CN107736075B

CN107736075B - Wireless access point synchronous cooperation method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN107736075B
Application number: CN201580081435.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 庞继勇; 刘亚林; 马驰翔
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-07-23
Filing date: 2015-07-23
Publication date: 2020-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 2035-07-23
Also published as: CN107736075A; WO2017012125A1; CN111556583A

Abstract

According to the method, the device and the system for synchronous cooperation of the wireless access points, the STA capable of communicating with the AP in the cooperation set is used for helping the AP in the cooperation set to compete for a channel, and after the STA competes for the channel, the channel use right is transferred to the AP in the cooperation set at the same time so as to trigger a synchronous idle channel, and the AP in the cooperation set can interact coordination information in the channel and perform cooperative work.

Description

Wireless access point synchronous cooperation method, device and system

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to a communication technology, in particular to a method, equipment and a system for synchronous cooperation of wireless access points.

Background

With the rapid development of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology, WLANs will be deployed more in more complex and denser service scenes, which greatly increases the number of Access Points (APs) in a unit Area. Limited WLAN unlicensed spectrum resources need to be shared between these densely deployed and overlapping coverage APs, and therefore, the management of spectrum usage and interference is no longer handled independently by individual APs but must be done jointly via coordination and cooperation between APs.

The APs can coordinate in dimensions such as frequency, space, time, power and the like, and carry out cooperative work based on well-coordinated strategies and consensus. In the prior art, if APs can communicate with each other directly, the coordination information is interacted and the cooperation mode is started by adopting a direct handshake mode between APs; if the APs cannot communicate with each other directly, a Station (Station, abbreviated as STA) transfer mode is adopted to exchange the coordination information and start the cooperation mode.

When coordination and cooperation are performed by the prior art, a cooperation request sent by a certain AP can be successfully received only when the corresponding cooperative AP is in an idle state. However, in the WLAN network, the contention of the wireless channel usually employs a Carrier Sense Multiple Access/collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) mechanism, i.e. the APs usually work asynchronously, and at any time, the neighboring APs may be in different busy/idle states. Therefore, the coordination interaction duration between the APs to be coordinated is difficult to determine, the coordination information may not be successfully transmitted or received, or a channel is preempted by the STA or other APs before the APs to be coordinated perform the coordination work, thereby causing the coordination failure.

Disclosure of Invention

The method, the device and the system for synchronous cooperation of the wireless access points can effectively improve the feasibility of cooperative work among the APs, thereby improving the spectrum multiplexing gain in a dense scene.

In a first aspect, a wireless access point synchronization cooperation method is provided, including:

the method comprises the steps that an STA sends a first message, wherein the first message is used for indicating at least two APs to use a first channel to carry out cooperative work, and the first channel is used for the STA to compete and obtain a channel used for sending the first message.

With reference to the implementation manner of the first aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, before the sending, by the STA, the method further includes: the STA receives indication information requesting the first message, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the STA to compete for channels for the at least two APs; and the STA contends for a channel according to the indication information.

With reference to the first aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information includes identifiers of the at least two APs. Before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: and the STA determines the at least two APs according to the identifications of the at least two APs.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to the second possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier. Before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: and the STA determines the at least two APs according to the corresponding relation between the cooperative set identification and the identifications of the at least two APs and the cooperative set identification.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier. Before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: and the STA adds the identifier of the first message according to the cooperative set identifier.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to the fourth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, before the receiving, by the STA, the indication information requesting the first message, the method further includes: and the STA reports a communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP in the at least two APs, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within the communication radius of the STA.

With reference to the first aspect, or any one of the first to fifth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, before the reporting, by the STA, a communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs, the method further includes: and the STA receives a reporting request sent by at least one of the at least two APs, wherein the reporting request is used for indicating the STA to report the communication AP set.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to sixth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, before the sending, by the STA, the first message, the method further includes: and the STA determines that the APs corresponding to the identifications of the at least two APs are both within the communication radius of the STA.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to the seventh possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: and the STA receives response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to eighth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, after the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: and if the STA does not receive response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work, and the STA continues to compete for the channel.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to ninth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, and the cooperative work rule is used for performing cooperative work on the at least two APs according to the cooperative work rule; before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: the STA adds the cooperative work rule to the first message.

With reference to the first aspect or any one of the first to tenth possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, and the cooperative work rule is used for performing cooperative work on the at least two APs according to the cooperative work rule; after the STA receives the response messages sent by all the APs of the at least two APs, the method further includes: and the STA sends the cooperative work rule to the at least two APs.

In a second aspect, a wireless access point synchronization cooperation method is provided, including:

a first AP receives a first message sent by a first STA, wherein the first message is used for indicating the first AP to use a first channel to perform cooperative work with at least one second AP, the at least one second AP is within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is used for the first STA to contend to obtain a channel for sending the first message;

the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP for cooperative work.

With reference to the implementation manner of the second aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the receiving, by the first AP, the first message sent by the first STA, the method further includes: the first AP sends indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the at least one candidate STA to compete for a channel for the first AP and at least one second AP, and the at least one candidate STA comprises the first STA.

With reference to the second aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the indication information includes identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP, and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP that perform cooperative work.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first to the second possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to the fourth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the sending, by the first AP, indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, the method further includes: the first AP receives a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, and any AP in the communication AP set is positioned in a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set; the first AP determines the at least one candidate STA from the set of communicating APs.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to fifth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the sending, by the first AP, indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, the method further includes: the first AP receives a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, and any AP in the communication AP set is positioned in a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set; the first AP determines the at least one second AP according to the communication AP set.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first to sixth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the receiving, by the first AP, the communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, the method further includes: the first AP sends a reporting request to the at least one candidate STA, wherein the reporting request is used for indicating the at least one candidate STA to report the communication AP set.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to the seventh possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work, the method further includes: and the first AP broadcasts and sends a response message, wherein the response message is used for indicating that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to eighth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the performing, by the first AP, cooperative work using the first channel and the at least one second AP includes: and the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP to carry out cooperative work by adopting a cooperative work rule.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to ninth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the indication information includes the cooperative work rule; before the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work by using a cooperative work rule, the method further includes: and the at least one second AP receives the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to tenth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the performing, by the first AP, cooperative work by using the first channel and the at least one second AP by using a cooperative work rule, the method further includes: the first AP sends the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, and the priority of the first AP is higher than that of the at least one second AP.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to eleventh possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a twelfth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the performing, by the first AP, cooperative work by using the first channel and the at least one second AP by using a cooperative work rule, the method further includes: and the first AP receives the cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than that of the first AP.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first to twelfth possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in a thirteenth possible implementation manner of the second aspect, before the performing, by the first AP, cooperative work by using the first channel and the at least one second AP by using a cooperative work rule, the method further includes: and the first AP sends the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

In a third aspect, a wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus for STAs is provided, including:

a channel competition module for competing for a channel;

a sending module, configured to send a first message, where the first message is used to instruct the at least two APs to perform cooperative work using a first channel, and the first channel is used for the STA to contend and obtain a channel used for sending the first message.

With reference to the implementation manner of the third aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a receiving module, configured to receive indication information requesting the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate that the STA contends for a channel for the at least two APs; the channel competition module is specifically configured to compete for a channel according to the indication information.

With reference to the third aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the indication information includes identifiers of the at least two APs; the apparatus further includes a first determining module configured to determine the at least two APs according to the identities of the at least two APs.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to the second possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier; the apparatus further includes a second determining module, configured to determine the at least two APs according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the at least two APs and the cooperation set identifier.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a first information editing module, configured to add an identifier of the first message according to the collaboration set identifier.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to fourth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a third determining module, configured to determine a communication AP set of the STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA; the sending module is further configured to report the communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to fifth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the receiving module is further configured to receive a reporting request sent by at least one AP of the at least two APs, where the reporting request is used to instruct the STA to report the communication AP set.

