WO2014022996A1

WO2014022996A1 - Method for determining relay device, station, access point, relay device and system

Info

Publication number: WO2014022996A1
Application number: PCT/CN2012/079855
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陆苏; 丁志明; 树贵明; 方平
Original assignee: 华为终端有限公司
Priority date: 2012-08-08
Filing date: 2012-08-08
Publication date: 2014-02-13
Also published as: CN103404202A; CN103404202B

Abstract

Disclosed are a method for determining a relay device, a station, an access point, a relay device and a system. The method comprises: sending a first message to an access point, the first message being used to request for finding a relay device; receiving a third message broadcast by the access point according to the first message, the third message carrying time information designated by the access point, and the third message being used to indicate that at least one relay device receiving the third message is in an awake state in the time indicted by the time information; broadcasting a fourth message in the time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used to request for a relay service; receiving a fifth message sent by the access point; the access point being used to receive a sixth message sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and determining, according to the sixth message, a first relay device providing a relay service for a first station; and the fifth message comprising identification information of the first relay device.

Description

Method, station, access point, relay device and system for determining relay device

The present invention relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a method, a station, an access point, a relay device, and a system for determining a relay device. Background technique

The IEEE ( Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers, IEEE, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) standards organization is currently developing the 802.11ah specification and proposes that the access point coverage area needs to cover one kilometer of demand, which is equivalent to the existing IEEE 802.il - The range of access points supported by the series specification covering 100 meters has been expanded by 10 times, and two typical application scenarios proposed for the IEEE802.11ah specification are smart meter reading and sensor networks. The characteristics of these application scenarios are:

(1) The number of STAs is huge. For example, in an area of 1 km radius, the number of 802.11ah sensors that need to be deployed may exceed 6,000 in order to achieve effective detection.

(2) When the meter reading application is applied, the data transmission and security requirements are high. For example, to ensure a high rate of meter reading success, when there are many meters, reduce the time that a single meter occupies the channel, that is, increase the transmission rate. At the same time, to prevent malicious attacks, certain requirements are imposed on security.

(3) Battery power supply, and in most cases, it is not convenient for the user to replace and maintain the STA battery.

According to the existing wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) specification, STAs (Stations, STAs, stations) operating in the basic network mode are both uplink and downlink. The power negotiated by the access point (AP, access point) directly communicates with the AP, and the data transmission rate is closely related to the distance between the STA and the AP. Therefore, STAs deployed in different locations within an AP coverage range have different rates of communication with the AP. Generally, in the same channel model, a STA that is far away from the AP has a lower rate of communication with the AP than a STA that is closer to the AP.

Currently, in the IEEE802.il ah network, the definition of relay devices (relays) is not clear. Some people think that it is a third device that is different from AP and STA; Some people even think that Relay is an AP; others think that Relay is a STA with forwarding function. A Relay may serve one or more STAs.

STAs that are forwarded by the relay device and are far away from the AP or have poor link quality can shorten the time for sending data to the AP, that is, increase the throughput rate. Because the amount of data that each STA needs to report is basically unchanged, the shortening of the transmission time can effectively reduce the power consumption of the STA.

Another common situation in sensor networks is when a certain STA's power is below a threshold. In order to extend the working life, the STA generates a relay service requirement. At this time, the Relay service is provided to effectively extend the working life of the site. Further, if the Relay is assigned according to certain The rules are implemented so that the working life of each site in the entire network is approximately the same. Make battery replacement work more efficient.

A method for discovering a relay in the prior art is a STA associated with an AP. If there is a demand for a relay service, the STA sends a relay discovery request Relay Discovery Request message to the AP. After receiving the request message, the AP broadcasts the request message in the network and carries some additional information, such as carrying a conditional message, that is, the relay that satisfies the condition can respond to the request; or the manner of specifying the response, that is, the relay directly sends the response message. Forward to STA or through AP. In this method, when broadcasting a request message, in most cases, the Relay is in a sleep state, thereby reducing the scope of discovering the Relay, and thus the last selected Relay is not necessarily optimal. Summary of the invention

A method, a station, an access point, a relay device, and a system for determining a relay device are provided, which can increase the range of the discovery relay device.

The first aspect provides a method for determining a relay device, where the method includes: sending, by a first station, a first message to an access point, where the first message is used to request to discover a relay device;

The first station receives a third message that is broadcast by the access point according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate receiving At least one relay device to the third message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information;

The first station broadcasts a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service;

Receiving, by the first station, a fifth message sent by the access point, where the access point is configured to receive a sixth message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and determine, according to the sixth message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station; the fifth message includes the identifier information of the first relay device; the sixth message is used to indicate that the sixth message is sent Relay device can provide relay service; or

The first station receives a seventh message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, where the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service; A station determines, according to the seventh message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station.

A second aspect provides a method for determining a relay device, where the method includes: receiving, by an access point, a first message sent by a first station, where the first message is used to request to discover a relay device;

The access point broadcasts a third message according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate that the third message is received. At least one relay device is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service; So that the at least one relay device sends the seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, and the first station determines, according to the seventh message, that the relay service is provided for the first station. a relay device; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service; or

The access point receives a sixth message sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and sends a fifth message to the first station, where the fifth message includes the access point according to the sixth And determining, by the message, the identifier information of the first relay device that provides the relay service for the first station; the sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide the relay service.

A third aspect provides a method for determining a relay device, where the method includes: receiving, by a first relay device, a third message broadcast by an access point, where the third message carries the specified by the access point Time information, the third message is used to indicate that the at least one relay device that receives the third message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and indicates that the first station indicates the time indicated by the time information Broadcasting a fourth message, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service;

Receiving, by the first relay device, the fourth message broadcasted by the first station at a time indicated by the time information;

The first relay device sends a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, so that after the access point receives the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, the Sending, by the first station, a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the identifier information of the first relay device that provides the relay service for the first site determined by the access point according to the sixth message; The message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide a relay service; or

The first relay device sends a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, so that the first station determines, according to the seventh message sent by the at least one relay device, the A first relay device that provides a relay service at a site; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

A fourth aspect provides a station for determining a relay device, where the first station includes: a first sending unit, configured to send, by the first station, a first message to an access point, where the first message is used by Discovering a relay device upon request;

a second receiving unit, configured to receive, by the first station, a third message that is broadcast by the access point according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where The third message is used to indicate that the at least one relay device that receives the third message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information;

a second sending unit, configured to: broadcast, by the first station, a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service;

a third receiving unit, configured to receive, by the first station, a fifth message sent by the access point, where the access point is configured to receive a sixth message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and Determining, according to the sixth message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station; the fifth message includes identifier information of the first relay device; and the sixth message is used to indicate sending The relay device of the sixth message may provide a relay service; or The first station is configured to receive, by the at least one relay device, a seventh message that is sent according to the fourth message, where the first station determines, according to the seventh message, that the first station provides a relay service. a relay device; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

The fifth aspect provides an access point for determining a relay device, where the access point includes: a fourth receiving unit, configured to receive a first message sent by the first station, where the first message is used to request discovery Relay device

a fourth sending unit, configured to broadcast a third message according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that the third message is received At least one relay device of the message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used to request a relay Service

So that the at least one relay device sends the seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, and the first station determines, according to the seventh message, that the relay service is provided for the first station. a relay device; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service; or

Receiving, by the at least one relay device, the fifth message sent according to the fourth message, to send, to the first station, a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the location determined by the access point according to the sixth message The first station provides the identification information of the first relay device of the relay service; the sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide the relay service.

