Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving channel scanning information from a second device, the channel scanning information comprising channel information corresponding to each first channel among at least one first channel acquired by the second device by performing channel scanning on the at least one first channel; and sending channel indication information to the second device, the channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel comprising a recommended channel for the second device to access, and the second channel being determined on the basis of the channel scanning information. By receiving the channel scanning information of the second device, a first device can indicate at least one recommended channel to the second device, so that the second device can reasonably use spectrum resources, thereby improving spectrum resource utilization.

Description

Communication method and communication apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411569957.8, filed on November 04, 2024, entitled “Communication method and communication apparatus”, and the Chinese Patent Application No. 202411761183.9, filed on November 29, 2024, entitled “Communication method and communication apparatus”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

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

[0003] With the development of communication technology, optical fiber transmission is increasingly used in communication systems, and fiber to the room (FTTR) is an important part of optical networks. The FTTR system includes a main device and a sub device, and the main device and the sub device are connected by an optical fiber. The main device is an optical network terminal (ONT) in a passive optical network (PON), and can also be referred to as an optical network unit (ONU), and is connected to an optical line terminal (OLT) of an operator terminal through an optical fiber.

[0004] In the FTTR system, the FTTR device can use a specific bandwidth size in a specific frequency band (such as 2.4 GHz, 5.8G or 6 GHz) to perform signal transmission by using radio waves. Since the frequency spectrum resources available for communication are limited, how to reasonably allocate frequency spectrum resources for signal transmission for each FTTR device is a problem that needs to be considered. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and a communication apparatus, which can improve the spectrum utilization.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a first device or a component (such as a chip or a circuit or a chip system) of the first device. Hereinafter, the execution by the first device is taken as an example for description.

[0007] The method comprises: receiving channel scanning information from a second device, the channel scanning information comprising channel information corresponding to each of at least one first channel obtained by the second device performing channel scanning on the at least one first channel; and sending channel indication information to the second device, the channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel comprising a recommended channel to be accessed by the second device, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

[0008] Based on the above scheme, the first device can indicate at least one recommended channel to the second device based on channel scanning information of the second device, so as to enable the second device to reasonably utilize spectrum resources and improve spectrum resource utilization.

[0009] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel information comprises at least one of: a channel utilization rate, a channel noise, and information of a neighboring basic service set (BSS) found on the each first channel; the information of the neighboring BSS comprises at least one of: a number of the neighboring BSS, an identifier of each BSS in the neighboring BSS, a number of stations included in each BSS in the neighboring BSS, and channel information of each BSS in the neighboring BSS; and the channel information of each BSS comprises at least one of: a signal quality of each BSS, a channel bandwidth of each BSS, and a channel utilization rate of each BSS.

[0010] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel scanning information further comprises at least one of: a number of first radio frequencies, an identifier of each first radio frequency, and information of a first operation set corresponding to the each first radio frequency; wherein the first radio frequency is used to perform the channel scanning, the information of the first operation set comprises at least one of a number of the first operation sets and information of channels included in the first operation set, the information of channels included in the first operation set comprises at least one of a number of channels included in the first operation set and a channel identifier, and the channels included in the first operation set comprise the at least one first channel.

[0011] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel scanning information further comprises at least one of: time information of performing the channel scanning, and a scanning type of performing the channel scanning; wherein the time information comprises at least one of a start time, an end time, and a scanning duration, and the scanning type comprises an active scanning or a passive scanning.

[0012] In some implementations of the first aspect, scanning capability information of the second device is received, the scanning capability information indicating a capability of the second device for performing channel scanning.

[0013] In some implementations of the first aspect, the scanning capability information comprises at least one of: a number of the second radio frequencies, an identity of each of the second radio frequencies and information of a second operation set corresponding to the each of the second radio frequencies, and a minimum scanning interval; wherein the second radio frequencies are radio frequencies supported by the second device for channel scanning, the information of the second operation set comprises at least one of a number of the second operation sets and information of channels included in the second operation set, the information of the channels included in the second operation set comprises at least one of a number of the channels included in the second operation set and an identity of the channels, and the minimum scanning interval indicates a minimum time interval between two consecutive channel scans.

[0014] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel priority information comprises at least one of: a number of the third radio frequencies, an identity of each of the third radio frequencies and information of a third operation set corresponding to the each of the third radio frequencies; wherein the third radio frequencies are radio frequencies used for channel scanning on the third channels, and the information of the third operation set comprises at least one of a number of the third operation sets and information of channels included in the third operation set, the information of the channels included in the third operation set comprises at least one of a number of the channels included in the third operation set, an identity of the channels, and an operational priority of the channels, and the third channels are included in the channels included in the third operation set.

[0015] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel priority information comprises at least one of: a number of the third radio frequencies, an identity of each of the third radio frequencies and information of a third operation set corresponding to the each of the third radio frequencies; wherein the third radio frequencies are radio frequencies used for channel scanning on the third channels, and the information of the third operation set comprises at least one of a number of the third operation sets and information of channels included in the third operation set, the information of the channels included in the third operation set comprises at least one of a number of the channels included in the third operation set, an identity of the channels, and an operational priority of the channels, and the third channels are included in the channels included in the third operation set.

[0016] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first channel scanning request comprises at least one of: first indication information, second indication information, a scanning period, and information of third radio frequencies; wherein the first indication information indicates to start a task of channel scanning on the at least one first channel, the second indication information indicates whether to perform periodic channel scanning, the scanning period indicates a period of performing the periodic channel scanning, and the information of the third radio frequencies comprises at least one of a number of the third radio frequencies, an identity of each of the third radio frequencies and information of a fourth operation set corresponding to the each of the third radio frequencies, the third radio frequencies are radio frequencies requested for channel scanning, the information of the fourth operation set comprises at least one of a number of the fourth operation sets and information of channels included in the fourth operation set, and the information of the channels included in the fourth operation set comprises at least one of a number of the channels included in the fourth operation set and an identity of the channels.

[0017] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first channel scanning request comprises at least one of: first indication information, second indication information, a scanning period, and information of third radio frequencies; wherein the first indication information indicates to start a task of channel scanning on the at least one first channel, the second indication information indicates whether to perform periodic channel scanning, the scanning period indicates a period of performing the periodic channel scanning, and the information of the third radio frequencies comprises at least one of a number of the third radio frequencies, an identity of each of the third radio frequencies and information of the fourth operation set corresponding to the each of the third radio frequencies, the third radio frequencies are radio frequency requested for channel scanning, the information of the fourth operation set comprises at least one of a number the fourth operation sets and information of channels included in the fourth operation set, and the information of channels included in the fourth operation set comprises at least one of a number of the channels included in fourth operation set and an identity of the channels.

[0018] In some implementations of the first aspect, a first channel scanning response from the second device is received, the first channel scanning request comprises at least one of: third indication information, fourth indication information; wherein the third indication information indicates whether to agree with the first channel scanning request, and the fourth indication information indicates whether to agree to perform the periodic channel scanning.

[0019] In some implementations of the first aspect, before receiving the channel scanning information from the second device, a second channel scanning request from the second device is received, the second channel scanning request is used to request to perform channel scanning on the at least one first information.

[0020] In some implementations of the first aspect, the first channel scanning request comprises at least one of: first indication information, fifth indication information; wherein the first indication information indicates to start a task of performing channel scanning on the at least one first channel, and the fifth indication information indicates to assign an identification of a scanning task for the channel scanning.

[0021] In some implementations of the first aspect, the method further comprises: sending a second channel scanning response to the second device, the second channel scanning response comprises at least one of: sixth indication information, the identification of the scanning task; wherein the sixth indication information indicates to agree with the second channel scanning request.

[0022] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel indication information comprises fourth radio frequency information, the fourth radio frequency information comprises at least one of: a number of the fourth radio frequencies, an identification of each of the fourth radio frequencies, and fifth operation set information corresponding to each of the fourth radio frequencies; wherein the fourth radio frequencies are radio frequencies for operating on the second channel, the fifth operation set information comprises at least one of: a number of the fifth operation sets, and information of channels included in the fifth operation sets, the information of channels included in the fifth operation sets comprises at least one of: a number, an identification, and an operating priority of the channels included in the fifth operation sets, and the channels included in the fifth operation sets comprise the at least one second channel.

[0023] In some implementations of the first aspect, a second channel selection response from the second device is received, the second channel selection response comprises the identification of each of the fourth radio frequencies, and a response result corresponding to each of the fourth radio frequencies; wherein the response result indicates whether to accept the channel corresponding to each of the radio frequencies.

[0024] In some implementations of the first aspect, the operating channel information from the second device is received, the operating channel information indicating information of an operating channel of the second device, the operating channel being used for signal transmission, the information of the operating channel including information of fifth radio frequencies, the information of the fifth radio frequencies including at least one of the following: a number of the fifth radio frequencies, an identity of each of the fifth radio frequencies, and information of a sixth operating set corresponding to each of the fifth radio frequencies, wherein the fifth radio frequencies are radio frequencies used for operating the operating channel, the information of the sixth operating set including at least one of a number of the sixth operating set and information of channels included in the sixth operating set, the information of the channels included in the sixth operating set including at least one of a number and an identity of the channels included in the sixth operating set, and the channels included in the sixth operating set including the operating channel.

[0025] In some implementations of the first aspect, the channel scanning information from the second device is received when a first condition is met, the first condition including that the first device and at least one device are in a different channel networking group, and the at least one device including the second device.

[0026] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be performed by a second device or by a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit or a chip system) of the second device. Hereinafter, the method performed by the second device is described as an example.

