CN106488580B

CN106488580B - Competition access method, competition access device, station and competition access system

Info

Publication number: CN106488580B
Application number: CN201510738789.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 杨懋; 屈桥; 李云波
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-02
Filing date: 2015-11-03
Publication date: 2020-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 2035-11-03
Also published as: CN106488580A

Abstract

The invention discloses a competition access method, a competition access device, a station and a competition access system. The invention provides a communication method applied to a wireless local area network, which comprises the following steps: a station receives a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame indicates that a part of subchannels is subchannels for allocation to scheduled stations and another part of subchannels is subchannels for random access; if the station is a scheduled station, monitoring whether a sub-channel allocated to the station is busy; and if the sub-channel allocated to the site is busy, randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission, or performing backoff first, and randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission after the backoff is finished. The communication method of the wireless local area network and the related equipment thereof can effectively improve the uplink access efficiency of the station and improve the network performance.

Description

Competition access method, competition access device, station and competition access system

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication, in particular to a contention access method, a contention access device, a station and a contention access system.

Background

A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a data transmission system that uses radio frequency technology and uses electromagnetic waves to perform communication connection in the air, where a Station (STA) and an Access Point (AP) are basic constituent units of the WLAN, and specifically, the AP connects the STAs together and then accesses a Wireless network to the ethernet.

The IEEE802.11 protocol is a standard established by the institute of electrical and electronics engineers for wireless local area networks in 9 months in 2009, and currently, commonly used protocols include: IEEE802.11 n and IEEE802.11 ac, and multi-channel communication is employed in the above two protocols. Specifically, the STA accesses the signal in a Carrier Sense/collision (CSMA/CA) Avoidance manner, that is, the STA needs to transmit data in a contention manner. In the process of transmitting data by the STA, first, a backoff value needs to be determined, the AP sends a Trigger Frame (TF for short) to indicate a subchannel that can be used for random contention, after the STA receives the TF each time, the backoff value is decremented by 1, and if the backoff value becomes 0, the STA randomly selects a subchannel to transmit an uplink data packet.

However, the STA randomly selects one sub-channel to transmit an uplink data packet, and if the channel to which the randomly selected sub-channel belongs is busy, the STA cannot transmit the uplink data packet, and also interferes with other data packets transmitted by using the sub-channel, thereby reducing the efficiency of uplink access and further reducing the performance of the network.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a contention access method, a contention access apparatus, a station and a contention access system, which are used to improve uplink access efficiency and further improve network performance.

A first aspect of the present invention provides a contention access method, including:

a station receives a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame comprises a channel identifier and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier;

the station monitors whether a channel corresponding to the channel identification is idle or not;

if the station monitors an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the distribution information of the idle channel, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; or performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel for contention; performing back-off processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, including:

according to the distribution information corresponding to the idle channel, subtracting a first quantity from a first backoff value to obtain a second backoff value;

judging whether the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, if so, selecting at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel;

the first backoff value is a backoff value when the station receives a trigger frame, and the first number is the number of subchannels used for contention included in the allocation information of the idle channel.

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes:

and if the second backoff value is greater than 0, not completing backoff and not sending the data packet.

With reference to the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, if all allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier includes a sub-channel for contention, performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame includes:

subtracting a second quantity from the first backoff value according to the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame to obtain a third backoff value;

judging whether the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, if so, selecting at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel;

the first backoff value is a backoff value when the station receives a trigger frame, and the second number of the trigger frames includes the total number of all sub-channels used for contention.

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes:

and if the third backoff value is greater than 0, the backoff is not completed, and the data packet is not sent.

With reference to the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station; then, the selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channels according to the allocation information of the idle channels, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel includes:

and selecting the sub-channels which are used for competition and allocated to the station from the idle channels according to the idle channel allocation information to send the data packet.

With reference to the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes:

judging whether a sub-channel which is used for competition and allocated to the site exists in the trigger frame, and if so, judging whether a channel which is used for competition and allocated to the site belongs to is an idle channel;

performing back-off processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, including:

and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the station belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, performing backoff processing according to allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or allocation information corresponding to a channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

With reference to the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the method further includes:

then, the selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channels according to the allocation information of the idle channels, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel includes:

and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the site belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the allocation information of the idle channel, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a contention access apparatus, including:

the receiving and sending module is used for receiving the trigger frame sent by the access point; the trigger frame comprises a channel identifier and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier;

the monitoring module is used for monitoring whether the channel corresponding to the channel identifier is idle or not;

the processing module is used for selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channels according to the distribution information of the idle channels and triggering the transceiver module to send a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel if the monitoring module monitors that the idle channels exist; or performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel for contention; the processing module comprises:

the first back-off unit is used for subtracting the first quantity from the first back-off value according to the distribution information corresponding to the idle channel to obtain a second back-off value;

a first determining unit, configured to determine whether the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, and if the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, select at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and trigger the transceiver module to send a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel;

With reference to the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if the second backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed, and the data packet is not sent.

With reference to the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if all of the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier includes a sub-channel for contention, the processing module includes:

the second backoff unit is used for subtracting a second quantity from the first backoff value according to the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame to obtain a third backoff value;

a second determining unit, configured to determine whether the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, and if the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, select at least one subchannel from the idle channels and trigger the transceiver module to send a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel;

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if the third backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed, and the data packet is not sent.

