CN114430560A

CN114430560A - Communication method, communication device, electronic equipment, computer equipment and readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114430560A
Application number: CN202111671045.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孔领领
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-31
Filing date: 2021-12-31
Publication date: 2022-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-31
Also published as: WO2023124454A1; CN114430560B

Abstract

The application relates to a communication method, a communication device, an electronic device, a computer device and a readable storage medium, wherein expected occupation time of a first communication module occupying a channel in a current period is obtained; acquiring a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and the first communication equipment. Therefore, the communication method can effectively reduce the influence of the expected occupied time on the communication between the second communication module and the first device, effectively improve the throughput of the communication between the second communication module and the first device, and reduce the time delay, thereby improving the coexistence performance under the corresponding communication scene type, improving the communication quality and improving the user experience.

Description

Communication method, communication device, electronic equipment, computer equipment and readable storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, an apparatus, an electronic device, a computer device, and a readable storage medium.

Background

As the network access requirement and the interconnection requirement between devices continuously increase, a single communication method cannot meet the requirement, and therefore more and more devices carry multiple communication methods to meet the network access and interconnection requirements, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), New Radio (NR), Wireless Fidelity (WIFI), Bluetooth technology (Bluetooth), and the like.

However, when different communication technologies adopt the time division multiplexing mode, the time division periods of the different communication technologies are usually relatively fixed, so that the communication quality of different communication scenarios cannot be guaranteed, and the user experience is reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method, a communication device, electronic equipment, computer equipment and a readable storage medium, which can improve the communication quality of different communication scenes and improve the user experience.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, including:

acquiring expected occupation time of a first communication module occupying a channel in a current period;

the method comprises the steps of obtaining a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode, wherein the first communication module and the second communication module are respectively used for supporting wireless communication of different systems;

when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and first communication equipment.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus comprising:

the occupation time acquisition module is used for acquiring the expected occupation time of the channel occupied by the first communication module in the current period;

the scene type acquisition module is used for acquiring a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode, and the first communication module and the second communication module are respectively used for supporting wireless communication of different systems;

and the first communication protection module is used for determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time when the communication scene type is a first preset type, and the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting the communication between the second communication module and the first communication equipment.

In a third aspect, the present application provides an electronic device, comprising:

the first communication module and the second communication module are respectively used for supporting wireless communication of different systems;

the processing circuit is used for acquiring the expected occupation time of the first communication module occupying the channel in the current period; acquiring a communication scene type of the second communication module in a coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and first communication equipment.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer device comprising a memory storing a computer program and a processor implementing the steps of the aforementioned method when the processor executes the computer program.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the aforementioned method.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method as described above.

According to the communication method, the communication device, the electronic equipment, the computer equipment, the readable storage medium and the computer program product, the expected occupation time of the first communication module for occupying the channel in the current period is obtained; acquiring a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and the first communication equipment. Therefore, the communication method can effectively reduce the influence of the expected occupied time on the communication between the second communication module and the first device, effectively improve the throughput of the communication between the second communication module and the first device, and reduce the time delay, thereby improving the coexistence performance under the corresponding communication scene type, improving the communication quality and improving the user experience.

Drawings

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

Fig. 1 is a schematic application environment diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a second flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a third flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a fourth flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a fifth flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the period occupancy time of a coexistence scenario according to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a sixth flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a seventh flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an eighth flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment;

fig. 12 is a second schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment;

fig. 14 is a second schematic structural diagram of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 15 is an internal block diagram of a computer device according to an embodiment.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application.

It will be understood that, as used herein, the terms "first," "second," and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first communication module may be referred to as a second communication module, and similarly, a second communication module may be referred to as a first communication module, without departing from the scope of the present application. The first communication module and the second communication module are both communication modules, but they are not the same communication module.

In some related technologies, time division multiplexing is used to avoid interference when operating in the same frequency band. Taking Bluetooth (BT) and WIFI as examples, since time division periods of different communication technologies are generally relatively fixed, networks of different communication systems may periodically occupy hardware resources. If the hardware is occupied by bluetooth, the communication between WIFI and the communication device, such as an Access Point (AP), may be interrupted, and vice versa. Where the connection site is for example a router.

For example, if the channel is occupied by the bluetooth module, the WIFI module cannot send and receive data. For data transmission, the WIFI module may stop data transmission according to a time division period; however, for data reception, the router of the WIFI module does not know that the WIFI module is in a time division multiplexing channel, when the channel is occupied by the bluetooth module, the router still sends data to the WIFI module, and at this time, if the WIFI module does not adopt a corresponding protection strategy, the data sent by the router cannot be received all the time, and finally, the data sent by the router is slowed down, so that the performance of the WIFI module is reduced or the connection with the router is disconnected.

In the related improvement technology, although the interruption condition is improved, the communication quality of different communication scenes cannot be guaranteed, and particularly, the experience under the delay sensitive service cannot be guaranteed.

Therefore, the embodiment of the application provides a communication method, which can dynamically adjust the protection strategy in different communication scenes, and improve the experience of a user in a time delay sensitive service.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to the application environment shown in fig. 1. The first communication module 110 and the second communication module 120 are respectively configured to support wireless communications of different systems, for example, short-range wireless communications, such as WIFI communications, bluetooth communications, and the like.

