require PLC networking is often long, ranging from a few meters to tens of meters to hundreds of meters. This physical distance can affect PLC communication reliability. Therefore, considering factors such as noise, attenuation, and reliable communication distance, spectrum resources suitable for PLC communication are very limited. Given the limited spectrum resources available, MIMO technology, implemented using three-phase four-wire technology, has become an effective solution for improving PLC communication speeds and anti-interference capabilities.

[0062] However, due to the different equipment structures of each PLC site, different wiring methods can be adopted between different PLC sites. See Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a device wiring method. Among them, devices that support three phases can be connected in a three-phase four-wire manner, such as the three-phase four-wire connection between the transformer and the fusion terminal, between the transformer and the branch circuit breaker, and between the branch circuit breaker and the three-phase meter shown in Figure 1. The three-phase four-wire connection includes three-phase phase lines (i.e., the A, B, and C three-phase lines shown in Figure 1) and the neutral line (i.e., the N line shown in Figure 1); while devices that only support single phase can only be connected in a single-phase two-wire manner, such as the branch circuit breaker and the single-phase meter shown in Figure 1 can only be connected in a single-phase two-wire manner, and the single-phase two-wire connection includes a single-phase line and a neutral line.

[0063] However, if two PLC sites want to communicate based on MIMO technology, they need to have multi-line connection conditions between the two PLC sites. However, in actual scenarios, a considerable number of PLC sites are only connected by two wires, phase and neutral, such as single-phase meters and single-phase circuit breakers. Therefore, not all PLC sites can use MIMO technology. For PLC sites connected by single-phase two-wire, only SISO technology can be used for communication. Therefore, in the PLC system, there may be a mixed networking of two types of PLC sites: PLC sites with MIMO communication capabilities (hereinafter referred to as MIMO sites) and sites with SISO communication capabilities (hereinafter referred to as SISO sites).

[0064] However, when maintaining a PLC system, each PLC site is maintained as if it has the same communication capabilities. Since PLC sites with MIMO communication capabilities can operate in MIMO mode or switch to SISO mode, while PLC sites with SISO communication capabilities can only operate in SISO mode, the network maintenance solution assumes that all PLC sites only have SISO capabilities. Therefore, each PLC site in the PLC system only communicates via SISO. This communication method limits PLC sites with MIMO communication capabilities. Even if a PLC site has MIMO communication capabilities, it cannot use MIMO technology to communicate in the PLC system, and higher transmission rates cannot be achieved. Therefore, it is very necessary to design a network maintenance solution that can support hybrid MIMO and SISO networking.

[0065] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, in which a MIMO site can receive discovery lists from other PLC sites in MIMO mode and SISO mode respectively, thereby realizing the use of MIMO technology to maintain the PLC system. In addition, for a MIMO site, a first discovery list associated with the MIMO mode can be received in MIMO mode, and a second discovery list associated with the SISO mode can be received in SISO mode. The first discovery list is used to indicate the MIMO site, and the second discovery list is used to indicate the MIMO site and / or the SISO site, so that the MIMO site can distinguish the type of each site in the PLC system and realize network maintenance in the case of MIMO and SISO hybrid networking. When communicating, the MIMO site can communicate with the corresponding site according to the type of different sites. For example, when the destination site is a MIMO site, the MIMO site can choose to communicate with the destination site in MIMO mode to improve the data transmission rate.

[0066] The method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to PLC systems in scenarios such as smart homes, smart lighting, smart photovoltaics, remote meter reading, urban lighting, smart communities, parking management systems, security and anti-theft or fire alarm systems.

[0067] As an example, referring to FIG. 2 , which is a schematic diagram of a PLC system provided in an embodiment of the present application, the PLC system includes a first type of PLC site and a second type of PLC site. The first type of PLC site has MIMO communication capabilities, and sites with MIMO communication capabilities also have SISO communication capabilities. Such sites may also be referred to as MIMO sites. The second type of PLC site has SISO communication capabilities, for example, may only have SISO communication capabilities. Such sites may also be referred to as SISO sites.

[0068] Exemplarily, as shown in FIG2 , the PLC system includes a first PLC site, a second PLC site, and a third PLC site. The first PLC site and the second PLC site may be PLC sites of the first type, that is, MIMO sites. The third PLC site may be a PLC site of the second type, that is, a SISO site. The second PLC site and the third PLC site are both adjacent sites of the first PLC site. As shown in FIG2 , if the first PLC site and the second PLC site are connected via a multi-line connection, the first PLC site and the second PLC site may communicate via a MIMO mode or a SISO mode. If the first PLC site and the third PLC site are connected via a two-line connection, the first PLC site and the third PLC site may only communicate via a SISO mode.

[0069] In a PLC system, a PLC site may include one or more of a central coordinator (CCO), a proxy coordinator (PCO), or a station (STA). For example, a CCO may be a PLC site, a PCO may be a PLC site, and a STA may be a PLC site. The CCO is a PLC gateway responsible for network management, such as managing the online status of the PCO and STA in the PLC system. The PCO may also be called a proxy site, which can assist STAs with a long communication distance from the CCO to access the PLC system. It can also manage the device status of STAs under the PCO and report the device status of STAs under the PCO to the CCO. In addition, the STA may also be called a discovery site. Unless otherwise specified, the PLC site in the embodiments of the present application may refer to any one of the CCO, PCO, and STA, or may also be other nodes in the PLC system. For example, the first PLC site, the second PLC site, or the third PLC site involved in each embodiment of the present application may be any one of the CCO, PCO, or STA.

[0070] In order to better describe the embodiments of the present application, the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified herein, the steps indicated by dotted lines in the accompanying drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application are all optional steps. The methods provided by the various embodiments of the present application can be executed by a PLC station in a PLC system. For the convenience of description, the first PLC station, the second PLC station, and the third PLC station in the PLC system shown in Figure 1 are used as examples for description.

[0071] Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0072] S301: A first neighboring site of a first PLC site sends a first message in MIMO mode. Correspondingly, the first PLC site receives the first message in MIMO mode.

[0073] The neighboring sites of the first PLC site may include a PLC site directly connected to the first PLC site via a power line, or a PLC site that can communicate with the first PLC site via a single hop. The neighboring sites of the first PLC site may include one or more. When the first PLC site has multiple neighboring sites, the multiple neighboring sites may include a first type of PLC site and / or a second type of PLC site. The first neighboring site may be a first type of PLC site. When there are multiple first type of PLC sites among the neighboring sites of the first PLC site, the first neighboring site may be any one of the multiple first type of PLC sites.

[0074] Among them, the first type of PLC site has MIMO communication capability, that is, the first type of PLC site has the conditions for multi-line connection with other PLC sites, and the first type of PLC site also has SISO communication capability. The first type of PLC site can also be called a MIMO site, and for the convenience of description, they are all referred to as MIMO sites. The second type of PLC site has SISO communication capability, while the second type of PLC site does not have MIMO communication capability, that is, the second type of PLC site does not have the conditions for multi-line connection with other PLC sites. The second type of PLC site can also be called a SISO site, and for the convenience of description, it is all referred to as a SISO site. Communication between two PLC sites in MIMO mode requires that both PLC sites are MIMO sites, and the two are connected in a multi-line connection mode. Generally speaking, any two PLC sites in a PLC system can communicate in SISO mode.

[0075] In the embodiments of the present application, sending a message in a SISO manner means processing the data to be transmitted using a modulation and coding method corresponding to SISO, and transmitting the SISO message signal via a single-phase line and a neutral line. Correspondingly, receiving a message in a SISO manner means receiving the SISO message signal from a single-phase line and a neutral line, and processing it using a demodulation and decoding method corresponding to SISO to obtain the aforementioned data. Sending a message in a MIMO manner means processing the data to be transmitted using a modulation and coding method corresponding to MIMO, and transmitting the MIMO message signal via a three-phase line and a neutral line. Correspondingly, receiving a message in a MIMO manner means receiving the MIMO message signal from a three-phase line and a neutral line, and processing it using a demodulation and decoding method corresponding to MIMO to obtain the aforementioned data.

