CN114679795A

CN114679795A - Communication method, device and system in wireless local area network

Info

Publication number: CN114679795A
Application number: CN202011552723.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 丁报昆; 张帅帅; 季晨荷
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-24
Filing date: 2020-12-24
Publication date: 2022-06-28

Abstract

A communication method, device and system in WLAN are disclosed, belonging to the wireless communication technology field. The access point device actively transmits the first frame. The first frame includes first silence time information and a first traffic type identifier. The first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with the access point device can only transmit frames belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier during the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. The access point equipment can provide a priority window of uplink access for the non-access point equipment with the service of the service type indicated by the first service type identification, thereby reducing the access time delay and improving the time delay of the service type.

Description

Communication method, device and system in wireless local area network

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, apparatus, and system in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

Background

Delay is an important criterion for evaluating the quality of service transmission. How to improve the delay of the low-delay service is an important research direction in the WLAN field at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, a device and a system in a WLAN, which can improve the time delay of low-time-delay service.

In a first aspect, a method of communication in a WLAN is provided. The method comprises the steps that an access point device actively sends a first frame, wherein the first frame comprises first silence time information and a first service type identifier, and the first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send frames belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

In the application, the silent period and the service type are actively designated by the access point device, so that only the non-access point device having the service of the service type can compete for the channel to send the service of the service type in the silent period, that is, the access point device can provide a priority window of uplink access for the non-access point device having the service of the service type, thereby reducing the access delay and improving the delay of the service type.

Optionally, the access point device actively broadcasts and transmits the first frame.

Optionally, the first frame further includes a non-access point device identifier, and the first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can send a frame belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. If the first frame is broadcast transmitted, the first frame also indicates that the device that received the first frame but is not indicated by the non-access point device identification cannot transmit any frames during the silence period.

The access point device selects part or all of the non-access point devices from the non-access point devices associated with the access point device, and provides a priority window for uplink access for the non-access point devices, so that the flexibility of device access can be improved.

Optionally, the first frame includes an information element, the first quiet time information and the first traffic type identifier are in the information element, and the information element further includes a type field indicating that the information element is an unsolicited quiet time period information element.

Optionally, the first frame includes an information element, and the first silence time information and the first service type are identified in the information element, where there is no token field in the information element to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame; or, the information element further comprises a token field, and the value of the token field is a target value to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame.

Optionally, the access point device is an access point multilink device, and/or the non-access point device is a non-access point multilink device.

Optionally, the first frame further includes a link identifier, and the link identifier indicates that the first frame is valid on the link corresponding to the link identifier. The link identifier indicates that the first frame takes effect on the link corresponding to the link identifier, and indicates that the non-access point device receiving the first frame can only send the frame belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier on the link corresponding to the link identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

Optionally, the first service type identifier is a flow identifier, a service identifier or a priority identifier.

Optionally, the access point device receives a second frame from a non-access point device associated with the access point device. The second frame includes second silence time information and a second traffic type identifier, and the second frame is used for requesting to establish a silence time period session for a traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier within a silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

In the present application, the mechanism for the access point device to actively specify the silence period and the service type is different from and independent from the mechanism for the non-access point device to request to specify the silence period and the service type.

Optionally, the second frame further comprises a first indication indicating a type of the second frame.

Optionally, the second frame further includes a link identifier, and the second frame is used to request that, in the silence period indicated by the second silence time information, a silence time period session for the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is established on the link corresponding to the link identifier.

Optionally, the access point device sends a third frame in response to the second frame, where the third frame is used to indicate whether the quiet time period session establishment for the traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier is successful.

Optionally, the third frame further comprises a second indication indicating a type of the third frame.

Optionally, the third frame further includes a link identifier, and the third frame is used to indicate whether the establishment of the quiet time period session for the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is successful on the link corresponding to the link identifier.

In a second aspect, a method of communication in a WLAN is provided. The non-access point device receives a first frame from an access point device associated with the non-access point device, wherein the first frame comprises first silence time information and a first service type identifier, and the first frame indicates that the non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send frames belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information. After the non-access point device determines that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device, the non-access point device executes operation according to the service type of the frame to be transmitted and the indication of the first frame.

Optionally, the implementation process of the operation executed by the non-access point device according to the service type of the frame to be sent and the indication of the first frame includes: when the non-access point device has a frame to be transmitted belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device attempts to transmit the frame to be transmitted in a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) manner in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. When the non-access point device does not have a frame to be sent belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device keeps silent in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

Optionally, the first frame further includes a non-access point device identifier, and the first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can send a frame belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

Optionally, the first frame includes an information element, and the first silence time information and the first traffic type identifier are identified in the information element. The non-access point device determines that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device in response to the information element including a type field of the quiet-time period information element indicating that the information element is actively transmitted.

Optionally, the first frame further includes a link identifier, and the link identifier indicates that the first frame is valid on the link corresponding to the link identifier.

Optionally, the non-access point device sends a second frame to the access point device, where the second frame includes second silence time information and a second traffic type identifier, and the second frame is used to request to establish a silence time period session for a traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier in a silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

Optionally, the non-access point device receives a third frame from the access point device in response to the second frame, where the third frame is used to indicate whether the silent time period session establishment for the traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier is successful.

In a third aspect, an access point device in a WLAN is provided. The access point device comprises a plurality of functional modules, which interact to implement the method in the first aspect and its embodiments. The functional modules can be implemented based on software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware, and the functional modules can be combined or divided arbitrarily based on specific implementation.

In a fourth aspect, a non-access point device in a WLAN is provided. The non-access point device comprises a plurality of functional modules, which interact to implement the method in the second aspect and its embodiments. The functional modules can be implemented based on software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware, and the functional modules can be combined or divided arbitrarily based on specific implementation.

In a fifth aspect, an access point device in a WLAN is provided, including: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor is configured to invoke a computer program, and implement the method in the first aspect and the embodiments thereof in cooperation with the transceiver.

In a sixth aspect, a non-access point device in a WLAN is provided, comprising: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor is configured to invoke a computer program, and implement the method in the second aspect and the embodiments thereof in cooperation with the transceiver.

In a seventh aspect, a communication system in a WLAN is provided, including: an access point device as claimed in the third or fifth aspect and a non-access point device as claimed in the fourth or sixth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer device, perform the method of the first aspect and its embodiments above or the method of the second aspect and its embodiments above.

