WO2022052708A1

WO2022052708A1 - Method for establishing multiple links in wireless communication system, and communication apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2022052708A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/111628
Authority: WO
Inventors: 黄国刚; 郭宇宸; 淦明; 李云波
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2020-09-08
Filing date: 2021-08-09
Publication date: 2022-03-17
Also published as: CN114158140A; CN114158140B

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications, and is applicable to networks such as a wireless local area network supporting 802.11be standards. Provided are a method for establishing multiple links, and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: a first device sending a request to a second device by means of a first link, the request comprising first indication information for establishing the first link and at least one second link between the first device and the second device; and the second device sending, to the first device, a response with respect to the request, the response comprising second indication information for establishing the first link and the at least one second link between the first device and the second device. Using the method provided in an embodiment of the present invention enables a first device to associate multiple links with each other in one request, thereby realizing quick switching between links.

Description

Multilink establishment method and communication device in wireless communication system

technical field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and a communication device for establishing a multi-link.

Background technique

With the development of wireless communication technology, more and more wireless communication devices support multi-link communication, such as simultaneous communication on 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz frequency bands, or simultaneous communication on different channels of the same frequency band. Such wireless communication devices are commonly referred to as multi-link devices (MLDs). I

In multi-link devices, multi-links are used to aggregate discontinuous multi-links to form large bandwidths. In addition, access point MLDs (AP MLDs) can also use multi-links to send messages of the same service at the same time. packets to the same site. In the multi-link technology, a site with multiple links is also called a non-access point MLD (non-AP MLD). It can be seen that a multi-link device can use multiple links to communicate in parallel, so that the transmission rate is greatly improved, which can meet the requirements of the extremely high throughput (Extramely High Throughput, EHT) of the wireless communication network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present application provide a multi-link establishment method and a related apparatus. The first device can associate multiple links in one request, and can implement fast link switching. The present application is described below from different aspects, and it should be understood that the embodiments and beneficial effects of the following different aspects can be referred to each other.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method for establishing a multi-link, the method comprising:

The first device sends a request to the second device through the first link, where the request includes first indication information for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device;

The first device receives the response to the request sent by the second device;

Wherein, the first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to establishing the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

first capability information, used to carry capability information of the first device;

Antenna sharing information, used to indicate the STA information of the shared antenna in one or more STAs of the first device;

first status information, used to indicate the status after the first link and the at least one second link are successfully established;

address information, used to indicate that the media access control MAC address used by the STA of the first device is the same as the MAC address of the first device;

The second capability information is used to indicate whether any two STAs in one or more STAs can transmit and receive at the same time under different links;

The first station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STAs of the first link and at least one second link after the establishment is successful.

In a second aspect, the present application further provides a method for establishing a multi-link, the method comprising:

The second device receives a request sent by the first device through the first link, where the request includes first indication information for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device;

the second device sends a response to the request to the first device;

Wherein, the first device includes one or more site STAs for establishing the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

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

a sending unit, configured to send a request to the second device through the first link, where the request includes first indication information for the first device and the second device to establish a first link and at least one second link;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a response to the request sent by the second device;

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a second device, the device comprising:

In combination with all the above aspects, in a possible implementation manner, the response includes second indication information for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device;

Wherein, the second indication information includes one or more of the following:

third capability information, used to carry capability information of the second device;

second status information, used to indicate the establishment status of the first link and at least one second link;

The second station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STA that establishes the first link and at least one second link.

The first device may comprise a non-access point multilink device (non-AP MLD) and the second device may comprise an access point multilink device (AP MLD).

The request sent by the first device may be carried in an association request frame, and the response may be carried in an association response frame.

In a possible implementation manner, the antenna sharing information, the first state information, the address information, the second capability information or the first site indication information are carried in the multi-link element of the association request frame.

In a possible implementation manner, the second state information or the second station indication information is carried in the multi-link element of the association response frame.

In a possible implementation manner, the antenna sharing information is used to indicate that there is no shared antenna information, or to indicate that there is shared antenna information and STA information that shares the antenna. The sharing antenna info present field can be used to indicate whether there is information about the shared antenna. If there is a shared antenna, the sharing antenna info field can be used to further indicate the STA information of the shared antenna. Through antenna sharing, the number of transmit and receive streams of the corresponding link can be flexibly configured, so as to increase the maximum number of streams that can be received on the transmission link.

In a possible implementation manner, the address information is carried in the STA's MAC address field to indicate the MAC address of each site. The MAC address of each site may be the same as the MAC address of the first device, and each site may also have a different MAC address. The MAC address of the first device's MAC address.

In a possible implementation manner, the second capability information is STR indication information (simultaneous transmit and receive indication), which is used to indicate whether any one of the multiple established links and other links support simultaneous sending and receiving. take over. According to the STR indication information, the AP MLD will prevent the non-AP MLD from sending downlink data to the non-AP MLD on another link that does not support STR when the non-AP MLD sends uplink data on one link. The interference between the channels causes the downlink data to be unable to be received correctly.

In a possible implementation manner, the first status information is carried in the link status field in the multi-link association request frame. The second status information is carried in the link status field in the multi-link association response frame.

In a possible implementation manner, the state indication information (the first state information or the second state information) indicates that the link is set to an open state, or the link is set to a closed state, or the link is set to an energy-saving state, or the link is established. Failed status.

In a possible implementation, the non-AP MLD is allowed to request the establishment of multiple links, and the unnecessary links can be temporarily closed, and the corresponding links can be opened when needed or when a large amount of data needs to be transmitted, reducing the number of links. handover delay.