[0076] In an embodiment of the present application, the first message is used to exchange MIMO communication capabilities with adjacent PLC sites. The communication capabilities may include its own communication capabilities and the communication capabilities of the MIMO sites discovered by itself, thereby helping the PLC site to perform route evaluation and select a route with better reliability and communication rate.

[0077] In a possible embodiment, a discovery list message refers to a discovery list maintained by each of the adjacent PLC sites for exchanging the discovery list, and the discovery list includes one or more of the basic attribute information of the site, the number of messages received by the site from the adjacent site, or the channel quality, and so on. Then, by broadcasting the discovery list message between the PLC sites, a direct routing table item can be formed between the PLC sites as a basis for path selection during subsequent communication, and for a PLC site, if the discovery list message sent by other PLC sites can be received, it means that the other PLC site is the adjacent site of the PLC site. The first message in the embodiment of the present application can be a newly defined discovery list message (MMeDiscoverNodeList), which is associated with the MIMO mode and can also be referred to as a MIMO discovery list message, which is used for exchanging MIMO communication capabilities between MIMO sites. For example, the discovery list message can be used for a MIMO site in a PLC system to broadcast one or more of the basic attribute information of the site, the number of messages received from the adjacent site, or the channel quality, and so on to the adjacent site, so that each MIMO site can determine the communication success rate and evaluate the route.

[0078] The first message includes a first discovery list, which includes information about M MIMO sites, which may include a first neighboring site, where M is an integer. It can also be understood that the first discovery list is used to carry information about MIMO sites known to the first neighboring site itself in the PLC system. For example, it may include information about the first neighboring site and other MIMO sites discovered by the first neighboring site. The other PLC sites may be neighboring sites of the first neighboring site, or may be MIMO sites discovered by the first neighboring site through a discovery list message or other means.

[0079] Taking the PLC system shown in Figure 2 as an example, the first neighboring site may be the second PLC site. In this case, the first discovery list may be a discovery list containing MIMO site information stored by the second PLC site. The M MIMO sites included in the first discovery list may include the second PLC site and MIMO sites discovered by the second PLC site.

[0080] Through the above-described method, MIMO sites can send a first discovery list in MIMO mode to exchange information about MIMO sites between MIMO sites, allowing the MIMO sites to perceive the MIMO sites in the PLC system. In subsequent communications, the MIMO site can choose to communicate with the MIMO site in MIMO mode. Compared to the SISO mode, the MIMO mode has a higher data transmission rate, which can effectively improve the communication rate. The MIMO mode also has stronger anti-interference capabilities, which can effectively improve communication reliability. For example, the information carried in the discovery list message can be used to perform route evaluation between PLC sites. Therefore, through the above-described method, MIMO sites can send a first discovery list in MIMO mode to exchange information about MIMO sites between PLC sites, thereby achieving network maintenance in a hybrid MIMO and SISO network and helping to select proxy sites and communication paths with better reliability and communication speed when performing subsequent route evaluation. For example, MIMO sites with better reliability and communication speed can be preferentially selected as proxy sites.

[0081] In this embodiment of the present application, the first discovery list stored in the second PLC site may include (or indicate) one or more of the following information: type information of the proxy site of the second PLC site, the fourth value, the third indication information, or the fifth value, which are described below.

[0082] (1) The type information of the proxy site of the second PLC site may indicate the type of the proxy site of the second PLC site, for example, indicating that the proxy site of the second PLC site is a MIMO site or a SISO site. If there are multiple proxy sites of the second PLC site, the type information may indicate the type of each proxy site one by one. For example, the type information may include a table entry corresponding to each proxy site, and the table entry corresponding to a certain proxy site may store relevant information of the proxy site, for example, the relevant information of a proxy site may include the terminal endpoint identifier (TEI) of the proxy site and / or the type of the proxy site. Among them, a TEI is used to uniquely identify a PLC site, and the proxy site can be determined from the PLC system through the TEI of the proxy site.

[0083] (2) The fourth value is the total number of messages including the discovery list sent by the second PLC site in MIMO mode during the previous routing cycle. For example, for the second PLC site, the message including the discovery list can be regarded as a class of messages, and the fourth value can be the total number of messages including this class sent by the second PLC site in MIMO mode during the previous routing cycle. For example, in the next routing cycle after the current routing cycle, the corresponding fourth value of the current routing cycle will be determined, that is, the total number of first messages sent in the current routing cycle.

[0084] (3) The third indication information is used to indicate the MIMO site discovered by the second PLC site. For example, the third indication information can be indicated by a bitmap. When the bit in the bitmap is the sixth value, it indicates that the TEI site corresponding to the bit is discoverable. In addition, when the bit in the bitmap is the sixth value, it can also indicate that the corresponding discovery site information is also carried in this message. The sixth value is, for example, 1 or 0. Alternatively, the third indication information can also indicate the MIMO site discovered by the second PLC site in a list, for example, by indicating the identifier of the MIMO site discovered by the second PLC site in a list; or, the third information can also indicate the MIMO site discovered by the second PLC site in other ways.

[0085] (4) A fifth value is the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the second PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle, that is, the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the second PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle. For example, in this embodiment of the present application, messages including the discovery list may be considered as a type of message, and the fifth value may be the total number of messages of this type received by the second PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle.

[0086] In one embodiment, the fifth value may also be the sum of the seventh value and the eighth value, the seventh value being the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the second PLC site in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle, the eighth value being the total number of beacon messages received by the second PLC site in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle, and the value of the beacon usage flag in the beacon message being the third value. That is, if, among the beacon messages received during the last routing cycle, there is a beacon message received with the beacon usage flag having the third value, the total number of the beacon messages will be added to the fifth value. The third value may be, for example, 1 or 0.

[0087] In addition to the above information, the first discovery list may also include other information, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0088] See Table 1 below, which is an example of the content included in the MIMO discovery list message. The MIMO discovery list message in the embodiment of the present application may include one or more information in Table 1, or may also include information not given in Table 1.

[0089] Table 1

[0090] Among them, "this site" refers to the site that stores the discovery list or the site that sends the discovery list. For example, for the aforementioned first discovery list, this site refers to the second PLC site. The level in the basic information of this site may refer to the network level of this site; the MAC address of the CCO in the basic information of this site refers to the MAC address of the CCO in the PLC system where this site is located; the minimum communication success rate in the basic information of this site may represent the communication success rate of the weakest connection at a certain level in the entire path from this site to the CCO. For example, the weakest connection refers to the connection between the two PLC sites with the smallest communication success rate in the entire path. The proxy basic information may indicate the information of the proxy site of this site. Among them, the proxy basic information may include (or indicate) the type of the proxy site. In the embodiment of the present application, for MIMO sites, a field for indicating the type of the proxy site of the MIMO site is added to the MIMO discovery list message to indicate the type of the proxy site, for example, indicating that the proxy site of the MIMO site is a MIMO site or a SISO site.

[0091] S302: The second adjacent site of the first PLC site sends a second message in SISO mode. Correspondingly, the first PLC site receives the first message in SISO mode.

[0092] The second neighboring site may be any one of the neighboring sites of the first PLC site. The second neighboring site may be a first type of PLC site or a second type of PLC site.

[0093] The second message is used to exchange SISO communication capabilities with adjacent sites. The communication capabilities may include its own communication capabilities and the communication capabilities of other PLC sites discovered by itself. Because MIMO sites have both MIMO communication capabilities and SISO communication capabilities, the other PLC sites may include MIMO sites and / or SISO sites.

