CN121419002A

CN121419002A - Communication methods, devices, storage media and software products

Info

Publication number: CN121419002A
Application number: CN202411025288.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 阮卫; 李卫华; 马云思; 蒋彬彬; 岳华伟; 许浩维; 张利; 郭永康; 王同波
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2024-07-26
Filing date: 2024-07-26
Publication date: 2026-01-27
Also published as: WO2026021553A1

Abstract

A communication method, apparatus, storage medium and program product are disclosed, relating to the field of communication technology. The method is applied to communication equipment comprising a plurality of links, one type of communication signals, such as data frames carrying effective data, are transmitted on a first frequency band which is in a UWB frequency band through a first link, and the other type of communication signals, such as management frames or/and control frames, are transmitted on a second frequency band which is in a non-UWB frequency band through a second link, so that the working frequency band of the communication equipment can be expanded to the UWB frequency band without generating problems of reduced channel utilization and/or reduced signal quality and coverage area and the like.

Description

Communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and program product

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method, apparatus, storage medium, and program product.

Background

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology uses a frequency range of 7163-8812MHz, which may also be referred to as the 8GHz UWB band. The related regulations have certain requirements on the bandwidth of a transmitted signal, the limit value of the spectral density of the equivalent omni-directional radiation power and the limit value of the out-of-band transmission power during the 8GHz UWB frequency band communication. For example, the bandwidth of the transmitted signal is not less than 500MHz, and the limit value of the equivalent omni-directional radiation power spectral density is not more than-41 dBm/MHz. Currently, by expanding the signal bandwidth, the current wireless communication device is effectively utilized to transmit signals that meet the UWB technology described above, and meet the requirements of related regulations. This results in lower channel utilization.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, a device, a storage medium and a program product, thereby improving the channel utilization.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided and applied to a first device, the first device comprises a plurality of links, the links comprise a first link and a second link, the method comprises the steps of transmitting a first type of communication signal with the second device on a first frequency band by using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device on a second frequency band by using the second link, wherein the first link is used for transmitting a signal containing at least one complete wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wi-Fi) signal, the first frequency band is in a UWB frequency band, and the second frequency band is in a non-UWB frequency band.

In one possible implementation, the second link is used to assist the first link in at least one of transmitting Beacon (Beacon) frames, device access, transmitting low speed communication frames, time synchronization, interference detection and notification, roaming.

In the present application, the second link assisting the first link in achieving the object may refer to an act of achieving some object or solving a problem by acquiring, processing, using, transferring or transmitting information.

It will be appreciated that signals to be transmitted with the second device over the first frequency band using the first link are transmitted with the second device over the second frequency band by the second link, i.e. the second link assists the first link in transmitting signals with the second device over the first frequency band over the second frequency band. Therefore, the transmission of the communication frames on the first link is reduced, so that the first link can transmit more other communication frames, such as high-rate communication frames, and the channel utilization rate of the first link is improved.

In another possible implementation, the non-UWB frequency band comprises a 2.4GHz band, a 5GHz band, or a 6GHz band.

In another possible implementation, the first type of communication signals include data frames and the second type of communication signals include at least one of management frames, control frames, or non-delay sensitive data frames.

According to the communication method provided by the application, one type of communication signals, such as data frames carrying effective data, are transmitted on the first frequency band in the UWB frequency band by utilizing the first link, and the other type of communication signals, such as management frames and/or control frames, are transmitted on the second frequency band in the non-UWB frequency band by utilizing the second link, so that the working frequency band of the communication equipment can be expanded to the UWB frequency band without generating the problems of reduced channel utilization rate and reduced signal quality and coverage area, and the working frequency band of Wi-Fi equipment can be expanded to the UWB frequency band without generating the problems of reduced channel utilization rate and reduced signal quality and coverage area.

In another possible implementation, the bandwidth of the first type of communication signal is greater than the bandwidth of the second type of communication signal.

In another possible implementation, the coverage area of the first type of communication signal is smaller than the coverage area of the second type of communication signal.

In another possible implementation, the transmission rate of the first type of communication signal is greater than the transmission rate of the second type of communication signal.

The coverage area of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, and the power spectrum density of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using a first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using a second link includes receiving a Beacon frame from the second device using the second link, the Beacon frame including Basic service set (Basic SERVICE SET, BSS) information of the first link, and establishing a connection with the second device over the second link based on the BSS information.

Because the coverage area of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, the second link is used for scanning and networking, so that the device can scan the beacon frame as soon as possible, and the success rate of networking is lower compared with that caused by scanning and networking by the first link, the success rate of scanning and networking by the second link is effectively improved, and the power consumption of the device is reduced.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using a first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using a second link includes receiving a communication frame from the second device using the second link, the communication frame including transmission slot information of the first link, initially time synchronizing with the second device based on the transmission slot information, receiving a synchronization frame from the second device using the first link, and accurately time synchronizing with the second device based on the synchronization frame.

Therefore, the device utilizes the second link to transmit the coarse time synchronization information, reduces the transmission of the low-rate communication frames on the first link, and improves the channel utilization rate of the first link. In addition, the coverage area of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, the power spectrum density of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, and the signal can be transmitted farther by the second link to communicate with the remote equipment. The equipment can receive the time synchronization information, and the precision of time synchronization is improved. And transmitting fine time synchronization information on the first link to achieve accurate time synchronization of the plurality of devices.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using a first link includes receiving a delay-sensitive data frame from the second device using the first link, the data frame relating to at least one complete Wi-Fi signal.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using a second link includes receiving a non-delay-sensitive data frame from the second device using the second link.

In order to fully utilize the transmission advantage of the first link and reduce the power consumption of the device, the device determines the transmission link of the service according to the time delay requirement of the service, the distance between communication devices and the like. For example, short-range, delay-sensitive traffic is transmitted using a first link, and long-range, non-delay-sensitive traffic is transmitted using a second link. Thereby, device power consumption is reduced and data transmission delay is improved.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over the second frequency band using the second link includes transmitting an acknowledgement frame to the second device using the second link.

And receiving a data frame at the first equipment, and transmitting a confirmation frame corresponding to the data frame, so that the second equipment can acquire the success or failure of transmitting the data frame as soon as possible, and if the data frame fails to be transmitted, retransmission can be performed in time, and the success of data transmission is ensured.

In another possible implementation, transmitting an acknowledgement frame to the second device using the second link includes transmitting an acknowledgement frame to the second device using the second link after receiving the two or more data frames from the second device.

After the first device receives more than two data frames, at least one acknowledgement frame is sent, signaling transmission is reduced, and the channel utilization rate of the first link is improved.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using a first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using a second link includes receiving communication frames from one or more third devices using the second link, determining interference information for the first device by at least one third device based on signal strength of the communication frames of the one or more third devices and a predetermined threshold, and transmitting the interference information to the second device using the second link.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with a second device over a second frequency band using a second link includes receiving interference information from at least one third device of the second device to the first device using the second link.

And when the coverage area of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link and the power spectrum density of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, the information of other devices is scanned by the second link, the interference information is determined, and the device with interference can be scanned, so that the device can communicate with the remote device. The transmission of low-rate communication frames on the first link is reduced, so that the first link transmits more high-rate communication frames, the channel utilization rate of the first link is improved, and the power consumption of the device is reduced.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using a first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over the second frequency band using a second link includes obtaining information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link, determining a target neighbor device from the one or more neighbor devices based on the information of the one or more neighbor devices, and scanning a transmission time slot of the target neighbor device for a communication frame from the target neighbor device using the first link.

In another possible implementation, obtaining information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link includes scanning information of the one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link.

In another possible implementation, obtaining information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link includes receiving information of one or more neighbor devices from the second device using the second link.