With reference to the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus; the processing module is specifically configured to select, according to the idle channel allocation information, the sub-channel for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus from the idle channel, and trigger the transceiver module to send the data packet through the selected sub-channel for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus.

With reference to the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the processing module is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus belongs is an idle channel;

and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the competition access device belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, performing backoff processing according to allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or allocation information corresponding to a channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

With reference to the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the processing module is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus belongs is an idle channel;

and if the channel which is used for competition and is allocated to the competition access device and belongs to the sub-channel is judged not to be an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the allocation information of the idle channel, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

A third aspect of the invention provides a station comprising: a processor, a transmitter and a receiver, wherein,

the receiver is used for receiving a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame comprises a channel identifier and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier;

the processor is used for monitoring whether a channel corresponding to the channel identifier is idle or not;

the processor is further configured to select at least one sub-channel from the idle channels according to the allocation information of the idle channels if an idle channel is detected, and trigger the transmitter to transmit a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; or performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel for contention; the processor is specifically configured to:

judging whether the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, if so, selecting at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and triggering the transmitter to transmit a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel;

With reference to the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if the second backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed, and the data packet is not sent.

With reference to the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if all of the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier includes a sub-channel for contention, the processor is further configured to:

subtracting a second quantity from the second backoff value according to the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame to obtain a third backoff value;

judging whether the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, if so, selecting at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and triggering the transmitter to transmit a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel;

With reference to the third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if the third backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed, and the data packet is not sent.

With reference to the third aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station; the processor is specifically configured to: and selecting the sub-channel which is used for competition and is allocated to the station from the idle channels according to the idle channel allocation information, and triggering the transmitter to transmit the data packet through the selected sub-channel which is used for competition and is allocated to the station.

With reference to the third aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processor is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station belongs is an idle channel;

With reference to the third aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the processor is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station belongs is an idle channel;

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a contention access system, comprising: the access point and the station are competition access devices.

In the contention access method, the contention access apparatus, the station and the contention access system provided in the embodiments of the present invention, the station monitors whether a channel corresponding to a channel identifier is idle according to a received trigger frame sent by an access point, and when an idle channel is detected, selects at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to allocation information of the idle channel, and sends a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel, or performs a backoff process according to the idle channel and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, because it is determined first which channels are idle channels corresponding to the channel identifier, and then selects at least one sub-channel from available idle channels, or performs a backoff process according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, it is ensured that once a sub-channel is selected, the uplink access method is inevitably a sub-channel in an idle channel, so that the problem that the uplink access efficiency is reduced and the network performance is reduced due to the fact that the channel of the sub-channel randomly selected by the station is busy in the prior art is solved, the uplink access efficiency of the station is effectively improved, and the network performance is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a WLAN system provided in the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a contention access method according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a contention access method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a contention access method according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a third contention access method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of a contention access method according to the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of a contention access method according to the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a sixth embodiment of a contention access method according to the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a contention access apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a second contention access apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a third embodiment of a contention access apparatus according to the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a station provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a contention access system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view of an application scenario of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart of a communication method applied to a wireless local area network according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention can be applied to a WLAN, and the standard adopted by the WLAN at present is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series. The Station (STA) and the Access Point (AP) are basic components of the WLAN.

Specifically, the STA is typically a client in the WLAN. The STA may be mobile or fixed, and is the most basic component of the wireless lan. The AP is an access point for a mobile subscriber to enter a wired network, and is mainly deployed in a home, a building, and a campus, and typically has a coverage radius of several tens of meters to hundreds of meters, and may be deployed outdoors. The AP acts as a bridge connecting the network and the wireless network, and mainly functions to connect the wireless network clients together and then to access the wireless network to the ethernet. Specifically, the AP may be a terminal device or a network device with a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) chip. Optionally, the AP may be a device supporting 802.11ax standard, and further optionally, the AP may be a device supporting multiple WLAN standards such as 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11 a.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a WLAN system provided by the present invention, and as shown in fig. 1, 1 AP in the WLAN system may perform information interaction with multiple STAs (taking 3 as an example), including STA1, STA2, and STA 3. Of course, the method is not limited thereto, and 1 AP may also perform information interaction with multiple STA groups.

Specifically, single channel communication is adopted in the 802.11a protocol, in order to improve the access efficiency of the station, multi-channel communication is adopted in the 802.11ac and 802.11n protocols, the bandwidth of each channel in the multi-channel communication is not particularly limited, the bandwidth specification of the channel is different in different protocols, and in addition, the number of the divided channels is determined according to a specific scheduling situation. However, in a scenario where a transmission data packet is small, the uplink access efficiency of the multi-channel communication is not very high, and therefore, a communication method in which multiple channels are provided and the channels are divided into multiple sub-channels is proposed, where the bandwidth of each sub-channel and the number of sub-channels are determined according to a specific scheduling situation, and in this communication method, not only can each sub-channel transmit a data packet, but also multiple channels can bind and transmit a data packet, and therefore, by using this communication method, the uplink access efficiency can be greatly improved.

In a multi-channel communication state in which the channel is divided into a plurality of sub-channels, the STA accesses the channel in a CSMA/CA manner, that is, the STA needs to transmit a data packet in a contention mode.

