CN110099406B

CN110099406B - Data transmission method and equipment in wireless local area network

Info

Publication number: CN110099406B
Application number: CN201810085137.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 俞居正; 白小飞; 汪明月
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: XFusion Digital Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-01-29
Filing date: 2018-01-29
Publication date: 2021-02-12
Anticipated expiration: 2038-01-29
Also published as: CN110099406A

Abstract

A data transmission method and device in a wireless local area network are disclosed. In the method, in a first transmission period, a first device receives a first allocation request transmitted by a second device, the first transmission period is in a first transmission period group, the first transmission period group is a period in the first period group for allowing the second device to transmit a wireless signal, the first allocation request is used for requesting the second device to be allocated with a transmission period group for transmitting the wireless signal in a second period group, and the second period group is next to the first period group; in the second transmission period group, the first device transmits a first indication to the second device, the second transmission period group is a period in the second period group for allowing the first device to transmit a wireless signal, the first indication is used for indicating a third transmission period group, and the third transmission period group is a period in the second period group for allowing the second device to transmit a wireless signal.

Description

Data transmission method and equipment in wireless local area network

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of information technology, and in particular, to a data transmission method and device in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

Background

Data stored in the outdoor monitoring camera, the camera and other devices need to be transmitted to a server or a hard disk through a network, and particularly, the data can be transmitted in a wired or wireless mode. Since the deployment of the communication cable consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, a wireless transmission mode is used more at present. The wireless transmission mode may be performed through a cellular network or a WLAN. Cellular networks are expensive to deploy and use compared with WLANs, so that WLANs are the mainstream solution in wireless video transmission.

A sector system in a WLAN can be shown in fig. 1, where the sector includes an Access Point (AP) and multiple Stations (STAs), and the AP may employ a directional antenna to ensure a relatively long coverage. To further enlarge the sector, relay stations may also be provided in the sector. If a plurality of APs as shown in fig. 1 are deployed at the same location and directional antennas in different directions are used, coverage of a circular area can be achieved. The relay station may be a mesh (mesh) AP, and the leftmost AP in fig. 1 is a mesh gateway (mesh gate).

In order to avoid interference between multiple stations in a sector when transmitting data simultaneously, a carrier sense multiple access (CSMA/CA) mechanism with collision avoidance is generally adopted in the WLAN. Each station avoids sending data at the same time by means of channel competition and backoff.

However, when performing long-distance transmission through the WLAN, the number of stations accessing one AP is usually large, and multiple stations may need to perform multiple contention and backoff when transmitting data. The increase of the contention and backoff times may cause the problems of channel resource waste and low transmission efficiency.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a data transmission method and equipment in a WLAN (wireless local area network), which are used for solving the problem of interference caused by simultaneous data transmission of multiple devices in the WLAN and are beneficial to improving the resource utilization rate.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a data transmission method in a WLAN, including:

the first WLAN device receives a first allocation request transmitted by a second WLAN device in a first transmission period, wherein the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first transmission period group, the first transmission period group is in a first period group, the transmission periods in the first transmission period group are periods allowing the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals in the first period group, the transmission periods except the transmission periods in the first transmission period group are periods forbidding the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals, and the first allocation request is used for requesting allocation of a transmission period group for the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals in a second period group, and the second period group is next to the first period group.

During the second transmission period, the first WLAN device transmits a first indication to the second WLAN device, the second set of transmission periods is in a second set of transmission periods, the second set of transmission periods is in the second set of periods, the transmission periods in the second set of transmission periods are periods in the second set of periods that allow the first WLAN device to transmit wireless signals, the transmission periods of the second group of periods other than the transmission periods of the second group of transmission periods are periods in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals, the first indication indicates a third set of transmission periods, the transmission periods in the third set of transmission periods being periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals, the transmission periods in the second period group other than the transmission periods in the third transmission period group are periods in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals.

Further, the second transmission period is the most previous transmission period in the second transmission period group, or the second transmission period is the only transmission period in the second transmission period group.

At present, a CSMA/CA mechanism is adopted in a WLAN, so that the problem of interference caused by the fact that a plurality of devices send wireless signals simultaneously is solved, but the problems of resource waste and low transmission efficiency exist, and particularly when a plurality of accessed devices exist, the problem of low resource utilization rate is more serious.

In the method provided by the present application, the second WLAN device sends an allocation request to the first WLAN device in the first period group to request to acquire a period during which the second WLAN device sends a wireless signal in the second period group, that is, a period during which the second WLAN device sends a wireless signal to the first WLAN device in each period group has been reserved in the last period group, the second WLAN device does not need to perform contention and backoff when sending a wireless signal, and the first WLAN device allocates different periods to different downstream devices, so that interference generated when the first WLAN device receives data due to the fact that multiple downstream devices send wireless signals to the first WLAN device at the same time can be avoided. In addition, as the method does not adopt a competition and backoff mechanism, the method is beneficial to improving the resource utilization rate and the transmission efficiency, and the effect of improving the resource utilization rate is more obvious especially when the number of the accessed devices is large.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, during the second transmission period, the first WLAN device may transmit a first acknowledgement message to the second WLAN device, where the first acknowledgement message is an acknowledgement of the first allocation request.

In the present application, since the transmission time period in which each device in the WLAN is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device in one time period group is pre-allocated, the mechanism for immediately returning an acknowledgement message in the prior art is not applicable to the method provided in the present application. In the above manner, the first WLAN device transmits an acknowledgement message to the second WLAN device in the second transmission period, so that the second WLAN device can determine whether the first WLAN device successfully receives the wireless signal transmitted by the second WLAN device.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, a first WLAN device communicates with a second WLAN device on a first channel, and communicates with a third WLAN device on a second channel, where the third WLAN device is an upstream device of the first WLAN device, and the first channel and the second channel do not overlap.

Alternatively, the second WLAN device may communicate with the first WLAN device on the first channel and communicate with the third WLAN device on the second channel, where the second WLAN device is an upstream device of the third WLAN device, and the first channel and the second channel do not overlap.

Due to the fact that interference between non-overlapping channels is small, when the first WLAN device communicates with the second WLAN device on the first channel, the first WLAN device or the second WLAN device can still make an effort to communicate with the third WLAN device on the second channel, and large interference cannot be generated, and therefore transmission efficiency of the system is improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, the first WLAN device forwards the first allocation request to the third WLAN device in a third transmission period, where the third transmission period is in a fourth transmission period group, the fourth transmission period group is in the first period group, a transmission period in the fourth transmission period group is a period in the first period group in which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit the wireless signal to the third WLAN device, a transmission period in the first period group other than the transmission period in the fourth transmission period group is a period in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting the wireless signal to the third WLAN device, and the third transmission period is after the first transmission period; the first WLAN device receives a first indication transmitted by a third WLAN device among a fifth set of transmission periods, wherein the fifth set of transmission periods is in the second set of periods, the transmission periods in the fifth set of transmission periods are periods in the second set of periods during which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, and the transmission periods during which the first WLAN device receives the first indication precede the transmission periods during which the first WLAN device transmits the first indication to the second WLAN device.

In the foregoing manner, the first WLAN device is a relay device, the first WLAN device may forward the allocation request of the second WLAN device to the upstream device, and the upstream device of the first WLAN device allocates the transmission period group to the second WLAN device.

With reference to the first aspect, in one possible implementation manner, during a third transmission period or during a fifth transmission period, the first WLAN device transmits a second allocation request to the third WLAN device, the fifth transmission period being in a fourth group of transmission periods, the second allocation request requesting allocation of a group of transmission periods for the first WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device in the second group of periods; the first WLAN device receives a second indication transmitted by the third WLAN device, the second indication indicating a second set of transmission periods, among the fifth set of transmission periods.