With reference to the third aspect, or any one of the first to sixth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes a fourth determining module, configured to determine that the APs corresponding to the identifiers of the at least two APs are both within a communication radius of the STA.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first to the seventh possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the receiving module is further configured to: and receiving response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first to eighth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes an indication module, configured to: and if the STA does not receive response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, indicating the channel competition module to continue to compete for the channel, wherein the response messages are used for indicating the APs sending the response messages to agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first to ninth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, where the cooperative work rule is used for the at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule; the device further comprises: and the second information editing module is used for adding the cooperative work rule to the first message.

With reference to the third aspect or any one of the first to tenth possible implementation manners of the third aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the sending module is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least two APs.

In a fourth aspect, a wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus for a first AP is provided, including:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first message sent by a first STA, where the first message is used to instruct a first AP to use a first channel to perform cooperative work with at least one second AP, where the at least one second AP is within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is used for the first STA to contend for obtaining a channel used for sending the first message;

a cooperation module, configured to perform cooperative work using the first channel and the at least one second AP.

With reference to the implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the apparatus further includes a sending module, configured to send, to at least one candidate STA, indication information requesting the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate that the at least one candidate STA contends for a channel for the first AP and at least one second AP, and the at least one candidate STA includes the first STA.

With reference to the fourth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the indication information includes identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP, and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP that perform cooperative work.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of the first to the second possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to fourth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving module is further configured to: receiving a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set; the apparatus also includes a first determining module to determine the at least one candidate STA from the set of communication APs.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to the fifth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving module is further configured to: receiving a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set; the apparatus also includes a second determining module to determine the at least one second AP from the set of communicating APs.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of the first to sixth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the sending module is further configured to send a reporting request to the at least one candidate STA, where the reporting request is used to instruct the at least one candidate STA to report the communication AP set.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to the seventh possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the sending module is further configured to broadcast a response message, where the response message is used to indicate that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to the eighth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the cooperation module is specifically configured to use the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperation by using a cooperation rule.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to ninth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the indication information includes the cooperative work rule; the receiving module is further configured to receive the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

With reference to the fourth aspect, or any one of the first to tenth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the sending module is further configured to send the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, where a priority of the first AP is higher than that of the at least one second AP.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to eleventh possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a twelfth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the receiving module is further configured to: receiving the cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than that of the first AP.

With reference to the fourth aspect or any one of the first to the twelfth possible implementation manners of the fourth aspect, in a thirteenth possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect, the sending module is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

In a fifth aspect, a STA is provided, comprising:

a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor coupled with the memory;

the transmitter is configured to transmit a first message, where the first message is used to instruct the at least two APs to perform cooperative work using a first channel, and the first channel is used for the STA to contend for obtaining a channel for transmitting the first message.

With reference to the implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the receiver is configured to receive indication information requesting the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate the STA to contend for a channel for the at least two APs, and the processor is configured to contend for the channel according to the indication information.

With reference to the fifth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the indication information includes identifiers of the at least two APs; the processor is further configured to determine the at least two APs from the identities of the at least two APs.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to the second possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier; the processor is further configured to determine the at least two APs according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the at least two APs and the cooperation set identifier.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier; the processor is further configured to add an identification of the first message according to a collaboration set identification.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to the fourth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the processor is further configured to determine a communication AP set of the STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA; the transmitter is further configured to: and reporting the communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs.

With reference to the fifth aspect, or any one of the first to fifth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the receiver is further configured to receive a reporting request sent by at least one AP of the at least two APs, where the reporting request is used to instruct the STA to report the communication AP set.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to the sixth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the processor is further configured to: and determining that the APs corresponding to the identifications of the at least two APs are all within the communication radius of the STA.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to the seventh possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the receiver is further configured to: and receiving response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to the eighth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the processor is further configured to: and if the STA does not receive response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, continuing to contend for the channel, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to ninth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, where the cooperative work rule is used for the at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule; the processor is further configured to: adding the collaborative work rule to the first message.

With reference to the fifth aspect or any one of the first to the tenth possible implementation manners of the fifth aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect, the transmitter is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least two APs.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a first AP, including:

a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor coupled with the memory;

the receiver is configured to receive a first message sent by a first STA, where the first message is used to instruct the first AP to use a first channel to perform cooperative work with at least one second AP, where the at least one second AP is within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is used for the first STA to contend for obtaining a channel used for sending the first message; the processor is configured to use the first channel and the at least one second AP for cooperative work.

With reference to the implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transmitter is configured to transmit indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, where the indication information is used to indicate that the at least one candidate STA contends for a channel for the first AP and at least one second AP, and the at least one candidate STA includes the first STA.

With reference to the sixth aspect or the first possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, in a second possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the indication information includes identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP, and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP that perform cooperative work.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or any one of the first to the second possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to third possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used by the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or any one of the first to the fourth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a fifth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the receiver is further configured to receive a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA, where the communication AP set is reported by the at least one candidate STA, and any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of an STA reporting the communication AP set; the processor is further configured to determine the at least one candidate STA from the set of communication APs.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or any one of the first to fifth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a sixth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the receiver is further configured to receive a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of an STA reporting the communication AP set; the processor is further configured to determine the at least one second AP from the set of communicating APs.

With reference to the sixth aspect, or any one of the first to sixth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a seventh possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transmitter is further configured to send a reporting request to the at least one candidate STA, where the reporting request is used to instruct the at least one candidate STA to report the communication AP set.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to the seventh possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in an eighth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transmitter is further configured to broadcast a response message, where the response message is used to indicate that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to the eighth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a ninth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the processor is specifically configured to use the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work by using a cooperative work rule.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to ninth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a tenth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the indication information includes the cooperative work rule; the receiver is further configured to receive the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to the tenth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in an eleventh possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transmitter is further configured to transmit the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, where the first AP has a higher priority than the at least one second AP.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to eleventh possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a twelfth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the receiver is further configured to: receiving the cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than that of the first AP.

With reference to the sixth aspect or any one of the first to the twelfth possible implementation manners of the sixth aspect, in a thirteenth possible implementation manner of the sixth aspect, the transmitter is further configured to transmit the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, where the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

In a seventh aspect, a wireless access point synchronization and cooperation system is provided, including: at least one STA having the apparatus provided in the third aspect and at least two first APs having the apparatus provided in the fourth aspect; the at least one STA comprises an STA capable of communicating with the at least two first APs.

In an eighth aspect, a wireless access point synchronous cooperation system is provided, including: at least one STA provided in the fifth aspect and at least two first APs provided in the sixth aspect; the at least one STA comprises an STA capable of communicating with the at least two first APs.

