WO2024192641A1 - Communication method, electronic device, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the technical field of mobile communications. Provided are a communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium. The communication method is applied to a first access point (AP), and the method comprises: determining a first radio frame, wherein the first radio frame comprises a first information element, the first information element comprises sleep period information of the first AP, and the first information element identifies that a second AP is allowed to communicate with a station within a sleep period of the first AP; and sending the first radio frame. The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for further enhancing a collaboration mode between multiple APs.

Description

Communication method, electronic device and storage medium Technical Field

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of mobile communication technology. Specifically, the embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium.

Background Art

With the rapid development of mobile communication technology, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology has made great progress in transmission rate and throughput. At present, the research content of Wi-Fi technology, such as Ultra High Reliability (UHR), has the vision of improving the reliability of Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) connections, reducing latency, improving manageability, increasing throughput at different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels, and reducing device-level power consumption. In addition, in UHR, in order to improve the throughput of the system, a method of communicating simultaneously in the sub7GHz (gigahertz) and 45GHz and/or 60GHz frequency bands is proposed.

In UHR, it is necessary to coordinate the collaboration between multiple access point (AP) devices and further enhance them to meet the transmission requirements of UHR.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium to further enhance the cooperation mode between multiple APs.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP, and the method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

The first radio frame is sent.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication method, which is applied to a second access point device AP, and the method includes:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; and the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a communication method, which is applied to a station device STA, and the method includes:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, the electronic device is a first access point device AP, and the electronic device includes:

A determination module, configured to determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

A sending module is used to send the first wireless frame.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, the electronic device is a second access point device AP, and the electronic device includes:

The first receiving module is used to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, the electronic device is a station device STA, and the electronic device includes:

The second receiving module is configured to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first An information element identifies that a second AP is allowed to communicate with a site device during a sleep period of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the program, one or more methods described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented.

The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, one or more of the methods described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented.

In the disclosed embodiment, the first AP determines a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP, the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP, and the sleep time of the first AP is shared by the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP, thereby avoiding OBSS interference with the first AP, increasing the communication time between the second AP and the site device, and improving service transmission efficiency.

Additional aspects and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be partially given in the description below, which will become apparent from the description below, or will be learned through the practice of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

FIG1 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a first example of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG3 is a second flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a second example of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG5 is a third flowchart of the communication method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a third example of an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a structure of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG8 is a second structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG9 is a third structural diagram of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a fourth schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise indicated, when the following description refers to the drawings, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present invention as detailed in the appended claims.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms used are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms of "a", "said" and "the" used in the present disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates other meanings. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" used in this article refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. The term "multiple" refers to two or more. In view of this, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two" in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in the present disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, for example, the word "if" used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining".

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, an electronic device, and a storage medium, which are used to further enhance the cooperation mode between multiple APs.

Among them, the method and the device are based on the same application concept. Since the method and the device solve the problem in a similar principle, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

As shown in FIG1 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method can be applied to a first access point (AP) device. Optionally, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AP is, for example, a device having a wireless to wired bridging function, and the AP is responsible for extending the services provided by the wired network to the wireless network. The station device (STA) is, for example, an electronic device having a wireless network access function, and provides a frame delivery service to enable information to be transmitted.

The method may include the following steps:

Step 101, determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Step 102: Send the first wireless frame.

Optionally, the first AP and the second AP may be APs in the same OBSS. Specifically, in a wireless local area network, a basic service set (Basic Service Sets Basic Service Set, BSS) may be composed of an AP and one or more stations (Station, STA) communicating with the AP. If the coverage of two or more BSSs overlap, an overlapping basic service set (Overlapping Basic Service Sets Basic Service Set, BSS, OBSS) is formed. With the rapid increase in wireless devices and applications, more and more wireless local area networks are deployed in dense environments composed of multiple OBSSs, and there are often wireless communication devices with different protocol standards in limited environments. The high-density deployment of WLANs will inevitably lead to overlapping areas of adjacent BSSs. In order to avoid interference, APs in adjacent BSSs must operate on different frequency bands, but due to Available frequency band resources are limited, and this requirement is usually not met. When multiple unrelated BSSs working in the same frequency band or with partial frequency band overlap are close enough to receive each other's transmission information, the AP or STA in the BSS that is transmitting information will prevent the AP or STA in other BSSs from transmitting information, which will form the co-channel interference problem in the OBSS network, which will seriously affect network performance and may even cause network paralysis.

