Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and an apparatus. The communication method comprises: a first access point (AP) generates a first frame, the first frame comprising first information, the first information being used for indicating the extended bandwidth, and the extended bandwidth being used for communication with the first AP, wherein the extended bandwidth comprises the bandwidth of a first basic service set (BSS) and part or all of the bandwidth of a second BSS, the first AP corresponds to the first BSS, and a second AP corresponds to the second BSS; and the first AP sends the first frame. That is, during AP discovery, the first AP sends the first frame to indicate the use of the extended bandwidth for communication with the first AP, so that the first AP can dynamically and flexibly use a large bandwidth for transmission, improving data transmission efficiency.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority from the Chinese patent application No. 202410669657.0 filed on May 24, 2024, and entitled "Communication method and apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and more particularly, to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0003] In the discovery process of AP, each AP indicates the BSS channel information in the transmitted beacon frame or probe response frame, and the AP and all associated stations must perform data transmission within the declared BSS bandwidth. If the AP wants to change the BSS channel bandwidth, it can only perform channel switching. However, due to the large overhead of channel switching, the channel bandwidth usually remains unchanged for a long time after channel switching, which makes the data transmission not flexible enough. In addition, due to the dense deployment of APs and the limited available frequency spectrum, multiple APs are usually deployed on non-overlapping small bandwidths (such as 80MHz), which results in that even if the AP and the STA support large bandwidth (such as 320MHz) for data transmission at the same time, the large bandwidth cannot be used, resulting in a decrease in data transmission efficiency. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and related apparatus, which uses the bandwidth of the first BSS and part or all of the bandwidth of the second BSS as an extended bandwidth for communication by the first AP, so that the first AP can dynamically and flexibly use large bandwidth for transmission.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a first AP. In the absence of special statements, "first AP" in the present application can refer to the first AP itself, a component (such as a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.) in the first AP, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the first AP apparatus.

[0006] The method includes: a first access point (AP) generates a first frame, the first frame including first information, the first information being used to indicate an extended bandwidth, the extended bandwidth being used for communication of the first AP, wherein the extended bandwidth includes bandwidth of a first basic service set (BSS) and part or all of the bandwidth of a second BSS, the first AP corresponding to the first BSS, and the second AP corresponding to the second BSS; and the first AP transmits the first frame. That is, in the discovery process of the AP, the first AP indicates the use of the extended bandwidth for communication with the first AP by transmitting the first frame, so that the first AP can dynamically and flexibly use large bandwidth for transmission, thereby improving the data transmission efficiency.

[0007] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second AP is in a power saving mode. The power saving mode can be periodic schedule power saving mode and / or non-periodic schedule power saving mode. The second AP is in a wake-up state in a wake-up window during which data transmission is performed, and in a sleep state outside the wake-up window during which data transmission is not performed, or the second AP is woken up from the sleep state before data transmission is performed. By using part or all of the bandwidth of the AP in the power saving mode as the extended bandwidth before the wake-up window, further utilization of frequency resources can be achieved.

[0008] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the first frame further comprises second information, the second information being used to indicate a first window, the first window being used for communication using the extended bandwidth, and the first window not overlapping with a wake-up window of the second AP. Thus, after receiving the second information, the STA can confirm the time of use of the extended bandwidth, and use the extended bandwidth for communication only when the second AP is outside the periodic wake-up window, thereby ensuring dynamic and flexible use of the extended bandwidth by the first AP, and ensuring communication of the second AP.

[0009] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, before the first AP generates the first frame, the method further comprises: the first AP sending a second frame to the second AP, the second frame being used to request communication using the extended bandwidth function; and the first AP receiving a third frame sent by the second AP, the third frame being used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the extended bandwidth function for communication. That is, the second frame and the third frame are used for negotiation of the extended bandwidth function.

[0010] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the second frame is further used to request communication using the first bandwidth and / or using the second window for the extended bandwidth function. Thus, by first negotiating between the first AP and the second AP, the first AP can dynamically and safely use part or all of the bandwidth of the second AP as the extended bandwidth in a controllable environment.

[0011] With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the third frame is further used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the first bandwidth and / or using the second window for communication of the extended bandwidth function; or the third frame is further used to indicate the first AP using the second bandwidth and / or a third window for communication of the extended bandwidth function. Thus, by first negotiating between the first AP and the second AP, the first AP can dynamically and safely use part or all of the bandwidth of the second AP as the extended bandwidth in a controllable environment.

[0012] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the extended bandwidth does not overlap with the primary channel of the second BSS. Alternatively, it can also be understood that the extended bandwidth does not include the primary channel of the second BSS. That is, the first AP disables the primary channel of the second BSS as the extended bandwidth. Thus, if the second AP is woken up from the sleep state, the primary channel of the second BSS can be used for data transmission, which is beneficial to reduce the latency of burst traffic of the second AP. In this case, the second AP can indicate the wake-up window information of the second AP and the bandwidth information of the second BSS used in the wake-up window in the transmitted beacon frame. In addition, the second AP can also not transmit the beacon frame, and the corresponding BSS bandwidth information is used by default for data transmission between the second AP and the STA, and only the primary channel can be used for data transmission outside the wake-up window.

[0013] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first frame further includes third information, which is used to indicate a first time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth. Alternatively, the third information can also be used to indicate a time for switching from the extended bandwidth to the bandwidth of the first BSS. The first time can be specifically understood as the time for completing the bandwidth switching. Thus, when the first AP and the STA perform frame interaction on the extended bandwidth, padding can be added according to the first time in the interaction frame, so as to reserve sufficient time for switching to the corresponding channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission and reception.

[0014] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, the first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame. When the first frame is the beacon frame, the beacon frame can be transmitted in the form of broadcast. When the first frame is the probe response frame, the probe response frame can be transmitted in the form of broadcast, multicast or unicast. Before step S610, the first AP can also receive a probe request frame transmitted by the STA, and the probe response frame can be specifically a probe response frame for the probe request frame.

[0015] In a possible implementation of the first aspect, after the first AP transmits the first frame, the method further includes: receiving, by the first AP, a request frame from a station STA, the request frame being used to request association with the first AP, and the request frame including fourth information, which is used to indicate whether the STA supports communication using the extended bandwidth.

[0016] In some implementations of the first aspect, the request frame further includes fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate a second time for switching from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth. The fifth information can specifically indicate the second time for the STA to switch from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth. The second time can be specifically understood as the time for completing the bandwidth switching. Thus, when the first AP and the STA interact with each other in the extended bandwidth, padding can be added in the interaction frame according to the first time, so as to reserve sufficient time for switching to the corresponding channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission and reception.

[0017] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first AP receives sixth information from the STA, the sixth information being used to indicate that the STA starts to use the extended bandwidth for communication. Thus, after determining that the STA starts to use the extended bandwidth, the first AP and the STA can use the extended bandwidth for data transmission within the first window, so as to ensure that the first AP and the STA are switched to the extended bandwidth within the first window, and large bandwidth communication is achieved.

[0018] In the second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by the STA. In the absence of special description, the STA in the present application can refer to the STA itself, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the STA, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the STA device functions.

[0019] The method includes: receiving, by the STA, a first frame from a first AP, the first frame including first information, the first information being used to indicate an extended bandwidth, the extended bandwidth being used for communication of the first AP, wherein the extended bandwidth includes bandwidth of a first basic service set (BSS) and part or all bandwidth of a second BSS, the first AP corresponding to the first BSS, and a second AP corresponding to the second BSS; and parsing, by the STA, the first frame. That is, in the AP discovery process, the first AP indicates that the extended bandwidth can be used for communication by sending the first frame, so that the STA can start the extended bandwidth transmission function after receiving the first frame, and dynamically and flexibly use large bandwidth for communication with the first AP, thereby improving the data transmission efficiency.

[0020] In some implementations of the second aspect, the second AP is in an energy saving mode. The energy saving mode can be understood as a periodic scheduling energy saving mode and / or a non-periodic scheduling energy saving mode. The second AP can be in a wake-up state within a wake-up window, and data transmission is performed during the wake-up window. The second AP can be in a sleep state outside the wake-up window, and data transmission is not performed during the sleep state. Alternatively, the second AP is woken up before data transmission is performed. By using part or all bandwidth of the AP in the energy saving mode as the extended bandwidth before the wake-up window, the frequency resources can be further utilized.