According to the method, the device and the system for synchronous cooperation of the wireless access points, the STA capable of communicating with the AP in the cooperation set is used for helping the AP in the cooperation set to compete for a channel, and after the STA competes for the channel, the channel use right is transferred to the AP in the cooperation set at the same time so as to trigger a synchronous idle channel, and the AP in the cooperation set can interact coordination information in the channel and perform cooperative work. After the STA competes for the channel, the node in the communication range of the STA is in an idle state with a high probability, and under such a condition, the coordination interaction duration between the APs in the coordination set can be estimated, and the probability that the coordination information is successfully transmitted or received is greatly improved, so that the feasibility of the cooperative work between the APs can be effectively improved, and the spectrum multiplexing gain under a dense scene 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 used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only 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 view of an application scenario of a wireless access point synchronization cooperation method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for synchronous cooperation of wireless access points according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of another wireless access point synchronization cooperation method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of another method for synchronous cooperation of wireless access points according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a frame structure of a first message sent by a STA;

fig. 6 is a frame structure diagram of a first message sent by another STA;

fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a packet structure of a first message sent by a STA;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a second wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a third wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a fourth wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of an STA according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

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 only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. 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 technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention can be applied to a wireless network service scene, and a plurality of wireless Access Points (AP) need to share limited frequency spectrum resources. A wireless AP is an access point for a wireless terminal device to enter a wired network in a wireless network. In the following embodiments of the present invention, the STA that is responsible for coordinating and cooperating multiple APs assists in the coordinating and cooperating processes, and can communicate with multiple cooperating APs to help the APs to compete for channels, and after the STA seizes a channel, the STA transfers the channel right to the cooperating APs at the same time, so as to trigger a synchronous idle channel, and the cooperating APs can interact and cooperate in the channel. The STA may be, for example, a smart phone, a laptop, a PAD, or other user equipment accessing a certain AP.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an application scenario of a wireless access point synchronization cooperation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, at least two neighboring APs may form a cooperation set, and at least one STA capable of communicating with the APs in the cooperation set exists in an overlapping coverage area of the APs in the cooperation set. When an STA in the overlapping coverage area of the cooperating set AP monitors that the channel is idle, the node in the communication range of the STA at this time has a high probability of being in an idle state, and thus, the AP in the cooperating set can simultaneously obtain the channel use transfer right, and perform the cooperative work by exchanging the coordination information in the channel. For example, the STA1 may communicate with the AP1, the AP2, and the AP3, the AP1 and the AP2 may form a cooperation set, the AP1 and the AP3 may form a cooperation set, the AP2 and the AP3 may form a cooperation set, and the AP1, the AP2, and the AP3 may also form a cooperation set, which may complete coordination and cooperation processes with the assistance of the STA 1.

It is worth mentioning that if STA1, STA2, STA3 and STA4 are all able to communicate with AP1 and AP2, STA1, STA2, STA3 and STA4 may assist the cooperation set formed by AP1 and AP2 to perform channel contention. It is clear that the greater the number of users (STAs) in the overlapping coverage area of the cooperating set AP, the greater the chance that the AP will obtain channel usage transfer.

In the following embodiments of the present invention, a description will be given in detail by taking an example in which AP1 and AP2 constitute one cooperation set. It will be apparent that these examples are illustrative, and not restrictive, of the invention.

The embodiment of the invention is explained from the STA side and the AP side respectively, and the matching embodiment of the STA side and the AP side is explained at the same time, but the matching does not mean that the STA side and the AP side are matched, and only when the STA side and the AP side are matched, a better technical effect can be obtained.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a method for synchronizing and cooperating a wireless access point according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 2, the method may include the following steps:

s21, the STA contends for the channel;

s22, the STA sends a first message, where the first message is used to instruct at least two APs to perform cooperative work using a first channel, and the first channel is used for the STA to contend for obtaining a channel for sending the first message.

The main execution subject of the above steps is STA.

In the present embodiment, a detailed description will be made through an application scenario shown in fig. 1. Referring to fig. 1, neighboring AP1 and AP2 form a cooperation set, and STAs 1 to 4 in the overlapping coverage area of AP1 and AP2 may be users accessing AP1 or AP2, and of course, STA1 may also be users accessing AP 3. Assuming that the path propagation loss between the AP and the STA is symmetric, if the STA1 to STA4 can listen to the signals from AP1 and AP2, if the transmission power of the AP and the STA are equal, the AP1 and AP2 can also listen to the signals from STA1 to STA 4; if the transmission power of the AP and the STA is not equal, the STA can judge whether the self transmission signal can be received by the AP according to the power difference between the AP and the STA.

For example, in the application scenario shown in fig. 1, STA 1-STA 4 determine that they can communicate with AP1 and AP2 by determining, and STA 1-STA 4 may assist AP1 and AP2 to contend for the channel. STAs 1-4 also use the CSMA/CA mechanism to detect the busy/idle state of the monitored channel, and assume that STA1 detects that the monitored channel is idle and then the backoff is completed first, STA1 obtains the right to use the channel at that time, and at this time, the nodes in the communication range of STA1 are in idle state with a high probability. After STA1 has backed off first and finished obtaining the channel usage right, STA1 transmits a channel usage transfer message (first message) to AP1 and AP2 through the contended channel (first channel) and transfers the usage right of the first channel to AP1 and AP 2. Assuming that AP1 and AP2 both correctly receive the channel use shift message from STA1, AP1 and AP2 both obtain channel use right, and AP1 and AP2 may cooperate via the first channel.

It will be appreciated that there is a possibility that AP1 or AP2 may not correctly receive the channel usage transfer message from STA1, at which point STA1 may make the determination based on the channel usage response message it receives. The response message is, for example, a broadcast message sent by the AP1 or the AP2, respectively, to inform all STAs and other neighboring stations (including the AP and the STA) that help the AP1 and the AP2 contend for the channel, that they will use the first channel to perform cooperative work.

In this embodiment, the STA capable of communicating with the AP in the coordination set helps the AP in the coordination set to contend for the channel, and after the STA contends for the channel, the STA transfers the channel usage right to the AP in the coordination set at the same time, so as to trigger a synchronization time window on the idle channel, and the AP in the coordination set may interact coordination information and perform cooperative work in the synchronization time window. After the STA competes for the channel, the node in the communication range of the STA is in an idle state with a high probability, and under such a condition, the coordination interaction duration between the APs in the coordination set can be estimated, and the probability that the coordination information is successfully transmitted or received is greatly improved, so that the feasibility of the cooperative work between the APs can be effectively improved, and the spectrum multiplexing gain under a dense scene is improved.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of another wireless access point synchronization cooperation method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and as shown in fig. 3, the method may include the following steps:

s31, a first AP receiving a first message sent by a first STA, where the first message is used to instruct the first AP to use a first channel to perform cooperative work with at least one second AP, the at least one second AP is within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is used for the first STA to contend for obtaining a channel used for sending the first message;

s32, the first AP cooperates with at least one second AP using the first channel.

The main execution body of the above steps is the first AP.

In the present embodiment, a detailed description will be made through an application scenario shown in fig. 1. Referring to fig. 1, neighboring AP1 and AP2 form a cooperation set, and STAs 1 to 4 in the overlapping coverage areas of AP1 and AP2 can communicate with AP1 and AP 2. AP1 and AP2 receive the channel use shift message (first message) sent by STA1 first, and AP1 and AP2 know that they can perform cooperative work through the channel (first channel) that STA1 contends to obtain.

It is understood that in order to avoid the first channel being preempted by other stations (including AP and STA), the AP1 and AP2 may broadcast a response message for the usage right of the first channel after receiving the first message, and the response message is used to inform all STAs helping the AP1 and AP2 to contend for the channel and other neighboring stations (including AP and STA) that they will use the first channel to perform cooperative work.

In this embodiment, after receiving a channel usage transfer message sent by an STA capable of communicating with an AP in a cooperating set, the AP in the cooperating set may simultaneously obtain a synchronization time window on a first channel, and perform coordination information interaction and cooperative work in the synchronization time window. After the AP receives the channel use transfer message sent by the STA, the node in the communication range of the STA has a high probability of being in an idle state, under the condition, the coordination interaction time length between the APs in the coordination set can be estimated, and the probability that the coordination information is successfully sent or received is greatly improved, so that the feasibility of the cooperative work between the APs can be effectively improved, and the spectrum multiplexing gain under a dense scene is improved.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of another wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method provided in an embodiment of the present invention, and in this embodiment, an exemplary description will be given to a technical solution of the present invention through an implementation manner of cooperation between an AP and an STA. As shown in fig. 4, the method may include the steps of:

s41, the STA contends for the channel;

s42, the STA sends a first message, wherein the first message is used for indicating at least two APs to use a first channel for cooperative work, and the first channel is used for the STA to compete to obtain a channel for sending the first message;

s43, at least two APs receive the first message;

s44, at least two APs use the first channel to cooperate.