A sixth aspect provides a relay device that determines a relay device, where the first relay device includes:

a fifth receiving unit, configured to receive a third message that is broadcast by the access point, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that the third message is received At least one relay device is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used to request a relay service;

a sixth receiving unit, configured to receive the fourth message broadcast by the first station at a time indicated by the time information;

a fifth sending unit, configured to send a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, so that after the access point receives the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, Sending, by the first station, a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the identifier information of the first relay device that provides the relay service for the first site determined by the access point according to the sixth message; The message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide a relay service; or

And sending, by the first station, a seventh message to the first station, so that the first station determines to provide a relay for the first station according to the seventh message sent by the at least one relay device. The first relay device of the service; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

In a seventh aspect, a system for determining a relay device is provided, the system including the site, The access point and at least one of the relay devices.

Compared with the prior art, the following beneficial effects are obtained:

Providing a method, a site, an access point, a relay device, and a system, the first message sent by the site to the access point for requesting the discovery of the relay device, the access point broadcasting the third message according to the first message, The third message carries the time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that the at least one relay device that receives the third message is in an awake state at the time indicated by the time information. The station broadcasts a fourth message for requesting the relay service at the time indicated by the time information, by using the time information, when the station can broadcast the fourth message at the time indicated by the time information, At least one relay device is awake

(Active State, awake state, also called active state), so that more relay devices can receive the fourth message, increase the scope of the discovery relay device, and thus can determine a better relay. device. DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings to be used in the embodiments will be described below. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flowchart of still another method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of still another method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart of a method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of still another method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of still another method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of still another method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of still another method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a station for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of determining an access point of a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a relay device for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 14 is a signaling interaction diagram of a method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 15 is a signaling interaction diagram of a method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Another embodiment of the present invention is a signaling interaction diagram for determining a method of a relay device. FIG. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of a system for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention. detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention. Rather than all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive scope are the scope of the present invention.

The term "and/or" in this context is merely an association that describes the associated object, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can mean: A exists separately, and both A and B exist, exist alone B these three situations. In addition, the character '7' in this article generally means that the contextual object is an "or" relationship.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in an embodiment of the method for determining a relay device provided by the present invention, the first site is used as an execution subject, and the method may include the following steps:

110. The first station sends a first message to the access point, where the first message is used to request to discover the relay device. The first message may carry the identification information of the first site;

130. The first station receives a third message that is sent by the access point according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used. At least one relay device indicating that the third message is received is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information;

140. The first station broadcasts a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service. The fourth message may carry the identification information of the first site;

The first station receives the fifth message sent by the access point, and the access point is configured to receive a sixth message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and according to the sixth Determining, by the message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station; the fifth message includes the identifier information of the first relay device, and the sixth message is used to indicate that the sixth message is sent The relay device can provide a relay service.

In the embodiment provided by the present invention, the identifier information may include address information and the like. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the step 150 may be replaced by a step:

The first station receives a seventh message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, where the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service; The first station determines, according to the seventh message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 3 or 4, before the step 140, the method may further include the following steps:

120. The first station receives a second message that is sent by the access point according to the first message, where the second message carries a relay device discovery policy, where the relay device discovery policy includes at least the following parameters. One of the first stations broadcasts a transmission power of the fourth message, and a rate at which the first station broadcasts the fourth message.

At this time, step 140 may specifically be a step:

340. The first station broadcasts the fourth message according to a parameter provided by the relay device discovery policy at a time indicated by the time information.

The order of occurrence of the steps 120 and 130 may be interchanged, that is, the step 120 may be sent. Before step 130, step 130 may occur before step 120, or both steps 120, 130 may occur simultaneously. The second message may also be sent by using a broadcast, and the second message and the third message may be combined into one message, where the information carried by the second message and the third message may be carried at the same time. The steps 120, 130 can also be combined into one step. The order of occurrence of the steps in the present invention is not strictly limited, and may have different order of occurrence according to requirements. A single message may be divided into multiple messages, and multiple messages may be combined into one message, which may be changed as needed. This is not limited.

Further, the fifth message may be sent by the access point to the first station after the eighth message is broadcast, and the eighth message is sent by the access point after the sixth message is received. Broadcast

The eighth message carries the identifier information of the first relay device, and indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

Further, after the access point broadcasts the eighth message, the access point may send the first message to the first station after receiving the acknowledgement message fed back by the first relay according to the eighth message. The fifth message. The fifth message may be sent by the access point to the first station by unicast, or may be sent to at least the first station by broadcast.

Optionally, the fifth message may be sent by the access point to the first station after the ninth message is sent to the first relay device, where the ninth message is at the access point. Sending after receiving the sixth message;

The ninth message indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

Further, after the access point sends the ninth message to the first relay device, the access point may receive the first relay device according to the ninth message to the After the acknowledgement message fed back by the access point, the fifth message is sent to the first station.

Further, the sixth message may further carry at least one of the following information: the identifier of the first site, the battery power, the supported data rate, the battery power of the relay device that sends the sixth message, The supported data rate, the reception quality of the received fourth message, and the uplink/downlink cost to the access point.

The Receive Quality is used to measure the quality of the received message or signal, such as the total power of the received signal (including the useful signal, the noise floor, the power of the interference), or the received signal. Signal-to-noise ratio (ie, signal-to-noise ratio), etc., the higher the signal-to-noise ratio, the better the reception quality.

The uplink cost may refer to a weight indicating a path from the relay device to the AP. The downlink cost may refer to the weight representing the path from the AP to the relay device.

Further, the fifth message may further carry the adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first station, where the first station performs the time window adjustment according to the adjustment information, and the adjusted time window A channel is used internally to transmit relay data to the first relay device.

The time window refers to a period of time when a device has the right to use the channel. Further, the eighth message may further carry the adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first relay device, where the first relay device adjusts the time window according to the adjustment information, and then adjusts The channel is used in the subsequent time window for receiving and forwarding of relay data.

Further, the ninth message may carry the adjustment information of the time window of the first relay device using the channel, and is used by the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the adjustment information, after the adjustment The channel is used in the time window for receiving and forwarding of relay data.

Optionally, the fifth message may be specifically sent by using a broadcast mode or a unicast mode.

