Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a related apparatus. The method is applied to a power line communication-based communication network. In a frame transmitted to a first communication apparatus, a second communication apparatus not only occupies a first frequency resource, but also occupies a second frequency resource, so that a third communication apparatus easily detects that a channel corresponding to the frame is occupied, thereby reducing the probability of collisions during channel contention.

Description

Communication methods and related devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. CN202411468181.0, filed on October 18, 2024, entitled "Communication Method and Related Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Current power line communication (PLC) protocols stipulate that multiple communication devices use a time-division multiple access (TDMA) mechanism to share a channel and employ a carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) mechanism to compete for the channel in order to transmit data. However, in power grid scenarios with a large number of communication devices, the probability of channel contention is high, which can easily exacerbate network congestion.

[0004] Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) can simultaneously schedule and transmit data from multiple communication devices, reducing the number of frames transmitted across the network and thus lowering the probability of contention for channel collisions.

[0005] However, with the increasing number of communication devices in power grid scenarios, how to further reduce the probability of contention for channel collisions has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In a communication network that communicates via power lines, assuming that the frequency resources supported by the first and second communication devices include the first frequency resource and the second frequency resource, and the third communication device supports the second frequency resource but does not support the first frequency resource, when the second communication device sends a data frame (hereinafter referred to as a frame) to the first communication device through the first frequency resource, since the third communication device does not support the first frequency resource, it cannot detect that the second communication device occupies the channel corresponding to the frame. Therefore, the third communication device will compete for the channel, resulting in a channel contention conflict.

[0007] To this end, this application provides a communication method and related apparatus in which the second communication device occupies not only the first frequency resource but also the second frequency resource in the frame sent to the first communication device, so as to facilitate the third communication device to detect that the channel corresponding to the frame is occupied, thereby reducing the probability of contention for channel collision.

[0008] The method and apparatus provided in this application are described below.

[0009] Firstly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to a communication network, which includes multiple communication devices and power lines, with the multiple communication devices communicating via the power lines. Communication between different communication devices mentioned in this application refers to communication via power lines. Optionally, the communication network can be a power line communication (PLC) system, and the communication devices can support PLC communication protocols. The multiple communication devices may include a first communication device and a second communication device.

[0010] The communication method can be executed by a second communication device. This second communication device can be a communication equipment, which can be a device with communication functionality within a PLC system. For example, the communication equipment can be a central coordinator (CCO), a proxy coordinator (PCO), a station (STA), or a user. Alternatively, the second communication device can be a component of a communication device. Alternatively, the second communication device can also be a logic module or software used to implement all or part of the functions of the communication device. Optionally, a component of the communication device is a circuit or chip (e.g., a PLC chip or module) responsible for communication functions. Optionally, a component of the communication device is a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip, such as an SoC chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip, etc.

[0011] In this communication method, the second communication device can receive first information and second information sent by the first communication device. The first information includes first data sent from the first communication device to the second communication device, and the second information includes indication information of a first frequency resource, which is used as response data for the second communication device to send the first data to the first communication device. Subsequently, the second communication device can send a first frame. In this first frame, not only is third information carried on the first frequency resource indicated by the second information (including the response data and / or the second data), but fourth information is also carried on a second frequency resource that does not overlap with the first frequency resource. Thus, when the communication network also includes a third communication device that supports the second frequency resource but not the first frequency resource, the third communication device can back off based on the detection that the second frequency resource is occupied, i.e., it will not occupy the channel corresponding to the first frame to send data, thereby reducing the probability of channel contention.

[0012] The second data consists of data other than the response data to the first data. By including the second data in the first frame scheduled for the response data to the first data, the transmission efficiency of the communication network can be improved.

[0013] Optionally, the communication devices in the communication network are used for time-sharing information transmission and reception, or in other words, at any given time, the communication devices are in either a transmission or reception state, or the communication devices cannot transmit and receive information simultaneously.

[0014] Optionally, during the communication process between the first communication device and the second communication device, the first communication device is the scheduling node and the second communication device is the scheduled node.

[0015] Optionally, the first data and the second data can be user data. Optionally, in the information transmitted between different communication devices, other information besides user data is used to transmit user data. User data can specifically be command data, request data, or business data.

[0016] Optionally, the fourth information precedes the third information in the time domain. This allows the third communication device to detect the channel corresponding to the first frame being occupied as early as possible, thus enabling timely backoff.

[0017] Optionally, the fourth information includes indication information from the first communication device, which indicates that the first frame is intended for transmission to the first communication device. This helps to prevent the third communication device from continuing to process the first frame after detecting the fourth information, thus saving processing resources and reducing power consumption.

[0018] Optionally, the fourth information includes the length information of the third information. This facilitates the third communication device in estimating the frame length of the first frame and competing for the channel based on the frame length of the first frame, thereby shortening the delay of the competing channel while avoiding collisions and improving the transmission efficiency of information.

[0019] Optionally, the length of the information (or the size of the information) can be understood as the duration of time it takes to send the information.

[0020] Optionally, the length of the third information can be predefined or preset. In this way, when the communication network also includes other second communication devices, these other second communication devices also need to occupy the first frame to send data to the first communication device. The fact that multiple second communication devices can predefine or preset the length of their third information allows them to occupy the second frequency resources of the first frame to send the same fourth information, thereby facilitating the first communication device's successful parsing of the fourth information sent by the second and fourth communication devices from the first frame.

[0021] Optionally, the first and second information can reside in the same frame (referred to as the second frame). This helps reduce the number of frames transmitted in the communication network, thereby lowering the probability of channel contention. The first and second information can be carried on different frequency resources within the second frame.

[0022] Optionally, the second frame may also include fifth information, which indicates a third frequency resource used by the second communication device to receive the first information. This allows the second communication device to use different frequency resources to receive first data from the second frame and to send response data and / or second data from the first frame.

[0023] The fifth piece of information can be received by the second communication device before the first piece of information in the time domain. After receiving the fifth piece of information, the second communication device can receive the first piece of information on the third frequency resource indicated by the fifth piece of information.

[0024] Optionally, the second frequency resource is the networking frequency band of the communication network, and / or, the second frequency resource is the frequency resource carrying the second information. Optionally, a lower frequency band is selected as the networking frequency band to ensure communication quality.

[0025] In this application, "communication network" can be replaced with "communication system".

[0026] Secondly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to a communication network, which can refer to the communication network described in the first aspect. For example, the communication network includes multiple communication devices and power lines, the multiple communication devices communicating via the power lines, and the multiple communication devices may include a first communication device and a second communication device.