[0027] The method includes: sending, to a first device, channel scanning information including channel information corresponding to each of at least one first channel obtained by the second device performing channel scanning on the at least one first channel; and receiving, from the first device, channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel including a recommended channel to be accessed by the second device, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

[0028] Based on the above scheme, the second device can send the channel scanning information to the first device, so that the first device indicates at least one recommended channel to the second device based on the channel scanning information, and the second device can reasonably utilize the spectrum resource and improve the spectrum resource utilization rate.

[0029] In some implementations of the second aspect, the channel information can refer to the description in the implementations of the first aspect.

[0030] In some implementations of the second aspect, the scanning capability information is sent to the first device, the scanning capability information indicating a capability of the second device for performing channel scanning.

[0031] In some implementations of the second aspect, the scanning capability information refers to the description in the first aspect.

[0032] In some implementations of the second aspect, the channel priority information is transmitted to the first device, the channel priority information indicating at least one third channel, the third channel being a channel desired for channel scanning.

[0033] In some implementations of the second aspect, the channel priority information is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0034] In some implementations of the second aspect, before the channel scanning information is transmitted to the first device, a first channel scanning request is received from the first device, the first channel scanning request being used to request channel scanning on the at least one first channel.

[0035] In some implementations of the second aspect, the first channel scanning request is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0036] In some implementations of the second aspect, a first channel scanning response is transmitted to the first device, the first channel scanning request including at least one of the following information: third indication information, fourth indication information; wherein the third indication information indicates whether to agree to the first channel scanning request, and the fourth indication information indicates whether to agree to perform the periodic channel scanning.

[0037] In some implementations of the second aspect, before the channel scanning information is transmitted to the first device, a second channel scanning request is transmitted to the first device, the second channel scanning request being used to request channel scanning on the at least one first information.

[0038] In some implementations of the second aspect, the first channel scanning request is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0039] In some implementations of the second aspect, a second channel scanning response is received from the first device, the second channel scanning response being described with reference to the first aspect.

[0040] In some implementations of the second aspect, the channel indication information is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0041] In some implementations of the second aspect, a second channel selection response is transmitted to the first device, the second channel selection response including an identity of each fourth radio frequency and a response result corresponding to each fourth radio frequency; wherein the response result indicates whether to accept channel scanning on a channel corresponding to each radio frequency.

[0042] In some implementations of the second aspect, operation channel information is transmitted to the first device, the operation channel information being described with reference to the first aspect.

[0043] In some implementations of the second aspect, the channel scanning information is sent to the first device if a first condition is met, the first condition comprising that the first device and the at least one device are in different channel groups, the at least one device comprising the second device.

[0044] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be the first device, or a component (e.g., a chip or circuit or chip system) of the first device. The apparatus can have the functions of implementing the first aspect. For example, the apparatus includes modules or units or means corresponding to the operations of the first aspect, which can be implemented in software, or in hardware, or in a combination of software and hardware.

[0045] Specifically, the apparatus includes a transceiver configured to receive channel scanning information from a second device, the channel scanning information comprising channel information corresponding to each of at least one first channel obtained by the second device performing channel scanning on the at least one first channel; and the transceiver is further configured to send channel indication information to the second device, the channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel comprising a recommended channel for the second device to access, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

[0046] In some implementations of the third aspect, the channel information is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0047] In some implementations of the third aspect, the channel scanning information is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0048] In some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive channel priority information from the second device, the channel priority information indicating at least one third channel, the third channel being a desired channel for channel scanning.

[0049] In some implementations of the third aspect, the channel priority information is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0050] In some implementations of the third aspect, before receiving the channel scanning information from the second device, the transceiver is further configured to send a first channel scanning request to the second device, the first channel scanning request being used to request channel scanning on the at least one first channel.

[0051] In some implementations of the third aspect, the first channel scanning request is described with reference to the first aspect.

[0052] In some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiving unit is further configured to receive a first channel scanning response from the second device, the first channel scanning request comprising at least one of: third indication information, fourth indication information; wherein the third indication information indicates whether to agree with the first channel scanning request, and the fourth indication information indicates whether to agree to perform the periodic channel scanning.

[0053] In some implementations of the third aspect, before receiving the channel scanning information from the second device, the transceiving unit is further configured to receive a second channel scanning request from the second device, the second channel scanning request being used to request to perform channel scanning on the at least one first information.

[0054] In some implementations of the third aspect, the first channel scanning request refers to the description of the first aspect.

[0055] In some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiving unit is further configured to send a second channel scanning response to the second device, the second channel scanning response comprising at least one of: sixth indication information, an identification of the scanning task; wherein the sixth indication information indicates to agree with the second channel scanning request.

[0056] In some implementations of the third aspect, the channel indication information refers to the description of the first aspect.

[0057] In some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiving unit is further configured to receive a second channel selection response from the second device, the second channel selection response comprising an identification of each fourth radio frequency and a corresponding response result of each fourth radio frequency; wherein the response result indicates whether to accept the channel corresponding to each radio frequency.

[0058] In some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiving unit is further configured to receive operation channel information from the second device, the operation channel information indicating information of an operation channel of the second device, the operation channel being used for signal transmission, and the information of the operation channel referring to the description of the first aspect.

[0059] In some implementations of the third aspect, when a first condition is met, the transceiving unit is further configured to receive the channel scanning information from the second device, the first condition comprising that the apparatus and at least one device are in a heterogeneous channel networking, and the at least one device comprising the second device.

[0060] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which can be a second device or a component (e.g., a chip or a circuit or a chip system) of the second device. The apparatus can have the function of the second aspect. For example, the apparatus includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the operations of the second aspect, which can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0061] The apparatus includes a transceiver configured to send, to a first device, channel scanning information including channel information corresponding to each of at least one first channel obtained by the apparatus performing channel scanning on the at least one first channel; and receive, from the first device, channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel including a recommended channel for the apparatus to access, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

[0062] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the channel information can be described with reference to the description of the third aspect.

[0063] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send, to the first device, scanning capability information indicating a capability of the apparatus to perform channel scanning.

[0064] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the scanning capability information can be described with reference to the description of the third aspect.

[0065] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send, to the first device, channel preference information indicating at least one third channel, the third channel being a desired channel for channel scanning.

[0066] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the channel preference information can be described with reference to the description of the third aspect.

[0067] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, before the sending, to the first device, of the channel scanning information, the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the first device, a first channel scanning request requesting the channel scanning on the at least one first channel.

[0068] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first channel scanning request can be described with reference to the description of the third aspect.

[0069] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send a first channel scanning response to the first device, the first channel scanning request comprising at least one of: third indication information, fourth indication information; wherein the third indication information indicates whether to agree with the first channel scanning request, and the fourth indication information indicates whether to agree to perform the periodic channel scanning.

[0070] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, before the sending of the channel scanning information to the first device, the transceiver is further configured to send a second channel scanning request to the first device, the second channel scanning request being used to request the channel scanning of the at least one first information.

[0071] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first channel scanning request refers to the description of the third aspect.

[0072] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to receive a second channel scanning response from the first device, the second channel scanning response referring to the description of the third aspect.

[0073] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the channel indication information refers to the description of the third aspect.

[0074] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send a second channel selection response to the first device, the second channel selection response comprising an identity of each fourth radio frequency and a response result corresponding to each fourth radio frequency; wherein the response result indicates whether to accept the channel corresponding to each radio frequency.

[0075] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, the transceiver is further configured to send operation channel information to the first device, the operation channel information referring to the description of the third aspect.

[0076] In some implementations of the fourth aspect, when a first condition is met, the transceiver is further configured to send the channel scanning information to the first device, the first condition comprising that the first device and at least one device are in a heterogeneous channel networking, and the at least one device comprises the apparatus.

[0077] It should be understood that the descriptions of the third aspect to the fourth aspect which are not fully detailed can refer to the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0078] In a fifth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising: a memory configured to store a program; and at least one processor configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to perform the method provided in any of the aspects or the implementations thereof.

[0079] In an implementation, the apparatus is the first device or the second device.

[0080] In another implementation, the apparatus is a chip, a chip system or a circuit in the first device or the second device.

[0081] In a sixth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, which comprises at least one processor and a communication interface, the at least one processor being configured to acquire a computer program or instructions stored in a memory via the communication interface, so as to execute the method provided in any one of the aspects or the implementation manners thereof. The communication interface can be implemented by hardware or software.

[0082] In an implementation manner, the apparatus further comprises a memory.

[0083] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, which is configured to execute the method provided in the aspects.

[0084] For the sending and acquiring / receiving operations of the processor, if no special description is provided, or if it does not contradict the actual role or inherent logic in the related description, it can be understood as the output and receiving, input operations of the processor, or the sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna, which are not limited in the present application.

[0085] In an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores program codes for execution by a device, and the program codes comprise codes for executing the method provided in any one of the aspects or the implementation manners thereof.

[0086] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the computer program product is executed on a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method provided in any one of the aspects or the implementation manners thereof.

[0087] In a tenth aspect, a chip is provided, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, the processor being configured to read instructions stored in a memory via the communication interface, and execute the method provided in any one of the aspects or the implementation manners thereof. The communication interface can be implemented by hardware or software.

[0088] Optionally, as an implementation manner, the chip further comprises a memory, the memory storing computer programs or instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the processor is configured to execute the method provided in any one of the aspects or the implementation manners thereof.

[0089] When the method provided in the present application is executed by the chip, the present application does not limit the number of chips for implementing the method of the present application, for example, the method can be executed by one chip, or two or more chips. When the number of chips for implementing the method of the present application is two or more, the chips can be from the same manufacturer or different manufacturers.