As shown in FIG. 5, in another embodiment of the method for determining a relay device provided by the present invention, the access point is used as an execution subject, and the method may include the following steps:

510. Receive a first message sent by the first station, where the first message is used to request to discover a relay device. The first message may carry the identification information of the first site;

530. Broadcast a third message according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that at least one of the third message is received. The device is in an awake state at the time indicated by the time information, and indicates that the first station broadcasts a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service; The ingress receives the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and sends a fifth message to the first station, where the fifth message includes that the access point determines according to the sixth message. And the sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide a relay service.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 6, the step 530 may be replaced by the following steps:

630. Broadcast a third message according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that at least one of the third message is received. The device is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service; a relay device sends a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, and the first station determines, according to the seventh message, a first relay that provides a relay service for the first station. The seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the method may further include the following steps:

520. The access point sends a second message to the first station according to the first message, where the second message carries a relay device discovery policy, where the relay device discovery policy includes at least the following parameters. One: the first station broadcasts a transmission power of the fourth message, and a rate at which the first station broadcasts the fourth message.

The step of instructing the first station to broadcast the fourth message at the time indicated by the time information in the step 530 or the step 630 may specifically be:

Instructing the first station to broadcast the fourth message according to a parameter provided by the relay device discovery policy at a time indicated by the time information.

The step 520 may occur in the step 530 or 630, wherein the access point is according to the first The message is broadcast before or after the third message.

The second message may also be sent by using a broadcast mode, where the second message and the third message may be combined into one message, where the information carried by the second message and the third message may be carried at the same time. At this time, steps 520, 530 (or 520, 630) can also be combined into one step. The order of occurrence of the steps in the present invention is not strictly limited, and may have different order of occurrence according to requirements. A single message may be divided into multiple messages, and multiple messages may be combined into one message, which may be changed as needed. This is not limited.

The time window refers to a period of time when a device has the right to use the channel.

Further, the eighth message may further carry the adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first relay device, where the first relay device adjusts the time window according to the adjustment information, and then adjusts The channel is used in the subsequent time window for receiving and forwarding of relay data. Further, the ninth message may carry the adjustment information of the time window of the first relay device using the channel, and is used by the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the adjustment information, after the adjustment The channel is used in the time window for receiving and forwarding of relay data.

As shown in FIG. 7 , in another embodiment of the method for determining a relay device provided by the present invention, the first relay device of the relay device is used as a main body, and the method may include the following steps:

710. The first relay device receives a third message that is broadcast by the access point, where the third message carries the time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that the third message is received. At least one relay device is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used to request a relay service;

720. Receive, at the time indicated by the time information, the fourth message broadcast by the first station.

730. Send a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, so that after the access point receives the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, send the fifth message to the first station. a message, the fifth message includes identifier information of the first relay device that is provided by the access point according to the sixth message, and provides a relay service for the first station; The relay device of the sixth message may provide a relay service.

Wherein, as shown in FIG. 8, the step 730 can be replaced with the following steps:

830. Send a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, so that the first station determines to provide a relay for the first station according to the seventh message sent by the at least one relay device. The first relay device of the service; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

Optionally, after the first relay device sends the sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, the method may further include:

Receiving, by the first relay device, an eighth message that is broadcasted by the access point after receiving the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, where the eighth message carries the first relay device The identification information indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

Further, the method may further include: the first relay device feeding back an acknowledgement message to the access point according to the eighth message, so that after the access point receives the acknowledgement message, Sending the fifth message to the first station.

Receiving, by the first relay device, a ninth message sent by the access point to the first relay device after receiving the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, where the ninth message indicates The first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

Further, the method may further include: the first relay device feeding back an acknowledgement message to the access point according to the ninth message, so that after the access point receives the acknowledgement message, Sending the fifth message to the first station.

Further, the fifth message further carries the adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first station, where the first station performs time window adjustment according to the adjustment information, and is in the adjusted time window. A channel is used to transmit relay data to the first relay device.

Further, the eighth message may further carry the adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first relay device, where the first relay device adjusts the time window according to the adjustment information, and then adjusts The channel is used in the subsequent time window for receiving and forwarding of relay data.

As shown in FIG. 9, in an embodiment of the present invention for determining a site of a relay device, the site first site 900 may include:

The first sending unit 910 is configured to send, by the first station, 900, a first message to the access point, where the first message is used to request to discover the relay device;

The second receiving unit 930 is configured to receive, by the first station 900, a third message that is broadcast by the access point according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, The third message is used to indicate that the at least one relay device that receives the third message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information;

a second sending unit 940, configured to: broadcast, by the first station, a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request a relay service;

a third receiving unit 950, configured to receive, by the first station, a fifth message that is sent by the access point, where the access point is configured to receive a sixth message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, Determining, according to the sixth message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station; the fifth message includes identifier information of the first relay device; and the sixth message is used to indicate The relay device that sends the sixth message can provide a relay service; or

The first station is configured to receive, by the at least one relay device, a seventh message that is sent according to the fourth message, where the first station determines, according to the seventh message, that the first station provides a relay service. a relay device; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the station 900 may further include:

The first receiving unit 920 is configured to receive, by the first station, the second message sent by the access point according to the first message, before the fourth message is broadcast according to the time information, in the second message. Carrying a relay device discovery policy, where the relay device discovery policy includes at least one of the following parameters: the first station broadcasts the sending power of the fourth message, and the first station broadcasts the fourth message rate; interest

As shown in FIG. 10, in an embodiment of the present invention, the access point 1000 may include: The fourth receiving unit 1010 is configured to receive a first message sent by the first station, where the first message is used to request to discover a relay device;

The fourth sending unit 1020 is configured to broadcast a third message according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, where the third message is used to indicate that the first message is received. At least one relay device of the three message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used in the request Following service;

As shown in FIG. 10, in another embodiment of the present invention, the access point 1000 may further include:

The third sending unit 1030 is configured to send, according to the first message, a second message, the second message, to the first station, before or after the fourth sending unit broadcasts the third message according to the first message. The message carries a relay device discovery policy, where the relay device discovery policy includes at least one of the following parameters: the first station broadcasts the transmit power of the fourth message, and the first station broadcasts the fourth The rate of the message;

The relay device discovery policy is used by the first station to broadcast the fourth cancellation according to a parameter provided by the relay device discovery policy when the fourth message is broadcasted by the time indicated by the time information, The fifth message may be sent by the fourth sending unit 1020 to the first station after the eighth message is broadcast, and the eighth message is broadcast after the sixth message is received by the access point;

Optionally, the fifth message may be sent by the fourth sending unit 1020 to the first station after sending the ninth message to the first relay device, where the ninth message is in the The ingress receives the sixth message and sends it;

The ninth message indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station. Further, after the access point sends the ninth message to the first relay device, the access point may receive the first relay device according to the ninth message to the After the acknowledgement message fed back by the access point, the fifth message is sent to the first station.