In another possible implementation, the information of the one or more neighbor devices includes whether the one or more neighbor devices support the first frequency band and/or a distance between the first device and the one or more neighbor devices.

Because the coverage area of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, the information of the neighbor equipment is scanned by the second link, so that the equipment can acquire the information of the neighbor equipment as soon as possible, and therefore, the roaming success rate is lower compared with that caused by scanning the information of the neighbor equipment by the first link, the roaming success rate of the equipment is effectively improved and the power consumption of the equipment is reduced by scanning the information of the neighbor equipment by the second link.

In a second aspect, a communication method is provided and applied to a second device, the second device comprises a plurality of links, the links comprise a first link and a second link, the method comprises the steps of transmitting a first type of communication signal with the first device on a first frequency band by using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device on a second frequency band by using the second link, wherein the first link is used for transmitting a signal containing at least one complete wireless fidelity Wi-Fi signal, the first frequency band is in a UWB frequency band, and the second frequency band is in a non-UWB frequency band.

In one possible implementation, the non-UWB frequency band comprises a 2.4GHz band, a 5GHz band, or a 6GHz band.

In another possible implementation, the first type of communication signals comprise data frames and the second type of communication signals comprise at least one of management frames or control frames.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using a first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using a second link includes transmitting a Beacon frame to the first device using the second link, the Beacon frame including BSS information for the first link, and establishing a connection with the first device over the second link based on the BSS information.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using a first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using a second link includes transmitting a communication frame to the first device using the second link, the communication frame including transmission time slot information of the first link, and transmitting a synchronization frame to the first device using the first link.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using a first link includes transmitting a delay-sensitive data frame to the first device using the first link, the data frame relating to at least one complete Wi-Fi signal.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over the second frequency band using the second link includes transmitting a non-delay sensitive data frame to the first device using the second link.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over the second frequency band using the second link includes receiving an acknowledgement frame from the first device using the second link.

In another possible implementation, receiving the acknowledgement frame from the first device using the second link includes receiving the acknowledgement frame from the first device using the second link after transmitting more than two data frames to the second device.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over the second frequency band using the second link includes receiving interference information from at least one third device transmitted by the first device to the first device using the second link and transmitting the interference information using the second link.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over the second frequency band using the second link includes receiving communication frames from the one or more third devices using the second link, determining interference information for the first device by at least one third device based on signal strengths of the communication frames of the one or more third devices and a predetermined threshold, and transmitting the interference information to the first device using the second link.

In another possible implementation, transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over the second frequency band using the second link includes scanning information of one or more neighbor devices using the second link and transmitting information of the one or more neighbor devices to the first device using the second link.

In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus is used as a first device or applied to a chip of the first device, and the function executed by the first device in the above method may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes a processing module configured to support the apparatus to perform corresponding functions in the method described above, and a communication module operable to support the apparatus to communicate with a second device.

In another possible implementation, the apparatus includes a processor configured to support the apparatus to perform corresponding functions in the method described above, and a transceiver to support the apparatus to communicate with the second device. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory for coupling with the processor, which holds the program instructions and data necessary for the apparatus.

In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus is used as a second device or applied to a chip of the second device, and the function executed by the second device in the above method may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes a processing module configured to support the apparatus to perform corresponding functions in the method described above, and a communication module operable to support the apparatus to communicate with a first device.

In another possible implementation, the apparatus includes a processor configured to support the apparatus to perform corresponding functions in the method described above, and a transceiver to support the apparatus to communicate with the first device. Optionally, the apparatus further comprises a memory for coupling with the processor, which holds the program instructions and data necessary for the apparatus.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a chip comprising processing circuitry and a transmitter for supporting the chip to perform a method as provided by the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or a processing circuitry and a receiver for supporting the chip to perform a method as provided by the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus comprising a first device comprising the apparatus of the third aspect, or any of the possible implementations of the third aspect, for performing the method as provided by the first aspect, or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect, and a second device comprising the apparatus of the fourth aspect, or any of the possible implementations of the fourth aspect, for performing the method as provided by the second aspect, or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instructions is stored which, when executed, implement a method as provided by the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a computer readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instructions is stored which, when executed, implement a method as provided by the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) which, when executed, causes a computer to perform a method as provided by the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions) which when run causes a computer to perform the method as provided by the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

The technical effects of any one of the second aspect to the tenth aspect may be referred to as the technical effects of the first aspect or the different designs of the first aspect, and will not be described herein.

Further combinations of the present application may be made to provide further implementations based on the implementations provided in the above aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a non-AP multi-link device and an AP multi-link device provided by the present application;

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a dual-frequency dual-transmit device according to the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to the present application;

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a communication method of a network access scene provided by the application;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of sending a beacon frame of a network access scenario according to the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a network access provided by the present application;

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a communication method of a time synchronization scenario provided by the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a time synchronization provided by the present application;

Fig. 11 is a flow chart of a communication method of a data transmission scenario provided by the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a data transmission according to the present application;

Fig. 13 is a flow chart of a communication method of an interference detection scenario provided by the present application;

fig. 14 is a flow chart of a communication method of roaming scenario provided by the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to the present application.

Detailed Description

For ease of understanding, the main terms involved in the present application will be explained first.

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is a wireless carrier communication technology, and can transmit data by using non-sinusoidal narrow pulses of nanosecond level, so that the occupied spectrum range is wide. The UWB technology has the characteristics of low system complexity, low power spectrum density of a transmitting signal, insensitivity to channel fading, low interception capability, high positioning accuracy and the like, and can be applied to the fields of short-distance high-speed wireless data communication, positioning, ranging, sensing and the like.

In order to meet the low-delay and large-connection transmission requirements of terminal equipment, it is expected that the working frequency band of wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, wi-Fi) equipment can be expanded to an ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency band, so that the influence of other equipment in the unlicensed frequency band (such as 2.4GHz and 5 GHz) on Wi-Fi signal transmission is avoided. UWB technology uses a frequency range of 7163-8812MHz, which may also be referred to as the 8GHz UWB band. At present, related regulations have certain requirements on the bandwidth of a transmitting signal, the limit value of the spectrum density of the equivalent omni-directional radiation power and the limit value of the out-of-band transmitting power during 8GHz UWB frequency band communication. For example, the required power spectral density drops by-10 dB, the corresponding transmit signal bandwidth is not less than 500MHz, the equivalent omni-directional radiated power spectral density limit is not greater than-41 dBm/MHz, and the transmit power limits for different frequency ranges outside the band are shown in Table 1 below. In table 1 below, a detection method is described as an example of Root Mean Square (RMS) detection.

TABLE 1

However, to enable Wi-Fi devices to operate in the UWB band described above, compliance with radio management regulations for the UWB band is required. For example, the bandwidth of the transmission signal should be not less than 500MHz, which makes it necessary to insert redundant data to expand the Wi-Fi signal bandwidth when transmitting Wi-Fi communication frames (such as control frames, management frames, data frames, etc.), and especially to insert a larger amount of redundant data when transmitting low-speed Wi-Fi communication frames, which results in a significant reduction in channel utilization. For another example, the in-band power spectral density of the transmitted signal should not be greater than-41 dBm/MHz, which may cause a significant reduction in signal quality and coverage of Wi-Fi devices, and further cause low accuracy of time synchronization of devices in the domain, difficulty in network access of terminal devices, difficulty in detection of interference between devices, and aggravated problem of hidden nodes.

