Communication method, and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method, and an apparatus, which can reduce broadcast latency for information broadcasting and improve the smoothness of distributed application collaboration and user experience. The method comprises: during the process of receiving a broadcast request for broadcasting, a first communication apparatus determines from short-range wireless communication broadcast channels comprised in the first communication apparatus a plurality of broadcast channels for broadcasting information; and a second communication apparatus scans broadcast messages on the plurality of broadcast channels, receives information broadcast by means of the plurality of broadcast channels, and processes the information broadcast by means of the plurality of broadcast channels.

Description

Communication methods and devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410808361.2, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on June 20, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to communication methods and apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of communication technology, application scenarios involving multiple devices working collaboratively have emerged to meet operational needs. In these scenarios, processes such as device discovery and service collaboration initiation rely on broadcasting. For example, during service collaboration initiation, a broadcasting device typically broadcasts service information via broadcast messages, and the receiving device performs service scheduling based on the information in the broadcast message.

[0004] Currently, the information exchange between multiple devices via broadcasting has high latency, resulting in poor smoothness during multi-device collaboration and impacting user experience.

[0005] Current common methods for improving user experience include dynamically configuring the broadcast interval of broadcast messages and simplifying the broadcast process. However, dynamically configuring the broadcast interval can only reduce the information interaction latency to a limited extent, resulting in poor user experience improvement. Simplifying the broadcast process requires changes to the broadcast mechanism, which is not well adapted to different application scenarios. Therefore, existing technologies still cannot effectively solve the problem of poor user experience in application scenarios where multiple devices work together. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that effectively reduces the transmission latency of broadcast messages between different devices, thereby significantly improving the smoothness of distributed application collaboration and user experience.

[0007] Firstly, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a first communication device, a module (e.g., processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the first communication device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the terminal functions. The first communication device can be a terminal or an access network device, etc. The method includes: obtaining a first request, the first request being used to request broadcasting; and broadcasting information through multiple broadcast channels according to the first request. The multiple broadcast channels are short-range wireless communication broadcast channels, including a first channel and a second channel. The first channel and the second channel are two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocol stacks, and the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel are different. Based on this scheme, during the information broadcasting process, the first communication device can determine multiple broadcast channels among the included short-range wireless communication broadcast channels for information broadcasting. These multiple broadcast channels include a first channel and a second channel corresponding to different protocols and broadcast parameters. In other words, broadcast messages carrying broadcast information can be broadcast synchronously through multiple broadcast channels, which is equivalent to increasing the broadcast frequency of information, or in other words, increasing the total length of the time domain position of the broadcast information per unit time. This increases the probability that the receiving end of the broadcast message (such as the second communication device) will successfully scan for broadcast messages carrying broadcast information during the process of scanning broadcast messages on multiple broadcast channels. Consequently, the receiving end of the broadcast message can successfully obtain the broadcast information in a shorter time after the first communication device starts broadcasting the broadcast message carrying broadcast information, significantly reducing the broadcast latency between different devices and improving the smoothness of distributed application collaboration and user experience.

[0008] In one possible design, the broadcast parameters of a broadcast channel can be understood as the parameters used by the broadcast channel during the broadcasting process. Multiple broadcast channels can broadcast the same or different information. Broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols can be understood as broadcast channels using different protocol stacks during the broadcast message transmission process, or they can be understood as broadcast channels using different short-range wireless communication technologies during the broadcast message transmission process.

[0009] In one possible design, the power consumption of the first channel is greater than that of the second channel; the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the broadcast parameters of the second channel satisfy at least one of the following: the broadcast interval of the first channel is greater than or equal to the broadcast interval of the second channel, the broadcast duration of the first channel is less than or equal to the broadcast duration of the second channel, or the broadcast period of the first channel is greater than or equal to the broadcast period of the second channel.

[0010] Based on this scheme, by setting the broadcast parameters of the first and second channels, the number of broadcast messages sent by the high-power channel is less than or equal to the number of broadcast messages sent by the low-power channel, that is, limiting the sending frequency of broadcast messages of the high-power channel, thereby effectively controlling the broadcast power consumption of the high-power channel and achieving a balance between broadcast latency and broadcast power consumption.

[0011] In one possible design, the communication method further includes: obtaining a broadcast request, which includes at least one of the following: maximum broadcast delay, maximum broadcast power consumption, broadcast mode, broadcast parameters, or broadcast channel type; the broadcast request is used to determine multiple broadcast channels and broadcast parameters of the multiple broadcast channels, the broadcast parameters of the broadcast channels being the parameters used when broadcasting information through the broadcast channels.

[0012] Based on this scheme, the selected broadcast channel and the parameters used when broadcasting information can be determined according to the broadcast requirements, thereby accurately controlling the broadcast delay and power consumption of the information.

[0013] In one possible design, the broadcast channel type includes at least one of the following: Bluetooth broadcast channel, Wi-Fi broadcast channel, or Starlight broadcast channel; and / or, the broadcast parameters include at least one of the following: broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period.

[0014] In one possible design, the broadcast mode includes low latency mode, low power mode, or conflict-free mode; in low latency mode, the broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period corresponding to the first broadcast channel is less than the broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period corresponding to the third channel in low power mode, and the third channel is any one of the multiple broadcast channels; in conflict-free mode, there is no overlap between the time domain locations of the information broadcast by the multiple broadcast channels.

[0015] Based on this scheme, the broadcast parameters of each broadcast channel can be set accordingly according to different broadcast modes, thereby reducing the broadcast latency and effectively controlling the power consumption during the broadcast process.

[0016] In one possible design, in low-latency mode and / or low-power mode, the first duration is less than or equal to a first threshold, where the first duration is the total duration corresponding to the overlapping area between the time domain locations of the information broadcast by multiple broadcast channels.

[0017] Based on this scheme, resource conflicts are minimized during the broadcasting of information through multiple broadcast channels under different broadcast modes, thereby avoiding the impact of resource conflicts on the broadcasting delay or broadcasting quality and improving the reliability of broadcasting information through multiple broadcast channels.

[0018] In one possible design, obtaining a broadcast request includes: obtaining the broadcast request corresponding to a first application, which is the application that initiated the first request, based on a broadcast configuration file.

[0019] Based on this scheme, the broadcast requirements corresponding to the information can be accurately obtained according to the broadcast configuration file, thereby improving the broadcast quality of the information.

[0020] In one possible design, the broadcast configuration file includes the correspondence between broadcast modes and broadcast parameters; or, the correspondence between applications and broadcast modes; or, the correspondence between applications and broadcast parameters; or, the correspondence between applications, broadcast modes, and broadcast parameters.

[0021] In one possible design, the communication method further includes broadcasting third information, which indicates a deduplication strategy, and the deduplication strategy indicates whether to discard duplicate broadcast information.

[0022] Secondly, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a second communication device, a module (e.g., processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the second communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second communication device. The second communication device can be a terminal or access network equipment, etc. The method includes: receiving information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels, wherein the multiple broadcast channels are short-range wireless communication broadcast channels, including a first channel and a second channel, the first channel and the second channel being two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols, and the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel being different; and processing the information broadcast through the multiple broadcast channels. The technical effects brought about by the second aspect are similar to those brought about by the first aspect, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0023] In one possible design, the communication method further includes: obtaining a deduplication policy, which indicates whether to discard duplicate broadcast information; and processing information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels, including: processing the information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels according to the deduplication policy.

[0024] Based on this scheme, the second communication device can accurately process information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels according to the deduplication strategy, avoiding meaningless information reporting or information omission.

[0025] In one possible design, information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels is processed according to a deduplication strategy, including: if the deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast information should be discarded, then duplicate information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels is discarded; or, if the deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast information should not be discarded, then duplicate information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels is determined not to be discarded.

[0026] In one possible design, obtaining the deduplication strategy includes: receiving third information, which is used to indicate the deduplication strategy.

[0027] Based on this scheme, the second communication device can accurately process information transmitted through multiple broadcast channels according to the third information sent by the first communication device.

[0028] In one possible design, the deduplication strategy is the deduplication strategy corresponding to the first application, which is the application that initiated the first request; or, the deduplication strategy is the default deduplication strategy.

[0029] In one possible design, the broadcast channel types of the multiple broadcast channels include at least one of the following: Bluetooth broadcast channel, wireless broadcast channel, or Starlight broadcast channel.

[0030] Thirdly, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the methods, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0031] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively used to implement the receiving function and the transmitting function in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0032] In some possible designs, the transceiver module can consist of transceiver circuits, transceivers, transceivers, or communication interfaces.

[0033] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory being used to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in either aspect.

[0034] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface being used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor being used to execute a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of these aspects.