In a possible implementation, the first site indication information is carried in the STA ID/radio ID field in the multi-link association request frame, and the second site indication information is carried in the STA ID/radio ID field in the multi-link association response frame. field, the station indication information is used to indicate that among the multiple links established by the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD, the STAs that are allowed to establish the non-AP MLD of each link are allowed.

In a possible implementation, if multiple links are established using the same STA, it means that these links share one STA. At this time, at most one link is allowed to be in the Enable state at any time, and the other links are Disable state.

In a possible implementation manner, the AP MLD includes at least two access points APs for establishing the first link and the at least one second link.

In a possible implementation manner, the capability information of all STAs of the non-AP MLD is the same as the capability information of all APs of the AP MLD. The capability information of the non-AP MLD includes the device-level capability information of the non-AP MLD, and the capability information of the AP MLD. The capability information includes device-level capability information of the AP MLD.

In a possible implementation manner, the STA of the non-AP MLD and the AP of the AP MLD have their own capability information, and the capability information of the non-AP MLD includes the capability information of the STA used to establish multiple links, and the AP MLD The capability information includes the capability information of the AP for establishing multiple links.

In a possible implementation manner, the STA of the non-AP MLD and the AP of the AP MLD have their own capability information, but some of the indication positions must be the same, including: ESS (Extended Service Set) indication bit, IBSS ( Independent Basic Service Set) indicator bit, Privacy (encryption) indicator bit and QoS (Quality of Service) indicator bit, etc.

In a possible implementation manner, the device-level capability information of the non-AP MLD is carried in the capability information element of the association request frame, and the capability information of the STA is carried in the multi-link element of the association request frame; the device-level capability information of the AP MLD The information is carried in the capability information element of the association response frame, and the capability information of the AP is carried in the multilink element of the association response frame.

In a possible implementation manner, among the multiple links established by the same STA, the status of one link is set to be on, and the status of other links is set to be off.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be a non-AP MLD, a device in a non-AP MLD, or a device that can be matched to an AP MLD. Wherein, the communication device may also be a chip in a non-AP MLD. The communication apparatus may perform the method described in the first aspect and its possible implementation manners, and the communication apparatus may be the apparatus described in the third aspect and its possible implementation manners. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The unit may be software and/or hardware. For operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication apparatus, reference may be made to the method described in the first aspect, the device described in the third aspect, and various possible implementations thereof, and corresponding beneficial effects are achieved, which will not be repeated here.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be an AP MLD, a device in an AP MLD, or a device that can be matched with a non-AP MLD multi-link device. Wherein, the communication device may also be a chip in the AP MLD. The communication apparatus may perform the method described in the second aspect and its possible implementations, and the communication apparatus may be the device described in the fourth aspect and its possible implementations. The functions of the communication device may be implemented by hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The unit may be software and/or hardware. For operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device, reference may be made to the method described in the second aspect, the device described in the third aspect, and various possible implementations thereof, so as to achieve the corresponding beneficial effects, and repeated descriptions will not be repeated.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be a non-AP MLD, a device in a non-AP MLD, or a device that can be matched to an AP MLD. Wherein, the communication device may also be a chip in a non-AP MLD. The communication device may include: a sending unit configured to send a request, where the request includes first indication information for establishing a first link and at least one second link, where the first indication information includes one or more of the following: first capability information, antenna sharing information, first state information, address information, second capability information or first site indication information; a receiving unit, configured to receive a response to the sending request, where the response includes establishing the first link and at least Second indication information of a second link, where the second indication information includes one or more of the following: third capability information, second state information, or second site indication information. For operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication device, reference may be made to the method described in the first aspect, the device described in the third aspect, and various possible implementations thereof, so as to achieve corresponding beneficial effects, and repeated details will not be repeated.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be an AP MLD, a device in an AP MLD, or a device that can be matched and used with a non-AP MLD. Wherein, the communication device may also be a chip in the AP MLD. The communication apparatus may include: a receiving unit configured to receive a request, where the request includes first indication information for establishing a first link and at least one second link, where the first indication information includes one or more of the following: first capability information, antenna sharing information, first state information, address information, second capability information or first site indication information; a sending unit, configured to send a response to the request, where the response includes establishing a first link and at least one The second indication information of the second link, where the second indication information includes one or more of the following: third capability information, second state information, or second station indication information. For operations and beneficial effects performed by the communication apparatus, reference may be made to the method described in the second aspect, the device described in the fourth aspect, and various possible implementations thereof, so as to achieve the corresponding beneficial effects, and repeated descriptions will not be repeated.

In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory is coupled to the processor, the processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed, the communication device can execute The method described in the first aspect and possible implementations thereof.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device including a processor and a memory, the memory is coupled to the processor, the processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, and when the computer program is executed, the communication device can execute The method described in the second aspect and possible implementations thereof.

In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions, which, when executed, enable the method and various possibilities as described in the first aspect Implementation is implemented.

In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to the second aspect to be implemented.

In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or program instructions, when the computer program or program instructions are executed, the method for performing a non-AP MLD in the method as described in the first aspect and various possible implementations are implemented.