[0027] The communication method can be executed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a communication equipment, or it can be a component within a communication equipment. Alternatively, the first communication device can also be a logic module or software used to implement all or part of the functions of the communication equipment. Optionally, a component within the communication equipment is a circuit or chip (e.g., a PLC chip or module) responsible for communication functions. Optionally, a component within the communication equipment is a system-on-chip (SoC) chip, such as an SoC chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip. This communication equipment can be understood with reference to the communication equipment described in the first aspect. The first communication device and the second communication device are different communication devices, or they may be deployed within different communication devices.

[0028] In this method, a first communication device can send first information and second information. The first information includes first data sent by the first communication device to a second communication device, and the second information includes indication information of a first frequency resource, which is used as response data for the second communication device to send the first data to the first communication device. Subsequently, the first communication device can receive a first frame sent by the second communication device. In this first frame, not only is third information carried on the first frequency resource indicated by the second information (including the response data and / or the second data), but fourth information is also carried on a second frequency resource that does not overlap with the first frequency resource. Thus, when the communication network also includes a third communication device that supports the second frequency resource but not the first frequency resource, the third communication device can back off based on the detection that the second frequency resource is occupied, i.e., it will not occupy the channel corresponding to the first frame to send data, thereby reducing the probability of channel contention.

[0029] The second data is data other than the response data to the first data. By receiving the second data in the first frame scheduled for the response data to the first data, the first communication device can improve the transmission efficiency of the communication network.

[0030] In the method provided in the second aspect, the first communication device, the second communication device, the first information, the second information, the third information, the fourth information, the first data, the second data, the first frequency resource, and the second frequency resource can be understood by referring to the relevant content in the method provided in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0031] For example, referring to the alternative approach of the first aspect, the first information and the second information can reside in the same frame (referred to as the second frame). The second frame can refer to the relevant content of the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0032] Optionally, the communication network includes at least two second communication devices. Correspondingly, the first communication device can send at least two sets of first and second information corresponding to the second communication devices respectively in the second frame. The content of the first information corresponding to different second communication devices can be different, and correspondingly, the content of the first data sent by the first communication device to different second communication devices can be different. Similarly, the content of the second information corresponding to different second communication devices can be different, and correspondingly, the first frequency resources indicated by the second information of different second communication devices can correspond to different frequency bands. After sending at least two sets of first and second information corresponding to the second communication devices respectively in the second frame, the first communication device can receive at least two sets of first frames sent by the second communication devices. In the first frames sent by different second communication devices, the content of the third information on the first frequency resource can be different, i.e., the response data and / or the second data can be different. However, the second frequency resources used to carry the fourth information are the same or overlap. To ensure that the first communication device successfully parses the fourth information on the same second frequency resource, the content of the fourth information sent by different second communication devices is the same.

[0033] Thirdly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to a communication network, which can refer to the communication network described in the first aspect. For example, the communication network includes multiple communication devices and power lines, with the multiple communication devices communicating via the power lines. The multiple communication devices may include a first communication device and at least one second communication device. The communication method can be executed by the first communication device. The communication network and the first communication device in the communication network can be understood with reference to the relevant content above, and will not be repeated here.

[0034] In this method, the first communication device can transmit at least one first information and a second information corresponding to the second communication device in the same frame (referred to as the second frame). The first information corresponding to the second communication device includes first data sent from the first communication device to the second communication device, and the second information includes indication information of the first frequency resource of the second communication device, which is used as response data for the second communication device to send the first data to the first communication device. This reduces the number of frames transmitted in the communication network and lowers the probability of contention for channel collisions. Subsequently, the first communication device can receive the first frame transmitted by at least one second communication device, the first frame of which includes response data and / or second data carried on the first frequency resource of the second communication device.

[0035] Optionally, the first and second information can be carried on different frequency resources in the second frame.

[0036] As described above, the content of the first information corresponding to different second communication devices can be different, and correspondingly, the content of the first data sent by the first communication device to different second communication devices can be different. Similarly, the content of the second information corresponding to different second communication devices can be different, and correspondingly, the first frequency resources indicated by the second information of different second communication devices can correspond to different frequency bands. After the first communication device sends at least two sets of first and second information corresponding to the second communication devices respectively in the second frame, it can receive at least two sets of first frames sent by the second communication devices. In the first frames sent by different second communication devices, the content of the third information on the first frequency resource can be different, that is, the response data and / or the second data can be different.

[0037] In the method provided in the third aspect, the first communication device, the second communication device, the first information, the second information, the third information, the first data, the second data, and the first frequency resource can be understood by referring to the relevant content in the method provided in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0038] Fourthly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to a communication network, which can refer to the communication network described in the first aspect. For example, the communication network includes multiple communication devices and power lines, with the multiple communication devices communicating via the power lines. The multiple communication devices may include a first communication device and at least one second communication device. The communication method can be executed by the second communication device. The communication network and the second communication device in the communication network can be understood with reference to the relevant content above, and will not be repeated here.

[0039] In this method, the second communication device can receive first information and second information corresponding to itself within the same frame (referred to as the second frame). The first information corresponding to the second communication device includes first data sent by the first communication device to itself, and the second information includes indication information of the second communication device's first frequency resources. The first frequency resources of the second communication device are used as response data for the second communication device to send the first data to the first communication device. This helps reduce the number of frames transmitted in the communication network and lowers the probability of channel contention. Subsequently, the second communication device can send the first frame to the first communication device. The first frame includes third information carried on the first frequency resources of the second communication device, and the third information includes response data and / or the second data.

[0040] Optionally, the first and second information can be carried on different frequency resources in the second frame.

[0041] Optionally, the second frame may also include first and second information corresponding to other second communication devices. As described above, the content of the first information corresponding to different second communication devices may be different, and correspondingly, the content of the first data sent by the first communication device to different second communication devices may be different. Similarly, the content of the second information corresponding to different second communication devices may be different, and correspondingly, the first frequency resources indicated by the second information of different second communication devices may correspond to different frequency bands. After the first communication device sends the first and second information corresponding to at least two second communication devices respectively in the second frame, it can receive the first frames sent by at least two second communication devices respectively. In the first frames sent by different second communication devices, the content of the third information on the first frequency resource may be different, that is, the response data and / or the second data may be different.

[0042] Optionally, the second information corresponding to the second communication device may also include indication information of the first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device, wherein the indication information of the first data indicates the size of the first data.

[0043] Optionally, the indication information for the first data is the difference between the size of the first data and a standard value. Optionally, the second frame also includes indication information for the standard value, which indicates the size of the standard value. This helps to reduce the length of the indication information for the first data, allowing the second frame to support larger amounts of first data.