[0035] A sixth aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor; said processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any of the aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor.

[0036] In a seventh aspect, a communication device (e.g., the communication device may be a chip or a chip system) is provided, the communication device including a processor for implementing the functions involved in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0037] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0038] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or contain chips and other discrete components.

[0039] It is understood that the communication device provided in the third to seventh aspects may be the first communication device in the first aspect, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, chip system, or circuit) in the first communication device that performs the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, or a module or unit that can be used in conjunction with the first communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first communication device; or the communication device may be a RAN node in the second aspect, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, chip system, or circuit) in the second communication device that performs the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, or a module or unit that can be used in conjunction with the second communication device, or a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second communication device.

[0040] It is understandable that when the communication device provided by any of the third to seventh aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as inputting information.

[0041] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0042] A ninth aspect provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to perform the method described in any one of the first to second aspects.

[0043] A tenth aspect provides a communication system comprising a first communication device and a second communication device. The first communication device is configured to perform the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof, and the second communication device is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect and any possible design thereof.

[0044] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects three through ten can be found in the technical effects of different design methods in aspects one through two, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0045] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a broadcast message sending and receiving process provided in this application;

[0046] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a multi-device collaboration scenario provided in this application;

[0047] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a broadcast latency optimization process provided in this application;

[0048] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a broadcasting mechanism provided in this application;

[0049] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in this application;

[0050] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the functional module structure of a communication device provided in this application;

[0051] Figure 7 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in this application;

[0052] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a broadcast parameter setting provided in this application;

[0053] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a broadcast message reporting process provided in this application;

[0054] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of another broadcast message sending and receiving process provided in this application;

[0055] Figures 11-13 are schematic diagrams of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0056] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this application is merely a description of the relationship between the related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0057] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or a plurality of items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0058] Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0059] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0060] It is understood that the term "embodiment" used throughout the specification means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic related to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It is understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0061] It is understood that in this application, "...when" and "if" both refer to the corresponding processing that will be carried out under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a specific time, nor do they require a judgment action to be performed during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0062] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of this application can be implemented independently in certain scenarios without relying on other features, such as the current solution on which they are based, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. Alternatively, they can be combined with other features as needed in certain scenarios. Correspondingly, the apparatus given in the embodiments of this application can also implement these features or functions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0063] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships. The following descriptions of the embodiments of this application do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0064] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is given below.

[0065] 1. Broadcast communication:

[0066] Broadcast communication is a short-range wireless communication technology that uses radio waves to transmit information. In other words, broadcast communication can use electromagnetic waves of various frequency bands or wavelengths provided by free space as carriers to realize information exchange between the transmitting end and the receiving end.

[0067] In communication, the sending and receiving ends use a communication channel as the medium for transmitting information. Communication channels can include various types such as cables, optical fibers, radio waves, or the internet. Based on the medium they rely on, communication channels can be divided into wired channels and wireless channels. Wired channels can include communication channels using directional transmission media such as twisted pairs, cables, or optical fibers. Wireless channels can include communication channels using non-directional transmission media such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, or lasers. Currently, broadcast communication uses wireless channels, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and SparkLink Low Energy (SLE) channels.

[0068] During the information exchange between the sending and receiving ends via broadcast communication, the broadcast message sending and receiving process can be referred to in Figure 1. After receiving a broadcast task, the sending end determines the broadcast parameters for sending the broadcast message based on the default broadcast mode or the broadcast mode corresponding to the broadcast task. Then, the sending end periodically sends broadcast messages through a selected broadcast channel according to the determined broadcast parameters. The receiving end periodically scans for broadcast messages according to the scanning interval. The receiving end can only successfully receive the broadcast message from the sending end if the scanning window of the receiving end overlaps with the broadcast message sending window of the sending end. The time elapsed from the start of broadcast message sending by the sending end to the successful receipt of the broadcast message by the receiving end is the broadcast delay between the sending and receiving ends.

[0069] The scanning interval at the receiving end can be understood as the time interval between the start times of two adjacent scanning windows; or, it can be understood as the time interval between the end time of the current scanning window and the start time of the next scanning window. The scanning window at the receiving end can be understood as the time interval between the start and end times of the scanning state during a single broadcast message scan. The broadcast message sending window can be understood as the time interval between the start and end times of a broadcast message transmission at the sending end.

[0070] For example, the broadcast parameters during the sending process of broadcast messages may include at least one of the following: broadcast interval, broadcast duration, broadcast event, or broadcast period.

[0071] The broadcast interval can be understood as the duration of two consecutive broadcast messages sent by the sending end; or, it can be understood as the time interval between the termination time of the earlier broadcast message and the start time of the later broadcast message. The broadcast duration can be understood as the total duration for the sending end to periodically send a broadcast message according to the broadcast interval; or, it can be understood as the total duration from the start of periodic broadcast message sending by the sending end according to the broadcast interval until the sending end stops periodically sending broadcast messages. A broadcast event can be understood as the process by which the sending end periodically sends broadcast messages according to the broadcast interval within the broadcast duration. The broadcast period can be understood as the time interval between the start times of two consecutive broadcast events; or, it can be understood as the time interval between the termination times of two consecutive broadcast events.

[0072] 2. Multi-device collaboration:

[0073] Multi-device collaboration is a technology that allows seamless cooperation between different devices. In multi-device collaborative scenarios, processes such as device discovery of other devices and initiation of distributed application collaboration rely on broadcast communication. Distributed application collaboration can be understood as seamless collaboration between different devices for the same application.

[0074] As shown in Figure 2(a), device discovery of other devices can be achieved by receiving broadcast messages from other devices. For example, each device participating in multi-device collaboration broadcasts its own device identifier by sending a broadcast message on the Bluetooth broadcast channel, and determines the device identifiers of other devices by scanning broadcast messages from other devices on the Bluetooth broadcast channel; or, each device participating in multi-device collaboration broadcasts its own location information by sending a broadcast message on the Bluetooth broadcast channel, and determines the location information of other devices by scanning broadcast messages from other devices on the Bluetooth broadcast channel, etc.

[0075] As shown in Figure 2(b), in the application flow scenario of distributed application collaboration, after a user clicks on the first application (e.g., a browser) on the first terminal (e.g., a mobile phone) to enter the specified interface (interface 1), the first terminal can broadcast the application information of the first application through a broadcast message. After receiving the broadcast message from the first terminal, the second terminal (e.g., a computer) can display the icon of the first application in the function area according to the application information of the first application carried in the broadcast message. After the user clicks on the icon of the first application on the second terminal, they can directly open the specified interface opened on the first terminal. The application information may include the application identifier of the first application and / or the business information of the first application (e.g., resource locators).

[0076] Therefore, in scenarios where multiple devices collaborate, broadcast latency between devices can significantly impact device discovery among neighboring devices and the smoothness of distributed application collaboration. However, due to limitations such as low broadcast priority or resource preemption conflicts, the broadcast latency between the sending and receiving ends is currently quite high, and the user experience in multi-device collaborative scenarios needs improvement.

[0077] 3. Broadcast latency optimization:

[0078] As a first possible implementation, broadcast latency optimization can be achieved by dynamically configuring the broadcast parameters and scanning parameters of the broadcast message. The scanning parameters include the scanning interval and / or the scanning window.

[0079] In other words, broadcast latency optimization revolves around optimizing air interface resources. This is achieved by dynamically adjusting the broadcast parameters of the sending end during broadcast message transmission and / or the scanning parameters of the receiving end during broadcast message scanning, based on different application scenarios. This increases the probability that the receiving end successfully scans for broadcast messages. In other words, by increasing the overlap between the sending end's broadcast message window and the receiving end's scanning window, the receiving end can successfully scan for broadcast messages with fewer scans after the sending end begins transmitting, thereby reducing broadcast latency between the sending and receiving ends.

[0080] For example, the process of dynamically configuring the broadcast interval can be referred to Figure 3, which includes the following steps:

[0081] Step 1: Input the scanning parameters and broadcast interval range into the simulation model to determine the broadcast delay.

[0082] In other words, a simulation model is created in advance that can simulate the broadcast message interaction between the sender and receiver. Then, the current broadcast parameters (such as the range of broadcast intervals) and scanning parameters (such as scanning interval and scanning window) of the broadcast message are input into the simulation model. The simulation model is used to simulate the broadcast message interaction between the sender and receiver, thereby determining the broadcast delay between the sender and receiver under different broadcast intervals.

[0083] Step 2: Determine the broadcast interval with the minimum broadcast delay.

[0084] In other words, the simulation model can be instructed to use broadcast intervals and broadcast delays as constraints to determine the broadcast interval with the minimum broadcast delay within the range of input broadcast intervals.