As shown in FIG. 11, in an embodiment of a relay device for determining a relay device provided by the present invention, the relay device first relay device 1100 may include:

The fifth receiving unit 1110 is configured to receive a third message that is broadcast by the access point, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate that the third message is received. At least one relay device of the message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructing the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used to request a relay service;

The sixth receiving unit 1120 is configured to receive, according to the time indicated by the time information, the fourth message broadcast by the first station;

a fifth sending unit 1130, configured to send a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, so that after the access point receives the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, The first station sends a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the identifier information of the first relay device that provides the relay service for the first site determined by the access point according to the sixth message; The sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide a relay service, or is configured to send a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, so that the first site is according to at least one The seventh message sent by the relay device determines a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station; and the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide Relay service.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the relay device first relay device 1100 may further include:

a seventh receiving unit 1140, configured to receive, by the access point, at least one relay device An eighth message broadcasted after the sending of the sixth message, where the eighth message carries the identifier information of the first relay device, indicating that the first relay device is selected to be provided by the first station Relay service.

Further, optionally, the relay device first relay device 1100 may further include: a sixth sending unit 1150, configured to feed back an acknowledgement message to the access point according to the eighth message, so that the access point After receiving the confirmation message, the fifth message is sent to the first station.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the relay device first relay device 1100 may further include:

The eighth receiving unit 1240 is configured to receive a ninth message sent by the access point to the first relay device after receiving the sixth message sent by the at least one relay device, where the ninth message indicates The first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

The seventh sending unit 1250 is configured to feed back an acknowledgement message to the access point according to the ninth message, so that the access point sends the fifth message to the first station after receiving the acknowledgement message. Message.

As shown in FIG. 20, in an embodiment of the system for determining a relay device provided by the present invention, the system 1700 may include: any of the above sites 900, any access point 1000, and at least one of the above The relay device 1100 is described.

Next, as shown in FIG. 13, a specific example is used to illustrate a signaling interaction process of a method for determining a relay device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Among them, the actual names involved (such as the first, second, ninth, etc.) actual names can be selected according to the needs of the definition, the body can be:

The first message, if it can be: Relay appointment request (such as: Relay Appointment Request) a frame or a relay appointment request message, etc.;

The second message, for example, may be: a relay appointment response (eg, a Relay Appointment Response) frame or a relay appointment response message, etc.;

The third message, for example, may be: an agreed wakeup time (eg, Appointed Wakeup Time) frame or an agreed wakeup time message or an agreed wakeup message, or an appointment to discover a time frame of the relay or an appointment to discover the time of the relay. Message, etc.

The fourth message, if it can be: a relay demand frame (such as: Relay Needed Frame) or a relay demand message;

The fifth message, for example, may be: a relay assignment frame (such as: Relay Designation Frame) or a relay assignment message;

The sixth message, for example, may be: a relay upgrade request (such as: Relay Promotion Request), a frame or a relay upgrade request message, and the like;

The seventh message, if it can be: a relay upgrade request (such as: Relay Promotion Request) frame or relay upgrade request message, etc.;

The eighth message, if it can be: a relay upgrade response (such as: Relay Promotion Response) frame or relay upgrade response message, etc.;

The ninth message, such as: relay upgrade response (such as: Relay Promotion Response) frame or relay upgrade response message.

As shown in FIG. 13, step 1310 is: The station sends a relay agreement request frame to the access point, that is, the first message in the foregoing embodiment is used to request to discover the relay device. The site described here, that is, the first site described in the above embodiment, can be understood as follows, and will not be described. The identifier of the first site may be carried in the relaying request request frame (the first message). In the embodiment provided by the present invention, the identifier information may include address information and the like.

Step 1320: After receiving the relay appointment request frame (first message), the access point sends a relay agreement response frame (second message) to the station, where the second message may be carried. The relay device discovery policy, the relay device discovery policy includes at least one of the following parameters: the first station broadcasts a transmission power of the fourth message, and the first station broadcasts the fourth message. After receiving the relay appointment request frame (first message) sent by the first station, the access point may determine whether to accept the request of the first site after evaluating the current network-wide knowledge. And if the request is accepted, the relay appointment response frame (second message) may be sent to the first station, and the access point may be based on the current knowledge of the entire network, based on the first The site quickly and successfully discovers the relay device, and at the same time minimizes the impact on the entire network, to determine parameters of some superior transmit signals that can be applied by the first station when performing relay device discovery, such as transmit power. Rate, etc., to improve the rate and success rate of the discovery of the relay device by the first station.

The knowledge of the entire network, for example, may be one of information such as network distribution information, network topology information, or a load condition of a known relay device (eg, the relay device is providing a relay service for one or more sites) or Multiple.

The step 1320 is optional. Step 1330 is: the access point broadcasts an appointment wake-up message (third message), the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate that the At least one relay device of the third message is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information. The access point may broadcast the third message according to the first message. The first message may carry the identifier information of the first site, and the third message may also carry the identifier information of the first site.

The order of occurrence of steps 1320 and 1330 may be interchanged, that is, step 1320 may occur before step 1330, or step 1330 may occur before step 1320, or both steps 1320 and 1330 may occur simultaneously. The second message may also be sent by using a broadcast, and the second message and the third message may be combined into one message, where the information carried by the second message and the third message may be carried at the same time. The steps 1320, 1330 can also be combined into one step. The order of occurrence of the steps in the present invention is not strictly limited, and may have different order of occurrence according to requirements. A single message may be divided into multiple messages, and multiple messages may be combined into one message, which may be changed as needed. This is not limited.

Step 1340 is: the first station broadcasts a relay demand message (fourth message) at the time indicated by the time information. The fourth message is used to request a relay service. The fourth message may carry the identification information of the first site.

Step 1350 is: the relay device (the relay 1 relay n shown in the figure) feeds back to the access point relay upgrade request message (sixth message) according to the fourth message. The sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide a relay service, and further, may provide a relay service for the first site, and may carry identifier information of the first site. And identifier information of the relay that sends the sixth message. In the embodiment provided by the present invention, the relay 1 is the first relay.

Step 1360 is: after receiving the sixth message that the at least one relay device feeds back to the access point according to the fourth message, the access point performs relay selection according to at least one of the sixth messages, that is, Selecting, from the at least one relay device, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first site.

The access point may select an optimal relay device from the at least one relay device to provide a relay service for the first station according to at least the foregoing information carried in the at least one of the sixth messages.

When performing the relay selection, the access point may further understand the network structure and the link according to the current knowledge of the entire network, such as the distance from the first station to each relay device. Considering factors such as cost, selecting an optimal relay device from each of the relay devices provides a relay service for the first site.

The optimal relay device may be one or more of the following conditions: the relay device Compared with other relay devices, the standby battery has more battery power, higher supported data rate, better reception quality, and/or lower uplink/downlink cost.

Step 1370 is: the access point broadcasts a relay upgrade response message (the eighth message), where the eighth message carries the identifier information of the first relay device, and may further carry the identifier information of the first site. The first relay device is a relay device selected by the access point from the at least one relay device according to the sixth message to provide a relay service for the first site; The eighth message may indicate that the first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

Step 1380 is: the first relay device feeds back a relay upgrade confirmation message to the access point according to the eighth message, where the message may indicate that the first relay device confirms that the first site is provided. Following the service.

The other relay device that is not selected by the access point to provide the relay service to the first station may not provide feedback to the access point after receiving the eighth message broadcast by the access point. The message, only the selected first relay device feeds back a message for confirmation to the access point, which can reduce unnecessary data transmission and save resources.