The first communication module 110 and the second communication module 120 may refer to different communication modules in the same electronic device, and the different communication modules operate in a time-sharing manner by using the same channel. The electronic device can be but not limited to various personal computers, notebook computers, smart phones, tablet computers, internet of things devices and portable wearable devices, and the internet of things devices can be smart speakers, smart televisions, smart air conditioners, smart vehicle-mounted devices and the like. The portable wearable device can be a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a head-mounted device, and the like.

Optionally, the first communication module 110 is a bluetooth module, and the second communication module 120 is a WIFI module. When the first communication module 110 is a bluetooth module, the first communication module 110 may be connected to other bluetooth modules or other electronic devices through bluetooth communication to transmit and/or receive data for bluetooth communication; when the second communication module 120 is a WIFI module, the second communication module 120 may be connected with a communication site to transmit and/or receive data so as to implement WIFI communication. It is understood that in other embodiments, the first communication module 110 may be a WIFI module and the second communication module 120 may be a bluetooth module.

Optionally, the communication method may further include the first communication device 130 and the second communication device 140 in an application environment. The first communication device 130 is a related device that performs second-format communication with the second communication module 120, for example, when the second communication module 120 is a WIFI module, the first communication device 130 is a connection site of the WIFI module, for example, a router. The second communication device 140 is a related device that performs communication in the first system with the first communication module 110, for example, when the first communication module 110 is a bluetooth module, the second communication device 140 is a bluetooth device that performs frequency hopping interaction with the bluetooth module. It should be noted that the first communication device 130 and the second communication device 140 may be two different devices supporting the first communication system and the second communication system, respectively, or may be the same device capable of supporting the first communication system and the second communication system simultaneously.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of a communication method in one embodiment. As shown in fig. 2, the communication method includes steps 202 to 206.

Step 202, obtaining the expected occupying time of the first communication module occupying the channel in the current period.

The first communication module and the second communication module are respectively used for supporting wireless communication of different systems.

The expected occupation time refers to the estimated time that the first communication module may occupy the channel in the current period. When the first communication module and the second communication module are in a time division multiplexing coexistence mode, firstly, the time that the first communication module may occupy the channel in the current period is obtained, so that the subsequent steps determine the time point and the time length that the second communication module needs to carry out communication protection according to the expected occupation time, and preliminarily determine how the second communication module should carry out communication protection. The communication protection may be a communication protection between the second communication module and the first communication device.

The expected occupied time can be obtained according to the total amount of data to be transmitted by the first communication module and the data transmission capability of the current period. The total amount of data to be transmitted currently can be the sum of the amount of data which is not transmitted in the previous period and the amount of data issued by the application layer in the current period; the data transmission capacity of the current period may be an effective data transmission amount of the current period of the first communication module, and may also be understood as a communication rate of the current period of the first communication module. It is to be understood that the step of acquiring the expected occupied time may be performed at a time when the first communication module and the second communication module enter the time division multiplexing state, or may be performed at any time within the time period of the time division multiplexing state.

And 204, acquiring the communication scene type of the second communication module in the coexistence mode.

The communication scene type refers to a scene type that currently needs to use the second communication module for communication service. For example, when the second communication module and the first communication module are disposed in the same electronic device, the communication scene type may be a scene type in which a user needs to use the second communication module to perform a communication service when using the electronic device, for example, a scene type in which the second communication module is used to listen to a song, play a game, watch a video, and the like. Optionally, the communication scene types may be divided according to the magnitude of the requirements for delay, throughput, and the like, for example, the communication scene types are divided into scene types with higher requirements for delay and/or higher requirements for throughput, such as games, calls, online videos, music scenes, and the like; idle scene types with neither high latency nor high throughput requirements, e.g. standby scenes of an electronic device.

Optionally, the communication scene type may be determined according to a communication instruction obtained by the second communication module, where the communication instruction carries information related to an application scene. The communication instruction can be generated by an application processor according to an application request sent by an application program of a relevant scene; or may be generated directly by the application of the associated scene. For example, the communication instruction is generated by the application processor according to an application request sent by an application program of the relevant scene: when the current user needs to watch the video, when the user opens the video application program dominated by the second communication system, the video application program sends a video application request to the application processor, so that the application processor generates a corresponding video communication instruction and sends the video communication instruction to the second communication module, and when the second communication module receives the video communication instruction, the type of a currently required communication scene is judged to be the video watching type according to information carried by the video communication instruction.

Step 206, when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection policy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and the first communication device.

The communication scene type can be divided according to the requirements for time delay, throughput and the like. The first preset type may refer to a scenario type with a higher requirement on latency and/or a higher requirement on throughput, and may be, for example: the delay sensitive type is a communication scene with high requirement on delay and low requirement on throughput, such as games and calls; and the type of the sensitive throughput is a communication scene with high network speed requirement and low time delay requirement, such as an online video scene and a music scene.

Optionally, the first communication protection policy may be that the second communication module maintains communication between the second communication module and the first communication device by making different actions or sending different information to the first communication device to instruct the first communication device to perform related communication protection according to the different actions or information.