[0085] Step 3: Broadcast according to the broadcast interval with the minimum broadcast delay.

[0086] In other words, after determining the broadcast interval with the minimum broadcast latency, the sending end periodically sends broadcast messages within the broadcast duration according to this interval, while the receiving end scans for broadcast messages based on scanning parameters. By dynamically adjusting the sending end's broadcast interval according to the receiving end's scanning parameters, the probability of the receiving end successfully scanning for broadcast messages in each scanning window can be increased, and the number of scans required for the receiving end to successfully scan for broadcast messages can be reduced, thereby reducing broadcast latency.

[0087] However, this method of optimizing broadcast latency is limited by the performance of the broadcast channel and the available resources, resulting in limited optimization of broadcast latency and a small reduction in broadcast latency.

[0088] As another possible implementation, broadcast latency optimization can be achieved by simplifying the broadcast process.

[0089] Taking Bluetooth broadcasting as an example, the original Bluetooth broadcasting process can be seen in Figure 4(a), where device A is the sender of the broadcast message and device B is the receiver. After receiving a broadcast request, device A triggers the transmission of the broadcast message. Based on the determined broadcast parameters, it periodically sends broadcast messages within the broadcast duration. Simultaneously, after receiving a scanning task, device B periodically starts broadcast message scanning based on the determined scanning interval and scanning window. During the transmission of the broadcast message, device A first broadcasts a non-directional connectable broadcast (ADV-IND) message. After receiving device A's ADV-IND message, device B broadcasts a scan request (SCAN-REQ) message. After receiving device B's SCAN-REQ message, device A broadcasts a scan response (SCAN-RSP) message. Only after receiving device A's SCAN-RSP message will device B report the broadcast message broadcast by device A to the application layer. In other words, device A and device B need to complete three interactions before device B reports the broadcast message to the application layer, resulting in a relatively large broadcast delay for the application layer to perceive successful reception of the broadcast message.

[0090] The simplified Bluetooth broadcast process can be seen in Figure 4(b), where device A is the sender of the broadcast message and device B is the receiver. The overall process is similar to that in Figure 4(a), and can be found in the original Bluetooth broadcast process description, which will not be repeated here. The difference is that after receiving the ADV-IND message from device A, device B directly reports the broadcast message to the application layer. This allows the application layer in device B to quickly detect that the broadcast message has been successfully received after one interaction between device A and device B, reducing the broadcast latency for the application layer to perceive successful reception. Furthermore, if the application layer needs to obtain information from the SCAN-RSP message, device B can report the broadcast message corresponding to the SCAN-RSP message to the application layer after three interactions between device A and device B; if the application layer does not need to obtain information from the SCAN-RSP message, device A and device B will not report the broadcast message corresponding to the SCAN-RSP message after three interactions. By simplifying the broadcast process, the broadcast latency for the application layer to perceive successful reception of the broadcast message is significantly reduced.

[0091] However, this method is only applicable to specific applications and scenarios, and requires modification of the reporting mechanism of the broadcast channel, lacking scalability.

[0092] In other words, current broadcast latency optimization schemes, when applied to scenarios involving multi-device collaboration, either fail to effectively reduce broadcast latency between devices, thus failing to effectively improve the smoothness and user experience of distributed application collaboration; or they are difficult to apply to most applications and application scenarios. Therefore, in scenarios involving multi-device collaboration, the smoothness and user experience of distributed application collaboration still need to be improved.

[0093] Based on this, this application provides a communication method in which the sending end of the broadcast message, after receiving a first request to broadcast, broadcasts through multiple broadcast channels. These multiple broadcast channels are short-range wireless communication broadcast channels, each including a first channel and a second channel corresponding to different protocols and broadcast parameters. In other words, when the sending end supports multiple different short-range wireless communication broadcast channels (such as BLE, Wi-Fi, or SLE channels), the broadcast information can be broadcast synchronously through multiple channels during the broadcast process. This effectively increases the number of broadcasts per unit time, or in other words, it increases the total temporal length of the broadcast information per unit time. Therefore, during the scanning process of the receiving end on multiple broadcast channels, the probability of the receiving end successfully scanning the broadcast information can be significantly increased. This allows for full utilization of the communication capabilities of multiple broadcast channels during information broadcasting, significantly reducing the broadcast latency between the sending and receiving ends. Furthermore, since the above method does not require modification of the broadcast mechanism of each broadcast channel, it has good adaptability to various applications and application scenarios. Applying the above method to scenarios where multiple devices work together can significantly reduce the information interaction latency between devices, thereby effectively improving the smoothness of distributed application collaboration and user experience.

[0094] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be used in various communication systems, including third-generation partnership project (3GPP) communication systems, such as fourth-generation (4G) systems like long-term evolution (LTE), 5G systems like new radio (NR), hybrid LTE and 5G networks, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), or other future communication systems. The communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system; there is no limitation on this.

[0095] The communication systems described above are merely illustrative examples, and are not limited to those described herein. The communication systems provided in this application do not impose any limitations on the solutions described herein. This will be explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0096] Figure 5 illustrates a possible, non-limiting application scenario applicable to the solution of this application. As shown in Figure 5, the method provided by this application can be applied to a scenario where a first communication device and at least one second communication device interact with each other via a short-range wireless communication broadcast channel. The first communication device is used to send broadcast messages, and the second communication device is used to receive broadcast messages.

[0097] Both the first and second communication devices can be equipment with data broadcasting and broadcast data scanning capabilities, such as terminals, broadcast sensors, or access network equipment. Both the first and second communication devices can include multiple short-range wireless communication broadcast channels, or support multiple short-range wireless communication technologies.

[0098] Optionally, a terminal may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device, etc. A terminal is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user. Examples include handheld devices with wireless connectivity and vehicle-mounted devices. Terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and they can be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and satellites).

[0099] For example, the terminal can be a wireless terminal in the Internet of Things (IoT), vehicle to everything (V2X), device-to-device communication (D2D), machine to machine (M2M), 5th generation mobile communication technology (5G), or a future public land mobile network (PLMN). For example, the terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, PDA, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, vehicle terminal, vehicle with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capability, intelligent connected vehicle, drone with drone-to-drone (U2U) communication capability, etc. This application does not limit the form of the terminal.

[0100] Optionally, the access network device can be a device with wireless network connectivity and user equipment access functions; or, the access network device can also be an access device or access point that connects user equipment to the wireless network; or, the access network device can also be a device or node that connects wireless access devices to the wireless network.

[0101] For example, the access network equipment can be an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE or evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-A), such as a traditional macro base station eNB and a micro base station eNB in ​​a heterogeneous network scenario; or it can be a next-generation node B (gNodeB or gNB) in a 5G system; or it can be a transmission reception point (TRP); or it can be a base station in a future evolved PLMN; or it can be a broadband network gateway (BNG), aggregation switch, or non-3GPP access equipment; or it can be a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN); or it can be an access point (AP) in a WiFi system; or it can be a wireless relay node or wireless backhaul node; or it can be a device that implements base station functions in IoT, V2X, D2D, or M2M. The embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this. For example, the base station in the embodiments of this application may include various forms of base stations, such as macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit them.

[0102] For example, the functional module diagrams of the first communication device and the second communication device can be referred to Figure 6. Both the first communication device and the second communication device may include an application layer, a soft bus, multiple short-range wireless communication protocol stacks, multiple transceiver modules and transceiver antennas. The application layer, soft bus and short-range wireless communication protocol stacks are software modules, while the transceiver modules and transceiver antennas are hardware modules.

[0103] The short-range wireless communication protocol stack may include at least one of the following: a Bluetooth communication protocol stack, a Wi-Fi communication protocol stack, or a StarScan communication protocol stack; the transceiver module may also include at least one of the following: a Bluetooth transceiver module, a Wi-Fi transceiver module, or a StarScan transceiver module. It is worth noting that for both the first and second communication devices, the transceiver modules they contain may correspond to the short-range wireless communication protocol stacks they contain.

[0104] For example, a soft bus can be a standalone module or it can be coupled into an upper-layer application as a function of that application.

[0105] For example, the application layer may include upper-layer applications, which may include at least one of the following: browser, memo, map, video player, communication tool, or game, etc.

[0106] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0107] The communication method provided in this application will be described below with reference to the communication system shown in Figure 5, taking the interaction between a first communication device and a second communication device as an example. It should be noted that in the following embodiments of this application, the message names, parameter names, or information names between the first and second communication devices are just examples, and other names may be used in other embodiments. The method provided in this application does not specifically limit these names.