To this end, the present application provides a communication method applied to a communication device including a plurality of links, which enables an operating band of the communication device to be extended to a UWB band without causing problems such as a decrease in channel utilization and/or a decrease in signal quality and coverage, by transmitting a type of communication signal, for example, a data frame carrying effective data, over a first band in the UWB band using a first link and transmitting another type of communication signal, for example, a management frame or/and a control frame, over a second band in a non-UWB band using a second link, thereby enabling an operating band of a Wi-Fi device to be extended to the UWB band without causing problems such as a decrease in channel utilization and/or a decrease in signal quality and coverage. In the present application, transmission may refer to transmission or reception.

The plurality of links included in the communication device may refer to a plurality of access circuits, and each access circuit may be used as a link. Multiple links may be used to transmit signals of different bandwidths. The access circuit may also be referred to as a radio frequency circuit or a radio frequency module or a radio frequency link, etc.

For example, the communication device of the present application may be a Multi-link device (Multi-LINK DEVICE, MLD) or a dual-frequency, dual-transmit (Dual Band Dual Concurrent, DBDC) device.

The multilink device is a device which is provided with a plurality of radio frequency modules and the radio frequency modules respectively work on different frequency bands or channels. The distance between channels (or frequency bands) on which two radio frequency modules in the multi-link device operate is large enough, so that the two radio frequency modules can operate independently without interference, for example, the two radio frequency modules can receive or transmit signals independently. The multiple radio frequency modules contained in the MLD can establish multiple channels with other devices (such as the MLD), and data transmission is performed based on the multiple channels, so that the data transmission rate is improved.

Wherein if any two channels of the multi-link device are supported, one channel transmits signals and the other channel receives signals, then the two channels are supported with simultaneous transmission/reception (simultaneous transmit/receiver, STR) capability, otherwise the two channels are not simultaneously transmitted/received (non-STR).

The multi-link device may include a plurality of Stations (STAs). In the case where the MLD is an Access Point (AP), the MLD may be an AP MLD. At this time, the station included in the AP MLD may be referred to as an AP. In the case where the MLD is a non-access point (non-AP), the MLD may be a non-AP MLD. The non-AP MLD may also be referred to as a STA MLD. At this time, the station included in the non-AP MLD may be referred to as STA. That is, the APs included in the AP MLD and the STAs included in the non-AP MLD may be collectively referred to as stations.

For example, the multiple radio frequency modules included in the MLD may be used as stations, the multiple radio frequency modules included in the AP MLD may be used as APs, and the multiple radio frequency modules included in the non-AP MLD may be used as STAs. The AP MLD includes a plurality of APs, and the Non-AP MLD includes a plurality of STAs.

The non-AP MLD can exchange a hybrid link association request/response (multi-link association request/response) frame in one link and carry information of a plurality of links so as to realize that the non-AP MLD establishes association with a plurality of links of the AP MLD. Among them, the link performing the hybrid link association request/response frame exchange is called a transmission link (TRANSMITTED LINK), and the other links are called non-transmission links (non-TRANSMITTED LINK).

The multilink device may include one or more affiliated stations, which are one logical station. The affiliated station may be an AP or an STA. For convenience of description, the present application refers to a multi-link device including an affiliated station AP as a multi-link AP or multi-link AP device or AP MLD, and refers to a multi-link device including an affiliated station STA as a multi-link STA or multi-link STA device or STA MLD or non-AP MLD. For convenience and uniformity of description, the "multi-link device including the affiliated STA" is briefly described as "multi-link device including STA" in the embodiment of the present application, the "multi-link device including the affiliated AP" is briefly described as "multi-link device including AP" in the embodiment of the present application, and the multi-link device including the affiliated AP is collectively referred to as AP MLD in the embodiment of the present application, and the multi-link device including the affiliated STA is collectively referred to as non-AP MLD in the embodiment of the present application. The multi-link device may include multiple logical sites, each operating on a link.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a non-AP multi-link device and an AP multi-link device provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the non-AP multi-link device includes two STAs and the AP multi-link device includes two APs. The non-AP multi-link device may send an association request (association request) frame on channel 1, where the association request frame carries information about the STA side of channel 2 in addition to the STA side of channel 1. Among them, lane 1 is called a transmission link, and lane 2 is called a non-transmission link. After receiving the association request frame, the AP multilink device sends an association response (association response) frame to the non-AP multilink device on the channel 1, where the association response frame carries information on the AP side of the channel 2 in addition to information on the AP side of the channel 1. Thus, STA1 of the non-AP multi-link device establishes an association with AP 1 of the AP multi-link device and STA 2 of the non-AP multi-link device establishes an association with AP 2 of the AP multi-link device.

Wherein, the related information on the STA side of the channel 2 may be located in a Basic Multi-link element (Basic Multi-LINK ELEMENT) field in the association request frame. The relevant information on the AP side of channel 2 may be located in the Basic Multi-LINK ELEMENT field in the association response frame.

The medium access control (medium access control, MAC) layer of the multi-link device is divided into a multi-link device lower medium access control sublayer (MLD lower (medium access control, MAC) layer) and a multi-link device upper medium access control sublayer (MLD upper MAC sublayer). The multi-link device lower medium access control sublayer may be simply referred to as the MLD low MAC sublayer. The medium access control sublayer at the upper layer of the multi-link device may be simply referred to as the MLD high MAC sublayer.

Wherein the multi-link device may include a plurality of multi-link device lower layer medium access control sublayers. It is understood that the functions of the medium access control sub-layers of the lower layers of the multiple multi-link devices included in the multi-link device are implemented by multiple APs or multiple STAs. For example, each AP in the AP MLD contains a multi-link device lower layer medium access control sublayer. Each STA in the non-AP MLD contains a multi-link device lower layer medium access control sublayer.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 1, the AP MLD includes an MLD high MAC sublayer, an MLD low MAC sublayer 1, and an MLD low MAC sublayer 2. The MLD low MAC sublayer 1 serves as a MAC layer of the AP1, i.e., the AP1 implements the function of the MLD low MAC sublayer 1, and the MLD low MAC sublayer 2 serves as a MAC layer of the AP2, i.e., the AP2 implements the function of the MLD low MAC sublayer 2. AP1 and AP2 share the MLD high MAC sublayer.

The non-AP MLD includes an MLD high MAC sublayer, an MLD low MAC sublayer 1 and an MLD low MAC sublayer 2. The MLD low MAC sublayer 1 serves as a MAC layer of STA1, i.e., STA1 implements the function of the MLD low MAC sublayer 1, and the MLD low MAC sublayer 2 serves as a MAC layer of STA2, i.e., STA2 implements the function of the MLD low MAC sublayer 2. STA1 and STA2 share the MLD high MAC sublayer.

The multi-link device has a respective MAC address (LINK ADDRESS) for each link, except for the MAC address (MLD MAC ADDRESS) of the device. For example, the address of the MLD low MAC sublayer 1 is LINK ADDRESS1, the address of the MLD low MAC sublayer 2 is LINK ADDRESS, and the address of the MLD high MAC sublayer is MLD MAC ADDRESS.

The double-frequency double-transmitting equipment is equipment with a plurality of radio frequency modules with independent receiving and transmitting capabilities, and different radio frequency modules support different frequencies to carry out data transmission. The difference between the dual-band dual-transmit device and the multi-link device is that, as shown in fig. 2, different radio frequency modules respectively include MAC layers, and multiple radio frequency modules do not share a high MAC sublayer.

In order to implement the above method for assisting the first link to transmit information through the second link, embodiments of the present application provide related communication methods, devices and communication systems, and embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The wireless communication system applicable to the embodiment of the application can be a wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN) or a cellular network, and the communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be implemented by a communication device in the wireless communication system or a chip or a processor in the communication device, and the communication device can be a wireless communication device supporting parallel transmission of multiple links, for example, called a multi-link device. Devices supporting multiple link transmissions have higher transmission efficiency and higher throughput than devices supporting only a single link transmission.