[0094] In one possible implementation, the second message may also be a discovery list message. This type of discovery list message is associated with the SISO method and may also be referred to as a SISO discovery list message. It is used by a PLC site in a PLC system (which may be a SISO site and / or a MIMO site) to broadcast one or more of the basic attribute information of the site, the number of messages received from adjacent sites, or the channel quality to adjacent sites, so as to be used by each PLC site to determine the communication success rate and evaluate the route. Since generally speaking, any PLC site in a PLC system has SISO communication capabilities, the SISO discovery list can be used to exchange communication capabilities between any two PLC sites to be compatible with the communication capability exchange of SISO sites in a hybrid MIMO and SISO network.

[0095] Among them, the second message includes a second discovery list, and the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, and the N PLC sites include MIMO sites and / or SISO sites, and N is an integer. Because all sites in the PLC system are capable of SISO communication capabilities, it can also be understood that the second discovery list is used to carry information of all PLC sites known to the second adjacent site itself in the PLC system. For example, it can include the second adjacent site and information of other PLC sites discovered by the second adjacent site. The other PLC sites can be adjacent sites of the second adjacent site, or they can be PLC sites discovered by the second adjacent site through a discovery list message or other means. The other PLC sites can be either SISO sites or MIMO sites.

[0096] Through the above method, any PLC site can broadcast the second discovery list in SISO mode, ensuring that the SISO site can normally exchange routing information with the MIMO site through the discovery list message (such as the second message mentioned above), and realize normal communication between the SISO site and other PLC sites.

[0097] In the embodiments of the present application, the first neighboring site and the second neighboring site may be the same or different. Taking the PLC system shown in FIG2 as an example, if both the second PLC site and the third PLC site have SISO communication capabilities, the second neighboring site may be either the second PLC site or the third PLC site. For example, if the first neighboring site is the second PLC site and the second neighboring site is the second PLC site, the first neighboring site may be the same as the second neighboring site. For another example, if the first neighboring site is the second PLC site and the second neighboring site is the third PLC site, the first neighboring site may be different from the second neighboring site.

[0098] When the second neighboring site is a second PLC site, since the second PLC site is a MIMO site, the second PLC site can send a first message including a first discovery list to the first PLC site in MIMO mode, or can send a second message including a second discovery list to the first PLC site in SISO mode. The second discovery list is a discovery list stored in the second PLC site, and the second discovery list can include information about all PLC sites that the second PLC site can discover. The N PLC sites included in the second discovery list can include the second PLC site and all sites discovered by the second PLC site.

[0099] When the second adjacent site is the third PLC site, since the third PLC site is a SISO site, the third PLC site can only send messages to the first PLC site via the SISO method. To distinguish it from the second message sent by the second PLC site, the discovery list message sent by the third PLC site is referred to as the fourth message (i.e., the second message sent when the third site is the second adjacent site). The fourth message includes the fifth discovery list (i.e., the second discovery list included in the second message sent when the third site is the second phase site). The fifth discovery list includes information on L PLC sites, including the third PLC site, and other PLC sites discovered by the third PLC site. The other PLC sites include MIMO sites and / or SISO sites, where L is an integer.

[0100] Among them, the fourth message corresponding to the third PLC site is a SISO discovery list message, and the second message corresponding to the second PLC site is a SISO discovery list message. See Table 2 below for an example of the content included in the SISO discovery list message. The SISO discovery list message in the embodiment of the present application may include one or more information in Table 2, or may also include information not given in Table 2.

[0101] Table 2

[0102] In an embodiment of the present application, in a PLC system, the CCO may configure configuration information related to the discovery list message for a MIMO site or a SISO site, for example, the configuration information includes a sending frequency or a sending period of the discovery list message.

[0103] Taking the transmission frequency as an example, for any MIMO site, the CCO can configure a first transmission frequency corresponding to the MIMO discovery list message and a second transmission frequency corresponding to the SISO discovery list message for the MIMO site. The first transmission frequency and the second transmission frequency can be the same or different. When the first transmission frequency and the second transmission frequency are different, the MIMO site transmits the corresponding type of message according to the respective transmission frequencies of the two types of messages. When the first transmission frequency and the second transmission frequency are the same, the MIMO site needs to send the MIMO discovery list message and the SISO discovery list message when facing the transmission opportunity of the discovery list message. The MIMO discovery list message corresponds to the first transmission opportunity, and the SISO discovery list message corresponds to the second transmission opportunity. The first transmission opportunity and the second transmission opportunity can be continuous in the time domain, that is, the SISO discovery list message is sent immediately after the MIMO discovery list message is sent, or the MIMO discovery list message is sent immediately after the SISO discovery list message is sent. Alternatively, the first transmission opportunity and the second transmission opportunity can also be discontinuous in the time domain, that is, other messages can be transmitted between the first transmission opportunity and the second transmission opportunity.

[0104] For a SISO site, the CCO may configure a SISO discovery list message transmission frequency for the site, and the SISO will transmit the SISO discovery list message according to the configured transmission frequency. In some embodiments, the SISO discovery list message transmission frequency of the SISO site may be the same as or different from the first transmission frequency or the second transmission frequency of the MIMO site.

[0105] In the embodiment of the present application, the following two implementation methods can be used to send the discovery list message:

[0106] (1) Implementation method 1

[0107] As shown in FIG4A , for a MIMO station, taking the first transmission frequency and the second transmission frequency as the same as an example, each time a MIMO discovery list message and a SISO discovery list message need to be sent, the MIMO station can sequentially send the SISO discovery list message in SISO mode and the MIMO discovery list message in MIMO mode. In other words, in a transmission opportunity of sending a list message, the SISO discovery list message is transmitted first, and then the MIMO discovery list message is transmitted. For example, in FIG4A , when the discovery list message is sent 1, the SISO discovery list message is first sent, and then the MIMO discovery list message is sent.

[0108] Among them, for MIMO sites connected in a three-phase four-wire manner, when sending SISO discovery list messages in SISO mode, the sending can be performed on any phase line and neutral line. For example, the MIMO sites of the PLC system can uniformly send on phase A and neutral line.

[0109] As shown in FIG4A , for a SISO site, each time a discovery list message needs to be sent, the SISO discovery list message can be sent in a SISO manner.

[0110] For example, using the PLC system shown in Figure 2 as an example, for the second PLC site, the transmission frequency configured by the CCO for the second PLC site can be used. When the first and second messages need to be sent, the second message is first sent in SISO mode, and then the first message is sent in MIMO mode. Correspondingly, for the first PLC site, the second message is first received in SISO mode, and then the first message is received in MIMO mode. For the third PLC site, a fourth message can be sent at the transmission frequency configured by the CCO for the third PLC site. Correspondingly, the first PLC site can receive the fourth message in SISO mode.

[0111] (2) Implementation method 2

[0112] As shown in FIG4B , for a MIMO station, taking the first transmission frequency and the second transmission frequency as the same as an example, each time a MIMO discovery list message and a SISO discovery list message need to be sent, the MIMO station can sequentially send the MIMO discovery list message in MIMO mode and the SISO discovery list message in SISO mode. In other words, in a transmission opportunity of sending a list message, the MIMO discovery list message is transmitted first, and then the SISO discovery list message is transmitted. For example, in FIG4B , when the discovery list message is sent 1, the MIMO discovery list message is first sent, and then the SISO discovery list message is sent.

[0113] As shown in FIG4B , for a SISO site, each time a discovery list message needs to be sent, the SISO discovery list message can be sent in a SISO manner.