[0044] In the method provided in the fourth aspect, the first communication device, the second communication device, the first information, the second information, the third information, the first data, the second data, and the first frequency resource can be understood by referring to the relevant content in the method provided in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0045] Fifthly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to a communication network, which can refer to the communication network described in the first aspect. For example, the communication network includes multiple communication devices and power lines, with the multiple communication devices communicating via the power lines. The multiple communication devices may include a first communication device and at least two second communication devices. The communication method can be executed by the first communication device. The communication network and the first communication device in the communication network can be understood with reference to the relevant content above, and will not be repeated here.

[0046] In this method, a first communication device sends messages to at least two second communication devices. Each message includes first indication information, first information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices, and second information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices. The first indication information indicates a first value. The first information corresponding to each second communication device includes first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device. The second information corresponding to each second communication device includes second indication information corresponding to the second communication device. The second indication information corresponding to the second communication device indicates the difference or ratio between the size of the first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device and the first value. This reduces the size of the second information, thereby allowing the message to carry larger amounts of first data for the second communication devices.

[0047] Sixthly, this application provides a communication method. This method can be applied to a communication network, which can refer to the communication network described in the first aspect. For example, the communication network includes multiple communication devices and power lines, with the multiple communication devices communicating via the power lines. The multiple communication devices may include a first communication device and at least two second communication devices. The communication method can be performed by the second communication devices. The communication network and the second communication devices in the communication network can be understood with reference to the relevant content above, and will not be repeated here.

[0048] In this method, a second communication device receives messages sent by a first communication device to at least two other second communication devices. Each message includes first indication information, first information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices, and second information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices. The first indication information indicates a first value. The first information corresponding to each second communication device includes first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device. The second information corresponding to each second communication device includes second indication information corresponding to the second communication device. The second indication information corresponding to the second communication device indicates the difference or ratio between the size of the first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device and the first value. This reduces the size of the second information, allowing the message to carry larger amounts of first data for the second communication device. Subsequently, the second communication device can determine the size of the first data sent by the first communication device based on the first indication information and its corresponding second indication information, and receive the first data accordingly.

[0049] In the fifth and sixth aspects, messages can reside in the same frame.

[0050] Optionally, the method provided in the fifth aspect can be combined with the method provided in the second aspect, and the method provided in the sixth aspect can be combined with the method provided in the first aspect. For example, in the method provided in the second aspect, in addition to sending first information and second information corresponding to at least two second communication devices respectively in the second frame, the first communication device also sends first indication information in the second frame. The second information corresponding to the second communication device may include not only the indication information of the first frequency resource of the second communication device, but also the second indication information corresponding to the second communication device.

[0051] Optionally, the method provided in the fifth aspect can be combined with the method provided in the third aspect, and the method provided in the sixth aspect can be combined with the method provided in the fourth aspect. For example, in the method provided in the third aspect, in addition to sending at least one first information and a second information corresponding to the second communication device in the same frame (such as the second frame), the first communication device also sends first indication information in the second frame. The second information corresponding to the second communication device may include not only the indication information of the first frequency resource of the second communication device, but also the second indication information corresponding to the second communication device.

[0052] A seventh aspect of this application provides a communication device comprising a plurality of interacting functional modules, wherein, exemplarily, the plurality of functional modules include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit.

[0053] In some examples, the communication device is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0054] In some examples, the communication device is used to implement the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a first communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0055] In some examples, the communication device is used to implement the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a first communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0056] In some examples, the communication device is used to implement the method described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0057] In some examples, the communication device is used to implement the method described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a first communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0058] In some examples, the communication device is used to implement the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation of the sixth aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] An eighth aspect of this application provides a communication device including at least one processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0060] The at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device.

[0061] Alternatively, the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the communication device to implement the method described in the aforementioned second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the communication device can be a first communication device.

[0062] Alternatively, the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement the method described in the aforementioned third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the communication device can be a first communication device.

[0063] Alternatively, the at least one processor is used to execute the program or instructions to enable the device to implement the method described in the aforementioned fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device.

[0064] Alternatively, the at least one processor may execute the program or instructions to enable the communication device to implement the method described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device may be a first communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0065] Alternatively, the at least one processor may be used to execute the program or instructions to enable the communication device to implement the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation of the sixth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device may be a second communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0066] Optionally, the communication device may also include the memory.

[0067] The ninth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which includes at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface.

[0068] The logic circuit is used to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device.

[0069] Alternatively, the logic circuit may be used to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effect, and the communication device may be a first communication device.

[0070] Alternatively, the logic circuit may be used to perform the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effect, and the communication device may be a first communication device.

[0071] Alternatively, the logic circuit may be used to perform the method described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effect, and the communication device may be a second communication device.

[0072] Alternatively, the logic circuit can be used to implement the method described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device can be a first communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods; they will not be repeated here.

[0073] Alternatively, the logic circuit can be used to implement the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation of the sixth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the communication device can be a second communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods; they will not be repeated here.

[0074] The tenth aspect of this application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor. For example, the chip can be a SoC chip (such as a SoC chip containing a modem core), a SIP chip, or a communication module. In one possible design, the chip or chip system may further include a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. The chip system can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. Optionally, the chip system further includes interface circuitry that provides program instructions and / or data to the at least one processor.

[0075] The chip or chip system is used to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effect. Accordingly, the chip or chip system can be a second communication device.

[0076] Alternatively, the chip or chip system may be used to implement the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the chip or chip system may be a first communication device.

[0077] Alternatively, the chip or chip system may be used to implement the method described in the aforementioned third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the chip or chip system may be a first communication device.

[0078] Alternatively, the chip or chip system may be used to implement the method described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation of the fourth aspect and to achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the chip or chip system may be a second communication device.

[0079] Alternatively, the chip or chip system may be used to implement the method described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation of the fifth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device may be a first communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0080] Alternatively, the chip or chip system may be used to implement the method described in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation of the sixth aspect and achieve the corresponding technical effects. Accordingly, the communication device may be a second communication device. For details, please refer to the foregoing corresponding methods, which will not be repeated here.

[0081] The eleventh aspect of this application provides a communication system. Optionally, the communication system includes a first communication device and at least one second communication device connected in communication. The second communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the first communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the second communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the fourth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the first communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the first communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the second communication device is configured to perform the method as described in the sixth aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0082] The twelfth aspect of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, perform the method as described in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects above.

[0083] The thirteenth aspect of this application provides a computer program product (or computer program) that, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects described above.