When the communication scenario type is a first preset type, no matter the communication scenario type is a delay sensitive type or a throughput sensitive type, the time of the first communication module occupying the channel will affect the communication between the second communication module and the first device. Therefore, when the communication scene type is the first preset type, the first communication protection strategy is determined according to the expected occupation time, the influence of the expected occupation time on the communication between the second communication module and the first device can be effectively reduced, the throughput of the communication between the second communication module and the first device is effectively improved, and the time delay is reduced. For example, the corresponding first communication protection policy may be dynamically determined according to the magnitude of the impact of the expected occupation time on the time delay, so as to purposefully reduce the impact on the time delay of the communication between the second communication module and the first communication device, effectively improve the communication quality of the coexistence scene, and improve the user experience. For example, according to the expected occupation time to the throughput, which can also be understood as the size of the influence of the communication success rate, the corresponding first communication protection strategy is dynamically determined, so as to pertinently improve the success rate of the communication between the second communication module and the first communication device, effectively improve the communication quality of the coexistence scene, and improve the user experience. The game scene type is used, the first communication module is used as a Bluetooth module, the second communication module is used as a WIFI module, actual measurement is conducted, the time delay is improved by 80%, the throughput is doubled, the communication quality is obviously improved, and the game experience of a user is obviously improved.

In the communication method provided by this embodiment, the expected occupation time of the channel occupied by the first communication module in the current period is obtained; acquiring a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and the first communication equipment. Therefore, the communication method can effectively reduce the influence of the expected occupied time on the communication between the second communication module and the first device, effectively improve the throughput of the communication between the second communication module and the first device, and reduce the time delay, thereby improving the coexistence performance under the corresponding communication scene type, improving the communication quality and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the determining, by the first preset type, a first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupancy time according to the expected occupancy time includes:

step 302, obtaining the duration grade of the expected occupied time.

And step 304, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the time length grade.

The duration grade of the expected occupied time can be divided in advance, and the division can be performed according to the communication requirements of the delay sensitive type and the throughput sensitive type. The number of the duration grades and the duration corresponding to the duration grades can be set and adjusted according to actual requirements.

For example, when the communication scenario type is a delay sensitive type, the requirement for delay is high, and more time duration levels may be preset, so that the first communication protection policy determined according to the time duration level of the expected occupied time more accurately matches the delay requirement, and the delay influence of the channel occupied by the first communication module on the communication between the second communication module and the first communication device is reduced as much as possible, for example, a lower delay is exchanged for a proper packet loss protection policy.

For example, when the communication scenario type is a throughput-sensitive type, the requirement on throughput is high, the influence of expected occupation time on throughput is small, and a small duration level may be preset, so that the first communication protection policy determined according to the duration level of the expected occupation time more accurately matches the throughput requirement, and the influence of the channel occupied by the first communication module on the communication success rate of the communication between the second communication module and the first communication device is improved as much as possible, for example, the instantaneous time delay is properly sacrificed to replace the communication success rate.

By acquiring the duration grade of the expected occupation time and determining the first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the duration grade, the first communication protection strategy can be rapidly determined according to the expected occupation time, so that the communication protection efficiency is improved to improve the communication quality of a coexisting scene, and the user experience is improved.

In some embodiments, when the communication scenario type is a latency sensitive type (step 401), as shown in fig. 4, determining a first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupation time according to the duration class includes:

step 402, when the duration level is the first duration level, the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module prohibits sending protection information to the first communication device in the current period, so that the first communication device defaults that the second communication module is currently in a communication interaction working state.

Step 404, when the duration level is the second duration level, the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends the first protection information to the first communication device, so as to indicate that the first communication device suspends sending the communication data to the second communication module in the first preset time period and waits for communication with the second communication module.

The duration corresponding to the first duration level is less than the duration corresponding to the second duration level, for example, the duration corresponding to the first duration level is [0, T0], the duration corresponding to the second duration level is [ T0, T1], and T1> T0. T1 and T0 may be variables.

When the duration level is the first duration level, it is described that the currently expected occupied time is short, such as 2ms (for example only, without limitation), and the influence on the delay sensitive type scene is small, and faster communication between the second communication module and the first communication device can be obtained through appropriate packet loss. Therefore, it may be determined that the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module prohibits sending protection information to the first communication device in the current period, so that the first communication device defaults that the second communication module is currently in the working state of communication interaction. Therefore, the first communication device still sends related communication data to the second communication module, and although a small part of packet loss is caused because the first communication module cannot receive and send data within a short time of occupying a channel, the first communication device can ensure faster communication with the first communication device, the influence of time delay is reduced, and the communication quality of a coexisting scene is improved.

When the duration level is the second duration level, it is described that the currently expected occupied time is longer, for example, 3ms (by way of example only, without limitation), and the influence on the delay sensitive type scene is higher, and if packet loss is aggravated according to the policy of the first duration level, the channel resource can be properly preempted to replace the second communication module with the first communication device for faster communication. Accordingly, it may be determined that the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module transmits the first protection information to the first communication device to instruct the first communication device to suspend transmission of the communication data to the second communication module for the first preset time period and wait for communication with the second communication module. Therefore, the first communication device stops sending the related communication data to the second communication module within the short first preset time, and although the first preset time cannot receive and send the data, no packet loss is caused, and faster communication with the first communication device can be obtained due to short time, so that the influence of time delay is reduced, and the communication quality of the coexisting scene is improved.

In some embodiments, when the communication scenario type is a latency sensitive type, as shown in fig. 4, determining the first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupation time according to the duration class further includes:

step 406, when the duration level is the third duration level, the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device, so as to indicate the first communication device to cache the communication data before the end of the dormant state of the second communication module.

And the duration corresponding to the third duration grade is longer than the duration corresponding to the second duration grade. For example, the duration corresponding to the first duration level is [0, T0], the duration corresponding to the second duration level is [ T0, T1], the duration corresponding to the third duration level is [ T1, T2], and T2> T1> T0, T2, T1, and T0 may all be variables.