In the present embodiment, the detailed description will be continued through the application scenario shown in fig. 1, please continue to refer to fig. 1. The adjacent AP1 and AP2 form a cooperation set, and STAs 1 to 4 in the overlapping coverage area of AP1 and AP2 may be users accessing AP1 or AP2, and of course, STA1 may also be users accessing AP 3. Assuming that STAs 1-4 can communicate with AP1 and AP2, STAs 1-4 can assist the cooperation set formed by AP1 and AP2 in contending for the channel. The STAs 1-4 also use the CSMA/CA mechanism to detect the busy/idle state of the monitored channel, and assuming that the STA1 first performs backoff after detecting that the channel is idle, the STA1 obtains the channel usage right at that time, and all nodes in the communication range of the STA1 can be considered to be in the idle state at this time. When the STA1 ends the backoff and obtains the channel usage right, it simultaneously sends a channel usage transfer message (first message) to the AP1 and the AP2, and transfers the contended channel (first channel) usage right to the AP1 and the AP 2. When both AP1 and AP2 correctly receive the channel use shift message from STA1, AP1 and AP2 simultaneously obtain the channel use right, and AP1 and AP2 can cooperate with each other through the channel (first channel) contended by STA 1.

It is understood that in order to avoid the first channel being preempted by other STAs and other APs, the AP1 and the AP2 may broadcast a response message for the usage right of the first channel after receiving the first message, and the response message is used to inform all STAs (including the AP and the STA) that help the AP1 and the AP2 contend for the channel and other neighboring stations that they will use the first channel to perform cooperative work.

Of course, there is a possibility that AP1 or AP2 may not correctly receive the channel usage transfer message from STA1, and at this time, STA1 may make a determination based on the response message it receives. If STA1 does not receive the response message sent by AP1 and AP2, or receives the response message sent by only one of AP1 and AP2, STA1 continues to contend for the channel.

It is to be understood that, on the one hand: after STA1 sends out the first message, it may wait for a fixed time interval, and if no response message sent by any AP is still received after the fixed time interval, STA1 may determine that AP1 and AP2 did not successfully receive the first message, and continue to perform channel contention and retransmit the first message. On the other hand: STA1 may not be able to receive the response messages sent by AP1 and AP2 at the same time, and after STA1 receives the response message sent by one of AP1 and AP2, may wait for a fixed time interval, and if the response message sent by the other AP is still not received after the fixed time interval, STA1 may determine that the other AP did not successfully receive the first message, and continue to perform channel contention and retransmit the first message.

When the AP1 and the AP2 are successfully coordinated, the cooperative work can be started immediately according to the coordinated cooperative work rule. It should be noted that, the cooperative work here may be downlink data transmission from the AP to the STA, or uplink data transmission from the STA to the AP, and the specific cooperative work process is not within the scope of the present invention. And if the coordination of the AP1 and the AP2 fails, returning to the non-cooperative working mode.

In this embodiment, the cooperative work of the AP1 and the AP2 may be triggered by the STA side or the AP side.

If the cooperative work of the AP1 and the AP2 is triggered by the STA side, that is, one or more STAs of the STAs 1 to 4 autonomously assist the AP1 and the AP2 to perform channel contention, the STA which has contended to the channel first transfers the channel use right to the AP1 and the AP2, and requires the AP1 and the AP2 to perform cooperative work.

If the cooperative work of the AP1 and the AP2 is triggered by the AP side, that is, one or more STAs of the STAs 1 to 4 assist the AP1 and the AP2 to perform channel contention after receiving the indication information requesting the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate that the STAs compete for the channel for the AP1 and the AP 2. For example, since STA 1-STA 4 may each communicate with AP1 and AP2, AP1 or AP2 may transmit indication information to one or more of STA 1-STA 4; or both the AP1 and the AP2 send indication information to one or more of the STAs 1-4; if STA1 can communicate with APs 1-3 at the same time, it is also possible that AP3 sends indication information to STA1 instructing STA1 to assist AP1 and AP2 in contending for the channel.

Further, the indication information of the request first message may include identifiers of the AP1 and the AP2, and the identifiers of the AP1 and the AP2 are, for example, Basic Service Set Identifiers (BSSIDs). After receiving the indication information including the BSSIDs of AP1 and AP2, the STA can uniquely determine AP1 and AP2 according to the BSSIDs of AP1 and AP 2.

As another optional implementation manner, the indication information of the request first message may further include an Identifier (ID) of a cooperation set formed by the AP1 and the AP 2. It can be understood that the WLAN network may further include a radio Controller (Access Controller, AC for short) for managing all the APs, and the AC may allocate a corresponding coordination set ID to a coordination set formed by two or more APs, that is, each coordination set ID has a unique corresponding relationship with an ID of an AP in the coordination set. For example, the AC assigns a cooperation set ID of S1 to the cooperation set formed by the AP1 and the AP2, and the STA receiving the indication information including S1 can uniquely determine the AP1 and the AP2 according to the correspondence between the S1, the cooperation set ID, and the ID of the AP included in the cooperation set. Alternatively, AP1 and AP2 may also be free to negotiate sharing one and the same collaboration set ID without an AC.

As another optional implementation manner, the indication information of the request first message may further include a collaboration set ID. After the STA receives the ID indication information including the cooperation set, the STA may contend for the channel for the cooperation set corresponding to the ID only according to the indication information, and it is not necessary to determine which APs are included in the cooperation set. At this time, the STA that successfully competes for the channel may add the cooperation set ID in the indication information to the first message as an identification of the first message, and broadcast-transmit the first message. The AP receiving the first message may determine whether the AP belongs to the cooperating set according to the identifier of the first message, accept the first message if the AP belongs to the cooperating set, and ignore the first message if the AP does not belong to the cooperating set. It will be appreciated that the decision of which STAs to send indication information may be made by the AP.

In this embodiment, the STA may determine to which AP to send the access request message according to the monitored signal strength of the AP, and the AP may transmit the access response message to the corresponding STA. The STA may also determine which APs are within its maximum effective communication radius according to its own transmit power and the transmit power of the APs it can hear.

Preferably, the STA may report the AP set that the STA can communicate with to the AP to which the STA accesses, that is, all APs within the communication radius of the STA. The AP may determine which APs it may cooperate with based on the set of communication APs reported by the STA. Obviously, the AP may also determine which STAs may be requested to assist channel contention when it cooperates with some APs according to the STAs of the communication AP set reported to the AP. Optionally, the AP may also send the cooperation set identifier set to the STA according to the communication AP set reported by the STA. Obviously, the AP may determine whether a certain STA can effectively serve a certain cooperation set according to the communication AP set reported by the STA, and at this time, the AP may determine to send the ID indication information including the cooperation set to the STA that can effectively serve the certain cooperation set.

Optionally, the STA may directly include its own communication AP set in the access request message, and report the access request message to the AP to which the STA accesses. The AP may also include the cooperating set identification set in an access response message to the STA. It is worth mentioning that the access response message may even directly include indication information of the first message of the request for a certain cooperation set.

For example, STA1 may listen to signals from AP 1-AP 3, and the received signal strength from AP1 is higher than the received signal strength from AP2 and AP3, and STA1 decides to send an access request to AP 1. If the STA1 knows that its own signal can be received by the AP2 and the AP3 by determining, the STA1 reports the information of the AP2 and the AP3 to the AP1, for example, BSSIDs of the AP2 and the AP 3. Obviously, the BSSIDs of AP2 and AP3 may be directly included in the access request message sent by STA1 to AP 1.

AP1 then knows that STA1 is in the overlapping coverage area of AP1, AP2, and AP3, and that signals of STA1 can be received simultaneously by AP1, AP2, and AP 3. Accordingly, the AP1 may send, to the STA1, a cooperation set identifier (e.g., S1, S2, S3, S4) corresponding to the cooperation set composed of the AP1 and the AP2, the cooperation set composed of the AP1 and the AP3, the cooperation set composed of the AP2 and the AP3, and the cooperation set identifier corresponding to the cooperation set composed of the AP1, the AP2, and the AP 3. It should be apparent that these cooperating set identifications may be directly included in the access response message sent to STA 1. And the AP1 may also carry indication information in the access response message requesting the STA1 to assist the AP1 and the AP2 in channel contention.