[0021] In some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further comprises second information, the second information being used to indicate a first window, the first window being used for communication using the extended bandwidth, wherein the first window does not overlap with the wake-up window of the second AP. Thus, the STA can confirm the time of using the extended bandwidth after receiving the second information, and only use the extended bandwidth for communication when the second AP is outside the periodic wake-up window, which ensures the dynamic and flexible use of the extended bandwidth by the first AP and the communication of the second AP.

[0022] In some implementations of the second aspect, the extended bandwidth does not overlap with the primary channel of the second BSS. Alternatively, it can also be understood that the extended bandwidth does not include the primary channel of the second BSS. That is, the first AP disables the primary channel of the second BSS as the extended bandwidth. Thus, if the second AP is woken up in the sleep state, it can use the primary channel of the second BSS for data transmission, which is beneficial to reduce the latency of burst traffic of the second AP. In this case, the second AP can indicate the wake-up window information of the second AP and the bandwidth information of the second BSS used in the wake-up window in the transmitted beacon frame. In addition, the second AP can also not send the beacon frame, and the corresponding BSS bandwidth information is used by default for data transmission between the second AP and the STA, and only the primary channel can be used for data transmission outside the wake-up window.

[0023] In some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame further comprises third information, the third information being used to indicate a first time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth. Alternatively, the third information can also be used to indicate a time for switching from the extended bandwidth to the bandwidth of the first BSS. The first time can be specifically understood as the time for completing the bandwidth switching. Thus, when the first AP and the STA interact with each other on the extended bandwidth, padding can be added in the interaction frame according to the first time, so as to reserve sufficient time for switching to the corresponding channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission and reception.

[0024] In some implementations of the second aspect, the first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame. When the first frame is a beacon frame, the beacon frame can be sent in the form of broadcast. When the first frame is a probe response frame, the probe response frame can be sent in the form of broadcast, multicast or unicast. Before step S610, the first AP can also receive a probe request frame sent by the STA, and the probe response frame can be specifically a probe response frame for the probe request frame.

[0025] In some implementations of the second aspect, after the STA receives the first frame from the first AP, the method further includes: the STA sending a request frame to the first AP, the request frame being used to request association with the first AP, the request frame including fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate whether the STA supports using the extended bandwidth to communicate.

[0026] In some implementations of the second aspect, the request frame further includes fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate a second time for the STA to switch from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth. The fifth information can specifically indicate the second time for the STA to switch from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth. The second time can be specifically understood as the time for completing the bandwidth switching. Thus, when the first AP and the STA perform frame interaction on the extended bandwidth, padding can be added according to the first time in the interaction frame, so as to reserve sufficient time to switch to the corresponding channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission and reception.

[0027] In some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the STA sending sixth information to the first AP, the sixth information being used to indicate that the STA enables the function of using the extended bandwidth to communicate. Thus, after the first AP determines that the STA enables the function of using the extended bandwidth, the first AP and the STA can use the extended bandwidth to perform data transmission within the first window, so as to ensure that the first AP and the STA are switched to the extended bandwidth within the first window, and large-bandwidth communication is achieved.

[0028] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a second AP. Unless specifically stated, the "second AP" in the present application can refer to the second AP itself, a component (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system) in the second AP, or a logic module or software capable of realizing all or part of the functions of the second AP device.

[0029] The method includes: the second AP receiving a second frame sent by a first AP, the second frame being used to request using an extended bandwidth function to communicate; and the first AP sending a third frame to the second AP, the third frame being used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the extended bandwidth function to communicate. That is, the second frame and the third frame are used for extended bandwidth function negotiation.

[0030] In some implementations of the third aspect, the second frame is further used to request using a first bandwidth and / or using a second window to perform communication of the extended bandwidth function. Thus, through negotiation between the first AP and the second AP, the first AP can dynamically and safely use part or all of the bandwidth of the second AP as the extended bandwidth in a controllable environment.

[0031] In some implementations of the third aspect, the third frame is further used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the first bandwidth and / or the second window for the extended bandwidth function; or the third frame is further used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the second bandwidth and / or the third window for the extended bandwidth function. Thus, through the negotiation between the first AP and the second AP first, the first AP can dynamically and safely use part or all of the bandwidth of the second AP as the extended bandwidth in a controllable environment.

[0032] In the fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is configured to execute the method provided in the first aspect. Specifically, the communication apparatus can include units and / or modules for executing the method provided in any of the implementations of the first aspect, such as a processing unit and an obtaining unit.

[0033] In an implementation, the transceiving unit can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; and the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiving circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0034] In another implementation, the transceiving unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; and the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit.

[0035] In the fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is configured to execute the method provided in the second aspect. Specifically, the communication apparatus can include units and / or modules for executing the method provided in the second aspect, such as a processing unit and an obtaining unit.

[0036] In an implementation, the transceiving unit can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; and the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiving circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0037] In another implementation, the transceiving unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or a related circuit on the chip, chip system, or circuit; and the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit.

[0038] In the sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which is configured to execute the method provided in the third aspect. Specifically, the communication apparatus can include units and / or modules for executing the method provided in the second aspect, such as a processing unit and an obtaining unit.

[0039] In an implementation manner, the transceiving unit can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; and the processing unit can be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiving circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0040] In another implementation manner, the transceiving unit can be an input / output interface, an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin or related circuit, etc. on the chip, the chip system or the circuit; and the processing unit can be at least one processor, a processing circuit or a logic circuit, etc.

[0041] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a processor for executing the method provided in any of the implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0042] For the sending and obtaining / receiving operations of the processor, if no special description is made, or if it does not contradict the actual role or internal logic in the related description, it can be understood as the processor output and receiving, input operations, and can also be understood as the sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna, which are not limited in the present application.

[0043] In an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores program codes for execution by a device, and the program codes include codes for executing the method provided in any of the implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0044] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method provided in any of the implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface, and the processor reads instructions stored on a memory through the communication interface and executes the method provided in any of the implementation manners of the first to third aspects.

[0046] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further includes a memory, and the memory stores a computer program or instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored on the memory, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the method provided in any of the implementation manners of the first and second aspects.

[0047] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the communication apparatus of the fourth aspect, and the communication apparatuses of the fifth and sixth aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0048] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario to which embodiments of the present application can be applied.

[0050] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a TWT element field according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0051] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an EHT operation element field according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0052] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a transmit power envelope element field according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0053] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0054] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a channel usage element field according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0055] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0056] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0058] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an extended bandwidth according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0059] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a first window according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0060] FIG. 13 is a schematic structural block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0061] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0062] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a chip system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] First, in the present application, “for indicating” can include for directly indicating and for indirectly indicating. When it is described that certain indication information is for indicating A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, and does not mean that A must be carried in the indication information.

[0064] The information indicated by the indication information is referred to as to-be-indicated information. In a specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the to-be-indicated information, for example, but not limited to, the to-be-indicated information can be directly indicated, such as the to-be-indicated information itself or an index of the to-be-indicated information. The to-be-indicated information can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where the other information and the to-be-indicated information have an association relationship. The to-be-indicated information can also be indicated only by a part of the to-be-indicated information, and the other part of the to-be-indicated information is known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be implemented by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (for example, a protocol). In this way, the indication overhead is reduced to a certain extent. At the same time, the common part of each information can be identified and uniformly indicated, so as to reduce the indication overhead caused by separately indicating the same information.

[0065] Secondly, in the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, "first", "second", and various numerical numbers (for example, "#1", "#2", and the like) are only used for differentiation for the convenience of description, and do not limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the serial number of each process below does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the objects thus described can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances, so as to be able to describe schemes other than the embodiments of the present application. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, "S310" and the like are only used for identification for the convenience of description, and do not limit the order of execution steps.

[0066] Thirdly, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design presented as "exemplary" or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0067] Fourthly, in the embodiments of the present application, "protocol" can refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, can include an NR protocol and a related protocol applied to a future communication system, which is not limited in the present application.

[0068] Fifthly, in the embodiments of the present application, "of", "corresponding", "corresponding", and "associated" can be used interchangeably at times. It should be pointed out that when the distinction is not emphasized, the meanings expressed are consistent.

[0069] Sixth, in the embodiments of the present application, "in the case of", "when", "if" can be mixed sometimes, it should be pointed out that the meaning expressed is consistent when the distinction is not emphasized.

[0070] Seventh, the term "and / or" herein is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " herein generally represents that the associated objects before and after are an "or" relationship.

[0071] Eighth, in the embodiments of the present application, some of the drawings related to the message structure give examples of the names of the fields in the message. It should be understood that the names of the fields shown in the drawings of the embodiments of the present application are only examples, and in actual application, the name of any field can change.