The present application supports Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) protocols such as IEEE 802.11be/Wi-Fi 7/EHT protocol, IEEE 802.11bn/UHR/Wi-Fi 8 protocol, INTEGRATED MMWAVE/Integrated millimeter wave/IMMW protocol, IEEE 802.15/UWB protocol, or IEEE 802.11bf/sensing protocol.

The communication device may implement wireless communication with other devices in compliance with an 802.11 series of protocols, for example, in compliance with an extremely high throughput (extremely high throughput, EHT) station, or in compliance with an 802.11 be-based or 802.11 be-compatible station, where the other devices may or may not be devices supporting multiple link transmissions.

The communication device in the embodiment of the present application may be a single-antenna device or a multi-antenna device. For example, a device with more than two antennas may be used. The number of antennas included in the communication device is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiment of the application, the communication equipment can allow the service of the same access type to be transmitted on different links, even allow the same data packet to be transmitted on different links, or can not allow the service of the same access type to be transmitted on different links, but allow the service of different access types to be transmitted on different links.

The communication device is an apparatus with a wireless communication function, and the apparatus may be a device of a complete machine, or may be a chip or a processing system installed in the device of the complete machine, where the device installed with the chip or the processing system may implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or the processing system.

For example, the non-AP MLD in the embodiment of the present application has a wireless transceiver function, which can support an 802.11 series protocol, and can communicate with the AP MLD. For example, a non-AP MLD is any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and thus with a WLAN. For example, the non-AP MLD may be a tablet computer, a desktop, a laptop, a notebook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, or a user device capable of networking, or an internet of things node in the internet of things, or an in-vehicle communication device in the internet of things, or the like, and the non-AP MLD may also be a chip and a processing system in the above terminals.

The AP MLD in the embodiment of the application is a device for providing service for the non-AP MLD and can support 802.11 series protocols. For example, the AP MLD may be a communication entity such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, or the AP MLD may include various types of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, or the like, and of course, the AP MLD may also be a chip and a processing system in these various types of devices, so as to implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application.

It can be appreciated that the communication device in the embodiment of the present application may support high-rate low-delay transmission, and with the continuous evolution of wireless local area network application scenarios, the communication device may also be applied to more scenarios, such as sensor nodes (e.g., smart water meters, smart electric meters, smart air detection nodes) in smart cities, smart devices in smart homes (e.g., smart cameras, projectors, display screens, televisions, speakers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.), nodes in the internet of things, entertainment terminals (e.g., wearable devices such as AR, VR, etc.), smart devices in smart offices (e.g., printers, projectors, etc.), internet of vehicles in the internet of vehicles, some infrastructures in daily life scenarios (e.g., vending machines, super self-service navigation stations, self-service cashing devices, self-service ordering machines, etc.). The specific form of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application is not particularly limited, but is merely illustrative. The 802.11 protocol may be an 802.11 be-supporting or 802.11 be-compatible protocol.

In the embodiment of the present application, the frequency band in which the communication device operates may include one or more of sub 1GHz,2.4GHz,5GHz,6GHz and high frequency 60GHz, for example, including 2.4GHz,5GHz and 6GHz, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Although embodiments of the present application are primarily described in terms of deploying an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ELECTRICAL AND electronics engineers, 802.11 network, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that aspects of the present application may be extended to other networks employing various standards or protocols, such as bluetooth (blue), star flash, high performance wireless LAN (high performance radio LAN, hiperlan), a wireless standard similar to the IEEE 802.11 standard and used primarily in europe, as well as wide area networks (wide area network, WAN), WLANs, personal area networks (personal area network, PAN) or other now known or later developed networks. Accordingly, the various aspects provided by the present application may be applicable to any suitable wireless network, regardless of the coverage area and wireless access protocol used.

In an embodiment of the present application, bluetooth (BT) and bluetooth low energy (bluetooth low energy, BLE) may refer to each other. Star flash and star flash low power consumption (SPARKLINK LOW ENERGY, SLE), star flash base access (SPARKLINK BASIC, SLB), or star flash location (SPARKLINK POSITION, SLP) may also be referred to as each other.

The wireless communication system and the application scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly describing the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art can know, with evolution of the communication system and occurrence of a new application scenario, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable to similar technical problems.

It should be understood that in the wireless communication system, devices can be classified into devices providing wireless network services and devices using wireless network services. The device providing wireless network services may also be referred to as a network device (network equipment) or network element, e.g., the network device comprises a wireless access device. Devices that use wireless network services are typically located at the edge of the network, and may be referred to as terminal devices or terminals (terminals) for short, that are capable of establishing a connection with a network device and providing wireless communication services to users based on the services of the network device. The configuration of the wireless communication system will be exemplified below by taking the wireless communication system including a wireless access device and a terminal device as an example.

Fig. 3 illustrates a communication system 300 in which embodiments of the present application may be implemented, for example, in a wireless lan. Communication system 300 includes a plurality of wireless access points 310 and a plurality of stations 320.

The wireless Access Point (AP) refers to an access point of a wireless network, and is used as a routing device in a wireless local area network, and has functions of multi-user access, data encryption, data decryption, multi-rate transmission, and the like. The wireless access point is mainly used in broadband families, buildings, campuses, parks and places such as warehouses and factories needing wireless networks. The wireless access point may access a distributed system (Distribution system, DS).

Stations (STAs) refer to devices connected to a wireless local area network by connecting to a wireless access point. A station may communicate with other stations in the wireless local area network, wireless access points, or devices external to the wireless network.

Individual STAs within the range covered by one AP may communicate with each other, and individual STAs may also communicate with the AP.

The Basic service set (Basic SERVICE SET, BSS) includes a plurality of stations connected under the same AP. The BSS may or may not include an AP. A Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) is a unique identification of the basic service set. The BSSID has the same format as the MAC address, typically the MAC address of the AP, and is used to identify the AP to manage the BSS.

An Extended Service Set (ESS) refers to a service set formed by two or more BSSs in a wireless local area network interconnected by their access point devices to a backbone network, typically a wired local area network. The extended service set includes a plurality of BSSs, thereby extending wireless network coverage. In some embodiments, the ESS includes a plurality of wireless access points, with partial overlap between coverage cells of the wireless access points to enable seamless roaming between stations. An overlapping BSS (Overlapping BSS, OBSS) refers to other BSSs that have a coincidence with the current BSS channel or frequency band, and the OBSS may be co-channel or different channels.

In some embodiments, the wireless access point may be an AP multilink device. A station may be a STA multilink device. The AP multilink device and the STA multilink device may establish multiple channels for data transmission. Illustratively, the non-AP multilink device performs a multilink establishment procedure with the AP multilink device as described in FIG. 1.

It should be noted that, the scene graph shown in the embodiment of the present application is illustrated by taking an example that the AP MLD includes 2 APs and the non-AP MLD includes 2 STAs, and of course, the AP MLD may include a greater number of APs and the non-AP MLD may include a greater number of STAs, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, AP1 may also be referred to as a first AP, AP2 may also be referred to as a second AP, STA1 may also be referred to as a first STA, STA2 may also be referred to as a second STA, channel 1 may also be referred to as a first channel, and channel 2 may also be referred to as a second channel, which are collectively described herein and not described herein.

Optionally, the communication system may further include a relay device, where the AP multi-link device and the STA multi-link device communicate through the relay device, and the embodiments of the present application are not described herein. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the wireless communication device structure shown in the figures is not limiting of the wireless communication device and may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine certain components, or a different arrangement of components.