[0090] In a eleventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which, when executed on a computer, causes the method provided by any of the above aspects or implementation forms thereof to be performed.

[0091] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the first device and the second device as above.

[0092] It should be understood that the beneficial effects of the fifth aspect to the twelfth aspect and any implementation form thereof can be referred to the first aspect and the second aspect and any implementation form thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0093] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario to which the present application is applicable.

[0094] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which the present application is applicable.

[0095] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario to which the present application is applicable.

[0096] Fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided by the present application.

[0097] Fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 500 provided by the present application.

[0098] Fig. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 provided by the present application.

[0099] Fig. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 700 provided by the present application.

[0100] Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 are schematic structural diagrams of a communication apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0101] The technical solutions in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0102] The embodiments of the present application can be applied to a wireless local area network (WLAN), for example, an institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 related standard, such as 802.11a / b / g standard, 802.11n standard, 802.11ac standard, 802.11ax standard (that is, Wi-Fi 6, also known as high efficient (HE) standard), 802.11be standard (that is, Wi-Fi 7, also known as extremely high throughput (EHT) standard), 802.11bn standard (that is, Wi-Fi 8, also known as ultra high reliability (UHR) standard), or Wi-Fi 8 next generation standard, and the like, including 802.11ad, 802.11ay standard, and the like. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to a wireless local area network system supporting integrated millimeter wave (IMMW), and can also be applied to a wireless local area network system supporting ultra wide band (UWB), such as 802.15 series standard, and can also be applied to a sensing system, such as 802.11bf series standard, or can be applied to wireless positioning, such as 802.11az, and the present application can also support spark link, near link, and the like standard protocol.

[0103] The various aspects involved in the embodiments of the present application can be extended to other networks using various standards or protocols, for example, high performance radio local area network (HIPERLAN), wireless wide area network (WWAN), wireless personal area network (WPAN), or other now known or later developed networks. Therefore, regardless of the coverage range and wireless access protocol used, the various aspects provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to any suitable wireless network.

[0104] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various communication systems, for example: a WLAN communication system, a Wi-Fi system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD), a universal mobile communication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5th generation (5G) system or new radio (NR), a future communication system, an internet of things (IoT) network or a vehicle to x (V2X), and the like.

[0105] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to various passive optical network (PON) systems, for example, next-generation PON (NG-PON), NG-PON1, NG-PON2, gigabit-capable PON (GPON), 10 gigabit per second PON (XG-PON), 10-gigabit-capable symmetric passive optical network (XGS-PON), Ethernet PON (EPON), 10 gigabit per second EPON (10G-EPON), next-generation EPON (NG-EPON), wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) PON, time-and wavelength-division multiplexing (TWDM) PON, point-to-point WDM PON, asynchronous transfer mode PON (APON), broadband PON (BPON), and the like, as well as 25 gigabit per second PON (25G-PON), 50 gigabit per second PON (50G-PON), 100 gigabit per second PON (100G-PON), 25 gigabit per second EPON (25G-EPON), 50 gigabit per second EPON (50G-EPON), 100 gigabit per second EPON (100G-EPON), and GPON, EPON and the like at other rates. It can also be used in optical transport network (OTN) and the like optical network.

[0106] The above communication system to which the present application is applied is only illustrative, and the communication system to which the present application is applied is not limited thereto.

[0107] A WLAN can include a plurality of basic service sets (BSSs), each of which corresponds to a BSS color, which is used to uniquely identify a BSS. Network nodes in a BSS are collectively referred to as stations (STAs). Among them, a station can be an access point (AP) type station or a non-AP type station (non-AP STA), which are referred to as AP and non-AP station for short, respectively. Each BSS can include an AP and a plurality of non-AP stations associated with the AP. Unless otherwise specified in the present application, a STA can be an AP or a non-AP STA.

[0108] The AP in the present application can also be referred to as a wireless access access point or a hotspot, etc. The AP is an access point for mobile users to enter a wired network, and is mainly deployed in homes, building interiors and campus interiors, with a typical coverage radius of tens of meters to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting wired and wireless networks, and its main role is to connect various wireless network clients together and then access the Ethernet network. Specifically, the AP can be a device supporting the 802.11 series standard, for example, the AP can be a device supporting one or more WLAN standards such as 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11bn or subsequent versions.

[0109] The non-AP station in the present application can be a wireless communication chip, a wireless sensor or a wireless communication terminal. For example: a mobile phone supporting WiFi communication function, a tablet computer supporting WiFi communication function, a set-top box supporting WiFi communication function, a smart TV supporting WiFi communication function, a smart wearable device supporting WiFi communication function, a vehicle-mounted communication device supporting WiFi communication function and a computer supporting WiFi communication function. Among them, the non-AP station can be a device supporting the 802.11 series standard, for example, the non-AP station can be a device supporting one or more WLAN standards such as 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11bn or subsequent versions.

[0110] In this application, a non-AP site or AP includes a hardware layer, an operating system layer running on top of the hardware layer, and an application layer running on top of the operating system layer. The hardware layer includes hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), a memory management unit (MMU), and memory (also called main memory). The operating system can be any one or more computer operating systems that implement business processing through processes, such as Linux, Unix, Android, iOS, or Windows. The application layer includes applications such as browsers, address books, word processing software, and instant messaging software. Furthermore, this application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution entity of the method provided in this application embodiment. As long as a program recording the code of the method provided in this application embodiment can be run to communicate according to the method provided in this application embodiment, for example, the execution entity of the method provided in this application embodiment can be a non-AP site or AP, or a functional module in a non-AP site or AP that can call and execute a program.

[0111] Furthermore, various aspects or features of this application can be implemented as methods, apparatus, or articles of manufacture using standard programming and / or engineering techniques. The term "article of manufacture" as used herein encompasses a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, or magnetic tapes), optical discs (e.g., compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMs), cards, sticks, or key drives, etc.). Additionally, the various storage media described herein may represent one or more devices and / or other machine-readable media for storing information. The term "machine-readable medium" may include, but is not limited to, wireless channels and various other media capable of storing, containing, and / or carrying instructions and / or data.

[0112] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0113] As shown in Figure 1, a BSS can include an AP and one or more non-AP sites associated with that AP. For example, BSS#1 includes AP#1 and non-AP sites 11, 12, and 13; BSS#2 includes AP#2, non-AP sites 21, 22, and 23. APs within a BSS can communicate with one or more non-AP sites associated with that AP. APs in different BSSs can also communicate with each other, and non-AP sites can communicate with each other through APs. Furthermore, BSSs can partially overlap. For example, in Figure 1, BSS#1 and BSS#2 partially overlap, meaning these two BSSs form an Overlapped Basic Service Set (OBSS). Non-AP sites 11, 12, and 23 represent the overlapping portions of the two BSSs.

[0114] It should be understood that Figure 1 is merely exemplary and should not limit the network architecture applicable to this application. For example, the network architecture may include more or fewer BSSs, and the BSSs may partially overlap or not overlap; each BSS may also include more or fewer non-AP sites, or some BSSs may not include APs; the areas where multiple BSSs overlap may also include more or fewer non-AP sites, etc., without specific limitations.

[0115] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of fiber to the home or fiber to the office (FTTH / O) applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0116] As shown in Figure 2, an optical line terminal (OLT) connects to upper-layer network-side devices (such as switches and routers) and lower-layer devices (such as optical distribution networks, ODNs). An ODN includes passive optical splitters for optical power distribution, a backbone fiber connecting the passive optical splitter and the OLT, and branch fibers connecting the passive optical splitter and ONUs. When transmitting downlink signals, the downlink signal sent by the OLT is transmitted to each ONT through the splitter, and the ONT selectively receives downlink data belonging to itself from the downlink signal. When transmitting uplink signals, the uplink signals sent by N ONTs are combined into a single optical signal by the splitter and transmitted to the OLT. An optical network unit (ONU) provides a user-side interface to the ODN and is also connected to the ODN. If the ONU also provides user port functionality, such as an Ethernet user port or a plain old telephone service (POTS) user port, it is called an optical network termination (ONT).

[0117] Building upon FTTH / O, to address the issue of home Wi-Fi coverage, fiber optic cables can be extended further into residents' rooms. Optical terminal equipment providing Wi-Fi access is installed inside the rooms, thus reducing the distance between the user's terminal and the Wi-Fi access point and improving signal quality. This application scenario is called Fiber to the Room (FTTR).

[0118] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of FTTR applicable to embodiments of this application.

[0119] As shown in Figure 3, in FTTH / O, the OLT is deployed in the central equipment room, while the ONT is deployed in homes or offices. The master device in the FTTR network acts as both the ONT in the FTTH / O network and the upstream device for the FTTR slave devices, managing them. The slave devices in FTTR can be deployed in various rooms of homes or offices to provide signal to user terminals. The slave devices possess the functions of an ONT and can also function as wireless access points (APs).

[0120] Multiple slave devices can be deployed in an FTTR system, each connected to the master device via an optical splitter. The master device can centrally manage and configure all slave devices. The master device can also be called a "master gateway," "master optical modem," or "master FTTR unit (MFU)," while slave devices can be called "slave gateways," "slave optical modems," or "slave FTTR unit (SFU)," etc.

[0121] The following explanation uses devices in an FTTR system (such as master devices and / or slave devices) as examples. The master devices and / or slave devices in an FTTR system can be understood as examples of APs.