[0084] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects seven through thirteen can be found in the technical effects of the corresponding design methods in aspects one through six above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0085] Figure 1 schematically illustrates the structure of a PLC system;

[0086] Figure 2-1 schematically illustrates the process of STA 1 to STA 4 time-division multiplexed channels transmitting data to the PCO respectively;

[0087] Figure 2-2 schematically illustrates the process of STA 1 to STA 4 frequency division multiplexing channels transmitting data to the PCO;

[0088] Figure 3-1 schematically illustrates one possible process of DL transmission;

[0089] Figure 3-2 schematically illustrates the frame format of the data frame sent by the PCO in Figure 3-1;

[0090] Figure 3-3 schematically illustrates the carrier frequency bands corresponding to multiple RUs with different indices;

[0091] Figure 4-1 schematically illustrates another possible process for DL ​​transmission;

[0092] Figure 4-2 schematically illustrates the frame format of the ACK frame received by the PCO in Figure 4-1;

[0093] Figure 5 schematically illustrates the frequency resources occupied by the ACK frames sent by STA 1 to STA 4 to PCO during the process shown in Figure 3-1 or Figure 4-1.

[0094] Figure 6 schematically shows the frame structure of the DL data frames sent by STA 1 to STA 4 to PCO respectively;

[0095] Figure 7-1 is a possible schematic diagram of the frames sent and received by the PCO in the method provided in this application;

[0096] Figure 7-2 is another possible schematic diagram of the frames sent and received by the PCO in the method provided in this application;

[0097] Figure 8 schematically illustrates the structure of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0098] First, the system to which this application applies will be introduced.

[0099] This application can be applied to communication networks, specifically power line communication (PLC) systems. PLCs utilize power lines as the transmission medium, loading digital signals onto the power lines and sharing the same cable as the power supply. PLCs can be categorized into narrowband PLCs (NB-PLCs) and wideband PLCs (BB-PLCs). NB-PLCs typically operate in a lower frequency range (<500kHz), while BB-PLCs operate in a higher frequency range (>1MHz). This application can be applied to NB-PLCs and / or BB-PLCs.

[0100] This application does not limit the application scenarios of the PLC system. For example, the PLC system can be applied to the field of low-voltage distribution area power line carrier communication, and also to other fields based on power line carrier communication, such as smart homes, photovoltaic energy, or charging piles. As an example, the PLC system includes nodes within the same distribution area, or in other words, the nodes in the PLC system are connected to the same transformer. The PLC system is used for connection between smart home devices, such as lighting control, temperature regulation, and security systems. Alternatively, the PLC system is used for communication between different machines in an industrial environment, or for data transmission between different machines in an automated control system. Alternatively, the PLC system can be used for data acquisition and monitoring in a smart grid, such as remote meter reading and grid fault detection.

[0101] Figure 1 schematically illustrates the structure of a PLC system. Referring to Figure 1, the PLC system includes a central coordinator (CCO), proxy coordinators (PCOs), and stations (STAs). The CCO typically acts as the master node in the communication network, responsible for network control, network maintenance, and management. Its corresponding device entity can be a concentrator local communication unit. STAs typically act as slave nodes in the communication network. Their corresponding device entities can be communication units, including but not limited to dual-mode communication units for energy meters, dual-mode communication units for Type I data collectors, or dual-mode Type II data collectors. The PCO is the node that relays data between the central coordinator and stations, or between stations; it is generally called a proxy. In some examples, the PCO can also be called an STA, and a PCO can be considered a special type of STA. In this paper, the terms "node" and "station" can be considered synonymous. Furthermore, "user" and "STA" can be understood as having the same meaning in certain contexts. In addition, the PLC system also includes power lines. Figure 1 uses solid lines connecting different nodes to represent power lines, and different nodes communicate through power lines.

[0102] Figure 1 uses a PLC system including CCO, PCO, and STA as an example. This application does not limit the type and number of nodes in the PLC system, as long as the nodes can communicate based on power lines. In this application, "node" can be replaced by "communication device". The communication device can be the communication equipment described above, or some components of the communication equipment, or logic modules or software used to implement all or part of the functions of the communication equipment.

[0103] Current power line communication (PLC) protocols stipulate that multiple nodes use a time-division multiple access (TDMA) mechanism to multiplex channels and employ a carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) mechanism to compete for channel space in order to transmit data. Figure 2-1 schematically illustrates the process of STA 1 to STA 4 transmitting data to the PCO via the time-division multiplexed channels. As shown in Figure 2-1, the horizontal axis represents the time resource (denoted as t) corresponding to the channel, and the vertical axis represents the frequency resource (denoted as f) corresponding to the channel. Data 1 is the data transmitted by STA 1, data 2 is the data transmitted by STA 2, data 3 is the data transmitted by STA 3, and data 4 is the data transmitted by STA 4. STA 1 to STA 4 occupy different time resources to transmit data 1 to data 4 to the PCO respectively. However, in power grid scenarios where the number of nodes is usually large, the probability of channel contention and collisions is high, which can easily exacerbate network congestion.

[0104] Analysis revealed that the carrier frequency defined by the PLC protocol is 0.7–12 MHz. Within the 11.3 MHz wide bandwidth, different nodes may exhibit frequency selectivity, thus creating a suitable scenario for applying OFDMA technology, especially in small packet service scenarios. Figure 2-2 schematically illustrates the process of STA 1–STA 4 transmitting data to the PCO via the frequency division multiplexing channel. As shown in Figure 2-2, STA 1–STA 4 transmit data 1–data 4 to the PCO respectively using different frequency resources at the same time. Using OFDMA allows for the simultaneous scheduling of data transmission from multiple nodes, reducing the number of frames sent across the network and thus lowering the probability of channel contention. This application uses frequency division multiplexing as an example of OFDMA; however, this application does not limit the specific method of frequency division multiplexing, as long as multiple nodes can transmit or receive data using different frequency resources at the same time.

[0105] In general, a subset of nodes in a PLC system support frequency division multiplexing (FDM). Assuming that multiple nodes within the dashed box in Figure 1 all support FDM, for ease of description, a group of nodes that support FDM is referred to as a transmission node group. In the transmission node group, at least one node can trigger downlink (DL) transmission and / or uplink (UL) transmission. This application collectively refers to DL transmission and UL transmission as frequency division multiplexing transmission, and the node used to trigger FDM transmission is called the scheduling node, while the node scheduled to participate in FDM transmission is called the scheduled node. This application does not limit the types of scheduling nodes and scheduled nodes. For example, the scheduling node can be a CCO / PCO / STA node, and the scheduled node can also be a CCO / PCO / STA node. This application does not limit the number of scheduled nodes. The following description uses PCO as the scheduling node and STA 1 to STA 4 as scheduled nodes.

[0106] Generally, during DL (Deep Stream) transmission, the scheduling node sends a DL data frame, the scheduled node receives the DL data frame, and then the scheduling node sends a trigger frame, while the scheduled node replies with an acknowledgement (ACK) frame. During UL (Ultra Stream) transmission, the scheduling node sends a trigger frame, the scheduled node sends a UL data frame, and the scheduling node replies with an ACK frame.