In addition, the current WLAN uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, and 80+80MHz, the channel aggregation mode is a continuous channel aggregation mode, and a discontinuous channel aggregation mode may also be used in the next generation WLAN, but the AP and the STA have full channel sensing capability no matter which channel aggregation mode is used, so the channel in the embodiment of the present invention is exemplified by a channel with a bandwidth of 20 MHz.

The principles of embodiments of the present invention are explained below:

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a contention access method according to a first embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 2, a contention access method provided in an embodiment of the present invention specifically includes the following steps:

step S201, a station receives a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame includes a channel identifier and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier.

The trigger frame includes at least one channel identifier, and the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier is specifically which sub-channels in each channel are available for random contention.

Step S202, the station monitors whether the channel corresponding to the channel identification is idle.

Step S203, if the station monitors an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the distribution information of the idle channel, and sending a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; or performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

The contention access method provided by the embodiment of the present invention monitors, by a station, whether a channel corresponding to a channel identifier is idle according to a received trigger frame sent by an access point, and when an idle channel is detected, selects at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to allocation information of the idle channel, and sends a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel, or performs backoff processing according to the idle channel and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, because it is determined first which channels corresponding to the channel identifier are idle channels, and then selects at least one sub-channel from available idle channels, or performs backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, it is ensured that once at least one sub-channel is selected, it is necessarily a sub-channel in the idle channel, therefore, the problem that in the prior art, if the channel of the sub-channel randomly selected by the station is busy, the uplink access efficiency is reduced, and the network performance is reduced is solved, the uplink access efficiency of the station is effectively improved, and the network performance is improved.

In the following embodiment, the following scenario is taken as an example to explain that 1 AP performs information interaction with 2 STAs, where the 2 STAs are STA1 and STA2 respectively; of course, the method is not limited thereto, and 1 AP may also perform information interaction with multiple STA groups.

In a specific implementation manner of the first embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the present invention, fig. 3 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a contention access method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 3, in the contention access method provided in the second embodiment of the present invention, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel for contention; then, in step S203, performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, including:

step S301, according to the distribution information corresponding to the idle channel, subtracting the first quantity from the first back-off value, and acquiring a second back-off value.

The first backoff value is a backoff value when the station receives the trigger frame, and the first number is the number of sub-channels used for contention included in the allocation information of the idle channel.

Step S302, determining whether the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, and if the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channels, and sending the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

In addition, the contention access method provided in this embodiment further includes: and if the second backoff value is greater than 0, the backoff is not completed and the data packet is not sent.

In this embodiment, for example, taking the trigger frame including 2 channel identifiers as an example, the method specifically includes: the method comprises a channel 1 and a channel 2, each channel is divided into 4 sub-channels, the sub-numbers of each channel are sub-channels 1-4 from top to bottom, wherein the allocation information corresponding to each channel identifier of a trigger frame is that 4 sub-channels of the channel 1 can be used for random contention, and the sub-channel 1 and the sub-channel 2 of the channel 2 can be used for random contention. Of course, the trigger frame is not limited to this, and the trigger frame may include a plurality of channel identifiers, and the allocation information corresponding to each channel identifier is also not limited to this.

In addition, the first backoff value for the STA is selected according to the IEEE802.11 protocol before the AP transmits the TF frame. In the present embodiment, for example, the first backoff value of STA1 is 3, and the first backoff value of STA2 is 7.

Specifically, fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the contention access method according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4, if the station is STA1, the STA1 receives the trigger frame sent by the access point, for example, TF-1, detects that channel 1 is idle and channel 2 is busy, and since the allocation information corresponding to channel 1 in TF-1 is that 4 subchannels on channel 1 are available for random contention, the STA1 decreases the first backoff value by 4 (i.e., the first number) to obtain a second backoff value, which is less than or equal to 0, so that the STA1 can select at least one subchannel from the idle channels (channel 1), for example, select subchannel 1 to send uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a DATA packet), or select subchannel 1 and subchannel 2 to send uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a DATA packet) through subchannel 1 and subchannel 2, fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of selecting subchannel 1.

The STA is STA2, and STA2 senses that channel 1 is busy and channel 2 is idle, because the allocation information corresponding to channel 2 in TF-1 is that 2 subchannels on channel 2 are available for random contention, STA1 subtracts 2 (i.e., the first number) from the first backoff value to obtain a second backoff value (5), and because the second backoff value is greater than 0, STA2 has not finished backoff and cannot select a subchannel from the idle channels to transmit uplink DATA-2 (i.e., a DATA packet).

To further illustrate, for STA2, the trigger frame sent by the access point may be received again, for example: after receiving the TF-2, the STA2 has a first backoff value of 5 and then performs physical carrier sensing, and the STA2 senses that both channel 1 and channel 2 are idle, because the TF-2 indicates that 6 subchannels on the idle channel 1 and channel 2 can be used for contention at any time, the STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e., the first number) from the first backoff value to obtain a second backoff value, and the second backoff value is smaller than 0, so the STA2 may randomly select at least one subchannel from the idle channel to transmit the uplink DATA-2.

In another specific implementation manner of the first embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the present invention, fig. 5 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a contention access method provided in the first embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 5, in the contention access method provided in the third embodiment of the present invention, if all the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier includes a sub-channel for contention, performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame in step S203, includes:

step S501, according to the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, subtracting the second quantity from the first back-off value, and acquiring a third back-off value.