[0122] In an FTTR system, FTTR devices can transmit signals using radio waves in a specific frequency band (such as 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz, or 6 GHz). This specific frequency band can be divided into several channels, each corresponding to a specific frequency range and bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz). During signal transmission, FTTR devices can perform channel scanning on different channels to determine the frequency domain resources used for signal transmission based on the scanning results. The frequency domain resources determined by each FTTR device through channel scanning may not be optimal, potentially leading to wasted spectrum resources or degraded communication performance.

[0123] In view of this, this application proposes a communication method and communication device that can rationally schedule limited spectrum resources to make full use of channel resources, increase system bandwidth, and improve network throughput efficiency.

[0124] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the following points will be explained first.

[0125] First, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical designations (e.g., "#1," "#2," etc.) shown in this application are merely for descriptive convenience and to distinguish objects, and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, they may be used to distinguish different messages, different information, or different devices, etc., rather than to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such described objects can be interchanged where appropriate to describe solutions other than those in the embodiments of this application.

[0126] Second, in this application, "protocol" may refer to standard protocols in the field of communications, such as WLAN protocols and related protocols applied in future communication systems, without limitation.

[0127] Third, in this application, the terms “of,” “corresponding, relevant,” “corresponding,” and “associate” can sometimes be used interchangeably, and when their distinctions are not emphasized, they all convey the same meaning.

[0128] It should be understood that the embodiments shown below illustrate the method by using a first device and a second device as examples of interactive execution subjects. However, this application does not limit the execution subject; any program that can run the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application. The execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application can be a first device or a second device, or a functional module in the first device or the second device that can call and execute a program. For example, the first device in FIG4 can also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the method that the first device can implement, or it can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device; the second device can also be a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the method that the second device can implement, or it can also be a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second device.

[0129] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided in this application. As shown in Figure 4, the method 400 includes the following steps.

[0130] S410, the second device sends channel scanning information to the first device. Accordingly, the first device receives the channel scanning information.

[0131] The channel scanning information includes channel information corresponding to each first channel obtained by the second device performing a channel scan on at least one first channel. This channel scanning information can also be called a channel scan report.

[0132] As an example, the first and second devices can be access points (APs) in a WLAN.

[0133] As another example, the first device is the MFU in the FTTR; the second device is the SFU in the FTTR.

[0134] The channel scanning information may include at least one of the following:

[0135] 1. The number of first radio frequencies, for example, r, where r is a positive integer;

[0136] The r first radio frequencies are radio frequencies used to perform channel scanning on at least one first channel.

[0137] 2. The identifier of each of the r first radio frequencies, and the information #1 corresponding to each first radio frequency (an example of the information of the first operation set);

[0138] Information #1 may include at least one of the following: the number of operation sets requested to perform channel scanning on each radio frequency (e.g., m, where m is a positive integer), and information #2 included in each of the m operation sets (an example of information about the channels included in the first operation set).

[0139] Information #2 may include at least one of the following:

[0140] The number of first channels (e.g., k, where k is a positive integer), the channel identifier of each of the k first channels, and the channel information corresponding to each first channel.

[0141] The channel information corresponding to each first channel may include at least one of the following:

[0142] 1) Channel utilization

[0143] For example, channel utilization can indicate how well a channel is being used. For instance, channel utilization can be represented by the ratio of the time a channel is occupied (or the time a channel is idle) to the total time over a period of time.

[0144] 2) Channel noise

[0145] Channel noise can be used to characterize channel quality. For example, channel noise can be represented by the average radio noise and interference power measured on the first channel during channel scanning.

[0146] It should be understood that channel noise is an example used to characterize channel quality, and this application does not limit the parameters used to characterize channel quality.

[0147] 3) Information on neighboring BSSs (or neighboring BSSs) discovered on each channel.

[0148] That is, information about the neighboring BSSs of each first channel is obtained through channel scanning.

[0149] For example, the information of the adjacent BSS includes at least one of the following:

[0150] The number of adjacent BSSs (e.g., N, where N is a positive integer, and the value of N can be different for each first channel); the identifier of each BSS in the adjacent BSSs (e.g., the basic service set identifier (BSSID)); the identifier of the radio network corresponding to each BSS (e.g., the service set identifier (SSID)); the number of sites included in each BSS; the indication information indicating whether the BSS load cell field of each BSS exists; the BSS color corresponding to each BSS; and the channel information corresponding to each BSS.

[0151] For example, the channel information corresponding to each BSS may include at least one of the following:

[0152] The signal quality of the channel, the channel bandwidth, and the channel utilization.

[0153] The signal quality of the channel can be measured by the value of at least one of the following parameters: signal energy, signal amplitude, signal power, signal interference intensity, signal interference threshold, or signal-to-noise ratio, etc. No limitation is placed on the parameters for measuring signal quality.

[0154] Channel bandwidth can refer to basic channel bandwidth. For example, the operational channel bandwidth of a BSS can consist of one or more basic channels with a bandwidth of 20 MHz.

[0155] There is no limitation on the bandwidth of the basic channel. For example, the basic channel bandwidth can be a primary 20MHz channel (P20), a secondary 20MHz channel (S20), a secondary 40MHz channel (S40), a secondary 80MHz channel (S80), or a secondary 160MHz channel (S160). Specifically, the primary 20MHz and secondary 20MHz channels can form a primary 40MHz channel; the primary 20MHz, secondary 20MHz, and secondary 40MHz channels can form a primary 80MHz channel; the primary 20MHz, secondary 20MHz, secondary 40MHz, and secondary 80MHz channels can form a primary 160MHz channel, and so on.

[0156] The channel utilization rate can be specifically referred to in the description above. For example, the channel utilization rate field exists if the indication information indicating the presence of the BSS load unit field for each BSS indicates that the BSS load unit field exists; otherwise, the channel utilization rate field is ignored. Similarly, the "number of sites included in each BSS" field exists if the indication information indicating the presence of the BSS load unit field for each BSS indicates that the BSS load unit field exists; otherwise, this field is ignored.

[0157] The term "bandwidth" as used in this application may also be replaced with "frequency bandwidth," and unless otherwise specified, both have the same meaning. For example, "channel bandwidth" in this application may be replaced with "channel frequency bandwidth," and there is no limitation in this regard.

[0158] Optionally, the information about neighboring BSSs may also include: the time information for acquiring information about neighboring BSSs. This time information may include the start time, end time, and scan duration.

[0159] For example, the time information for obtaining information about neighboring BSSs includes: obtaining the time information of N neighboring BSSs for each first piece of information, or obtaining the time information of each BSS among the N neighboring BSSs for each first piece of information, without limitation.

[0160] The channel scanning information also includes at least one of the following:

[0161] 1) Time information for channel scanning.

[0162] The time information includes at least one of the scan start time and end time, or scan duration.

[0163] 2) The scan type of this channel scan.

[0164] For example, the scan type includes active scanning or passive scanning. For instance, in active scanning, the second device sends probe request frames on each channel and acquires channel information by receiving probe response frames from other devices; similarly, in passive scanning, the second device acquires channel information by monitoring beacon frames on each channel.

[0165] Optionally, the channel scanning information may further include scan status indication information, which indicates whether the channel scan was successful. It can be understood that the channel information corresponding to each first channel is sent if the scan status indication information indicates that the scan of each first channel was successful.

[0166] Optionally, if the scan status indication information indicates that the scan of the channel has failed, the scan status indication information carries the reason for the scan failure. For example, the reason for the scan failure may be that the second device does not support scanning on the operation set and channel allocated to the radio frequency, the interval since the last scan is too short, the radio frequency resources are transmitting signals and cannot perform the current scan, the scan is aborted, the radio frequency resources of the second device only support power-on scanning and do not support new scanning, or do not support passively executing scan task requests, etc.

[0167] Table 1 shows an example of channel scan information. Table 1 includes the fields comprising the channel scan information, along with the length and value of each field. Refer to the field description for a detailed explanation of each field.

[0168] Table 1

[0169] Taking Table 1 as an example, the second device can scan multiple channels included in each of the r radio frequencies for each of the m operation sets, and send a channel scan report as shown in Table 1 to the first device (i.e., the "Radio Frequency Identifier" and subsequent fields can repeat "Number of Radio Frequencies" r times; the "Operation Set" and subsequent fields can repeat "Number of Operation Sets" m times; the "Channel Number" and subsequent fields can repeat "Number of Channels" k times). There is no limitation on the number of operation sets or the channels included in each operation set (for example, an operation set can include k channels). The channels corresponding to the operation sets can be pre-configured or pre-agreed.

[0170] In the case of a successful channel scan corresponding to a channel number, the channel scan information may include scan time information (e.g., timestamp length, timestamp, scan duration), scan type information, channel utilization, noise, and scan information of each neighboring BSS in at least one neighboring BSS (e.g., including BSSID, SSID length, SSID, signal strength, channel bandwidth length, channel bandwidth, BSS load cell presence, BSS Color, channel utilization, and number of stations; that is, these fields may be repeated "number of neighboring BSSs found on the channel" times).

[0171] It should be understood that the fields in the channel state report above are merely examples. The channel state report may include more or fewer fields, or the fields used to characterize certain channel information may be other fields. There is no limitation on the specific information included in the channel state report.

[0172] Prior to S410, the method also included:

[0173] S401, the second device sends its scanning capability information to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives this scanning capability information.

[0174] The scanning capability information can indicate the second device's ability to perform channel scanning. This scanning capability information may include at least one of the following:

[0175] 1) Information from the second radio frequency

[0176] The information for the second radio frequency may include the number of second radio frequencies, the identifier of each second radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to each second radio frequency.