[0072] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0073] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN) scenario, for example, support institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 related standards, for example, 802.11a / b / g standards, 802.11n standards, 802.11ac standards, 802.11ax standards, 802.11be standards (Wi-Fi 7), also known as extremely high throughput (EHT), 802.11bn standards (Wi-Fi 8) or Wi-Fi 8 next generation standards, etc., also including 802.11ad, 802.11ay standards, etc., can also be applied to a wireless personal area network system based on ultra wide band (UWB), such as 802.15 series standards, can also be applied to a sensing system, such as 802.11bf series standards, and the present application can also support spark link, nearlink and other standard protocols. Among them, the 802.11n standard is called high throughput (HT), the 802.11ac standard is called very high throughput (VHT) standard, the 802.11ax standard is called high efficient (HE) standard, and the 802.11be standard is called extremely high throughput (EHT) standard. Among them, 802.11bf includes two large categories of standards of low frequency (for example, sub7GHz) and high frequency (for example, 60GHz). The implementation of sub7GHz mainly relies on 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be and next generation standards, and the implementation of 60GHz mainly relies on 802.11ad, 802.11ay and next generation standards. Among them, 802.11ad can also be called directional multi-gigabit (DMG) standard, and 802.11ay can also be called enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) standard.

[0074] Although the embodiments of the present application are mainly described by taking the deployment of WLAN network, especially the network applying IEEE 802.11 system standard as an example, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that various aspects involved in the embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks applying various standards or protocols, for example, high performance radio local area network (HIPERLAN), wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN) or other now known or later developed networks. Therefore, various aspects provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used.

[0075] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various communication systems, for example: WLAN communication system, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, 5th generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), future communication system, internet of things (IoT) network or vehicle to x (V2X) and the like.

[0076] The above communication systems applying the present application are only illustrative, and the communication systems applying the present application are not limited thereto. Herein, it is uniformly stated that the following will not be described in detail.

[0077] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication method provided in the present application is applicable to data communication between an access point (AP) (such as AP1 and AP2 shown in FIG. 1) and a station (STA) (such as non-AP STA1, non-AP STA2 and non-AP STA3 shown in FIG. 1), where the station can be a non-access point station (non-AP STA), referred to as a non-AP station or STA for short, and the AP can be referred to as an access station. Specifically, the scheme of the present application is applicable to data communication between an AP and one or more non-AP stations (for example, data communication between AP1 and non-AP STA1 and non-AP STA2), applicable to data communication between an AP and an AP (for example, data communication between AP1 and AP2), and applicable to data communication between a non-AP STA and a non-AP STA (for example, data communication between non-AP STA2 and non-AP STA3).

[0078] The access point can be a node for a terminal (for example, a mobile phone) to enter a wired (or wireless) network, and is mainly deployed in a home, a building and a park, with a typical coverage radius of tens of meters to hundreds of meters, and can also be deployed outdoors. The access point is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network, and mainly functions to connect various wireless network clients together and then access the wireless network to an Ethernet.

[0079] Specifically, the access point can be a terminal or a network device with a Wi-Fi chip, and the network device can be a server, a router, a switch, a bridge, a computer, a mobile phone, a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network device in a 5G network, a network device in a future communication network or a network device in a public land mobile network (PLMN), and the like, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The access point can be a device supporting a Wi-Fi standard. For example, the access point can also support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 series, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, and the like.

[0080] The non-AP station can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor, or a wireless communication terminal, and can also be referred to as a user, a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. The non-AP station can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device, or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, an Internet of Things device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, a terminal device in a future communication network, or a terminal device in a PLMN, and the like. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. The non-AP station can be a device supporting WLAN standards. For example, the non-AP station can support one or more standards of the IEEE 802.11 series, such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ad, 802.11ay, and the like.

[0081] For example, the non-AP station can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a set-top box, a smart television, a smart wearable device, a vehicle-mounted communication device, a computer, an Internet of Things (IoT) node, a sensor, a smart home device such as a smart camera, a smart remote controller, a smart water meter, and a sensor in a smart city, and the like.

[0082] The AP or non-AP station described above can include a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, a processor, and the like, where the transmitter and the receiver are respectively used for transmitting and receiving packet structures, the memory is used for storing signaling information and storing preset values agreed in advance, and the processor is used for analyzing signaling information and processing related data.

[0083] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable. As shown in FIG. 2, the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to a scenario including one or more AP multi-link devices (MLDs) and one or more non-AP MLDs. The AP MLDs include AP1 and AP2, and the non-AP MLDs include STA1 and STA2. Optionally, the communication system can further include one or more legacy STAs.

[0084] A multi-link device is a wireless communication device that supports parallel transmission of multiple links. Compared with a communication device that only supports single-link transmission, a multi-link device has higher transmission efficiency and greater throughput. A multi-link device can also be referred to as a multi-band device.

[0085] A multi-link device can include one or more affiliated stations (affiliated STAs), which are logical stations and can also be physical stations, and each affiliated station works on one link. That is, the AP can specifically refer to an AP multi-link device (AP MLD), and the non-AP can refer to a multi-link device (non-AP multi-link device, non-AP MLD).

[0086] A multi-link device includes one or more affiliated stations (affiliated STAs), in other words, a multi-link device can include multiple logical stations, and one or more logical stations can correspond to one physical station, that is, one physical station can virtually generate multiple logical stations, but these logical stations virtually generated by the same physical station cannot simultaneously perform data transmission and reception. Hereinafter, a station can be a logical station or a physical station, without distinction. Each station works on one link. When transmitting data, an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD can use a link identifier to identify a link or a station on a link. Before communication, the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD can negotiate or communicate the correspondence between the link identifier and a link or a station on a link.

[0087] For example, the multi-link device can be a device with wireless communication function, which can be a whole machine device, and can also be a chip or processing system installed in the whole machine device, and the device installed with the chip or processing system can realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system. For example, the non-AP MLD in the embodiments of the present application has wireless transceiving function, can support 802.11 series protocol, and can communicate with the AP MLD or other non-AP MLD. For example, the non-AP MLD is any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and then communicate with a WLAN. For example, the non-AP MLD can be a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, and the like, which can be connected to a network, or an Internet of Things node in the Internet of Things, or a vehicle communication device in the Internet of Vehicles, and the like; the non-AP MLD can also be a chip and a processing system in the above terminals. The AP MLD in the embodiments of the present application can be a device that provides services for the non-AP MLD, and can support 802.11 series protocol. For example, the AP MLD can be a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, and the like, or the AP MLD can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, and the like, or the AP MLD can also be a chip and a processing system in the above various forms of devices, so as to realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application.

[0088] For ease of understanding, the technical terms related to the embodiments of the present application are briefly introduced as follows. As described in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the APs, such as “AP1” and “AP2”, can also be understood as traditional “AP1” and traditional “AP2” hereinafter; or the “AP1” and “AP2” can belong to the same AP MLD; or the “AP1” is “AP1 MLD” and the “AP2” is “AP2 MLD”. In addition, the STAs, such as “STA1” and “STA2”, can also be understood as traditional “STA1” and traditional “STA2” hereinafter; or the “STA1” and “STA2” can belong to the same non-AP MLD; the “STA1” is “first non-AP MLD” and the “STA2” is “second non-AP MLD”.

[0089] 1. AP discovery process

[0090] In the AP discovery process, the STA can discover the existence of the AP through the scanning form of active scanning or passive scanning, so as to associate with the AP to establish a connection. Simply speaking, the purpose of the STA associating with the AP to establish a connection is to establish one or more links for communication between the STA and the AP.

[0091] In the passive scanning process, the STA can receive the management frame sent by the AP on the channel, which can be a beacon frame or a probe response frame. For example, the STA can jump to search for the beacon frame sent by the AP on different channels. When the STA obtains the management information of the AP through the beacon frame, the STA can further communicate with the AP through a probe request frame to obtain other information of the AP.

[0092] In the active scanning process, the STA can actively broadcast a probe request frame without monitoring the beacon frame. If the AP receives the probe request frame and meets certain conditions (which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application), the AP can initiate random channel access and reply with a probe response frame.

[0093] In order to assist the STA to perform fast scanning, the AP can carry a reduced neighbor report element in the beacon frame or the probe response frame to report the related information of the neighbor AP. In this way, the STA can obtain the information of the neighbor AP when scanning, select a suitable AP for association, and avoid the STA from constantly scanning the channel, thereby reducing the scanning time of the STA. According to the 802.11be, in the AP MLD, the affiliated AP needs to carry the related information of other APs affiliated to the same AP MLD through the reduced neighbor report element. That is, in the present application, if it is described that two APs are in a neighbor relationship, it can specifically mean that the two APs are different devices, or it can also mean that the two APs are affiliated to the same AP MLD, which is determined according to the specific situation.