[0114] For example, taking the PLC system shown in Figure 2 as an example, for the second PLC site, the transmission frequency configured by the CCO for the second PLC site can be used. When the first message and the second message need to be sent, the first message is first sent in MIMO mode, and then the second message is sent in SISO mode. Correspondingly, for the first PLC site, the first message is first received in MIMO mode, and then the second message is received in SISO mode. For the third PLC site, a fourth message can be sent at the transmission frequency configured by the CCO for the third PLC site. Correspondingly, the first PLC site can receive the fourth message in SISO mode.

[0115] S303: The first PLC site determines a discovery list of the first PLC site according to the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list.

[0116] In one possible implementation, the discovery list stored by the first PLC site may include a third discovery list and a fourth discovery list. The third discovery list corresponds to the MIMO mode and is used to store information about MIMO sites discovered by the first PLC site. The MIMO sites discovered by the first PLC site may include the first PLC site and the MIMO sites determined by the first PLC site based on the discovery list message sent by the adjacent site, and are of course not limited to the MIMO sites discovered in this way. The fourth discovery list corresponds to the SISO mode and is used to store information about MIMO sites and / or SISO sites discovered by the first PLC site. It can also be understood that the fourth discovery list is used to store information about all sites discovered by the first PLC site.

[0117] Specifically, corresponding to the MIMO mode, after the first PLC site receives the first message from the first adjacent site, the third discovery list can be updated according to the first discovery list. For the information of the M MIMO sites contained in the first discovery list, the updated third discovery list will also contain this information. Taking the first adjacent site as the second PLC site as an example, the M MIMO sites contained in the first discovery list can include the second PLC site and the adjacent site 1 of the second PLC site, then the updated third discovery list will contain the information of the second PLC site and the adjacent site 1 of the second PLC site. By broadcasting the MIMO discovery lists to each other, the MIMO sites in the PLC system can exchange routing information with each other in a MIMO manner, thereby realizing network maintenance between the MIMO sites.

[0118] In a possible implementation, after the first PLC site receives the first message from the first adjacent site, the communication quality information with the first adjacent site and other PLC sites can be calculated based on the information in the first discovery list, so that the first discovery list and the calculated communication quality information can be updated to the third discovery list.

[0119] Specifically, the first PLC site may determine first communication quality information based on the first discovery list, where the first communication quality information is used to indicate the quality of communication between the first PLC site and the first neighboring node based on the MIMO communication mode. For example, the first PLC site may determine one or more of the communication success rate and channel quality when communicating between the first PLC site and the first neighboring node using the MIMO communication mode based on the communication success rate, minimum communication success rate, number of sent messages, and number of messages received from the neighboring node in the first discovery list, in combination with one or more of the number of sent messages and number of received messages of the first PLC site stored locally.

[0120] The first PLC site may also determine second communication quality information based on the first discovery list, where the second communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the first neighboring node is used as a proxy site. For example, the communication success rate, minimum communication success rate, and channel quality between the first neighboring site and the proxy site, communication success rate with the proxy site, uplink communication success rate with the proxy site, number of sent messages, and number of messages received from the neighboring site, of the first neighboring site in the first discovery list may be combined with one or more of the communication success rate, number of sent messages, and number of received messages of the first PLC site locally stored to determine the communication success rate and channel quality when the first PLC site communicates with other PLC sites using the first neighboring site as a proxy site. Other PLC sites may include one or more PLC sites that the first PLC site can discover.

[0121] In a specific implementation, the first PLC station can first determine neighboring nodes that can serve as proxy stations for the first PLC station, and then select candidate proxy stations from these neighboring stations based on the discovery lists sent by each neighboring station. The second communication quality information can then be calculated for these candidate proxy stations. Neighboring stations that are not selected as proxy stations do not require subsequent calculations, thereby reducing the amount of calculation. Alternatively, after receiving the first discovery list of the first neighboring station, the first PLC station can determine whether the first neighboring station can serve as a proxy station based on the first communication quality information. For example, if the communication success rate of the first neighboring station is greater than or equal to a set communication success rate threshold, the first neighboring station can serve as a proxy station, and the second communication quality information calculation for the first neighboring station will continue.

[0122] Furthermore, the first PLC station may update the third discovery list based on one or more of the first discovery list, the first communication quality information, or the second communication quality information. For example, the first discovery list, the first communication quality information, and the second communication quality information may all be updated to the third discovery list.

[0123] In a possible implementation, the third discovery list can be updated according to the first discovery list only when it is determined that the first neighboring site has MIMO communication capabilities. For example, the first PLC site can determine that the first neighboring site has MIMO communication capabilities based on the fact that the first message is received in MIMO mode. That is, when the first PLC site receives the first message from the first neighboring site in MIMO mode, it indicates that the first neighboring site must support MIMO mode, that is, it belongs to a MIMO site. Alternatively, the first discovery list may include relevant information about the first neighboring site, for example, it may include second indication information, the second indication information is used to indicate that the first neighboring site has MIMO communication capabilities, that is, the second indication information may indicate whether the type of the first neighboring site is a MIMO site or a SISO site. Then, the first PLC site can also determine that the first neighboring site has MIMO communication capabilities based on the second indication information included in the first discovery list.

[0124] The third discovery list (or the updated third discovery list) may include (or indicate) one or more of the following information: type information of the proxy site of the first PLC site, the first value, the first indication information, or the second value, as described below.

[0125] (1) Type information of the proxy site of the first PLC site, which may indicate the type of the proxy site of the first PLC site, for example, indicating whether the proxy site of the first PLC site is a MIMO site or a SISO site.

[0126] (2) A first value, where the first value is the total number of messages including the discovery list sent by the first PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle. For example, messages including the discovery list may be considered a type of message, and the first value may be the total number of messages including this type sent by the first PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle.

[0127] (3) First indication information: The first indication information is used to indicate the MIMO site discovered by the first PLC site. For example, the first indication information can be indicated by a bitmap, a list, or other possible methods.

[0128] (4) A second value, where the second value is the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the first PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle. In one embodiment, the second value may also include the number of beacon messages received by the first PLC station in MIMO mode during the last routing cycle, wherein the value of the beacon usage flag in the beacon message is the third value. That is, when the value of the beacon usage flag of the beacon message received in MIMO mode is the third value (e.g., 1), the beacon message will also be counted in the second value.

[0129] The content contained in the third discovery list is similar to that of the first discovery list. Therefore, for the description of the above content, please refer to the aforementioned introduction to the first discovery list, and no further details will be given here. The third discovery list corresponds to the MIMO mode, so the third discovery list can include the content contained in the MIMO discovery list message in the aforementioned Table 1. Therefore, for the third discovery list, please refer to the description of the aforementioned Table 1, and no further details will be given here.

[0130] Specifically, corresponding to the SISO method, after the first PLC site receives the second message from the second PLC site (or the fourth message from the third PLC site), the first PLC site can update the fourth discovery list according to the second discovery list (or the fifth discovery list). Taking the second discovery list as an example, for the information of the N PLC sites contained in the second discovery list, the updated fourth discovery list will include this information. For example, the N PLC sites contained in the second discovery list include the second PLC site, the adjacent site 1 of the second PLC site, and the adjacent site 2 of the second PLC site, then the updated fourth discovery list will include the information of the second PLC site, the adjacent site 1 of the second PLC site, and the adjacent site 2 of the second PLC site. By broadcasting the SISO discovery lists to each other, the communication routing information in the SISO method can be exchanged between the MIMO sites in the PLC system, between the SISO site and the MIMO site, and between the SISO sites, thereby realizing network maintenance between the PLC sites.

[0131] In a possible implementation, after the first PLC site receives the second message from the second adjacent site, the first PLC site may calculate the communication quality information with the second adjacent site and other PLC sites based on the second discovery list, thereby updating the second discovery list and the calculated communication quality information to the fourth discovery list.