[0177] The second radio frequency (RF) can refer to the number of RFs capable of being used for channel scanning, or in other words, the RFs supported by the second device for channel scanning. The second RF includes the first RF, meaning that the RFs the second device can use for channel scanning include those for scanning the at least one first channel. The information about the operation set can include the number of operation sets and a channel list corresponding to each operation set, wherein the second device can perform a channel scan corresponding to that operation set on the channels in the channel list.

[0178] 2) Minimum scan interval

[0179] The minimum scan interval indicates the minimum time interval between two consecutive channel scans performed by the second device.

[0180] Table 2 shows an example of channel scanning capability. Table 2 includes the fields comprised of the channel scanning capability, along with the length and values ​​for each field. Refer to the field description for a detailed explanation of each field.

[0181] Table 2

[0182] Taking Table 2 as an example, in a scanning capability information, the "RF identifier" and its subsequent fields can be repeated r times, and in each field corresponding to the "RF identifier", the "operation set", "number of channels" and "channel list" fields can be repeated m times.

[0183] It should be understood that the fields in the channel status report above are merely examples. The channel status report may include more or fewer fields as shown in Table 2 above, or it may report other capability information, such as whether periodic scanning is supported. There is no limitation on the specific information included in the channel status report.

[0184] Optionally, before performing a channel scan on the at least one channel, the second device may also send a channel priority request to the first device. This channel priority request may indicate the preferred (desired) channel (i.e., at least one third channel) for signal transmission by the second device, such as a third channel with relatively better channel quality or less interference. This channel priority request may also be referred to as a channel priority report.

[0185] For example, the channel priority request may include information from a third radio frequency. This third radio frequency information includes at least one of the following:

[0186] The number of third radio frequencies, the identifier of each third radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to each third radio frequency.

[0187] The third radio frequency may refer to the radio frequency that performs channel scanning on the third channel, for example, the third radio frequency is a part of the second radio frequency; the information of the operation set includes at least one of the number of operation sets and the information of the channels included in each operation set.

[0188] The information about the channels included in the operation set may include at least one of the following:

[0189] The operation set includes at least one of the following: the number of channels, channel identifiers, and channel operational priorities.

[0190] The channel operation priority indicates the priority of operating on the channel; in other words, the operation priority can indicate the second device's preference for the channel. For example, the second device prefers channels with higher operation priorities.

[0191] For example, the priority of an operation can be represented by a priority value, with a higher priority value indicating a higher operational priority.

[0192] Optionally, the operation priority can also indicate that the channel is a non-operation channel, for example, by setting the priority value to the lowest to indicate that the channel is a non-operation channel.

[0193] Optionally, the channel information included in the operation set may also include selection reason information, which indicates the reason for prioritizing the selection of that channel.

[0194] For example, if a channel has a high operation priority, the reason for the high operation priority can be indicated by this selection reason information.

[0195] For example, the channel priority request and the channel selection request can use the same information format (same information type ID). Specific fields within the information indicate whether it is a channel priority request or a channel selection request. The channel selection request is described in S520.

[0196] Optionally, after receiving the channel priority request, the first device sends a channel selection response to the second device (e.g., channel selection response #2, an example of the first channel selection response).

[0197] Table 3 shows an example of a channel priority request. Table 3 includes the fields required for a channel priority request, along with the length and possible values ​​for each field. Refer to the field descriptions for detailed explanations of each field.

[0198] Table 3

[0199] Taking Table 3 as an example, in a channel selection request, the "RF identifier" and its subsequent fields can be repeated r times. In each field corresponding to the "RF identifier", the "operation set" and its subsequent fields can be repeated m times, and the "channel number" and its subsequent fields can be repeated k-1 times.

[0200] It should be understood that the fields in the channel priority request above are merely examples. The channel priority request may also include more or fewer fields as shown in Table 3 above. Please refer to the description above for details. No limit is made on the specific information included in the channel selection request.

[0201] For example, the second device sends the channel scanning information to the first device in the following two cases (i.e., S410).

[0202] Scenario 1: The first device requests the second device to perform a channel scan.

[0203] For example, in this case, the first device sends a first channel scan request to the second device. The first channel scan request can be used to request the second device to perform an assigned scan task, or the first channel scan request can be used to request the second device to perform a channel scan, such as instructing to perform a channel scan on at least one first channel. The second device performs a channel scan (i.e., performs a channel scan task) according to the first channel scan request and sends the first channel scan information to the first device.

[0204] The first channel scan request may include at least one of the following:

[0205] First indication information, second indication information, scan cycle, third radio frequency information;

[0206] The first indication information can indicate the task of initiating channel scanning.

[0207] For example, the first indication information is a 1-bit information. When the 1-bit information is "1", it indicates that the channel scanning task is started; when the 1-bit information is "0", it indicates that the channel scanning task is stopped.

[0208] This second indication information can indicate whether to perform a periodic channel scan.

[0209] For example, the second indication information is a 1-bit information. When the 1-bit information is "1", it indicates that periodic scanning is performed; when the 1-bit information is "0", it indicates that periodic scanning is not performed.

[0210] When the second indication information indicates that periodic scanning is to be performed, the scanning period represents the period during which periodic channel scanning is performed, and the scanning period is not less than the minimum scanning interval of the second device.

[0211] The information of the third radio frequency may include at least one of the following:

[0212] The number of third radio frequencies, the identifier of each third radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to each third radio frequency.

[0213] The third radio frequency (RF) may refer to the RF requested by the first device for channel scanning; for example, the third RF may be part or all of the RFs in the second RF. The information about the operation set may include at least one of the following: the number of operation sets and information about the channels included in each operation set. The information about the channels included in the operation set includes at least one of the number and identifier of the channels included in the operation set.

[0214] Optionally, in this case, after receiving the first channel scan request, the second device sends a first channel scan response to the first device. The first channel scan response may indicate agreement or refusal to perform the scan task.

[0215] For example, the first channel scan response includes at least one of the following:

[0216] The third and fourth instruction messages.

[0217] The third indication information can be used to indicate whether or not to agree to perform the channel scanning task. For example, the third indication information is a 1-bit information. When the 1-bit information is "1", it indicates that the channel scanning task is agreed to be performed; when the 1-bit information is "0", it indicates that the channel scanning task is refused.

[0218] For example, the second device can determine whether to perform the channel scanning task based on its own signal transmission status. For instance, if the second device is currently transmitting signals, it may not perform the channel scanning task.

[0219] The fourth indication information indicates whether the periodic channel scan is agreed to. For example, the fourth indication information is a 1-bit information. When the 1-bit information is "1", it means that the periodic channel scan is agreed to be performed; when the 1-bit information is "0", it means that the periodic channel scan task is refused.

[0220] Optionally, if the fourth indication information indicates agreement to perform periodic channel scanning, the channel selection response may also include an indication field indicating the specific scanning period, i.e., the period that the second device actually uses for periodic channel scanning.

[0221] Scenario 2: The second device requests the first device to perform a channel scan.

[0222] This means the second device actively requests a channel scan. For example, if the second device is currently idle for a period of time and has no signal transmission tasks, or if the second device is not connected to a non-AP STA, then the second device actively requests a channel scan.

[0223] For example, in this case, the second device sends a second channel scan request to the first device. The second channel scan request can be used to request a channel scan, or in other words, the second channel scan request can be used to actively request the first device to perform a scan task, such as requesting a channel scan of at least one first channel. The first device sends a second channel scan response to the second device, wherein the second channel scan response information can indicate the initiation of a channel scan task. The second device performs a channel scan according to the second channel scan response and sends the first channel scan information to the first device.

[0224] The second channel scan request may include at least one of the following:

[0225] First instruction information, fifth instruction information;

[0226] The first indication information can indicate the task of initiating channel scanning, and the specific first indication information can be referred to the description in Case 1.

[0227] The fifth indication information can indicate an identifier for allocating a scan task for the channel scan. For example, the fifth indication information is a 1-bit information. When the 1-bit information is "1", it indicates a request for the first device to allocate a scan task; when the 1-bit information is "0", it indicates that no scan task allocation is required by the MFU. When the 1-bit information is "1", the first device carries the allocated scan task in the channel scan response message; when the 1-bit information is "0", the first device does not carry subsequent scan tasks in the channel scan response message, and the second device can scan on its own.

[0228] The second channel scan response includes at least one of the following:

[0229] The sixth instruction is the identifier of this scanning task;

[0230] The sixth indication information may indicate consent to the channel scanning task. The identifier of the scanning task is the identifier of the channel scanning task assigned by the first device to the second device.

[0231] It should be understood that this application does not limit the specific information format of the channel scan request and channel scan response. In one possible implementation, the channel scan request and channel scan response are different pieces of information; in another possible implementation, the channel scan request and channel scan response are one piece of information, that is, the channel scan request and channel scan response can share fields in the information (e.g., as shown in Table 5).

[0232] Table 4 shows an example of channel scanning information. Table 4 includes the fields included in the channel selection response, as well as the length and value of each field. Refer to the field description for a detailed explanation of each field.

[0233] Table 4

[0234] Taking Table 4 as an example, when the MFU sends a channel scan request, in a channel scan information, the "RF identifier" and its subsequent fields can be repeated r times, in the field corresponding to each "RF identifier", the "operation set" and its subsequent fields can be repeated m times; in the field corresponding to each "operation set", the "channel list" field can be repeated k times.

[0235] It should be understood that the fields in the channel scanning information above are merely examples. The channel scanning information may also include more or fewer fields as shown in Table 4 above. Please refer to the description above for details. No specific information is limited to the channel scanning information.

[0236] For example, the second device can be one of at least one devices, and other devices besides the second device (e.g., a third device) can also interact with the first device to exchange the aforementioned information. The specific information exchanged is similar to the information exchanged between the second device and the first device (e.g., the portion of the aforementioned information involving the second device can be replaced with the third device), and will not be described in detail again.