[0094] 2. Association of AP and STA

[0095] In one possible implementation, the association between the STA and the AP can be established through an association procedure at link setup. For example, the association procedure can include that the STA sends an association request frame on a channel where the AP is discovered, the association request frame carrying the STA-side information. After receiving the association request, the AP sends an association response frame, thereby the association between the STA and the AP is established (or said to be completed).

[0096] In another possible implementation, the association between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD can be established through an association procedure at multi-link setup. For example, the association procedure can include that the non-AP MLD sends an association request frame on Link 1, the association request frame carrying the STA-side information of Link 1 and the STA-side information of Link 2. For example, the association request frame can carry a multi-link element field, the multi-link element field being used to carry the information of the non-AP MLD and the information of the stations in the non-AP MLD. The AP MLD sends an association response frame on Link 1, the association response frame carrying the AP-side information of Link 1 and the AP-side information of Link 2, thereby the STA1 and the STA2 of the non-AP MLD respectively establish the association (or said to be completed) with the AP1 and the AP2 of the AP MLD.

[0097] 3. Power management mode

[0098] In order to perform power management, the AP can be in an active mode or a power saving mode. In the power saving mode, the power state of the AP can be switched between an awake state and a doze state.

[0099] In one possible implementation, the power saving mode can be a periodic scheduled AP power saving mode, that is, the AP can establish a periodic awake window, and the AP is in the awake state only in the awake window to perform data transmission. Outside the awake window, the AP is in the doze state and does not perform data transmission. In another possible implementation, the power saving mode can also be a non-scheduled AP power saving mode. In this case, the non-AP MLD can send a wake-up request through a master AP in the active mode to wake up another master AP in the non-scheduled AP power saving mode. After being woken up, the other master AP can be switched from the doze state to the awake state, and then switched from the awake state to the doze state after completing data transmission.

[0100] 4. Target awake time (TWT)

[0101] The AP can indicate the awake window of the AP by sending a management frame (e.g., a beacon frame and an association request frame) with a TWT element field in the management frame, so as to perform data transmission with the STA in the awake window.

[0102] FIG. 3 is a structure diagram of a TWT element field according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the TWT element can include an element ID, a length, a control, and a TWT parameter information field.

[0103] Taking the broadcast TWT element as an example, the TWT parameter information field can include one or more broadcast TWT parameter set fields. For example, the broadcast TWT recommendation subfield in the request type field of each of the broadcast TWT parameter set 1 and the broadcast TWT parameter set 2 in the figure is used to indicate the TWT type specified by the broadcast TWT parameter set, and the value 4 indicates that the broadcast TWT parameter set corresponds to an r-TWT. If a broadcast TWT parameter set corresponds to an r-TWT, a bit of the restricted TWT traffic info present subfield is included in the broadcast TWT info field in the TWT element field, and the value 1 represents that the TWT element field contains the restricted TWT traffic info shown in the figure, and the value 0 represents that the TWT element field does not contain the restricted TWT traffic info shown in the figure. The broadcast TWT ID subfield represents the identification number of the TWT group.

[0104] Each TWT parameter set field can include a request type field, a target wake time field, a nominal minimum TWT wake duration field, a TWT wake interval mantissa field, a broadcast TWT info field, a restricted TWT traffic info, and an aligned TWT link bitmap field. The restricted TWT traffic info field and the aligned TWT link bitmap field are optional fields.

[0105] The wake-up window parameters of the AP can be indicated by the target wake time, the nominal minimum TWT wake duration, and the TWT wake interval fields. An exemplary explanation of the three fields is shown below.

[0106] The target wake time field is used to indicate the start time of the target wake-up. The length of the field can be 2 bytes, and the lowest bit (bit 0) corresponds to the bit 10 of the timestamp function (TSF). The length of the TSF is 8 bytes, and the target wake time is specifically set as Bit 25~Bit 10 of the TSF.

[0107] The nominal minimum TWT wake duration field is used to indicate the duration of the TWT wake-up window. The length of the field can be 1 byte. When the wake duration unit subfield is set to 0, the unit of the duration of the TWT wake-up window is 256us; when the wake duration unit subfield is set to 1, the unit of the duration of the TWT wake-up window is 1 time unit (TU), i.e., 1024us.

[0108] The TWT wake interval field is used to indicate the TWT wake interval value. The unit of the TWT wake interval value is millisecond. The TWT wake interval can be equal to (TWT wake interval mantissa) x 2^(TWT wake interval exponent). The TWT wake interval represents the TWT wake interval value, the TWT wake interval mantissa represents the TWT wake interval mantissa value, and the TWT wake interval exponent represents the TWT wake interval exponent value.

[0109] 5. BSS bandwidth

[0110] The AP can send a management frame (e.g., a beacon frame and an association response frame) to one or more STAs, and the management frame includes an operation element field. The bandwidth information is carried in the operation element field, so that the one or more STAs can obtain the BSS bandwidth information provided by the AP according to the operation element field.

[0111] In this application, the STA can be an HT STA supporting the 802.11n protocol, a VHT STA supporting the 802.11ac protocol, an HE STA supporting the 802.11ax protocol, and an EHT STA supporting the 802.11be protocol. Correspondingly, the HT STA can obtain the bandwidth information of the BSS from the HT operation element field, the VHT STA can obtain the bandwidth information of the BSS from the HT and VHT operation element fields, the HE STA can obtain the bandwidth information of the BSS from the HE operation element field, and the EHT STA can obtain the bandwidth information of the BSS from the HT and EHT operation element fields.

[0112] FIG. 4 is a structure diagram of an EHT operation element field according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 4, the EHT operation element field can include an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, an EHT operation parameters field, an EHT operation information field, and the like.

[0113] The EHT operation parameters field includes an EHT operation information present subfield and a disabled subchannel bitmap present subfield. The EHT operation information present subfield is used to indicate whether the EHT operation information subfield exists. The disabled subchannel bitmap present subfield is used to indicate whether the disabled subchannel bitmap subfield exists.

[0114] Among them, the very high throughput operation information field can include a control subfield, a channel center frequency segmentation (CCFS) 0 subfield, a CCFS 1 subfield, and a disabled subchannel bitmap. Among them, the control subfield includes a channel width subfield. In addition, the control field can also include another reserved field.

[0115] The following shows an exemplary interpretation of part of the above-mentioned subfields:

[0116] The channel bandwidth is used to indicate the channel bandwidth of the EHT BSS. Specifically, 0 indicates that the bandwidth of the EHT BSS is 20MHz. 1 indicates that the bandwidth of the EHT BSS is 40MHz. 2 indicates that the bandwidth of the EHT BSS is 80MHz. 3 indicates that the bandwidth of the EHT BSS is 160MHz. 4 indicates that the bandwidth of the EHT BSS is 320MHz.

[0117] CCFS0 is used to indicate the channel center frequency of 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz; or the channel center frequency of the main 80MHz in the 160MHz EHT BSS bandwidth; or the center frequency of the main 160MHz in the 320MHz EHT BSS bandwidth.

[0118] CCFS1 is used to indicate the channel center frequency of the 160MHz EHT BSS bandwidth; or the channel center frequency of the 320MHz EHT BSS bandwidth; when the EHT BSS bandwidth is 20MHz, 40MHz or 80MHz bandwidth, the field is set to 0.

[0119] The disabled subchannel bitmap is used to indicate whether each 20MHz subchannel in the bandwidth of the EHT BSS is available.

[0120] 6. Transmit power

[0121] In addition, the AP can also indicate the transmit power information corresponding to the bandwidth of the BSS through the transmit power envelope element field in the management frame.

[0122] FIG. 5 is a structure diagram of a transmit power envelope element field according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the transmit power envelope element field includes four fields, i.e., a first field for an element identified field, a second field for a length field, a third field for a transmit power information field, and a fourth field for a maximum transmit power field. The element identified field is used to identify the transmit power envelope element, and the length field is used to indicate the total length of other fields after the length field in the transmit power envelope element. The transmit power information field and the maximum transmit power field are used to indicate the maximum transmit power information corresponding to at least one basic channel, such as a maximum transmit power spectral density (PSD) or an equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP).