The first backoff value is a backoff value when the station receives the trigger frame, and the second number is the total number of all sub-channels used for contention included in the trigger frame.

Step S502, determining whether the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, and if the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channels, and sending the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

In addition, the contention access method provided in this embodiment further includes: and if the third backoff value is greater than 0, the backoff is not completed and the data packet is not sent.

In addition, the first backoff value for the STA is selected according to the IEEE802.11 protocol before the AP transmits the TF frame. In this embodiment, for example, the first backoff value of STA1 is 3, and the second backoff value of STA2 is 7.

Specifically, fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the contention access method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, if the station is STA1, the STA1 receives the trigger frame sent by the access point, for example, TF-1, and detects that channel 1 is idle and channel 2 is busy, since allocation information corresponding to channel identification in TF-1 is that 6 subchannels on channel 1 and channel 2 can be used for random contention, the STA1 subtracts 6 (i.e., the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value, which is less than or equal to 0, so that the STA1 can select at least one subchannel from the idle channels (channel 1), for example, select subchannel 1 to send uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a DATA packet), or select subchannel 1 and subchannel 2, and send uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a DATA packet) through subchannel 1 and subchannel 2, fig. 6 illustrates an example of selecting subchannel 1.

If the station is STA2, STA2 detects that channel 1 is busy and channel 2 is idle, because the allocation information corresponding to the TF-1 channel id is that there are 6 subchannels on channel 1 and channel 2 for random contention, STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e., the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value (1), and because the third backoff value is greater than 0, STA2 finishes backoff and cannot select to send uplink DATA-2 (i.e., DATA packet) from the idle channel.

To further illustrate, for STA2, the trigger frame sent by the access point may be received again, for example: after receiving the TF-2, the STA2 has a first backoff value of 5 and then performs physical carrier sensing, and the STA2 senses that both channel 1 and channel 2 are idle, because the TF-2 indicates that 6 subchannels on the idle channel 1 and channel 2 can be used for contention at any time, the STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e. the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value, and the third backoff value is less than 0, so the STA2 may randomly select at least one subchannel from the idle channels (channel 1 and channel 2) to transmit the uplink DATA-2.

It should be noted that whether the channel sensed by the STA1 is idle is not necessarily related to the channel sensed by the STA2, and they are independent of each other. TF-1 and TF-2 are not necessarily related to each other, but are independent of each other, and in this embodiment, TF-1 and TF-2 are the same as an example, but naturally, the invention is not limited thereto, and TF-1 and TF-2 may be different.

In another specific implementation manner of the first embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the present invention, in the contention access method provided in the fourth embodiment of the present invention, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station;

a specific implementation manner of selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channels according to the allocation information of the idle channels in step S203 and sending the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel is as follows:

and selecting a sub-channel which is used for competition and is allocated to the station from the idle channels according to the idle channel allocation information to transmit the data packet.

In this embodiment, for example, taking the trigger frame including 2 channel identifiers as an example, the method specifically includes: channel 1 and channel 2, and dividing each channel into 4 sub-channels, the sub-channels of each channel being sub-channels 1-4 from top to bottom, wherein the allocation information corresponding to each channel identifier of the trigger frame is that 4 sub-channels of channel 1 can be used for random contention, sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 2 of channel 2 can be used for random contention, and sub-channel 1 of channel 2 is allocated to STA 1. It is to be understood that the sub-channel allocated to the station may also be allocated to the STA2, and the invention is not limited thereto.

Specifically, if the station is STA1, STA1 receives the trigger frame sent by the access point, for example: TF-1 senses that channel 1 is busy and channel 2 is idle, and since sub-channel 1 indicating channel 2 in TF-1 is allocated to the STA1, the STA1 selects sub-channel 1 of channel 2 from the idle channel 2 according to the idle channel allocation information to transmit uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a packet).

If the station is STA2, the STA2 detects that channel 1 is busy and channel 2 is idle, and the STA2 may select a sub-channel to transmit a sub-channel by using the contention access methods of the second and third embodiments, which is described in this embodiment by taking the contention access method of the third embodiment as an example, because the assignment information corresponding to the TF-1 channel identifier is that there are 6 sub-channels available for random contention on channel 1 and channel 2, the STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e., the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value (1), and because the third backoff value is greater than 0, the STA2 backoff is not completed and cannot select a sub-channel from the idle channel to transmit uplink DATA-2.

To further illustrate, for STA2, the trigger frame sent by the access point may be received again, for example: after receiving the TF-2, the STA2 has a first backoff value of 5 and then performs physical carrier sensing, and the STA2 senses that both channel 1 and channel 2 are idle, and since the TF-2 indicates that 6 subchannels on the idle channel 1 and channel 2 can be used for contention at any time, the STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e. the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value, and the third backoff value is smaller than 0, so the STA2 may then randomly select a subchannel from the idle channels (channel 1 and channel 2) to transmit uplink DATA-2.

In another specific implementation manner of the first embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the present invention, the contention access method provided by the fifth embodiment of the present invention specifically further includes the following steps:

and judging whether the sub-channels which are used for competition and allocated to the station exist in the trigger frame, and if so, judging whether the channels which are used for competition and allocated to the station belong to are idle channels.