In a fourteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising a computer program or program instructions, which, when the computer program or program instructions are executed, causes the AP MLD to execute the method and each of the methods described in the second aspect. A possible implementation is implemented.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system 100;

2 is a schematic diagram of a multi-link association established by a multi-link device;

Fig. 3 is the structural representation of capability information field;

4 is a schematic diagram of switching antennas in multi-link communication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a multilink establishment method 500 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a multilink establishment method 600 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 7 is a kind of structural schematic diagram of multi-link association request frame;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a multi-link association response frame;

9 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of MLD-level info in the multi-link element provided by the embodiment of the present application;

10 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of per link profile info in the multi-link element provided by the embodiment of the present application;

11 is a schematic diagram of a bitmap indicating the STR capability of each link provided by an embodiment of the present application;

12 is a schematic diagram of indicating the antenna sharing capability of each link provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart of a multilink establishment method 700 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 14 is a kind of MAC layer structure schematic diagram of multi-link device;

15 is a schematic diagram of a connection between an AP multi-link device and a Non-AP multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

16 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the MAC layer data plane of a single-link device;

17 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a MAC layer data plane of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 18 is another schematic structural diagram of a MAC layer data plane of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 19 is another schematic structural diagram of a MAC layer data plane of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 20 is another schematic structural diagram of a MAC layer data plane of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 21 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus 300 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 22 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 400 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 23 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication apparatus 200 provided by an embodiment of the present application;

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiment of the present application provides a multi-link establishment method applied to a wireless communication system, which can quickly switch links and obtain high-speed and low-latency data transmission experience. The wireless communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application may be a wireless local area network (Wireless local area network, WLAN), a cellular network, a high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (personal area network) , PAN) or other networks now known or later developed. The embodiments of the present application are mainly described by taking an IEEE 802.11 network, such as a wireless communication network of 802.11 series protocols such as 802.11be, as an example for description.

The method for establishing multiple links can be implemented by a communication device in a wireless communication system or a chip or processor in the communication device. The communication device may be a wireless communication device that supports multiple links for parallel transmission, for example, called a multi-link device (MLD) or a multi-band device (multi-band device). Compared with devices that only support single-link transmission, AP MLD and non-AP MLD can use link identifiers to identify a link or a site on a link during data transmission. Before communicating, the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD can negotiate or communicate the correspondence between the link identifier and a link or a site on a link. Among them, multiple links are used for communication between AP MLD and non-AP MLD, so as to achieve the effect of improving transmission efficiency and throughput.

The multi-link establishment method provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied in a wireless local area network as an example. As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication system 100 applied in the embodiment of the present application includes: AP MLD and non-AP MLD. Among them, the AP MLD is a multi-link device that provides services for the non-AP MLD, and the non-AP MLD can communicate with the AP MLD using multiple links. An AP in an AP MLD can communicate with a STA in a non-AP MLD over a link. For example, the non-AP MLD in FIG. 1 includes two non-access points STA0STA1, and the AP MLD includes two access points AP0 and AP1. It is understandable that the numbers of AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs in FIG. 1 are only exemplary.

As shown in Figure 2, a schematic diagram of a multi-link association established by a multi-link device takes the scenario of AP MLD and non-AP MLD communication in a wireless local area network as an example. AP MLD includes AP1, AP2 and AP3, non-AP MLD includes one physical STA, supports working on multiple frequency bands, can request to establish multiple links with AP MLD, and the multiple links share a physical STA, such as shared The virtual STA1, virtual STA2 and virtual STA3 of the same physical STA establish multiple links link1, link2 and link3 to communicate with the AP MLD in parallel.

A multi-link device includes one or more physical sites. Each physical site can support multiple frequency bands. It can be regarded as a physical site that can be divided into multiple virtual sites, or it can be expressed as multiple virtual sites sharing a physical site. site, each virtual site works on one link, that is, one physical site is allowed to work on multiple links. In this application, unless otherwise specified, sites refer to physical sites. The site may be an access point site or a non-access point site. For the convenience of description, this application refers to a multi-link device whose site is an AP as a multi-link AP or a multi-link AP device or an AP multi-link device (AP multi-link device, AP MLD), and the site is a non-AP STA's multi-link device may be called multi-link non-AP or multi-link non-AP device or non-AP multi-link device (non-AP multi-link device, non-AP MLD) or multi-link STA Or multi-link STA device or STA multi-link device (STA multi-link device, STA MLD). The first device in this application is a non-AP MLD, and the second device is an AP MLD.

Multi-link devices can implement wireless communication following the 802.11 series of protocols, for example, following Extremely High Throughput (EHT) sites, or following 802.11be-based or compatible 802.11be-enabled sites. A multi-link device can communicate with other devices through multiple links. Of course, other devices may or may not be multi-link devices.

Exemplarily, a multi-link device is a device with a wireless communication function, and the device can be an entire device, or a chip or a processing system installed in the entire device, and a device that installs these chips or processing systems. The methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application may be implemented under the control of these chips or processing systems. For example, the non-AP MLD in the embodiment of the present application has a wireless transceiver function, which can support 802.11 series protocols, and can communicate with the AP MLD or other non-AP MLD or single-link devices. For example, the non-AP MLD is allowed to Any user communication device that the user communicates with the AP and in turn communicates with the WLAN. For example, a non-AP MLD can be a tablet, desktop, laptop, notebook, Ultra-mobile Personal Computer (UMPC), handheld computer, netbook, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) , mobile phones and other user equipment that can be connected to the Internet, or IoT nodes in the Internet of Things, or in-vehicle communication devices in the Internet of Vehicles, etc., non-AP MLD can also be the chips and processing systems in these terminals.

The AP MLD in the embodiment of the present application is a device that provides services for the non-AP MLD, and can support the 802.11 series of protocols. For example, the AP MLD may be a communication entity such as a communication server, router, switch, and network bridge, or the AP MLD may include various forms of macro base station, micro base station, relay station, etc. Of course, the AP MLD may also be these various forms The chip and processing system in the device, thereby implementing the methods and functions of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, multi-link devices can support high-speed and low-latency transmission. With the continuous evolution of wireless LAN application scenarios, multi-link devices can also be used in more scenarios, such as sensor nodes in smart cities (for example, smart water meters, smart electricity meters, smart air detection nodes), smart devices in smart homes (such as smart cameras, projectors, display screens, TVs, stereos, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.), nodes in the Internet of Things, entertainment terminals ( Such as AR, VR and other wearable devices), smart devices in smart office (such as printers, projectors, etc.), Internet of Vehicles devices in the Internet of Vehicles, some infrastructure in daily life scenarios (such as vending machines, supermarkets, etc.) Self-service navigation desk, self-service cash register, self-service ordering machine, etc.). The specific forms of the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD are not particularly limited in the embodiments of the present application, which are only exemplary descriptions herein. The 802.11 protocol may be a protocol that supports 802.11be or is compatible with 802.11be.