When the duration level is the third duration level, it is described that the currently expected occupied time is longer, for example, more than 15ms (by way of example, but not limited), and the influence on a delay sensitive type scene is higher, if a policy of the second duration level is adopted, the time for preempting resources is limited, and may be only a few milliseconds, at this time, it is more important to maintain stable communication connection between the second communication module and the first communication device, and therefore, it is determined that the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends the second protection information to the first communication device, so as to indicate that the first communication device suspends sending the communication data to the second communication module in the second preset time period, and buffers the communication data before the sleep state of the second communication module is ended, until the second communication module wakes up and then sends the communication data. Therefore, the first communication device can determine that the second communication module is still online and only enters the dormant state, and within a longer second preset time, the first communication device stops sending the related communication data to the second communication module and caches the related communication data.

In some embodiments, when the communication scenario type is a throughput sensitive type (step 501), as shown in fig. 5, determining a first communication protection policy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the duration class includes:

step 502, when the duration level is the fourth duration level, the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends the first protection information to the communication station, so as to instruct the first communication device to suspend sending communication data to the second communication module in the first preset time period and wait for communication with the second communication module.

Step 504, when the duration level is the fifth duration level, the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends the second protection information to the first communication device, so as to indicate the first communication device to cache the communication data before the end of the dormant state of the second communication module.

And the duration corresponding to the fifth duration grade is longer than the duration corresponding to the fourth duration grade. For example, the time duration corresponding to the fourth time duration level is [0, T0], the time duration corresponding to the fifth time duration level is [ T0, T1], T1> T0, T1, and T0 may all be variables.

When the duration level is the fourth duration level, it is described that the currently expected occupied time is short, such as 2ms (by way of example only, but not by way of limitation), since the communication success rate in the throughput sensitive type scenario is critical, if the policy of the first duration level is adopted, packet loss will be aggravated, the communication rate will be greatly affected, communication can be temporarily suspended by appropriately preempting channel resources, and packet loss is avoided. Accordingly, it may be determined that the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module transmits the first protection information to the first communication device to instruct the first communication device to suspend transmission of communication data to the second communication module for a first preset time period and wait for communication with the second communication module. Therefore, the first communication device stops sending the related communication data to the second communication module within the short first preset time, and although the first preset time cannot receive and send the data, no packet loss is caused, and faster communication with the first communication device can be obtained due to short time, so that the influence of time delay is reduced, and the communication quality of the coexisting scene is improved.

When the duration level is the fifth duration level, it is described that the currently expected occupied time is longer, for example, the currently expected occupied time is longer than 10ms (by way of example only, but not limited), the influence on the time delay of a throughput sensitive type scene is aggravated, if the time for resource preemption is limited according to the policy of the fourth duration level, and may be only several milliseconds, at this time, it is more important to maintain stable communication connection between the second communication module and the first communication device, and therefore, it is determined that the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends the second protection information to the first communication device, so as to instruct the first communication device to suspend sending the communication data to the second communication module in the second preset time period, and buffer the communication data before the sleep state of the second communication module is ended, until the second communication module wakes up, and then sends the communication data. Therefore, the first communication device can determine that the second communication module is still online and only enters the dormant state, and within a longer second preset time, the first communication device stops sending the related communication data to the second communication module and caches the related communication data.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the communication method further comprises:

and step 208, when the communication scene type is a second preset type, determining a second communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time, wherein the second communication protection strategy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device to indicate the first communication device to cache the communication data before the dormancy state of the second communication module is finished.

The communication scene type can be divided according to the requirements for time delay, throughput and the like. Accordingly, the second preset type may refer to a scenario type with a higher requirement on latency and a higher requirement on throughput, and may be, for example: an idle scene type, such as a standby state of the electronic device.

When the communication scene type is the idle scene type, the expected occupied time hardly affects the communication between the second communication module and the first communication device, and the second communication module enters the sleep state, so that it can be determined that the second communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends the second protection information to the first communication device to indicate the first communication device to cache the communication data before the sleep state of the second communication module is finished. Therefore, the first communication device can determine that the second communication module is still online and only enters the dormant state, and within a longer second preset time, the first communication device stops sending the related communication data to the second communication module and caches the related communication data.

In the above embodiment, the first protection information and the second protection information may both be identified by the first communication device, so that the first communication device identifies the current state of the second communication module by not receiving the related protection information, receiving the first protection information, and receiving the second protection information, and feeds back a corresponding action according to an indication of the second communication module; alternatively, the sending actions of prohibiting sending the protection information, sending the first protection information and sending the second protection information may be identified by the first communication device, so that the first communication device identifies the current state of the second communication module through the sending action of the second communication module and feeds back the corresponding action according to the indication of the second communication module.

In the above embodiment, as shown in fig. 7 (where t0-t2 is a coexistence period), the first protection information or the second protection information is transmitted at the starting time t0 of the first communication module occupying the channel, that is, the transmission time of the protection information is the same as the starting time of the first communication module occupying the channel, so that the communication connection between the second communication module and the first communication device can be protected from the same time when the first communication module starts occupying the channel, the connection between the second communication module and the first communication device is prevented from being interrupted, and the coexistence performance of the first communication module and the second communication module is improved.