In the disclosed embodiment, the first AP determines a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes the sleeping (sleeping or power saving) cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleeping cycle information of the first AP can identify the sleeping start and end time of the first AP, the period information of periodic sleeping, or the time information of being in a power saving state, etc. The first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleeping cycle of the first AP, and the time when the first AP is sleeping (or in a power saving state) is shared through the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleeping cycle of the first AP, and the second AP is an AP in OBSS with the first AP, and the second AP can have one or more; in this way, OBSS interference with the first AP can be avoided, the communication time between the second AP and the site device can be increased, and the service transmission efficiency can be improved.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame; or the first wireless frame includes a new wireless frame, such as an AP PS announcement frame, for broadcasting sleep cycle information of the first AP.

It is understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, AP and STA may be devices supporting multiple connections, for example, they may be represented as AP MLD and non-AP MLD, respectively; AP MLD may represent an access point supporting multiple connection communication functions, and non-AP MLD may represent a station supporting multiple connection communication functions. For ease of explanation, AP and STA are used as examples in the following description, but this does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As a first example, refer to FIG. 2, which shows one of the application scenarios of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure; AP1 and STA1 constitute BSS1, AP2 and STA2 constitute BSS2; BSS1 and BSS2 overlap to form OBSS. Taking AP1 as the first AP as an example, AP1 determines the first wireless frame, carries the sleep cycle information of AP1 in the first wireless frame, and broadcasts the first wireless frame. Then, AP2 can communicate with the STA in the sleep cycle of AP1, and can avoid communication with the STA in the OBSS. OBSS interference between AP1s.

The present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP. The method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

The first radio frame is sent.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element also includes sleep cycle information of the third AP under the second connection; the third AP is an AP belonging to the same AP MLD as the first AP. If the first AP belongs to a certain AP MLD and APs under other connections (such as the third AP) have also negotiated their sleep cycles, the first AP may also broadcast the sleep cycles of APs under other connections under the first connection; for example, if the third AP works under the second connection, the first AP may broadcast the sleep cycle information of the third AP under the first connection to indicate that other APs can communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the third AP.

The present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP. The method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

In the first connection, the first wireless frame is sent.

Among them, the first information element also includes the sleep cycle information of the third AP under the second connection; the third AP is an AP in the same AP MLD as the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information (time offset), which is used to calculate the specific time of the sleep cycle information of the third AP; the time offset information includes the start time of the sleep cycle of the third AP under the second connection and the start time of the sleep cycle of the first AP. The time offset value between the start times of the cycle under the first connection, that is, the time offset information is the time difference between the start times of the sleep cycle information of the two APs. In this way, the specific time of the sleep cycle information of the third AP can be calculated using the sleep cycle start time of the broadcast connection (that is, the first connection) and the time offset value.

The present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP. The method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

The first radio frame is sent.

The first radio frame is sent.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element also includes sleep cycle information of the third AP under the second connection; the sleep cycle of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the quiet cycle in the quiet element information of the third AP. In order to ensure subsequent compatibility, the sleep cycle time of the third AP must be consistent with the time set in its quiet element; the legacy STA cannot communicate with the third AP during the quiet time set in the quiet element, and thus cannot send any frames to communicate with the third AP during the sleep cycle time period.

The present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP. The method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

The first radio frame is sent.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection;

The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP.

The sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the quiet period in the quiet element information of the first AP. To ensure subsequent compatibility, the sleep period of the first AP must be consistent with the time set in its quiet element. The legacy STA cannot communicate with the first AP during the quiet time set in the quiet element, and therefore cannot send any frames to communicate with the first AP during the sleep period.

The present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP. The method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

Under the first connection, the first wireless frame is sent; the first wireless frame includes the quiet element information of the first AP, and the first AP broadcasts its quiet element under the first connection.

The sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the first AP to ensure subsequent compatibility.

The present disclosure provides a communication method, which is applied to a first access point device AP. The method includes:

Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

The first radio frame is sent.

Optionally, the first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under a first connection;

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection;

The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP.

Optionally, the sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information;

The time offset information includes the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection A start time, and a time offset value between the start time of the sleep period of the first AP under the first connection.

Optionally, the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the third AP.

Optionally, the sleep period of the first AP in the first connection is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame.

In the disclosed embodiment, the first AP determines a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP, the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP, and the sleep time of the first AP is shared by the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP, thereby avoiding OBSS interference with the first AP, increasing the communication time between the second AP and the site device, and improving service transmission efficiency.

Referring to FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

Step 301, receiving a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Optionally, the first AP and the second AP may be APs in the same OBSS. Specifically, in a wireless local area network, a BSS may be composed of an AP and one or more stations communicating with the AP. When the coverage of two or more BSSs overlaps, an OBSS is formed. With the rapid increase in wireless devices and applications, more and more wireless local area networks are deployed in dense environments consisting of multiple OBSSs, and wireless communication devices with different protocol standards often exist in limited environments. The high-density deployment of WLANs will inevitably lead to overlapping areas of adjacent BSSs. In order to avoid interference, APs in adjacent BSSs must operate on different frequency bands, but this requirement is usually not met due to limited available frequency band resources. When working in the same frequency band or part of the frequency band When multiple unrelated BSSs with overlap are close enough to receive each other's transmission information, the AP or STA in the BSS that is transmitting information will prevent the AP or STA in other BSSs from transmitting information. This will cause the problem of co-channel interference in the OBSS network, which will seriously affect network performance and may even cause the network to paralyze.

In the disclosed embodiment, the second AP receives the first wireless frame and obtains the first information element in the first wireless frame; the first information element includes the sleeping (sleeping or power saving) cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleeping cycle information of the first AP may identify the sleeping start and end time of the first AP, the period information of periodic sleeping, or the time information of being in a power saving state, etc. The first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleeping cycle of the first AP, and the time when the first AP is sleeping (or in a power saving state) is shared through the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleeping cycle of the first AP, and the second AP is an AP in OBSS with the first AP, and the second AP may have one or more; in this way, OBSS interference with the first AP can be avoided, the communication time between the second AP and the site device can be increased, and the service transmission efficiency can be improved.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame; or the first wireless frame includes a new wireless frame, such as an AP PS announcement frame, for broadcasting sleep cycle information of the first AP.

It is understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, AP and STA may be devices supporting multiple connections, for example, they may be represented as AP MLD and non-AP MLD, respectively; AP MLD may represent an access point supporting multiple connection communication functions, and non-AP MLD may represent a station supporting multiple connection communication functions. For ease of explanation, AP and STA are used as examples in the following description, but this does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As a first example, refer to FIG. 2, which shows one of the application scenarios of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure; AP1 and STA1 constitute BSS1, AP2 and STA2 constitute BSS2; BSS1 and BSS2 overlap to form OBSS. Taking AP1 as the first AP as an example, AP1 determines the first radio frame, carries the sleep cycle information of AP1 in the first radio frame, and broadcasts the first radio frame, then AP2 can communicate with the STA in the OBSS during the sleep cycle of AP1, and can avoid OBSS interference with AP1.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Among them, the second AP acts as a listening AP, and negotiates the second AP sleep cycle with the STA based on the received sleep cycle of the first AP. The negotiated sleep cycle does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP in time, so as to increase the communication time between the second AP and the site equipment and improve service transmission efficiency.

As a second example, see FIG. 4, which shows the second application scenario of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure; AP1 and STA1 constitute BSS1, AP2 and STA2 constitute BSS2; BSS1 and BSS2 overlap to form OBSS. Taking AP1 as the first AP as an example, AP1 carries the sleep cycle information of AP1 in the first radio frame and broadcasts the first radio frame;

Then AP2 negotiates the AP2 sleep cycle with STA1/STA2 in the OBSS based on the received sleep cycle of the first AP, and the negotiated sleep cycle does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP in time; in this way, AP2 can subsequently communicate with STA1/STA2 during the sleep cycle of AP1.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; the third AP is an AP in the same AP MLD as the first AP;

The sleep period of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep period of the third AP.