[0132] Specifically, the first PLC site may determine third communication quality information based on the second discovery list. The third communication quality information is used to indicate the quality of communication between the first PLC site and the second adjacent node, such as the quality of communication in a SISO manner. For example, the first PLC site may determine one or more of the communication success rate and channel quality during communication between the first PLC site and the second adjacent site based on the communication success rate, minimum communication success rate, number of sent messages, and number of messages received from the adjacent site in the second discovery list, combined with one or more of the number of sent messages and number of received messages of the first PLC site stored locally, as the third communication quality information.

[0133] The first PLC station may also determine fourth communication quality information based on the second discovery list, where the fourth communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC station and other PLC stations when the second neighboring node is used as a proxy station. For example, the communication success rate, the minimum communication success rate, the channel quality between the second neighboring station and the proxy station, the communication success rate with the proxy station, the uplink communication success rate with the proxy station, the number of sent messages, and the number of messages received from the neighboring station, of the second neighboring station in the second discovery list may be combined with one or more of the communication success rate, the number of sent messages, and the number of received messages of the first PLC station locally stored to determine the communication success rate and one or more of the channel quality when the first PLC station communicates with other PLC stations using the second neighboring station as a proxy station.

[0134] Furthermore, the first PLC station may update the fourth discovery list based on one or more of the second discovery list, the third communication quality information, or the fourth communication quality information. For example, the second discovery list, the third communication quality information, and the fourth communication quality information may all be updated to the third discovery list.

[0135] Through the above implementation, a MIMO station can maintain discovery lists corresponding to the MIMO mode and the SISO mode respectively. For example, for the MIMO mode, the MIMO station only counts the relevant information of the discovery list message received in the MIMO communication mode, and for the MIMO mode, the MIMO station only counts the relevant information of the discovery list message received in the SISO communication mode. A SISO station can only receive discovery list messages in the SISO communication mode, and can only maintain the discovery list corresponding to the SISO mode. For example, based on the discovery list message, one or more of the communication success rate and channel quality of the communication with the adjacent station in the SISO communication mode can be calculated, as well as one or more of the full-link communication success rate, channel quality, and layer information of the communication with other stations when the adjacent station is used as a proxy station. In this way, network information maintenance can be achieved in the case of a mixed MIMO and SISO network. Thus, it is convenient for the MIMO station to distinguish between MIMO stations and SISO stations, so that it can selectively communicate with other PLC stations. For example, when the receiving end is a MIMO station, it can communicate with it in the MIMO mode with higher communication speed and reliability, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0136] In a possible implementation, only one discovery list may be maintained in the first PLC site, and fields may be added to the discovery list to indicate information of the MIMO mode and the SISO mode, so that the maintenance of routing information of the two modes can be achieved through one discovery list, saving storage resources.

[0137] In an embodiment of the present application, for the first PLC site, the first PLC site may also send a MIMO discovery list message and / or a SISO discovery list message to its own neighboring site at the sending frequency arranged by the CCO. Specifically, since the first PLC site is a MIMO site, the first PLC site will send a MIMO discovery list message carrying the third discovery list to the neighboring MIMO site (such as the first neighboring site) in a MIMO manner, and send a SISO discovery list message carrying the fourth discovery list to the neighboring SISO site (such as the first neighboring site and / or the second neighboring site) in a SISO manner, so as to exchange routing information with the neighboring sites.

[0138] S304: The first PLC site determines a proxy site for the first PLC site based on the discovery list. Alternatively, the first PLC site determines a proxy site for the first PLC site based on the updated discovery list.

[0139] In embodiments of the present application, each PLC site can perform a route evaluation during each routing cycle and select a more optimal proxy site, such as one with a higher communication success rate and / or channel quality. The routing cycle can be configured by the CCO in the PLC system, and each PLC site can periodically perform a route evaluation based on the routing cycle. The following description uses the first PLC site performing a route evaluation as an example.

[0140] In one possible implementation, the first PLC station can determine, from a stored discovery list, PLC stations that can serve as proxy stations for the first PLC station, i.e., the first PLC station's neighboring stations. Based on the information in the discovery list, the first PLC station can then evaluate each neighboring station as a proxy station, selecting a proxy station with a better evaluation value. For example, the evaluation can be performed based on dimensions such as communication success rate and channel quality to obtain an indicator value corresponding to each neighboring station. Based on these indicators, the neighboring station with the better evaluation value can then be selected as a proxy station to improve the communication quality of the first PLC station.

[0141] In one possible implementation, for MIMO sites, the discovery list may include both a MIMO discovery list and a SISO discovery list. Information in the SISO discovery list and the MIMO discovery list may be separately counted, and the resulting information may be combined to determine a more optimal neighboring site as a proxy site. For example, for neighboring sites that support MIMO communication, the discovery list information may be compared with that of neighboring sites that support SISO communication. If communication reliability is comparable, the MIMO site with the higher communication rate may be prioritized.

[0142] Specifically, taking the first PLC site as an example, when the discovery list stored in the first PLC site includes the third discovery list and the fourth discovery list, the proxy site of the first PLC site can be determined according to the updated third discovery list and the updated fourth discovery list.

[0143] Specifically, see FIG5 , which is a flow chart illustrating a route evaluation process according to an embodiment of the present application. After initiating route evaluation, corresponding to the MIMO mode, the first PLC site may execute step S501, i.e., the first PLC site may perform information statistics based on the third discovery list (i.e., the MIMO discovery list). Furthermore, step S502 may be executed, i.e., the first PLC site may add a first weight corresponding to the MIMO mode to the statistically obtained information to obtain evaluation information corresponding to the MIMO mode.

[0144] For example, the first PLC site can determine the fifth communication quality information corresponding to the first candidate site in the third discovery list, and determine the sixth communication quality information based on the fifth communication quality information and the first weight. The first candidate site is a PLC site adjacent to the first PLC site. When there are multiple PLC sites adjacent to the first PLC site in the third discovery list, the number of first candidate sites can be multiple, and the first PLC site can respectively determine the fifth communication quality information and the sixth communication quality information corresponding to each first candidate site. The fifth communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the first candidate site is used as a proxy site. For example, it can be one or more of the full-link communication success rate, channel quality, and hierarchy. The sixth communication quality information can be the information after adding the first weight to this information, or it can be the final evaluation value after comprehensively determining an evaluation value based on this information and adding the first weight to the evaluation value. Of course, it can also include other possible information.

[0145] In accordance with the SISO method, the first PLC site may perform step S503, i.e., collect information based on the fourth discovery list (i.e., the SISO discovery list). Furthermore, step S504 may be performed, i.e., the first PLC site may add the second weight corresponding to the SISO method to the collected information to obtain evaluation information corresponding to the SISO method.

[0146] For example, the first PLC site can determine the seventh communication quality information corresponding to the second candidate site in the fourth discovery list, and determine the eighth communication quality information based on the seventh communication quality information and the second weight. The second candidate site is a PLC site adjacent to the first PLC site, and the seventh communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and the other PLC sites when the second candidate site is used as a proxy site. The determination method for the SISO method is similar to that for the MIMO method described above, and therefore will not be elaborated on here.

[0147] The first PLC station may then execute step S505 to evaluate the route by combining the MIMO evaluation information and the SISO evaluation information to determine a proxy station for the first PLC station. For example, the first PLC station may determine a proxy station from the first candidate station and the second candidate station based on the sixth and eighth communication quality information obtained above.