Step S203 includes: and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the station belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, performing backoff processing according to allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

In this embodiment, for example, taking the trigger frame including 2 channel identifiers as an example, the method specifically includes: channel 1 and channel 2, and dividing each channel into 4 sub-channels, and the sub-numbers of each channel are sub-channels 1-4 from top to bottom, where the allocation information corresponding to each channel identifier of the trigger frame is that 4 sub-channels of channel 1 can be used for random contention, sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 2 of channel 2 can be used for random contention, and sub-channel 1 of channel 2 is allocated to STA 1. Of course, the trigger frame is not limited to this, and the trigger frame may include a plurality of channel identifiers, and the allocation information corresponding to each channel identifier is also not limited to this.

Specifically, fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of the contention access method according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 7, if the station is STA1, and if the STA1 receives the trigger frame sent by the access point, for example, TF-1, and senses that channel 1 is idle and channel 2 is busy, although the sub-channel of channel 2 in TF-1 is allocated to STA1 for sending a data packet, at this time, STA1 senses that channel 2 is busy, STA1 cannot send a data packet on channel 2, but the contention access method of embodiment two or embodiment three is used for performing random contention, this embodiment takes the contention access method of embodiment three as an example, that is, because allocation information corresponding to channel identifier in TF-1 is that 6 sub-channels in total on channel 1 and channel 2 can be used for random contention, so STA1 reduces the first value by 6 (i.e. the second number), to obtain a third back-off value, which is less than or equal to 0, the STA1 may select at least one sub-channel from the idle channel (channel 1), for example, select sub-channel 1 to transmit an uplink DATA packet, or select sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 2 and transmit uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a DATA packet) through sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 2, where fig. 7 is described by taking sub-channel 1 as an example.

If the station is STA2, STA2 detects that channel 1 is busy and channel 2 is idle, because the allocation information corresponding to the TF-1 channel id is that there are 6 subchannels on channel 1 and channel 2 for random contention, STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e., the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value (1), and because the third backoff value is greater than 0, STA2 finishes backoff and cannot select a subchannel from the idle channels to transmit uplink DATA-2.

In another specific implementation manner of the first embodiment of the present invention, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the present invention, the contention access method provided by the sixth embodiment of the present invention specifically further includes the following steps:

Step S203 includes: and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the station belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the allocation information of the idle channel, and transmitting the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

Specifically, fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a sixth embodiment of a contention access method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 8, if the station is STA1, STA1 receives the trigger frame sent by the ap, for example, TF-1, and senses that channel 1 is idle and channel 2 is busy, although the sub-channel of channel 2 in TF-1 is allocated to the STA1 for transmitting the data packet, at this time, the STA1 senses that channel 2 is busy, STA1 may not be able to transmit data packets on channel 2 and, therefore, STA1 may select at least one sub-channel from the idle channel (channel 1), e.g., sub-channel 1 for uplink data packets, or selecting subchannel 1 and subchannel 2, and transmitting uplink DATA-1 (i.e., a DATA packet) through subchannel 1 and subchannel 2, it should be noted that fig. 8 illustrates an example in which subchannel 1 is selected.

If the station is STA2, the STA2 detects that the channel 1 is busy and the channel 2 is idle, and the STA2 may perform random contention by using the contention access method of the second embodiment or the third embodiment, which is described in this embodiment by taking the contention access method of the third embodiment as an example, specifically, since the assignment information corresponding to the TF-1 channel identifier is that 6 subchannels are available for random contention on the channel 1 and the channel 2, the STA2 subtracts 6 (i.e., the second number) from the first backoff value to obtain a third backoff value (which is 1), and since the third backoff value is greater than 0, the STA2 backoff is not completed, and cannot select a subchannel from the idle channel to transmit the uplink DATA-2.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a contention access apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 9, the contention access apparatus provided in this embodiment specifically includes: a transceiver module 901, a listening module 902 and a processing module 903.

In this embodiment, the transceiver module 901 is configured to receive a trigger frame sent by an access point; specifically, the trigger frame includes a channel identifier and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier; an intercepting module 902, configured to intercept whether a channel corresponding to the channel identifier is idle; the processing module 903, if the listening module 902 listens an idle channel, is configured to select at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to allocation information of the idle channel, and trigger the transceiver module to send a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; or performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

The contention access apparatus in this embodiment may specifically be a station, and may execute the technical solution in the embodiment of the method in fig. 2, which is similar to the principle implemented, and is not described here again.

The contention access apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present invention, through a trigger frame sent by an access point and received by a transceiver module, an interception module intercepts whether a channel corresponding to a channel identifier is idle, and a processing module, when the interception module intercepts an idle channel, selects at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to allocation information of the idle channel, and triggers the transceiver module to send a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel, or performs backoff processing according to the idle channel and allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, where as it is determined first which channels corresponding to the channel identifier are idle channels, and then selects at least one sub-channel from available idle channels, or performs backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, it is ensured that once a sub-channel is selected, the uplink access method is inevitably a sub-channel in an idle channel, so that the problem that the uplink access efficiency is reduced and the network performance is reduced due to the fact that the channel of the sub-channel randomly selected by the station is busy in the prior art is solved, the uplink access efficiency of the station is effectively improved, and the network performance is improved.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment, in a second embodiment of the contention based access apparatus provided by the present invention, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the second embodiment of the contention based access apparatus provided by the present invention; as shown in fig. 10, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel for contention; the processing module 903 includes: a first backoff unit 101 and a first judgment unit 102.