A ninth aspect provides a chip comprising programmable logic and/or program instructions that, when run, implement the method of the first aspect and its embodiments or the method of the second aspect and its embodiments.

Drawings

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

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an association structure of a non-access point multi-link device and an access point multi-link device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of an association structure of another non-access point multi-link device and an access point multi-link device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an association structure of a non-access point multi-link device and an access point multi-link device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a first frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a first frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a first frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a second frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a second frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a third frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a third frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a fourth frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a fourth frame according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point device in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 17 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point device in another WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-access point device in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-access point device in another WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 20 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-access point device in another WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 21 is a block diagram of an access point device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 22 is a block diagram of a non-access point device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

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

The embodiment of the application is applied to a WLAN (wireless local area network) which comprises an Access Point (AP) device and one or more non-AP (non-AP) devices associated with the AP device. Optionally, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a WLAN provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 1, the WLAN includes an access point device 101 and non-access point devices 102A-102C (collectively referred to as non-access point devices 102). Non-access point device 102 associates with access point device 101. The number and types of devices shown in fig. 1 are merely exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the WLAN embodiments of the present application.

Optionally, the access point device 101 is an access point multi-link device (AP multi-link device), and/or the non-access point device 102 is a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP multi-link device).

A multilink device includes one or more Affiliated Stations (STAs), which are logical stations. The affiliated stations may be APs or non-AP STAs. In the embodiment of the present application, a multilink device whose affiliated station is an AP is referred to as an access point multilink device, and a multilink device whose affiliated station is a non-AP STA is referred to as a non-access point multilink device. And multiple stations belonging to the same multilink equipment work independently, for example, one part of the stations work, and the other part of the stations are dormant.

The multi-link device may implement wireless communication according to an 802.11 series protocol, for example, according to an Extra High Throughput (EHT), or according to an 802.11be protocol draft, or compatibly supporting the EHT and the 802.11be protocol draft, so as to implement communication with other devices, which may or may not be multi-link devices.

One or more links may be established between the non-access point multilink device and the access point multilink device, each link connecting one non-AP STA in the non-access point multilink device and one AP in the access point multilink device. The non-AP STA and the AP at two ends of one link have an association relationship. The non-access point multi-link device is associated with the access point multi-link device, namely at least one non-AP STA in the non-access point multi-link device is associated with at least one AP in the access point multi-link device, namely the non-access point multi-link device and the access point multi-link device have at least one link therebetween.

Optionally, fig. 2 and fig. 3 respectively show an association structure diagram of a non-access point multi-link device and an access point multi-link device. Referring to fig. 2 and 3, there are two links, link 1 and link 2, between the access point multi-link device and the non-access point multi-link device. Fig. 2 and 3 mainly illustrate Physical layer (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC) layer portions in an Access point multilink device and a non-Access point multilink device.

As shown in fig. 2, the AP multi-link device includes a plurality of APs (including AP1 and AP2) that are independent of each other at a low mac (low mac) layer and a PHY layer, and are independent of each other at a high mac (high mac) layer; the non-access point multilink device includes a plurality of non-AP STAs (including a non-AP STA1 and a non-AP STA2) independent of each other at a lower MAC layer and a PHY layer, and also independent of each other at an upper MAC layer.

As shown in fig. 3, a plurality of APs (including AP1 and AP2) included in the access point multilink device are independent of each other at the lower MAC layer and the PHY layer, and share the upper MAC layer. A plurality of non-AP STAs (including the non-AP STA1 and the non-AP STA2) included in the non-access point multilink device are independent of each other at the lower MAC layer and the PHY layer, sharing the higher MAC layer.

Optionally, instead of the structure that the access point multilink device uses a high MAC layer in common, the access point multilink device may also use a structure that high MAC layers are mutually independent; or, the access point multilink device may adopt a structure shared by high MAC layers, and the non-access point multilink device may adopt a structure in which high MAC layers are independent of each other. Wherein, the high MAC layer or the low MAC layer can be implemented by one processor in the chip system of the multi-link device, or can be implemented by different processors in the chip system of the multi-link device respectively.

Optionally, the multi-link device in this embodiment may be a single-antenna device, or may be a multi-antenna device. For example, it may be a device with more than two antennas. In the embodiment of the present application, the number of antennas included in the multi-link device is not limited, and fig. 4 illustrates an example in which the access point multi-link device is a multi-antenna and the non-access point multi-link device is a single antenna.

The operating frequency band of the multi-link device may include, but is not limited to: sub 1 gigahertz (GHz), 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz and 60 GHz.

For example, in a WLAN as shown in fig. 1, access point device 101 and non-access point device 102A are multi-link devices, and non-access point device 102B and non-access point device 102C are single-link devices. The access point device 101 includes AP1 and AP2, with AP1 operating in the 2.4GHz band and AP2 operating in the 5GHz band. The non-access point device 102A includes a non-AP STA1 and a non-AP STA2, the non-AP STA1 operating in the 2.4GHz band, and the non-AP STA2 operating in the 5GHz band. Non-access point device 102B includes non-AP-STA3, and non-AP STA3 operates in the 2.4GHz band. Non-access point device 102C includes non-AP-STA4, and non-AP STA4 operates in the 5GHz band. Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a communication scenario in the WLAN. As shown in fig. 5, non-access point device 102A communicates with access point device 101 using link 1 and link 2. Non-access point device 102B communicates with access point device 101 using link 1. Non-access point device 102C communicates with access point device 101 using link 2. Wherein, the link 1 corresponds to the 2.4GHz frequency band, and the link 2 corresponds to the 5GHz frequency band. The link in the embodiment of the present application may be widely understood as a link on one operating frequency band.

The non-access point device 102 in the embodiment of the present application has a wireless transceiving function, can support 802.11 series protocols, and can communicate with an access point device or other non-access point devices. Non-access point device 102 may be any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and thus a WLAN. For example, the non-access point device 102 may be a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or a mobile phone, which may be networked, or a node of the internet of things in the internet of things, or a terminal such as a vehicle-mounted communication device in the internet of vehicles. Non-access point device 102 may also be a chip and processing system in these terminals described above.

The access point device 101 in this embodiment of the present application may support 802.11 series protocols for providing an access service to the STA. For example, the access point device 101 may be a communication device such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, etc., or the access point device 101 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc., or the access point device 101 may also be a chip and a processing system in these various forms of devices.