[0123] Specifically, for the transmit power information field, the field can include three subfields, i.e., a maximum transmit power count subfield, a maximum transmit power interpretation subfield, and a maximum transmit power category subfield. The maximum transmit power interpretation subfield and the maximum transmit power category subfield are used to indicate the maximum transmit power information corresponding to at least one basic channel, and the maximum transmit power category subfield is used to indicate the category to which the maximum transmit power is applied, such as indicating that the maximum transmit power indicated by the element is applied to a default category. When the maximum transmit power interpretation subfield takes different meanings, the maximum transmit power count subfield also takes different meanings.

[0124] It should be noted that the present application does not particularly limit the size of the transmit power information field and the size of the subfields included therein. For example, when the transmit power information field occupies 1 byte, the maximum transmit power count subfield can occupy 3 bits, the maximum transmit power interpretation subfield can occupy 3 bits, and the maximum transmit power category subfield can occupy 2 bits.

[0125] For example, Table 1 shows one interpretation manner of the maximum transmit power interpretation subfield.

[0126] Table 1

[0127] When the value of the maximum transmit power interpretation subfield is 0 or 2 (case A), the maximum transmit power quantity subfield is used to describe the EIRP of the local terminal or the regulated terminal; when the value of the maximum transmit power interpretation subfield is 1 or 3 (case B), the maximum transmit power interpretation subfield is used to describe the EIRP PSD (or also referred to as PSD) of the local terminal or the regulated terminal.

[0128] In the discovery process of the AP, each AP indicates the BSS bandwidth information provided by the AP in the transmitted management frame, and the AP and all associated stations must perform data transmission within the declared BSS bandwidth. If the AP wants to change the BSS channel bandwidth, it can only perform channel switching. However, due to the large overhead of channel switching, the channel bandwidth remains unchanged for a long time after channel switching, which makes the data transmission not flexible enough. In addition, due to the dense deployment of APs and the limited available spectrum, multiple APs are usually deployed on non-overlapping small bandwidths (such as 80MHz), which leads to that even if the AP and the STA support large bandwidth (such as 320MHz) for data transmission at the same time, the large bandwidth cannot be used, resulting in low data transmission efficiency.

[0129] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device, which use the bandwidth of the first BSS and part or all of the bandwidth of the second BSS as an extended bandwidth for communication by the first AP, so that the first AP can dynamically and flexibly use large bandwidth for transmission.

[0130] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes steps S610-S630.

[0131] S610, a first AP generates a first frame, the first frame includes first information, the first information is used to indicate an extended bandwidth, the extended bandwidth is used for communication of the first AP, wherein the extended bandwidth includes a bandwidth of a first BSS and part or all of a bandwidth of a second BSS, the first AP corresponds to the first BSS, and a second AP corresponds to the second BSS.

[0132] In some implementations, the first information includes at least one of the following corresponding to the extended bandwidth: a channel width, a channel center frequency range, a disabled subchannel bitmap, or transmit power information. Thus, the extended bandwidth is specifically indicated by the above information.

[0133] In some implementations, the second AP can be in a power saving mode. The power saving mode can be understood as a "periodic schedule power saving mode and / or an aperiodic schedule power saving mode". In the power saving mode, the second AP is in a wake-up state in a wake-up window during which data transmission is performed, and is in a sleep state outside the wake-up window during which data transmission is not performed, or the second AP is woken up from the sleep state and then performs data transmission. By using part or all of the bandwidth of the AP in the power saving mode as the extended bandwidth before the wake-up window, further utilization of the frequency resource can be achieved. In addition, the second AP can also be in a bandwidth shrinkage mode. In the bandwidth shrinkage mode, the second AP performs data transmission through part of the bandwidth of the second BSS, and lends the remaining unused bandwidth to the first AP. At this time, the first AP uses part or all of the bandwidth of the second AP in the bandwidth shrinkage mode as the extended bandwidth, and further utilization of the frequency resource can be achieved.

[0134] In some implementations, the first frame further includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate a first window for communication using the extended bandwidth, and the first window does not overlap with a wake-up window of the second AP. Thus, after receiving the second information, the STA can confirm the use time of the extended bandwidth, and use the extended bandwidth for communication only when the second AP is outside the periodic wake-up window, so as to ensure dynamic and flexible use of the extended bandwidth by the first AP, and ensure communication of the second AP.

[0135] In some implementations, the second information includes at least one of the following corresponding to the first window: a start time, a duration, a neighboring window time interval, or a total number of windows. Thus, the first window is specifically indicated by the above information. The first window can be aperiodic or periodic. When the first window is aperiodic, for example, the second information can specifically include a start time, a duration, and the like. When the first window is periodic, for example, the second information can specifically include a start time, a duration, a neighboring window time interval, and a total number of windows, and the like. The actual situation is determined.

[0136] In some implementations, the first frame further includes third information indicating a first time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth. The first time can be specifically understood as a time for completing the bandwidth switching. In some cases, the first time can be a longest time for completing the bandwidth switching determined by the first AP according to its capability. In some cases, the first AP can receive reported information of the STA, the reported information including a second time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth, and the first AP determines the first time according to the second time. In some cases, the first AP can further receive reported information of a plurality of STAs, the reported information including a time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth of a corresponding STA in the plurality of STAs, and the first AP determines the first time according to the plurality of reported information. Thus, when the first AP and the STA perform frame interaction on the extended bandwidth, padding can be added in the interaction frame according to the first time, so as to reserve sufficient time for switching to a corresponding channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission and reception.

[0137] In some implementations, the extended bandwidth does not overlap with the primary 20MHz or the primary 40MHz channel of the second BSS. Alternatively, it can also be understood that the extended bandwidth does not include the primary 20MHz or the primary 40MHz channel of the second BSS. That is, the first AP disables the primary 20MHz or the primary 40MHz channel of the second BSS as the extended bandwidth. Thus, if the second AP is woken up from the sleep state, the primary 20MHz or the primary 40MHz channel of the second BSS can be used for data transmission, which is beneficial to reduce the latency of burst traffic of the second AP. In this case, the second AP can indicate the wake-up window information of the second AP and the bandwidth information of the second BSS used in the wake-up window in a transmitted beacon frame. In addition, the second AP can also not transmit the beacon frame, and the second AP and the STA can use the corresponding BSS bandwidth information for data transmission by default, and can only use the primary channel for data transmission outside the wake-up window.

[0138] In some implementations, the first frame can further include information indicating that the first AP is in the active mode.

[0139] In some implementations, the first AP can carry a channel usage element in the first frame to avoid legacy STAs (another STA other than the above-mentioned STA) using part or all of the second BSS bandwidth for other transmissions, such as P2P (point-to-point), which can be used to indicate the use of part or all of the second BSS bandwidth included in the extended bandwidth. For example, the usage mode in this field can be set to a first value (e.g., 3) to indicate that part or all of the second BSS included in the extended bandwidth is for other purposes, so that the legacy STA will not use the bandwidth of this part of the BSS.

[0140] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a channel usage element field according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the channel usage element field can include an element ID, a length, a usage mode field, and one or more channel entry fields.

[0141] The following shows an exemplary interpretation of some of the above-mentioned fields:

[0142] • Usage mode: used to indicate the use of the corresponding channel. For example, set to 1 to indicate off-channel direct link; set to 3

[0143] to indicate that the channel is not available.

[0144] Channel entry: each channel entry includes an operation class and a channel number, and each channel entry is used to indicate a specific channel. S620, the first AP sends a first frame. Correspondingly, the STA receives the first frame from the first AP.

[0145] The first frame can be a beacon frame or a probe response frame. When the first frame is a beacon frame, the beacon frame can be sent in a broadcast form. When the first frame is a probe response frame, the probe response frame can be sent in a broadcast, multicast, or unicast form. Before step S610, the first AP can also receive a probe request frame sent by the STA, and the probe response frame can be a probe response frame specifically for the probe request frame.

[0146] S630, the STA parses the first frame.

[0147] In the communication method as described in FIG. 6, during the AP discovery process, the first AP indicates the use of the extended bandwidth for communication with the first AP by sending the first frame, so that the first AP can dynamically and flexibly use a large bandwidth for transmission, thereby improving the data transmission efficiency.

[0148] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. Before the communication method shown in FIG. 6 is implemented, the first AP and the second AP can determine the extended bandwidth and the first window as described in FIG. 6 through negotiation. As shown in FIG. 8, the method includes steps S810-S820.