Optionally, the first protection information in the above embodiment may be a first protection frame carrying first related information, where the first related information includes expected occupation time and a first preset time period; and/or the second protection information is a second protection frame carrying second related information, and the second related information comprises expected occupation time; and/or the second communication module prohibits sending the protection information to the first communication device in the current period, which may be understood as prohibiting the second communication module from sending the first protection frame and the second protection frame to the first communication device in the current period.

Further optionally, when the second communication module is a WIFI module, the first protection frame may be a Clear To Send (CTS) frame, the CTS frame is used to preempt resources of the current channel, and the first communication device, for example, an AP, does not lower the priority of the current electronic device where the second communication module or the second communication module is located, but the CTS frame takes a short time, typically several milliseconds.

Further optionally, when the second communication module is a WIFI module, the second protection frame may be a sleep protection (Power Save) frame, and specifically may be a Null data frame (Null data or Qos Null data) carrying a sleep flag, where the Power Save frame enables the AP to reduce the priority of the current second communication module or the electronic device where the second communication module is located, so as to reduce resource occupation of the AP.

The WIFI module sends a CTS frame to the AP to ensure that the function of the WIFI module is available, and the CTS frame can dominate the channel for a period of time so that the AP does not send data to the WIFI module within a first preset time period. The WIFI module sends a Power Save frame to the AP so that the AP recognizes that online association of the WIFI module is only in a dormant state, and data are temporarily cached until the WIFI module finishes the dormant state.

In some embodiments, the first communication module is configured to perform communication interaction with a second communication device; the first communication module can dynamically adjust communication behaviors according to communication quality when the first communication module is in communication interaction with the second communication device, and expected occupied time of a time domain is reduced. For example, the first communication module may increase carrier efficiency and widen a bandwidth of communication by dynamically adjusting a communication rate higher, so as to reduce an expected occupation time. For example, taking dynamic boosting of the communication rate as an example, as shown in fig. 8, the communication method may further include:

step 602, communication quality information of communication interaction between the first communication module and the second communication device is obtained.

Step 604, when the communication quality information meets the preset condition, adjusting the current periodic communication rate of the first communication module to a target rate, so as to reduce the expected occupation time of the first communication module.

The communication quality information may be related information related to signals received and transmitted by the receivers of both parties when the first communication module and the second communication device are in communication interaction, for example, taking the first communication module as a bluetooth module as an example, the communication quality information may include the number of frequency hopping channels available to both parties when the first communication module and the second communication device are in communication interaction, the success rate of both parties communicating, the signal-to-noise ratio and the signal reception strength of communication signals received by both parties, and the rate and the bandwidth supported by both parties. It is understood that other information may be included, not to mention one example.

The communication quality information meeting the preset condition may mean that the communication quality meets the related requirements of communication interaction, and the communication quality of both parties is not affected. Optionally, when the communication quality information includes a success rate of two-party communication when the first communication module performs communication interaction with the second communication device, a signal-to-noise ratio of communication signals received by the two parties, and a signal reception strength, the preset conditions may include at least two conditions that the signal reception strength is greater than a preset strength, the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a first preset threshold, and the success rate is greater than a second preset threshold. The preset threshold may be set and adjusted according to the quality requirement of actual communication, and is not particularly limited, for example, the current signal strength may be greater than-50 dBm, the communication success rate is greater than 98%, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the current receiving demodulation of both parties is greater than 3 dB.

The selection priority of the relevant parameter condition may be selected according to an actual application environment of the first communication module, for example, when the first communication module is applied to a mobile phone device, two conditions, which are that a signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a first preset threshold and a success rate is greater than a second preset threshold, may be selected as preset conditions. The specific condition number of the preset condition can be adjusted according to the actually acquired relevant parameters of the communication quality information, and more conditions can be set as the acquired relevant quality parameters are more.

When the communication quality information meets the preset condition, the communication quality between the first communication module and the second communication device is good, so that the communication speed can be improved. The communication rate is adjusted to the target rate, so that the expected occupied time of the time domain of the first communication module can be reduced as much as possible, and more time is made for the communication of the second communication module. For example, the communication rate of the current period is increased from 1Mbps to 2Mbps, and even if the data transmitted by the same upper layer is loaded, the time occupied by the time domain can be reduced proportionally.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9, adjusting the communication rate of the first communication module in the current cycle to the target rate includes:

step 702, obtaining the highest speed allowed by the communication environment of the current first communication module and the second communication device.

Step 704, the highest rate is used as the target rate to perform the communication of the current period.

When the communication quality information meets the preset condition, the communication quality between the first communication module and the second communication device is good, the highest rate allowed by the communication environment for the communication between the first communication module and the second communication device can be obtained on the basis that the communication quality information meets the preset condition, and the highest rate is used as the target rate for the communication in the current period, so that the expected occupied time is reduced to the maximum extent. Optionally, the communication rate may be gradually increased according to a preset rate step by a preset rate step, until the communication rate is increased to the highest rate allowed by the current communication environment, and then the highest rate is used as the target rate to perform communication in the current period. The preset speed gear can be set according to actual requirements, for example, each speed gear is 1Mbps, so that the communication speed can be gradually increased by 1Mbps according to the preset speed gear until the highest speed allowed by the current communication environment is increased. The speed table supported by both communication parties can be preset, and the speed table comprises speed gears and corresponding speed values, so that the speed can be adjusted step by step according to the speed table.

In the above-described embodiment, the expected occupancy time of the first communication module needs to be acquired before the first communication protection policy is determined. As shown in fig. 10, obtaining the expected occupying time of the first communication module occupying the channel in the current period includes:

step 802, acquiring a total amount of data to be transmitted in a current period of the first communication module and a communication rate of the current period.