If the first AP is affiliated with an AP MLD, and APs in other connections (such as the third AP) have also negotiated their sleep cycles, the first AP may also broadcast the sleep cycles of APs in other connections under the first connection; for example, if the third AP works under the second connection, the first AP may broadcast the sleep cycle information of the third AP under the first connection to indicate that other APs can communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the third AP.

As a listening AP, the second AP also needs to negotiate the sleep cycle of the second AP with the STA based on the sleep cycle of the received third AP. The negotiated sleep cycle does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the third AP in time, so as to increase the communication time between the second AP and the site equipment and improve service transmission efficiency.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element also includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; the third AP is an AP in the same AP MLD as the first AP;

The sleep period of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep period of the third AP.

The sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information (time offset), which is used to calculate the specific time of the sleep cycle information of the third AP; the time offset information includes the start time of the sleep cycle of the third AP under the second connection, and the time offset value between the start time of the sleep cycle of the first AP under the first connection, that is, the time offset information is The time difference between the start times of the sleep cycle information of the two APs, so that the specific time of the sleep cycle information of the third AP can be calculated using the sleep cycle start time of the broadcast connection (ie, the first connection) and the time offset value.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; and the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element also includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; the third AP is an AP in the same AP MLD as the first AP;

The sleep period of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep period of the third AP.

The sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information;

The time offset information includes a time offset value between a start time of a sleep cycle of the third AP in the second connection and a start time of a sleep cycle of the first AP in the first connection.

The sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the quiet period in the quiet element information of the third AP. To ensure subsequent compatibility, the sleep period of the third AP must be consistent with the time set in its quiet element. The legacy STA cannot communicate with the third AP during the quiet time set in the quiet element, and thus cannot send any frames to communicate with the third AP during the sleep period.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

receiving a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; The first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the station device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Among them, the sleep cycle of the second AP is the same as the quiet cycle in the quiet element information of the second AP. In order to ensure subsequent compatibility, the sleep cycle time of the second AP must be consistent with the time set in its quiet element; the legacy STA cannot communicate with the second AP during the quiet time set in the quiet element, and therefore cannot send any frames to communicate with the second AP during the sleep cycle time period.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection; the sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the first AP.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP in the first connection; the first AP broadcasts its quiet element in the first connection. The silent period is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the first AP to ensure subsequent compatibility.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a second access point device AP. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; and the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under a first connection;

The first information element also includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; the third AP is an AP in the same AP MLD as the first AP;

The sleep period of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep period of the third AP.

Optionally, the sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information;

The time offset information includes a time offset value between a start time of a sleep cycle of the third AP in the second connection and a start time of a sleep cycle of the first AP in the first connection.

Optionally, the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the third AP.

Optionally, the sleep period of the second AP is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the second AP.

Optionally, the sleep period of the first AP in the first connection is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second AP receives the first wireless frame and obtains the first information element in the first wireless frame; the first information element includes the sleep cycle information of the first AP; The first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep period of the first AP. The time when the first AP is in sleep (or in power saving state) is shared through the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleep period of the first AP. The second AP is an AP in OBSS with the first AP, and the second AP can have one or more. In this way, OBSS interference with the first AP can be avoided, the communication time between the second AP and the site device can be increased, and the service transmission efficiency can be improved.