[0107] Figure 3-1 schematically illustrates one possible process of DL transmission. For the sake of brevity, Figure 3-1 only schematically shows the interaction process between the PCO and STA1 and STA2 respectively. The "STA1 and STA2, etc." mentioned later can be understood as "STA1 to STA4". The interaction process between the PCO and STA3 and the interaction process between the PCO and STA4 can be referred to as the interaction process between the PCO and STA1 or with STA2, respectively. As shown in step S301 of Figure 3-1, the PCO sends DL data frames to STA1 and STA2, etc., respectively, and STA1 and STA2, etc., receive the data frames respectively. Figure 3-2 schematically shows the frame format of the data frames sent by the PCO to STA1 to STA4 respectively. In this diagram, "pream" represents the preamble, "FC1" and "FC2" represent frame control information 1 and frame control information 2, respectively, "TF1" to "TF4" represent the training fields for STA 1 to STA 4, and "PL1" to "PL4" represent the payload information for STA 1 to STA 4. The training fields are used for demodulation of the payload information, which typically carries data (called DL data) sent from the scheduling node to the scheduled node. FC2 indicates the terminal equipment identifier (TEI) of STA 1 to STA 4 and the transmission frequency bands of the training fields and payload information for each scheduled node. The transmission frequency bands can be represented by resource unit (RU) indices, with each RU corresponding to a carrier frequency band. Figure 3-3 schematically illustrates the carrier frequency bands corresponding to multiple RUs with different indices. Figure 3-3 uses multiple RUs with indices ranging from 0 to 14 as an example; this application does not limit the range of RU indices. In Figure 3-3, the horizontal axis represents the carrier sequence number. Taking RU0 as an example, the carrier frequency band corresponding to RU0 includes multiple carriers with sequence numbers from 32 to 490. After receiving the DL data frame, STA 1 and STA 2 receive training symbols and payload information from the corresponding RU based on the information in FC1 and FC2. For example, STA 1 receives TF1 and PL1, and STA 2 receives TF2 and PL2.

[0108] As shown in step S302 of Figure 3-1, after a duration of 1, the PCO sends trigger frames to STA 1 and STA 2, respectively, to trigger STA 1 and STA 2 to send ACK frames. The frame format of the trigger frames sent by the PCO to STA 1 through STA 4 can be seen in Figure 3-2. FC1 indicates the frame type, and FC2 indicates the transmission frequency of the TEI and ACK frames for STA 1 through STA 4 (which can be represented by the RU index). After receiving the trigger frame, multiple nodes, including STA 1 and STA 2, determine whether they need to reply with an ACK frame and the transmission frequency of the ACK frame based on FC2 in the trigger frame.

[0109] As shown in step S303 of Figure 3-1, multiple nodes, including STA1 and STA2, send ACK frames on the frequency resources indicated by FC2 in the trigger frame at an agreed time point (e.g., t2 hours after the trigger frame). The ACK frame format is shown in Figure 3-2. The transmitting frequency segment of the preamble symbol "pream" is the frequency resource indicated by FC2 in the trigger frame. "U1 FC1" to "U4 FC4" represent FC1 of STA 1 to STA 4, respectively, and contain reception result information for the DL data frame (or payload information in the DL data frame). The reception result information can indicate whether the reception was successful. The transmitting frequency segments of "U1 FC1" to "U4 FC4" are the frequency resources of each STA indicated by FC2 in the trigger frame. The PCO receives the ACK frames sent by multiple nodes, including STA1 and STA2, on the frequency resources (e.g., RU) corresponding to each STA, decodes the ACK frame content, and determines whether the payload information in the DL data frame needs to be retransmitted based on the information in the ACK frame.

[0110] Figure 4-1 schematically illustrates another possible process of DL transmission. Similar to Figure 3-1, for the sake of brevity, Figure 4-1 only schematically illustrates the interaction process between the PCO and STA1 and STA2 respectively. The "STA1 and STA2, etc." mentioned later can be understood as "STA1 to STA4". The interaction process between the PCO and STA3 and the interaction process between the PCO and STA4 can be referred to as the interaction process between the PCO and STA1 or with STA2 respectively. As shown in step S401 of Figure 4-1, the PCO sends DL data frames to STA1 and STA2 respectively, and STA1 and STA2 receive the data frames respectively. Figure 4-2 schematically illustrates the frame format of the data frames sent by the PCO to STA1 to STA4 respectively. After receiving the DL data frames, STA1 and STA2 receive training symbols and payload information from the corresponding RUs according to the information in FC1 and FC2. For example, STA1 receives TF1 and PL1, and STA2 receives TF2 and PL2.

[0111] As shown in step S402 of Figure 4-1, multiple nodes, including STA1 and STA2, transmit ACK frames on the frequency resources indicated in FC2 of the DL data frame for receiving payload information in the DL data frame at an agreed time point (e.g., after time t3 after the DL data frame). The format of the ACK frame received by the PCO can be seen in Figure 4-2. The transmission frequency bands of the preamble symbols “pream” and “U1 FC1” to “U4 FC4” are the frequency resources of each STA indicated in FC2 of the DL data frame. For example, STA1 receives TF1 and PL1 through the frequency resources of STA1 indicated in FC2 of the DL data frame, and transmits the preamble symbols “pream” and “U1 FC1” after time t3. The PCO receives the ACK frames transmitted by multiple nodes, including STA1 and STA2, on the frequency resources (e.g., RU) corresponding to each STA, decodes the ACK frame content, and determines whether the payload information in the DL data frame needs to be retransmitted based on the information in the ACK frame.

[0112] In some cases, a subset of nodes in a communication network (e.g., STA 5 shown in Figure 1) support a subset of the frequency bands supported by the aforementioned group of transmission nodes. Figure 5 schematically illustrates the frequency resources occupied by the ACK frames sent by STA 1 to STA 4 to the PCO during the process shown in Figure 3-1 or Figure 4-1. In Figure 5, rectangles represent the frequency resources or frequency bands corresponding to the respective RUs, and rectangles marked with "..." indicate that no signal is transmitted on the frequency resources of the corresponding RUs. As shown in Figure 5, STA 1 to STA 4 transmit ACK frame signals on RU9, RU10, RU11, and RU12, respectively. Assume that STA 5 supports the frequency resources corresponding to RU8, but does not support the frequency resources corresponding to RU9 to RU12. When STA 5 needs to send a DL data frame to STA 1, since STA 5 does not detect a signal on its supported frequency resources (i.e., corresponding to RU8) at the time resource corresponding to the ACK frame, STA 5 may send a DL data frame at the time resource corresponding to the ACK frame, causing the ACK frame to conflict or collide with the DL data frame sent by STA 5, which is detrimental to reducing the probability of contention channel collisions. For example, STA 1 is in the sending state while sending an ACK frame and cannot receive data, which causes STA 1 to fail to receive the DL data frame sent to it by STA 5.