[0148] In the embodiment of the present application, there is no restriction on the form of adding weights, for example, it can be in the form of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, etc., and when different forms are adopted, the corresponding weight assignment method can be different. For example, weights can be added by multiplying the weight value on the basis of the evaluation information. Corresponding to this method, the first weight is greater than or equal to the second weight, so that the MIMO site can be preferentially selected as the proxy site to improve the data transmission rate and reliability of the first PLC site. In one embodiment, the values ​​of the first weight and the second weight can be determined according to the MIMO routing communication rate and the SISO routing communication rate. In addition, the first weight and the second weight can both set corresponding sub-weight values ​​for different information dimensions, and the sub-weight values ​​corresponding to different information dimensions can be the same or different.

[0149] For SISO sites, the proxy site can be evaluated based on the discovery list determined by the SISO discovery list message, by comprehensively comparing one or more of the full-link communication success rate, channel quality, and hierarchy of each adjacent site.

[0150] In actual application scenarios, for each PLC site, the proxy site selected in the above process can be a candidate site, that is, it is not directly changed to the proxy site of the PLC site. The PLC site can determine whether the candidate site is its current actual proxy site. If so, it will continue to serve as the proxy site. If the candidate site is different from its current actual proxy site, the PLC site can send a proxy update request to the CCO to request that the CCO change the proxy site for the PLC site.

[0151] Generally speaking, for PLC systems, the message types used to implement network maintenance in PLC systems can also include beacon messages and heartbeat messages. Beacon messages are used to publish one or more of the following: basic network attribute information, time slot management information, and routing evaluation period information to all PLC stations in the PLC system. Heartbeat messages are used by each PLC station in the PLC system to report its discovered neighboring stations on the network to the CCO, allowing the CCO to maintain the network status of the stations.

[0152] In the embodiment of the present application, for both MIMO sites and SISO sites, beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages can be sent in SISO mode, so that when the beacon message or heartbeat detection message is sent only once, the message sent by any PLC site can be received by the PLC sites within the coverage range of the message communication capability. Compared with the method in which the MIMO site sends the message once in MIMO mode and once in SISO mode respectively, the number of messages required for network maintenance can be saved and the network maintenance overhead can be reduced. For example, for the first PLC site, the first adjacent site and / or the second adjacent site sends the third message in SISO mode, and the corresponding first PLC site can receive the third message in SISO mode. The third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message.

[0153] The present application also provides another communication method, as shown in Figure 6, which is a flow chart of the method. In this method, the PLC system of Figure 2 is used as an example for introduction.

[0154] S601: The second PLC station sends a third message in SISO mode. Correspondingly, the first PLC station receives the third message sent by the second PLC station in SISO mode.

[0155] S602: The first PLC station sends a third message in SISO mode. Correspondingly, the second PLC station and the third PLC station receive the third message sent by the second PLC station in SISO mode.

[0156] S603: The third PLC station sends a third message in SISO mode. Correspondingly, the first PLC station receives the third message sent by the second PLC station in SISO mode.

[0157] As shown in Figure 6, both MIMO and SISO sites transmit the third message exclusively in SISO mode. For example, the first and second PLC sites are MIMO sites and transmit the third message exclusively in SISO mode; the third PLC site is a SISO site and also transmits the third message exclusively in SISO mode. Consequently, both MIMO and SISO sites can transmit beacon and heartbeat messages in SISO mode, reducing the number of messages required for network maintenance and lowering network maintenance overhead.

[0158] In order to more clearly introduce the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the above technical solution is introduced below with specific examples.

[0159] Example 1

[0160] Figure 7A shows an example topology for a hybrid MIMO and SISO network. CCO connects to primary agent sites PCO1 and PCO2 via a multi-line connection. PCO1 connects to secondary agent sites PCO3 and PCO4 via a multi-line connection. PCO4-PCO6 connect to discovery sites STA2-STA24 via multi-line connections. These sites can communicate using either MIMO or SISO. PCO2 connects to secondary agent sites PCO5 and PCO6 via a two-line connection. PCO3 connects to STA1 via a two-line connection. These sites can only communicate using SISO.

[0161] For the topology example shown in FIG7A , network maintenance can be performed in the following ways:

[0162] (1) For beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages, any two PLC stations send beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages in SISO mode. For example, CCO can send beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages to PCO1 in SISO mode, and PCO3 can send beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages to STA1 in SISO mode.

[0163] (2) For discovery list messages, sites with MIMO communication capabilities send discovery list messages once in MIMO mode and once in SISO mode respectively, and the discovery list message sent in MIMO mode is only used to indicate information related to the MIMO mode. Sites with SISO communication capabilities only send discovery list messages in SISO mode.

[0164] As shown in Figure 7A, MIMO discovery list messages need to be sent in MIMO mode between CCO and PCO1, between PCO1 and PCO3, and between PCO5 and STA3, respectively, to send SISO discovery list messages in SISO mode to send the MIMO discovery list and SISO discovery list to each other; and SISO discovery list messages need to be sent in SISO mode between PCO2 and PCO5, and between PCO3 and STA1 to send the SISO discovery list to each other.

[0165] In the embodiment of the present application, the first PLC site or the second PLC site may be the CCO or any one of PCO1 to PCO6 shown in 7A, and the third PLC site may be any one of STA1, PCO2, PCO5, or PCO6 shown in 7B. For example, taking PCO2 in FIG7A as the first PLC site, and its neighboring sites include CCO, PCO5, and PCO6, when PCO2 and CCO send a discovery list, PCO2 may send a MIMO discovery list to CCO in MIMO mode and a SISO discovery list to CCO in SISO mode, respectively. Similarly, PCO2 may receive a MIMO discovery list sent by CCO in MIMO mode and a SISO discovery list sent by CCO in SISO mode. The SISO discovery list will only be sent between PCO2 and PCO5, and between PCO2 and PCO6 in SISO mode. For example, PCO2 can send the SISO discovery list to PCO5 and PCO6 in SISO mode. Similarly, it can also receive the SISO discovery list sent by PCO5 and PCO6 in SISO mode, thereby supporting route maintenance between sites with different communication capabilities and achieving hybrid networking capabilities.

[0166] Figure 7B shows another example topology for a hybrid MIMO and SISO network. CCO connects to primary agent sites PCO1 and PCO2 via a multi-line connection. PCO1 connects to secondary agent sites PCO3 and PCO4 via a multi-line connection. PCO2 connects to secondary agent sites PCO5 and PCO6 via a multi-line connection. These sites can communicate using either MIMO or SISO. PCO3-PCO6 connect to discovery sites STA1-STA24 via two-line connections. These sites can only communicate using SISO.

[0167] For the topology example shown in FIG7B , network maintenance can be performed in the following ways:

[0168] (1) For beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages, any two PLC stations send beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages in SISO mode. For example, CCO can send beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages to PCO1 in SISO mode, and PCO3 can send beacon messages and heartbeat detection messages to STA1 in SISO mode.

[0169] (2) For discovery list messages, stations with MIMO communication capabilities transmit discovery list messages once in MIMO mode and once in SISO mode, respectively. The discovery list message transmitted in MIMO mode is only used to indicate information related to the MIMO mode. Stations with SISO communication capabilities transmit discovery list messages only in SISO mode. As shown in FIG7B , the CCO and the first-level proxy station, or the first-level proxy station and the second-level proxy station, need to transmit the MIMO discovery list message in MIMO mode and the SISO discovery list message in SISO mode, respectively, to each other. PCO3 to PCO6, on the other hand, transmit the SISO discovery list message in SISO mode to each other with the STAs connected to them.