In particular, the AP multilink device and the STA multilink device shown in fig. 3 may each adopt the composition structure shown in fig. 4 or include the components shown in fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to the present application, where the communication apparatus 400 may be an access point device or a chip or a system on chip in the access point device, or may be a station device or a chip or a system on chip in the station device. As shown in fig. 4, the communication apparatus 400 includes a processor 401, a communication interface 402, and a communication line 403.

Further, the communication device 400 may also include a memory 404. The processor 401, the memory 404, and the communication interface 402 may be connected by a communication line 403.

The processor 401 is a central processing unit (central processing unit, CPU), a general purpose processor network processor (network processor, NP), a digital signal processor (DIGITAL SIGNAL processing, DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (programmable logic device, PLD), or any combination thereof. The processor 401 may also be any other device having a processing function, such as a circuit, a device, or a software module, without limitation.

In an embodiment of the application, the processor 401 is used to process data. Such as network entry, time synchronization, roaming, interference avoidance, and the like.

A communication interface 402 for communicating with other devices or other communication networks. The other communication network may be an ethernet, a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), a wireless local area network (wireless local area networks, WLAN), etc. The communication interface 402 may be a module, a circuit, a transceiver, or any device capable of enabling communications.

For example, communication interface 402 includes modules supporting UWB bands and modules supporting non-UWB bands. The module supporting the UWB band is configured to transmit or receive signals comprising at least one complete Wi-Fi signal. The module supporting the non-UWB band is configured to transmit or receive at least one signal such as BLE, SLE, wi-Fi.

Communication line 403 for transmitting information between the components included in communication device 400.

Memory 404 for storing instructions. Wherein the instructions may be computer programs. The memory 404 may be, but is not limited to, a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and/or instructions, a random access memory (random access memory, RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and/or instructions, an EEPROM, a CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) or other optical disk storage, an optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, etc.

It is noted that the memory 404 may exist separately from the processor 401 or may be integrated with the processor 401. Memory 404 may be used to store instructions or program code or some data, etc. The memory 404 may be located within the communication device 400 or may be located outside the communication device 400, without limitation. The processor 401 is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 404 to implement a communication method provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

In one example, processor 401 may be a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. Such as CPU0 and CPU1 in fig. 4.

As an alternative implementation, the communication device 400 includes multiple processors, e.g., the processor 407 may be included in addition to the processor 401 in fig. 4.

As an alternative implementation, the communication apparatus 400 further comprises an output device 405 and an input device 406. Illustratively, the input device 406 is a keyboard, mouse, microphone, or joystick, and the output device 405 is a display, speaker (speaker), or the like.

It should be noted that the communication apparatus 400 may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a web server, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, a chip system, or a device having a similar structure as in fig. 4. Further, the constituent structure shown in fig. 4 does not constitute a limitation of the communication apparatus, and the communication apparatus may include more or less components than those shown in fig. 4, or may combine some components, or may be arranged in different components, in addition to those shown in fig. 4.

In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be composed of chips, and can also comprise chips and other discrete devices.

Further, actions, terms, and the like, which are referred to between embodiments of the present application, are not limited thereto. The names of the messages transmitted between the devices or the names of the parameters in the messages in the embodiment of the application are only an example, and other names can be adopted in the specific implementation without limitation. In the present application, the second link assisting the first link in achieving the objective may refer to an action of both parties to achieve a certain objective or solve a problem by acquiring, processing, using, transferring or transmitting information.

The following describes a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following embodiments of the present application, the names of messages, parameters, or information between network elements are merely examples, and in other embodiments, other names may be used, and the communication method provided by the present application is not limited thereto.

It will be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, each network element may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, these steps or operations are only examples, and other operations or variations of the various operations may also be performed by the embodiments of the present application. Furthermore, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in accordance with embodiments of the application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in the present application, where the method can be applied to a wireless communication system, and the wireless communication system includes a first device and a second device, and the first device and the second device may also be referred to as a wireless communication device. For example, the first device and the second device may be the devices shown in fig. 3. For example, the first device may be a wireless access point and the second device a station, or the first device may be a station and the second device a wireless access point. That is, the first device may be one of a wireless access point or station and the second device is the other of the wireless access point or station. The first device comprises a plurality of links, the plurality of links comprises a first link and a second link, the first link is used for transmitting signals comprising at least one complete Wi-Fi signal, and the second link is used for transmitting at least one signal such as BLE, SLE, wi-Fi signal. The second device comprises one or more links. It will be appreciated that the second device may be a device comprising a single link or a device comprising multiple links. The method comprises the following steps.

Step 510, the first device transmits a first type of communication signal with the second device over a first frequency band using a first link.

Step 520, the first device transmits a second type of communication signal with the second device over the second frequency band using the second link.

Wherein the first frequency band is within the UWB frequency band. The second frequency band is within the non-UWB frequency band. For example, the non-UWB frequency bands include a 2.4GHz band, a 5GHz band, or a 6GHz band.

The second link is used to assist the first link in at least one of transmitting Beacon frames, device network access, transmitting low speed communication frames, time synchronization, interference detection and notification, roaming. It will be appreciated that signals to be transmitted with the second device over the first frequency band using the first link are transmitted with the second device over the second frequency band by the second link, i.e. the second link assists the first link in transmitting signals with the second device over the first frequency band over the second frequency band. Therefore, the transmission of the communication frames on the first link is reduced, so that the first link can transmit more other communication frames, such as high-rate communication frames, and the channel utilization rate of the first link is improved.

In some embodiments, the transmission rate of the first type of communication signal is greater than the transmission rate of the second type of communication signal. I.e. the second type of communication signal may be low rate communication frames, the first device transmitting low rate communication frames with the second device over the second frequency band using the second link. The first type of communication signal may be high rate communication frames, and the first device may communicate the high rate communication frames with the second device over the first frequency band using the first link.

For example, the first type of communication signal includes delay-sensitive data frames and simplified beacon frames. The second type of communication signal includes at least one of a management frame, a control frame, or a non-delay sensitive data frame.

The management frames include beacon frames, probe requests, response frames, authentication frames (authentication frames), de-authentication frames (deauthencation frames), association requests (association request), and de-association (diassociation frames).

The control frames include an acknowledgement frame (ACK FRAMES), a request to send frame (RTS FRAMES), a clear to send frame (CTS FRAMES), a power save Poll frame (PS-Poll frames), and a block acknowledgement frame (block acknowledgement frames).

The delay sensitive data frames comprise data frames of a high definition video service.

By utilizing the first link to transmit high-rate communication frames with the second device in the first frequency band and utilizing the second link to transmit low-rate communication frames with the second device in the second frequency band, the bandwidth utilization of the first link can be effectively improved, thereby enabling the first link to operate in the UWB frequency band. In addition, by utilizing the second link transmission to assist the first link to transmit non-delay sensitive service, the power consumption of the device can be reduced, and the service transmission delay can be improved.

In some embodiments, the bandwidth of the first type of communication signal is greater than the bandwidth of the second type of communication signal. I.e. the bandwidth of the signal transmitted over the first frequency band using the first link is larger than the bandwidth of the signal transmitted over the second frequency band using the second link.

The coverage of the first type of communication signals is smaller than the coverage of the second type of communication signals. This may be accomplished, for example, by communicating with a device at a far distance using a second link and communicating with a device at a near distance using a first link. The distance of the device may be determined, for example, based on the strength of the signal from the device that is monitored.