And step 804, acquiring the expected occupation time according to the total data amount and the communication rate.

The total amount of data to be transmitted in the current period refers to an actual amount of data to be transmitted when the first communication module performs communication currently, and includes an amount of data that has not been transmitted in the previous period and an amount of data delivered by the application layer in the current period, which may be understood as a sum of the amount of data that has not been transmitted in the previous period and the amount of data delivered by the application layer in the current period.

Wherein the communication rate of the current period reflects the ability of the current period to transmit data. The communication rate of the current cycle may be obtained through the relevant steps of the above embodiments, or may be obtained according to the effective data transmission capability of each cycle in the last N cycles.

It will be appreciated that the expected occupancy time is the ratio of the total amount of data to the communication rate. Therefore, the expected occupation time of the channel occupied by the first communication in the current period can be obtained according to the total data amount and the communication rate.

In some embodiments, the communication method may further include:

step 902, setting an occupation time threshold, and if the obtained expected occupation time is greater than the preset occupation time threshold, stopping occupation of the first communication module on the channel, so as to avoid cutoff of the second communication module caused by too long occupation time of the first communication module. The occupation time threshold can be set and adjusted according to actual communication requirements, and the occupation time threshold can be changed in different communication scenes. For example, in a delay sensitive type scenario or throughput sensitive type scenario where the delay requirement is high, the set occupation time threshold may be small, for example, in a game scenario, and the occupation time threshold may be 15 ms; in idle scenarios where the delay and throughput requirements are not high, the set occupation time threshold may be large, for example, the occupation time threshold may be 30 ms. Optionally, a plurality of occupation time thresholds are set to match different scene types, and are built in the electronic device or the first communication module or the second communication module of the application, or may be directly adjusted by the electronic device or the first communication module, the second communication module, or the like according to the communication scene.

It should be understood that, although the steps in the flowcharts of the above embodiments are shown in order as indicated by the arrows, the steps are not necessarily performed in order as indicated by the arrows. The steps are not performed in the exact order shown and described, and may be performed in other orders, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowcharts of the above embodiments may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, which are not necessarily performed at the same time, but may be performed at different times, and the order of performing the sub-steps or the stages is not necessarily sequential, but may be performed alternately or alternatingly with other steps or at least a part of the sub-steps or the stages of other steps.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device for implementing the above-mentioned communication method. The implementation scheme for solving the problem provided by the device is similar to the implementation scheme described in the above method, so specific limitations in one or more embodiments of the communication device provided below may refer to the limitations on the communication method in the foregoing, and details are not described herein again.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 11, there is provided a communication apparatus including: the device comprises an occupied time acquisition module, a scene type acquisition module and a first communication protection module.

An occupation time acquiring module 210, configured to acquire an expected occupation time of the first communication module occupying the channel in the current period.

A scene type obtaining module 220, configured to obtain a communication scene type of the second communication module in the coexistence mode, where the first communication module and the second communication module are respectively configured to support wireless communications of different systems.

The first communication protection module 230 is configured to determine, according to the expected occupation time, a first communication protection policy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time when the communication scenario type is a first preset type, where the first communication protection policy is used to protect communication between the second communication module and the first communication device.

The communication device provided by the embodiment acquires the expected occupation time of the first communication module occupying the channel in the current period; acquiring a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and the first communication equipment. Therefore, the communication method can effectively reduce the influence of the expected occupied time on the communication between the second communication module and the first device, effectively improve the throughput of the communication between the second communication module and the first device, and reduce the time delay, thereby improving the coexistence performance under the corresponding communication scene type, improving the communication quality and improving the user experience.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 12, the communication device further comprises: and the second communication protection module.

The second communication protection module 240 is configured to determine a second communication protection policy of the second communication module in the expected occupied time when the communication scene type is a second preset type, where the second communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device to indicate that the first communication device caches communication data before the end of the sleep state of the second communication module.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 12, the communication device further comprises:

the communication rate adjusting module 250 is configured to obtain communication quality information of communication interaction between the first communication module and the second communication device, and adjust the communication rate of the first communication module in the current period to a target rate when the communication quality information meets a preset condition, so as to reduce an expected occupied time of the first communication module.

and an occupation stopping module 260, configured to set an occupation time threshold, and stop occupation of the channel by the first communication module if the obtained expected occupation time is greater than the preset occupation time threshold, so as to avoid occurrence of current interruption of the second communication module due to too long occupation time of the first communication module.

Based on the same inventive concept, embodiments of the present application further provide an electronic device, where an implementation scheme for solving the problem provided by the electronic device is similar to the implementation scheme described in the foregoing method, so that specific limitations in one or more of the following electronic device embodiments may refer to limitations in the foregoing communication method, and details are not described herein.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 13, there is provided an electronic device including: a first communication module 110, a second communication module 120, and a processing circuit 150.

The first communication module 110 and the second communication module 120, and the first communication module 110 and the second communication module 120 are respectively used for supporting wireless communication of different systems.

The processing circuit 150 is configured to obtain an expected occupation time of the first communication module 110 occupying the channel in the current period; acquiring a communication scene type of the second communication module 120 in the coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection policy of the second communication module 120 in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, where the first communication protection policy is used to protect communication between the second communication module 120 and the first communication device 130.