[0170] In the embodiment of the present application, the first PLC site or the second PLC site can be the CCO or any one of PCO1 to PCO6 shown in 7A, and the third PLC site can be any one of STA1 to STA4 shown in 7B. For example, taking PCO4 in Figure 7B as the first PLC site, its neighboring sites include PCO1 and STA2. When PCO4 and PCO1 send discovery lists, PCO4 can send a MIMO discovery list to PCO1 in MIMO mode and a SISO discovery list to PCO1 in SISO mode. Similarly, PCO4 can receive the MIMO discovery list sent by PCO1 in MIMO mode and the SISO discovery list sent by PCO1 in SISO mode. Between PCO4 and STA2, only SISO discovery lists are sent in SISO mode. For example, PCO4 can send a SISO discovery list to STA2 in SISO mode and similarly, it can also receive a SISO discovery list sent by STA2 in SISO mode. This can support route maintenance between sites with different communication capabilities, thereby achieving hybrid networking capabilities.

[0171] Figure 7C shows another example topology for a hybrid MIMO and SISO network. It should be noted that Figure 7C only shows a partial network topology and does not depict the CCO and other sites. STA1 is connected to PCO1 and PCO3 via a multi-wire connection. STA2 is connected to PCO1, PCO2, and PCO3 via a multi-wire connection and to PCO4 via a two-wire connection. STA2 is also connected to PCO2 and PCO4 via a two-wire connection.

[0172] For STA1, it is necessary to send the MIMO discovery list to PCO1 and PCO3 in MIMO mode and send the SISO discovery list to PCO1 and PCO3 in SISO mode. Similarly, STA1 can receive the MIMO discovery list sent by PCO1 and PCO3 in MIMO mode and the SISO discovery list sent by PCO1 and PCO3 in SISO mode. Based on this, STA1 can select its own proxy site from them. Since PCO1 and PCO3 are both MIMO sites, STA1 can select a better proxy site based on the actual communication quality.

[0173] STA2 needs to send a MIMO discovery list to PCO1-PCO3 in MIMO mode and a SISO discovery list to PCO1-PCO4 in SISO mode. Similarly, STA1 can receive the MIMO discovery list sent by PCO1-PCO3 in MIMO mode and the SISO discovery list sent by PCO1-PCO4 in SISO mode, and maintain its own SISO discovery list and MIMO discovery list respectively. During route evaluation, STA2 can select its own proxy station based on the SISO discovery list and MIMO discovery list. When the communication quality is comparable, it can prioritize any of PCO1-PCO3 as a proxy station, fully leveraging the high reliability and high communication speed of MIMO stations to improve data transmission rate.

[0174] For STA3, it is necessary to send a SISO discovery list to PCO2 and PCO4 in SISO mode. Similarly, STA1 receives the SISO discovery list sent by PCO2 and PCO4 in SISO mode. Based on this, STA3 can select its own proxy site from it. Since PCO2 and PCO4 are connected to STA3 through two lines and can only support SISO communication capabilities, STA3 can select a better proxy site based on the actual communication quality.

[0175] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a PLC device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The PLC device 800 may be a PLC site or a circuit system of the PLC site described in the embodiment shown in either FIG3 or FIG6 , and is configured to implement the method corresponding to the PLC site in the above-described method embodiment. For example, the PLC site may be a first PLC site, a second PLC site, or a third PLC site. For example, a circuit system may be a chip or a chip system.

[0176] The PLC device 800 includes at least one processor 801. Processor 801 can be used for internal processing of the device, implementing certain control processing functions. Optionally, processor 801 includes instructions. Optionally, processor 801 can store data. Optionally, different processors can be independent devices, located in different physical locations, or on different integrated circuits. Alternatively, different processors can be integrated into one or more processors, for example, on one or more integrated circuits.

[0177] Optionally, the PLC device 800 includes one or more memories 803 for storing instructions. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memories 803. The processor and memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0178] Optionally, the PLC device 800 includes a communication line 802 and at least one communication interface 804. Since the memory 803, the communication line 802 and the communication interface 804 are all optional, they are indicated by dotted lines in FIG8 .

[0179] Optionally, the PLC device 800 may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be used to send information to or receive information from other devices. The transceiver may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, an input / output interface, etc., and is used to implement the transceiver functionality of the PLC device 800. Optionally, the transceiver includes a transmitter and a receiver. For example, the transmitter may be used to generate a PLC signal based on a digital signal, and the receiver may be used to convert the PLC signal into a digital signal.

[0180] The processor 801 may include a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application.

[0181] Communication link 802 may include a pathway for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0182] The communication interface 804 uses any transceiver or other device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wired access network, etc.

[0183] The memory 803 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 803 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 801 via the communication line 802. Alternatively, the memory 803 may be integrated with the processor 801.

[0184] The memory 803 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 801. The processor 801 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 803, thereby implementing the steps performed by any PLC station described in the embodiment shown in either of Figures 3 or 6.

[0185] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 801 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG8 .

[0187] In a specific implementation, as an example, the PLC device 800 may include multiple processors, such as processor 801 and processor 805 in FIG8 . Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0188] When the device shown in FIG8 is a chip, such as a chip in any PLC station, the chip includes a processor 801 (and may also include a processor 805), a communication circuit 802, and a communication interface 804. Optionally, the chip may include a memory 803. Specifically, the communication interface 804 may be an input interface, a pin, or a circuit. The memory 803 may be a register, a cache, or the like. The processor 801 and the processor 805 may be a general-purpose CPU, a microprocessor, an ASIC, or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of a program according to any of the above-described embodiments of the communication method.

[0189] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the device according to the above-mentioned method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, in the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of a device, and the device 900 can be any PLC site involved in the above-mentioned various method embodiments, or a chip in any PLC site. The device 900 includes a processing unit 902 and a transceiver unit 901.

[0190] It should be understood that the device 900 can be used to implement the steps performed by any PLC site in the communication method of the embodiment of the present application. The relevant features can refer to the embodiments shown in any of the figures in Figure 3 or Figure 6 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0191] Optionally, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 901 and the processing unit 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 801 in FIG8 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 803. Alternatively, the functions / implementation processes of the processing unit 902 in FIG9 can be implemented by the processor 801 in FIG8 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 803, and the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 901 in FIG9 can be implemented by the communication interface 804 in FIG8.

[0192] Optionally, when the device 900 is a chip or circuit, the functions / implementation processes of the transceiver unit 901 may also be implemented via pins or circuits. Optionally, the transceiver unit 901 may include a transmitting unit and / or a receiving unit, where the transmitting unit is configured to implement the transmitting function and the receiving unit is configured to implement the receiving function. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 901 may be an integral module capable of implementing the transmitting function and / or the receiving function. Optionally, the transceiver unit 901 may be implemented via a transceiver.

[0193] An embodiment of the present application further provides a PLC system, comprising a first PLC device and a second PLC device; wherein the first PLC device is configured to execute the method performed by the first PLC site, and the second PLC device is configured to execute the method performed by the second PLC site. For example, the first PLC device may be the first PLC site or a chip or functional module included in the first PLC site; and the second PLC device may be the second PLC site or a chip or functional module included in the second PLC site.

[0194] Optionally, the PLC system may further include a third PLC device, which is used to execute the method performed by the third PLC site. The third PLC device may be the third PLC site or a chip or functional module included in the third PLC site.

[0195] Among them, the above-mentioned various PLC sites can refer to the descriptions in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0196] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method performed by any PLC site in the aforementioned method embodiment is implemented. In this way, the functions described in the above embodiments can be implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can essentially or in other words, the contributing part or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a PLC site device to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. Storage media include: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0197] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method executed by any PLC station in any of the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0198] An embodiment of the present application further provides a processing device, including a processor and an interface; the processor is used to execute the method executed by any PLC site involved in any of the above method embodiments.

[0199] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor for implementing the functions of any PLC site in the aforementioned method (for example, executing the corresponding method or step). The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0200] Optionally, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions so that the above-mentioned processor reads and executes them to implement the corresponding method.