[0149] S810, the first AP sends a second frame to the second AP. Correspondingly, the second AP receives the second frame from the first AP. The second frame is used to request to use the extended bandwidth function for communication. Wherein, the "extended bandwidth function" can also be replaced by "extended bandwidth mode", "extended bandwidth scenario", etc., which is determined according to the actual situation.

[0150] In some implementation methods, the second frame is also used to request to use the first bandwidth and / or use the second window for the extended bandwidth function communication. Wherein, the first AP can request to use the first bandwidth as the extended bandwidth according to its own situation or initiate negotiation to use the first bandwidth as the extended bandwidth, and / or the second window is used for the extended bandwidth.

[0151] Or the first AP can request to use the first bandwidth as the extended bandwidth and / or the second window is used for the extended bandwidth according to the report information of one or more STAs received by the second AP. Wherein, when the second frame is used to request to use the first bandwidth, the first bandwidth can be indicated by at least one of the following corresponding items: channel width, channel center frequency range, disabled subchannel bitmap, or transmission power information. Wherein, when the second frame is used to request to use the second window, the second window can be indicated by at least one of the following corresponding items: start time, duration, adjacent window time interval, or total window number.

[0152] In some implementation methods, the second frame further includes timestamp information of the first AP, so that the second AP can synchronize or window align with the first AP according to the timestamp information after receiving the timestamp information.

[0153] S820, the first AP receives the third frame sent by the second AP. Correspondingly, the second AP sends the third frame to the first AP. The third frame is used to indicate to accept the first AP to use the extended bandwidth function for communication or to respond to the negotiation request to use the first bandwidth as the extended bandwidth.

[0154] In some implementation methods, the third frame is also used to indicate to accept the first AP to use the first bandwidth and / or use the second window for the extended bandwidth function communication. In this case, the first information indicated by the first AP in the first frame sent subsequently can be the first bandwidth, and the second information indicated by the first window can be the second window.

[0155] In some implementations, the third frame further indicates the first AP to use a second bandwidth and / or a third window for the extended bandwidth function. In some cases, the second bandwidth and / or the third window can be directly indicated by the second AP according to its own condition. In this case, the first information in the first frame sent by the first AP later indicates the second bandwidth as the extended bandwidth, and the second information indicates the third window as the first window. In some cases, the second bandwidth and / or the third window can be indirectly determined by the second AP through carrying the energy saving mode information of the second AP in the third frame. For example, the energy saving mode information can include the bandwidth information of the second BSS and / or the sleep window information of the second BSS. The first AP determines to use part or all of the bandwidth of the second BSS as the extended bandwidth and / or use the first window that does not overlap with the sleep window of the second AP to use the extended bandwidth according to the energy saving mode information.

[0156] In some implementations, the third frame further includes the timestamp information of the second AP, so that the first AP can synchronize or window align with the second AP according to the timestamp information after receiving the timestamp information.

[0157] In some implementations, the third frame further includes at least one of the following information of the second AP: channel interference information, traffic load information, or information corresponding to the energy saving mode. The channel interference information can be obtained by the second AP when communicating. Thus, the first AP can further select a suitable channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission according to the above information after receiving the third frame.

[0158] The second frame and the third frame can be protected public action frames. For example, the second frame can be a cooperation request frame, and the third frame can be a cooperation response frame. The first AP and the second AP can discover each other through air interface scanning of a beacon frame or a probe response frame, and then perform negotiation through wireless means. In addition, the second frame and the third frame can be wired frames, i.e., the first AP and the second AP can perform negotiation through wired means, for example, the first AP and the second AP belong to the same extended service set (ESS).

[0159] In the communication method as described in FIG. 8, the first AP can dynamically and safely use part or all of the bandwidth of the second AP as the extended bandwidth in a controllable environment through the negotiation between the first AP and the second AP.

[0160] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. After the communication method shown in FIG. 6 is implemented, the STA can associate with the first AP after receiving the first frame. As shown in FIG. 9, the method includes step S910.

[0161] S910, the STA sends a request frame to the first AP. Correspondingly, the first AP receives the request frame from the STA. The request frame is used to request association with the first AP, and the request frame includes fourth information used to indicate whether the STA supports communication using the extended bandwidth. Thus, when the first AP associates with the STA, it can be determined whether the STA supports communication using the extended bandwidth.

[0162] In some implementations, the request frame further includes fifth information used to indicate a second time for switching from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth. The fifth information can specifically indicate the second time for the STA to switch from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth. The second time can be specifically understood as the time for completing bandwidth switching. The second time can be the time for completing bandwidth switching determined by the STA according to its own capability. Thus, when the first AP and the STA interact with frames on the extended bandwidth, padding can be added according to the first time in the interaction frames, so as to reserve sufficient time to switch to the corresponding channel in the extended bandwidth for data transmission and reception.

[0163] In some implementations, the method shown in FIG. 9 further includes step S920. S920, the STA sends sixth information to the first AP. Correspondingly, the first AP receives the sixth information sent from the STA. The sixth information is used to indicate that the STA enables the function of using the extended bandwidth for communication. Thus, after the first AP determines that the STA enables the function of using the extended bandwidth, the first AP and the STA can use the extended bandwidth for data transmission within the first window, so as to ensure that the first AP and the STA are switched to the extended bandwidth within the first window, and large bandwidth communication is achieved.

[0164] In some implementations, after the first AP receives the request frame sent by the STA, the first AP can send a control frame to the STA for interaction. As shown in (a) of FIG. 9, the communication method can further include steps S931-S941.

[0165] S931, the first AP sends a control frame to the STA on the first channel, and the control frame is used to establish a handshake between the first AP and the STA on the first channel. The first channel can be each free 20MHz subchannel in the extended bandwidth.

[0166] In some embodiments, the control frame includes channel information corresponding to the extended bandwidth. In some embodiments, the control frame includes padding, which can be determined according to the first time and / or the second time.

[0167] S941, the first AP receives a response frame from the STA on the first channel.

[0168] Thus, after the first AP interacts with the STA through the control frame as the initiator of a transmit opportunity (TXOP), the first AP can perform data transmission with the STA on the first channel. The control frame can be an initial control (ICF) frame, and the response frame can be an initial control response (ICR) frame.

[0169] In some embodiments, after the first AP receives the request frame sent by the STA, the STA can send a control frame to the first AP for interaction. As shown in (b) of FIG. 9, the communication method can further include steps S932-S942.

[0170] S932, the first AP receives a control frame from the STA on the first channel, the control frame being used to establish a handshake between the first AP and the STA on the first channel, the first channel being each free 20MHz subchannel in the extended bandwidth.

[0171] In some embodiments, the control frame includes channel information corresponding to the extended bandwidth. In some embodiments, the control frame includes padding, which can be determined according to the first time and / or the second time.

[0172] S942, the first AP sends a response frame to the STA on the first channel.

[0173] Thus, after the first AP interacts with the STA through the control frame as the initiator of a transmit opportunity (TXOP), the first AP can perform data transmission with the STA on the first channel. The control frame can be an initial control (ICF) frame, and the response frame can be an initial control response (ICR) frame.

[0174] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 6, the method includes steps S1010-S1020.

[0175] S1010, the third AP generates a fourth frame, the fourth frame includes seventh information, the seventh information is used to indicate that the second AP is in the energy saving mode.

[0176] The third AP and the second AP are the same device, that is, the beacon frame or the probe response frame is sent by the second AP itself. Alternatively, the third AP and the second AP are different APs, for example, the third AP and the second AP belong to the same ESS, and the third AP obtains the energy saving mode information of the second AP in a wired manner. For example, the third AP and the second AP belong to the same AP MLD, and the third AP obtains the energy saving mode information of the second AP through an internal controller.

[0177] In some implementations, the fourth frame further includes eighth information, the eighth information is used to indicate the bandwidth information of the second BSS. In some implementations, the fourth frame further includes ninth information, the ninth information is used to indicate the sleep or wake window of the second AP.

[0178] In some implementations, the fourth frame further includes tenth information, the tenth information is used to indicate that the second AP uses the primary channel in the sleep window for communication of the second AP. Thus, if the second AP is woken up in the sleep state, the primary channel of the second BSS can be used for data transmission, which is beneficial to reduce the delay of burst traffic of the second AP.

[0179] S1020, the third AP sends the fourth frame.

[0180] The fourth frame can be a beacon frame or a probe response frame. When the fourth frame is a beacon frame, the beacon frame can be sent in a broadcast manner. When the fourth frame is a probe response frame, the probe response frame can be sent in a broadcast, multicast or unicast manner. Before step S1010, the third AP can also receive a probe request frame sent by a STA, and the probe response frame can be a probe response frame specifically for the probe request frame. The fourth frame can be sent to the STA.