In the electronic device provided by this embodiment, the expected occupation time of the channel occupied by the first communication module in the current period is obtained; acquiring a communication scene type of a second communication module in a coexistence mode; when the communication scene type is a first preset type, determining a first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the expected occupation time, wherein the first communication protection strategy is used for protecting communication between the second communication module and the first communication equipment. Therefore, the communication method can effectively reduce the influence of the expected occupied time on the communication between the second communication module and the first device, effectively improve the throughput of the communication between the second communication module and the first device, and reduce the time delay, thereby improving the coexistence performance under the corresponding communication scene type, improving the communication quality and improving the user experience.

Optionally, the processing circuit 150 is further configured to determine, when the communication scene type is a second preset type, a second communication protection policy of the second communication module in an expected occupied time, where the second communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device to indicate that the first communication device caches communication data before the sleep state of the second communication module is ended; the communication quality information of the communication interaction between the first communication module and the second communication equipment is acquired, and when the communication quality information meets a preset condition, the communication rate of the first communication module in the current period is adjusted to a target rate so as to reduce the expected occupation time of the first communication module; and the system is also used for setting an occupation time threshold, and if the acquired expected occupation time is greater than the preset occupation time threshold, the occupation of the first communication module on the channel is stopped, so that the cutoff of the second communication module caused by the overlong occupation time of the first communication module is avoided.

Optionally, the first communication module 110 is a bluetooth module, and the second communication module 120 is a WIFI module. It is understood that in other embodiments, the first communication module 110 may be a WIFI module, and the second communication module 120 may be a bluetooth module.

Optionally, the communication priority of the first communication module 110 is higher than that of the second communication module 120, so that the first communication module 110 can estimate the expected occupation time and pre-occupy the channel for communication according to the expected occupation time.

For example, when the electronic device is a mobile phone, for the mobile phone, the communication priority of the bluetooth module may be higher than that of the WIFI module, so the bluetooth module may estimate the expected occupation time and occupy the channel in advance according to the expected occupation time for communication. When the electronic device is a monitoring device, for the monitoring device, the communication priority of the WIFI module may be higher than that of the bluetooth module, so that the WIFI module may estimate the expected occupation time and occupy the channel in advance according to the expected occupation time for communication.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 14, the processing circuit 150 is provided at the first communication module 110; wherein:

the first communication module 110 is configured to send the first communication protection policy to the second communication module 120, so as to instruct the second communication module 120 to perform communication protection according to the first communication protection policy; or the second communication module 120 is configured to send a policy query instruction to the first communication module 110 to instruct the first communication module 110 to feed back the first communication protection policy, and perform communication protection according to the first communication protection policy.

Optionally, the first communication module 110 is further configured to send the second communication protection policy to the second communication module 120, so as to instruct the second communication module 120 to perform communication protection according to the second communication protection policy; or the second communication module 120 is further configured to send a policy query instruction to the first communication module 110, so as to instruct the first communication module 110 to feed back the second communication protection policy, and perform communication protection according to the second communication protection policy.

When the processing circuit 150 is disposed in the first communication module 110, the first communication module 110 determines the first protection policy and the second protection policy, and the second communication module 120 interacts with the first communication module 110 to obtain the first protection policy and the second protection policy. The second communication module 120 may obtain the first protection policy and the second protection policy by actively sending by the first communication module 110 and passively receiving by the second communication module 120, so as to reduce interaction time and improve communication efficiency; or the first communication module 110 may transmit passively and the second communication module 120 receives actively, so as to improve the accuracy of interaction and improve the reliability of communication.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 14, the first communication module 110 and the second communication module 120 are connected via a communication interface, and perform interaction related to the communication protection policy via the communication interface.

No matter the communication protection policy is determined by the first communication module 110 or the second communication module 120, in order to improve the communication quality, the time delay requirement for communication needs to reach the order of microseconds and nanoseconds (generally, the time delay requirement cannot exceed 10us), and the first communication module 110 and the second communication module 120 are connected through the communication interface to realize communication interaction therebetween, so that the time delay can be reduced as much as possible to meet the time delay requirement for communication. The communication interface may be, for example, an interface such as I2C, SPI, I/O, etc., and is not particularly limited herein.

The division of the modules in the communication apparatus and the electronic device is only for illustration, and in other embodiments, the communication apparatus and the electronic device may be divided into different modules as needed to complete all or part of the functions of the communication apparatus and the electronic device.

The modules in the communication device and the electronic equipment can be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware and a combination thereof. The modules can be embedded in a hardware form or independent from a processor in the computer device, and can also be stored in a memory in the computer device in a software form, so that the processor can call and execute operations corresponding to the modules.

The present application further provides a computer device, including a memory and a processor, where the memory stores a computer program, and the computer program, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to execute the steps of the communication control method according to the above embodiments. Optionally, as shown in fig. 15, the computer device further includes a network interface connected to the processor and the memory through the system bus. The processor of the computer device is used to provide computing and control capabilities. The memory of the computer device includes a non-volatile storage medium and an internal memory. The non-volatile storage medium stores an operating system, a computer program, and a database. The internal memory provides an environment for the operation of an operating system and computer programs in the non-volatile storage medium. The network interface of the computer device is used for communicating with an external terminal through a network connection. The computer program is executed by a processor to implement a communication control method.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the architecture shown in fig. 15 is merely a block diagram of some of the structures associated with the disclosed aspects and is not intended to limit the computing devices to which the disclosed aspects apply, as particular computing devices may include more or less components than those shown, or may combine certain components, or have a different arrangement of components.