[0113] Therefore, this application proposes that STA 1 to STA 4, in addition to transmitting signals on the frequency resources scheduled by the PCO in the ACK frame, also transmit signals on the frequency resources corresponding to RU8. Thus, when STA 5 needs to send a DL data frame to STA 1, since STA 5 detects the signal on the time resource corresponding to the ACK frame, it can back off, i.e., not transmit data on that time resource, avoiding conflict or collision between the ACK frame and the DL data frame sent by STA 5, thereby reducing the probability of channel contention. Alternatively, when a scheduled node sends an ACK frame, it can use signal transmission in the network frequency band to prevent surrounding nodes from transmitting conflicting signals, reducing the probability of collision. The following text uses RU8 as an example of the network frequency band shown in Figure 5.

[0114] The following describes the solution provided by this application based on the above concept, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0115] Still assuming that the frequency resources of the ACK frames scheduled by PCO for STA 1 to STA 4 correspond to RU9 to RU12 respectively, that is, STA 1 is used to send ACK frames on the frequency resources corresponding to RU9, STA 2 is used to send ACK frames on the frequency resources corresponding to RU10, and so on, STA 4 is used to send ACK frames on the frequency resources corresponding to RU12. Figure 6 schematically shows the frame structure of the DL data frames sent by STA 1 to STA 4 to PCO respectively.

[0116] Unlike the ACK frame sent by the STA in Figure 5, the scheme provided in this application involves the STA transmitting signals (i.e., signals carrying TF and PL) on the frequency resources scheduled for sending the ACK frame, and also transmitting signals (i.e., signals carrying pream and FC1) on the frequency resources corresponding to RU8. This facilitates STA 5 backoff, meaning it does not transmit data on that time resource, avoiding conflicts or collisions between the ACK frame and the DL data frame sent by STA 5, thereby reducing the probability of contention for channel collisions.

[0117] The first communication device described above can be understood with reference to the PCO, and at least one second communication device can be understood with reference to at least one of STA 1 to STA 4. The first frame sent by the second communication device described above can be understood with reference to the ACK frame sent by the corresponding STA to the PCO in the example corresponding to Figure 6.

[0118] As described above, the first frame sent by the second communication device to the first communication device includes third and fourth information. Taking the second communication device as STA1 as an example, the third information can be understood by referring to PL1 in the ACK frame sent by STA1 to PCO as shown in Figure 6, or by referring to TF1 and PL1 in the ACK frame. The fourth information can be understood by referring to pream and / or FC1 in the ACK frame sent by STA1 to PCO as shown in Figure 6. TF1 or pream sent by STA1 before PL1 is beneficial for PCO to successfully receive PL1.

[0119] The meaning of TF1 can be understood by referring to the relevant content above. For example, "TF1" represents the training symbol of STA 1, which can be used for demodulation of PL1 later.

[0120] The meaning of PL1 can be understood by referring to the relevant content above. For example, "PL1" represents the payload information of STA 1. The payload information in the ACK frame is used to carry the content of the ACK frame. For example, the payload information generally carries the data sent by the scheduling node to the scheduled node (called DL data). As introduced above, the third information includes response data and / or second data. Accordingly, PL1 includes the response data of STA 1 to the PCO for the DL data and / or the UL data sent by STA 1 to the PCO. Figure 6 shows that the ACK content (e.g., response data and / or UL data) in the ACK frame is encoded in the same way as the DL data in the DL data frame, that is, TF and PL encoding, which is beneficial for the ACK frame to carry larger UL data.

[0121] The meaning of "pream" can be understood by referring to the relevant content above. For example, "pream" means preamble symbol. As shown in Figure 6, STA 1 to STA 4 transmit preamble symbols in the ACK frame through the frequency resources corresponding to RU8.

[0122] The meaning of FC1 can be understood by referring to the relevant content above. For example, "FC1" represents Frame Control Information 1. FC1 includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: frame type information, TF indication information, PL indication information, transmitting node information, destination node information, or frequency band information. Among them, transmitting node information can also be called source node information. Frame type information can indicate the type of the frame. For example, in an ACK frame, the frame type information included in FC1 indicates that the frame is an ACK frame. TF indication information can indicate the number of training symbols in the TF. PL indication information can indicate the number of physical blocks (PB) in PL1. Destination node information indicates the identifier of the node receiving the ACK frame. For example, in an ACK frame, the destination node information included in FC1 indicates the identifier of the PCO. Transmitting node information indicates the identifier of the node sending the ACK frame. As mentioned above, the fourth information in the first frame sent by different second communication devices has the same content. Correspondingly, the destination node information included in FC1 in the ACK frames sent by each STA is the same. As shown in Figure 6, STA 1 to STA 4 respectively transmit FC1 in the ACK frame through the frequency resource corresponding to RU8. The frequency band information can indicate the frequency band occupied by the ACK frames transmitted by STA 1 to STA 4. This frequency band can refer to the frequency band between the lowest and highest frequencies in the ACK frames transmitted by each STA (denoted as bw). This is beneficial for the PCO to perform reception filtering of ACK frames based on bw. This application does not limit the method by which the STA determines bw. For example, the STA can determine the frequency resources scheduled by the PCO for each STA to transmit ACK frames based on FC2 in the trigger frame shown in Figure 3-2 or FC2 in the DL data frame shown in Figure 4-2. For example, bw is the frequency band corresponding to RU9 to RU12, such as the frequency band between the carrier corresponding to carrier number 124 and the carrier corresponding to carrier number 340 shown in Figure 3-3.

[0123] The indication information of the first communication device included in the fourth information introduced above can be understood with reference to the destination node information, and the length information of the third information included in the fourth information introduced above can be understood with reference to the TF indication information and / or PL indication information.

[0124] This application does not limit the method by which the PCO schedules frequency resources for sending ACK frames to the STAs. For example, referring to the process shown in Figure 3-1, the PCO can schedule frequency resources for sending ACK frames for each STA by sending the trigger frame shown in Figure 3-2. Alternatively, referring to the process shown in Figure 4-1, the PCO can schedule frequency resources for sending ACK frames for each STA by using FC2 in the DL data frame shown in Figure 4-2.