Based on the requirement of the current WLAN field for improving the delay of the low-delay service, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method in a WLAN, where an access point device actively sends a first frame, where the first frame includes first silence time information and a first service type identifier, and the first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send a frame belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information. The access point device actively designates the silent period and the service type, so that only the non-access point device with the service of the service type can compete for the channel to send the service of the service type in the silent period, that is, the access point device can provide a priority window of uplink access for the non-access point device with the service of the service type, thereby reducing the access delay and improving the delay of the service type.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application. The method may be applied to a WLAN as shown in any one of fig. 1 to 5, as shown in fig. 6, and includes:

step 601, the access point device actively sends a first frame.

The first frame includes first silence time information and a first traffic type identifier. The first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with the access point device can only transmit frames belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

The mechanism for actively sending the first frame may be a newly defined mechanism, or the WLAN mechanism may be extended to actively specify the silence period and the traffic type. For example, a QTP element is used in a Quiet Time Period (QTP) mechanism to specify a quiet period. In the QTP mechanism, only the non-access point device can initiate a QTP request to the access point device, and specify a silence period in the QTP element, and the access point device responds to the QTP request to indicate whether the QTP session requested by the QTP request is successfully established. Therefore, in the QTP mechanism, the access point device can only send a response at the request of the non-access point device, and carries a session token in the response, and indicates which request the response is specifically directed to through the session token. Although the access point device cannot actively send the QTP element in the QTP mechanism, the format of the QTP element may be used to specify the silence period and the traffic type. After the QTP mechanism is expanded, the access point device does not depend on the request of the non-access point device, but actively sends the first frame. In addition, in the QTP mechanism, after a QTP session initiated by a non-access point device is successfully established, only the non-access point device and a peer (peer) associated with the non-access point device can perform frame interaction during a silence period specified by the non-access point device, that is, the QTP mechanism can only serve one non-access point device and a peer associated with the non-access point device. In the application, after the QTP mechanism is extended, the access point device actively transmits the first frame and specifies the silent period and the service type, so that the extended QTP mechanism can be applied to a specified service, that is, the extended QTP mechanism can serve a type of non-access point device having a frame to be transmitted with the specified service type and peers associated with the non-access point device, thereby flexibly improving the delay of the low-delay service. Similarly, other WLAN mechanisms can be extended to proactively specify silence periods and traffic types.

In the embodiment of the application, for example, the extended QTP mechanism is adopted to specify the quiet period and the service type, the first frame includes an information element, and the first quiet period information and the first service type are identified in the information element.

The first quiet time information includes a quiet period offset, a quiet period duration, a quiet period interval, and a number of quiet periods. Wherein the quiet period offset represents an offset between the first quiet period and a Target Beacon Transmission Time (TBTT), which may be a Time Unit (TU) (i.e., 1024 microseconds). The quiet period duration represents the duration of one quiet period and may be in units of 32 microseconds. The quiet period interval indicates an interval duration of start times of two consecutive quiet periods. The silence period offset, the silence period duration, the silence period interval, and the number of silence periods may collectively indicate the number of silence periods and the start time and duration of each silence period.

The first service type identifier includes one or more service type identifiers, that is, the first frame includes one or more service type identifiers. Optionally, the first traffic type identifier is a flow identifier (TID), a traffic identifier or a priority identifier. The service identifier may be an identifier represented by numbers, letters and/or characters, which can uniquely identify a type of service. The priority identification may be an Access Category (AC) or the like.

In the QTP mechanism, a QTP element of a QTP response sent by the access point device in response to a QTP request of the non-access point device includes a session token, the session token is used to indicate which request the response is specifically for, the session token in the QTP response is generally the same as the session token in the QTP request replied by the QTP response, and after receiving the QTP response, the non-access point device matches the session token in the QTP response with the session token stored in the non-access point device to determine whether the QTP response is sent to the non-access point device. In the expanded QTP mechanism of the present application, a token field may not be set in an information element of a first frame to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame; alternatively, a token field may be set in an information element of the first frame, and a value of the token field is set to a target value to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame, which may be understood as: the token field may not be set in the information element of the frame actively transmitted by the access point device or the value of the token field may be set to a target value. The information element of the first frame has no token field to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame, or the information element of the first frame further includes a token field, and the value of the token field is a target value to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame. Wherein the target value is distinguished from a session token value used for matching in the QTP mechanism. For example, the target value may be taken as 0.

Optionally, the access point device actively broadcasts and transmits the first frame. Broadcast transmission of the first frame refers to transmission of the first frame and the first frame is a group addressed frame (group addressed frame), for example, the destination address of the first frame is a multicast address or a broadcast address. If the access point device is an access point multilink device, the access point device may actively broadcast and transmit the first frame on one link, or may also actively broadcast and transmit the first frame on multiple links. For example, in a WLAN as shown in fig. 5, access point device 101 may actively broadcast transmit a first frame on link 1 and/or link 2.

Step 602, the non-access point device executes an operation according to the service type of the frame to be sent and the indication of the first frame.

When the mechanism for the access point device to actively send the first frame is a newly defined mechanism, the non-access point device may directly perform an operation according to the service type of the frame to be sent and the indication of the first frame after receiving the first frame from the access point device. When the mechanism for the access point device to actively send the first frame is obtained by extending the WLAN mechanism, most of the WLAN mechanisms support a "request-response" communication mode, for example, in the QTP mechanism, the access point device may send a QTP response to a QTP request of the non-access point device, so after receiving the frame from the access point device, the non-access point device needs to first determine whether the frame is actively sent by the access point device or a response that the access point device should send the request of the non-access point device, and after determining that the frame is actively sent by the access point device, the non-access point device then performs an operation according to a service type of the frame to be sent and according to an indication of the actively sent frame.

Continuing with the example of specifying silence period and service type using the extended QTP mechanism, the information element of the first frame includes a type field indicating that the information element is an actively-sent QTP element. In response to the information element of the first frame including a type field indicating that the information element is an unsolicited QTP element, the non-access point device determines that the first frame is unsolicited by the access point device. After receiving the frame from the access point device, the non-access point device may determine whether the frame is a frame actively transmitted by the access point device by determining whether an information element of the frame includes a type field indicating that the information element is a QTP element that is actively transmitted. If the information element of the frame includes a type field indicating that the information element is an actively-transmitted QTP element, the non-access point device determines that the frame is actively transmitted by the access point device. In this case, no matter whether there is a token field in the information element or what the value of the token field is, the non-access point device does not need to match the token field to determine whether the frame is sent to itself. If the information element of the frame does not include a type field indicating that the information element is an actively-transmitted QTP element, the non-access point device determines that the frame is not actively transmitted by the access point device, in which case, when there is a token field in the information element, the non-access point device needs to determine whether the frame is transmitted to itself based on the token field.