The frequency band in which the multi-link device works may include, but is not limited to: sub 1GHz, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz and high frequency 60GHz.

The association request frame is sent by the non-access point during the association process between single-link devices. The format of part of the frame body of the association request frame is shown in Table 1. The sequence numbers are: capability information field, monitoring interval ( listen intervel) field, service set identifier (SSID) field, supported rate and basic service set (bisic service set, BSS) member selector field, extended supported rate and BSS member selector field, power Ability fields, etc.

Table 1 Items and meanings carried in the association request frame

序号serial number	项目project	含义meaning
11	能力信息Ability information	用于表示设备支持的能力Used to indicate capabilities supported by the device
22	监听间隔listening interval	用于表示多久醒来一次听信标帧Used to indicate how often to wake up to listen to beacon frames
33	服务集标识符(SSID)Service Set Identifier (SSID)	指示该服务集对应的SSIDIndicates the SSID corresponding to this service set
44	支持的速率和BSS成员选择器Supported rates and BSS member selectors	该元素不出现如果dot11DMGOptionImplemented为真The element does not appear if dot11DMGOptionImplemented is true
55	扩展的支持的速率和BSS成员选择器Extended supported rates and BSS membership selectors	STA所支持的速率和BSS成员选择器Rates and BSS membership selectors supported by the STA
66	功率能力power capability	STA的功率相关信息Power-related information of the STA
……	……	……

Figure 3 shows the format of the capability information field, and each Bit represents a special function. The site will use its own capability information to determine whether it supports all the functions in the capability information of the BSS. A site that does not implement all the functions in the capability information of the BSS cannot join the BSS. Specifically, the meaning of each field is as follows:

ESS (extended service set, extended service set): indicates that the BSS type is not part of the extended service set;

IBSS (independent basic service set, independent basic service set): Indicates whether the BSS type is an independent basic service set;

Therefore, the two indicator bits, ESS and IBSS, are mutually exclusive and cannot be set to 1 at the same time.

privacy (encryption): indicates whether encryption is supported;

short preamble (short preamble): indicates whether short preamble is supported;

spectrum management: indicates whether spectrum management is supported;

QoS (Quality of service, quality of service): Indicates whether to support quality of service;

short slot time: indicates whether short slots are supported;

APSD (automatic power save delivery, automatic power saving delivery): Indicates whether the AP supports automatic power saving delivery; for STA, this indicator is always set to 0.

radio measurement: indicates whether radio frequency measurement is supported;

EPD (etherType protocol discrimination, Ethernet type protocol discrimination): Indicates whether to support Ethernet type protocol discrimination.

The association response frame is sent by the access point during the association process between single-link devices. The format of part of the frame body of the association request frame is shown in Table 2. The sequence numbers are: capability information field, status code field, Association identifier (association identifier, AID) field, supported rate and BSS member selector field, extended supported rate and BSS member selector field, EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access, EDCA) parameter set field, etc.

Table 2 Items and meanings carried in the association response frame

序号serial number	项目project	含义meaning
11	能力信息Ability information	用于表示设备支持的能力Used to indicate capabilities supported by the device
22	状态编码status code	用于指示关联是否成功Used to indicate whether the association was successful
33	关联标识符(AID)Association Identifier (AID)	STA的关联标识符STA's association identifier
44	支持的速率和BSS成员选择器Supported rates and BSS member selectors	该元素不出现如果dot11DMGOptionImplemented为真The element does not appear if dot11DMGOptionImplemented is true
55	扩展的支持的速率和BSS成员选择器Extended supported rates and BSS membership selectors	该服务集所支持的速率和BSS成员选择器Rates and BSS membership selectors supported by this service set
66	EDCA参数集EDCA parameter set	该元素出现如果dot11QosOptionImplemented为真The element appears if dot11QosOptionImplemented is true
……	……	……

Among them, the status code field is used to indicate whether the above-mentioned multi-link is successfully established, or whether the multi-link device is successfully associated, or whether each STA of the non-AP MLD is associated with each AP of the AP MLD; if the association fails, it will also Carry the corresponding status code, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3 Status codes carried by the status code field and their corresponding names and meanings

状态编码status code	名称name	含义meaning
00	SUCCESS SUCCESS		成功success
11	REFUSED_REASON_UNSPECIFIEDREFUSED_REASON_UNSPECIFIED	拒绝但原因不明Rejected for unknown reasons
1010	REFUSED_CAPABILITIES_MISMATCHREFUSED_CAPABILITIES_MISMATCH	因能力不匹配而拒绝Rejected due to ability mismatch
9292	REFUSED_EXTERNAL_REASONREFUSED_EXTERNAL_REASON	因外部原因而拒绝rejected for external reasons
9393	REFUSED_AP_OUT_OF_MEMORYREFUSED_AP_OUT_OF_MEMORY	因没有额外存储而拒绝Rejected for no additional storage
1818	REFUSED_BASIC_RATES_MISMATCH,REFUSED_BASIC_RATES_MISMATCH,	因基本速率不匹配而拒绝Rejected due to base rate mismatch
9494	REJECTED_EMERGENCY_SERVICES_NOT_SUPPORTED,REJECTED_EMERGENCY_SERVICES_NOT_SUPPORTED,	因AP不支持紧急服务而拒绝Rejected because AP does not support emergency services
3030	REFUSED_TEMPORARILYREFUSED_TEMPORARILY	暂时拒绝，可以过一会再关联Temporarily rejected, you can reconnect later
……	……	……