The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the selection method according to the above embodiment and/or the steps of the communication control method according to the above embodiment.

The present application also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the communication method as described in the above embodiments.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the processes of the methods of the embodiments described above can be implemented by hardware instructions of a computer program, which can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, can include the processes of the embodiments of the methods described above. Any reference to memory, database, or other medium used in the embodiments provided herein may include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. The nonvolatile Memory may include Read-Only Memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash Memory, optical Memory, high-density embedded nonvolatile Memory, resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM), Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM), Phase Change Memory (PCM), graphene Memory, and the like. Volatile Memory can include Random Access Memory (RAM), external cache Memory, and the like. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM can take many forms, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) or Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), among others. The databases referred to in various embodiments provided herein may include at least one of relational and non-relational databases. The non-relational database may include, but is not limited to, a block chain based distributed database, and the like. The processors referred to in the embodiments provided herein may be general purpose processors, central processing units, graphics processors, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, quantum computing based data processing logic devices, etc., without limitation.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described, but should be considered as the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these are all within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first preset type comprises a delay sensitive type and/or a throughput sensitive type, and wherein the determining the first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupancy time according to the expected occupancy time comprises:

acquiring the duration grade of the expected occupied time;

and determining the first communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time according to the duration grade.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein when the communication scenario type is a latency sensitive type, the determining the first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupation time according to the duration class comprises:

when the duration level is a first duration level, the first communication protection strategy is that the second communication module forbids to send protection information to the first communication device in the current period, so that the first communication device defaults that the second communication module is in a working state of communication interaction currently;

when the duration level is a second duration level, the first communication protection strategy is that the second communication module sends first protection information to the first communication device so as to indicate that the first communication device suspends sending communication data to the second communication module in a first preset time period and waits for communication with the second communication module;

and the duration corresponding to the first duration grade is less than the duration corresponding to the second duration grade.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein when the communication scenario type is a latency sensitive type, the determining the first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupation time according to the duration class further comprises:

when the duration level is a third duration level, the first communication protection strategy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device so as to indicate the first communication device to cache communication data before the dormancy state of the second communication module is finished;

and the duration corresponding to the third duration grade is longer than the duration corresponding to the second duration grade.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein when the communication scenario type is a throughput sensitive type, the determining the first communication protection policy of the second communication module within the expected occupancy time according to the duration class comprises:

when the duration level is a fourth duration level, the first communication protection strategy is that the second communication module sends first protection information to the communication site so as to indicate that the first communication device suspends sending communication data to the second communication module in a first preset time period and waits for communication with the second communication module;

when the duration level is a fifth duration level, the first communication protection policy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device to indicate the first communication device to cache communication data before the dormancy state of the second communication module is finished;

and the duration corresponding to the fifth duration level is greater than the duration corresponding to the fourth duration level.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first protection information is a first protection frame carrying first related information, and the first related information includes the expected occupancy time and the first preset time period; and/or the second protection information is a second protection frame carrying second related information, and the second related information includes the expected occupation time.

7. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the first protection information or the second protection information is transmitted at a starting time of an occupied channel of the first communication module.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and when the communication scene type is a second preset type, determining a second communication protection strategy of the second communication module in the expected occupation time, wherein the second communication protection strategy is that the second communication module sends second protection information to the first communication device so as to indicate the first communication device to cache communication data before the dormancy state of the second communication module is finished.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication module is configured to perform communication interaction with a second communication device; the method further comprises the following steps:

acquiring communication quality information of communication interaction between the first communication module and the second communication device;

when the communication quality information meets a preset condition, adjusting the current periodic communication rate of the first communication module to a target rate so as to reduce the expected occupation time of the first communication module.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the communication quality information includes a success rate of two-party communication when the first communication module and the second communication device perform communication interaction, a signal-to-noise ratio of communication signals received by two parties, and a signal reception strength, and the preset conditions include at least two of a condition that the signal reception strength is greater than a preset strength, the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than a first preset threshold, and the success rate is greater than a second preset threshold.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the adjusting the current periodic communication rate of the first communication module to the target rate comprises:

acquiring the highest speed allowed by the communication environment for the first communication module to communicate with the second communication equipment;

and performing communication in the current period by taking the highest rate as the target rate.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9-11, wherein the obtaining the expected occupation time of the channel occupied by the first communication module in the current period comprises:

acquiring the total amount of data to be transmitted in the current period of the first communication module and the communication rate of the current period;

and acquiring the expected occupation time according to the total data amount and the communication rate.

13. A communications apparatus, comprising:

14. An electronic device, comprising:

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the processing circuit is disposed in the first communication module; wherein:

the first communication module is configured to send the first communication protection policy to the second communication module to instruct the second communication module to perform communication protection according to the first communication protection policy; or

The second communication module is configured to send a policy query instruction to the first communication module to instruct the first communication module to feed back the first communication protection policy, and perform communication protection according to the first communication protection policy.

16. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein a communication priority of the first communication module is higher than a communication priority of the second communication module.

17. The electronic device of any one of claims 14-16, wherein the first communication module is a bluetooth module and the second communication module is a WIFI module.

18. A computer device comprising a memory and a processor, the memory storing a computer program, characterized in that the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the steps of the method of any of claims 1 to 12.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.

20. A computer program product comprising a computer program, characterized in that the computer program realizes the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 12 when executed by a processor.