It will be appreciated that since the STA is typically a mobile user equipment, the STA location may change constantly. As the location of the STA changes, the set of APs with which the STA can communicate also changes. As a preferred embodiment, the STA may actively report the AP set that it can communicate with to the AP it accesses at any time after accessing the network. Or the AP may initiate a communication AP set report request of the STA to the STA at any time after the STA accesses the network, and the STA reports its communication AP set to the AP after receiving the report request.

As another optional implementation, the STA may report the communication AP set to the AP accessed by the STA, and may also report the communication AP set to some or all of the APs in the communication AP set. Similarly, the AP may send a communication AP set report request to the STA accessing itself, or may send a communication AP set report request to some or all STAs within the AP communication range.

It is also understood that, in addition to sending the indication information for requesting the first message to the STA accessing itself, the AP may also include the indication information in a certain Control/management frame (e.g., Beacon frame), or a certain newly defined Medium Access Control (MAC) layer Control/management frame, and broadcast and send the indication information to the STAs within the communication range of the AP.

Further, the indication information of the request first message broadcast by the AP may include IDs of multiple APs indicating cooperation, or a cooperation set ID corresponding to a cooperation set formed by multiple APs.

Generally, for the indication information requesting the first message included in the access response message, only the corresponding STA receives the indication information and directly performs channel contention. The indication information included in the control/management frame is generally broadcast information, and all STAs within the reception range of the control/management frame can receive the indication information. The STA that receives the broadcast indication information first determines the APs to be coordinated, and then performs channel contention after determining that it can communicate with each of the APs to be coordinated.

Optionally, the indication information of the request first message broadcast by the AP may further include an identifier of an STA that is expected to participate in channel contention. The STA that receives the broadcast indication information first determines whether it is an STA that the AP designates and desires to participate in channel contention. If so, further determining the APs to be cooperated, and then performing channel competition after determining that the self can communicate with each AP in the APs to be cooperated.

Another possible implementation is that the AP may determine that a certain STA may effectively serve some cooperating sets according to a communication AP set reported by the STA, and the AP directly specifies the STA that is expected to participate in the channel contention. The indication information of the broadcast-sent request first message may include an identifier of an STA that is expected to participate in channel contention, at this time, only the corresponding STA may receive the broadcast indication information and directly perform channel contention, and the STA that successfully competes in the channel may add the cooperation set ID in the indication information to the first message as the identifier of the first message and broadcast-send the first message. Of course, the AP may also directly transmit indication information requesting the first message to the STA desiring to participate in the channel contention.

It can be understood that the multiple APs also need to exchange coordination information, i.e. specific cooperative work rules, before performing cooperative work. In this embodiment, the following optional implementation manners are specifically provided to interact coordination information:

as a first optional implementation manner, the cooperative work rule may be included in the indication information requesting the first message, and the STA determines that it can participate in channel contention according to the indication information, and after successfully contending to the first channel, carries the cooperative work rule in the first message and simultaneously sends the cooperative work rule to the AP in the cooperative set. Or the STA may also temporarily store the cooperative work rule, wait for the APs in the cooperative set to send the response message of the first channel usage right, and immediately send the cooperative work rule to the APs in the cooperative set after the STA receives the response message of the first channel usage right sent by all the APs in the cooperative set. Therefore, the overhead of coordinated interaction of the APs in the cooperative set through the first channel can be saved.

It should be noted that, if a plurality of APs in the coordination set all send indication information requesting the first message to the STA, and the indication information all includes a coordination working rule, at this time, the AP may also carry its own priority information in the indication information. The STA may transmit the cooperative rule in the indication information transmitted by the AP having the highest priority to other APs having lower priorities according to the priority of the AP transmitting the indication information.

As a second alternative implementation, after obtaining the usage right of the first channel contended by the STA, the APs to cooperate may interact with the cooperation rule through the first channel. In order to avoid that multiple APs in the APs to be coordinated initiate an interaction request at the same time, the following optional methods may be adopted for coordination:

a) different priorities can be set for the APs participating in the cooperation, the high-priority AP has a coordinated initiative, and the AP with the highest priority in the cooperation set sends the cooperation rule to other APs in the cooperation set through the first channel.

b) If the STA sending the first message is currently accessed into a certain AP in the cooperation set, the AP accessed by the STA sending the first message has a coordinated initiative, and the AP accessed by the STA sending the first message sends the cooperation rule to other APs in the cooperation set through a first channel.

c) The STA may further notify the AP in the cooperative set of the indication information of which AP it received participating in the current channel contention through the first message sent by the STA, for example, after the STA1 first contends to the channel, the STA may notify the AP1 and the AP2 that the participation in the current channel contention is the indication information of the AP1 requesting the first message through the first message, and then the AP1 has a coordinated initiative.

It is understood that, in the present embodiment, an appropriate coordination method may be selected according to different situations.

Further, this embodiment will also schematically illustrate the technical solution of the present invention through the frame structure of the first message.

Fig. 5 is a frame structure diagram of a first message sent by an STA, please refer to fig. 5, fc (framecontrol) may include definition of frame type, and the role and meaning of the frame may be explicitly indicated by the type definition. The coordination set id (coordination Group id) refers to a coordination set identification, or may list the identifications of all APs in the coordination set, i.e. a list of coordination APs. The TA is an address of an STA that sends the first message, and the Trigger AP ID (Trigger AP ID) is an address of an AP that triggers the channel contention this time. Obviously, the TA and Trigger AP IDs are optional, while other unexplained cells have the same meaning as the current standard. Wherein, FCS is a Frame Check Sequence (Frame Check Sequence).

Fig. 6 is a schematic frame structure diagram of another first message sent by an STA, which may further include a Coordination Information rule (Coordination Information) on the basis of the frame structure of the first message shown in fig. 5, where the specific Coordination Information rule may be included in the indication Information that the AP requesting the first message sends to the STA this time, and thus the Coordination rule may be included when the STA sends the first message. The cooperative work rule may specifically include information about which cooperative transmission technique, mechanism, configuration parameter, and synchronization duration of cooperative transmission are adopted.

It is noted that the frame structure of the first message shown in fig. 5 and 6 is only one possible MAC frame structure of the first message, which is mainly distinguished from other MAC frames by the frame type indication in the FC in the MAC frame header. Accordingly, in order to make the AP receiving the first message know the frame type earlier, a corresponding hint information may be added to the phy packet header of the MAC frame.

For example, the hint information may be added in a signaling field in a Physical Layer header of a packet corresponding to a Physical Layer Convergence Procedure (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU). A 1-bit indication bit can be added to indicate that the data packet contains the MAC frame information for the first channel use weight transfer; the cooperating set identification may also be included directly so that an AP not in the cooperating set may ignore the receipt of subsequent data packets. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a packet structure of a first message sent by an STA, as shown in fig. 7, where the PPDU data may carry MAC layer information shown in fig. 5 and 6. Sig (signature) is a signaling field in the header of the physical layer, and may add a hint information. Obviously, if the cooperation set ID is already carried in the physical layer SIG field, the cooperation set ID does not need to be indicated when the MAC frame shown in fig. 6 is carried in the PPDU data.