[0237] S420, the first device sends channel indication information to the second device. Accordingly, the second device receives the channel indication information.

[0238] The channel indication information may indicate at least one second channel, including a recommended operating channel for the second device. This channel indication information is an example of a channel selection request, or rather, it can be understood as a channel selection request sent by the first device to the second device. The format of the channel selection request can be found in Table 3.

[0239] The channel indication information may include information about a fourth radio frequency. This fourth radio frequency can be understood as the radio frequency used to operate the second channel. For example, the fourth radio frequency may be a portion of the second radio frequency, or it may be all or part of the third radio frequency.

[0240] The information of the fourth radio frequency may include the number of fourth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fourth radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to each fourth radio frequency. The information of the operation set includes at least one of the following: the number of operation sets and the information of the channels included in the operation set.

[0241] The information about the channels included in the operation set may include at least one of the following: the number of channels included in the operation set, the channel identifier of each channel, and the operational priority, and the channels included in the operation set include at least one second channel. The information about the channels included in the operation set can be referenced from the information about the channels included in the operation set in the channel selection request in S410.

[0242] For example, the first device determines the at least one second channel based on the channel scanning information sent by the second device. For instance, the second device may have three channels with high priority. The first device, considering the channel scanning information reported by other second devices, selects one of the three channels as the channel to be allocated to the second device. That is, when allocating a channel to the second device, not only are the channel preferences of the second device considered, but also the need to minimize co-channel interference with other second devices (e.g., other second devices being allocated to different channels).

[0243] Optionally, the method further includes: the second device sending a channel selection response to the first device. The channel selection response may indicate whether to accept the channel indicated by the first device.

[0244] The channel selection response may include at least one of the following: the number of fourth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fourth radio frequency, and the response result corresponding to each fourth radio frequency. The response result indicates whether the channel corresponding to that radio frequency is accepted or rejected. The format of the channel selection response can be found in Table 4.

[0245] In one example, the channel selection response includes at least one of the following:

[0246] The number of fourth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fourth radio frequency, and the corresponding response result for each fourth radio frequency. The response result indicates whether the channel corresponding to that fourth radio frequency is accepted or rejected.

[0247] In another example, the channel selection response includes the number of fourth radio frequencies, an identifier for each fourth radio frequency, and a response result for each fourth radio frequency. This response result can indicate whether the channel corresponding to the fourth radio frequency is accepted, or in other words, the fourth radio frequency is the radio frequency corresponding to the accepted channel.

[0248] It should be understood that the above channel selection response message is only an example. The channel selection response may also include other information, such as whether to accept the response result of scanning the channel corresponding to the operation set, without limitation.

[0249] Table 5 shows an example of a channel selection response. Table 5 includes the fields comprising the channel selection response, along with the length and possible values ​​for each field. Refer to the field description for a detailed explanation of each field.

[0250] Table 5

[0251] Taking Table 5 as an example, in a channel selection response, the "RF identifier" and its subsequent fields can be repeated r-1 times.

[0252] It should be understood that the fields in the channel selection response above are merely examples. The channel selection response may also include more or fewer fields as shown in Table 5 above. Please refer to the description above for details. No limit is made on the specific information included in the channel selection request.

[0253] Optionally, the method further includes: the second device sending operation channel information to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the operation channel information from the second device.

[0254] This refers to the second device instructing the first device on information about its operating channel. The operating channel can be one or more channels from at least one second channel. The operating channel can also be called the working channel; the operating channel information can also be called the operating channel report.

[0255] For example, the operation channel information may include information from a fifth radio frequency. For instance, the fifth radio frequency may be all or part of the fourth radio frequency, and this fifth radio frequency is used to operate the operation channel. The information from the fifth radio frequency may include at least one of the following:

[0256] The number of fifth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fifth radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to that fifth radio frequency.

[0257] The information of the operation set may include the number of channels included in the operation set and the identifier of each channel (i.e., each operation channel).

[0258] Table 6 shows an example of operation channel information. Table 6 includes the fields comprising the operation channel information, along with the length and value of each field. Refer to the field description for a detailed explanation of each field.

[0259] Table 6

[0260] Taking Table 6 as an example, in an operation channel report, the "RF identifier" and its subsequent fields can be repeated r-1 times, and in each field corresponding to the "RF identifier", the "operation set" and its subsequent fields can be repeated m-1 times.

[0261] It should be understood that the fields in the above operation channel information are merely examples. The channel scanning information may also include more or fewer fields as shown in Table 6 above. Please refer to the description above for details. No specific information is limited to the operation channel information.

[0262] Optionally, the method may further include: sending the channel indication information to other devices (e.g., a third device) among the at least one device, and receiving the operation channel information of the third device. The specific information exchanged between the first device and the third device is similar to the information exchanged between the first device and the second device (for example, the part of the information involving the second device can be replaced with the third device), and will not be described again.

[0263] Optionally, prior to S410, the method may further include: the first device determining whether the co-channel networking function is enabled, and determining whether to enable the frequency domain resource scheduling function, i.e., whether to execute the function of method 400, based on whether the co-channel networking function is enabled. Here, co-channel networking may refer to the first device and the at least one device using the same frequency band (or channel) for communication.

[0264] For example, if the first device determines that the co-channel networking function is enabled, it will not enable the frequency domain resource scheduling function; otherwise, it will enable the frequency domain resource scheduling function. Optionally, if the co-channel networking function is enabled, the operation of "determining whether the frequency domain resource scheduling function is enabled" can be recorded, and the frequency domain resource scheduling function can be started after the co-channel networking function is subsequently disabled. By determining that the frequency domain resource scheduling function is not enabled when the co-channel networking function is enabled, it is possible to prevent devices from being scheduled to use different frequency bands (or channels).

[0265] It should be understood that in this application, "channel" can refer to a path used for transmitting signals. Frequency band and bandwidth (or frequency range) can be used to describe a channel. Frequency band and bandwidth can jointly determine the frequency range of signals transmitted on the channel.

[0266] The term "band" as used in this application can also be understood as "frequency band", "frequency point", or "spectrum", without limitation.

[0267] In this application, radio frequency (RF) can also be replaced by a transmitter (Tx), an RF transmission channel, an antenna, a transmitting port, a receiving channel, or any combination thereof, without limitation.

[0268] Figures 5 to 7 are schematic flowcharts of a communication method 500 provided in this application. Method 500 is illustrated using the example of a first device being an MFU, a second device being an SFU#1, and a third device being an SFU#2. Method 500 can be considered a specific implementation of method 400.

[0269] As shown in Figure 5, the method can include two parts: information reporting (S503 and S504) and channel allocation (S505 to S510). The information reporting part has two implementation methods, which are shown in Figures 6 and 7 respectively.

[0270] The method 500 may include the following steps.

[0271] Initialization of S501, MFU, SFU#1 and SFU#2.

[0272] During the initialization phase, the MFU can obtain basic capability information of SFU#1 and SFU#2.

[0273] For example, during the initialization phase, the MFU can acquire the scanning capability information of SFU#1 and SFU#2. This scanning capability information is described in detail in S401.

[0274] Synchronization of S502, MFU, SFU#1 and SFU#2.

[0275] S503, SFU#1 sends a channel scan report to MFU (i.e., an example of the channel scan information corresponding to SFU#1).

[0276] S504, SFU#2 sends a channel scan report to MFU (i.e., an example of the channel scan information corresponding to SFU#2).

[0277] For details of the channel scan report, please refer to the description in S410.

[0278] S505, MFU performs channel selection.

[0279] For example, the MFU selects a channel for SFU#1 based on the channel scan report of SFU#1.

[0280] Alternatively, the MFU selects a channel for SFU#1 based on the channel scan report of SFU#1 and the channel scan report of SFU#2.

[0281] Similarly, the MFU can select a channel for the SFU#2.

[0282] The specific implementation method for MFU channel selection is not limited; for example, you can refer to the description in S520.

[0283] The following explanation uses the example of MFU selecting a channel for SFU#1.

[0284] S506, MFU sends a channel selection request to SFU#1.

[0285] This channel selection request can indicate the operating channel assigned to the SFU. For details on this channel selection request, please refer to the channel indication information in S520.

[0286] S507, SFU#1 sends a channel selection response to MFU.

[0287] The channel selection response can indicate whether to accept the operating channel indicated by the MFU. For details of the channel selection response message, please refer to the channel selection response message sent by the second device in S520.

[0288] Optionally, the method further includes steps S508 to S510.

[0289] S508, SFU#1 configures the channel and bandwidth based on this channel selection request.

[0290] For example, SFU#1 can configure the channel and bandwidth based on the channel selection request.

[0291] S509 and SFU#1 transmit signals.

[0292] For example, SFU#1 performs channel transmission based on the selected operating channel.

[0293] S510, SFU#1 sends operation channel information to MFU.

[0294] The channel information for this operation can be found in the description in S520.

[0295] Figure 6 shows a flowchart of an implementation method 600 for sending a channel scan report. In method 600, the channel scan report is sent based on a request from the MFU, and method 600 corresponds to case one in S410. Method 600 is illustrated using the interaction between the MFU and SFU#1 as an example. As shown in Figure 6, method 600 includes the following steps.

[0296] S601, MFU determines the channel scanning task.

[0297] For example, an MFU can collect traffic status information from at least one SFU, such as whether there are low-latency or high-priority services, and whether the traffic volume is high. If an SFU does not have low-latency or high-priority services and the traffic volume is relatively small, it can be assigned more channel scanning tasks (e.g., more channels to be scanned); conversely, it can be assigned fewer channel scanning tasks.