The multi-link device can be a single-antenna (or single-radio module, or single-radio) multi-link device (single-radio multi-link device), or a multi-antenna (or multi-radio module, or multi-radio) multi-link device. Link devices (multi-radio multi-link devices). A single-radio multi-link device means that the MLD has only one physical STA, but the STA supports working in multiple frequency bands and can switch between multiple frequency bands, but can only work in a certain frequency band at any time. The multi-radio multi-link device means that the MLD has multiple physical STAs, and for each physical STA, it supports working in one or more frequency bands. This embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of antennas included in the multi-link device. That is, the multi-link device may have one or more physical stations (station, STA), wherein each STA may support one or more frequency bands as described above. Optionally, the STA of the non-AP MLD in this application may also be referred to as the station of the non-AP MLD. Optionally, the STA in this application may also be called a radio frequency (radio). It is worth noting that the radio frequency involved in this solution includes both a radio frequency module and a baseband processing module.

When the channel spacing between the radio frequency modules of the two STAs of a multi-link device is sufficiently large, they may not interfere with each other, that is, they may operate independently. If the channels operated by the radio frequency modules of the two STAs are close to each other, mutual interference will occur, especially when one STA is transmitting, it will cause interference to another receiving STA. When multi-radio non-AP MLD and multi-radio AP MLD establish multiple links at the same time, if any two links support sending on one link while the other link is receiving, it can be called The reason is that the two links support the STR (simultaneous transmit and receive) capability, otherwise the two links are called non-STR.

When a STA of a non-AP MLD can support multiple frequency bands, the STA can switch on the links of the AP MLDs corresponding to the multiple frequency bands respectively. For example, as shown in Figure 2, one of the non-AP MLDs can support three frequency bands of 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz, so the STA can switch between link1, link2 and link3, that is, the STA1 and link2 corresponding to the link1 correspond to STA2 and STA3 corresponding to link3 may share one STA, that is, the STA may virtualize three STAs. That is, the link1, link2 and link3 may share one STA, or the STA1, STA2 and STA3 may share one STA.

The multi-link device in this application may be a single-antenna device or a multi-antenna device. For example, it may be a device with more than two antennas. This application does not limit the number of antennas included in the multi-link device. Antennas can be shared in multi-link devices, that is, multi-link devices can share transmit/receive chains (Tx/Rx chains). The sharing forms or devices given in the embodiments of the present application are only for illustration, and are not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

In one example, a multi-link device sharing an antenna may be an enhanced single-radio non-AP MLD. The enhanced single-radio non-AP MLD means that the non-AP MLD device has an additional STA in addition to the regular single-radio non-AP multi-link device (regular single-radio non-AP MLD). A simplified version of the STA, for example, the simplified version of the STA only has the function of receiving some specific frames with low MCS. The workflow of enhanced single-radio non-AP MLD is shown in Figure 4. It can be received on two links (link 1 and link 2) at the same time. When the RTS frame sent by the AP to itself is received on one link , at this time RTS is used as a channel switching signal. When the link receives an RTS frame, the Tx/Rx chains on another link are switched to this link. When the transmission opportunity (TXOP) ends, it returns to the state of listening on two links at the same time, and the AP can make full use of the idle time of the channels on the two links for downlink transmission. The effect of increasing the maximum number of streams that can be received on the transmission link and reducing the equipment cost of non-AP MLD can be achieved. In Figure 4, R stands for request to send (RTS), C stands for clear to send (CTS), A stands for acknowledgement, and D stands for data.

In addition, Tx/Rx chains are allowed to be shared between STAs of a multi-radio non-AP MLD. A working mode can be defined. When the multi-radio non-AP MLD works in this mode, when it receives the RTS sent by the AP to itself on a link, the non-AP MLD will send the Tx on another link. /RX chain quickly switches to this link.

Example 1

The present application provides a method 500 for establishing a multi-link. The method 500 for establishing a multi-link can provide a method for establishing a multi-link. Please refer to FIG. 5 , which is a method 500 for establishing a multi-link provided by an embodiment of the present application. Schematic diagram of the process. Wherein, the multi-link establishment method 500 includes but is not limited to the following steps:

S501. The first device sends a request;

S502, the second device receives the request;

S503, the second device sends a response;

S504. The first device receives the response.

Specifically, the multi-link establishment method 500 can send a request on the first link to the second device through the first device, where the request includes first indication information for establishing the first link and at least one second link, The second device receives the request, and sends a response to the first device, where the response includes second indication information for establishing the first link and at least one second link, and the first device receives the response. Through such a process, a multi-link including the first link and at least one second link is established.

The first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to the first link and the at least one second link for establishing the first link. The first indication information may include one or more of the following:

address information, used to indicate that the MAC address used by the STA of the first device is the same as the MAC address of the first device;

The second capability information is used to indicate whether any two STAs in the one or more STAs can transmit and receive at the same time under different links;

The second indication information may include one or more of the following:

Specifically, the first device may be a non-AP MLD, the second device may be an AP MLD, the request may be carried in the association request frame, and the response may be carried in the association response frame.