[0181] In the method shown in FIG. 10, in the AP discovery process, the second AP itself or other APs can indicate that part or all of the second BSS bandwidth is allowed to be used as an extended bandwidth by sending a fourth frame, so that other APs can dynamically and flexibly use large bandwidth for transmission, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0182] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an extended bandwidth according to an embodiment of the present application. In the case shown in FIG. 11, the bandwidth of the first BSS and the bandwidth of the second BSS are adjacent in the frequency domain. In addition, the bandwidth of the first BSS can also be non-adjacent to the bandwidth of the second BSS, which is not limited in the present application. In addition, part of the subchannels in the bandwidth of the first BSS and / or the bandwidth of the second BSS can be punctured, which is determined according to the actual situation.

[0183] As shown in (a) of FIG. 11, the bandwidth of the first BSS can be 80MHz, which includes 4 sub-channels of 20MHz. The bandwidth of the second BSS can be 80MHz, which includes 4 sub-channels of 20MHz. At this time, the extended bandwidth includes the bandwidth of the first BSS and the bandwidth of the whole second BSS.

[0184] As shown in (b) of FIG. 11, the bandwidth of the first BSS can be 160MHz, which includes 8 sub-channels of 20MHz. The bandwidth of the second BSS can be 160MHz, which includes 8 sub-channels of 20MHz. At this time, the extended bandwidth includes the bandwidth of the first BSS and the bandwidth of the whole second BSS.

[0185] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a first window provided by an embodiment of the present application. The first window can refer to a window for communicating with the first AP using the extended bandwidth. In the above embodiments, the first window does not overlap with the wake-up window of the second AP in the time domain. The first window can partially overlap with the sleep window of the second AP, or the first window can fully overlap (i.e., strictly align) with the sleep window of the second AP. The strictly aligned case is specifically shown in FIG. 11.

[0186] It should be understood that the "bandwidth of the BSS" referred to in the present application can also be replaced by "bandwidth corresponding to the BSS", "channel bandwidth of the BSS", "maximum bandwidth of the BSS", "maximum channel bandwidth of the BSS", "channel corresponding to the BSS", etc., which is determined according to the actual situation. The "extended bandwidth" referred to in the present application can also be replaced by "extended channel". It should be understood that the "channel" referred to in the present application can also specifically refer to "primary channel", "secondary channel", "sub-channel", etc., which is determined according to the actual situation.

[0187] It should be understood that the present application does not limit the specific relationship between the "first AP" and the "second AP". For example, the first AP and the second AP can be neighbor APs. Alternatively, the first AP and the second AP can belong to the same AP MLD. Alternatively, the first AP and the second AP belong to the same ESS. Alternatively, the first AP and the second AP belong to the same AP MLD. In addition, the first AP and the second AP can also not belong to the same ESS. Similarly, the present application does not limit how the first AP and the second AP interact, for example, the first AP and the second AP can interact through air interface radio frames, wired forms, or internal controllers.

[0188] In this application, the so-called "AP" such as "first AP", "second AP" can also be understood as a traditional "first AP", a traditional "second AP"; or the "first AP", "second AP" can belong to the same AP MLD; or the "first AP" is a "first AP MLD", and the "second AP" is a "second AP MLD". In addition, the so-called "STA" such as "first STA", "second STA" in the following can also be understood as a traditional "first STA", a traditional "second STA"; or the "first STA", "second STA" can belong to the same non-AP MLD; the "first STA" is a "first non-AP MLD", and the "second STA" is a "second non-AP MLD".

[0189] It should be understood that the communication methods shown in FIGS. 6-10 can be combined, and the embodiments obtained after the combination should still be within the protection scope of the present application.

[0190] The above, in combination with FIGS. 6-10, details the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The following details the communication device provided by the present application in combination with FIGS. 13-15. It should be understood that the description of the device embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, the content not described in detail can refer to the above method embodiments, and part of the content will not be repeated for brevity.

[0191] FIG. 13 is a schematic structural block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1300 can include a transceiver module 1310 and a processing module 1320.

[0192] The communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13 can be a first communication device, which can be a first AP or a component (such as a chip or circuit) in the first AP. Or the communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13 can be a second communication device, which can be a STA or a component (such as a chip or circuit) in the STA in the above embodiments. Or the communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13 can be a third communication device, which can be a third AP or a component (such as a chip or circuit) in the third AP. Or the communication device 1300 shown in FIG. 13 can be a fourth communication device, which can be a third AP or a component (such as a chip or circuit) in the third AP.

[0193] Next, the device shown in FIG. 11 is described in combination with the case of the specific communication device being the above three devices.

[0194] First communication device

[0195] The processing module 1320 is configured to generate a first frame, the first frame comprising first information, the first information being used to indicate an extended bandwidth, the extended bandwidth being used for communication of the first AP, wherein the extended bandwidth comprises bandwidth of the first BSS and part or all of bandwidth of the second BSS, the first AP corresponding to the first BSS, and the second AP corresponding to the second BSS.

[0196] In some implementations, the first information comprises at least one of the following corresponding to the extended bandwidth: a channel width, a channel center frequency range, a disabled subchannel bitmap, or transmission power information. Thus, the extended bandwidth is specifically indicated by the above information.

[0197] In some implementations, the first frame further comprises second information, the second information being used to indicate a first window, the first window being used for communication using the extended bandwidth, wherein the first window does not overlap with a wake-up window of the second AP.

[0198] In some implementations, the first frame further comprises third information, the third information being used to indicate a first time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth.

[0199] In some implementations, the extended bandwidth does not overlap with a primary channel of the second BSS.

[0200] The transceiver module 1310 is configured to send the first frame.

[0201] In another embodiment, the transceiver module 1310 is further configured to send a second frame to the second AP, the second frame being used to request to use the extended bandwidth function for communication. The transceiver module 1310 is further configured to receive a third frame sent from the second AP, the third frame being used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the extended bandwidth function for communication. In some implementations, the second frame is further used to request to use a first bandwidth and / or use a second window for the extended bandwidth function for communication. In some implementations, the third frame is further used to indicate acceptance of the first AP using the first bandwidth and / or using the second window for the extended bandwidth function for communication. In some implementations, the third frame is further used to indicate the first AP using a second bandwidth and / or a third window for the extended bandwidth function for communication.

[0202] In another embodiment, the transceiver module 1310 is further configured to receive a request frame sent from a STA. The request frame is used to request to associate with the first AP, the request frame comprising fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate whether the STA supports using the extended bandwidth for communication. In some implementations, the request frame further comprises fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate a second time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth.

[0203] In addition, the transceiver module 1310 can be further configured to receive sixth information sent from the STA. The sixth information is used to indicate that the STA turns on the function of using the extended bandwidth for communication.

[0204] Further, the transceiver 1310 can be further configured to send, to the STA, a control frame on the first channel, the control frame being used to establish data transmission between the first AP and the STA on the first channel. The first channel is a channel in the extended bandwidth. The transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive, from the STA, a response frame on the first channel.

[0205] Further, the transceiver 1310 can be further configured to receive, from the STA, a control frame on the first channel, the control frame being used to establish data transmission between the first AP and the STA on the first channel. The first channel is a channel in the extended bandwidth. The transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive, from the STA, a response frame on the first channel.

[0206] The second communication device

[0207] The transceiver 1310 is configured to receive a first frame from the first AP.

[0208] The processing module 1320 is configured to parse the first frame. The details of the first frame have been described above, and are not repeated here.

[0209] In another embodiment, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to send a request frame. The request frame is used to request association with the first AP. The request frame includes fourth information, the fourth information being used to indicate whether the STA supports communication using the extended bandwidth. In some implementations, the request frame further includes fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate a second time for switching from the first BSS bandwidth to the extended bandwidth.

[0210] Further, the transceiver 1310 is further configured to send, to the first AP, sixth information. The sixth information is used to indicate that the STA enables the function of using the extended bandwidth for communication.

[0211] Further, the transceiver 1310 can be further configured to receive, from the first AP, a control frame on the first channel, the control frame being used to establish data transmission between the first AP and the STA on the first channel. The first channel is a channel in the extended bandwidth. The transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive, from the first AP, a response frame on the first channel.

[0212] Further, the transceiver 1310 can be further configured to send, to the first AP, a control frame on the first channel, the control frame being used to establish data transmission between the first AP and the STA on the first channel. The first channel is a channel in the extended bandwidth. The transceiver 1310 is further configured to receive, from the first AP, a response frame on the first channel.