In the synchronous cooperation method for the wireless access points provided by this embodiment, the STA capable of communicating with the AP in the cooperation set helps the AP in the cooperation set to compete for the channel, and after the STA competes for the channel, the STA transfers the channel right to the AP in the cooperation set at the same time, so as to trigger a synchronous time window on the idle channel, and the AP in the cooperation set can interact coordination information and perform cooperative work in the time window. After the STA competes for the channel, the node in the communication range of the STA is in an idle state with a high probability, and under such a condition, the coordination interaction duration between the APs in the coordination set can be estimated, and the probability that the coordination information is successfully transmitted or received is greatly improved, so that the feasibility of the cooperative work between the APs can be effectively improved, and the spectrum multiplexing gain under a dense scene is improved.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a first wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which may be specifically configured in an STA and may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method according to the embodiments shown in fig. 2 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and details are not repeated here. As shown in fig. 8, the wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus provided by the present embodiment includes a channel competition module 81 and a transmission module 82.

Wherein the channel competition module 81 can be used for competing for the channel. The sending module 82 may be configured to send a first message, where the first message is used to instruct at least two APs to perform cooperative operation using a first channel, where the first channel is a channel that is contended by the STA for sending the first message.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a second wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the apparatus may further include a receiving module 83, configured to receive indication information requesting for the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate the STA to contend for the channel for the at least two APs on the basis of the embodiment shown in fig. 8. The channel contention module 81 may be specifically configured to contend for a channel according to the indication information.

In an optional implementation manner, if the indication information includes the identities of the at least two APs, the apparatus may further include a first determining module 84, which may be configured to determine the at least two APs according to the identities of the at least two APs.

In another optional embodiment, if the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, the apparatus may further include a second determining module 85, which may be configured to determine the at least two APs according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the at least two APs and the cooperation set identifier.

In yet another alternative embodiment, if the indication information includes a collaboration set identifier, the apparatus may further include a first information editing module 86, which may be configured to add an identifier of the first message according to the collaboration set identifier.

As an optional implementation manner, the apparatus may further include a third determining module 87, which may be configured to determine a communication AP set of the STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within the maximum effective communication radius of the STA. Further, the sending module 82 may be further configured to report the communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving module 83 may be further configured to receive a reporting request sent by at least one AP of the at least two APs, where the reporting request is used to instruct the STA to report its communication AP set.

As an optional implementation, the apparatus may further include a fourth determining module 88, which may be configured to determine that the APs corresponding to the identities of the at least two APs are both within the communication radius of the STA.

As an optional implementation manner, the receiving module 83 is further configured to receive response messages sent by all of the at least two APs. Wherein the response message is used to indicate that the AP sending the response message agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

As another optional embodiment, the apparatus may further include an instructing module 89, and if the STA does not receive the response messages sent by all of the at least two APs, the instructing module 89 instructs the channel contention module 81 to continue contending for the channel.

In an optional embodiment, if the indication information further includes a collaborative work rule, the apparatus may further include a second information editing module 810 for adding the collaborative work rule to the first message. And the cooperative work rule is used for at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule.

In another optional embodiment, if the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, the sending module 82 may be further configured to send the cooperative work rule to at least two APs.

The wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 8 and fig. 9 may be specifically configured in an STA, and may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 2 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a third wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the apparatus may be specifically configured in an AP, and may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method according to the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 of the present invention, which is not described herein again. As shown in fig. 10, the wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus provided in this embodiment includes a receiving module 101 and a cooperation module 102.

The receiving module 101 may be configured to receive a first message sent by a first STA, where the first message is used to instruct a first AP to use a first channel to perform cooperative work with at least one second AP, where the at least one second AP is located within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is used for a contention of the first STA to obtain a channel used for sending the first message. The coordination module 102 may be configured to coordinate with at least one second AP using the first channel.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a fourth wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the apparatus may further include a sending module 103, configured to send, to at least one candidate STA, indication information for requesting a first message, where the indication information is used to indicate that the at least one candidate STA contends for a channel for a first AP and at least one second AP, where the at least one candidate STA includes the first STA.

In an optional embodiment, the indication information may include identifications of the first AP and the at least one second AP, where the identifications of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work.

In another optional embodiment, the indication information may include a cooperation set identifier, where the cooperation set identifier is used for the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

In yet another alternative embodiment, the indication information may include a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

As an optional implementation manner, the receiving module 101 may be further configured to receive a communication AP set of at least one candidate STA reported by at least one candidate STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within a maximum effective communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set. Further, the apparatus may also include a first determining module 104, which may be configured to determine at least one candidate STA according to the communication AP set.

As another optional implementation manner, the apparatus may further include a second determining module 105, which may be configured to determine at least one second AP according to the communication AP set.

In a possible implementation, the sending module 103 is further configured to send a reporting request to at least one candidate STA, where the reporting request is used to instruct the at least one candidate STA to report its communication AP set.

In a preferred embodiment, the sending module 103 is further configured to broadcast a response message, where the response message is used to indicate that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

In a specific embodiment, the cooperation module 102 may be specifically configured to perform cooperation using the first channel and the at least one second AP by using a cooperation rule.

Further, as a first optional implementation manner, if the cooperative work rule is included in the indication information of the request first message, the receiving module 101 is further configured to receive the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

As a second optional implementation manner, the sending module 103 may be further configured to send the cooperative work rule to at least one second AP by using the first channel, where the priority of the first AP is higher than the priority of the at least one second AP.

As a third optional implementation manner, the receiving module 101 may be further configured to receive a cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP using the first channel, where the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than the priority of the first AP.

As a fourth optional implementation manner, the sending module 103 may be further configured to send the cooperative work rule to at least one second AP by using the first channel, where the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

The wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 10 and fig. 11 may be specifically configured in an AP, and may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, and are not described herein again.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of an STA according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the STA according to this embodiment may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method according to the embodiments shown in fig. 2 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and details are not repeated here. As shown in fig. 12, the STA provided in the present embodiment includes a transmitter 121, a receiver 122, a memory 123, and a processor 124 coupled to the memory 123. Wherein the processor 124 may be configured to contend for the channel. The transmitter 121 may be configured to transmit a first message, where the first message is used to instruct at least two APs to perform cooperative operation using a first channel, and the first channel is a channel that is contended by the STA for transmitting the first message.

In one possible embodiment, the receiver 122 may be configured to receive indication information requesting the first message, where the indication information is used to instruct the STA to contend for the channel for at least two APs. The processor 124 may be configured to contend for the channel based on the indication information.

As an optional implementation manner, if the indication information includes identities of at least two APs, the processor 124 may be further configured to determine the at least two APs according to the identities of the at least two APs.

As another optional embodiment, if the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, the processor 124 may be further configured to determine the at least two APs according to the correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the at least two APs and the cooperation set identifier.

As a further optional implementation manner, if the indication information includes a collaboration set identifier, the processor 124 may be further configured to add an identifier of the first message according to the collaboration set identifier.

In one possible implementation, the processor 124 may also be configured to determine a communication AP set for the STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within the maximum effective communication radius of the STA. Further, the transmitter 121 may be further configured to report the communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs.

In a possible embodiment, the receiver 122 may be further configured to receive a reporting request sent by at least one AP of the at least two APs, where the reporting request is used to instruct the STA to report its communication AP set.

In one possible implementation, the processor 124 may be further configured to determine that the STA is capable of communicating with an AP corresponding to the identity of the at least two APs.

In one possible implementation, the receiver 122 is further configured to: and receiving response messages sent by all the at least two APs. Wherein the response message is used to indicate that the AP sending the response message agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

In one possible implementation, the processor 124 may be further configured to: and if the STA does not receive the response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, continuing to contend for the channel.

In a possible embodiment, the indication information further includes a cooperative rule, and the processor 124 is further configured to: adding the collaborative rules to the first message. And the cooperative work rule is used for at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule.

In another possible embodiment, the indication information further includes a cooperative rule, and the transmitter 121 is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to at least two APs.