Referring to FIG. 5 , an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Step 501, receiving a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of a first AP; the first information element indicates that a site device is allowed to communicate with a second AP during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Optionally, the first AP may be an AP that has not established an initial association with the STA. The first AP and the second AP may be APs in the same OBSS. Specifically, in a wireless local area network, a BSS may be composed of an AP and one or more stations communicating with the AP. When the coverage of two or more BSSs overlaps, an OBSS is formed. With the rapid increase in wireless devices and applications, more and more wireless local area networks are deployed in dense environments consisting of multiple OBSSs, and wireless communication devices with different protocol standards often exist in limited environments. The high-density deployment of WLANs will inevitably lead to overlapping areas of adjacent BSSs. In order to avoid interference, APs in adjacent BSSs must operate on different frequency bands, but this requirement is usually not met due to limited available frequency band resources. When multiple unrelated BSSs operating in the same frequency band or with partial frequency band overlap are close enough to receive each other's transmission information, the AP or STA in the BSS that is transmitting information will prevent the AP or STA in other BSSs from transmitting information, which will form a co-channel interference problem in the OBSS network, which will seriously affect network performance and may even cause network paralysis.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the STA receives a first wireless frame and obtains a first information element in the first wireless frame; the first information element includes sleeping (sleeping or power saving) cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleeping cycle information of the first AP may identify the sleeping start and end time of the first AP, the cycle information of periodic sleeping, or the time information in the power saving state. The first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep period of the first AP, and shares the sleep (or power saving) time of the first AP through the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleep period of the first AP. The second AP is an AP in OBSS with the first AP, and the second AP can have one or more. In this way, OBSS interference with the first AP can be avoided, the communication time between the second AP and the site device can be increased, and the service transmission efficiency can be improved.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame; or the first wireless frame includes a new wireless frame, such as an AP PS announcement frame, for broadcasting sleep cycle information of the first AP.

It is understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, AP and STA may be devices supporting multiple connections, for example, they may be represented as AP MLD and non-AP MLD, respectively; AP MLD may represent an access point supporting multiple connection communication functions, and non-AP MLD may represent a station supporting multiple connection communication functions. For ease of explanation, AP and STA are used as examples in the following description, but this does not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure.

As a first example, refer to FIG. 2, which shows one of the application scenarios of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure; AP1 and STA1 constitute BSS1, AP2 and STA2 constitute BSS2; BSS1 and BSS2 overlap to form OBSS; STA2 establishes an initial association with AP2, but not with AP1. Taking AP1 as the first AP, AP1 determines the first wireless frame, carries the sleep cycle information of AP1 in the first wireless frame, and broadcasts the first wireless frame; then STA2 receives the first wireless frame, can communicate with AP2 in the OBSS during the sleep cycle of AP1, and can avoid OBSS interference with AP1.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element also includes the sleep cycle information of the third AP under the second connection; the third AP is an AP belonging to the same AP MLD as the first AP. If the first AP belongs to a certain AP MLD, and APs under other connections (such as the third AP) have also negotiated their sleep cycles, the first AP may also broadcast the sleep cycles of APs under other connections under the first connection; for example, the third AP works under the second connection, the first AP may broadcast the sleep cycle information of the third AP under the first connection to indicate that other APs can communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the third AP.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection;

The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information;

The sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information (time offset), which is used to calculate the specific time of the sleep cycle information of the third AP; the time offset information includes the start time of the sleep cycle of the third AP under the second connection, and the time offset value between the start time of the sleep cycle of the first AP under the first connection, that is, the time offset information is the time difference between the start times of the sleep cycle information of the two APs, so that the specific time of the sleep cycle information of the third AP can be calculated using the sleep cycle start time of the broadcast connection (that is, the first connection) and the time offset value.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection;

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection;

The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP.

The sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the quiet period in the quiet element information of the third AP. To ensure subsequent compatibility, the sleep period of the third AP must be consistent with the time set in its quiet element. The legacy STA cannot communicate with the third AP during the quiet time set in the quiet element, and thus cannot send any frames to communicate with the third AP during the sleep period.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the quiet period in the quiet element information of the first AP. The first AP broadcasts its quiet element under the first connection. To ensure subsequent compatibility, the sleep period of the first AP must be consistent with the time set in its quiet element. The legacy STA cannot communicate with the first AP during the quiet time set in the quiet element, and further cannot send any frames to communicate with the first AP during the sleep period.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The sleep period of the first AP in the first connection is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the first AP.