[0108] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the first communication device or the second communication device may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also execute other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the various steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0109] It is understood that this application uses the first and second communication devices as examples to illustrate the execution of the interaction, but this application does not limit the execution of the interaction. For example, the method executed by the first communication device in this application can also be executed by a module (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor) applied to the first communication device, or by a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first communication device; similarly, the method executed by the second communication device in this application can also be executed by a module (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor) applied to the second communication device, or by a logic node, logic module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second communication device.

[0110] Furthermore, in this application, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or it can also be understood as one logic module within a device sending information to another logic module. For example, "the first communication device sending information" can be understood as the first communication device sending information to another device (such as the second communication device), or it can be understood as logic module 1 (such as the processing module) in the first communication device sending information to logic module 2 (such as the transceiver module) in the first communication device.

[0111] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or it can also be understood as a logic module within a device receiving information from another logic module. For example, "the second communication device receiving information" can be understood as the second communication device receiving information from another device (such as the first communication device), or it can be understood as logic module 1 (such as a processing module) in the second communication device receiving information from logic module 2 (such as a transceiver module) in the second communication device.

[0112] In this application, the phrase "sending information to... (e.g., a second communication device)" or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as the destination of the information being the second communication device, which may include sending information directly or indirectly to the second communication device. Similarly, the phrase "receiving information from... (e.g., a first communication device)," "receiving information from... (e.g., a first communication device)," or "receiving information sent (e.g., by the first communication device)," or the related illustrations in the accompanying drawings, can be understood as the source of the information being the first communication device, which may include receiving information directly or indirectly from the first communication device. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be interpreted similarly, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0113] Referring to Figure 7, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application, the method may include the following steps:

[0114] S701, The first communication device obtains a first request, the first request being used to request broadcasting.

[0115] For example, the first communication device may generate a first request through the application layer, or the first communication device may receive a first request sent by an external device through a transceiver antenna.

[0116] S702. The first communication device broadcasts information through multiple broadcast channels according to the first request. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the information broadcast through the multiple broadcast channels. The multiple broadcast channels are short-range wireless communication broadcast channels.

[0117] For example, the information broadcast by multiple broadcast channels may include at least one of the following: configuration information, terminal identifier of the first communication device, or application information.

[0118] The configuration information can be understood as information managing device configuration parameters and status. For example, the configuration information may include network configuration information and / or status configuration information, and the network configuration information may include an Internet Protocol (IP) address. For example, the terminal identifier may be the device identifier of the first communication device or the media access control (MAC) address of the first communication device. The application information may include an application identifier and / or service information. Service information can be understood as information associated with the application's current service data. For example, the application information may be the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the page currently accessed by the application.

[0119] For example, after receiving the first request, the first communication device can determine multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information based on the short-range wireless communication technology supported by the first communication device or the short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device. Then, based on the communication protocol type supported by each of the multiple broadcast channels, the first communication device performs processing such as splitting and / or encapsulation of the information to be broadcast through the soft bus module to generate multiple messages supporting different communication protocols. Finally, the transceiver module broadcasts the generated messages using the multiple broadcast channels, that is, broadcasts the information to be broadcast through multiple broadcast channels.

[0120] The multiple broadcast channels may include at least one of the following: Bluetooth broadcast channel (such as BLE channel), Wi-Fi broadcast channel, or Starlight broadcast channel (such as SLE channel).

[0121] For example, if the first communication device determines that the multiple broadcast channels include a Wi-Fi channel, the first communication device can encapsulate the information to be broadcast on the Wi-Fi channel according to the message format supported by the Restricted Application Protocol (CoAP) or the Multicast DNS Protocol (mDNS), and generate a message for broadcasting information through the Wi-Fi channel. If the first communication device determines that the multiple broadcast channels include a BLE channel, the first communication device can encapsulate the information to be broadcast on the BLE channel according to the message format supported by the BLE protocol, and generate a message for broadcasting information through the BLE channel. If the first communication device determines that the multiple broadcast channels include an SLE channel, the first communication device can encapsulate the information to be broadcast on the SLE channel according to the message format supported by the StarScan communication protocol, and generate a message for broadcasting information through the SLE channel.

[0122] For example, broadcasting information through multiple broadcast channels can be understood as broadcasting the information corresponding to each of the multiple broadcast channels. The information broadcast by each broadcast channel can be the same or different. For example, broadcasting channels 1, 2, and 3 can be selected to broadcast information. The information broadcast by broadcast channels 1 to 3 can all be the information requested by the first request (denoted as the first information); or, the information broadcast by broadcast channel 1 is the first information, the information broadcast by broadcast channel 2 is the first part of the first information, and the information broadcast by broadcast channel 3 is the second part of the first information; or, the information broadcast by broadcast channel 1 is the first part of the first information, and the information broadcast by broadcast channels 2 and 3 is the second part of the first information, etc., without limitation.

[0123] As one possible implementation, the multiple broadcast channels include a first channel and a second channel, which are two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols, and the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the broadcast parameters of the second channel are different.

[0124] The first channel and the second channel are two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols. This can be understood as follows: during the broadcast message transmission process, the protocol stack 1 involved in broadcasting the broadcast message through the first channel and the protocol stack 2 involved in broadcasting the broadcast message through the second channel are different protocol stacks. Alternatively, it can be understood that the communication technology used for broadcasting the broadcast message through the first channel is short-range wireless communication technology 1, and the communication technology used for broadcasting the broadcast message through the second channel is short-range wireless communication technology 2. Short-range wireless communication technology 1 and short-range wireless communication technology 2 are two different short-range wireless communication technologies.

[0125] For example, the first channel can be a Bluetooth broadcast channel and the second channel can be a Starlight broadcast channel; or the first channel can be a Wi-Fi channel and the second channel can be a Bluetooth channel; or the first channel can be a Starlight channel and the second channel can be a Wi-Fi channel, etc., without restriction.

[0126] The broadcast parameters of a broadcast channel can be understood as the broadcast parameters used during the broadcast process. The difference between the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel can be understood as at least one broadcast parameter in the first channel differing from that in the second channel; or, it can be understood as every single broadcast parameter in the first channel differing from every single broadcast parameter in the second channel.

[0127] As another possible implementation, the multiple broadcast channels include a first channel and a second channel, which are two broadcast channels corresponding to the same protocol.

[0128] The first and second channels, being two broadcast channels corresponding to the same protocol, can be understood as the protocol stack involved in sending broadcast messages through the first channel being the same as that involved in sending broadcast messages through the second channel; or, it can be understood as the communication technology used for sending broadcast messages through the first channel being the same short-range wireless communication technology. Different broadcast channels corresponding to the same protocol can be understood as broadcast channels corresponding to the same protocol but occupying different resources.

[0129] For example, both the first and second channels can be Wi-Fi broadcast channels, with the first channel operating at a frequency of 2.4 GHz and the second channel operating at a frequency of 5 GHz; or, both the first and second channels can be Bluetooth broadcast channels, with the first channel operating at a frequency of 2.42 GHz to 2.45 GHz and the second channel operating at a frequency of 2.46 GHz to 2.48 GHz.

[0130] When the first channel and the second channel are two broadcast channels corresponding to the same protocol, the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel can be the same or different. Different broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel can be understood as at least one different broadcast parameter among the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel.

[0131] Correspondingly, the second communication device scans for broadcast messages on multiple broadcast channels through the transceiver module. After successfully receiving a broadcast message on any broadcast channel, it parses the information broadcast by the first communication device through the soft bus module, thereby receiving the information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels.

[0132] Optionally, the first communication device may also add response indication information to the broadcast message of the broadcast information. The response indication information is used to indicate a reply response message. Correspondingly, after receiving the broadcast message sent by the first communication device, the second communication device may reply to the first communication device with a response message indicating successful reception of the broadcast information based on the response indication information.

[0133] For example, the response indication information may be a bit in the broadcast message, which, when set to 0 or 1, indicates that the second communication device broadcasts a response message indicating that the broadcast message has been successfully received.

[0134] S703, The second communication device processes information broadcast through multiple communication channels.

[0135] For example, the second communication device may report the first broadcast message obtained through broadcast messages from multiple communication channels to the application layer, or the second communication device may report each message obtained through broadcast messages from multiple communication channels to the application layer.

[0136] Based on the above scheme, during the information broadcasting process according to the first request, the first communication device can select at least two short-range wireless communication technologies from among the various short-range wireless communication technologies supported by the first communication device to broadcast the information, or it can select at least two short-range wireless communication broadcast channels from among the multiple short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device to broadcast the information. The second communication device obtains the information broadcast by the first communication device by scanning the broadcast messages on multiple broadcast channels. Broadcasting information through multiple broadcast channels is equivalent to increasing the number of times the information is broadcast per unit time, or in other words, increasing the total length of the time domain position of the broadcast information per unit time. This significantly increases the probability that the receiving end will successfully scan the broadcast message carrying the broadcast information, reduces the broadcast latency for the second communication device to obtain the broadcast information, and improves the transmission efficiency of information between the first and second communication devices. This is beneficial for reducing the information interaction latency between devices in scenarios where multiple devices work together, thereby improving the smoothness of distributed applications and user experience.