In the above method, the first WLAN device is a relay device, and the group of transmission periods during which the first WLAN device transmits the wireless signal to the second WLAN device may also be allocated by an upstream device of the first WLAN device.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first WLAN device is a mesh gateway AP, and the fourth WLAN device is relayed to the first WLAN device via the second WLAN device. Receiving, by the first WLAN device, a third allocation request transmitted by the second WLAN device, the third allocation request requesting allocation of a transmission period group, which allows the fourth WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device in the second period group, to the fourth WLAN device, among the first transmission period group; and in the second transmission period group, the first WLAN device transmits a third indication to the second WLAN device, the third indication is used for indicating a sixth transmission period group, the transmission periods in the sixth transmission period group are periods allowing the fourth WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the second WLAN device, and the transmission periods in the second period group except the transmission periods in the sixth transmission period group are periods forbidding the fourth WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the second WLAN device.

In the foregoing manner, the AP may receive the allocation request from the fourth WLAN device forwarded by the relay device, and allocate the transmission period group to the fourth WLAN device.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a first WLAN device, where the first WLAN device includes a receiving unit and a sending unit, and the receiving unit and the sending unit are configured to perform functions performed by the first WLAN device in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a second WLAN device, where the second WLAN device includes a sending unit and a receiving unit, and the sending unit and the receiving unit are configured to execute functions executed by the second WLAN device in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a first WLAN device, which includes a processor and a transceiver, where the processor and the transceiver are configured to perform the functions performed by the first WLAN device in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a second WLAN device, where the first WLAN device includes a processor and a transceiver, and the processor and the transceiver are configured to perform the functions performed by the second WLAN device in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the functions as performed by the first WLAN device in the first aspect or any of its possible implementations.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the functions as performed by the second WLAN device in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of sectors in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a second schematic view of sectors in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a second schematic diagram of data transmission according to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a third schematic diagram of data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a fourth schematic diagram of data transmission according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a stored data list provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a first WLAN device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a second WLAN device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a second schematic structural diagram of a first WLAN device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a second schematic structural diagram of a second WLAN device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In order to avoid that a plurality of stations transmit data simultaneously, each station in the WLAN adopts a CSMA/CA mechanism when transmitting data. If the station needs to send data, it first detects whether there is another station in use in the channel, and if it detects that the channel is idle, it sends data after waiting for distributed inter-frame space (DIFS). If the station detects that the channel is in use, the station determines random back-off time according to a back-off algorithm of a CSMA/CA protocol, when the channel is idle, the back-off timer counts down, and when the back-off timer is reduced to zero, the station can send data. The backoff time randomly determined by different stations is different, so that the interference generated when multiple stations send data simultaneously can be avoided.

However, the above back-off mechanism may cause waste of channel resources and reduce system transmission efficiency. Especially, when the number of stations is large, the number of times of competition and backoff is increased, and the problem of transmission efficiency is more obvious.

In order to solve the above problem, embodiments of the present application provide a data transmission method in a WLAN, which is used to solve the problem of interference caused by data being sent by multiple devices (stations) simultaneously in the WLAN, and is helpful to improve resource utilization.

Before describing embodiments of the present application, a detailed description will be given of concepts related to the embodiments of the present application in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments provided herein.

Upstream/downstream equipment: in two WLAN devices on a communication path in a WLAN, the device closer to the mesh gateway is the upstream device, and correspondingly, the device farther from the mesh gateway is the downstream device. For example: in fig. 1, the AP, the relay STA1, and the STA3 form one communication path, and the AP is a mesh gateway. In this path, the AP is an upstream device of relay STA1, and relay STA1 is an upstream device of STA 3; relay STA1 is a downstream device of the AP, and STA3 is a downstream device of relay STA 1.

The conflict device group: in a WLAN, if multiple devices simultaneously transmit wireless signals, which may cause interference between the signals, the multiple devices may be referred to as a group of colliding devices. For example, in FIG. 1, all devices may form a group of conflicting devices; alternatively, if the distances between the partial devices are far enough, the signals will not interfere, for example, STA1 sends wireless signals to the AP and STA9 sends wireless signals to relay STA 3. For another example, the AP, the STA1, the STA2, and the relay STA1 communicate using a5 gigahertz (GHz) channel 36, and the relay STA1, the STA3, the STA4, the STA5, and the relay STA2 communicate using a 5GHz channel 44. Because the interference between non-overlapping channels is small, it can be considered that the AP, the STA1, the STA2, and the relay STA1 are in one collision device group, and the relay STA1, the STA3, the STA4, the STA5, and the relay STA2 are in another collision device group, that is, devices communicating through the same channel may form one collision device group. The relay STA1 belongs to both of these conflicting device groups. The relay STA1 communicates over channel 36 and channel 44 using two different Radio Frequency (RF) modules, respectively.

Time period group: in the embodiment of the present application, one period group includes a transmission period group allocated to each device in the same conflicting device group. Taking fig. 2 as an example, 3 STAs wirelessly connect to one AP and communicate with each other through a channel 1 of 2.4GHz band. The period group 1 may include a transmission period group 1 (including period 1) in which the AP transmits a wireless signal, a transmission period group 2 (including period 2 and period 5) in which the STA-1 transmits a wireless signal, a transmission period group 3 (including period 3) in which the STA-2 transmits a wireless signal, and a transmission period group 4 (including period 4) in which the STA-3 transmits a wireless signal.

Wherein the transmission period group 1 allows the AP to transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to STA-1, STA-2, or STA-3), while STA-1, STA-2, and STA-3 cannot transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP) in the transmission period group 1. The set of transmission periods 2 allows STA-1 to transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP), while the APs, STA-2, STA-3 cannot transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP) during the set of transmission periods 2. The set of transmission periods 3 allows STA-2 to transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP), while AP, STA-1, and STA-3 cannot transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP) during the set of transmission periods 3. The set of transmission periods 4 allows STA-3 to transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP), while AP, STA-1, and STA-2 cannot transmit wireless signals on channel 1 (i.e., to the AP) during the set of transmission periods 4.

The time lengths of the transmission period groups allocated to the AP and each STA to transmit the wireless signal may be the same or different, and the period included in each transmission period group may also be discontinuous, as shown in fig. 2, the period 2 and the period 5 belong to the transmission period group allocated to the STA-1, but a period allocated to another device to transmit the wireless signal exists between the period 2 and the period 5.

The adjacent time periods may be separated by a fixed time duration, such as a distributed inter-frame gap.

In the description of the present application, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor order. For example, the first transmission period is used to indicate a period during which the second WLAN device transmits the first allocation request to the first WLAN device, and should not be understood as the first period in a certain period group.

The data transmission method in the WLAN according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 3, and as shown in the figure, the method may include the following steps:

step 301, the second WLAN device sends a first allocation request to the first WLAN device in a first sending period.

Wherein the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device. For example, the first WLAN device may be an AP, and the second WLAN device may be a station or a relay station; alternatively, the first WLAN device may be a relay station and the second WLAN device may be a station or a relay station.

The first transmission periods are in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods being in a first group of periods. The transmission periods in the first transmission period group are periods in the first period group in which the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, and periods in the first period group other than the first transmission period group do not allow the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device.

Further, in the first transmission period group, only the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit the wireless signal to the first WLAN device, that is, other downstream devices of the first WLAN device are prohibited from transmitting the wireless signal to the first WLAN device, and the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting the wireless signal to other downstream devices of the first WLAN device, so as to avoid signal interference.