The first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

Receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the first AP and the identification information of the first AP are sent to the AP associated with the STA; the identification information of the first AP includes the BSSID of the first AP or the MAC address information of the AP MLD to which the first AP belongs. The STA in the OBSS that has not established an initial association with the broadcasting AP (first AP) can report the sleep cycle information of the broadcasting AP it has heard to the AP/AP MLD associated with it, including the BSSID of the first AP or the MAC address of the AP MLD to which the first AP belongs, which corresponds one-to-one with the sleep cycle information.

As a third example, see FIG. 6, which shows the third application scenario of the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure; AP1 and STA1 form BSS1, AP2 and STA2 form BSS2; BSS1 and BSS2 overlap to form OBSS; STA2 establishes an initial association with AP2, but not with AP1. Taking AP1 as the first AP, AP1 carries the sleep cycle information of AP1 in the first radio frame and broadcasts the first radio frame;

Then, STA2 sends the sleep cycle information of AP1 and the identification information of AP1 to the AP associated with STA2, such as AP2, according to the received sleep cycle of AP1.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; and the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection;

The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP.

The sleep cycle information of the third AP and the identification information of the third AP are sent to the AP associated with the STA; the identification information of the third AP includes the BSSID of the third AP or the MAC address information of the AP MLD to which the third AP belongs. The STA in the OBSS and which has not established an initial association with the third AP can report the sleep cycle information of the third AP it has detected to the AP/AP MLD associated with it, including the BSSID of the third AP or the MAC address of the AP MLD to which the third AP belongs, which corresponds one-to-one with the sleep cycle information.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method. Optionally, the method may be applied to a station device STA. The method may include the following steps:

A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the site device is allowed to communicate with the second AP during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under a first connection;

The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection;

The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP.

Optionally, the sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information;

The time offset information includes a time offset value between a start time of a sleep cycle of the third AP in the second connection and a start time of a sleep cycle of the first AP in the first connection.

Optionally, the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is consistent with the static period of the third AP. The silent period is the same as the silent period in the silent element information.

Optionally, the sleep period of the first AP in the first connection is the same as the silence period in the silence element information of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP.

Optionally, the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

Send the sleep cycle information of the first AP and the identification information of the first AP to the AP associated with the STA; the identification information of the first AP includes the BSSID of the first AP or the MAC address information of the AP MLD to which the first AP belongs.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

The sleep cycle information of the third AP and the identification information of the third AP are sent to the AP associated with the STA; the identification information of the third AP includes the BSSID of the third AP or the MAC address information of the AP MLD to which the third AP belongs.

In the disclosed embodiment, the STA receives a first wireless frame and obtains a first information element in the first wireless frame; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP, and shares the sleep (or power saving) time of the first AP through the first information element, indicating that the second AP can communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP, and the second AP is an AP in OBSS with the first AP, and the second AP can have one or more; in this way, OBSS interference with the first AP can be avoided, the communication time between the second AP and the site device can be increased, and the service transmission efficiency can be improved.

Referring to FIG. 7 , based on the same principle as the method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, the electronic device is a first access point device AP, and the electronic device includes:

The determining module 701 is configured to determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of a first AP; An information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the station device during the sleep period of the first AP;

The sending module 702 is configured to send the first wireless frame.

The electronic device also executes other steps executed by the first access point device AP in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

The present disclosure also provides a communication device, which is applied to a first access point device AP, and includes:

A wireless frame determination module, configured to determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP;

A wireless frame sending module is used to send the first wireless frame.

The device also includes other modules of the electronic device in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

Referring to FIG. 8 , based on the same principle as the method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, the electronic device is a first access point device AP, and the electronic device includes:

The first receiving module 801 is used to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The electronic device also executes other steps executed by the second access point device AP in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

The present disclosure also provides a communication device, which is applied to a first access point device AP, and includes:

The first wireless frame receiving module is used to receive the first wireless frame; wherein, the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes the sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP.

The device also includes other modules of the electronic device in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

Referring to FIG. 9 , based on the same principle as the method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, the electronic device is a station device STA, and the electronic device includes:

The second receiving module 901 is used to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The electronic device also executes other steps executed by the station device STA in the above embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

The present disclosure also provides a communication device, which is applied to a first access point device AP, and includes:

A second receiving module is used to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; the second AP is an AP in the same OBSS as the first AP.