Multiple links can be established between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. The establishment of multiple links can also be called as a multi-link association, that is, the non-AP MLD can establish multiple links with the AP MLD through the multi-link establishment process. road connection. In the multi-link establishment process, the required links can be established separately when needed, or one or more other links can be established together in one establishment process. In the case of establishing multiple links at a time, the non-AP MLD sends a request to the AP MLD through one of the links (the first link), and the request carries the information of at least one other link (the second link). The AP MLD sends a response to the request. The non-AP MLD receives the response sent by the AP MLD to establish multiple links with the AP MLD. The non-AP MLD and AP MLD exchange an association request/response frame on one of the links, and one or more other links can be established together. In this case, a newly defined multi-link element may be carried in the association request/response frame to carry relevant information of other links of at least one second link. For simplicity, an association request/response frame carrying a multi-link element can be called a multi-link association request/response frame.

The request sent by the non-AP MLD may be a multi-link association request frame, and the response sent by the AP MLD may be a multi-link association response frame. In the early stage of establishment, the non-AP and AP are allowed to shake hands to establish a data path by sending management frames. The first link is the link selected by the non-AP MLD to send the association request, which is called the sending link or the transmission link (transmitted link). link), the other link (at least one second link) to be established is called a non-transmitted link or a non-transmitted link.

Taking the communication system shown in FIG. 2 as an example, the multi-link establishment process may include:

The non-AP MLD sends a multi-link association request (multi-link association request) frame to the AP MLD on link1. In addition to the site-side information of link1, the multi-link association request frame also carries the site-side information of link2 and link3. information, where link1 is a transmitted link, and link2 and link3 are non-transmitted links. The carried information includes indication information (first indication information) for requesting the establishment of multiple links, including capability information, antenna sharing information, link status information, address information, simultaneous transmission and reception capability information, and site indication information Etc., in a multi-link establishment request, the multi-link association request frame may carry one or more of the indication information.

The AP MLD returns a multi-link association response frame to the non-AP MLD. Among them, the multi-link association response frame not only carries the site side information of link1, but also carries the access point side information of link1, and the site side information and access point side information of link2 and link3 respectively. The carried information includes indication information (second indication information) for responding to multi-link establishment, and the indication information includes capability information, link state information, and station indication information. In a multi-link establishment response, the multi-link association response frame may carry one or more of the indication information. Thus, the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD establish a multi-link connection through the multi-link establishment method 500.

The present application also provides a method for establishing a multi-link, which can provide a method for establishing a multi-link, and the method for establishing a multi-link can transmit an association carrying a multi-link element on a transmission link The request/response frame is used to indicate information about the transport link and other non-transport links among the multiple links established by the non-AP MLD request.

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a multilink establishment method 600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. Wherein, the multi-link establishment method 600 includes but is not limited to the following steps:

S601, the non-AP MLD sends a multi-link association request frame, and the multi-link association request frame needs to carry a multi-link element to indicate relevant information on the STA side of the non-transmission link;

S602, the AP MLD receives the multi-link association request frame;

S603, the AP MLD sends a multi-link association response frame, and the multi-link association response frame needs to carry a multi-link element to indicate relevant information on the AP side of the non-transmission link;

S604. The non-AP MLD receives the association response frame.

Specifically, non-AP MLD and AP MLD can exchange multi-link association request/response frames carrying multi-link elements on a link. Optionally, the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD may exchange multi-link association request/response frames carrying multi-link elements on the transmission link or transmission link.

Further, the multi-link element carried in the association request/response frame adopts the inheritance model format to carry the relevant information of the non-transmission link of the MLD. The following is a detailed description of the information carried by the multi-link element in the association request/response frame.

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of a frame structure of a multi-link association request frame, showing the content of the multi-link element field. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a frame structure of a multi-link association response frame, showing the content of the multi-link element field therein. Both frames in Figure 7 and Figure 8 include multi-link elements, and the information carried by them includes two parts, one part is the multi-link device information (MLD-level info), and the other part is the link configuration information of each link (per link profile info), wherein the link configuration information of each non-transmitting link may be referred to as non-transmitting link configuration information (non-transmitted link profile info).

Among them, MLD-level info will carry the relevant information fields of the multi-link device. As shown in Figure 9, the information that MLD-level info may carry includes the multimedia access control address (MLD's SAP MAC address) of the service access point of the multi-link device. ), the number of STAs of MLD (number of STAs, egM), regular/enhanced single-radio MLD indication (regular/enhanced single-radio MLD indication), simultaneous transmit and receive capability indication (simultaneous transmit and receive indication) , STR indication information), indication information of whether a shared antenna exists (sharing antenna info present), shared antenna information (sharing antenna info), etc. The specific information bits contained in the MLD-level info include but are not limited to the above information, and the arrangement order and designated names are not limited in this application.

Among them, per link profile info may start with a fixed element, such as link-index element. The link configuration information may also start with other fixed or non-fixed information elements, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The per link profile info will also carry the relevant elements on the STA side (or AP side) of the corresponding link, which are denoted as x element. When the content of the element on the STA side (or the AP side) is different, it will be carried in the per link profile info. The link-index element may carry information fields as shown in Figure 10, including link identifier and element 2. Among them, the link identifier includes a link identifier or a link index (link ID), and Element 2 includes the station's MAC address (STA's MAC address), listen to the beacon frame interval (listen interval), STA/Radio identifier indication (STA ID) /radio ID), status code (status code), link status (link status), etc. The specific information bits contained in per link profile info include but are not limited to the above information, and the arrangement order and designated name are not limited in this application.

The information that may be carried in the MLD-level info is described below.

MLD’s SAP MAC address: Indicates the MAC address of the service access point of the multi-link device.

· Number of STAs: indicates the number of STAs of the MLD, here only refers to physical STAs or radios, for example, it is represented by M, and M is only for illustration, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

· regular/enhanced single-radio MLD: When M=1, this indicator bit is used to indicate whether the single-radio MLD is a regular single-radio MLD or an enhanced single-radio MLD.