Optionally, the implementation process of step 602 includes: when the non-access point device has a frame to be sent belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device attempts to send the frame to be sent in a CSMA/CA manner in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. When the non-access point device does not have a frame to be sent belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device keeps silent in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. The attempting, by the non-access point device, to send the frame to be sent belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information in the CSMA/CA manner may include: the non-access point device attempts to transmit a frame to be transmitted belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in a CSMA/CA manner on a link (which may be called a peer-to-peer link) between the non-access point device and its associated peer in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. The peer-to-peer link includes a direct link within a quality of service (QoS) Basic Service Set (BSS), a channel direct-link setup (TDLS) link, and/or an inter-site communication (STA-to-STA communication) link within an independent QoS service set (IBSS).

In the embodiment of the application, after receiving a first frame actively transmitted by an access point device associated with the non-access point device, the non-access point device tries to transmit the frame to be transmitted in a CSMA/CA manner when the frame to be transmitted has a specified traffic type in a specified silence period, and keeps silent when the frame to be transmitted has no specified traffic type in the specified silence period. Only the non-access point equipment with the service of the specified service type can compete for the channel in the specified silent period, so that the service of the service type specified by the access point equipment can be transmitted preferentially, and the time delay of the service type is improved.

Optionally, the first frame further comprises a non-access point device identification. The first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can transmit the frame belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. The non-access point device identification includes an identification of one or more non-access point devices. In an embodiment of the present application, the non-access point device identifier in the first frame generally includes identifiers of a plurality of non-access point devices associated with the access point device. To represent a plurality of non-access point devices, the identity of the non-access point device may be a list including respective identities of the plurality of access point devices, or a bitmap (bitmap) indicating whether the respective access point device is a non-access point device indicated by the first frame. If the identities of the plurality of non-access point devices are represented in a list, the identity of the non-access point device may be an address (e.g., MAC address) of the non-access point device, an Association Identifier (AID) of the non-access point device, or the like. If the identities of the plurality of non-access point devices are represented in a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap identifies a corresponding non-access point device, and the bit having a specified value (e.g., 1) indicates that the corresponding non-access point device is indicated in the first frame. In addition, the non-access point devices may be grouped first, each group including one or more non-access point devices and each group having a group identification. As such, the identity of the non-access point device in the first frame may be a group identity of a group of non-access point devices.

In response to the first frame including the non-access point device identification, the non-access point device parses the first frame after determining that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device. And if the first frame comprises the identifier of the non-access point device, the non-access point device executes operation according to the service type of the frame to be sent and the indication of the first frame. If the first frame does not include the identification of the non-access point device, the non-access point device keeps silent in the silent period indicated by the first silent time information in the first frame.

For example, in a WLAN as shown in fig. 5, access point device 101 actively broadcasts a first frame on link 1 that includes an identification of non-access point device 102A. After the non-access point device 102A receives the first frame through the link 1, because the first frame includes its own identifier, the non-access point device 102A performs an operation according to the service type of the frame to be transmitted and the indication of the first frame. After the non-access point device 102B receives the first frame through link 1, since the first frame does not include its own identifier, the non-access point device 102B keeps silent during the silence period indicated by the first silence time information in the first frame.

Optionally, when the access point device is an access point multilink device, and/or the non-access point device is a non-access point multilink device, the first frame may further include a link identifier, where the link identifier indicates that the first frame is valid on a link corresponding to the link identifier. Wherein, the link identifier indicates that the first frame is effective on the link corresponding to the link identifier, and indicates that the non-access point device receiving the first frame (e.g., the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier in the first frame) can only send frames belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier on the link corresponding to the link identifier during the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

For example, in the WLAN shown in fig. 5, the access point device 101 actively broadcasts and transmits a first frame on link 1, where the first frame includes an identifier of link 2, and after the non-access point device 102A receives the first frame through link 1, when the non-access point device 102A has traffic belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier on link 2 in the silence period indicated by the first silence period information, the non-access point device 102A contends for a channel on link 2 to transmit a frame belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence period information; when the non-access point device 102A does not have traffic belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier on the link 2 during the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device 102A keeps silent on the link 2 during the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. Non-access point device 102A maintains normal communication on link 1. After non-access point device 102B receives the first frame via link 1, non-access point device 102B still maintains normal communication because non-access point device 102B does not use link 2 for communication.

Optionally, the first frame is an action frame. This first frame may be referred to as an EHT QTP active transmit frame. For example, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a first frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the first frame includes a MAC header, a frame body, and a Frame Check Sequence (FCS). The frame body includes a frame category (category) field, an action (action) field, and an information element. The frame type field is used to indicate a frame type of the first frame, for example, to indicate that the first frame is an EHT action frame. The action field is used to indicate which type of EHT action frame the first frame is, for example, an EHT action frame indicating that the first frame is of a QTP type. Referring to fig. 7, the information element includes an element ID (element ID) field, a length (length) field, an element ID extension (element ID extension) field, a control (control) field, a device identification field (optional field), and a quiet time content (quiet time content) field. The non-access point device identification in the first frame may be populated in a device identification field. The dashed boxes in fig. 7 to 15 each represent an optional field.

The quiet time content field includes a quiet period offset (quiet period offset) field, a quiet period duration (quiet period duration) field, a quiet period interval (quiet period interval) field, a repetition count (repetition count) field, and a service specific identifier (service specific identifier) field. The silence period offset field is used to carry a silence period offset, the silence period duration field is used to carry a silence period duration, the silence period interval field is used to carry a silence period interval, and the repetition count field is used to carry the number of silence periods, that is, the silence period offset field, the silence period duration field, the silence period interval field, and the repetition count field are used together to carry the first silence time information. The first traffic type is identified in a specific service identification field.

In a first implementation manner, a type field of the information element for indicating that the information element is the actively-sent QTP element is a control field with a field value set to a specified value. For example, the value of the control field is 6, which indicates that the information element is an actively-sent QTP element.

For example, fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a first frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 8, the quiet period content field includes a token field (optional field), a quiet period offset field, a quiet period duration field, a quiet period interval field, a repetition count field, and a specific service identification field. Wherein the specific service identification field includes a traffic type identification field and a link identification field (optional field). The first service type identification is in the service type identification field, and the link identification is in the link identification field.