[0137] The overall process of the communication method provided in this application has been described above. The specific implementation of each step is described below.

[0138] In one possible implementation, before step S702, the first communication device further acquires a broadcast request, which is used to determine multiple broadcast channels and broadcast parameters of the multiple broadcast channels, wherein the broadcast parameters of the broadcast channels are the parameters used when broadcasting information through the broadcast channels.

[0139] For example, a broadcast request can be determined based on at least one of the following: broadcast mode, broadcast parameters, or the application corresponding to the information to be broadcast. Different applications are pre-configured with corresponding broadcast requests; for example, the broadcast mode and broadcast parameters of a browser can be pre-configured, or the broadcast parameters of a communication tool can be pre-configured. The application corresponding to the information to be broadcast can be understood as the application requesting the broadcast of that information, or the application to which the information to be broadcast belongs.

[0140] The broadcast requirements may include at least one of the following: maximum broadcast delay, maximum broadcast power consumption, broadcast mode, broadcast parameters, or broadcast channel type. The maximum broadcast delay can be understood as the maximum time interval between the moment the first communication device begins broadcasting information and the moment the second communication device receives the information broadcast by the first communication device. The maximum broadcast power consumption can be understood as the maximum power consumption per unit time during which the first communication device broadcasts information through multiple broadcast channels, or the maximum power consumption of the first communication device to complete information broadcasting through multiple broadcast channels.

[0141] For example, the broadcast channel type may include at least one of the following: Bluetooth broadcast channel, Wi-Fi broadcast channel, or Starlight broadcast channel; the broadcast parameters may include at least one of the following: broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period; the broadcast mode may include low latency mode, low power mode, or conflict-free mode.

[0142] Low-power mode can be understood as the broadcast duration of broadcast messages sent by multiple broadcast channels being less than a first threshold, and / or the broadcast interval of broadcast messages sent by broadcast channels being greater than a second threshold. Low-latency mode can be understood as the broadcast interval of broadcast messages sent by multiple broadcast channels being less than a third threshold, and / or the broadcast period of broadcast messages sent by broadcast channels being less than a fourth threshold. Conflict-free mode can be understood as the time domain locations of the information broadcast by multiple broadcast channels not overlapping; or, it can also be understood as the broadcast message sending windows of each broadcast channel not overlapping. The second threshold can be greater than or equal to the third threshold.

[0143] Optionally, the first communication device can obtain the broadcast request by parsing the first request; that is, the broadcast request can be carried by a specified field in the first request. Alternatively, the first communication device can obtain the broadcast request corresponding to the first application, which is the application that initiated the first request, based on the broadcast configuration file. The broadcast configuration file can be understood as a dataset containing broadcast policies for multiple applications; or it can be understood as a dataset containing various types of information, such as broadcast modes, broadcast parameters, or the correspondence between broadcast modes and broadcast parameters.

[0144] For example, a broadcast configuration file may include a correspondence between broadcast modes and broadcast parameters; or, a correspondence between applications and broadcast modes; or, a correspondence between applications and broadcast parameters; or, a correspondence between applications, broadcast modes, and broadcast parameters. Here, an application can be understood as the application in the application layer that generates the first request, such as a browser, map, video software, or a map application; or, an application can also be understood as an application in the application layer that contains the information to be broadcast.

[0145] For example, the first communication device obtaining a broadcast request based on a broadcast configuration file may include: after receiving a first request, the first communication device may determine the broadcast mode of the first application that generated the first request by querying the correspondence between applications and broadcast modes in the broadcast configuration file, and use the broadcast mode of the first application as the broadcast request. Alternatively, the first communication device may also determine the broadcast parameters and broadcast mode of the first application by querying the correspondence between applications, broadcast modes, and broadcast parameters in the broadcast configuration file based on the first application mentioned in the information to be broadcast, and use the broadcast parameters and broadcast mode of the first application as the broadcast request. Alternatively, the first communication device may also determine the broadcast parameters by querying the correspondence between broadcast modes and broadcast parameters in the broadcast configuration file based on the broadcast mode carried in the first request, and use the broadcast mode and broadcast parameters as the broadcast request.

[0146] Before step S702, during the process of the first communication device determining multiple broadcast channels and broadcast parameters of multiple broadcast channels according to the broadcast requirements, it can first determine multiple broadcast channels according to the broadcast configuration file, and then determine the broadcast parameters of each broadcast channel; or, it can simultaneously determine multiple broadcast channels and broadcast parameters of each broadcast channel according to the broadcast requirements.

[0147] For example, taking a broadcast request that includes broadcast channel type and broadcast mode, and the first communication device including short-range wireless communication broadcast channels such as Wi-Fi channel, BLE channel, and SLE channel as an example. When the broadcast request includes a Wi-Fi channel and a BLE channel as the broadcast channel type, the first communication device identifies one Wi-Fi channel and one BLE channel as multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information. Then, based on the broadcast mode in the broadcast request, it queries the broadcast configuration file to determine the broadcast parameters for the multiple broadcast channels.

[0148] For example, taking a broadcast request that includes broadcast parameters and broadcast channel type, and the first communication device including short-range wireless communication broadcast channels such as Wi-Fi channel, BLE channel, and SLE channel as an example, after obtaining that the broadcast channel type included in the broadcast request is BLE channel and SLE channel, and that the broadcast interval, broadcast duration, and broadcast period in the included broadcast parameters are all 20 milliseconds, 10 seconds, and 15 seconds, the first communication device directly identifies one BLE channel and one SLE channel as multiple broadcast channels for broadcast information, and sets the broadcast interval of the BLE channel and the SLE channel to 20 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 10 seconds, and the broadcast period to 15 seconds.

[0149] Furthermore, even if the broadcast request does not specify a broadcast channel type, multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information can be determined based on other broadcast requests. For example, if the broadcast request includes a broadcast mode, and the broadcast mode included in the broadcast request is a low-latency mode, the two broadcast channels with the highest broadcast message reception success rate among the short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device can be determined as multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information. If the broadcast mode included in the broadcast request is a low-power mode, the two channels with the lowest power consumption for broadcast message transmission among the short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device can be determined as multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information. If the broadcast mode included in the broadcast request is a collision-free mode, two broadcast channels among the short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device that achieve broadcast message transmission through time-division multiplexing of the same transceiver antenna can be determined as multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information, or two broadcast channels whose time-domain positions of the broadcast message transmission windows do not overlap can be determined as multiple broadcast channels for the broadcast information.

[0150] Optionally, after the first communication device determines the broadcast parameters of multiple broadcast channels, the broadcast parameters between the low-latency mode and the low-power mode satisfy at least one of the following: the broadcast interval corresponding to the third channel in the low-latency mode is less than the broadcast interval corresponding to the third channel in the low-power mode; the broadcast duration corresponding to the third channel in the low-latency mode is less than the broadcast duration corresponding to the third channel in the low-power mode; or, the broadcast period of the third channel in the low-latency mode is less than the broadcast period of the third channel in the low-power mode. Wherein, the third channel is any one of the multiple broadcast channels.

[0151] For example, after the first communication device identifies multiple broadcast channels, in low-latency mode, the broadcast interval of one or all of the identified broadcast channels can be set to Q1. In low-power mode, the broadcast interval of one or all of the identified broadcast channels can be set to Q2, where Q2 is greater than Q1. For example, Q2 equals twice Q1, three times Q1, or five times Q1, etc. Setting a smaller broadcast interval for broadcast messages in low-latency mode and a larger broadcast interval for broadcast messages in low-power mode can increase the probability of the second communication device successfully scanning broadcast messages in low-latency mode and reduce the number of broadcast message transmissions by the first communication device in low-power mode. This effectively reduces the broadcast latency of information while controlling the power consumption of the first communication device during the broadcast process.

[0152] Similarly, after the first communication device identifies multiple broadcast channels, in low-latency mode, the broadcast duration or period of one or all of the identified broadcast channels can be set to R1. In low-power mode, the broadcast duration or period of one or all of the identified broadcast channels can be set to R2, where R2 is greater than R1. For example, R2 equals 2 times R1, R2 equals 3 times R1, or R2 equals 1.5 times R1, etc. Setting the broadcast duration or period of the broadcast channels in low-latency mode to be smaller and the broadcast interval of the broadcast duration or period of the broadcast channels in low-power mode to be larger can effectively reduce the broadcast latency of information and control the power consumption of the first communication device during the broadcasting process.