Step 1380 is optional. The fifth message may be specifically broadcast by the access point to the eighth message, and after receiving the acknowledgement message that the first relay device feeds back to the access point according to the eighth message, send the message to the The first station, the eighth message is broadcasted after the sixth message is received by the access point, where the eighth message carries the identifier information of the first relay device, indicating the The first relay device is selected to provide a relay service for the first station.

Step 1390 is: after receiving the relay upgrade confirmation message sent by the first relay device, the access point sends a relay assignment message (fifth message) to the first station, where the The five messages carry identification information of the first relay device that is selected by the access point from the at least one relay device to provide a relay service for the first site.

After receiving the fifth message, the first station can learn the information of the relay device for which the relay service is provided, thereby determining the relay device for which the relay service is provided.

The specific process can be as follows:

The STA with the relay service request first sends a Relay Appointment Request message to the AP to query the AP whether the network can provide the relay service. Based on the knowledge of the entire network at the time, the AP decides whether to accept the STA's request and notifies the STA by sending a Relay Appointment Response message to the STA. If not accepted, the AP returns to the state before the request, and the STA re-requests as needed or re-requests after a certain period of time, and can also abandon the request. If the AP receives the response, the AP will transmit the STA Broadcast Relay Needed Frame message in the Relay Appointment Response message, that is, how much power is sent and how high. In addition, if the AP accepts the STA request, the AP will broadcast the agreed wake-up time at a certain moment (when the Relay is awake), usually at the moment when the AP broadcasts the beacon message (Beacon). The wake-up agreement message broadcast by the AP may be included in the Beacon message or may be a single broadcast frame message.

The STA broadcasts the Relay Needed Frame message with the sending policy provided by the AP at the agreed wake-up time. Relay receives the message and immediately sends a Relay Promotion to the AP. Request message. The message carries information for the reference of the AP, such as the address of the STA and the relay. The Relay receives the Receive Quality of the Relay Needed Frame message broadcasted by the STA, the battery quality of the STA and the Relay, and the rate supported by the STA and the Relay. The uplink and downlink costs of the AP are Uplink Cost/Downlink Cost and so on.

After receiving the first Relay Promotion Request, the AP waits for a period of time to receive the Relay Promotion Request message sent by other relays, or waits for the reception of N Relay Promotion Requesto to complete the AP. The AP selects an optimal relay to serve the requesting STA. There are many criteria for optimality, which are expressed in specific embodiments.

The AP broadcasts a Relay Promotion Response message, and the message includes the address information of the selected relay and the time window adjustment information of the occupied channel of the relay.

The Relay that is not selected returns to the state before the relay discovery; only the selected Relay sends a Relay Promotion Confirm message to the AP.

After receiving the confirmation message of the selected relay, the AP sends a Relay Designation Frame to the requesting STA, notifying the STA which relay it is serving, and the time window adjustment information of the STA occupying the channel.

Once the AP successfully assigns a relay to the requesting STA, the data of the STA is forwarded by the relay until the relay no longer serves the STA.

For STA, the method flow can be as follows:

The STA has a relay service request, starts a relay discovery process, and sends a Relay Appointment Request message to the AP. Then wait for the AP's response. If the relay Appointment Response message of the AP is not received within a certain period of time, the STA considers that the discovery process fails and returns to the state before the relay discovery process. If the Relay Appointment Response message is received and the message carries the decision to reject the request, the STA considers that the discovery process fails and returns to the state before the relay discovery process. If the received relay Appointment Response message is received, the STA continues to relay the discovery process and receives the relay device discovery policy carried in the response message, that is, how much power and high rate are used to broadcast the Relay Needed Frame in the network. Among them, the rate can be changed by changing the modulation and encoding.

Then, the STA receives the wake-up time of the AP broadcast, that is, the time at which the Relay Needed Frame can be broadcast. The Relay Needed Frame carries the address information of the STA, and the battery power information of the STA, which optionally includes the rate supported by the STA, the uplink and downlink quality between the STA and the AP, and the like. After receiving the wake-up message broadcast by the AP, the STA may select the sleep-to-wake time, and then broadcast the Relay Needed Frame in the network with the policy given by the AP in advance. After the broadcast, the STA enters the waiting state and starts the timer.

The STA waits for the relay assignment message sent by the AP to the Relay Designation Frame. When the timer overflows, if the STA does not receive the message, the STA considers that the relay discovery process fails and returns to the state before the relay discovery process, which may be immediately After repeating the process of relay discovery, it is also possible to wait for a period of time to perform a relay discovery process again, or to abandon the relay discovery. If the STA receives the Relay Designation Frame and the message is not in front of the timer overflow There is a relay address, or an address indicating failure, for example, "All," the STA thinks that the relay discovery process fails, and returns to the state before the relay discovery process, and can immediately re-request the relay. The process may also wait for a period of time to perform a relay discovery process again, or abandon the relay discovery. If the STA receives the Relay Designation Frame and the message carries the Relay address before the timer overflows, the STA obtains the AP assigned to it. The relay address, the message also includes the adjustment information of the time window occupied by the STA.

For an AP, its method flow can be as follows:

During a relay discovery process, the AP starts from receiving the Relay Appointment Request message sent by the STA. After receiving the Relay Appointment Request, the AP first determines whether the request should be accepted. The reason for rejecting the request can be ^":

The STA has been assigned a Relay, or there is no redundant relay that can provide services in the network.

If the AP rejects the request, the AP may send a Relay Appointment Response message to notify the STA, or may not send any message to the STA (it may be considered as rejected if not sent).

If the AP receives the request, the AP determines the policy of the STA's Broadcast Relay Needed Frame. For example, when the STA initiates the relay discovery process for the first time, the AP will cause the STA to discover according to the discovery policy of the last successful STA. The AP allows the STA to perform relay discovery according to the discovery policy that the AP considers to be the best. If the STA's last relay discovery process fails, the AP will let the STA broadcast the Relay Needed Frame at a lower rate, or let the STA broadcast the Relay Needed Frame with a higher power, or both. The policy formulated by the AP is delivered to the STA through the Relay Appointment Response message.

After accepting the STA's request and sending a Relay Appointment Response message, the AP selects a moment when all STAs will wake up (only the AP knows this moment;), usually a Beacon moment (because all STAs will listen to Beacon, although not necessarily every one Beacon listens. ;), broadcasts an agreed wake-up time. The broadcast message is usually a Beacon frame. All STAs will wake up at the agreed wake-up time.

After the AP broadcasts the message of the agreed wake-up time, it enters the waiting state and starts the timer. When the timer overflows, if no Relay Promotion Request message is received, the AP considers that the relay discovery process fails and the AP returns to the state before the relay discovery process. If a Relay Promotion Request message is received before the timer overflows, the AP will choose to wait for a period of time to receive Relay Relay Request messages from other relays, or the AP waits until N messages are received. If the AP chooses the way to count, it also needs to start a timer. If the timer overflows, N messages will still not be received, and the next step will be entered.