In this embodiment, the first backoff unit 101 is configured to subtract a first number from a first backoff value according to allocation information corresponding to an idle channel, and obtain a second backoff value; a first determining unit 102, configured to determine whether the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, and if the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, select at least one sub-channel from the idle channels, and trigger the transceiver module to send the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; the first backoff value is a backoff value when the station receives the trigger frame, and the first number is the number of sub-channels used for contention included in the allocation information of the idle channel.

In addition, in this embodiment, if the second backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed and no packet is transmitted.

The contention access apparatus in this embodiment may specifically be a station, and may execute the technical solution in the embodiment of the method in fig. 3, which is similar to the principle implemented, and is not described here again.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the contention access apparatus, in the third embodiment of the contention access apparatus provided by the present invention, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of the third embodiment of the contention access apparatus provided by the present invention; as shown in fig. 11, if all the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier includes a sub-channel for contention, the processing module 903 includes: a second backoff unit 111 and a second judgment unit 112.

In this embodiment, the second backoff unit 111 is configured to subtract the second number from the first backoff value according to the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame, and obtain a third backoff value; a second determining unit 112, configured to determine whether the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, and if the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, select at least one sub-channel from the idle channels, and trigger the transceiver module to send the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; the first backoff value is the backoff value when the station receives the trigger frame, and the total number of all the subchannels used for contention included in the second number of trigger frames is less than the total number of all the subchannels used for contention.

In addition, in this embodiment, if the third backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed and no packet is transmitted.

The contention access apparatus in this embodiment may specifically be a station, and may execute the technical solution in the embodiment of the method in fig. 5, which is similar to the principle implemented, and is not described here again.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the contention access apparatus, a fourth embodiment of the contention access apparatus provided by the present invention includes: if the allocation information of the idle channel comprises the sub-channels which are used for competition and allocated to the competition access device; the processing module is specifically configured to select, according to the idle channel allocation information, a sub-channel that is used for contention and allocated to the contention access device from the idle channels, and trigger the transceiver module to transmit the data packet through the selected sub-channel that is used for contention and allocated to the contention access device.

The contention access apparatus in this embodiment may specifically be a station, and may implement the technical solution of the embodiment of the four-way method in the embodiment of the method, which has similar implementation principles and is not described herein again.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the contention access apparatus, in a fifth embodiment of the contention access apparatus provided by the present invention, the processing module is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus belongs is an idle channel; and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the competition access device belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, performing backoff processing according to allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or allocation information corresponding to a channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

The contention access apparatus in this embodiment may specifically be a station, and may execute the technical solution in the embodiment of the method in fig. 7, which has similar implementation principles and is not described herein again.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the contention access apparatus, in a sixth embodiment of the contention access apparatus provided by the present invention, the processing module is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the contention access apparatus belongs is an idle channel; and if the channel which is used for competition and is allocated to the competition access device is judged not to be an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the allocation information of the idle channel, and transmitting the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

The contention access apparatus in this embodiment may specifically be a station, and may execute the technical solution in the embodiment of the method in fig. 8, which has similar implementation principles and is not described herein again.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a station provided in an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 12, the station provided in this embodiment specifically includes: a receiver 121, a processor 122, and a transmitter 123.

In this embodiment, the receiver 121 is configured to receive a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame comprises a channel identifier and distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier; a processor 122, configured to listen whether a channel corresponding to the channel identifier is idle; the processor 122 is further configured to select at least one sub-channel from the idle channels according to the allocation information of the idle channels if an idle channel is detected, and trigger the transmitter 123 to transmit a data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel; or performing backoff processing according to the allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the station in the first embodiment, in the second embodiment of the station provided by the present invention, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel for contention; the processor 122 is specifically configured to: according to the distribution information corresponding to the idle channel, subtracting the first quantity from the first backoff value to obtain a second backoff value; judging whether the second backoff value is less than or equal to 0, if so, selecting at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and triggering a transmitter to transmit a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel; the first backoff value is a backoff value when the station receives the trigger frame, and the first number is the number of sub-channels used for contention included in the allocation information of the idle channel.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the station, in a third embodiment of the station provided by the present invention, if all the allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier includes a sub-channel for contention, the processor 122 is further configured to: subtracting the second quantity from the first backoff value according to the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame to obtain a third backoff value; judging whether the third backoff value is less than or equal to 0, if so, selecting at least one subchannel from the idle channels, and triggering a transmitter to transmit a data packet through the selected at least one subchannel; the first backoff value is the backoff value when the station receives the trigger frame, and the total number of all the subchannels used for contention included in the second number of trigger frames is less than the total number of all the subchannels used for contention.

In addition, in this embodiment, if the third backoff value is greater than 0, backoff is not completed, and the data packet is not transmitted.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the station, in a fourth embodiment of the station provided by the present invention, if the allocation information of the idle channel includes a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station; the processor 122 is specifically configured to: and according to the idle channel allocation information, selecting a sub-channel which is used for competition and allocated to the station from the idle channels, and triggering the transmitter to transmit the data packet through the selected sub-channel which is used for competition and allocated to the station.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the station, in a fifth embodiment of the station provided by the present invention, the processor 122 is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station belongs exists is an idle channel; and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the station belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, performing backoff processing according to allocation information corresponding to the idle channel or allocation information corresponding to the channel identifier included in the trigger frame.