In a second implementation, the type field in the information element for indicating that the information element is an actively-sent QTP element is in the quiet-time content field of the information element.

For example, fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in another first frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, the quiet period content field includes a token field (optional field), a quiet period offset field, a quiet period duration field, a quiet period interval field, a repetition count field, and a specific service identification field. Wherein the specific service identification field includes a type (type) field, a traffic type identification field, and a link identification field (optional field). The first service type is identified in the service type identification field, and the link identification is in the link identification field.

When the implementation mode is adopted, the control field in the information element can use the value of the control field in the information element of the QTP response frame in 802.11ax, for example, the value is 2, so that the 802.11ax device can also identify and analyze the first frame, and the silence control on the 802.11ax device is implemented, and therefore, the implementation mode has better compatibility. Or the control field in the information element may also take other values, which is not limited in this embodiment of the application.

The above embodiments mainly describe a communication manner in which the access point device actively specifies the silent period and the traffic type. The WLAN provided in the embodiment of the present application may also be compatible with the QTP mechanism, where a non-access point device initiates a QTP request, and an access point device responds to the QTP request, and the specific implementation process refers to the following steps 603 to 604.

Step 603, the non-access point device sends a second frame to the access point device.

The second frame includes second silence time information and a second traffic type identifier. The second frame is used for requesting to establish the QTP session aiming at the service type indicated by the second service type identification in the silence period indicated by the second silence time information. For specific explanation of the second silence time information and the second service type identifier, reference may be made to the related content of the first silence time information and the first service type identifier, which is not described herein again in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the second frame includes an information element in which the second silence time information and the second traffic type are identified.

Optionally, the second frame further comprises a first indication indicating a type of the second frame. The first indication may be located in an information element.

Optionally, when the non-access point device is a non-access point multilink device, the second frame may further include a link identifier, and the second frame is used to request that, in the silence period indicated by the second silence time information, a QTP session for the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is established on the link corresponding to the link identifier.

For example, in a WLAN as shown in fig. 5, non-access point device 102A transmits a second frame to access point device 101 on link 1 and/or link 2, the second frame including an identification of link 2 indicating that non-access point device 102A requests to establish a QTP session on link 2 for a traffic type indicated by belonging to the second traffic type identification during the silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

Optionally, the second frame is an action frame. This second frame may be referred to as an EHT QTP request frame. The frame structure of the second frame may refer to the frame structure of the first frame. The information element of the second frame includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a control field, and a quiet time content field.

In a first implementation, the first indication indicating the type of the second frame is in a control field of an information element. For example, the value of the control field is 4, which indicates that the second frame is an EHT QTP request frame.

For example, fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a second frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the quiet time content field includes a session token (dialog token) field, a quiet period offset field, a quiet period duration field, a quiet period interval field, a repetition count field, and a specific service identification field. Wherein the specific service identification field includes a traffic type identification field and a link identification field (optional field). The second service type identifier is in the service type identifier field, and the link identifier is in the link identifier field. The session token field is used to match a response frame (third frame) for the request frame (second frame), and for the explanation of other fields, reference may be made to the explanation of each field in the first frame, which is not described herein again in this embodiment of the present application.

In a second implementation, the first indication indicating the type of the second frame is in a quiet time content field of the information element. For example, the QTP request frame defined in the 802.11ax protocol may be continued, the value of the control field in the information element of the second frame is set to 1, which indicates that the second frame is a QTP request frame, and the silence duration content field further indicates that the second frame is an EHT QTP request frame.

For example, fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in another second frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 11, the quiet period content field includes a session token field, a quiet period offset field, a quiet period duration field, a quiet period interval field, a repetition count field, and a specific service identification field. Wherein, the specific service identification field comprises a type field, a service type identification field and a link identification field (optional field). The first indication is in the type field, the second service type identification is in the service type identification field, and the link identification is in the link identification field.

In the embodiment of the application, except that the access point device can initiatively specify the silent period and the service type, the non-access point device can also request to specify the silent period and the service type, so that the flexibility of communication among the devices is improved.

Step 604, the access point device sends a third frame in response to the second frame.

And the third frame is used for indicating whether the QTP session belonging to the service type indicated by the second service type identification is successfully established. The third frame includes third silence time information and a second traffic type identifier. For a specific explanation of the third silence time information, reference may be made to the related content of the first silence time information, and details are not repeated herein in this embodiment of the application. The third silence time information may be the same as or different from the second silence time information. For example, the number of silence periods in the third silence time information may be different from the number of silence periods in the second silence time information.

Optionally, the access point device broadcasts a third frame in response to the second frame.

Optionally, the third frame includes an information element in which the third silence time information and the second traffic type are identified. The information element also includes a status code (status code) that indicates whether the QTP session was established successfully. For example, the definition of the status code of the QTP response frame in the 802.11ax protocol may be used, and when the value of the status code is 0, it indicates that the QTP session is successfully established; when the value of the status code is 1, indicating that the QTP session is not established successfully; when the value of the status code is 2, indicating that the current QTP session is rejected and another number of silence periods is recommended, in this case, the non-access point device may additionally initiate a new QTP session request.

Optionally, the third frame further comprises a second indication indicating a type of the third frame. The second indication may be located in an information element.

Optionally, when the non-access point device is a non-access point multilink device, the third frame may further include a link identifier, where the third frame is used to indicate whether establishment of a QTP session belonging to the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is successful on a link corresponding to the link identifier.

Optionally, the third frame is an action frame. This third frame may be referred to as an EHT QTP response frame. The frame structure of the third frame may refer to the frame structure of the first frame. The information element of the third frame includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a control field, and a quiet time content field.

In a first implementation, the second indication indicating the type of the third frame is in a control field of an information element. For example, the value of the control field is 5, which indicates that the third frame is an EHT QTP response frame.

For example, fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a third frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 12, the quiet time content field includes a session token field, a status code field, a quiet period offset field, a quiet period duration field, a quiet period interval field, a repetition count field, and a specific service identification field. Wherein the specific service identification field includes a traffic type identification field and a link identification field (optional field). The second service type identifier is in the service type identifier field, and the link identifier is in the link identifier field. For the explanation of each field, reference may be made to the explanation of each field in the first frame and the second frame, and details are not repeated here in the embodiments of the present application.