After receiving the Relay Promotion Request message sent by one or more relays, the AP selects an optimal relay according to the information in each Relay message and the knowledge of the entire network mastered by the AP. For example, the optimal Relay may provide the highest throughput, or the optimal Relay may provide the longest relay service (the most power), or the lightest Relay, and so on. After the Relay is selected, the AP broadcasts a Relay Promotion Response message, and the message carries the address information of the selected Relay, and the adjustment information of the time window of the occupied channel of the Relay is selected. AP waiting to select Relay Confirmation message, Relay Promotion Confirm, and start the timer.

If the AP does not receive the Relay Promotion Confirm message sent by the selected relay, or the timer overflows, the AP receives the Relay Promotion Confirm message with the rejection decision sent by the selected relay. The AP considers that the relay does not accept the relay. Assignment. The AP may choose to re-broadcast the Relay Promotion Response message, which carries the address information of the alternate relay and the adjustment information of the occupied channel time. If there is no alternate relay, the AP considers that the trunk discovery failed and returns to the state before the trunk discovery.

After receiving the relay promotion Confirm assigned by the selected relay, the AP sends a Relay Designation Frame message to the STA, where the message carries the address information of the relay assigned to the STA, and the adjustment information of the time window of the occupied channel of the STA.

For Relay, the method flow can be as follows:

During a relay discovery process, the Relay starts by hearing the wake-up agreement message broadcast by the AP. The Relay wakes up at the AP's appointed time and receives the Relay Needed Frame sent by the STA. If the Relay Needed Frame is not received, the Relay returns to the state before the relay discovery process.

After receiving the Relay Needed Frame, the Relay immediately sends a Relay Promotion Request message to the AP. The message carries the address of the STA and the Relay. The Relay receives the Receive Quality of the Relay Needed Frame message broadcasted by the STA. Receive Quality, STA and Relay. The rate supported by the Relay and the uplink and downlink costs of the AP to the Uplink Cost/Downlink Cost, and so on.

The relay waits for the Relay Promotion Response message of the AP and starts the timer. If the timer overflows, the relay does not receive the Relay Promotion Response message, or the relay receives the Relay Promotion Response and the relay assigned by the AP in the message is not itself before the timer overflows. In both cases, Relay considers that it is not selected and returns to the state before the relay discovery process.

After receiving the relay promotion response of the AP, the selected relay adjusts the time window of the occupied channel according to the information carried in the Relay Promotion Response message, and sends a Relay Promotion Confirm Accept message to the AP. If the assignment is not accepted, a Relay Promotion Confirm Reject message is sent to the AP. As shown in FIG. 14, a specific example is used to illustrate a signaling interaction process of a method for determining a relay device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The actual name of each of the related messages (such as the first, the second, the ninth, and the like) may be selected or defined as needed, and the present invention does not limit this.

Step 1380 is optional. The fifth message may be specifically configured by the access point to send a ninth message to the first relay device, and receive the feedback from the first relay device to the access point according to the ninth message. After the acknowledgment message is sent to the first station, the ninth message is sent after the sixth message is received by the access point; the ninth message indicates that the first relay device is selected. A relay service is provided for the first site. Step 1480 is to send the relay upgrade response rejection message to the relay device that is not selected to provide the relay service to the first site, and the step is optional. When there is a step 1480, the ninth message may be a relay upgrade acknowledge accept message.

As shown in FIG. 15, a specific example is used to illustrate a signaling interaction process of a method for determining a relay device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The actual names of the related messages (such as the first, second, and fifth messages, etc.) may be selected or defined as needed, and the present invention does not limit this.

Step 1380 is optional.

Step 1510: Broadcasting a relay upgrade response message for the access point, where the message may be understood as a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the first site determined by the access point according to the sixth message. The identification information of the first relay device of the relay service is provided, so that the first station can obtain the relay device for providing the relay service after receiving the fifth message.

Step 1520: After receiving the fifth message, the first station sends a relay demand confirmation message to the access point. After receiving the relay demand confirmation message and the relay upgrade confirmation message sent by the first relay device, the access point may determine that the first relay device may provide the first station Relay service. Step 1520 can also be optional. The fifth message may be specifically sent by broadcast or unicast.

As shown in FIG. 16, a specific example is used to illustrate a signaling interaction process of a method for determining a relay device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The actual names of the various messages (such as the first, second, and seventh messages) may be selected or defined as needed, and the present invention does not limit this.

Step 1650: The relay device sends a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, so that the first station determines that the first message is the first message according to the seventh message sent by the at least one relay device. The station provides a first relay device of the relay service; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service.

Step 1660: The first station receives a seventh message that is sent by the at least one relay device according to the fourth message, where the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the seventh message can provide a relay service. The first station determines, according to the seventh message, a first relay device that provides a relay service for the first station.

It should be noted that, in this document, there may be corresponding relationships between the various embodiments, which may be compared with each other. Due to the length of the text, some of the content is not repeated.

It should also be noted that, in this context, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply these entities or operations. There is any such actual relationship or order between them. Furthermore, the terms "comprising,""comprising," or """"""" It also includes other elements that are not explicitly listed, or elements that are inherent to such a process, method, item, or device. An element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional equivalent elements in a process, method, article, or device that comprises the element, without further limitation.

A person skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above embodiments can be completed by a program to instruct related hardware, and the program can be stored in a readable storage medium of a terminal, when the program is executed. , including all or part of the above steps, the storage medium, such as: FLASH, EEPROM, and the like.

The specific embodiments described above further explain the objects, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention. It should be understood that different embodiments may be combined, and the above is only the specific embodiment of the present invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and any combination, modification, equivalent substitution, improvement, etc., which are within the spirit and scope of the invention, are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

Rights request

1. A method for determining relay equipment, characterized in that the method includes:

The first station sends a first message to the access point, where the first message is used to request discovery of the relay device;

The first station receives a third message broadcast by the access point according to the first message, the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate receipt At least one relay device to the third message is in the awake state at the time indicated by the time information;

The first station broadcasts a fourth message at the time indicated by the time information, and the fourth message is used to request relay services;

The first station receives the fifth message sent by the access point; the access point is configured to receive a sixth message sent by at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and determine according to the sixth message a first relay device that provides relay services for the first site; the fifth message includes identification information of the first relay device; the sixth message is used to indicate the center that sends the sixth message Relay equipment can provide relay services; or

The first station receives a seventh message sent by at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the seventh message can provide relay services; A station determines the first relay device that provides relay services for the first station according to the seventh message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first station by the access point after broadcasting the eighth message, and the eighth message is sent to the first station after broadcasting the eighth message. The access point broadcasts after receiving the sixth message;

Wherein, the eighth message carries identification information of the first relay device, indicating that the first relay device is selected to provide relay services for the first site.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first site by the access point after sending the ninth message to the first relay device, The ninth message is sent after the access point receives the sixth message;