STR indication information: when M>1, it can indicate whether any link and other links in the established multiple links support STR. Another form of expression is to indicate whether any of the established multiple links A link and other links are STR or non-STR. The second capability information may be carried in the STR indication information, but is not limited to the form of the STR indication information listed, including indication elements or fields that can achieve the same indication function and effect.

In an implementation manner, a bitmap is used to indicate whether each link and other links support STR. For example, assuming that the non-AP MLD has 3 STAs, the AP MLD has 3 APs, and the non-AP MLD and AP MLD have 3 links, the bitmap is shown in Figure 11, which lists any combination of any two STAs. In the case of two links, whether any two links in the combination of any two STAs support STR is indicated according to the indication information on the corresponding bit indication bit. For example, if the bit information is 1, it means that the two links support STR, and if the bit information is 0, it means that the two links do not support STR. Optionally, if the bit information is 0, it indicates that the two links support STR, and if the bit information is 1, it indicates that the two links do not support STR. The specific indication manner of the bit information is not limited in this embodiment of the present application. In another embodiment, the non-AP MLD indicates to the AP MLD the minimum channel separation Gmin required for STR operation between any two STAs. When the interval between the working channels between the two STAs is less than Gmin, the STR is not supported, and when the interval between the working channels between the two STAs is greater than or equal to Gmin, the STR operation is supported. In the embodiments of the present application, the form of bitmap and the minimum channel interval Gmin are listed to illustrate the indication method of STR indication information.

The STR indication information is carried in the association request frame, and the non-AP side informs the AP side whether any two STAs in the link requested to be established can transmit and receive at the same time under different links. The AP side receives the indication information, and can carry the same information in the association response frame and send it back to the non-AP side. Optionally, the AP side receives the indication information and does not carry the bit indication information in the association response frame. Effectively save signaling overhead.

Through the STR indication information, the AP MLD side can be informed whether the non-AP MLD side supports simultaneous transmission and reception on any two links. According to the STR indication information, the AP MLD will avoid sending downlink data to the non-AP MLD on another link that does not support STR when the non-AP MLD sends uplink data on one link. The interference between the links causes the downlink data to be unable to be received correctly. If the two links do not support STR, even if the downlink data is sent to the non-AP MLD at this time, the downlink data cannot be received correctly due to the interference between the links. The STR indication information indicates whether each link supports simultaneous transmission and reception, which can help the AP MLD to perform link allocation, save data transmission time by using the simultaneous transmission and reception links, and avoid data uplink and downlink transmission conflicts.

·sharing antenna info present: When M>1, this bit is used to indicate whether shared antenna information appears. If the indication position is 1, it means that shared antenna information exists, otherwise, there is no shared antenna information.

Sharing antenna info: When M>1, this indicator bit is used to indicate which STAs can share the antenna, another form of expression, which indicates which STAs can share Tx/Rx chains. As shown in Figure 12, the sharing antenna info information indicates the total number of shared antennas or Tx/Rx chains, the number of STAs sharing antennas or Tx/Rx chains, and which STAs can share antennas or Tx/Rx chains. For example, assume that a non-AP MLD has 3 physical STAs: STA0, STA1 and STA2, where STA0 works in the 2.4GHz frequency band, STA1 and STA2 can work in the 5GHz or 6GHz frequency band, and STA1 and STA2 share the antenna or Tx/Rx chains, assuming that the total number of shared antennas or Tx/Rx chains is 4, the specific instructions are:

Total number of shared Tx/Rx: 4;

Number of STAs sharing Tx/Rx: 2;

List of STA IDs: 1, 2.

It is assumed that the non-AP MLD has 3 physical STAs: STA0, STA1 and STA2. STA0, STA1 and STA2 share antennas or Tx/Rx chains and all support 2.4GH, 5GHz and 6GHz frequency bands. The total number is 6, and the specific information is indicated as:

Total number of shared Tx/Rx: 6;

Number of STAs sharing Tx/Rx: 3;

List of STA IDs: 1, 2, 3.

The antenna sharing information is carried in sharing antenna info present and sharing antenna info, the antenna sharing information is carried in the association request frame, and the non-AP side informs the AP side whether there is antenna sharing in the link requested by the AP side and if antenna sharing is possible. , then the total number of antennas or Tx/Rx chains, the number of STAs sharing antennas or Tx/Rx chains, and which STAs can share antennas or Tx/Rx chains. The AP side receives the indication information, and can carry the same information in the association response frame and send it back to the non-AP side. Optionally, the AP side receives the indication information and does not carry the bit indication information in the association response frame. Effectively save signaling overhead. The antenna sharing information allows negotiation between the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD to flexibly configure the number of transmit and receive streams on the corresponding link, which can increase the maximum number of streams that can be received on the transmission link.

The following introduces the information that may be carried in the link-index element in the per link profile info.

Link ID: Indicates the relevant information of which link the link profile info is. It can be called a link identifier or a link index or other names with the same meaning. It is used to indicate that the AP MLD is established on a certain channel in a certain frequency band. The basic service set, namely (Operating Class (Operating Class), channel number (channel number), Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID)). The non-AP MLD realizes that multiple subordinate STAs of the non-AP MLD are associated with different APs of the AP MLD through an association operation through a certain subordinate STA to establish multiple transmission links. The non-AP MLD and AP MLD can use the link identifier to indicate the corresponding link and the APs and non-AP STAs corresponding to both ends of the link. Therefore, when performing related signaling instructions between the Non-AP MLD and the AP MLD, only the corresponding link identifier needs to be carried, which reduces signaling overhead. The link ID is carried in the association request frame. The non-AP side informs the AP MLD which AP to request to establish a link with. The AP MLD receives the indication information. If it agrees with the requested AP to establish the link, it can be carried in the association response frame. The same information is sent back to the non-AP side. The AP MLD receives the indication information, and if it rejects the requested AP to establish the link, the indication information bit of the response carries the information of rejecting the link establishment. If the AP MLD rejects the requested AP to establish the link, but assigns another AP to establish the link, it will carry the specified AP's link ID in the association response frame and return it to the non-AP side. Optionally, the non-AP MLD obtains information such as the link ID of each link of the AP MLD by receiving a probe response frame or a beacon frame.