In a second implementation, the second indication indicating the type of the third frame is in a quiet time content field of the information element. For example, the QTP response frame defined in the 802.11ax protocol may be continued, and the value of the control field in the information element of the third frame is set to 2, which indicates that the third frame is a QTP response frame, and the silence time content field further indicates that the third frame is an EHT QTP response frame.

For example, fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in another third frame provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 13, the quiet period content field includes a session token field, a quiet period offset field, a quiet period duration field, a quiet period interval field, a repetition count field, and a specific service identification field. Wherein the specific service identification field includes a type field, a traffic type identification field, and a link identification field (optional field). The second indication is in the type field, the second service type identification is in the service type identification field, and the link identification is in the link identification field.

Optionally, after the non-access point device receives the third frame from the access point device, if the third frame indicates that the QTP session belonging to the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is successfully established, the non-access point device only sends the frame belonging to the service type indicated by the second service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

Optionally, after determining that the QTP session belonging to the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is successfully established, the access point device may further broadcast a fourth frame at a start time of the silence period indicated by the second silence time information, where the fourth frame indicates that other non-access point devices do not need to perform frame interaction in the silence period, and the other non-access point devices include access point devices other than the non-access point device initiating the QTP session and the peer associated with the non-access point device. The fourth frame further includes a second traffic type identifier, and the fourth frame further indicates that a peer associated with the non-access point device initiating the QTP session does not perform frame interaction independent of the traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier.

Optionally, the fourth frame comprises an information element in which the second traffic type identification is.

Optionally, the fourth frame further comprises a third indication indicating the type of the fourth frame. The third indication may be located in an information element.

Optionally, the fourth frame may further include a link identifier, where the fourth frame indicates that other non-access point devices do not perform frame interaction on a link corresponding to the link identifier in the silence period, and a peer associated with the non-access point device initiating the QTP session does not perform frame interaction on a link corresponding to the link identifier, the peer being unrelated to the traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier.

Optionally, the fourth frame is an action frame. This fourth frame may be referred to as an EHT QTP setup frame. The frame structure of the fourth frame may refer to the frame structure of the first frame. The information element of the fourth frame includes an element ID field, a length field, an element ID extension field, a control field, and a quiet time content field.

In a first implementation, the third indication indicating the type of the fourth frame is in a control field of an information element. For example, the value of the control field is 3, which indicates that the fourth frame is an EHT QTP establishment frame.

For example, fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a fourth frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 14, the quiet period content field includes a quiet period duration field and a specific service identification field. Wherein the specific service identification field includes a traffic type identification field and a link identification field (optional field). The second service type identifier is in the service type identifier field, and the link identifier is in the link identifier field. The quiet period duration carried by the quiet period duration field of the fourth frame is less than or equal to the quiet period duration carried by the quiet period duration field of the second frame.

In a second implementation, the third indication indicating the type of the fourth frame is in a quiet time content field of the information element. For example, the QTP establishment frame defined in the 802.11ax protocol may be continued, and the value of the control field in the information element of the fourth frame is set to 0, which indicates that the fourth frame is the QTP establishment frame, and the silence time content field further indicates that the fourth frame is the EHT QTP establishment frame.

For example, fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a quiet time content field in a fourth frame according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 15, the quiet period content field includes a quiet period duration field and a specific service identification field. Wherein, the specific service identification field comprises a type field, a service type identification field and a link identification field (optional field). The third indication is in the type field, the second service type identification is in the service type identification field, and the link identification is in the link identification field.

The order of steps of the communication method in the WLAN provided in the embodiment of the present application may be appropriately adjusted, for example, the above-mentioned step 601 to step 602 and step 603 to step 604 do not have the order of steps, and the mechanism for the access point device to actively specify the silence period and the service type (step 601 to step 602) is different from the mechanism for the non-access point device to request to specify the silence period and the service type (step 603 to step 604), and is independent from each other. The steps can be increased or decreased according to the situation. Any method that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application is covered by the protection scope of the present application, and thus the detailed description thereof is omitted.

To sum up, in the communication method in the WLAN provided in the embodiment of the present application, the access point device actively designates the silence period and the service type, so that only the non-access point device having the service of the service type can compete for the channel in the silence period to send the service of the service type, that is, the access point device can provide the uplink access priority window for the non-access point device having the service of the service type, thereby reducing the access delay and improving the delay of the service type. In addition, except that the access point equipment can initiatively specify the silent period and the service type, the non-access point equipment can also request to specify the silent period and the service type, so that the flexibility of communication among the equipment is improved. For multi-link equipment, a silent period and a service type can be appointed on another link through one link, so that cross-link operation is realized, and the flexibility of communication among the equipment is improved.

Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of an access point device in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 16, the access point device 160 includes:

a sending module 1601, configured to actively send a first frame, where the first frame includes first silence time information and a first service type identifier, and the first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with an access point device can only send a frame belonging to a service type indicated by the first service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

Optionally, the sending module 1601 is configured to actively broadcast and send the first frame.

Optionally, the first frame further includes a non-access point device identifier, and the first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can send the frame belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 17, the access point device 160 further includes: a receiving module 1602, configured to receive a second frame from a non-access point device associated with an access point device, where the second frame includes second silence time information and a second traffic type identifier, and the second frame is used to request to establish a silence time period session for a traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier within a silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

Optionally, the sending module 1601 is further configured to send a third frame in response to the second frame, where the third frame is used to indicate whether the quiet time period session establishment for the traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier is successful.

To sum up, the access point device provided in the embodiment of the present application may actively specify the silent period and the service type, so that only the non-access point device having the service of the service type can compete for the channel to send the service of the service type in the silent period, that is, the access point device can provide the uplink access priority window for the non-access point device having the service of the service type, thereby reducing the access delay and improving the delay of the service type. In addition, except that the access point equipment can initiatively specify the silent period and the service type, the non-access point equipment can also request to specify the silent period and the service type, so that the flexibility of communication among the equipment is improved. For multi-link equipment, a silent period and a service type can be appointed on another link through one link, so that cross-link operation is realized, and the flexibility of communication among the equipment is improved.

Fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a non-access point device in a WLAN according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 18, the non-access point device 180 includes:

a receiving module 1801, configured to receive a first frame from an access point device associated with a non-access point device, where the first frame includes first silence time information and a first traffic type identifier, and the first frame indicates that the non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send a frame belonging to a traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

And a processing module 1802, configured to, after determining that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device, perform an operation according to the indication of the first frame according to the traffic type of the frame to be transmitted.