[0298] S602, MFU sends a channel scan request to SFU#1.

[0299] This channel scan request instructs SFU#1 to initiate a channel scan task. For details regarding this channel scan request, please refer to the description in S410.

[0300] S603, SFU#1 sends a channel scan response to MFU.

[0301] The channel scan response indicates whether to accept the channel scan task. The channel scan response can be found in the description in S410.

[0302] S604a, SFU#1 performs a channel scan based on this channel scan request.

[0303] S605a, SFU#1 sends a channel scan report to MFU.

[0304] Optionally, if the channel scan instruction is to perform a periodic scan task, SFU#1 can perform periodic channel scans and send a channel scan report corresponding to each channel scan to MFU.

[0305] For example, SFU#1 executes S604b and S604c, and sends the corresponding channel scan reports via S605b and S605c.

[0306] It should be understood that there is no limitation on the specific method by which SFU#1 sends channel scan reports when performing periodic channel scan tasks. For example, it can send channel scan reports for multiple channel scans separately, or send a single channel scan report including channel scan reports corresponding to multiple periodic scans.

[0307] Alternatively, when the channel scanning task is indicated to be a periodic channel scanning task:

[0308] S606, the MFU sends an instruction message to the SFU#1 to disable the channel scanning task. This message can be carried by the channel scanning request.

[0309] S607, SFU#1 sends a channel scan response to MFU.

[0310] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of one implementation method 700 for sending a channel scan report. In method 700, the channel scan report can be actively requested to be sent by SFU#1, and method 600 corresponds to case two in S410. Method 700 is illustrated using the interaction between MFU and SFU#1 as an example. As shown in Figure 7, method 700 includes the following steps.

[0311] S701, SFU#1 sends a channel scan request to MFU.

[0312] This channel scan request instructs the MFU to initiate a channel scan task. For details regarding this channel scan request, please refer to the description in S410.

[0313] S702, MFU determines the channel scanning task.

[0314] For example, based on the channel scan request, the MFU determines to assign a channel that has not been scanned recently to the SFU#1 as a scan task.

[0315] S703, MFU sends a channel scan response to SFU#1.

[0316] This channel scan response can indicate acceptance of a channel scan task. The channel scan response can be referred to in the description in S410.

[0317] S704a, SFU#1 performs a channel scan based on this channel scan request.

[0318] S705a, SFU#1 sends a channel scan report to MFU.

[0319] Optionally, SFU#1 performs periodic channel scans and sends a channel scan report corresponding to each channel scan to MFU.

[0320] For example, SFU#1 executes S704b and S704c, and sends the corresponding channel scan reports via S705b and S705c.

[0321] It should be understood that there is no limitation on the specific method by which SFU#1 sends channel scan reports when performing periodic channel scan tasks. For example, it can send channel scan reports for multiple channel scans separately, or send a single channel scan report including channel scan reports corresponding to multiple periodic scans.

[0322] Alternatively, when the channel scanning task is indicated to be a periodic channel scanning task:

[0323] S706, SFU#1 sends an instruction message to MFU to disable the channel scanning task. This message can be carried by the channel scanning request.

[0324] S707, MFU sends a channel scan response to SFU#1.

[0325] It should be understood that methods 500, 600, and 700 are all illustrated using MFU as the first device. The first device can also be a third-party device used for frequency domain resource scheduling, and this application does not limit it.

[0326] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application have been described in detail above with reference to Figures 1 to 7. The apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 8 and 9. It should be understood that the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments correspond to the descriptions of the method embodiments; therefore, any content not described in detail can be referred to the method embodiments above, and for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated here.

[0327] Figures 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of the communication devices provided in the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the communication device can be a first device, or it can be a module (such as a chip) applied to a first device, a second device, or a third device.

[0328] As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 2000 includes a transceiver unit 2020. Optionally, the communication device 2000 also includes a processing unit 2010. The communication device 2000 is used to implement the functions of the first device in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 above.

[0329] When the communication device 2000 is used to implement the function of the first device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4: the transceiver unit 2020 is used to: be a transceiver unit, used to receive channel scanning information from the second device, the channel scanning information including channel information corresponding to each of the at least one first channel obtained by the second device performing channel scanning on at least one first channel; the transceiver unit 2020 is also used to: send channel indication information to the second device, the channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel including a recommended channel to be accessed by the second device, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

[0330] When the communication device 2000 is used to implement the function of the second device in the method embodiment shown in FIG4, the transceiver unit 2020 is used to send channel scanning information to the first device. The channel scanning information includes channel information corresponding to each of the at least one first channel obtained by the device performing channel scanning on at least one first channel. The transceiver unit 2020 is also used to receive channel indication information from the first device. The channel indication information indicates at least one second channel. The at least one second channel includes a recommended channel for the device to access. The second channel is determined based on the channel scanning information.

[0331] For a detailed description of the functions performed by the processing unit 2010 and the transceiver unit 2020, please refer to the relevant description in the method 400 shown in Figure 4.

[0332] As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 3000 includes a processor 3010 and an interface circuit 3020. The processor 3010 and the interface circuit 3020 are coupled together. It is understood that the interface circuit 3020 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 3000 may also include a memory 3030 for storing instructions executed by the processor 3010, or storing input data required by the processor 3010 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 3010 executes instructions. Sometimes, the interface circuit 3020 can also be understood as part of the processor 3010, in which case the communication device 3000 includes the processor 3010.

[0333] When the communication device 3000 is used to implement the method shown in FIG4, the processor 3010 is used to implement the function of the processing unit 2010, and the interface circuit 3020 is used to implement the function of the transceiver unit 2020.

[0334] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to the first device, the chip implements the functions of the first device in the above method embodiments. The chip receiving information from other devices can be understood as the information being first received by other modules (such as an RF module or antenna) in the first device, and then sent to the chip by these modules. The chip sending information to other devices can be understood as the information being first sent to other modules (such as an RF module or antenna) in the first device, and then sent to the other devices by these modules.

[0335] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to the second device, the chip implements the functions of the second device in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information from other devices, which can be understood as the information being first received by other modules (such as an RF module or antenna) in the second device, and then sent to the chip by these modules. The chip sends information to other devices, which can be understood as the information being first sent to other modules (such as an RF module or antenna) in the second device, and then sent to the other devices by these modules.

[0336] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0337] The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or terminal.

[0338] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

[0339] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0340] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the textual description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B, and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B, and C.

[0341] In this application, "predefined" can be achieved by pre-storing corresponding codes, tables or other means that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and this application does not limit the specific implementation method.

[0342] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," and various numerical designations are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above processes does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0343] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software 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.

[0344] 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.

[0345] 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 through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0346] 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.

[0347] 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.