[0201] 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 described in 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 device. 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 one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. 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 can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0202] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or operated by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, and optionally, the general-purpose processor can also be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0203] The steps of the method or algorithm described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in hardware, a software unit executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software unit can be stored in RAM, flash memory, ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or other storage media in any form in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and can write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be arranged in an ASIC, which can be arranged in a PLC site. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can also be arranged in different components in the terminal device.

[0204] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0205] The contents of the various embodiments of this application can refer to each other. If there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0206] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, any PLC station can perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples. In the embodiments of the present application, other operations or variations of various operations can also be performed. In addition, the various steps can be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first PLC station in a power line communication PLC system, the method comprises: receiving a first message from a first neighboring site in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) mode, where the first message includes a first discovery list, where the first discovery list includes information of M first-type PLC sites, where the M first-type PLC sites include the first neighboring site, where the first-type PLC site has a MIMO communication capability, and where M is an integer; receiving a second message from a second adjacent site in a single-input single-output (SISO) mode, wherein the second message includes a second discovery list, the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites include the second adjacent site, the N PLC sites include a first type of PLC site and / or a second type of PLC site, the second type of PLC site has SISO communication capability, and N is an integer; A discovery list of the first PLC site is determined according to the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining the discovery list stored in the first PLC site according to the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list includes: updating a third discovery list stored in the first PLC site according to the first discovery list, wherein the updated third discovery list includes information of the M first-type PLC sites; and / or, The fourth discovery list stored in the first PLC site is updated according to the second discovery list, and the updated fourth discovery list includes information of the N PLC sites.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The updated third discovery list includes one or more of the following information: Type information of the proxy site of the first PLC site; a first value, where the first value is the total number of messages including a discovery list sent by the first PLC site in the MIMO mode in the last routing cycle; first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a first type of PLC site discovered by the first PLC site; a second value, where the second value is the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the first PLC site in the MIMO mode during the last routing cycle.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second value includes the number of beacon messages received by the first PLC site in the last routing period in the MIMO mode, wherein the value of the beacon use flag in the beacon message is a third value.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: Updating a third discovery list stored in the first PLC site according to the first discovery list includes: Determine first communication quality information and second communication quality information according to the first discovery list, wherein the first communication quality information is used to indicate the quality of communication between the first PLC site and the first neighboring node based on the MIMO mode, and the second communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the first neighboring node is used as a proxy site; The third discovery list is updated according to one or more of the first discovery list, the first communication quality information, or the second communication quality information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: Updating a third discovery list stored in the first PLC site according to the first discovery list includes: determining that the first neighboring site has MIMO communication capability according to the MIMO mode in which the first message is received, and updating the third discovery list according to the first discovery list; or If it is determined that the first neighboring site has the MIMO communication capability according to second indication information included in the first discovery list, the third discovery list is updated according to the first discovery list, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first neighboring site has the MIMO communication capability.

7. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: Updating the fourth discovery list stored in the first PLC site according to the second discovery list includes: Determine third communication quality information and fourth communication quality information according to the second discovery list, wherein the third communication quality information is used to indicate the quality of communication between the first PLC site and the second adjacent node based on the SISO mode, and the fourth communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the second adjacent node is used as a proxy site; The fourth discovery list is updated according to one or more of the second discovery list, the third communication quality information, or the fourth communication quality information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: After determining the discovery list stored in the first PLC site according to the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list, the method further includes: A proxy site of the first PLC site is determined according to the updated third discovery list and the updated fourth discovery list.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that Determining a proxy site of the first PLC site according to the updated third discovery list and the updated fourth discovery list includes: Determine fifth communication quality information corresponding to a first candidate site in the third discovery list, where the first candidate site is a PLC site adjacent to the first PLC site, and the fifth communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the first candidate site is used as a proxy site; determining sixth communication quality information according to the fifth communication quality information and a first weight corresponding to the MIMO mode; Determine seventh communication quality information corresponding to a second candidate site in the fourth discovery list, where the second candidate site is a PLC site adjacent to the first PLC site, and the seventh communication quality information is used to indicate the communication quality between the first PLC site and other PLC sites when the second candidate site is used as a proxy site; determining eighth communication quality information according to the seventh communication quality information and a second weight corresponding to the SISO mode; The proxy site is determined from the first candidate site and the second candidate site according to the sixth communication quality information and the eighth communication quality information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The first weight is greater than or equal to the second weight.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A third message is received from the first neighboring site and / or the second neighboring site in the SISO manner, where the third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a second PLC station in a PLC system, the method comprises: Sending a first message in MIMO mode; the first message includes a first discovery list, the first discovery list includes information of M first-type PLC sites, the M first-type PLC sites include the second PLC site and the first-type PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, the first-type PLC site has MIMO communication capability, and M is an integer; A second message is sent in SISO mode; the second message includes a second discovery list, the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites include the second PLC site, and the first type of PLC site and / or the second type of PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, the second type of PLC site has SISO communication capability, and N is an integer.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first discovery list includes one or more of the following information: Type information of the proxy site of the second PLC site; a fourth value, where the fourth value is the total number of messages including the discovery list sent by the second PLC site in the MIMO mode in the last routing cycle; third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a first type of PLC site discovered by the second PLC site; A fifth value, where the fifth value is the total number of messages including the discovery list received by the second PLC site in the MIMO mode during the last routing cycle.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The fifth value includes the number of beacon messages received by the second PLC site in the previous routing cycle in the MIMO mode, wherein the value of the beacon use flag in the beacon message is the third value.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: The method further comprises: A third message is sent in the SISO mode, where the third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a PLC system, the PLC system includes a first PLC site and a second PLC site, the first PLC site and the second PLC site are both first-type PLC sites, and the first-type PLC site has MIMO communication capability; the method includes: The second PLC site sends a first message in MIMO mode, and the first PLC site receives the first message in the MIMO mode; the first message includes a first discovery list, the first discovery list includes information of M first-type PLC sites, the M first-type PLC sites include the second PLC site and the first-type PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, and M is an integer; The second PLC site sends a second message in a SISO manner, and the first PLC site receives the second message in the SISO manner; the second message includes a second discovery list, the second discovery list includes information of N PLC sites, the N PLC sites include the second PLC site, and a first type of PLC site and / or a second type of PLC site discovered by the second PLC site, where N is an integer; The first PLC site determines a discovery list of the first PLC site according to the first discovery list and / or the second discovery list.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The PLC system further includes a third PLC site, the third PLC site is a second type of PLC site, and the second type of PLC site has SISO communication capability; the method further includes: The third PLC site sends a fourth message in the SISO mode, and the first PLC site receives the fourth message in the SISO mode; the fourth message includes the fifth discovery list, and the fifth discovery list includes information of L PLC sites, the L PLC sites include the third PLC site, and the first type of PLC site and / or the second type of PLC site discovered by the third PLC site, where L is an integer; The first PLC site also determines a discovery list of the first PLC site based on the fifth discovery list.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first PLC site sends a third message to the second PLC site and / or the third PLC site in a SISO manner, where the third message is a beacon message or a heartbeat detection message; The second PLC site receives the third message in the SISO manner, and / or the third PLC site receives the third message in the SISO manner.

19. A PLC device, characterized in that: The PLC device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit, wherein the processing unit is coupled to the transceiver unit to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 18.

20. A PLC device, characterized in that: The PLC device includes a processor and a memory, the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory, so that the PLC device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, or the PLC device performs the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 15, or the PLC device performs the method as described in any one of claims 16 to 18.

21. A PLC system, characterized in that: The PLC system includes a first PLC device and a second PLC device; wherein, The first PLC device is used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11; The second PLC device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15.

22. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program. When the computer program is executed on a computer, the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, or the computer executes the method according to any one of claims 16 to 18.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, or enables the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, or enables the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 16 to 18.

24. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system comprises: A processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to call and run instructions from the interface, and when the processor executes the instructions, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 18 is implemented.

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