Specifically, the first allocation request sent by the second WLAN device is used to request allocation of a transmission period group allowing the second WLAN device to send a wireless signal to the first WLAN device in a second period group to the second WLAN device, where the second period group is immediately adjacent to the first period group. That is, the transmission period group in each period group in which the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit the wireless signal to the first WLAN device has been reserved by the allocation request in the last period group, so that the second WLAN device does not have to contend or backoff any more.

Step 302, the first WLAN device sends a first indication to the second WLAN device in a second sending period.

Wherein the second transmission period is a period during which the first WLAN device transmits an indication to one or more downstream devices. The second transmission period is in a second transmission period group, the second transmission period group is in the second period group, the transmission periods in the second transmission period group are periods in the second period group that allow the first WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the second WLAN device, and periods in the second period group other than the second transmission period group prohibit the first WLAN device from transmitting wireless signals to the second WLAN device.

The first indication is used for indicating a third transmission period group, the transmission periods in the third transmission period group are periods allowing the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, and periods except the third transmission period group in the second period group prohibit the second WLAN device from transmitting wireless signals to the first WLAN device.

Further, the second WLAN device transmits a wireless signal to the first WLAN device over the third set of transmission periods according to the first indication after receiving the first indication. Specifically, the wireless signal transmitted by the second WLAN device may include data to be transmitted, and a new allocation request requesting allocation of the second WLAN device with a set of transmission periods in the third set of periods to allow the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal to the first WLAN device. The third group of time periods immediately follows the second group of time periods. If the second WLAN device does not have data to send in the third time period group, it may also send only a new allocation request in the third sending time period group to request the second WLAN device to have a time period in the third time period group in which a next allocation request can be sent to the first WLAN device.

In the method, because the transmission period group for the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal to the first WLAN device is allocated by the first WLAN device, when the first WLAN device has multiple downstream devices, the first WLAN device can avoid the multiple downstream devices from transmitting the wireless signal to the first WLAN device at the same time as long as the first WLAN device allocates different transmission period groups to different downstream devices, thereby avoiding interference. In addition, the plurality of downstream devices do not need to perform processes of competition and backoff, so that the resource utilization rate is improved, and particularly, the effect of improving the resource utilization rate is more obvious under the condition that the number of the downstream devices is large.

Optionally, the allocation request may include a duration parameter. The duration parameter is used to indicate a duration required for the second WLAN device to request a reservation for transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device in a next time period group (e.g., the second time period group). The duration parameter may be a value of a duration of time required for the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal. The duration required for the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal is the sum of the duration required for the second WLAN device to transmit data (including inter-frame gaps, if any) and the duration required for the second WLAN device to transmit a new allocation request. And if the second WLAN equipment has no data transmission requirement in the next time interval group, the value of the time length required by the second WLAN equipment for transmitting the wireless signal is the time length required for transmitting the allocation request. The duration parameter may also be a value of a duration required for the second WLAN device to transmit data to be transmitted (including inter-frame gaps, if any). The duration parameter may also be a combination of the data amount of the data to be transmitted and the transmission rate. If the duration parameter is the value of the duration required by the second WLAN device to transmit the data to be transmitted, the first WLAN device adds the value to the duration required by the second WLAN device to transmit the new allocation request to obtain the duration required by the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal. And if the duration parameter is the combination of the data volume and the transmission rate of the data to be transmitted, the first WLAN device calculates the duration required by the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal in the second time period group according to the data volume and the transmission rate. For example, the first WLAN device divides the amount of data by the transmission rate to obtain a time period required for the second WLAN device to transmit data, plus the empirical time period to obtain a time period required for the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals in the second set of time periods. The empirical time period may include a time period required for the second WLAN device to send a new allocation request and may also include a time period of one or more inter-frame gaps. The duration parameter may be a value of a duration required for the second WLAN device to transmit a new allocation request if no data needs to be transmitted in the next period group, or an indication that a duration or amount of data to be transmitted is 0 (since no data needs to be transmitted, the transmission rate may be default).

Accordingly, the first WLAN device may allocate a third transmission period group to the second WLAN device according to the duration parameter carried in the first allocation request, where the duration of the third transmission period group is usually greater than or equal to the duration required by the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal. The first indication transmitted by the first WLAN device is indicative of a third set of transmission periods. The first indication may include a start time and an end time of the third transmission period group, or may include a start time and a total duration, if the third transmission period group includes a single transmission period. If the third set of transmission periods includes multiple transmission periods, the first indication may include a start time and an end time of each transmission period, or a start time and a duration of each transmission period.

And the first WLAN equipment determines the time length of the sending time interval group corresponding to the second WLAN equipment according to the time length parameter. As described above, if the second WLAN device does not have a data transmission requirement, the first WLAN device also needs to send the first allocation request, and the first WLAN device should also allocate a sending period group to the second WLAN device, so as to allow the second WLAN device to send a new allocation request on the second period group. The first WLAN device does not receive the allocation request if the second WLAN device fails to send the allocation request. If the first WLAN device fails to transmit the indication of allocating the transmission period group of the second WLAN device in the current period group (first period group), the second WLAN device cannot obtain information of the transmission period group of the second WLAN device in the current period group, and thus cannot transmit the allocation request, thereby also making the first WLAN device not receive the allocation request. Even if the first WLAN device does not receive the allocation request, the first WLAN device allocates the transmission period group to the second WLAN device to ensure that the second WLAN device has at least a period capable of transmitting a new allocation request to the first WLAN device in the next period group (second period group).

In one alternative, the length of the time period may be a fixed value. The length of the time period is generally greater than the length of time required to send an allocation request. The first WLAN device allocates one or more periods to the second WLAN device according to the transmission requirements of the second WLAN device when allocating the set of transmission periods. The duration of this period or the sum of the durations of these periods is greater than or equal to the duration required for the second WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal. If the allocation request sent by the second WLAN device indicates that there is no data transmission requirement in the next period group, a period may be allocated for the second WLAN device in the next period group.

If the length of the time interval can be a fixed value, the number can be counted in units of time intervals in each time interval group. The first indication may include the number of the respective periods of the third group of transmission periods. If the third transmission period group includes a plurality of consecutive periods, the third transmission period group may be indicated in the first indication with numbers of the start period and the end period of the third transmission period group.

The first WLAN device may be connected to a plurality of downstream devices, each of which may perform the operations performed by the second WLAN device described above. Each downstream device in the first group of time periods sends a respective allocation request to the first WLAN device. The transmission periods during which the plurality of downstream devices transmit the allocation requests are different. And the first WLAN device transmits an indication to the plurality of downstream devices in the second set of periods to indicate to each downstream device the set of transmission periods in the second set of periods during which to transmit the wireless signal to the first WLAN device. The sets of transmission periods for each downstream device do not overlap.

Alternatively, the first WLAN device may place the first indication for the plurality of downstream devices in one group address frame (broadcast frame or multicast frame) and transmit to the plurality of downstream devices at once. For example, the AP may carry the first indications of the plurality of STAs in a Beacon (Beacon) frame with the transmission time of the Beacon frame as the start time of each period group. The length of the period group is equal to the beacon interval if the transmission time of the beacon frame is taken as the start time of each period group.

The first WLAN device may also transmit a second indication to the second WLAN device in a second transmission period, wherein the second indication indicates a second set of periods. Specifically, the first WLAN device may send the start time and the total duration of the second period group, or the start time and the end time of the second period group to the second WLAN device, or may also agree to use a beacon frame as the start of each period group and send the total duration of the second period group to the second WLAN device, so that the second WLAN device knows the division of the period groups, and the second WLAN device can determine the amount of data to be sent in the next period group conveniently.

