CN-122002458-A - Method for multi-link operation MLO silence scanning and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a method and an electronic device for multi-link operation MLO silence scanning, wherein the method comprises the steps of connecting an access point AP through a first channel and a second channel, wherein the first channel is positioned in a first channel group, the second channel is positioned in a second channel group, alternately scanning all channels in the second channel group or the first channel group, and alternately maintaining communication with the AP through the first channel or the second channel during the scanning.

Inventors

• WEN ZIYI
• LIU RENJIE
• LIN YINGYOU

Assignees

• 联发科技股份有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251031

Priority Date

20251023

Claims (20)

1. 1. A method for multi-link operation, MLO, silence scanning, for a work site, comprising: Connecting an Access Point (AP) through a first channel and a second channel, wherein the first channel is positioned in a first channel group, and the second channel is positioned in a second channel group; All channels within the second channel group or the first channel group are alternately scanned and communication is maintained with the AP through the first channel or the second channel alternately during the scanning.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein alternately scanning all channels within the second channel group or the first channel group and alternately maintaining communication with the AP through the first channel or the second channel during the scanning comprises: Scanning all channels within the first channel group in response to suspending communication with the AP over the first channel; resume communication with the AP over the first channel; scanning all channels within the second channel group in response to suspending communication with the AP over the second channel, and Communication with the AP over the second channel is resumed.
3. 3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising: in response to suspending communication with the AP over the second channel, all channels within a third channel group are scanned.
4. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first channel group comprises Wi-Fi channels near 2.4GHz, the second channel group comprises Wi-Fi channels near 5GHz, and the third channel group comprises Wi-Fi channels near 6 GHz.
5. 5. The method of claim 2, wherein scanning all channels within the first channel group in response to suspending communication with the AP over the first channel comprises: and transmitting a null frame with a positive flag to the AP through the first channel so that the AP pauses communication with the working station through the first channel based on the null frame.
6. 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of resuming communication with the AP over the first channel comprises: And transmitting a null frame with a negative flag to the AP through the first channel so that the AP resumes communication with the working station through the first channel based on the null frame.
7. 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the positive flag indicates a1, indicating that the work station enters sleep mode.
8. 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the negative flag indicates 0, indicating that the work station remains awake.
9. 9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: performing the MLO silence scanning in the simultaneous transmit and receive STR mode, or The MLO mute scan is performed in a multi-link single-radio MLSR mode.
10. 10. The method of claim 5, wherein the null frame comprises null quality of service QoS data.
11. 11. An electronic device, comprising: a memory configured to store code for a multi-link operation MLO silence scan; A processor electrically connected to the memory, configured to execute the code to: Connecting an access point AP through a first channel and a second channel, wherein the first channel is located in a first channel group and the second channel is located in a second channel group, and All channels within the second channel group or the first channel group are alternately scanned and communication is maintained with the AP through the first channel or the second channel alternately during the scanning.
12. 12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to: Scanning all channels within the first channel group in response to suspending communication with the AP over the first channel; resume communication with the AP over the first channel; scanning all channels within the second channel group in response to suspending communication with the AP over the second channel, and Communication with the AP over the second channel is resumed.
13. 13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to: in response to suspending communication with the AP over the second channel, all channels within a third channel group are scanned.
14. 14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the first channel group comprises Wi-Fi channels near 2.4GHz, the second channel group comprises Wi-Fi channels near 5GHz, and the third channel group comprises Wi-Fi channels near 6 GHz.
15. 15. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to send a null frame with a positive flag to the AP over the first channel such that the AP suspends communication with a station over the first channel based on the null frame.
16. 16. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to send a null frame with a negative flag to the AP over the first channel for the AP to resume communication with a station over the first channel based on the null frame.
17. 17. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the positive flag indicates a1, indicating that the work station enters a sleep mode.
18. 18. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the negative flag indicates 0, indicating that the work station remains awake.
19. 19. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to perform the MLO silence scan in a simultaneous transmit and receive STR mode or to perform the MLO silence scan in a multi-link single-radio MLSR mode.
20. 20. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the null frame comprises null quality of service QoS data.

Description

Method for multi-link operation MLO silence scanning and electronic equipment Cross reference The present application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/714,944, filed on 11/01 at 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to a method and an electronic device for Multi-Link Operation (MLO) silence scanning. Background Wi-Fi 7 multi-link operation (MLO) allows devices to connect simultaneously over multiple frequency bands, enhancing network reliability by seamlessly switching to one link when interference or performance problems occur with another link. Wi-Fi scanning is critical to maintaining a high quality connection during user movement (e.g., roaming scanning), so Wi-Fi scanning must be performed efficiently without affecting the basic connection quality. However, wi-Fi scanning may suspend data transmissions on the device, increasing latency and affecting real-time applications such as voice over network protocol (Voice over Internet Protocol, voIP) or online gaming. Disclosure of Invention One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for Multi-Link Operation (MLO) silence scanning, which is applicable to a workstation. The method comprises the following steps. A Wi-Fi 7 Access Point (AP) is connected through the first channel and the second channel. Wherein the first channel is located within a first channel group and the second channel is located within a second channel group. All channels within the second channel group or the first channel group are alternately scanned and communication is alternately maintained with the AP through the first channel or the second channel during the scanning. According to the above method, the step of alternately scanning all channels in the second channel group or the first channel group and alternately maintaining communication with the AP through the first channel or the second channel during the scanning includes the following steps. In response to suspending communication with the AP over the first channel, all channels within the first channel group are scanned. Communication with the AP over the first channel is resumed. In response to suspending communication with the AP over the second channel, all channels within the second channel group are scanned. Communication with the AP over the second channel is resumed. The method further comprises the following steps. In response to suspending communication with the AP over the second channel, all channels within a third channel group are scanned. According to the method, the first channel group includes Wi-Fi channels near 2.4 GHz. The second channel group includes Wi-Fi channels near 5 GHz. The third channel group includes Wi-Fi channels near 6 GHz. According to the above method, the step of scanning all channels within the first channel group in response to suspending communication with the AP over the first channel comprises the following steps. A null frame with a positive flag is transmitted to the AP over the first channel such that the AP suspends communication with the operating station over the first channel based on the null frame. According to the above method, the step of resuming the communication with the AP through the first channel includes the following steps. A null frame with a negative flag is transmitted to the AP over the first channel such that the AP resumes communication with the operating station over the first channel based on the null frame. According to the above method, the positive flag is indicated as 1, indicating that the station enters sleep mode. According to the above method, the negative flag is indicated as 0, which indicates that the station remains awake. The method further comprises the following steps. The MLO silence scan is performed in a simultaneous transmit and receive (Simultaneous TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE, STR for short) mode. Or the MLO silence scan is performed in a Multi-link single Radio (MLSR) mode. According to the above method, the null frame includes null quality of service (Quality of Service, qoS) data. An embodiment of the invention also provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a memory and a processor. The memory stores code for a multi-link operation (MLO) silence scan. The processor is electrically connected to the memory. The processor executes the code to connect an Access Point (AP) over a first channel and a second channel. Wherein the first channel is located within a first channel group and the second channel is located within a second channel group. The processor executes the code to alternately scan all channels within the second channel group or the first channel group and to alternately maintain communication with the AP through the first channel or the second channel during the scan. In accordance with the above electronic device, the processor scans all channels w