The device also includes other modules of the electronic device in the aforementioned embodiment, which will not be described in detail here.

In an optional embodiment, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides an electronic device, as shown in FIG10 , the electronic device 1000 shown in FIG10 may be a server, including: a processor 1001 and a memory 1003. The processor 1001 and the memory 1003 are connected, such as through a bus 1002. Optionally, the electronic device 1000 may further include a transceiver 1004. It should be noted that in actual applications, the transceiver 1004 is not limited to one, and the structure of the electronic device 1000 does not constitute a limitation on the embodiment of the present disclosure.

The processor 1001 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a general-purpose processor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or other programmable logic devices. Transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this disclosure. Processor 1001 can also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of DSP and microprocessor, etc.

The bus 1002 may include a path for transmitting information between the above components. The bus 1002 may be a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus or an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus, etc. The bus 1002 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, FIG10 only uses a thick line, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

The memory 1003 can be a ROM (Read Only Memory) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or other optical disk storage, optical disk storage (including compressed optical disk, laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk, Blu-ray disk, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these.

The memory 1003 is used to store application code for executing the solution of the present disclosure, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1001. The processor 1001 is used to execute the application code stored in the memory 1003 to implement the content shown in the above method embodiment.

The electronic devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, laptop computers, digital broadcast receivers, PDAs (personal digital assistants), PADs (tablet computers), PMPs (portable multimedia players), vehicle-mounted terminals (such as vehicle-mounted navigation terminals), etc., and fixed terminals such as digital TVs, desktop computers, etc. The electronic device shown in FIG10 is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The server provided by the present disclosure may be an independent physical server, or a server cluster or distributed system composed of multiple physical servers, or may provide cloud services, cloud databases, cloud computing, cloud functions, cloud storage, network services, cloud communications, middleware services, domain name services, Cloud servers for basic cloud computing services such as security services, CDN, and big data and artificial intelligence platforms. The terminal can be a smart phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, smart speaker, smart watch, etc., but is not limited to them. The terminal and the server can be directly or indirectly connected through wired or wireless communication, which is not limited in this disclosure.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer can execute the corresponding contents of the aforementioned method embodiment.

It should be understood that, although the steps in the flowchart of the accompanying drawings are displayed in sequence as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and they can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowchart of the accompanying drawings may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, and these sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and their execution order is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

It should be noted that the computer-readable medium mentioned above in the present disclosure may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium or any combination of the above two. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, device or device. In the present disclosure, a computer-readable signal medium may include a data signal propagated in a baseband or as part of a carrier wave, which carries a computer-readable program code. Such a propagated data signal may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to an electromagnetic signal, an optical signal, or any suitable combination of the above. A computer-readable signal medium may also be other than a computer-readable storage medium. Any computer-readable medium that can send, propagate or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device. The program code contained on the computer-readable medium can be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to: wires, optical cables, RF (radio frequency), etc., or any suitable combination of the above.

The computer-readable medium may be included in the electronic device, or may exist independently without being installed in the electronic device.

The computer-readable medium carries one or more programs. When the one or more programs are executed by the electronic device, the electronic device executes the method shown in the above embodiment.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product or a computer program is provided, the computer program product or the computer program comprising computer instructions, the computer instructions being stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the methods provided in the above-mentioned various optional implementations.

Computer program code for performing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages, or a combination thereof, including object-oriented programming languages, such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a separate software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In cases involving a remote computer, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computer (e.g., through the Internet using an Internet service provider).

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings illustrate the possible architectures, functions, and operations of the systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each box in the flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, a program segment, or a portion of code, which contains one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical functions. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the boxes may also occur in an order different from that marked in the accompanying drawings. For example, two boxes represented in succession may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in the opposite order. It depends on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagram and/or flow chart, and combinations of blocks in the block diagram and/or flow chart, can be implemented by a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified functions or operations, or can be implemented by a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

The modules involved in the embodiments described in the present disclosure may be implemented by software or hardware. The name of a module does not limit the module itself in some cases. For example, module A may also be described as "module A for performing operation B".