The STA provided in this embodiment may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization cooperation method provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 2 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an AP according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the AP provided in this embodiment may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization and cooperation method according to the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and details are not repeated here. It can be understood that the AP provided in this embodiment may be the first AP in the foregoing embodiment, and may also be the second AP in the foregoing embodiment. As shown in fig. 13, the AP provided by the present embodiment includes a transmitter 131, a receiver 132, a memory 133, and a processor 134 coupled to the memory 133. The receiver 132 may be configured to receive a first message sent by the first STA, where the first message is used to instruct the first AP to use a first channel to perform cooperative work with at least one second AP, where the at least one second AP is within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is a channel that is contended by the first STA and used for sending the first message. Processor 134 may be configured to cooperate with at least one second AP using the first channel.

In one possible embodiment, the transmitter 131 may be configured to transmit contention channel indication information to the at least one candidate STA, where the indication information indicates that the at least one candidate STA contends for the channel for the first AP and the at least one second AP. Wherein the at least one candidate STA includes the first STA.

As an optional implementation manner, the indication information may include identifications of the first AP and the at least one second AP, where the identifications of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP which cooperate with each other.

As another optional implementation, the indication information may further include a cooperation set identifier, where the cooperation set identifier is used for the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

As yet another optional implementation manner, the indication information may further include a cooperation set identifier, where the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

In a possible implementation, the receiver 132 may be further configured to receive a communication AP set of at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within a maximum effective communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set. Further, the processor 134 may be further configured to determine at least one candidate STA according to the communication AP set.

In another possible embodiment, the processor 134 may be further configured to determine at least one second AP according to the communication AP set.

Further, in a possible embodiment, the transmitter 131 may be further configured to transmit a reporting request to at least one candidate STA, where the reporting request is used to instruct the at least one candidate STA to report its communication AP set.

In a preferred embodiment, the transmitter 131 may be further configured to broadcast a response message indicating that the first AP agrees to use the first channel to cooperate with the at least one second AP.

In a specific embodiment, the processor 134 is specifically configured to use the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work by using a cooperative work rule.

Further, as a first possible implementation, the cooperative rule may be included in the indication information of the request for the first message. The receiver 132 may also be used to receive the cooperative rule transmitted by the first STA.

As a second possible implementation, the transmitter 131 may be further configured to transmit the cooperative work rule to at least one second AP using the first channel, where the first AP has a higher priority than the at least one second AP.

As a third possible implementation manner, the receiver 132 may be further configured to receive a cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP using the first channel, where the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than the priority of the first AP.

As a fourth possible implementation, the transmitter 131 may be further configured to transmit the cooperative work rule to at least one second AP using the first channel, where the first AP is an AP currently accessed by the first STA.

The first AP provided in this embodiment may be used to implement the wireless access point synchronization cooperation method provided in the embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 of the present invention, and the implementation principle and the technical effect are similar, which are not described herein again.

In addition, the embodiment of the invention also provides a plurality of wireless access point synchronous cooperation systems which can be used in a wireless network.

A wireless access point synchronous collaboration system may include: at least one STA having the wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 8 or 9 and at least two first APs having the wireless access point synchronous cooperation apparatus provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 10 or 11, and at least one STA can communicate with at least two first APs.

Another wireless access point synchronous cooperation system may include: at least one STA provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 12 and at least two first APs provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 13, and at least one STA can communicate with at least two first APs.

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: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wireless access point synchronous cooperation method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before the STA sends the first message, further comprising:

the STA receives indication information requesting the first message, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the STA to compete for channels for the at least two APs;

and the STA contends for a channel according to the indication information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the indication information includes identities of the at least two APs;

before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes:

and the STA determines the at least two APs according to the identifications of the at least two APs.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the indication information includes a collaboration set identifier;

before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes: and the STA determines the at least two APs according to the corresponding relation between the cooperative set identification and the identifications of the at least two APs and the cooperative set identification.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the indication information includes a collaboration set identifier;

before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes:

and the STA adds the identifier of the first message according to the cooperative set identifier.

6. The method according to any of claims 2-5, wherein before the STA receives the indication information requesting the first message, further comprising:

and the STA reports a communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP in the at least two APs, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within the communication radius of the STA.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein before the STA reporting the STA's set of communicating APs to at least one of the at least two APs, further comprising:

and the STA receives a reporting request sent by at least one of the at least two APs, wherein the reporting request is used for indicating the STA to report the communication AP set.

8. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein before the STA sends the first message, further comprising:

and the STA determines that the APs corresponding to the identifications of the at least two APs are both within the communication radius of the STA.

9. The method according to any of claims 2-5, wherein after the STA sends the first message, further comprising:

and the STA receives response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein after the STA sends the first message, further comprising:

and if the STA does not receive the response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, the STA continues to compete for the channel.

11. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, and the cooperative work rule is used for the at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule;

before the STA sends the first message, the method further includes:

the STA adds the cooperative work rule to the first message.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, and the cooperative work rule is used for the at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule;

after the STA receives the response messages sent by all the APs of the at least two APs, the method further includes:

and the STA sends the cooperative work rule to the at least two APs.

13. A wireless access point synchronous cooperation method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

14. The method of claim 13, wherein before the first AP receives the first message sent by the first STA, further comprising:

the first AP sends indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, wherein the indication information is used for indicating the at least one candidate STA to compete for a channel for the first AP and at least one second AP, and the at least one candidate STA comprises the first STA.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication information comprises identities of the first AP and at least one second AP, and wherein the identities of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP to work with.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication information comprises a cooperation set identifier, and wherein the cooperation set identifier is used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein before the first AP sending the indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, further comprising:

the first AP receives a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, and any AP in the communication AP set is positioned in a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set;

the first AP determines the at least one candidate STA from the set of communicating APs.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein before the first AP sending the indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, further comprising:

the first AP determines the at least one second AP according to the communication AP set.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein before the first AP receiving the communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, further comprising:

the first AP sends a reporting request to the at least one candidate STA, wherein the reporting request is used for indicating the at least one candidate STA to report the communication AP set.

21. The method according to any of claims 14 to 19, wherein before the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work, the method further comprises:

and the first AP broadcasts and sends a response message, wherein the response message is used for indicating that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

22. The method according to any of claims 14 to 19, wherein the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP for cooperative work, comprising:

and the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP to carry out cooperative work by adopting a cooperative work rule.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the indication information includes the collaborative work rule;

before the first AP uses the first channel and the at least one second AP to perform cooperative work by using a cooperative work rule, the method further includes:

and the first AP receives the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein before the first AP performing the cooperative operation using the first channel and the at least one second AP using the cooperative operation rule, further comprising:

the first AP sends the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, and the priority of the first AP is higher than that of the at least one second AP.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein before the first AP performing the cooperative operation using the first channel and the at least one second AP using the cooperative operation rule, further comprising:

and the first AP receives the cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than that of the first AP.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein before the first AP performing the cooperative operation using the first channel and the at least one second AP using the cooperative operation rule, further comprising:

and the first AP sends the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

27. A wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus for STAs, comprising:

a channel competition module for competing for a channel;

a sending module, configured to send a first message, where the first message is used to instruct at least two APs to perform cooperative work using a first channel, and the first channel is used for the STA to contend and obtain a channel used for sending the first message.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive indication information requesting the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate that the STA contends for a channel for the at least two APs;

the channel contention module is specifically configured to: and contending for a channel according to the indication information.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the indication information includes identities of the at least two APs; the device further comprises:

a first determining module, configured to determine the at least two APs according to the identifiers of the at least two APs.

30. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the indication information includes a collaboration set identifier; the device further comprises:

a second determining module, configured to determine the at least two APs according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the at least two APs and the cooperation set identifier.

31. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the indication information includes a collaboration set identifier; the device further comprises:

and the first information editing module is used for adding the identifier of the first message according to the collaboration set identifier.

32. The apparatus of any one of claims 28 to 31, further comprising:

a third determining module, configured to determine a communication AP set of the STA, where any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA;

the sending module is further configured to report the communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the receiving module is further configured to receive a reporting request sent by at least one AP of the at least two APs, and the reporting request is used to instruct the STA to report the communication AP set.