The ninth message indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide relay services for the first site.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the sixth message also carries at least one of the following information: the identity of the first site, battery power, supported data rate , the battery power of the relay device that sent the sixth message, the supported data rate, the reception quality for receiving the fourth message, and the up/downlink cost to the access point.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the fifth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first station to use the channel, for the first station to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window on the adjustment information, the channel is used to send relay data to the first relay device within the adjusted time window.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the eighth message also carries the The adjustment information of the time window in which the first relay device uses the channel is used for the first relay device to use the channel to relay data within the adjusted time window after adjusting the time window according to the adjustment information. Receive and forward.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the ninth message carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window using the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward relay data within the adjusted time window.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the fifth message is specifically sent in a broadcast mode or a unicast mode.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, before the first station broadcasts the fourth message according to the time information, the method further includes:

The first station receives a second message sent by the access point according to the first message, the second message carries a relay device discovery strategy, and the relay device discovery strategy includes at least one of the following parameters: One: the transmission power of the first station broadcasting the fourth message, the rate at which the first station broadcasts the fourth message;

The first station broadcasting the fourth message at the time indicated by the time information is specifically: the first station broadcasts the fourth message at the time indicated by the time information according to the parameters provided by the relay device discovery policy. information.

10. A method for determining a relay device, characterized in that the method includes: the access point receiving a first message sent by the first station, the first message being used to request discovery of the relay device;

The access point broadcasts a third message according to the first message, the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate when the third message is received. At least one relay device is in an awake state at a time indicated by the time information, and instructs the first station to broadcast a fourth message at a time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request relay services;

So that at least one relay device sends a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, and the first station determines a third station that provides relay services to the first station according to the seventh message. A relay device; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the seventh message can provide relay services; or

The access point receives a sixth message sent by at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and sends a fifth message to the first station, where the fifth message includes the information sent by the access point according to the sixth message. The message determines the identification information of the first relay device that provides relay services for the first site; the sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide relay services.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first station by the access point after broadcasting the eighth message, and the eighth message is sent to the first station after broadcasting the eighth message. The access point broadcasts after receiving the sixth message;

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first site by the access point after sending the ninth message to the first relay device, The ninth message is sent after the access point receives the sixth message;

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the sixth message also carries at least one of the following information: the identity of the first site, battery power, supported data rate , the battery power of the relay device that sent the sixth message, the supported data rate, the reception quality for receiving the fourth message, and the up/downlink cost to the access point.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the fifth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first station to use the channel, for the first station to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window on the adjustment information, the channel is used to send relay data to the first relay device within the adjusted time window.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the eighth message also carries adjustment information of a time window for the first relay device to use a channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window using the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward relay data within the adjusted time window.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the ninth message carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window using the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward relay data within the adjusted time window.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that the fifth message is specifically sent in a broadcast mode or a unicast mode.

18. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that,

Before or after the access point broadcasts the third message according to the first message, the method further includes:

The access point sends a second message to the first site according to the first message. The second message carries a relay device discovery strategy. The relay device discovery strategy includes at least one of the following parameters. : the transmission power of the first station broadcasting the fourth message, the rate at which the first station broadcasts the fourth message;

The instructing the first station to broadcast the fourth message at the time indicated by the time information is specifically:

The first station is instructed to broadcast the fourth message according to parameters provided by the relay device discovery policy at a time indicated by the time information.

19. A method for determining a relay device, characterized in that the method includes: a first relay device receiving a third message broadcast by an access point, and the third message carries the information specified by the access point. Time information, the third message is used to indicate that at least one relay device that receives the third message is in the awake state at the time indicated by the time information, and indicates the first station to be in the awake state at the time indicated by the time information. Broadcast a fourth message, the fourth message is used to request Asking for relay service;

The first relay device receives the fourth message broadcast by the first station at the time indicated by the time information;

The first relay device sends a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, so that after the access point receives the sixth message sent by at least one relay device, the access point sends a sixth message to the third relay device. A station sends a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the identification information of the first relay device that provides relay services for the first station determined by the access point based on the sixth message; the sixth message The message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the sixth message can provide relay services; or

The first relay device sends a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, so that the first station determines that the first station is the third station according to the seventh message sent by at least one relay device. A site provides a first relay device with relay services; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the seventh message can provide relay services.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein after the first relay device sends a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, the method further includes:

The first relay device receives an eighth message broadcast by the access point after receiving the sixth message sent by at least one relay device, and the eighth message carries the first relay device The identification information indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide relay services for the first site.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein after the first relay device sends a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, the method further includes:

The first relay device receives a ninth message sent by the access point to the first relay device after receiving the sixth message sent by at least one relay device, and the ninth message indicates that the The first relay device is selected to provide relay services for the first site.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising: the first relay device feeding back a confirmation message to the access point according to the eighth message, so that the access point After receiving the confirmation message, sending the fifth message to the first site

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: the first relay device feeding back a confirmation message to the access point according to the ninth message, so that the access point receives the After receiving the confirmation message, the fifth message is sent to the first site.

24. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, characterized in that the sixth message also carries at least one of the following information: the identity of the first site, battery power, supported data rate , the battery power of the relay device that sent the sixth message, the supported data rate, the reception quality for receiving the fourth message, and the up/downlink cost to the access point.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, characterized in that the fifth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first station to use the channel, for the first station to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window on the adjustment information, the channel is used to send relay data to the first relay device within the adjusted time window.

26. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that the eighth message also carries The adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first relay device is used for the first relay device to use the channel to relay data within the adjusted time window after adjusting the time window according to the adjustment information. receiving and forwarding.

27. The method of claim 21, wherein the ninth message carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window using the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward relay data within the adjusted time window.

28. A site that determines a relay device, characterized in that the first site of the site includes: a first sending unit, used for the first site to send a first message to the access point, and the first message is Request discovery of relay devices;

A second receiving unit, configured for the first station to receive a third message broadcast by the access point according to the first message, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, The third message is used to indicate that at least one relay device that receives the third message is in the awake state at the time indicated by the time information;

A second sending unit, configured for the first station to broadcast a fourth message at the time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request relay service;

a third receiving unit, configured for the first station to receive the fifth message sent by the access point; the access point configured to receive a sixth message sent by at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and The first relay device that provides relay services for the first site is determined according to the sixth message; the fifth message includes identification information of the first relay device; the sixth message is used to instruct sending The relay device of the sixth message can provide relay services; or

The first station receives a seventh message sent by at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and the first station determines a third message that provides relay services for the first station according to the seventh message. A relay device; The seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the seventh message can provide relay services.

29. The station according to claim 28, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first station by the access point after broadcasting the eighth message, and the eighth message is sent to the first station after broadcasting the eighth message. The access point broadcasts after receiving the sixth message;

30. The station according to claim 28, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first station by the access point after sending the ninth message to the first relay device, and The ninth message is sent after the access point receives the sixth message;

31. The site according to any one of claims 28 to 30, characterized in that the sixth message also carries at least one of the following information: the identity of the first site, battery power, supported data rate , the battery power of the relay device that sent the sixth message, the supported data rate, the reception quality for receiving the fourth message, and the up/downlink cost to the access point.