[0125] In the process shown in Figure 3-1, the PCO needs to send a trigger frame to trigger the STA to send an ACK frame, increasing the time overhead. Although in the process shown in Figure 4-1, the PCO does not need to trigger the STA to send an ACK frame via a trigger frame, as explained earlier, STA 1 sends an ACK frame using the frequency resources indicated by FC2 in the DL data frame for receiving TF1 and PL1. This means that the frequency resources used by STA 1 to receive DL data in the DL data frame are necessarily the same as the frequency resources used by STA 1 to send an ACK frame. This makes this scheme only applicable to scenarios where uplink and downlink channels are reciprocal, and not applicable to scenarios where uplink and downlink channels are not reciprocal, hindering the widespread application of the scheme. Channel reciprocity means that the channel supports bidirectional transmission, or that the difference in channel quality between different directions of transmission on the channel is small. Channel non-reciprocity means that the channel does not support bidirectional transmission, or that the difference in channel quality between different directions of transmission on the channel is large.

[0126] Therefore, this application provides a method to save the time overhead caused by trigger frames, and the method is applicable to scenarios where uplink and downlink channels are reciprocal and non-reciprocal.

[0127] In this method, FC2 in the DL data frame includes not only indication information of the DL frequency resources corresponding to each STA (referred to as indication information 1), but also indication information of the UL frequency resources corresponding to each STA (referred to as indication information 2). The DL frequency resources corresponding to each STA are used for receiving DL data in the DL data frame, and the UL frequency resources corresponding to each STA are used for sending response data for the DL data. Assuming the PCO sends DL data frames to STAs 1 through 4 as shown in Figure 4-2, FC2 in the DL data frame can include the indication information corresponding to each STA. Taking STA1 as an example, the indication information corresponding to STA1 can include both indication information 1 and indication information 2. Thus, after the PCO sends the DL data frame, no trigger frame is needed; each STA can reply with an ACK frame on the specified frequency band, reducing the time overhead of a trigger frame. Furthermore, the DL frequency resources and UL frequency resources scheduled by the PCO for the STA can be different, making this scheme applicable not only to scenarios where uplink and downlink channels are reciprocal, but also to scenarios where uplink and downlink channels are not reciprocal, thus facilitating the widespread application of the scheme.

[0128] In addition to indication information 1 and indication information 2 for that STA, the indication information corresponding to the STA may also include other information corresponding to the STA. For example, the indication information corresponding to a single STA may include one or more fields from "PBNum" to "ACK RU" shown in Table 1. In Table 1, the field "TMI" is the transmission mode index (TMI) field, the field "RU" represents indication information 1, and the field "ACK RU" represents indication information 2.

[0129] Table 1

[0130] Optionally, FC2 may include other indication information in addition to the indication information corresponding to each STA. This other indication information may include the "CRC" field and / or the "PBNum_Offset" field shown in Table 1. The "CRC" field indicates the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits, used to ensure the integrity of FC2. The "PBNum_Offset" field indicates the PB number offset, or in other words, the PB reference number. The PB number indicated by the "PBNum" field in Table 1 can be a relative number, and the actual number of PBs in the DL data corresponding to the STA is the number indicated by PBNum for that STA plus the PB reference number in FC2. This helps reduce the length of the indication information corresponding to each STA, thereby supporting the PCO to carry more PBs in the DL data frame. Optionally, a PB reference number of 0 can represent 0, a PB reference number of 1 can represent 1, a PB reference number of 2 can represent 2, and a PB reference number of 3 can represent invalid.

[0131] The second frame described above can be understood by referring to the DL data frames in the examples corresponding to Figures 4-1 and 4-2. In the examples corresponding to Figures 4-1 and 4-2, PCO can be replaced by the first communication device described above, and STA 1 to STA 4 can be replaced by the second communication device described above, respectively.

[0132] In this application, a transmit frame can be understood as transmitting information or signals in the time resources corresponding to the frame, and a receive frame can be understood as receiving information or signals in the time resources corresponding to the frame.

[0133] The methods for saving time overhead caused by trigger frames and reducing the probability of contention channel collisions provided in this application can be used in combination. Figure 7-1 schematically illustrates the frame structure of frames transmitted and received by the PCO. As shown in Figure 7-1, within the time resources of the DL data frame starting at time T0, the PCO transmits DL data to STAs 1 through STA 4 respectively, with the DL data of different STAs carried on different frequency resources. At time T1, after a period of time (e.g., one or more frame intervals) following the end of the DL data frame, the PCO receives an ACK frame UL. This ACK frame UL includes the TF and PL transmitted by STAs 1 through STA 4 respectively, and the TF and PL transmitted by different STAs are carried on different frequency resources.

[0134] As mentioned earlier, the PL of the ACK frame sent by the STA can also carry UL data, which helps improve the transmission efficiency or MAC efficiency of the network system. In the example shown in Figure 7-1, the PL sent by at least one STA can include response data and UL data or UL data. Assume that the PL sent by STA1 includes UL data. Accordingly, at time T2, after a certain period of time (e.g., one or more frame intervals) after the end of the ACK frame UL, PC0 can send an ACK frame DL to STA1. The ACK frame DL can carry response data to the UL data (e.g., the reception status of the UL data). The meanings of pream, FC1, and FC2 in the ACK frame DL can be understood by referring to the relevant content above. Unlike before, FC2 can also include or carry response data to the UL data.

[0135] Figure 7-1 shows an example where at least one STA sends a PL containing UL data. The PLs sent by STA1 to STA4 may include response data, but none of them include UL data. Accordingly, as shown in Figure 7-2, the PCO may not send an ACK frame DL after receiving the ACK frame UL.

[0136] In the methods provided in the fifth and sixth aspects above, the first communication device sends messages to at least two second communication devices respectively. The messages include first indication information, first information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices, and second information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices. The second information corresponding to the second communication device includes the second indication information corresponding to the second communication device. For example, the message can be a DL data frame as described above, the first indication information can be the field "PBNum_Offset" in Table 1, the first information corresponding to the second communication device can be the information corresponding to a single STA, the second information corresponding to the second communication device can be the indication information corresponding to a single STA in FC2 within the DL data frame, and the second indication information corresponding to the second communication device can be the field "PBNum" in the indication information corresponding to a single STA.

[0137] The above describes the method provided in this application using the interaction process between one scheduling node (PCO) and four scheduled nodes as an example. Optionally, the method provided in this application can involve more or fewer nodes. For example, the scheduling node can send DL data frames to more or fewer scheduled nodes than four according to the method provided in this application. Correspondingly, more or fewer scheduled nodes can send ACK frames to the scheduling node separately according to the method provided in this application.

[0138] For at least one of the durations 1, 2 or 3 mentioned above, this application does not limit its duration size. For example, it can be the duration corresponding to one or more frame intervals.