[0153] Optionally, after the first communication device determines the broadcast parameters of multiple broadcast channels, in low-latency mode and / or low-power mode, the first duration is less than or equal to the first threshold, and the first duration is the total duration corresponding to the overlapping area between the time domain locations of the information broadcast by the multiple broadcast channels.

[0154] The first duration can also be understood as the total duration during which at least two broadcast channels are in the state of broadcasting messages while broadcasting information through multiple broadcast channels, or the total duration corresponding to the overlapping area between the time domain positions of the broadcast messages during the broadcasting process of multiple broadcast channels.

[0155] In this embodiment, the first threshold can be preset or determined by the first communication device based on the target broadcast duration of the information. For example, the first threshold can be 1%, 2%, or 5% of the target total broadcast duration of the broadcast information. The target broadcast duration of the information can be understood as the time interval between the moment when the first communication device starts broadcasting the information and the moment when the first communication device stops broadcasting the information.

[0156] That is, during information broadcasting through multiple broadcast channels, the total duration of resource conflicts between different broadcast channels (such as sending broadcast messages at the same time domain location) is less than the first threshold. This reduces the possibility of broadcast message reception failures in the second communication device due to resource conflicts, thereby further reducing information broadcast latency and ensuring information transmission quality.

[0157] Optionally, in step S702, after the first communication device determines multiple broadcast channels and their broadcast parameters, if the first channel and the second channel are two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols, then if the power consumption of the first channel is greater than that of the second channel, the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the broadcast parameters of the second channel shall satisfy at least one of the following: the broadcast interval of the first channel is greater than or equal to the broadcast interval of the second channel, the broadcast duration of the first channel is less than or equal to the broadcast duration of the second channel, or the broadcast period of the first channel is greater than or equal to the broadcast period of the second channel.

[0158] The statement that the power consumption of the first channel is greater than that of the second channel can be understood as follows: under the same broadcast parameters, the power consumption of sending a broadcast message through the first channel per unit time is greater than that of sending a broadcast message through the second channel per unit time; or, per unit time, the power consumption of sending a broadcast message based on the short-range wireless communication technology corresponding to the first channel is higher than that of sending a broadcast message based on the short-range wireless communication technology corresponding to the second channel.

[0159] For example, the broadcast interval of the first channel is twice that of the second channel, or the broadcast interval of the first channel is 1.5 times that of the second channel, and the broadcast duration of the first channel is 0.5 times that of the second channel; or the broadcast interval of the first channel is 1.7 times that of the second channel, and the broadcast period of the first channel is twice that of the second channel, etc. Based on the above scheme, the power consumption of the first channel, which has higher power consumption, during the broadcasting process can be effectively controlled, the broadcast latency of the information broadcast by the first communication device can be reduced, and the power consumption of the information broadcast by the first communication device can also be effectively controlled, achieving a balance between information broadcast latency and power consumption.

[0160] Taking multiple broadcast channels as an example, where the first channel is the Wi-Fi channel and the second channel is the BLE channel.

[0161] Referring to Figure 8(a), when the broadcast mode is in low-latency mode, the first communication device can set the broadcast interval of the BLE channel to 20 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 10 seconds, and the broadcast period to 15 seconds; and set the broadcast interval of the Wi-Fi channel to 200 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 5 seconds, and the broadcast period to 15 seconds. Compared with the broadcast parameter settings of the BLE broadcast channel, the broadcast parameter settings of the Wi-Fi broadcast channel reduce the broadcast duration of the higher-power Wi-Fi channel and increase the broadcast interval of the Wi-Fi channel. This is equivalent to reducing the total duration of the Wi-Fi channel broadcast messages, or in other words, reducing the number of times the Wi-Fi channel broadcasts information, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the first communication device's broadcast information.

[0162] Similarly, referring to Figure 8(b), when the broadcast mode is in low-power mode, the first communication device can set the broadcast interval of the BLE channel to 100 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 2 seconds, and the broadcast period to 5 minutes; and set the broadcast interval of the Wi-Fi channel to 500 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 2 seconds, and the broadcast period to 5 minutes. Compared to the broadcast parameter settings of the BLE channel, the broadcast parameter settings of the Wi-Fi broadcast channel increase the broadcast interval of the Wi-Fi channel, or in other words, reduce the frequency of Wi-Fi channel broadcast information.

[0163] Similarly, referring to Figure 8(c), when the broadcast mode is in conflict-free mode, the first communication device can set the broadcast interval of the BLE channel to 100 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 1 second, and the broadcast period to 2 seconds, and set the broadcast interval of the Wi-Fi channel to 170 milliseconds, the broadcast duration to 1 second, and the broadcast period to 2 seconds. Compared to the broadcast parameter settings of the BLE channel, the broadcast parameter settings of the Wi-Fi broadcast channel increase the broadcast interval of the Wi-Fi channel, or in other words, reduce the frequency of Wi-Fi channel broadcast information.

[0164] Furthermore, the above embodiments are illustrated using the example of multiple broadcast channels including two channels corresponding to different protocols. In specific applications, multiple broadcast channels may also include multiple channels corresponding to three or more different protocols. When multiple broadcast channels include multiple channels corresponding to three or more different protocols, the relationship between the broadcast parameters of each channel can also satisfy the description in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0165] Furthermore, it should be understood that the broadcast parameter setting schemes given in the above embodiments are merely examples for ease of understanding. The specific broadcast parameter settings under different broadcast requirements can be adjusted according to the actual situation and are not limited.

[0166] The above scheme effectively reduces the number of times the high-power channel sends broadcast messages during the process of broadcasting information through multiple broadcast channels, or in other words, the total length of the time domain position of the information broadcast by the high-power channel. This reduces the power consumption of the first communication device during the broadcasting process while reducing the broadcast latency of the information.

[0167] In one possible implementation, prior to step S702, the first communication device further acquires a short-range wireless communication broadcast channel included in the first communication device; or, the first communication device further acquires a short-range wireless communication technology supported by the first communication device.

[0168] For example, the first communication device can determine the short-range wireless communication broadcast channel of the first communication device packet number by self-testing or querying information in a specified storage space.

[0169] For example, the first communication device may determine the short-range wireless communication broadcast channel included in the first communication device after obtaining the first request; or, the short-range wireless communication broadcast channel included in the first communication device may be determined during the functional module initialization process in the first communication device, for example, during the soft bus module initialization process.

[0170] In one possible implementation, before step S703, the second communication device further acquires a deduplication strategy, which indicates whether duplicate broadcast information should be discarded. In step S703, the second communication device processes information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels according to the acquired deduplication strategy.

[0171] Duplicate broadcast messages can be understood as broadcast messages originating from the same device and application, carrying the same content; or, they can be understood as broadcast messages carried by messages with the same network address and the same sequence number. Discarding duplicate broadcast messages can also be understood as removing duplicate broadcast messages, or not reporting duplicate broadcast messages to the application layer. Discarding duplicate broadcast messages can also be understood as discarding / removing broadcast messages carrying duplicate broadcast information; or, not reporting broadcast messages carrying duplicate broadcast information to the application layer.

[0172] For example, the second communication device may process information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels according to a deduplication strategy in the following two ways:

[0173] Method 1: When the deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast information should be discarded, the second communication device may discard duplicate information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels.

[0174] For example, if the second communication device successfully receives broadcast messages on multiple broadcast channels by scanning the broadcast messages, and determines that the information broadcast on multiple broadcast channels is the same based on the broadcast information, network address, and message sequence number carried in the broadcast messages, the second communication device can discard the information carried in the broadcast messages received later according to the obtained deduplication strategy; or, the soft bus module in the second communication device may not report the information carried in the broadcast messages that arrived later to the application layer.

[0175] Method 2: When the deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast information should not be discarded, the second communication device determines that duplicate information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels should not be discarded.

[0176] For example, the second communication device scans broadcast messages and successfully receives broadcast messages on multiple broadcast channels in sequence. If it is determined that the information carried by the broadcast messages on multiple broadcast channels is the same based on the broadcast information, network address, and message sequence number carried in the broadcast messages, it can discard any broadcast message or the information carried by the broadcast messages on any broadcast channel according to the obtained deduplication strategy; or, the soft bus module in the second communication device reports the information carried by each broadcast message or each received broadcast message to the application layer.

[0177] Optionally, the second communication device may obtain the deduplication strategy in the following three ways:

[0178] Method 1: The first communication device broadcasts third information. Correspondingly, the second communication device receives the third information from the first communication device and obtains the deduplication strategy based on the third information. The third information is used to indicate the deduplication strategy.