32. The station according to any one of claims 28 to 31, characterized in that the fifth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first station to use the channel, for the first station to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window on the adjustment information, the channel is used to send relay data to the first relay device within the adjusted time window.

33. The site of claim 29, wherein the eighth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window using the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward relay data within the adjusted time window.

34. The site of claim 30, wherein the ninth message carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window using the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward relay data within the adjusted time window.

35. The site according to any one of claims 28 to 34, characterized in that the fifth message is specifically sent by broadcast or unicast.

36. The site according to any one of claims 28-35, characterized in that the site also includes:

The first receiving unit is configured to receive the second message sent by the access point according to the first message before the first station broadcasts the fourth message according to the time information, and the second message carries The relay device discovery strategy includes at least one of the following parameters: the transmission power of the first station broadcasting the fourth message, the rate of the first station broadcasting the fourth message ;

The second sending unit is specifically configured to: the first station broadcast the fourth message according to the parameters provided by the relay device discovery policy at the time indicated by the time information.

37. An access point for determining a relay device, characterized in that the access point includes: a fourth receiving unit, configured to receive the first message sent by the first station, the first message being used to request discovery relay equipment;

The fourth sending unit is configured to broadcast a third message according to the first message. The third message carries the time information specified by the access point. The third message is used to indicate receipt of the third message. At least one relay device of the message is in the awake state at the time indicated by the time information, and instructs the first station to broadcast a fourth message at the time indicated by the time information, the fourth message being used to request relay Serve;

Receive a sixth message sent by at least one relay device according to the fourth message, and send a fifth message to the first station, where the fifth message includes the information determined by the access point according to the sixth message. The first station provides identification information of a first relay device that provides relay services; the sixth message is used to indicate that the relay device that sends the sixth message can provide relay services.

38. The access point according to claim 37, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first station by the fourth sending unit after broadcasting the eighth message, and the eighth message broadcast after the access point receives the sixth message;

39. The access point according to claim 37, wherein the fifth message is sent to the first station by the fourth sending unit after sending the ninth message to the first relay device. , the ninth message is sent after the access point receives the sixth message;

40. The access point according to any one of claims 37 to 39, characterized in that the sixth message also carries at least one of the following information: the identity of the first site, battery power, supported data rate, battery power of the relay device that sends the sixth message, supported data rate, reception quality for receiving the fourth message, and up/downlink cost to the access point.

41. The access point according to any one of claims 37 to 40, characterized in that the fifth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first station to use the channel, for the first station After the time window is adjusted according to the adjustment information, the channel is used to send relay data to the first relay device within the adjusted time window.

42. The access point according to claim 38, wherein the eighth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device After the time window is adjusted according to the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward the relay data within the adjusted time window.

43. The access point according to claim 39, wherein the ninth message carries adjustment information of the time window for the first relay device to use the channel, for the first relay device to adjust the time window according to After adjusting the time window of the adjustment information, the channel is used to receive and forward the relay data within the adjusted time window.

44. The access point according to any one of claims 37 to 43, characterized in that the fifth message is sent in a broadcast mode or a unicast mode.

45. The access point according to any one of claims 37 to 44, characterized in that the access point further includes:

The third sending unit is configured to send a second message to the first station according to the first message before or after the fourth sending unit broadcasts the third message according to the first message, the second message carries a relay device discovery strategy, and the relay device discovery strategy includes at least one of the following parameters: the transmission power of the first station broadcasting the fourth message, the first station broadcasting the fourth message s speed;

The relay device discovery policy is used for the first station to broadcast the fourth message according to the parameters provided by the relay device discovery policy when broadcasting the fourth message at the time indicated by the time information.

46. A relay device that determines a relay device, characterized in that the first relay device of the relay device includes:

The fifth receiving unit is configured to receive a third message broadcast by an access point, where the third message carries time information specified by the access point, and the third message is used to indicate receipt of the third message. At least one relay device is in the awake state at the time indicated by the time information, and instructs the first station to broadcast a fourth message at the time indicated by the time information, where the fourth message is used to request relay services;

A sixth receiving unit, configured to receive the fourth message broadcast by the first station at the time indicated by the time information;

The fifth sending unit is configured to send a sixth message to the access point according to the fourth message, so that after the access point receives the sixth message sent by at least one relay device, the access point sends the sixth message to the third message. A station sends a fifth message, where the fifth message includes the identification information of the first relay device that the access point determines based on the sixth message to provide relay services for the first station; the sixth message The message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the sixth message can provide relay services; or

configured to send a seventh message to the first station according to the fourth message, so that the first station determines to provide a relay for the first station according to the seventh message sent by at least one relay device. The first relay device serving; the seventh message is used to indicate that the relay device sending the seventh message can provide relay services.

47. The relay device according to claim 46, characterized in that the relay device further includes:

A seventh receiving unit, configured to receive an eighth message broadcast by the access point after receiving the sixth message sent by at least one relay device, where the eighth message carries the first relay device. The identification information indicates that the first relay device is selected to provide relay services for the first site.

48. The relay device according to claim 46, characterized in that the relay device further includes:

An eighth receiving unit, configured to receive a ninth message sent by the access point to the first relay device after receiving the sixth message sent by at least one relay device, where the ninth message indicates that the The first relay device is selected to provide relay services for the first site.

49. The relay device according to claim 47, characterized in that the relay device further includes:

A sixth sending unit, configured to feed back a confirmation message to the access point according to the eighth message, so that after receiving the confirmation message, the access point sends the fifth message to the first station. .

50. The relay device according to claim 48, characterized in that the relay device further includes:

A seventh sending unit, configured to feed back a confirmation message to the access point according to the ninth message, so that after receiving the confirmation message, the access point sends the fifth message to the first station. .

51. The relay device according to any one of claims 46 to 50, characterized in that the sixth message also carries at least one of the following information: the identification of the first site, battery power, supported data rate, battery power of the relay device that sends the sixth message, supported data rate, reception quality for receiving the fourth message, and up/downlink cost to the access point.

52. The method according to any one of claims 46 to 51, characterized in that the fifth message also carries adjustment information of the time window for the first station to use the channel, for the first station to adjust the time window according to the After adjusting the time window on the adjustment information, the channel is used to send relay data to the first relay device within the adjusted time window.

53. The relay device according to claim 47 or 49, characterized in that the eighth message also carries adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first relay device for the first relay device. After the relay device adjusts the time window according to the adjustment information, the relay device uses the channel to receive and forward the relay data within the adjusted time window.

54. The relay device according to claim 48 or 50, characterized in that the ninth message carries adjustment information of the time window of the channel used by the first relay device, for the first relay After the device adjusts the time window according to the adjustment information, the device uses the channel to receive and forward the relay data within the adjusted time window.

55. A system for determining relay equipment, characterized in that the system includes: a site as described in any one of claims 28 to 36, an access point as described in any one of claims 37 to 45, and at least A relay device as described in any one of claims 46 to 54.