Further, on the basis of the technical solution of the first embodiment of the station, in a sixth embodiment of the station provided by the present invention, the processor 122 is further configured to determine whether a sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station exists in the trigger frame, and if the sub-channel exists, determine whether a channel to which the sub-channel used for contention and allocated to the station belongs exists is an idle channel; and if the existing channel used for competition and to which the sub-channel allocated to the station belongs is judged not to be an idle channel, selecting at least one sub-channel from the idle channel according to the allocation information of the idle channel, and transmitting the data packet through the selected at least one sub-channel.

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a contention access system according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 13, the contention access system provided in this embodiment includes: access point 131 and station 132.

In this embodiment, the station is a contention access apparatus shown in any one of fig. 9 to 11, and the implementation principles thereof are similar and will not be described herein again.

Example seven:

referring to fig. 14, the present embodiment is directed to an access point sending a trigger frame, where a part of subchannels is allocated to a scheduled station, and another part of subchannels is used for random access (random access), but the scheduled station finds, through listening, that the allocated subchannels are in a busy state. The scheduled station listens to the allocated sub-channel usually by listening to the channel state of the allocated sub-channel, and when the station listens to a busy state of a certain channel, all sub-channels included in the channel are in a busy state. On the contrary, when the station detects that a certain channel is in the idle state, all sub-channels included in the channel are in the idle state. The channel-based state interception is simple in implementation mode, and high complexity caused by independently intercepting each sub-channel is avoided.

The contention access method provided by the seventh embodiment of the present invention specifically includes the following steps:

the access point sends a trigger frame, the trigger frame distributes one part of sub-channels to the scheduled station and uses the other part of sub-channels for random competition;

the method comprises the steps that a station receives a trigger frame and judges whether the station is a scheduled station or not according to the trigger frame;

if the scheduled sub-channel is judged to be a scheduled site, monitoring the state of the scheduled sub-channel, and if the scheduled sub-channel is idle, sending data on the scheduled sub-channel; when the scheduled sub-channel is busy, further judging whether a free sub-channel used for random competition exists, if so, executing one of the following modes:

the first method is as follows: randomly selecting an idle random competition sub-channel for data transmission;

the second method comprises the following steps: carrying out backoff, namely subtracting the number of idle sub-channels for random contention from the value of a backoff counter, and randomly selecting an idle random contention sub-channel to carry out data transmission if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or a negative number;

the third method comprises the following steps: and (4) carrying out backoff firstly, namely subtracting the number of the sub-channels used for random contention by the backoff counter value, and randomly selecting an idle random contention sub-channel to carry out data transmission if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or a negative number.

In the first mode, the scheduled station directly selects the random contention subchannel for data transmission without performing backoff, and the scheduled station is given higher priority than the random contention station. This approach may allow more data transmission opportunities for scheduled stations. However, when there are a large number of scheduled sub-channels of a scheduled station in a busy state, severe collisions may occur due to the large number of stations transmitting simultaneously in a limited random contention sub-channel. One way to control the collision is to limit the station performing the first mode, for example, only a station belonging to a specific access type or a high priority station can use the first mode for access, and for example, the access point can indicate the scheduled station performing the first mode in a trigger frame, so as to prevent the scheduled stations performing the first mode simultaneously from being too many to cause the collision.

The following is presented in a more specific example with reference to fig. 14. Assume that the access point sends a trigger frame indicating that there are two channels available for data transmission: channel 1 and channel 2, each divided into 4 sub-channels. Wherein the trigger frame uses 4 sub-channels in channel 1 for random contention, uses sub-channel 1 and sub-channel 2 in channel 2 for random contention, and allocates sub-channel 3 and sub-channel 4 in channel 2 to the scheduling user, for example, allocates sub-channel 4 of channel 2 to station 1.

After receiving the trigger frame, the station 1 firstly knows that it is scheduled to the sub-channel 4 of the channel 2 for data transmission according to the scheduling information in the trigger frame. In this case, the station 1 determines how to transmit data according to the channel conditions of the scheduled sub-channel and the random access sub-channel. As shown in fig. 14, since channel 2 is busy, subchannel 4 of channel 2 is also busy, and data transmission on subchannel 4 of channel 2 is not possible. Further, the station 1 determines whether there are idle randomly contended sub-channels, for example, 4 randomly contended sub-channels of the channel 1 shown in fig. 14 are in an idle state, and at this time, the station one may perform one of the following manners:

the first method is as follows: selecting one of 4 random competition sub-channels in the channel 1 for data transmission;

the second method comprises the following steps: performing backoff, namely subtracting the number of idle sub-channels for random contention from the value of a backoff counter, wherein if the value of the backoff counter before updating is less than or equal to 4, the value of the backoff counter after updating is 0 or a negative number, and then selecting one of 4 random contention sub-channels in a channel 1 for data transmission; if the value of the backoff counter before updating is greater than 4, the value of the backoff counter after updating is greater than 0, and data cannot be sent;

the second method comprises the following steps: performing backoff, namely subtracting the number of sub-channels used for random contention from the value of a backoff counter, wherein if the value of the backoff counter before updating is less than or equal to 6, the value of the backoff counter after updating is 0 or a negative number, and then selecting one of 4 random contention sub-channels in a channel 1 for data transmission; if the backoff counter value before the update is greater than 6, the backoff counter value after the update is greater than 0, then transmission of data may not be performed.