[0348] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion 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, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0349] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first device, the method includes: Receive channel scanning information from a second device, the channel scanning information including channel information corresponding to each of the at least one first channels obtained by the second device performing channel scanning on at least one first channel; The second device is sent channel indication information, which indicates at least one second channel, including a recommended channel for the second device to access, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The channel information includes at least one of the following: Channel utilization, channel noise, and information on neighboring basic service sets (BSS) found on each of the first channels; The information of the adjacent BSS includes at least one of the following: The number of adjacent BSSs, the identifier of each BSS in the adjacent BSSs, the number of sites included in each BSS in the adjacent BSSs, and the channel information of each BSS in the adjacent BSSs; The channel information for each BSS includes at least one of the following: Signal quality of each BSS, channel bandwidth of each BSS, and channel utilization of each BSS.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The channel scanning information also includes at least one of the following: The number of first radio frequencies, the identifier of each first radio frequency, and the information of the first operation set corresponding to each first radio frequency; Wherein, the first radio frequency is used to perform the channel scan, the information of the first operation set includes at least one of the number of the first operation set and the information of the channels included in the first operation set, the information of the channels included in the first operation set includes at least one of the number of channels included in the first operation set and the channel identifier, and the channels included in the first operation set include the at least one first channel.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The channel scanning information also includes at least one of the following: The time information for performing the channel scan, and the scan type for performing the channel scan; The time information includes at least one of the start time, end time, and scan duration, and the scan type includes active scan or passive scan.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: The device receives scanning capability information from the second device, which indicates the second device's ability to perform channel scanning.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The scanning capability information includes at least one of the following: The number of second radio frequencies, the identifier of each second radio frequency, the information of the second operation set corresponding to each second radio frequency, and the minimum scan interval; Wherein, the second radio frequency is the radio frequency supported by the second device for channel scanning, the information of the second operation set includes at least one of the number of the second operation set and the information of the channels included in the second operation set, the information of the channels included in the second operation set includes at least one of the number of the channels included in the second operation set and the channel identifier, and the minimum scan interval indicates the minimum time interval for performing two consecutive channel scans.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive channel priority information from the second device, the channel priority information indicating at least one third channel, the third channel being the desired channel for channel scanning.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The channel priority information includes at least one of the following: The number of third radio frequencies, the identifier of each third radio frequency, and the information of the third operation set corresponding to each third radio frequency; Wherein, the third radio frequency is used to perform channel scanning on the third channel, and the information of the third operation set includes at least one of the number of third operation sets and the information of the channels included in the third operation set. The information of the channels included in the third operation set includes at least one of the number of channels included in the third operation set, identification, and operational priority. The channels included in the third operation set include the at least one third channel.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before receiving channel scanning information from the second device, the method further includes: A first channel scan request is sent to the second device, the first channel scan request being used to request a channel scan of the at least one first channel.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The first channel scan request includes at least one of the following: First indication information, second indication information, scan cycle, third radio frequency information; Wherein, the first indication information indicates the initiation of a channel scanning task for the at least one first channel, the second indication information indicates whether periodic channel scanning is performed, the scanning period indicates the period for performing the periodic channel scanning, the information of the third radio frequency includes at least one of the following: the number of the third radio frequencies, the identifier of each third radio frequency, and the information of the fourth operation set corresponding to each third radio frequency, the third radio frequency being the radio frequency requested for channel scanning, the information of the fourth operation set including at least one of the following: the number of the fourth operation set and the information of the channels included in the fourth operation set, and the information of the channels included in the fourth operation set including at least one of the number and identifier of the channels included in the fourth operation set.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a first channel scan response from the second device, wherein the first channel scan request includes at least one of the following: Third instruction information, fourth instruction information; The third indication information indicates whether to agree to the first channel scanning request, and the fourth indication information indicates whether to agree to perform the periodic channel scanning.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, Before receiving channel scanning information from the second device, the method further includes: A second channel scan request is received from the second device, the second channel scan request being used to request a channel scan of the at least one first piece of information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first channel scan request includes at least one of the following: First instruction information, fifth instruction information; Wherein, the first indication information indicates the initiation of a channel scanning task for the at least one first channel, and the fifth indication information indicates an identifier for assigning a scanning task to the channel scanning.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second channel scan response to the second device, the second channel scan response including at least one of the following: The sixth instruction information is the identifier of the scanning task; The sixth indication information indicates agreement to the second channel scanning request.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The channel indication information includes information from a fourth radio frequency (RF), which includes at least one of the following: The number of fourth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fourth radio frequency, and the information of the fifth operation set corresponding to each fourth radio frequency; Wherein, the fourth radio frequency is the radio frequency that operates on the second channel, the information of the fifth operation set includes at least one of the number of the fifth operation set and the information of the channels included in the fifth operation set, the information of the channels included in the fifth operation set includes at least one of the number of the channels included in the fifth operation set, identification and operational priority, and the channels included in the fifth operation set include the at least one second channel.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second channel selection response from the second device, the second channel selection response including the identifier of each fourth radio frequency and the response result corresponding to each fourth radio frequency; The response result indicates whether to accept the channel corresponding to each radio frequency.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives operation channel information from the second device, the operation channel information indicating information about the operation channel of the second device, the operation channel being used for signal transmission, and the operation channel information including information about a fifth radio frequency, the fifth radio frequency information including at least one of the following: The number of fifth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fifth radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to each fifth radio frequency; Wherein, the fifth radio frequency is a radio frequency used to operate the operation channel, the information of the sixth operation set includes at least one of the number of the sixth operation set and the information of the channels included in the sixth operation set, the information of the channels included in the sixth operation set includes at least one of the number of channels included in the sixth operation set and their identifiers, and the channels included in the sixth operation set include the operation channel.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, The receiving of channel scanning information from the second device includes: If a first condition is met, the channel scanning information from the second device is received, wherein the first condition includes the first device and at least one device forming a heterogeneous channel network, and the at least one device includes the second device.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a second device, the method includes: Send channel scanning information to the first device, the channel scanning information including channel information corresponding to each of the at least one first channels obtained by the second device performing channel scanning on at least one first channel; The device receives channel indication information from the first device, the channel indication information indicating at least one second channel, the at least one second channel including a recommended channel for the second device to access, the second channel being determined based on the channel scanning information.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The channel information includes at least one of the following: Channel utilization, channel noise, and information on neighboring basic service sets (BSS) found on each of the first channels; The information of the adjacent BSS includes at least one of the following: The number of adjacent BSSs, the identifier of each BSS in the adjacent BSSs, the number of sites included in each BSS in the adjacent BSSs, and the channel information of each BSS in the adjacent BSSs; The channel information for each BSS includes at least one of the following: Signal quality of each BSS, channel bandwidth of each BSS, and channel utilization of each BSS.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The channel scanning information also includes at least one of the following: The number of first radio frequencies, the identifier of each first radio frequency, and the information of the first operation set corresponding to each first radio frequency; Wherein, the first radio frequency is used to perform the channel scan, the information of the first operation set includes at least one of the number of the first operation set and the information of the channels included in the first operation set, the information of the channels included in the first operation set includes at least one of the number of channels included in the first operation set and the channel identifier, and the channels included in the first operation set include the at least one first channel.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that, The channel scanning information also includes at least one of the following: The time information for performing the channel scan, and the scan type for performing the channel scan; The time information includes at least one of the start time, end time, and scan duration, and the scan type includes active scan or passive scan.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that, The method further includes: The scanning capability information is sent to the first device, and the scanning capability information indicates the second device's ability to perform channel scanning.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that, The scanning capability information includes at least one of the following: The number of second radio frequencies, the identifier of each second radio frequency, the information of the second operation set corresponding to each second radio frequency, and the minimum scan interval; Wherein, the second radio frequency is the radio frequency supported by the second device for channel scanning, the information of the second operation set includes at least one of the number of the second operation set and the information of the channels included in the second operation set, the information of the channels included in the second operation set includes at least one of the number of the channels included in the second operation set and the channel identifier, and the minimum scan interval indicates the minimum time interval for performing two consecutive channel scans.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first device is sent channel priority information, which indicates at least one third channel, the third channel being the desired channel for channel scanning.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The channel priority information includes at least one of the following: The number of third radio frequencies, the identifier of each third radio frequency, and the information of the third operation set corresponding to each third radio frequency; Wherein, the third radio frequency is used to perform channel scanning on the third channel, and the information of the third operation set includes at least one of the number of third operation sets and the information of the channels included in the third operation set. The information of the channels included in the third operation set includes at least one of the number of channels included in the third operation set, identification, and operational priority. The channels included in the third operation set include the at least one third channel.

27. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, Before sending channel scanning information to the first device, the method further includes: A first channel scan request is received from the first device, the first channel scan request being used to request a channel scan of the at least one first channel.

28. The method according to claim 27, characterized in that, The first channel scan request includes at least one of the following: First indication information, second indication information, scan cycle, third radio frequency information; Wherein, the first indication information indicates the initiation of a channel scanning task for the at least one first channel, the second indication information indicates whether periodic channel scanning is performed, the scanning period indicates the period for performing the periodic channel scanning, the information of the third radio frequency includes at least one of the following: the number of the third radio frequencies, the identifier of each third radio frequency, and the information of the fourth operation set corresponding to each third radio frequency, the third radio frequency being the radio frequency requested for channel scanning, the information of the fourth operation set including at least one of the following: the number of the fourth operation set and the information of the channels included in the fourth operation set, and the information of the channels included in the fourth operation set including at least one of the number and identifier of the channels included in the fourth operation set.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first channel scan response to the first device, wherein the first channel scan request includes at least one of the following: Third instruction information, fourth instruction information; The third indication information indicates whether to agree to the first channel scanning request, and the fourth indication information indicates whether to agree to perform the periodic channel scanning.

30. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, characterized in that, Before sending channel scanning information to the first device, the method further includes: A second channel scan request is sent to the first device, the second channel scan request being used to request a channel scan of the at least one first piece of information.

31. The method according to claim 30, characterized in that, The first channel scan request includes at least one of the following: First instruction information, fifth instruction information; Wherein, the first indication information indicates the initiation of a channel scanning task for the at least one first channel, and the fifth indication information indicates an identifier for assigning a scanning task to the channel scanning.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a second channel scan response from the first device, the second channel scan response including at least one of the following: The sixth instruction information is the identifier of the scanning task; The sixth indication information indicates agreement to the second channel scanning request.

33. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 32, characterized in that, The channel indication information includes information from a fourth radio frequency (RF), which includes at least one of the following: The number of fourth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fourth radio frequency, and the information of the fifth operation set corresponding to each fourth radio frequency; Wherein, the fourth radio frequency is the radio frequency that operates on the second channel, the information of the fifth operation set includes at least one of the number of the fifth operation set and the information of the channels included in the fifth operation set, the information of the channels included in the fifth operation set includes at least one of the number of the channels included in the fifth operation set, identification and operational priority, and the channels included in the fifth operation set include the at least one second channel.

34. The method according to claim 33, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second channel selection response to the first device, the second channel selection response including the identifier of each fourth radio frequency and the response result corresponding to each fourth radio frequency; The response result indicates whether to accept the channel corresponding to each radio frequency.

35. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 34, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first device is sent operation channel information, which indicates the operation channel information of the second device. The operation channel is used for signal transmission, and the operation channel information includes information from a fifth radio frequency (RF), which includes at least one of the following: The number of fifth radio frequencies, the identifier of each fifth radio frequency, and the information of the operation set corresponding to each fifth radio frequency; Wherein, the fifth radio frequency is a radio frequency used to operate the operation channel, the information of the sixth operation set includes at least one of the number of the sixth operation set and the information of the channels included in the sixth operation set, the information of the channels included in the sixth operation set includes at least one of the number of channels included in the sixth operation set and their identifiers, and the channels included in the sixth operation set include the operation channel.

36. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 35, characterized in that, Sending channel scanning information to the first device includes: If a first condition is met, the channel scanning information is sent to the first device. The first condition includes that the first device and at least one device are in a heterogeneous channel network, and the at least one device includes the second device.

37. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The unit is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 18, or includes a unit used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 36.

38. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A transceiver and a processor, the transceiver being configured to receive a signal and transmit the signal to the processor or another communication device other than the communication device, the processor being configured to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, or to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 36.

39. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a communication device, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 18, or the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 36.

40. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program that, when run, implements the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 18, or implements the method as described in any one of claims 19 to 36.

Images