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and an explanation of the technical principles used. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of disclosure involved in the present disclosure is not limited to the technical solutions formed by a specific combination of the above technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by any combination of the above technical features or their equivalent features without departing from the above disclosed concept. For example, the above features are replaced with the technical features with similar functions disclosed in the present disclosure (but not limited to) by each other.

Claims (30)

A communication method, applied to a first access point device AP, characterized in that the method comprises: Determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element identifies that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; The first radio frame is sent. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection; The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP. The communication method according to claim 2, characterized in that the sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information; The time offset information includes a time offset value between a start time of a sleep cycle of the third AP in the second connection and a start time of a sleep cycle of the first AP in the first connection. The communication method according to claim 2 is characterized in that the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the third AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 2 to 4 is characterized in that the sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the first AP. The communication method according to claim 5 is characterized in that the first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is characterized in that the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame. A communication method, applied to a second access point device AP, characterized in that the method comprises: A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; and the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that the method further comprises: The sleep cycle information of the second AP is determined according to the sleep cycle information of the first AP; wherein the sleep cycle of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep cycle of the first AP. The communication method according to claim 9, wherein the first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection; The first information element also includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; the third AP is an AP in the same AP MLD as the first AP; The sleep period of the second AP does not overlap with the sleep period of the third AP. The communication method according to claim 10, characterized in that the sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information; The time offset information includes a time offset value between a start time of a sleep cycle of the third AP in the second connection and a start time of a sleep cycle of the first AP in the first connection. The communication method according to claim 11 is characterized in that the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the third AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 8 to 11 is characterized in that the sleep period of the second AP is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the second AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 10 to 13 is characterized in that the sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the first AP. The communication method according to claim 14 is characterized in that the first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that The first wireless frame includes a beacon frame. A communication method, applied to a station device STA, characterized in that the method comprises: A first wireless frame is received; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the site device is allowed to communicate with the second AP during the sleep cycle of the first AP. The communication method according to claim 17, wherein the first wireless frame is sent by the first AP under the first connection; The first information element further includes sleep cycle information of the third AP in the second connection; The third AP is an AP that belongs to the same AP MLD as the first AP. The communication method according to claim 18, wherein the sleep cycle information of the third AP includes time offset information; The time offset information includes a time offset value between a start time of a sleep cycle of the third AP in the second connection and a start time of a sleep cycle of the first AP in the first connection. The communication method according to claim 18 is characterized in that the sleep period of the third AP under the second connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the third AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 17 to 20 is characterized in that the sleep period of the first AP under the first connection is the same as the silent period in the silent element information of the first AP. The communication method according to claim 21 is characterized in that the first wireless frame includes silent element information of the first AP. The communication method according to any one of claims 17 to 22 is characterized in that the first wireless frame includes a beacon frame. The communication method according to any one of claims 17 to 23, characterized in that the method further comprises: Send the sleep cycle information of the first AP and the identification information of the first AP to The AP associated with the STA; the identification information of the first AP includes the BSSID of the first AP or the MAC address information of the AP MLD to which the first AP belongs. The communication method according to any one of claims 18 to 24, characterized in that the method further comprises: Send the sleep cycle information of the third AP and the identification information of the third AP to the AP associated with the STA; the identification information of the third AP includes the BSSID of the third AP or the MAC address information of the AP MLD to which the third AP belongs. An electronic device, wherein the electronic device is a first access point device AP, wherein the electronic device comprises: A determination module, configured to determine a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP; A sending module is used to send the first wireless frame. An electronic device, wherein the electronic device is a second access point device AP, wherein the electronic device comprises: The first receiving module is used to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the second AP is allowed to communicate with the site device during the sleep cycle of the first AP. An electronic device, wherein the electronic device is a station device STA, and wherein the electronic device comprises: The second receiving module is used to receive a first wireless frame; wherein the first wireless frame includes a first information element; the first information element includes sleep cycle information of the first AP; the first information element indicates that the site device is allowed to communicate with the second AP during the sleep cycle of the first AP. An electronic device, characterized in that it includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, 8 to 16, and 17 to 25 when executing the program. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that a computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, 8 to 16, and 17 to 25 is implemented.