Referring to fig. 15, a seventh embodiment of the present invention provides a communication method applied to a wireless local area network, including:

s701: a station receives a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame indicates that a part of subchannels is subchannels for allocation to scheduled stations and another part of subchannels is subchannels for random access;

s702: if the station is a scheduled station, monitoring whether a sub-channel allocated to the station is busy;

s703: and if the sub-channel allocated to the site is busy, randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission, or performing backoff first, and randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission after the backoff is finished.

Specifically, the manner of performing backoff is as follows: subtracting the number of idle sub-channels for random access from the value of the backoff counter, and ending backoff if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or a negative number; or subtracting the number of the sub-channels for random access from the backoff counter value, and ending backoff if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or a negative number.

Specifically, the station monitors the state of the channel where the allocated sub-channel is located to know whether the sub-channel allocated to the station is busy, and when the station monitors that a certain channel is in a busy state, all sub-channels included in the channel are in a busy state; when a station detects that a certain channel is in an idle state, all sub-channels included in the channel are in an idle state.

Referring to fig. 12, a seventh embodiment of the present invention discloses a station, which includes:

a receiver 121, configured to receive a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame indicates that a part of subchannels is subchannels for allocation to scheduled stations and another part of subchannels is subchannels for random access;

a processor 122, configured to determine whether the station is a scheduled station according to the trigger frame, and monitor whether a sub-channel allocated to the station is busy; the processor 122 is further configured to randomly select a free random access sub-channel for data transmission when the sub-channel allocated to the station is busy; or when the sub-channel allocated to the site is busy, the back-off is executed first, and after the back-off is finished, an idle random access sub-channel is randomly selected to transmit data; and

a transmitter 123 for transmitting data on the allocated sub-channel or transmitting data on the contended sub-channel.

The manner of executing the backoff by the processor 122 is specifically as follows: subtracting the number of idle sub-channels for random access from the value of the backoff counter, and ending backoff if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or a negative number; or subtracting the number of the sub-channels for random access from the backoff counter value, and ending backoff if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or a negative number.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or a portion of the steps of implementing the above-described method embodiments may be performed by hardware associated with program instructions. The program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When executed, the program performs steps comprising the method embodiments described above; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and not to limit the same; while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that: it is also possible to modify the solutions described in the previous embodiments or to substitute some or all of them with equivalents. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a wireless local area network, the method comprising:

a station receives a trigger frame sent by an access point; the trigger frame indicates that a part of subchannels is subchannels for allocation to scheduled stations and another part of subchannels is subchannels for random access; the trigger frame comprises at least one channel identifier and distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier, wherein the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier is which sub-channels in each channel can be used for random competition;

if the station is a scheduled station, monitoring whether a sub-channel allocated to the station is busy; the station monitors the state of the channel where the distributed sub-channel is located to know whether the sub-channel distributed to the station is busy or not, and when the station monitors that a certain channel is in a busy state, all sub-channels contained in the channel are in a busy state; when a station detects that a certain channel is in an idle state, all sub-channels contained in the channel are in the idle state;

and if the sub-channel allocated to the site is busy, randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission, or performing backoff first, and randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission after the backoff is finished.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the back-off is performed in a specific manner: and subtracting the number of idle sub-channels for random access by the value of the backoff counter, and finishing backoff if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or negative.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the back-off is performed in a specific manner: and subtracting the number of the sub-channels used for random access by the back-off counter value, and ending the back-off if the updated back-off counter value is 0 or a negative number.

4. A station, characterized in that it comprises:

the receiver is used for receiving the trigger frame sent by the access point; the trigger frame indicates that a part of subchannels is subchannels for allocation to scheduled stations and another part of subchannels is subchannels for random access; the trigger frame comprises at least one channel identifier and distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier, wherein the distribution information corresponding to the channel identifier is which sub-channels in each channel can be used for random competition;

the processor is used for judging whether the station is a scheduled station or not according to the trigger frame and monitoring whether a sub-channel allocated to the station is busy or not; the station monitors the state of the channel where the distributed sub-channel is located to know whether the sub-channel distributed to the station is busy or not, and when the station monitors that a certain channel is in a busy state, all sub-channels contained in the channel are in a busy state; when a station detects that a certain channel is in an idle state, all sub-channels contained in the channel are in the idle state;

the processor is also used for randomly selecting an idle random access sub-channel for data transmission when the sub-channel allocated to the site is busy; or when the sub-channel allocated to the station is busy, the back-off is executed first, and after the back-off is finished, an idle random access sub-channel is randomly selected to transmit data.

5. The station according to claim 4, wherein the processor performs backoff in a manner that is specifically: and subtracting the number of idle sub-channels for random access by the value of the backoff counter, and finishing backoff if the updated backoff counter value is 0 or negative.

6. The station according to claim 4, wherein the processor performs backoff in a manner that is specifically: and subtracting the number of the sub-channels used for random access by the back-off counter value, and ending the back-off if the updated back-off counter value is 0 or a negative number.