Optionally, the first WLAN device may further send a first acknowledgement message to the second WLAN device in the second sending period, for acknowledging the first allocation request and/or data sent by the second WLAN device. Due to the influence of the network environment, the first WLAN device may not receive or not completely receive the first allocation request and/or data sent by the second WLAN device, or may also not send the allocation request and/or data to the first WLAN device due to the second WLAN device not receiving the indication sent by the first WLAN device, at which point it is likely to influence the second WLAN device to subsequently send the wireless signal to the first WLAN device. The first WLAN device may return an acknowledgement frame, such as an Acknowledgement (ACK) or a Block Acknowledgement (BACK), to the second WLAN device, so that the second WLAN device may resend the first allocation request and/or data when the first WLAN device does not receive or does not completely receive the wireless signal sent by the second WLAN device over the allocated period for the second WLAN device.

In a WLAN, the receiver typically feeds back acknowledgement information to the sender immediately after receiving every frame. In the embodiment of the present application, however, since the transmission period group allocated to the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal in the first period group has been reserved in the last period group, that is, the period allocated to the second WLAN device to transmit the wireless signal in the first period group, the first WLAN device cannot transmit the wireless signal. Therefore, the first WLAN device cannot immediately return an acknowledgement frame. The acknowledgement mechanism of the WLAN can be cancelled or changed for this purpose. The first WLAN device may transmit a first acknowledgement message to the second WLAN device over a second transmission period in the second set of periods if the acknowledgement mechanism for the WLAN is changed.

If the first WLAN device has successfully received the first allocation request and/or the data sent by the second WLAN device in the first time period group, a third sending time period group allocated to the second WLAN device is used for the second WLAN device to send the data reserved for sending in the first time period group and a new allocation request, or is only used for sending the new allocation request; if the first WLAN device does not successfully receive the first allocation request and/or data sent by the second WLAN device, the allocated third sending time period set is used for the second WLAN device to resend the data and/or allocation request which is not successfully received by the first WLAN device, and to send the data and/or new allocation request which is reserved for sending.

Optionally, if the first WLAN device does not successfully receive the data sent by the second WLAN device in the i-th period group but receives the allocation request, when the transmission period group in the i + 1-th period group is allocated to the second WLAN device, the time duration required for the second WLAN device to retransmit the frame that is not successfully received may be estimated, the time duration required for the second WLAN device to request to send the wireless signal in the i + 1-th period group is determined according to the allocation request, and then the transmission period group in the i + 1-th period group is allocated to the second WLAN device. The second WLAN device re-transmits the data that was not successfully received and the wireless signal that was transmitted in the (i + 1) th period group to the first WLAN device at the assigned transmission period group.

If the first WLAN device does not receive successfully or does not receive the allocation request, when the transmission period group in the i +1 th period group is allocated to the second WLAN device, the time length required for the second WLAN device to retransmit the frame which is not successfully received may be estimated, and a transmission period group is allocated to the second WLAN device, where the time length of the transmission period group is greater than or equal to the estimated time length required for retransmission. The second WLAN device retransmits the data which is not successfully received in the transmission period group in the assigned (i + 1) th period group, if there is a remaining period after retransmission, the second WLAN device may continue to transmit all or part of the data which is expected to be transmitted in the (i + 1) th period group, and if the assigned transmission period group cannot meet the transmission requirement of the second WLAN device, the assignment request transmitted by the second WLAN device in the transmission period group is used to request the second WLAN device to be assigned with a transmission period group which can be used for transmitting the data which is not transmitted in the (i + 1) th period group and new data to be transmitted.

Optionally, the first WLAN device may estimate the time required for the second WLAN device to retransmit the wireless signal according to a pre-agreed retransmission rule. For example, a Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) may be reduced in retransmission agreed in advance to increase the success rate of retransmission, and the first WLAN device estimates the time required for retransmission according to the reduced MCS.

It should be understood that the process of the first WLAN device sending the acknowledgement message indicating that the reception is not successful and the second WLAN device resending the wireless signal may be repeated for a plurality of times, and will not be described herein again.

Generally, the number of times the second WLAN device retransmits the wireless signal is not so great that the first WLAN device receives successfully, however, in some extreme cases, the possibility that the first WLAN device does not receive successfully after retransmitting many times is not excluded. Optionally, if the second WLAN device does not successfully receive the data after multiple retransmissions, the second WLAN device may choose to discard the corresponding data, so as to avoid that a large amount of data is stored in the transmission queue and affects transmission of subsequent data.

Alternatively, when there are multiple downstream devices, the first WLAN device may place the acknowledgement message for each second WLAN device in one group address frame and transmit to the multiple downstream devices at once.

In addition, in order to further improve the system transmission efficiency, different channels may be used for signal transmission between different devices in one sector. Taking fig. 1 as an example, transmissions may be performed between the AP and the STA1, the STA2, and the relay STA1 through a first channel, transmissions may be performed between the relay STA1 and the STA3, the STA4, the STA5, and the relay STA2 through a second channel, transmissions may be performed between the relay STA2 and the STA6, the STA7, and the STA8 relay STA3 through a third channel, and transmissions may be performed between the relay STA3 and the STA9, the STA10, and the STA11 through a fourth channel. By adopting the method, when the AP and the STA1 perform signal transmission, the relay STA1 can perform signal transmission with the STA3 without strong interference. Furthermore, the first channel, the second channel, the third channel and the fourth channel are non-overlapping channels, so as to reduce or even avoid signal interference.

As previously mentioned, devices that employ the same channel for signal transmission may be referred to as a group of colliding devices. In a conflicting device group, the division of the slot group is determined by the upstream devices in the conflicting device group; and different time period groups can be divided into different time period groups according to different conflict device groups.

In order to facilitate understanding of the above embodiments of the present application, the following description is made by way of example with reference to fig. 4 to 7.

The topology in one sector may be as shown in fig. 4, where STA-1, relay STA1, and relay STA2 directly transmit data to the AP, and the AP determines the transmission periods during which STA-1, relay STA1, and relay STA2 transmit data; the STA-2 directly transmits data to the relay STA1, the relay STA1 determines the transmission period of the STA-2 for transmitting data, and the relay STA1 has data transmission requirements; STA-3 and STA-4 directly transmit data to the relay STA2, i.e., the transmission periods during which STA-3 and STA-4 transmit data are determined by the relay STA 2.

The AP, the STA-1, the relay STA1 and the relay STA2 are a collision device group and communicate by using a first channel; the relay STA1 and the STA-2 are a collision device group and communicate by using a second channel; relay STA2, STA-3, and STA-4 are a group of colliding devices that use the third channel for communication.

As shown in fig. 5, in the ith time interval group, the AP may send a Beacon frame and an ACK/BACK frame in time interval 1 in the time interval group, where the Beacon frame includes a station STA-1, a relay STA1, an indication of time intervals at which the relay STA2 sends messages, and Time Synchronization Function (TSF) information, which is used to synchronize time of the STAs and the relay STAs; the ACK/BACK frame is used to indicate the receiving situation of the messages sent by the station STA-1, the relay STA1 and the relay STA2 in the i-1 th time period group, so as to indicate whether the station STA-1, the relay STA1 and the relay STA2 need to resend the messages sent in the i-1 th time period group.

STA-1 transmits data generated by STA-1 in the (i-2) th time period group and reserved for transmission in the (i-1) th time period group to the AP in time period 2 according to the instruction of the AP, and an allocation request for reserving transmission of the data generated in the (i-1) th time period group.