[0179] For example, the third information can be a single bit, an identifier, or a field containing multiple bits. For instance, the third information may be a single bit whose state is 0, indicating a deduplication strategy of discarding duplicate broadcast messages, and / or its state is 1, indicating a deduplication strategy of not discarding duplicate broadcast messages. The second communication device determines the deduplication strategy based on whether the state of the third information is 0 or 1. Alternatively, for example, the third information may be a single bit whose state is 1, indicating a deduplication strategy of discarding duplicate broadcast messages, and / or its state is 0, indicating a deduplication strategy of not discarding duplicate broadcast messages. The second communication device determines the deduplication strategy based on whether the state of the third information is 0 or 1.

[0180] Optionally, the third information and the broadcast information can be sent synchronously, or the third information can be sent earlier than the broadcast information. That is, the first communication device can broadcast the third information before the broadcast information. This application embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0181] Method 2: The second communication device obtains the deduplication strategy based on the first application.

[0182] For example, after receiving a broadcast message, the second communication device determines the first application corresponding to the information carried in the broadcast message, and obtains a deduplication strategy based on the first application corresponding to the broadcast information. That is, the second communication device obtains the deduplication strategy corresponding to the first application, and different applications are pre-configured with corresponding deduplication strategies.

[0183] The first application can be understood as an application of application information or business information, including broadcast information, that is, the information broadcast by the first communication device is the business information or application information of the first application; or, it can also be understood as the application that generates the first request, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

[0184] For example, taking the information broadcast by the first communication device as the service information of the first application as an example, after the second communication device determines the information broadcast by the first communication device, it determines the first application, and then uses the deduplication strategy corresponding to the first application as the deduplication strategy for subsequent broadcast information.

[0185] Method 3: The second communication device obtains the default deduplication strategy.

[0186] The default deduplication strategy can be understood as the deduplication strategy pre-configured in the application layer; or, the deduplication strategy pre-configured in the soft bus module of the second communication device. When processing broadcast information in a broadcast message, the second communication device obtains the deduplication strategy pre-configured in the application layer (default deduplication strategy) and processes the received broadcast information according to the default deduplication strategy.

[0187] Taking the second communication device obtaining a default deduplication strategy, and multiple broadcast channels being BLE channels and Wi-Fi channels as an example, referring to Figure 9, the process by which the second communication device processes information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels according to the obtained deduplication strategy may include the following steps:

[0188] Before scanning broadcast messages through the BLE and Wi-Fi channels, the soft bus module of the second communication device receives the default deduplication strategy issued by the upper-layer application (such as a browser) in the application layer, and then the second communication device scans the broadcast messages through the transceiver module.

[0189] After the second communication device scans the broadcast message on the BLE channel, it reports the BLE broadcast message to the soft bus module of the second communication device through the Bluetooth protocol stack. The soft bus module of the second communication device parses the BLE broadcast message and obtains information such as the first information, network address and message sequence number contained in the BLE broadcast message.

[0190] When the default deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast information should be removed, the soft bus module of the second communication device detects whether the first information of the browser of the first communication device has been reported to the application layer. If no broadcast message carrying the first information of the browser of the first communication device has been reported, the scanned BLE broadcast message is reported to the browser of the second communication device.

[0191] Furthermore, after the second communication device scans a broadcast message on the Wi-Fi channel, it reports the CoAP broadcast message to its soft bus module via the Wi-Fi protocol stack. If the soft bus module parses the message and determines that it carries the first information of the first communication device's browser, it either does not report the scanned CoAP broadcast message to the second communication device's browser or discards it. Similarly, if the second communication device scans a broadcast message again on the BLE channel and parses it to determine that the BLE broadcast message still carries the first information of the first communication device's browser, it either stops reporting the newly scanned BLE broadcast message to the second communication device's browser or discards it.

[0192] When the default deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast messages are not removed, the soft bus module of the second communication device directly reports the scanned broadcast messages to the application layer. For example, in conjunction with the above example, after scanning a CoAP broadcast message carrying the first information of the browser of the first communication device on the Wi-Fi channel, the CoAP broadcast message is reported to the browser of the second communication device. Then, after scanning a BLE broadcast message carrying the first information of the browser of the first communication device on the BLE channel, the BLE broadcast message is also directly reported to the browser of the second communication device.

[0193] The overall process of the first and second communication devices exchanging first information through multiple broadcast channels can be referred to in Figure 10, taking the deduplication strategy of not removing duplicate broadcast information and the multiple broadcast channels being BLE broadcast channels and Wi-Fi broadcast channels as an example. The first communication device can generate a broadcast request for broadcast information through an upper-layer application (such as a browser) in the application layer and send the broadcast request to the soft bus module. The soft bus module of the first communication device determines the multiple broadcast channels (BLE broadcast channel and Wi-Fi broadcast channel) used in the broadcast information process according to the short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device and the broadcast requirements of the first information, and determines the broadcast parameters of each broadcast channel. Then, the soft bus module of the first communication device encapsulates the broadcast information to be broadcast according to the multiple broadcast channels used, generating a message when broadcasting information through each broadcast channel. Then, the soft bus module starts the broadcast task through multiple broadcast channels according to the broadcast parameters of each broadcast channel. The Bluetooth protocol stack and the Wi-Fi protocol stack broadcast BLE broadcast messages and Wi-Fi broadcast messages on the BLE broadcast channel and the Wi-Fi broadcast channel, respectively.

[0194] The second communication device scans for broadcast messages in the BLE broadcast channel and the Wi-Fi broadcast channel through its transceiver module. After obtaining the BLE broadcast message and the Wi-Fi broadcast message in the BLE broadcast channel and the Wi-Fi broadcast message in the Wi-Fi broadcast channel respectively, it reports the BLE broadcast message and the Wi-Fi broadcast message to the soft bus module of the second communication device through the Bluetooth protocol stack and the Wi-Fi protocol stack respectively. The soft bus module of the second communication device reports both the BLE broadcast message and the Wi-Fi broadcast message carrying the same broadcast information to the browser of the second communication device according to the deduplication strategy issued by the application layer.

[0195] Based on the above scheme, during the broadcasting of information, the first communication device can select at least two broadcast channels from the short-range wireless communication broadcast channels included in the first communication device to broadcast the information separately. This is equivalent to increasing the broadcast frequency of the broadcast message carrying the information or the number of broadcasts per unit time, allowing the second communication device to scan the broadcast message on multiple broadcast channels. This increases the probability that the second communication device will successfully scan the broadcast message carrying the broadcast information, thereby reducing the broadcast latency for the second communication device to obtain the information broadcast by the first communication device. This is beneficial to improving the transmission efficiency of information between the first and second communication devices. Furthermore, since there is no need to modify the broadcast mechanism of the broadcast channel, it can be directly applied to various applications and scenarios, thereby effectively improving the smoothness of distributed application collaboration and user experience, while fully leveraging the communication performance of the first and second communication devices.

[0196] The method provided in this application has been described above. In addition, this application also provides a communication device for implementing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0197] It is understood that, in order to achieve the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0198] This application embodiment can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0199] Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of a communication device 1100. The communication device 1100 includes a processing module 1101 and a transceiver module 1102. The communication device 1100 can be used to implement the functions of the first or second communication device described above.

[0200] In some embodiments, the communication device 1100 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG11) for storing program instructions and data.

[0201] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1102, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement sending and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 1102 may consist of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a communication interface.

[0202] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 1102 may include a receiving module and a sending module, respectively configured to perform receiving and sending steps performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein; the processing module 1101 may be configured to perform processing steps performed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0203] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the first communication device, in one possible implementation: the processing module 1101 is used to obtain a broadcast request, which includes at least one of the following: maximum broadcast delay, maximum broadcast power consumption, broadcast mode, broadcast parameters, or broadcast channel type; the broadcast request is used to determine multiple broadcast channels and broadcast parameters of multiple broadcast channels, and the broadcast parameters of the broadcast channels are the parameters used when broadcasting information through the broadcast channels.

[0204] Optionally, the processing module 1101 obtains the broadcast request, including: obtaining the broadcast request corresponding to the first application according to the broadcast configuration file, wherein the first application is the application that initiated the first request.

[0205] Optionally, the transceiver module 1102 is used to broadcast third information, which is used to indicate a deduplication strategy, and the deduplication strategy is used to indicate whether to discard duplicate broadcast information.

[0206] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the second communication device, in one possible implementation: the processing module 1101 is used to obtain a deduplication strategy, which is used to indicate whether to discard duplicate broadcast information; and to process information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels, including: processing information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels according to the deduplication strategy.

[0207] Optionally, the transceiver module 1102 is used to receive third information, which is used to indicate the deduplication strategy.