34. The apparatus of claim 29 or 30, further comprising:

a fourth determining module, configured to determine that the APs corresponding to the identifiers of the at least two APs are both within the communication radius of the STA.

35. The apparatus of any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the receiving module is further configured to: and receiving response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

an indication module to: and if the STA does not receive the response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, indicating the channel competition module to continuously compete for the channel.

37. The apparatus according to any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, and the cooperative work rule is used for the at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule; the device further comprises:

and the second information editing module is used for adding the cooperative work rule to the first message.

38. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the indication information further includes a cooperative work rule, and the cooperative work rule is used for the at least two APs to perform cooperative work according to the cooperative work rule;

the sending module is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least two APs.

39. A wireless access point synchronization and cooperation apparatus for a first AP, comprising:

40. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising:

a sending module, configured to send, to at least one candidate STA, indication information requesting for the first message, where the indication information is used to indicate that the at least one candidate STA contends for a channel for the first AP and at least one second AP, and the at least one candidate STA includes the first STA.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the indication information comprises identities of the first AP and at least one second AP, and wherein the identities of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine a first AP and at least one second AP that are working cooperatively.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the indication information comprises a cooperation set identifier, and wherein the cooperation set identifier is used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

43. The apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

44. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the receiving module is further configured to: receiving a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set;

the device further comprises:

a first determining module to determine the at least one candidate STA from the set of communication APs.

45. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the receiving module is further configured to: receiving a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set;

the device further comprises:

a second determining module for determining the at least one second AP according to the communication AP set.

46. The apparatus of claim 44 or 45, wherein the sending module is further configured to: and sending a reporting request to the at least one candidate STA, wherein the reporting request is used for indicating the at least one candidate STA to report the communication AP set.

47. The apparatus of any one of claims 40 to 45, wherein the sending module is further configured to: and broadcasting and sending a response message, wherein the response message is used for indicating that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

48. The apparatus according to any one of claims 40 to 45, wherein the cooperation module is specifically configured to: and using the first channel and the at least one second AP to carry out cooperative work by adopting a cooperative work rule.

49. The apparatus according to claim 48, wherein the indication information comprises the cooperative work rule;

the receiving module is further configured to: and receiving the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

50. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the sending module is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP has higher priority than the at least one second AP.

51. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the receiving module is further configured to: receiving the cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than that of the first AP.

52. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the sending module is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

53. An STA, comprising:

a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor coupled with the memory;

the transmitter is configured to transmit a first message, where the first message is used to instruct at least two APs to perform cooperative work using a first channel, and the first channel is used for the STA to contend for obtaining a channel for transmitting the first message.

54. The STA of claim 53, wherein the receiver is configured to receive indication information requesting the first message, the indication information indicating that the STA is contending for the channel for the at least two APs;

the processor is configured to contend for a channel according to the indication information.

55. The STA of claim 54, wherein the indication information includes identities of the at least two APs;

the processor is further configured to determine the at least two APs from the identities of the at least two APs.

56. The STA of claim 54, wherein the indication information includes a cooperating set identifier;

the processor is further configured to determine the at least two APs according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the at least two APs and the cooperation set identifier.

57. The STA of claim 54, wherein the indication information includes a cooperating set identifier;

the processor is further configured to add an identification of the first message according to a collaboration set identification.

58. The STA of any one of claims 54-57, wherein the processor is further configured to: determining a communication AP set of the STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA;

the transmitter is further configured to: and reporting the communication AP set of the STA to at least one AP of the at least two APs.

59. The STA of claim 58, wherein the receiver is further configured to: and receiving a reporting request sent by at least one of the at least two APs, wherein the reporting request is used for instructing the STA to report the communication AP set.

60. The STA of claim 55 or 56, wherein the processor is further configured to: and determining that the APs corresponding to the identifications of the at least two APs are all within the communication radius of the STA.

61. The STA of any one of claims 54-57, wherein the receiver is further configured to: and receiving response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, wherein the response messages are used for indicating that the APs sending the response messages agree to use the first channel for cooperative work.

62. The STA of claim 60, wherein the processor is further configured to: and if the STA does not receive the response messages sent by all the APs in the at least two APs, continuing to contend for the channel.

63. The STA according to any one of claims 54-57, wherein the indication information further includes a co-operation rule, and the co-operation rule is used for the at least two APs to perform co-operation according to the co-operation rule;

the processor is further configured to: adding the collaborative work rule to the first message.

64. The STA of claim 61, wherein the indication information further includes a co-operation rule, the co-operation rule being used for the at least two APs to perform co-operation according to the co-operation rule;

the transmitter is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least two APs.

65. A first AP, comprising:

a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a processor coupled with the memory;

the receiver is configured to: receiving a first message sent by a first STA, where the first message is used to instruct a first AP to use a first channel and at least one second AP to perform cooperative work, where the at least one second AP is within a communication radius of the first STA, and the first channel is used for contention acquisition of a channel used for sending the first message for the first STA;

the processor is configured to: using the first channel and the at least one second AP for cooperative work.

66. The first AP of claim 65, wherein the transmitter is configured to: and sending indication information requesting the first message to at least one candidate STA, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the at least one candidate STA is used for contending for a channel for the first AP and at least one second AP, and the at least one candidate STA comprises the first STA.

67. The first AP of claim 66, wherein the indication information comprises identities of the first AP and at least one second AP, and wherein the identities of the first AP and the at least one second AP are used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP to cooperate.

68. The first AP of claim 66, wherein the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and wherein the cooperation set identifier is used by the at least one candidate STA to determine the first AP and the at least one second AP according to a correspondence between the cooperation set identifier and the identifiers of the first AP and the at least one second AP.

69. The first AP of claim 66, wherein the indication information includes a cooperation set identifier, and wherein the cooperation set identifier is used for the first STA to add the identifier of the first message according to the cooperation set identifier.

70. The first AP of claim 66, wherein the receiver is further configured to: receiving a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set;

the processor is further configured to: determining the at least one candidate STA from the set of communication APs.

71. The first AP of claim 66, wherein the receiver is further configured to: receiving a communication AP set of the at least one candidate STA reported by the at least one candidate STA, wherein any AP in the communication AP set is within a communication radius of the STA reporting the communication AP set;

the processor is further configured to: determining the at least one second AP from the set of communicating APs.

72. The first AP of claim 70 or 71, wherein the transmitter is further configured to: and sending a reporting request to the at least one candidate STA, wherein the reporting request is used for indicating the at least one candidate STA to report the communication AP set.

73. The first AP of any one of claims 66-71, wherein the transmitter is further configured to: and broadcasting and sending a response message, wherein the response message is used for indicating that the first AP agrees to use the first channel for cooperative work.

74. The first AP of any one of claims 66-71, wherein the processor is further configured to: and using the first channel and the at least one second AP to carry out cooperative work by adopting a cooperative work rule.

75. The first AP of claim 74, wherein the indication information includes the cooperative work rule;

the receiver is further configured to: and receiving the cooperative work rule sent by the first STA.

76. The first AP of claim 74, wherein the transmitter is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP has higher priority than the at least one second AP.

77. The first AP of claim 74, wherein the receiver is further configured to: receiving the cooperative work rule sent by a second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the priority of the second AP with the highest priority in the at least one second AP is higher than that of the first AP.

78. The first AP of claim 74, wherein the transmitter is further configured to: and sending the cooperative work rule to the at least one second AP by using the first channel, wherein the first AP is an AP accessed by the first STA.

79. A wireless access point synchronous collaboration system, comprising: at least one STA having an apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 27 to 38 and at least two first APs having an apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 39 to 52;

the at least one STA comprises an STA capable of communicating with the at least two first APs.

80. A wireless access point synchronous collaboration system, comprising: at least one STA of any one of claims 53-64 and at least two first APs of any one of claims 65-78;