[0139] The communication apparatus provided in the fifth aspect of this application has been described above. This communication apparatus may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit.

[0140] Optionally, the communication device can be used to perform the steps performed by the PCO mentioned above, or to perform the steps performed by the STA.

[0141] The preceding text also describes a communication apparatus provided in the sixth aspect of this application. This communication apparatus includes at least one processor for executing a computer program stored in a memory, causing the processor to perform the steps or processes described above for PCO or STA execution.

[0142] In some examples, the communication apparatus provided in the sixth aspect of this application can be the computer device shown in FIG8. As shown in FIG8, the computer device 8 includes a processor 801 and a memory 802.

[0143] The processor 801 can be one or more CPUs, which can be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

[0144] The memory 802 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), flash memory, or optical memory. The memory 802 stores instructions, or computer-readable instructions, or operating system and program instructions, or computer program instructions, or function programs. Optionally, the memory 802 can be non-volatile memory or volatile memory.

[0145] Optionally, the computer device 8 also includes a communication interface 803, which supports communication over power lines.

[0146] Optionally, the computer device also includes a bus 804, through which the processor 801 and memory 802 are typically interconnected, or in other ways.

[0147] The processor 801 reads and executes the program instructions stored in the memory 802 to cause the computer device 8 to perform the steps or processes described above by the PCO or STA.

[0148] Optionally, these instructions are stored in external memory of the computer device. When these instructions are decoded and executed by the processor 801 of the computer device 8, part or all of the contents of the instructions are temporarily stored in the internal memory 802 of the computer device 8. Optionally, part of the contents of these instructions are stored in external memory of the computer device 8, and other parts of the contents of these instructions are stored in the internal memory 802 of the computer device 8.

[0149] The preceding text also describes the communication apparatus provided in the seventh aspect of this application. This communication apparatus includes at least one logic circuit and an input / output interface, wherein the at least one logic circuit is used to implement the steps or processes executed by the PCO or STA as described above.

[0150] The preceding text also describes a chip (or chip device or chip system) provided in the eighth aspect of this application, which includes at least one processor for calling a computer program or computer instructions in memory to cause the processor to perform the steps or processes performed by the PCO or STA as described above. Optionally, the chip also includes interface circuitry through which at least one processor is coupled to the memory.

[0151] In this application, the processor mentioned anywhere may be a general-purpose central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of a program that controls the methods provided in any of the above embodiments. The memory mentioned anywhere above may be read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices capable of storing static information and instructions, such as random access memory (RAM).

[0152] The preceding text also describes the communication system provided in the ninth aspect of this application, which includes the communication network described above, such as the communication network shown in Figure 1.

[0153] The preceding text also describes a computer-readable storage medium provided in the tenth aspect of this application, which includes computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the steps or processes performed by the PCO or STA as described above.

[0154] The preceding text also describes the computer program product including computer instructions provided in the eleventh aspect of this application, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the steps or processes performed by the PCO or STA as described above.

[0155] In this application, the processing unit can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuitry. Specifically, the processor may include a modem chip, or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core. The transmitting unit and / or receiving unit can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuitry. The transmitting unit and / or receiving unit may also be referred to as a communication module or communication interface. The storage module can be implemented by at least one memory.

[0156] Optionally, in this application, when the communication device is a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions, such as a modem chip or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, the function of the processing unit can be implemented by a circuit system in the aforementioned chip that includes one or more processors or processing cores. The functions of the transmitting unit and / or receiving unit can be implemented by the interface circuit or data transceiver circuit on the aforementioned chip.

[0157] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the above-mentioned devices can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0158] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can 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 an indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units through some interfaces, and may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0159] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0160] Furthermore, 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. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0161] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the essential contribution of the technical solution of this application, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0162] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a communication network, the communication network including multiple communication devices and a power line, the multiple communication devices communicating through the power line, the multiple communication devices including a first communication device and a second communication device, the method includes: The system receives first information and second information sent by the first communication device. The first information includes first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device, and the second information includes indication information of a first frequency resource. The first frequency resource is used as response data for the second communication device to send the first data to the first communication device. A first frame is sent to the first communication device. The first frame includes third information carried on the first frequency resource. The third information includes the response data and / or second data. The first frame also includes fourth information carried on a second frequency resource that does not overlap with the first frequency resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fourth piece of information precedes the third piece of information in the time domain.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The fourth information includes the indication information of the first communication device, which indicates that the first frame is to be sent to the first communication device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The fourth information includes the length information of the third information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The length information of the third information is predefined or preset in the second communication device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The first and second information are located in the same second frame.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The second frame also includes fifth information, which indicates a third frequency resource used by the second communication device to receive the first information.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The second frequency resource is the networking frequency band of the communication network, and / or the second frequency resource is the frequency resource carrying the second information.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a communication network, the communication network including multiple communication devices and a power line, the multiple communication devices communicating through the power line, the multiple communication devices including a first communication device and at least two second communication devices, the method includes: In the same frame, at least two first information and second information corresponding to the second communication device are sent respectively. The first information corresponding to the second communication device includes first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device. The second information corresponding to the second communication device includes indication information of the first frequency resource of the second communication device. The first frequency resource of the second communication device is used as response data for the second communication device to send the first data to the first communication device. The system receives first frames sent by at least two of the second communication devices, each first frame including third information carried on the first frequency resource of the second communication device, the third information including the response data and / or the second data.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first frame transmitted by the second communication device also includes fourth information carried on a second frequency resource, the second frequency resource not overlapping with the first frequency resource of at least one of the second communication devices.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The fourth information sent by different second communication devices has the same content.

12. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a communication network, the communication network including multiple communication devices and a power line, the multiple communication devices communicating through the power line, the multiple communication devices including a first communication device and at least two second communication devices, the method includes: Messages are sent to at least two second communication devices respectively. Each message includes first indication information, first information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices, and second information corresponding to each of the at least two second communication devices. The first indication information is used to indicate a first value. The first information corresponding to the second communication device includes first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device. The second information corresponding to the second communication device includes second indication information corresponding to the second communication device. The second indication information corresponding to the second communication device is used to indicate the difference or ratio between the value of the first data sent by the first communication device to the second communication device and the first value.

13. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes multiple functional modules that interact with each other to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor and a memory, the memory being used to store program code, and the processor being used to invoke the program code in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. A communication system, characterized in that, The communication system includes a first communication device and a second communication device connected via power lines, the second communication device being used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8, and / or the first communication device being used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 9-11, and / or the first communication device being used to perform the method as described in claim 12.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores program code that, when executed by a processor in a computer device, implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

17. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the program code contained in the computer program product is executed by a processor in a computer device, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 12.

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