Optionally, a processing module 1802 configured to: and when the frame to be transmitted belongs to the service type indicated by the first service type identification in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, attempting to transmit the frame to be transmitted by using a CSMA/CA mode in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information. And when no frame to be transmitted belongs to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, keeping silence in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

Optionally, the first frame includes an information element, and the first silence time information and the first traffic type identifier are identified in the information element. As shown in fig. 19, the non-access point device 180 further includes: a determining module 1803, configured to determine that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device in response to the information element including a type field of the silence period information element indicating that the information element is actively transmitted.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 20, the non-access point device 180 further includes: a sending module 1804, configured to send a second frame to the access point device, where the second frame includes second silence time information and a second service type identifier, and the second frame is used to request to establish a silence time period session for a service type indicated by the second service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

Optionally, the receiving module 1801 is further configured to receive a third frame from the access point device in response to the second frame, where the third frame is used to indicate whether the silent time period session establishment for the traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier is successful.

To sum up, after receiving a first frame actively sent by an access point device associated with the non-access point device, the non-access point device provided in the embodiment of the present application contends for a channel to send a service of a specified service type when there is a service of the specified service type in a specified silence period, and keeps silent when there is no service of the specified service type in the specified silence period. Only the non-access point equipment with the service of the specified service type can compete for the channel in the specified silent period, so that the service of the service type specified by the access point equipment can be transmitted preferentially, and the time delay of the service type is improved. In addition, except that the access point equipment can initiatively specify the silent period and the service type, the non-access point equipment can also request to specify the silent period and the service type, so that the flexibility of communication among the equipment is improved. For multi-link equipment, a silent period and a service type can be specified on another link through one link, so that cross-link operation is realized, and the flexibility of communication among the equipment is improved.

With regard to the apparatus in the above-described embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs the operation has been described in detail in the embodiment related to the method, and will not be elaborated here.

An embodiment of the present application provides an access point device in a WLAN, including: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor is configured to invoke a computer program, and implement, in cooperation with the transceiver, the actions performed by the access point device in the foregoing method embodiments.

Illustratively, fig. 21 is a block diagram of an access point device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 21, the access point device 210 includes: a processor 2101 and a transceiver 2102. The transceiver 2102 is configured to perform transceiving actions of the access point device in the above-described method embodiments under the control of the processor 2101.

Optionally, the access point device 210 further includes a memory 2103, a communication bus 2104, and a communication interface 2105.

The processor 2101 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The communication bus 2104 may include a path that conveys information between the aforementioned components.

The Memory 2103 may be a read-only Memory (ROM) or a Random Access Memory (RAM), for example, the ROM may be an electrically erasable programmable read-only Memory (EEPROM) or a compact disc read-only Memory (CD-ROM), and the Memory 2103 may be an optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc, a blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 2103, which may be separate, is connected to the processor 2101 via the communication bus 2104. The memory 2103 may also be integrated with the processor 2101.

The memory 2103 is used for storing program codes for executing the scheme of the application, and the processor 2101 controls the execution. The processor 2101 is configured to execute program code stored in the memory 2103. One or more software modules may be included in the program code. The one or more software modules may be software modules provided in either of the embodiments of fig. 13 or fig. 14.

The communication interface 2105, using the transceiver 2102, is used for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as a WLAN.

In particular implementations, an access point device may include multiple processors, as one embodiment. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

Optionally, the access point device is an access point multilink device. In particular implementations, the access point device may be a router or the like that supports 802.11 family protocols.

An embodiment of the present application provides a non-access point device in a WLAN, including: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor is configured to invoke a computer program, and implement, in cooperation with the transceiver, the actions performed by the non-access point device in the foregoing method embodiment.

Illustratively, fig. 22 is a block diagram of a non-access point device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 22, the non-access point device 220 includes: a processor 2201 and a transceiver 2202. The transceiver 2202 is configured to perform transceiving actions performed by the non-access point device in the above method embodiments under the control of the processor 2201.

Optionally, the access point device 220 further comprises a memory 2203, a communication bus 2204 and a communication interface 2205.

The processor 2201 may be a CPU.

The communication bus 2204 may include a path that conveys information between the aforementioned components.

The memory 2203 may be ROM or RAM, such as ROM, which may be specifically EEPROM or CD-ROM, and the memory 2203 may also be optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compact disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such. The memory 2203 may be separate and coupled to the processor 2201 via a communication bus 2204. The memory 2203 may also be integrated with the processor 2201.

The memory 2203 is used for storing program codes for executing the scheme of the application, and is controlled by the processor 2201 to execute the program codes. The processor 2201 is configured to execute program code stored in the memory 2203. One or more software modules may be included in the program code. The one or more software modules may be software modules provided in any of the embodiments of fig. 15-17.

The communications interface 2205, using the transceiver 2202, is used for communicating with other devices or communications networks, such as a WLAN, etc.

In particular implementations, a non-access point device may include multiple processors, as one embodiment. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

Optionally, the non-access point device is a non-access point multi-link device. In a specific implementation, the non-access point device may be a wireless terminal such as a mobile phone, a computer, or a smart wearable device.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system in a WLAN, including: an access point device as shown in fig. 16, 17 or 21, and a non-access point device as shown in fig. 18, 19, 20 or 22.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer storage medium, where instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed by a processor of a computer device, the instructions implement the actions performed by an access point device or a non-access point device in the foregoing method embodiments.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware, where the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

The term "and/or" in this application is only one kind of association relationship describing the associated object, and means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

The above description is only exemplary of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present application are intended to be included within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method of communication in a wireless local area network, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that an access point device actively sends a first frame, wherein the first frame comprises first silence time information and a first service type identifier, and the first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send frames belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the access point device actively transmits the first frame, comprising:

and actively broadcasting and sending the first frame by the access point equipment.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first frame further comprises a non-access point device identifier, and wherein the first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can transmit the frame belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first frame comprises an information element, wherein the first silence time information and the first traffic type are identified in the information element, and wherein the information element further comprises a type field indicating that the information element is an unsolicited silence time period information element.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first frame comprises an information element in which the first silence time information and the first traffic type are identified, wherein,

the information element has no token field to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame; or,

the information element further comprises a token field, and the value of the token field is a target value to indicate that the first frame is an actively-transmitted frame.