The relay STA1 transmits data including data from the station STA-2 received on the i-2 th period group and data generated by the relay STA1 on the i-2 th period group to the AP in period 3 according to the indication of the AP, and an allocation request for reservation of transmission of the data from the station STA-2 received on the i-1 th period group and the data generated by the relay STA1 on the i-1 th period group.

The relay STA2 may transmit data including data from the stations STA-3 and STA-4 received on the i-2 th period group and a request for reservation to transmit the data from the stations STA-3 and STA-4 received on the i-1 th period group to the AP in period 4 according to the indication of the AP.

As shown in fig. 6, in the jth time interval group, the relay STA1 may send a Beacon frame and an ACK/BACK frame in time interval 1 in the time interval group, where the Beacon frame includes an indication of a time interval during which the station STA-2 sends a packet, and TSF information, and is used to synchronize time of the STA-2; the ACK/BACK frame is used for indicating the receiving condition of the message sent by the station STA-2 in the j-1 th time period group so as to indicate whether the station STA-2 needs to resend the message sent in the j-1 th time period group. It should be understood that the starting time and duration of the j-th period group are not related to the i-th period group.

The STA-2 transmits data, which is data generated by the STA-1 in the j-2 th period group and reserved for transmission in the j-1 th period group, to the relay STA1 in the period 2 in the period group and an allocation request for reserving transmission of the data generated in the j-1 th period group, according to the instruction of the relay STA-1.

As shown in fig. 7, in the kth time period group, the relay STA2 may send a Beacon frame and an ACK/BACK frame in time period 1 in the time period group, where the Beacon frame includes an indication of a time period during which the STA-3 and STA-4 send messages, and TSF information, and is used to synchronize the time of the STA-3 and STA-4; the ACK/BACK frame is used for indicating the receiving condition of the messages sent by the stations STA-3 and STA-4 in the k-1 period group, so as to indicate whether the stations STA-3 and STA-4 need to resend the messages sent in the k-1 period group. It should be understood that the starting time and duration of the kth period group are not related to the ith period group and the jth period group.

The STA-3 transmits data, which is data generated by the STA-1 on the k-2 period group and reserved for transmission on the k-1 period group, and an allocation request for reservation for transmission of the data generated on the k-1 period group to the relay STA2 on the period 2 in the period group according to the instruction of the relay STA-2.

The STA-4 transmits data, which is data generated by the STA-1 on the k-2 period group and reserved for transmission on the k-1 period group, and an allocation request for reservation for transmission of the data generated on the k-1 period group to the relay STA2 on the period 2 in the period group according to the instruction of the relay STA-2.

In the above example, the data stored in STA-1 may be as shown in fig. 8, STA-1 may generate or receive data 1 over period group i, and then STA-1 may transmit an allocation request to the AP over period group i +1 to allow the AP to allocate the period for STA-1 to transmit data 1, and STA-1 may also generate or receive data 2 over period group i + 1. STA-1 receives the time period allocated by the AP for STA-1 to transmit data on the time period group i +2, and STA-1 transmits data 1 and an allocation request to the AP on the corresponding time period in the time period group i +2 to request the AP to allocate the time period for STA-1 to transmit data 2. The data stored in the other STAs is similar to STA-1, and is not illustrated here.

Especially, in a video monitoring system, the number of STAs is large, and the amount of generated video data is large, and if a contention backoff mechanism is used to transmit data, the STA is large and may take a long time to transmit data, that is, the STA needs a large storage space to store data to be transmitted. After the above-mentioned embodiment is adopted, as can be seen from fig. 4, only 3 time period groups are used by the STA-1 from generating or receiving data to sending out data, and the period from generation to sending of data is not long and stable, which is helpful for reducing data queued in a data queue to be sent in the STA, thereby saving the storage space of the STA.

As described above, the first WLAN device may be an AP or a relay STA, that is, both the AP and the relay STA may have the function of allocating the transmission period group to the STA or the relay STA according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. When the number of STAs in one sector is large, the load of the AP can be shared in the above manner.

In another possible implementation manner, after receiving the first allocation request sent by the second WLAN device, the first WLAN device may further forward the request to the third WLAN device to obtain indication information for indicating a transmission period group for the second WLAN device to send a wireless signal. In this manner, the relay STA may not have the function of allocating the transmission period group, but after receiving the allocation request, forwards the allocation request to the upstream device of the relay STA, which may be an AP, or may be a relay STA (the relay STA may also forward the allocation request upward), so that the allocation request is forwarded to the AP, and the AP allocates the transmission period group to each STA and the relay STA in the sector where the AP is located.

Specifically, the first WLAN device receives a first allocation request sent by the second WLAN device in a first sending period, and forwards the first allocation request to the third WLAN device in a third sending period, where the third sending period is in a fourth sending period group, the fourth sending period group is in the first period group, a period in the fourth sending period group is a period in the first period group in which the first WLAN device is allowed to send a wireless signal to the third WLAN device, that is, a period other than the fourth sending period group in the first period group is a period in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from sending a wireless signal to the third WLAN device, and the third sending period is after the first sending period.

The first WLAN device then receives the first indication sent by the third WLAN device in the fifth set of transmission periods, and then forwards the first indication to the second WLAN device in the second transmission period. Wherein the fifth transmission period group is in the second period group, a period in the fifth transmission period group is a period in the second period group during which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, and a period during which the third WLAN device transmits the first indication is before a period during which the first WLAN device forwards the first indication to the second WLAN device.

Optionally, in the fifth sending period group, the third WLAN device may further send a second indication to the first WLAN device, where the second indication is used to indicate the second period group, and the first WLAN device may forward the first indication and the second indication to the second WLAN device in the second sending period, so that the second WLAN device can know the division of the period group.

Further, the first WLAN device may transmit a second allocation request to the third WLAN device in a third transmission period or a fifth transmission period for requesting allocation of a transmission period group for the first WLAN device to allow the first WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device in the second period group, wherein the fifth transmission period is in the fourth transmission period group (i.e., a transmission period group in the first period group to allow the first WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the third WLAN device). A third indication transmitted by the third WLAN device is then received in a fifth set of transmission periods in the second set of periods to indicate a second set of transmission periods in the second set of periods that allow the first WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the second WLAN device.

Since the relay STA may have a data transmission requirement in addition to forwarding the data of its downstream device, the relay STA may forward the allocation request of its downstream device to its upstream device, or may send the allocation request generated according to its transmission requirement to its upstream device, so as to obtain the transmission period group in the next period group in which it is allowed to send the wireless signal.

In a possible implementation manner, if the first WLAN device is an AP and the second WLAN device is a relay STA, the first WLAN device receives a third allocation request forwarded by a fourth WLAN device, where the third allocation request is used to request allocation of a transmission period group allowing the fourth WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal in the second period group. The first WLAN device may transmit a fourth indication to the second WLAN device in a second set of transmission periods in the second set of periods that allows the first WLAN device to transmit wireless signals, the fourth indication indicating a sixth set of transmission periods in the second set of periods that allows the fourth WLAN device to transmit wireless signals.

In the above embodiments, the AP allocates the transmission period group to each STA or relay STA, and in order to more effectively utilize channel resources and avoid interference that may be generated when multiple devices transmit wireless signals simultaneously, the AP may be configured with a transmission period group allocation rule in advance. For example, STA1 may be closer to STA2 and may interfere with simultaneous transmission of wireless signals, so the AP may avoid intersection of the sets of transmission periods allocated for STA1 and STA 2; STA1 and STA3 may be relatively far apart and may transmit wireless signals simultaneously.

In addition, the data transmission method provided by the embodiment of the application does not need to adopt a CSMA/CA mechanism, so that the CSMA/CA functions of each station, the relay AP and the relay station in the WLAN can be closed during specific implementation.

Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a first WLAN device, configured to implement the function performed by the first WLAN device in the foregoing method embodiment.

As shown in fig. 9, the first WLAN device may include: a receiving unit 901 and a transmitting unit 902.

Specifically, the receiving unit 901 is configured to receive a first allocation request sent by a second WLAN device in a first sending period, wherein the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device, the first sending period is in a first sending period group, the first sending period group is in a first period group, the sending periods in the first sending period group are periods in the first period group which allow the second WLAN device to send wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the sending periods in the first period group except the sending periods in the first sending period group are periods in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from sending wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the first allocation request is used to request allocation of a sending period group of the second WLAN device to send wireless signals in a second period group for the second WLAN device, the second time period group immediately follows the first time period group.

A transmitting unit 902, configured to transmit, to the second WLAN device, a first indication in a second transmission period group, the second transmission period group being in the second transmission period group, a transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in the second transmission period group in which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, the first indication indicating a third transmission period group in which the transmission period in the third transmission period group is a period in which the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, and a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device A period during which the device transmits a wireless signal.

Optionally, the sending unit 902 is further configured to: transmitting a first acknowledgement message to a second WLAN device during the second transmission period, the first acknowledgement message being an acknowledgement of the first allocation request.

Optionally, when the first WLAN device communicates with a second WLAN device, the receiving unit 901 receives a wireless signal sent by the second WLAN device on a first channel, and the sending unit 902 sends the wireless signal to the second WLAN device on the first channel; when the first WLAN device communicates with a third WLAN device, the receiving unit 901 receives a wireless signal sent by the third WLAN device on a second channel, and the sending unit 902 sends a wireless signal to the third WLAN device on the second channel. The third WLAN device is an upstream device of the first WLAN device, and the first channel and the second channel are not overlapped.

Optionally, the sending unit 902 is further configured to: forwarding the first allocation request to a third WLAN device among a third transmission period, the third transmission period being in a fourth group of transmission periods, the fourth group of transmission periods being in a first group of periods, a transmission period in the fourth group of transmission periods being a period in the first group of periods during which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the third WLAN device, a transmission period in the first group of periods other than a transmission period in the fourth group of transmission periods being a period during which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the third WLAN device, the third transmission period being after the first transmission period.

The receiving unit 901 is further configured to: receiving the first indication transmitted by the third WLAN device among a fifth set of transmission periods, the fifth set of transmission periods being in the second set of periods, a transmission period in the fifth set of transmission periods being a period in the second set of periods during which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, a transmission period during which the first WLAN device receives the first indication being prior to a transmission period during which the first WLAN device transmits the first indication to the second WLAN device.

Further, the sending unit 902 is further configured to: transmitting a second allocation request to the third WLAN device during the third transmission period or during a fifth transmission period, the fifth transmission period being in the fourth group of transmission periods, the second allocation request requesting allocation of the first WLAN device with a group of transmission periods in a second group of periods during which the first WLAN device transmits wireless signals to a second WLAN device.

The receiving unit 901 is further configured to: receiving the second indication transmitted by the third WLAN device among the fifth set of transmission periods, the second indication indicating the second set of transmission periods.

Optionally, the first WLAN device is a mesh gateway AP, and a fourth WLAN device is relayed to the first WLAN device via the second WLAN device.

The receiving unit 901 is further configured to: receiving a third allocation request transmitted by the second WLAN device among the first transmission period group, the third allocation request being used for requesting allocation of the transmission period group of the second WLAN device for transmitting wireless signals in the second period group for the fourth WLAN device.

The sending unit 902 is further configured to: transmitting a third indication to the second WLAN device among the second transmission period group, the third indication indicating a sixth transmission period group, a transmission period in the sixth transmission period group being a period in which the fourth WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, and a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the sixth transmission period group being a period in which the fourth WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device.

Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a second WLAN device, configured to implement the function performed by the second WLAN device in the foregoing method embodiment.

As shown in fig. 10, the second WLAN device may include a transmitting unit 1001 and a receiving unit 1002.

In particular, a transmitting unit 1001 for transmitting a first allocation request to a first WLAN device during a first transmission period, the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods is in a first group of periods, the transmission periods in the first group of transmission periods being periods in the first group of periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the first allocation request is for requesting allocation of a set of transmission periods for the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the second WLAN device in a second set of periods, the second set of periods immediately following the first set of periods;

a receiving unit 1002, configured to receive, among a second transmission period, a first indication transmitted by the first WLAN device, the second transmission period being in a second transmission period group, the second transmission period group being in the second transmission period group, a transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in the second transmission period group in which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, the first indication being used to indicate a third transmission period group, a transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group being prohibited from the second WLAN device to the second WLAN device A period during which a WLAN device transmits a wireless signal.

Optionally, the receiving unit 1002 is further configured to: receiving a first acknowledgement message sent by the first WLAN device during the second transmission period, the first acknowledgement message being an acknowledgement of the first allocation request.

Optionally, when the second WLAN device communicates with the first WLAN device, the sending unit 1001 sends a wireless signal to the first WLAN device on the first channel, and the receiving unit 1002 receives the wireless signal sent by the first WLAN device on the first channel; when the second WLAN device communicates with a third WLAN device, the transmitting unit 1001 transmits a wireless signal to the third WLAN device on a second channel, and the receiving unit 1002 receives the wireless signal transmitted by the third WLAN device on the second channel. The third WLAN device is a downstream device of the second WLAN device, and the first channel and the second channel are not overlapped.

Optionally, the first WLAN device is a mesh gateway AP, and a third WLAN device relays to the first WLAN device via the second WLAN device.

The transmitting unit 1001 is further configured to: transmitting, to the first WLAN device, a second allocation request for requesting allocation of a group of transmission periods for the third WLAN device to transmit wireless signals in the second group of periods, among the first group of transmission periods.

The receiving unit 1002 is further configured to: receiving a second indication sent by the first WLAN device in the second sending period group, wherein the second indication is used for indicating a fourth sending period group, the sending periods in the fourth sending period group are periods allowing the third WLAN device to send wireless signals to the second WLAN device, and the sending periods in the second period group except the sending periods in the fourth sending period group are periods prohibiting the third WLAN device from sending wireless signals to the second WLAN device.

As shown in fig. 11, the first WLAN device may include: a processor 1101 and a transceiver 1102. Optionally, the first WLAN device may further comprise a memory (not shown) for storing the program executed by the processor and the required processing data.

The processor 1101 may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a Network Processor (NP). The processor 1101 may also include other types of chips, such as baseband circuitry, radio frequency circuitry, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or any combinations thereof. The PLD may be a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a General Array Logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

The transceiver 1102 may include an antenna.

Specifically, the processor 1101 is configured to:

during a first transmission period, receiving with the transceiver 1102 a first allocation request transmitted by a second WLAN device, the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods is in a first group of periods, the transmission periods in the first group of transmission periods being periods in the first group of periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the first allocation request is for requesting allocation of a set of transmission periods for the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the second WLAN device in a second set of periods, the second set of periods immediately following the first set of periods;

transmitting, with the transceiver 1102, a first indication to the second WLAN device among a second transmission period in a second transmission period group in which the transmission periods are periods that allow the first WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, a transmission period other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group in which the transmission periods are periods that prohibit the first WLAN device from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, the first indication indicating a third transmission period group in which the transmission periods are periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, a transmission period other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group in which the transmission periods are prohibited to prohibit the second WLAN device from transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, and a transmission period other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group in which the transmission periods are prohibited to the first WLAN device A period of time in which the wireless signal is ready to be transmitted.