[0213] The third communication device

[0214] The transceiver module 1310 is configured to receive a second frame from the first AP, the second frame being used to request to use the extended bandwidth function for communication. The transceiver module 1310 is further configured to send a third frame to the first AP, the third frame being used to indicate to accept the first AP to use the extended bandwidth function for communication. In some implementation modes, the second frame is further used to request to use the first bandwidth and / or use the second window for the extended bandwidth function communication. In some implementation modes, the third frame is further used to indicate to accept the first AP to use the first bandwidth and / or use the second window for the extended bandwidth function communication. In some implementation modes, the third frame is further used to indicate to the first AP to use the second bandwidth and / or the third window for the extended bandwidth function communication.

[0215] The processing module 1320 is configured to parse the second frame, and further configured to generate the third frame.

[0216] The fourth communication device

[0217] The processing module 1320 is configured to generate a fourth frame, the fourth frame comprising seventh information used to indicate that the second AP is in the energy saving mode. In some implementation modes, the fourth frame further comprises tenth information used to indicate that the second AP uses the primary channel for communication of the second AP in the sleep window.

[0218] The transceiver module 1310 is configured to send the fourth frame.

[0219] It should be understood that the communication device shown in FIG. 13 is embodied in the form of functional modules. The term “module” herein can refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (for example, a shared processor, a dedicated processor or a group processor and the like) and a memory for executing one or more software or firmware programs, a combination logic circuit and / or other suitable components supporting the described functions.

[0220] The communication device shown in FIG. 13 implements the functions of the corresponding steps performed by the device in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the sending module can be replaced by a transmitter, the receiving module can be replaced by a receiver, and other modules, such as the processing module, can be replaced by a processor, which respectively performs the receiving and transmitting operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.

[0221] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of another communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 1400 shown in FIG. 14 includes a processor 1401 configured to execute computer program or instructions stored in a memory 1402, or read data / signaling stored in the memory 1402, to perform the methods in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the processor 1401 is one or more.

[0222] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 further includes the memory 1402 configured to store computer program or instructions and / or data, as shown in FIG. 14. The memory 1402 can be integrated with the processor 1401, or can be separately arranged. Optionally, the memory 1402 is one or more.

[0223] Optionally, the communication apparatus 1400 further includes a transceiver 1403 configured to receive and / or transmit signals, as shown in FIG. 14. For example, the processor 1401 is configured to control the transceiver 1403 to receive and / or transmit signals.

[0224] The communication apparatus 1400 is configured to implement the operations performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0225] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor.

[0226] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory and / or a non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM). For example, the RAM can be used as an external cache. As an example but not limitation, the RAM includes the following various forms: static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0227] It should be noted that when the processor is a general processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a FPGA or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated in the processor.

[0228] It should also be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0229] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a chip system provided by an embodiment of the present application. The chip system 1500 (or also can be referred to as a processing system) includes a logic circuit 1501 and an input / output interface 1502.

[0230] The logic circuit 1501 can be a processing circuit in the chip system 1500. The logic circuit 1501 can be coupled to a storage unit, and invoke instructions in the storage unit, so that the chip system 1500 can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application. The input / output interface 1502 can be an input / output circuit in the chip system 1500, and output information processed by the chip system 1500, or input data or signaling information to be processed by the chip system 1500.

[0231] As an option, the chip system 1500 is configured to implement the operations performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0232] For example, the logic circuit 1501 is configured to implement the operations related to the processing performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments; and the input / output interface 1502 is configured to implement the operations related to the sending and / or receiving performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0233] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions for implementing the method performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0234] For example, the computer program is executed by a computer, so that the computer can implement the method performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0235] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes instructions, and the instructions are executed by a computer to implement the method performed by the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA in the above method embodiments.

[0236] The embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system, which includes the first AP, the second AP, the third AP, and the STA described above. The communication system can also include one or more STAs.

[0237] The explanations and beneficial effects of the related contents in any of the above apparatuses can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0238] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiments are merely schematic. The division of the units is merely a logical function division. There can be another division manner for the actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0239] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented 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, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. For example, the computer can be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media sets. The available media can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disk (SSD), etc. For example, the foregoing available media includes but is not limited to: a variety of media that can store program codes such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: A first access point (AP) generates a first frame, the first frame comprising first information indicating an extended bandwidth for the first AP to communicate, wherein the extended bandwidth comprises a bandwidth of a first basic service set (BSS) to which the first AP belongs and a part or all of a bandwidth of a second BSS to which a second AP belongs; The first AP transmits the first frame.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The second AP is in a power save mode.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Wherein: The first frame further comprises second information indicating a first window for the first AP to communicate using the extended bandwidth, wherein the first window does not overlap with a wake-up window of the second AP.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, Before the first AP generates the first frame, the method further comprises: The first AP transmits a second frame to the second AP, the second frame being used to request the second AP to communicate using an extended bandwidth function; The first AP receives a third frame transmitted from the second AP, the third frame being used to indicate acceptance of the first AP to communicate using the extended bandwidth function.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The second frame is further used to request the first AP to communicate using the extended bandwidth function using a first bandwidth and / or using a second window.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, Wherein: The third frame is further used to indicate acceptance of the first AP to communicate using the extended bandwidth function using a first bandwidth and / or using a second window; or The third frame is further used to indicate the first AP to communicate using the extended bandwidth function using a second bandwidth and / or using a third window.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The extended bandwidth does not overlap with a primary channel of the second BSS.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The first frame further comprises third information indicating a first time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, After the first AP transmits the first frame, the method further comprises: The first AP receives a request frame from a station (STA), the request frame being used to request association with the first AP, the request frame comprising fourth information indicating whether the STA supports communication using the extended bandwidth.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The request frame further comprises fifth information indicating a second time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, Further comprising: The first AP receives sixth information from the STA, the sixth information indicating that the STA enables a function of communicating using the extended bandwidth.

13. A communication method characterized by comprising: Comprising: A station (STA) receives a first frame from a first access point (AP), the first frame comprising first information indicating an extended bandwidth for the first AP to communicate, wherein the extended bandwidth comprises a bandwidth of a first basic service set (BSS) to which the first AP belongs and a part or all of a bandwidth of a second BSS to which a second AP belongs; The STA parses the first frame.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, The second AP is in a power save mode.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, Wherein: The first frame further comprises second information used for indicating a first window, wherein the first window is used for communication using the extended bandwidth, and the first window does not overlap with a wake-up window of the second AP.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The extended bandwidth does not overlap with a primary channel of the second BSS.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that, The first frame further comprises third information used for indicating a first time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, characterized in that, The first frame is a beacon frame or a probe response frame.

19. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, characterized in that, After the STA receives the first frame from the first AP, the method further comprises: The STA sends a request frame to the first AP, wherein the request frame is used for requesting association with the first AP, and the request frame comprises fourth information used for indicating whether the STA supports communication using the extended bandwidth.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein, The request frame further comprises fifth information used for indicating a second time for switching from the bandwidth of the first BSS to the extended bandwidth.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein, Further comprising: The STA sends sixth information to the first AP, wherein the sixth information is used for indicating that the STA enables a function of using the extended bandwidth for communication.

22. A method of communication, comprising: Comprising: The second AP receives a second frame sent by the first AP, wherein the second frame is used for requesting communication using the extended bandwidth function; The first AP sends a third frame to the second AP, wherein the third frame is used for indicating acceptance of the first AP using the extended bandwidth function for communication.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The second frame is further used for requesting communication of the extended bandwidth function using a first bandwidth and / or using a second window.

24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein, Wherein: The third frame is further used for indicating acceptance of the first AP using the extended bandwidth function for communication using a first bandwidth and / or using a second window; or The third frame is further used for indicating the first AP using the extended bandwidth function for communication using a second bandwidth and / or using a third window.

25. A communications device, characterized by Comprising: A module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, or a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 13 to 21, or a module or unit for performing the method of any one of claims 22 to 24.

26. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a memory and one or more processors, wherein the memory is used for storing a computer program, and the one or more processors are used for executing the computer program in the memory, so that the apparatus performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 12, or so that the apparatus performs the method of any one of claims 13 to 21, or so that the apparatus performs the method of any one of claims 22 to 24.

27. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 24.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising: Comprising: The computer readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 24.

29. A chip, characterized by The chip is installed in a communication device, the chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the processor being configured to read instructions and run the instructions via the communication interface, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

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