In this way, by using the first link to transmit high-rate communication signals, such as data frames carrying valid data, in a first frequency band within the UWB frequency band, and using the second link to transmit low-rate communication signals, such as management frames and/or control frames, in a second frequency band within a non-UWB frequency band, the operating frequency band of the communication device can be extended to the UWB frequency band, and using the second link to assist the first link in transmitting low-rate communication frames, the transmission of low-rate communication frames over the first link is reduced, the first link transmits more high-rate communication frames, and the channel utilization of the first link is improved. In addition, the coverage area of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, the power spectrum density of the signal transmitted by the second link is larger than that of the signal transmitted by the first link, and the signal can be transmitted farther by the second link to communicate with the remote equipment. Thereby enabling the operating band of the communication device to be extended to the UWB band without the problems of reduced channel utilization and reduced signal quality and coverage.

The communication method shown in fig. 5 will be described below in connection with the scenarios of network access, time synchronization, interference detection, roaming, etc.

In a first possible implementation, it is assumed that the first device may be a station and the second device a wireless access point. The second device and the first device perform beacon frame or probe frame transmission based on the second link, so that the first device accesses the network, namely the first device establishes connection with the second device.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of a communication method of a network access scene provided by the application. As shown in fig. 6, the method includes the following steps.

Step 610, the second device transmits a beacon frame to the first device using the second link. Accordingly, the first device receives the beacon frame from the second device using the second link.

The beacon frame is used to inform the network of the existence and to provide information about the network. Beacon frames are typically broadcast by wireless access points. The beacon frame contains BSS information, capabilities of the wireless access point, and the like. So that the station receives the beacon frame to access the network, i.e. the station establishes a connection with the wireless access point. The beacon frame includes a frame header, a timestamp, signal strength, a frequency offset, and a data portion.

The frame header is the start marker of the beacon frame. The time stamp is used to indicate the transmission time of the beacon frame for the station to perform time synchronization. The signal strength is used for measuring the strength of the received signal by the station, and the quality of the channel is estimated and optimized. The frequency offset is used for a station calibrated local clock to maintain frequency synchronization with the wireless access point. The data portion is used to carry additional information or to transport application layer data.

In some embodiments, the second device may periodically broadcast a beacon frame. For example, the second device periodically transmits beacon frames using the second link. Accordingly, the first device receives the beacon frame from the second device using the second link.

Optionally, the second device transmits a reduced beacon frame on the first link, i.e., the reduced beacon frame may carry a small amount of device information or network information, greatly reducing the time overhead of transmitting the beacon frame using the first link.

Because the time information of different devices may not be synchronized, the simplified beacon frame may carry time slot allocation information and accurate time synchronization information of the first link operating frequency band, and be used to calibrate time synchronization deviation between different devices on the first link, inter-device interference information on the first link operating frequency band, and the like.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 7, the AP transmits a beacon frame using the second link and the AP transmits a simplified beacon frame using the first link.

Alternatively, the device may switch to a sleep state to reduce power consumption when the first link and the second link have no data transmission. Wake up before the beacon frame transmission and switch back to the sleep state after the beacon frame transmission. The scheme is particularly suitable for reducing the power consumption of the first link. The device generally works in a centralized scheduling mode on the first link, specifically, different devices work in different transmission time slots, so that the first link of any device can be switched to a dormant state in the non-transmission time slot and the non-beacon frame sending time of the device, thereby realizing energy saving of the device.

Step 620, the first device and the second device establish a connection based on BSS information.

After the first device receives the beacon frame from the second device using the second link, the first device and the second device establish a connection based on the BSS information.

In some embodiments, the first device utilizes the second link to transmit probe requests, authentication frames, and association frames with the second device to complete the network access. Wherein the probe request, authentication frame, and association frame include information related to the first device establishing a first link with the second device.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 8, the AP transmits a beacon frame using the second link, and accordingly, the STA receives the beacon frame using the second link. The STA transmits a probe request frame using the second link, and the AP receives the probe request frame using the second link, accordingly. The AP transmits a probe response frame using the second link, and the STA receives the probe response frame using the second link, accordingly. The STA transmits an authentication request frame using the second link, and the AP receives the authentication request frame using the second link, accordingly. The AP transmits an authentication response frame using the second link, and the STA receives the authentication response frame using the second link, accordingly. And the STA transmits an association request frame by using the second link, and correspondingly, the AP receives the association request frame by using the second link. The AP transmits an association response frame using the second link, and the STA receives the association response frame using the second link, accordingly. Thus, the STA is caused to establish a connection with the AP in order to transmit the data frame.

Because the coverage area of the signal sent by the second link is larger than that of the signal sent by the first link, the transmission distance of the signal sent by the second link is longer, and the second link is used for scanning and networking, so that the equipment can scan the beacon frame as soon as possible, and the networking success rate is lower compared with that caused by scanning and networking by the first link, and the scanning and networking success rate of the equipment is effectively improved and the power consumption of the equipment is reduced by using the second link.

In a second possible implementation, it is assumed that the first device may be a station and the second device a wireless access point. The second device and the first device perform beacon frame or probe frame transmission based on the second link, and after the first device accesses the network, the second device and the first device perform time synchronization based on the second link.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart of a communication method of a time synchronization scenario provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the method includes the following steps.

Step 910, the second device transmits a communication frame to the first device using the second link. Accordingly, the first device receives the communication frame from the second device using the second link.

The communication frame includes first transmission slot information of the first link. For example, where the second link is a Wi-Fi link, the communication frame may be a beacon frame. As another example, the communication frame may also be a radio frame of BLE or a radio frame of SLE.

Step 920, the first device performs initial time synchronization with the second device based on the transmission slot information.

The first device performs coarse time synchronization with the second device based on the first transmission slot information. For example, the first transmission slot information indicates time information of the minute level.

Alternatively, because of the low time precision in performing the initial time synchronization between the devices, there is still a possibility that the devices may have different times, and the devices may also perform accurate time synchronization using the first link. Optionally, embodiments of the present application further include some steps 930 and 940.

Step 930, the second device sends a synchronization frame to the first device using the first link. Accordingly, the first device receives the synchronization frame from the second device using the first link.

Step 940, the second device performs accurate time synchronization with the second device based on the synchronization frame.

The synchronization frame may be a random sequence and may not be required to satisfy the Wi-Fi protocol frame format.

Optionally, the second device utilizes the simplified beacon frame sent by the first link to the first device. Accordingly, the first device receives the reduced beacon frame from the second device using the first link. The reduced beacon frame contains second transmission slot information for the first link, e.g., the first transmission slot information indicates time information on the order of seconds.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 10, STA1 and STA2 have time offsets from the AP. The AP transmits a communication frame using the second link, the communication frame carrying slot information of the coarse time synchronization, and correspondingly, STA1 receives the communication frame using the second link, and STA2 receives the communication frame using the second link. The AP sends a synchronization frame by using the first link, correspondingly, the STA1 receives the synchronization frame by using the second link, and the STA2 receives the synchronization frame by using the second link, wherein the synchronization frame carries slot information of fine time synchronization. STA1 and STA2 perform time synchronization with the AP based on the time slot information of the coarse time synchronization and the time slot information of the fine time synchronization. The AP transmits the data frame using the first link, and STA1 and STA2 can accurately receive the data frame.

And acquiring transmission time slot information of the first link through the first link or/and the second link at the device, and transmitting a data frame on the first link, wherein the data frame at least relates to the one complete Wi-Fi signal.

In a third possible implementation, it is assumed that the first device may be a station and the second device a wireless access point. After the second device establishes a connection with the first device based on the second link and performs time synchronization, the second device and the first device may perform data frame transmission.

Fig. 11 is a flow chart of a communication method of a data transmission scenario provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the method includes the following steps.

Step 1110, the second device transmits a non-delay-sensitive data frame to the first device using the second link. Accordingly, the first device receives the non-delay-sensitive data frame from the second device using the second link.