Optionally, the processor 1101 is further configured to perform: transmitting, with the transceiver 1102, a first acknowledgement message to a second WLAN device during the second transmission period, the first acknowledgement message being an acknowledgement of the first allocation request.

Optionally, the transceiver 1102 communicates with a second WLAN device on a first channel; and communicate with a third WLAN device on a second channel. The third WLAN device is an upstream device of the first WLAN device, and the first channel and the second channel are not overlapped.

Optionally, the processor 1101 is further configured to perform: forwarding, with the transceiver 1102, the first allocation request to a third WLAN device among a third set of transmission periods in a fourth set of transmission periods in a first set of periods, the transmission periods in the fourth set of transmission periods being periods in the first set of periods during which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit wireless signals to the third WLAN device, the transmission periods in the first set of periods other than the transmission periods in the fourth set of transmission periods being periods during which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the third WLAN device, the third transmission period being subsequent to the first transmission period;

receiving, with the transceiver 1102, the first indication transmitted by the third WLAN device among a fifth set of transmission periods, the fifth set of transmission periods being in the second set of periods, a transmission period in the fifth set of transmission periods being a period in the second set of periods during which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the transmission period during which the first WLAN device receives the first indication being prior to a transmission period during which the first WLAN device transmits the first indication to the second WLAN device.

Further, the processor 1101 is further configured to perform: transmitting, with the transceiver 1102, a second allocation request to the third WLAN device during the third transmission period or during a fifth transmission period, the fifth transmission period being in the fourth set of transmission periods, the second allocation request requesting allocation of the first WLAN device with a set of transmission periods in a second set of periods during which the first WLAN device transmits wireless signals to a second WLAN device;

receiving, with the transceiver 1102, the second indication transmitted by the third WLAN device among the fifth set of transmission periods, the second indication indicating the second set of transmission periods.

The processor 1101 is further configured to: receiving, with the transceiver 1102, a third allocation request transmitted by the second WLAN device among the first group of transmission periods, the third allocation request requesting allocation of a group of transmission periods for the fourth WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal by the fourth WLAN device in the second group of periods;

transmitting, by the transceiver 1102, a third indication to the second WLAN device among the second transmission period group, the third indication indicating a sixth transmission period group, where a transmission period in the sixth transmission period group is a period in which the fourth WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, and where a transmission period other than the transmission period in the sixth transmission period group in the second period group is a period in which the fourth WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device.

As shown in fig. 12, the second WLAN device may include a processor 1201 and a transceiver 1202. Optionally, the second WLAN device may further comprise a memory (not shown) for storing the program executed by the processor and the required processing data.

The processor 1201 may include a CPU or an NP. The processor 1101 may also include other types of chips such as baseband circuitry, radio frequency circuitry, ASICs, PLDs, or any combinations thereof. The PLD may be a CPLD, an FPGA, a GAL, or any combination thereof.

The transceiver 1202 may include an antenna.

Specifically, the processor 1201 is configured to:

during a first transmission period, a first allocation request is transmitted with the transceiver 1202 to the first WLAN device, the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods is in a first group of periods, the transmission periods in the first group of transmission periods being periods in the first group of periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the first allocation request is for requesting allocation of a set of transmission periods for the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the second WLAN device in a second set of periods, the second set of periods immediately following the first set of periods;

receiving, with the transceiver 1202, a first indication transmitted by the first WLAN device among a second transmission period in a second transmission period group, the second transmission period group being in the second period group, a transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in the second period group in which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, the first indication indicating a third transmission period group, a transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device A period during which the WLAN device transmits a wireless signal.

Optionally, the processor 1201 is further configured to perform: receiving, with the transceiver 1202, a first acknowledgement message transmitted by the first WLAN device during the second transmission period, the first acknowledgement message being an acknowledgement of the first allocation request.

Optionally, the transceiver 1202 communicates with a second WLAN device on a first channel; and communicate with a third WLAN device on a second channel. The third WLAN device is a downstream device of the second WLAN device, and the first channel and the second channel are not overlapped.

The processor 1201 is further configured to perform: transmitting, with the transceiver 1202, a second allocation request to the first WLAN device, among the first set of transmission periods, the second allocation request requesting allocation of the set of transmission periods for the third WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the third WLAN device in the second set of periods;

receiving, by the transceiver 1202, a second indication transmitted by the first WLAN device among the second transmission period group, where the second indication indicates a fourth transmission period group, a transmission period in the fourth transmission period group is a period in which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, and a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the fourth transmission period group is a period in which the third WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device.

Based on the same technical concept, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the functions performed by the first WLAN device as described above.

Based on the same technical concept, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the functions performed by the second WLAN device as described above.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Obviously, the technical solutions of the present application and the equivalent substitutions, modifications, etc. made by those skilled in the art are all included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for data transmission in a wireless local area network WLAN, comprising:

during a first transmission period, the first WLAN device receives a first allocation request transmitted by the second WLAN device, the first WLAN device is an upstream device of the second WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods is in a first group of periods, the transmission periods in the first group of transmission periods being periods in the first group of periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the first allocation request is for requesting allocation of a set of transmission periods for the second WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the second WLAN device in a second set of periods, the second set of periods immediately following the first set of periods; any one of the first time period group and the second time period group comprises a transmission time period group distributed for each device in the same collision device group; the group of colliding devices includes a plurality of devices that simultaneously transmit wireless signals that may cause interference between the signals;

transmitting, by the first WLAN device, a first indication to the second WLAN device among a second transmission period in a second transmission period group in which the transmission periods are periods that allow the first WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, a transmission period other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, among a third transmission period that indicates a third transmission period group in which the transmission periods are periods that allow the second WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, a transmission period other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, and a first indication to the second WLAN device in which the transmission periods other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group are set to prohibit the second WLAN device from transmitting the first signal A period of time in which the wireless signal is ready to be transmitted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

during the second transmission period, the first WLAN device transmits a first acknowledgement message to a second WLAN device, the first acknowledgement message being an acknowledgement of the first allocation request.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first WLAN device communicates with the second WLAN device on a first channel;

the first WLAN device communicates with a third WLAN device on a second channel, the third WLAN device being an upstream device of the first WLAN device, the first channel and the second channel not overlapping.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises:

forwarding, by the first WLAN device, the first allocation request to a third WLAN device among a third transmission period, the third transmission period being in a fourth group of transmission periods, the fourth group of transmission periods being in a first group of periods, a transmission period of the fourth group of transmission periods being a period in the first group of periods during which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the third WLAN device, a transmission period of the first group of periods other than a transmission period of the fourth group of transmission periods being a period during which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the third WLAN device, the third transmission period being subsequent to the first transmission period;

the first WLAN device receives the first indication transmitted by the third WLAN device among a fifth set of transmission periods, the fifth set of transmission periods being in the second set of periods, a transmission period in the fifth set of transmission periods being a period in the second set of periods during which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit wireless signals to the first WLAN device, the transmission period during which the first WLAN device receives the first indication being prior to a transmission period during which the first WLAN device transmits the first indication to the second WLAN device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

during the third transmission period or during a fifth transmission period, the first WLAN device transmitting a second allocation request to the third WLAN device, the fifth transmission period being in the fourth group of transmission periods, the second allocation request requesting allocation of the first WLAN device with a group of transmission periods during which the first WLAN device transmits wireless signals to the second WLAN device in a second group of periods;

the first WLAN device receives a second indication transmitted by the third WLAN device, among the fifth set of transmission periods, the second indication indicating the second set of transmission periods.

6. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first WLAN device is a mesh gateway AP, a fourth WLAN device being relayed to the first WLAN device via the second WLAN device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the first WLAN device, a third allocation request transmitted by the second WLAN device among the first transmission period group, the third allocation request requesting allocation of a transmission period group, in which the fourth WLAN device transmits a wireless signal in the second period group, to the fourth WLAN device;

and in the second transmission period group, the first WLAN device transmits a third indication to the second WLAN device, the third indication indicating a sixth transmission period group, the transmission periods in the sixth transmission period group being periods that allow the fourth WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the second WLAN device, and the transmission periods in the second period group other than the transmission periods in the sixth transmission period group being periods that prohibit the fourth WLAN device from transmitting wireless signals to the second WLAN device.

7. A method for data transmission in a wireless local area network WLAN, comprising:

during a first transmission period, the first WLAN device transmits a first allocation request to the second WLAN device, the second WLAN device is an upstream device of the first WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first set of transmission periods is in a first set of periods, the transmission periods in the first set of transmission periods being periods in the first set of periods that allow the first WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the second WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the second WLAN device, the allocation request is for requesting allocation of a set of transmission periods for the first WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the first WLAN device in a second set of periods, the second set of periods being immediately subsequent to the first set of periods; any one of the first time period group and the second time period group comprises a transmission time period group distributed for each device in the same collision device group; the group of colliding devices includes a plurality of devices that simultaneously transmit wireless signals that may cause interference between the signals;

the first WLAN device receives a first indication transmitted by the second WLAN device among a second transmission period in a second transmission period group, the second transmission period group being in the second transmission period group, a transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in the second transmission period group in which the second WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in which the second WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, the indication indicating a third transmission period group in which the transmission period is a period in which the first WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the second WLAN device, a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the first WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the second WLAN device A period of time in which the wireless signal is ready to be transmitted.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

during the second transmission period, the first WLAN device receives an acknowledgement message transmitted by the second WLAN device, the acknowledgement message being an acknowledgement of the allocation request.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the first WLAN device communicates with the second WLAN device on a first channel;

the first WLAN device communicates with a third WLAN device on a second channel, the first WLAN device being an upstream device of the third WLAN device, the first channel not overlapping with the second channel.

10. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein the second WLAN device is a mesh gateway AP, a third WLAN device being relayed to the second WLAN device via the first WLAN device, the method comprising:

transmitting, by the first WLAN device, a second allocation request to the second WLAN device, among the first group of transmission periods, the second allocation request requesting allocation of the group of transmission periods for the third WLAN device to transmit wireless signals by the third WLAN device in the second group of periods;

and among the second transmission period group, the first WLAN device receives a second indication transmitted by the second WLAN device, where the second indication is used to indicate a fourth transmission period group, a transmission period in the fourth transmission period group is a period in which the third WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the first WLAN device, and a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the fourth transmission period group is a period in which the third WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the first WLAN device.

11. A WLAN device, comprising:

a receiving unit for receiving an allocation request transmitted by another WLAN device during a first transmission period, the WLAN device is an upstream device of the other WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods is in a first group of periods, the transmission periods in the first group of transmission periods being periods in the first group of periods that allow the other WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the other WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the WLAN device, the allocation request is for requesting allocation of a transmission period group for the other WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal by the other WLAN device in a second period group, the second period group being immediately subsequent to the first period group; any one of the first time period group and the second time period group comprises a transmission time period group distributed for each device in the same collision device group; the group of colliding devices includes a plurality of devices that simultaneously transmit wireless signals that may cause interference between the signals;

a transmitting unit for transmitting an indication to the other WLAN device during a second transmission period, the second set of transmission periods is in a second set of transmission periods, the second set of transmission periods is in the second set of periods, the transmission periods in the second transmission period group are periods in the second period group that allow the WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the other WLAN device, a transmission period of the second group of periods other than the transmission period of the second group of transmission periods is a period in which the WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the another WLAN device, a first indication indicates a third group of transmission periods, the transmission periods in the third transmission period group are periods that allow the other WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the WLAN device, the transmission periods in the second period group other than the transmission periods in the third transmission period group are periods in which the another WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the WLAN device.

12. A WLAN device, comprising:

a transmission unit configured to transmit, to another WLAN device that is an upstream device of the WLAN device, an allocation request in a first transmission period group in which transmission periods in the first transmission period group are periods in which the WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the another WLAN device, the transmission periods in the first transmission period group other than the transmission periods in the first transmission period group being periods in which the WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the another WLAN device, among a first transmission period, the allocation request being for requesting allocation of a transmission period group in which the WLAN device transmits a wireless signal in a second period group to the WLAN device, the second period group being immediately subsequent to the first period group;

a receiving unit configured to receive, among a second transmission period in a second transmission period group in which transmission periods in the second transmission period group are periods in which the other WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the WLAN device, a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group is a period in which the other WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the WLAN device, an indication indicating a third transmission period group in which transmission periods in the third transmission period group are periods in which the WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the other WLAN device, and a transmission period in the second transmission period group other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group is a period in which the WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the other WLAN device .

13. A WLAN device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor is configured to:

receiving, with the transceiver, an allocation request transmitted by another WLAN device during a first transmission period, the WLAN device is an upstream device of the other WLAN device, the first transmission period is in a first group of transmission periods, the first group of transmission periods is in a first group of periods, the transmission periods in the first group of transmission periods being periods in the first group of periods that allow the other WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the WLAN device, the transmission periods of the first group of periods other than the transmission periods of the first group of transmission periods are periods in which the other WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the WLAN device, the allocation request is for requesting allocation of a transmission period group for the other WLAN device to transmit a wireless signal by the other WLAN device in a second period group, the second period group being immediately subsequent to the first period group;

transmitting, with the transceiver, an indication to the other WLAN device during a second transmission period, the second set of transmission periods is in a second set of transmission periods, the second set of transmission periods is in the second set of periods, the transmission periods in the second transmission period group are periods in the second period group that allow the WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the other WLAN device, the transmission periods of the second group of periods other than the transmission periods of the second group of transmission periods are periods in which the WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the other WLAN device, the indication indicating a third set of transmission periods, a transmission period in the third set of transmission periods being a period that allows the other WLAN device to transmit wireless signals to the WLAN device, the transmission periods in the second period group other than the transmission periods in the third transmission period group are periods in which the another WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting wireless signals to the WLAN device.

14. A WLAN device, comprising: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor is configured to:

transmitting, with the transceiver, an allocation request to another WLAN device among a first transmission period, the another WLAN device being an upstream device of the WLAN device, the first transmission period being in a first transmission period group, the first transmission period group being in a first period group, a transmission period in the first transmission period group being a period in the first period group in which the WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the another WLAN device, a transmission period other than a transmission period in the first transmission period group being a period in which the WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the another WLAN device, the allocation request requesting allocation of a transmission period group in which the WLAN device transmits a wireless signal in a second period group to the WLAN device, the second period group being immediately subsequent to the first period group; any one of the first time period group and the second time period group comprises a transmission time period group distributed for each device in the same collision device group; the group of colliding devices includes a plurality of devices that simultaneously transmit wireless signals that may cause interference between the signals;

receiving, with the transceiver, an indication transmitted by the other WLAN device among a second transmission period in a second transmission period group, the second transmission period group being in the second period group, a transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in the second period group in which the other WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the WLAN device, a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the second transmission period group being a period in which the other WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the WLAN device, the indication indicating a third transmission period group, a transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the WLAN device is allowed to transmit a wireless signal to the other WLAN device, a transmission period in the second period group other than the transmission period in the third transmission period group being a period in which the WLAN device is prohibited from transmitting a wireless signal to the other WLAN device.