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the access point device is an access point multi-link device and/or the non-access point device is a non-access point multi-link device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first frame further comprises a link identifier indicating that the first frame is valid on a link corresponding to the link identifier.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first service type identifier is a flow identifier, a service identifier or a priority identifier.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

the access point device receives a second frame from a non-access point device associated with the access point device, wherein the second frame comprises second silence time information and a second service type identifier, and the second frame is used for requesting to establish a silence time period session for a service type indicated by the second service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

and the access point equipment sends a third frame responding to the second frame, wherein the third frame is used for indicating whether the establishment of the silent time period session for the service type indicated by the second service type identification is successful.

11. A method of communication in a wireless local area network, the method comprising:

a non-access point device receives a first frame from an access point device associated with the non-access point device, wherein the first frame comprises first silence time information and a first traffic type identifier, and the first frame indicates that the non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send frames belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information;

after the non-access point device determines that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device, the non-access point device executes operation according to the service type of the frame to be transmitted and the indication of the first frame.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the non-access point device performs an operation according to the indication of the first frame according to the traffic type of the frame to be transmitted, and comprises:

when the non-access point device has a frame to be sent belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device attempts to send the frame to be sent in a carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance manner in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information;

when the non-access point device does not have a frame to be sent belonging to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, the non-access point device keeps silent in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, wherein the first frame further comprises a non-access point device identifier, and wherein the first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can transmit the frame belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

14. The method according to any of the claims 11 to 13, wherein the first frame comprises an information element, wherein the first silence time information and the first traffic type are identified in the information element; the method further comprises the following steps:

in response to the information element including a type field of a silence period information element indicating that the information element is actively transmitted, the non-access point device determining that the first frame is actively transmitted by the access point device.

15. The method according to any of the claims 11 to 13, characterized in that the first frame comprises an information element in which the first silence time information and the first traffic type are identified, wherein,

the information element further comprises a token field, and the value of the token field is a target value to indicate that the first frame is an actively transmitted frame.

16. The method according to any of claims 11 to 15, wherein the access point device is an access point multi-link device and/or wherein the non-access point device is a non-access point multi-link device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first frame further comprises a link identifier indicating that the first frame is valid on a link corresponding to the link identifier.

18. The method according to any of the claims 11 to 17, wherein said first traffic type identifier is a flow identifier, a traffic identifier or a priority identifier.

19. An access point device in a wireless local area network, comprising:

a sending module, configured to actively send a first frame, where the first frame includes first silence time information and a first service type identifier, and the first frame indicates that a non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send a frame belonging to a service type indicated by the first service type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

20. The access point device of claim 19,

and the sending module is used for actively broadcasting and sending the first frame.

21. The ap device of claim 19 or 20, wherein the first frame further includes a non-ap device id, and wherein the first frame further indicates that only the non-ap device indicated by the non-ap device id can transmit frames belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type id in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

22. The access point device of any of claims 19 to 21, wherein the first frame comprises an information element, wherein the first silence time information and the first traffic type identifier are identified in the information element, and wherein the information element further comprises a type field indicating that the information element is an unsolicited silence time period information element.

23. The access point device of any of claims 19 to 21, wherein the first frame comprises an information element in which the first silence time information and the first traffic type identification are identified, wherein,

24. The ap device according to any of claims 19 to 23, wherein the ap device is an ap multilink device and/or wherein the non-ap device is a non-ap multilink device.

25. The access point device of claim 24, wherein the first frame further comprises a link identifier indicating that the first frame is valid on a link to which the link identifier corresponds.

26. The access point device of any of claims 19 to 25, wherein the first traffic type identifier is a flow identifier, a traffic identifier or a priority identifier.

27. The access point device according to any of claims 19 to 26, wherein the access point device further comprises:

a receiving module, configured to receive a second frame from a non-access point device associated with the access point device, where the second frame includes second silence time information and a second traffic type identifier, and the second frame is used to request to establish a silence time period session for a traffic type indicated by the second traffic type identifier within a silence period indicated by the second silence time information.

28. The access point device of claim 27,

the sending module is further configured to send a third frame in response to the second frame, where the third frame is used to indicate whether establishment of the silent time period session for the service type indicated by the second service type identifier is successful.

29. A non-access point device in a wireless local area network, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a first frame from an access point device associated with the non-access point device, where the first frame includes first silence time information and a first traffic type identifier, and the first frame indicates that the non-access point device associated with the access point device can only send a frame belonging to a traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in a silence period indicated by the first silence time information;

and the processing module is used for executing operation according to the indication of the first frame according to the service type of the frame to be sent after the first frame is determined to be actively sent by the access point device.

30. The non-access point device of claim 29, wherein the processing module is configured to:

when a frame to be transmitted belongs to the service type indicated by the first service type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, attempting to transmit the frame to be transmitted in a carrier sense multiple access/collision avoidance manner in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information;

and when no frame to be sent belongs to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information, keeping silence in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

31. The non-access point device of claim 29 or 30, wherein the first frame further comprises a non-access point device identifier, and wherein the first frame further indicates that only the non-access point device indicated by the non-access point device identifier can transmit the frame belonging to the traffic type indicated by the first traffic type identifier in the silence period indicated by the first silence time information.

32. The non-access point device of any of claims 29 to 31, wherein the first frame includes an information element, and wherein the first silence time information and the first traffic type identifier are identified in the information element; the non-access point device further comprises:

a determination module to determine that the first frame was actively transmitted by the access point device in response to the information element including a type field of a silence time period information element indicating that the information element is actively transmitted.

33. The non-access point device of any of claims 29-31, wherein the first frame includes an information element in which the first silence time information and the first traffic type identification are identified, wherein,

34. The non-access point device of any of claims 29 to 33, wherein the access point device is an access point multi-link device and/or wherein the non-access point device is a non-access point multi-link device.

35. The non-access point device of claim 34, wherein the first frame further comprises a link identification indicating that the first frame is in effect on a link to which the link identification corresponds.

36. The non-access point device of any of claims 29 to 35, wherein the first traffic type identifier is a flow identifier, a traffic identifier or a priority identifier.

37. An access point device in a wireless local area network, comprising: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor, configured to invoke a computer program to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 in cooperation with the transceiver.

38. A non-access point device in a wireless local area network, comprising: a processor and a transceiver;

the processor, configured to invoke a computer program to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 11 to 18 in cooperation with the transceiver.

39. A communication system in a wireless local area network, comprising: an access point device as claimed in any one of claims 19 to 28 and 37 and a non-access point device as claimed in any one of claims 29 to 36 and 38.