Step 1120, the second device transmits a delay-sensitive data frame to the first device using the first link. Accordingly, the first device receives the delay-sensitive data frame from the second device using the first link.

The time delay sensitive data frames comprise data frames of high-definition video service and data frames of live scenes. Non-delay sensitive data frames include instant messages, mail, etc.

Optionally, the above steps 1110 and 1120 are both illustrative, and the present application is not limited to the direction of data transmission between devices. In some embodiments, the first device transmits a non-delay-sensitive data frame to the second device using the second link. Accordingly, the second device receives the non-delay-sensitive data frame from the first device using the second link. The first device transmits a delay-sensitive data frame to the second device using the first link. Accordingly, the second device receives the delay-sensitive data frame from the first device using the first link.

Step 1130, the first device sends an acknowledgement frame to the first device using the second link. Accordingly, the second device receives the acknowledgement frame from the first device using the second link.

The first device receives the non-delay sensitive data frame or the delay sensitive data frame from the second device using the second link and then transmits an acknowledgement frame to the first device using the second link.

In some embodiments, after the first device receives a data frame from the second device, an acknowledgement frame is sent to the second device using the second link. Or after the first device receives more than two data frames from the second device, at least one acknowledgement frame is sent to the second device using the second link. Illustratively, as shown in fig. 12, after receiving three data frames from an AP using a first link, the STA sends an acknowledgement frame to the AP using a second link. After receiving a data frame from the AP using the first link, the STA transmits an acknowledgement frame to the AP using the second link.

Because the working frequency of the first link is higher than that of the second link, and redundant data are additionally inserted when the device transmits Wi-Fi signals on the first link to meet the regulation requirement of the bandwidth of the transmitted signals, the power consumption of the first link is higher than that of the second link when the device transmits the service with the same data volume on the two links by adopting the same modulation parameters.

An advantage of using the first link to transmit traffic is that the channel of the first link is cleaner than the channel of the second link, i.e., the transmission of Wi-Fi signals on the first link is less interfered by the second link. In addition, when the equipment works in the first link, a centralized scheduling mode is generally adopted, so that the competition of multiple equipment on the second link for channels is avoided, and the improvement of the deterministic time delay service transmission quality is facilitated.

In order to fully utilize the transmission advantage of the first link and reduce the power consumption of the device, the device determines the transmission link of the service according to the time delay requirement of the service, the distance of the communication device pair and the like. Specifically, a first link is used to transmit short-range, time-delay sensitive traffic, and a second link is used to transmit long-range, non-time-delay sensitive traffic. Thereby, device power consumption is reduced and data transmission delay is improved.

In a fourth possible implementation, the device detects inter-device system/inter-system interference using the first link. Because the signal coverage of the second link is larger than that of the first link, the second link can be utilized to inform the equipment interference information of the first link, so that equipment in a larger range can be ensured to know the equipment interference information on the first link. The system interference refers to Wi-Fi signal interference, and the different system interference refers to UWB, radar and other signal interference. When the second link is used for sending Wi-Fi signals, the second link can be used for detecting interference of other Wi-Fi devices.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart of a communication method of an interference detection scenario provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 13, the method includes the following steps.

Step 1310, the first device receives a communication frame from one or more third devices using the second link.

Step 1320, the first device determines interference information of at least one third device to the first device according to signal strength of the communication frame of the one or more third devices and a threshold.

For example, the first device determines that the third device has interference with the first device in a case where the signal strength of the communication frame is greater than or equal to a threshold. In the event that the signal strength of the communication frame is less than the threshold, the first device determines that the third device has no interference with the first device.

Step 1330, the first device sends interference information to the second device using the second link. Accordingly, the second device receives interference information from at least one third device of the first device to the first device using the second link. The second device broadcasts interference information to the intra-domain sites using the second link.

And when the first device is a station and the second device is a wireless access point, the first device sends interference information to the second device by using the second link. The second device receives interference information of one or more third devices transmitted by the first device to the first device by using the second link, and the second device transmits the interference information by using the second link. For example, the station reports the detected interference information to the station-associated AP, and the station-associated AP collects the interference information reported by different stations and then broadcasts and notifies the stations in the domain by using the second link.

Optionally, in the case that the first device is a station and the second device is a wireless access point, the second device transmits a communication frame carrying inter-device interference information using the second link. The first device receives interference information from one or more third devices transmitted by the second device to the first device using the second link. For example, the AP receives other communication frames from the one or more third devices using the second link and determines interference information for the station by at least one third device based on signal strength of the communication frames of the one or more third devices and a threshold. The AP transmits a beacon frame broadcast notification to stations within the domain.

After the device obtains the interference information, the device can avoid the interference between the devices on the first link in the modes of time division, space division, code and the like.

One possible implementation, the device negotiates transmission time slots of different devices on the first link using the second link, ensuring that the transmission time slots of different devices on the first link do not overlap, thereby avoiding inter-device interference.

One possible implementation is that different devices use the second link negotiation to perform cooperative transmission in a space division manner on the first link, i.e. different devices use different transmit powers or beams with different directions on the first link to simultaneously transmit the communication frame.

In one possible implementation, different devices negotiate to transmit with different code division sequences on the first link using the second link, e.g., spread the frequency domain data prior to subcarrier mapping with different code division sequences, thereby reducing inter-device interference.

In a fifth possible implementation, it is assumed that the first device may be a station and the second device a wireless access point. The device acquires whether other candidate devices supporting the first link exist in the neighbor region or not through the second link, acquires the capability of the candidate devices, the distance between the device and the candidate devices and the like, and realizes roaming.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart of a communication method of roaming scenario provided by the present application. As shown in fig. 14, the method includes the following steps.

Step 1410, the first device obtains information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link.

For example, the first device scans information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link.

For another example, the second device scans information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link and transmits the information of the one or more neighbor devices to the first device using the second link. Accordingly, the first device receives information from one or more neighbor devices of the second device using the second link. The information of the one or more neighbor devices comprises whether the one or more neighbor devices support the first frequency band and/or the distance between the first device and the one or more neighbor devices.

Step 1420, the first device determines a target neighbor device from the one or more neighbor devices based on the information of the one or more neighbor devices.

In step 1430, the first device scans the communication frame of the target neighbor device over the transmission time slot of the target neighbor device using the first link.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the application is mainly introduced from the aspect of interaction between the first device and the second device. It will be appreciated that, in order to achieve the above-described functions, the first device and the second device include corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules that perform the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the application can divide the functional modules of the first device and the second device according to the method example, for example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one module. The integrated modules may be implemented in hardware or in software functional modules. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the modules is schematic, which is merely a logic function division, and other division manners may be implemented in actual implementation. The following description will take an example of dividing each functional module into corresponding functions.

In the case of using an integrated unit, fig. 15 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device involved in the above-described embodiment. The communication apparatus 1500 may be a first device or a chip applied to the first device, and includes a processing module 1510 and a communication module 1520. Wherein the processing module 1510 is operable to support the apparatus to perform steps 920 and 940 in the method embodiments described above, and the communication module 1520 is operable to support the apparatus to perform steps 520 and 510 in the method embodiments described above. All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be cited to the functional descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, and the embodiments of the present application are not described herein.

Based on a hardware implementation, the processing module 1510 in an embodiment of the present application may be a processor of the apparatus, and the communication module 1520 may be a transceiver of the apparatus, where the transceiver generally includes a transmitter and a receiver, and a specific transceiver may also be referred to as a communication interface or an interface circuit.