[0208] All relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0209] In this application, the communication device 1100 can be presented in an integrated manner by dividing it into various functional modules. Here, "module" can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0210] In some embodiments, when the communication device 1100 in FIG11 is a chip or chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1102 can be implemented through the input / output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 1101 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0211] Since the communication device 1100 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects it can achieve can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0212] As a possible product form, the first or second communication device described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0213] As another possible product form, the first or second communication device described in this application embodiment can be implemented using a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to FIG12, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1200 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1200 includes a processor 1201 and a transceiver 1202. The communication device 1200 can be a first communication device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 1200 can be a second communication device, or a chip or module therein. FIG12 only shows the main components of the communication device 1200. In addition to the processor 1201 and transceiver 1202, the communication device may further include a memory 1203 and input / output devices (not shown in the figure).

[0214] Optionally, the processor 1201 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs, thereby implementing the methods provided in the above-described method embodiments. The memory 1203 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 1202 may include a radio frequency (RF) circuit and an antenna. The RF circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touch screens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0215] Optionally, the processor 1201, transceiver 1202, and memory 1203 can be connected via a communication bus.

[0216] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1201 can read the software program in the memory 1203, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1201 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1201. The processor 1201 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0217] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0218] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described communication device 1100 can take the form of the communication device 1200 shown in FIG12 in terms of hardware implementation.

[0219] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing module 1101 in Figure 11 can be implemented by the processor 1201 in the communication device 1200 shown in Figure 12 calling the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1203. The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1102 in Figure 11 can be implemented by the transceiver 1202 in the communication device 1200 shown in Figure 12.

[0220] As another possible product form, the first or second communication device in this application may adopt the composition structure shown in FIG13, or include the components shown in FIG13. FIG13 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 1300 provided in this application. The communication device 1300 may be the first communication device or a chip or system-on-a-chip in the first communication device; or, it may be the second communication device or a module, chip or system-on-a-chip in the second communication device.

[0221] As shown in Figure 13, the communication device 1300 includes at least one processor 1301 and at least one communication interface (Figure 13 is merely an example illustrating the inclusion of a communication interface 1304 and a processor 1301). Optionally, the communication device 1300 may also include a communication bus 1302 and a memory 1303.

[0222] Processor 1301 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a PLD, or any combination thereof. Processor 1301 can also be other devices with processing functions, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0223] Communication bus 1302 is used to connect different components in communication device 1300, enabling communication between them. Communication bus 1302 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 13, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0224] Communication interface 1304 is used for communicating with other devices or communication networks. Exemplarily, communication interface 1304 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any device capable of communication. Optionally, the communication interface 1304 can also be an input / output interface located within processor 1301, used to implement signal input and signal output for the processor.

[0225] The memory 1303 may be a device with storage function, used to store instructions and / or data. The instructions may be computer programs.

[0226] For example, the memory 1303 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and / or instructions; it may also be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and / or instructions; it may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0227] It should be noted that the memory 1303 can exist independently of the processor 1301, or it can be integrated with the processor 1301. The memory 1303 can be located inside or outside the communication device 1300, without limitation. The processor 1301 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 1303 to implement the methods provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0228] As an optional implementation, the communication device 1300 may also include an output device 1305 and an input device 1306. The output device 1305 communicates with the processor 1301 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 1305 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 1306 communicates with the processor 1301 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 1306 may be a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen device, or sensing device, etc.

[0229] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the communication device 1100 shown in FIG11 can take the form of the communication device 1300 shown in FIG13 in terms of hardware implementation.

[0230] As an example, the function / implementation process of the processing module 1101 in Figure 11 can be implemented by the processor 1301 in the communication device 1300 shown in Figure 13 calling computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1303. The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 1102 in Figure 11 can be implemented by the communication interface 1304 in the communication device 1300 shown in Figure 13.

[0231] It should be noted that the structure shown in Figure 13 does not constitute a specific limitation on the first or second communication device. For example, in other embodiments of this application, the first or second communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0232] In some embodiments, this application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the methods in any of the above method embodiments.

[0233] As one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a memory. This memory stores necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, which a processor can invoke to instruct the communication device to execute the methods described in any of the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the memory may not be present in the communication device.

[0234] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, used to receive computer execution instructions (which are stored in memory and may be read directly from memory or may be transmitted through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0235] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes a communication interface for communicating with modules outside the communication device.

[0236] It is understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0237] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0238] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0239] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0240] It is understood that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described in this application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0241] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0242] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0243] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This 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 this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device containing one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive (SSD)). In this embodiment, the computer may include the aforementioned apparatus.

[0244] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, disclosure, and appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0245] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely illustrative descriptions of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the first request, which is used to request a broadcast; According to the first request, information is broadcast through multiple broadcast channels. The multiple broadcast channels are short-range wireless communication broadcast channels. The multiple broadcast channels include a first channel and a second channel. The first channel and the second channel are two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols. The broadcast parameters of the first channel and the broadcast parameters of the second channel are different.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power consumption of the first channel is greater than that of the second channel; The broadcast parameters of the first channel and the broadcast parameters of the second channel satisfy at least one of the following: the broadcast interval of the first channel is greater than or equal to the broadcast interval of the second channel, the broadcast duration of the first channel is less than or equal to the broadcast duration of the second channel, or the broadcast period of the first channel is greater than or equal to the broadcast period of the second channel.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain broadcast requests, wherein the broadcast requests include at least one of the following: maximum broadcast latency, maximum broadcast power consumption, broadcast mode, broadcast parameters, or broadcast channel type; The broadcast request is used to determine the plurality of broadcast channels and the broadcast parameters of the plurality of broadcast channels, wherein the broadcast parameters of the broadcast channels are the parameters used when broadcasting information through the broadcast channels.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The broadcast channel type includes at least one of the following: Bluetooth broadcast channel, Wireless Fidelity broadcast channel, or Starlight broadcast channel; and / or, The broadcast parameters include at least one of the following: broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The broadcast modes include low-latency mode, low-power mode, or conflict-free mode; The broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period corresponding to the third channel in the low latency mode is less than the broadcast interval, broadcast duration, or broadcast period corresponding to the third channel in the low power mode, and the third channel is any one of the plurality of broadcast channels; In the conflict-free mode, there is no overlap between the time-domain locations of the information broadcast by the multiple broadcast channels.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, In the low-latency mode and / or the low-power mode, the first duration is less than or equal to the first threshold, where the first duration is the total duration corresponding to the overlapping area between the time domain locations of the information broadcast by the multiple broadcast channels.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that, To obtain broadcast requests, including: According to the broadcast configuration file, the broadcast request corresponding to the first application is obtained, where the first application is the application that initiated the first request.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The broadcast configuration file includes the correspondence between broadcast modes and broadcast parameters; or... This includes the correspondence between applications and broadcast modes; or, This includes the correspondence between application and broadcast parameters; or, This includes the correspondence between applications, broadcast modes, and broadcast parameters.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Broadcast a third message, which is used to indicate a deduplication strategy, and the deduplication strategy is used to indicate whether to discard duplicate broadcast messages.

10. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels, wherein the multiple broadcast channels are short-range wireless communication broadcast channels, and the multiple broadcast channels include a first channel and a second channel. The first channel and the second channel are two broadcast channels corresponding to different protocols, and the broadcast parameters of the first channel and the second channel are different. Process the information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain a deduplication strategy, which indicates whether to discard duplicate broadcast information; Processing the information broadcast through multiple broadcast channels includes: The information broadcast through the multiple broadcast channels is processed according to the deduplication strategy.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Processing the information broadcast through the multiple broadcast channels according to the deduplication strategy includes: The deduplication strategy indicates that, in the case of discarding duplicate broadcast information, duplicate information broadcast through the multiple broadcast channels should be discarded; or, The deduplication strategy indicates that duplicate broadcast information broadcast through the multiple broadcast channels should not be discarded if duplicate broadcast information is not discarded.

13. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Obtain the deduplication strategy, including: Receive third information, which is used to instruct the deduplication strategy.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The deduplication strategy is the deduplication strategy corresponding to the first application, which is the application that initiated the first request; or, the deduplication strategy is the default deduplication strategy.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that, The broadcast channel types of the multiple broadcast channels include at least one of the following: Bluetooth broadcast channel, wireless broadcast channel, or Starlight broadcast channel.

16. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, or includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 10-15.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, or to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 10-15.

18. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device; The first communication device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, and the second communication device is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 10-15.

19. A chip or chip system, characterized in that, The chip or chip system includes a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-9 to be performed, or cause the method as described in any one of claims 10-15 to be performed.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs that, when executed on a computer, cause the method described in any one of claims 1-9 to be performed, or cause the method described in any one of claims 10-15 to be performed.

21. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions; when some or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, they cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-9 to be performed, or cause the method as described in any one of claims 10-15 to be performed.

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