The apparatus may also be a second device or a chip applied to a second device. Wherein the processing module 1510 is operable to support the apparatus to perform step 1320 in the method embodiment described above, and the communication module 1520 is operable to support the apparatus to perform step 610, step 910, step 930, and step 1330 in the method embodiment described above. All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be cited to the functional descriptions of the corresponding functional modules, and the embodiments of the present application are not described herein.

Optionally, the communication device 1500 may further include a storage module 1530, where the storage module 1530 is configured to store time slot information and interference information, so that the device performs time synchronization according to the time slot information.

As shown in fig. 16, a schematic structural diagram of another communication apparatus according to the foregoing embodiment provided by an embodiment of the present application, a communication apparatus 1600 may be used as a first device or applied to a chip of the first device, or the apparatus may be used as a second device or applied to a chip of the second device. The apparatus includes a processor 1611, and may also include a memory 1612, a communication interface 1613, and a bus 1614, the processor 1611, memory 1612, and communication interface 1613 being coupled by the bus 1614.

The processor 1611 is used for controlling and managing the operation of the device. In one possible embodiment, the processor 1611 may be used to support the apparatus to receive steps 920 and 940 of the method embodiments described above, and/or other technical processes described herein. The communication interface 1613 is used to support the apparatus in communication, such as supporting the apparatus in communication with a second device. In one possible embodiment, the processor 1611 may be used to support the apparatus to receive steps 1310 and 1320 in the method embodiments described above, and/or other technical processes described herein. The communication interface 1613 is used to support the apparatus in communication, such as supporting the apparatus in communication with a first device.

In an embodiment of the application, the processor 1611 may be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various exemplary logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure. The processor may also be a combination that performs the function of a computation, e.g., a combination comprising one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and so forth. The bus 1614 may include an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like.

In another embodiment of the present application, a communication system is provided, where the communication system includes a first device and a second device, where the first device may be or include an apparatus provided in fig. 15 or fig. 16 and configured to perform a step of the first device in an embodiment of a method provided above, and the second device may be or include an apparatus provided in fig. 15 or fig. 16 and configured to perform a step of the second device in an embodiment of a method provided above.

It will be appreciated that all relevant contents of each step related to the above-mentioned method embodiment may be cited in the embodiments of the first signal transmission device and the second signal transmission device, and the embodiments of the communication system, and the embodiments of the present application are not described herein.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the modules or units is merely a logical functional division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another apparatus, or some features may be omitted, or not performed.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and the parts displayed as units may be one physical unit or a plurality of physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed in a plurality of different places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a separate product, may be stored in a readable storage medium, which may include various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application may be embodied in the form of a software product, either in essence or contributing to the prior art or in whole or in part.

In another embodiment of the present application, there is further provided a readable storage medium having stored therein computer-executable instructions for performing the steps of the first device or the second device in the above method embodiment when a device (may be a single-chip microcomputer, a chip or the like) or a processor is used.

In yet another embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is also provided, the computer program product comprising computer instructions stored in a readable storage medium, the computer instructions being readable by at least one processor of the apparatus, the computer instructions being executable by the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform the steps of the first apparatus or the second apparatus of the above-described method embodiments.

It should be noted that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application should be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, characterized by being applied to a first device, the first device comprising a plurality of links, the plurality of links comprising a first link and a second link;

the method comprises the following steps:

transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using the first link, and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link;

the first link is configured to transmit a signal including at least one full Wi-Fi signal, and the first frequency band is in an ultra-wideband UWB frequency band, and the second frequency band is in a non-UWB frequency band.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the coverage area of the first type of communication signal is less than the coverage area of the second type of communication signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission rate of the first type of communication signal is greater than the transmission rate of the second type of communication signal.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first type of communication signals comprise data frames and the second type of communication signals comprise at least one of management frames, control frames, or non-delay sensitive data frames.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-UWB band comprises a 2.4GHz band, a 5GHz band, or a 6GHz band.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

Receiving, with the second link, a communication frame from the second device, the communication frame including transmission slot information of the first link;

Performing initial time synchronization with the second device based on the transmission slot information;

Receiving a synchronization frame from the second device using the first link;

accurate time synchronization is performed with the second device based on the synchronization frame.

7. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

Receiving a Beacon frame from the second device using the second link, the Beacon frame including basic service set BSS information of the first link;

And establishing a connection with the second device on the second link based on the BSS information.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using the first link comprises:

a delay-sensitive data frame is received from the second device using the first link, the data frame relating to at least the one full Wi-Fi signal.

9. The method according to any of claims 6-8, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

A non-delay sensitive data frame is received from the second device using the second link.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

And transmitting an acknowledgement frame to the second device by using the second link.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting an acknowledgement frame to the second device using the second link comprises:

After receiving more than two data frames from the second device, an acknowledgement frame is sent to the second device using the second link.

12. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

receiving, with the second link, communication frames from one or more third devices;

Determining interference information of at least one third device to the first device according to the signal strength of the communication frame of the one or more third devices and a preset threshold value;

and transmitting the interference information to the second equipment by using the second link.

13. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

And receiving interference information of at least one third device from the second device to the first device by utilizing the second link.

14. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a second device over a first frequency band using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the second device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

acquiring information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device by using the second link;

determining a target neighbor device from the one or more neighbor devices according to the information of the one or more neighbor devices;

And scanning the communication frame of the target neighbor device on the transmission time slot of the target neighbor device by using the first link.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein obtaining information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link comprises:

information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device is scanned using the second link.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein obtaining information of one or more neighbor devices of the first device using the second link comprises:

Information from the one or more neighbor devices of the second device is received using the second link.

17. The method according to any of claims 14-16, wherein the information of the one or more neighboring devices comprises whether the one or more neighboring devices support the first frequency band and/or a distance between the first device and the one or more neighboring devices.

18. A method of communication, characterized by being applied to a second device, the second device comprising a plurality of links, the plurality of links comprising a first link and a second link;

the method comprises the following steps:

Transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using the first link, and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link;

wherein the first link is configured to transmit a signal comprising at least one full Wi-Fi signal, and the first frequency band is within a UWB frequency band and the second frequency band is within a non-UWB frequency band.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

Transmitting a communication frame to the first device using the second link, the communication frame including transmission time slot information of the first link;

and transmitting a synchronization frame to the first device by using the first link.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using the first link and transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

Transmitting a Beacon frame to the first device by using the second link, wherein the Beacon frame comprises Basic Service Set (BSS) information of the first link;

a connection is established with the first device over the second link based on the BSS information.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, wherein transmitting a first type of communication signal with a first device over a first frequency band using the first link comprises:

And transmitting a time delay sensitive data frame to the first device by utilizing the first link, wherein the data frame at least relates to the complete Wi-Fi signal.

22. The method according to any of claims 19-21, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

And transmitting a non-delay sensitive data frame to the first device by using the second link.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

an acknowledgement frame is received from the first device using the second link.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein receiving an acknowledgement frame from the first device using the second link comprises:

After sending more than two data frames to the second device, an acknowledgement frame from the first device is received using the second link.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

receiving, with the second link, interference information from at least one third device of the first device to the first device;

and transmitting the interference information by using the second link.

26. The method of claim 18, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

And transmitting the interference information to the first equipment by using the second link.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein transmitting a second type of communication signal with the first device over a second frequency band using the second link comprises:

Scanning information of one or more neighbor devices using the second link;

And transmitting information of one or more neighbor devices to the first device by using the second link.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the information of the one or more neighbor devices comprises whether the one or more neighbor devices support the first frequency band and/or a distance between the first device and the one or more neighbor devices.

29. A communication device comprising a processor and a transceiver for supporting the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-28.

30. A readable storage medium having instructions stored therein which, when executed on a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-28.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product comprises a computer program which, when run on a device, causes the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-28.