STA’s MAC address: Indicates the MAC address of each station. The aforementioned address information is carried in the STA's MAC address. In this application, two kinds of address indication methods are supported, and 1-bit indication information can be added to the MLD-level info to indicate which address indication method the non-AP MLD adopts. In one embodiment, when the indication bit in the MLD-level info is set to 0, it means that all different STAs in the non-AP MLD use the same MAC address, and are set to the SAP MAC address of the non-AP MLD. There is no need to carry the MAC address of each link corresponding to the STA in the per link profile info to indicate the MAC address used by the STAs, which can save overhead. In another embodiment, when the indication bit in the MLD-level info is set to 1, it means that the STAs in the non-AP MLD all use different MAC addresses, and the MAC addresses of the STAs corresponding to each link are different from those of the non-AP. The SAP MAC address of the MLD, the STA's MAC address in the per link profile info will indicate the MAC address used by the STA for each link.

The presence of the STA's MAC address allows different links to use different MAC addresses. The STA's MAC address is carried in the association request frame, and the non-AP side informs the AP side of the MAC address of each STA in the link requested to be established. The AP side receives the indication information, and can carry the same information in the association response frame and send it back to the non-AP side. Optionally, when the AP side receives the indication information, the bit indication information may not be carried in the association response frame, which can effectively save signaling overhead.

listen interval: Indicates the interval for listening to the beacon frame, that is, how many beacon frames to wake up at once to receive the beacon frame;

STA ID/radio ID: Indicates that among the multiple links established by non-AP MLD and AP MLD, the STA/radio of non-AP MLD of each link is allowed to be established. The STA ID corresponding to the transmitted link is 0 by default. . The first site indication information is carried in the STA ID in the multi-link association request frame, and the second site indication information is carried in the STA ID in the multi-link association response frame. For example, suppose that the non-AP MLD has two radios: STA0 and STA1, the AP MLD has AP0, AP1, and AP2, and the links of the AP MLD are link0, link1, and link2 respectively, and it is assumed that link 0 is the transmitted link. The multi-link establishment method 600 can indicate that among the link0, link1, and link2 that the non-AP MLD requests to establish, the STA for establishing the non-AP MLD of link0 (usually STA0 by default), the non-AP MLD for establishing link1 STA and the STA used to establish the non-AP MLD of link2.

That is to say, the multi-link establishment method 600 can indicate that each STA/radio of the non-AP MLD is allowed to associate with the AP in the AP MLD, and the STA0 associates with the AP in the AP MLD where the transmitted link is located by default. Or, among the multiple links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish, it is allowed to share the link of each STA/radio of the non-AP MLD. By default, STA0 already has a transmitted link. Or, indicate the link that each STA/radio of the non-AP MLD is allowed to establish, and STA0 establishes the transmitted link link by default. Or, instruct each AP in the AP MLD to allow the STA/radio of the associated non-AP MLD, where the AP where the transmitted link is located is associated with STA0 by default. For example, assuming that the non-AP MLD has two radios: STA0 and STA1, the AP MLD has AP0, AP1, and AP2, and the links of the AP MLD are link0, link1, and link2, respectively, the multi-link establishment method 600 can instruct STA0 and STA1 The APs in the associated AP MLD are respectively allowed. By default, STA0 is associated with the AP in the AP MLD where the transmitted link is located. Or, instruct link0, link1, and link2 to allow sharing of STA0's link and allow to share STA1's link. By default, STA0 already has a transmitted link. Or, indicate the link that STA0 allows to establish, and the link that STA1 allows to establish, and STA0 establishes the transmitted link link by default. Or, instruct AP0 to allow associated STAs, AP1 to allow associated STAs, and AP2 to allow associated STAs, where the AP where the transmitted link is located is associated with STA0 by default.

In the specific indication form, in one embodiment, the bitmap form is used to indicate that among the multiple links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish, the STA/radio of the non-AP MLD of each link is allowed to be established. The AP MLD may indicate which STAs each link can be established by in the indication information bit in the multi-link association response frame in the multi-link establishment method 600. For example, for link0, the corresponding bitmap is 10, indicating that link0 is established through STA 0. For link1, the corresponding bitmap is 10, indicating that link1 is established through STA0. For link2, the corresponding bitmap is 01, indicating that link2 is established through STA1. It means that STA0 can establish link0 or link1, and STA1 can establish link2. The bitmap information is carried in per link profile info. In another implementation manner, each link configuration information per link profile info is enumerated one by one, or the indication information bit can directly indicate the corresponding STA index. For example, for link0, if link0 is specified to be established through STA0, the STA ID is 0; for link1, if link1 is specified to be established through STA0, then the STA ID is 0. For link2, if link2 is specifically instructed to be established by STA1, the STA ID is 1. It means that STA0 can establish link0 or link1, and STA1 can establish link2.

The station indication information indicates which STA establishes the corresponding link. If multiple links are established by the same STA, it means that these links share one STA. At this time, only at most one link is allowed to be in the Enable state at any time, and the rest of the links are in the Disable state.

Status code: indicates whether the link is successfully established. The indication information in the multi-link association request frame in the multi-link establishment method 601 is reserved, that is, reserved or suggested values or meaningless or waiting to be changed. It is meaningful only in the multilink association response frame. In the multi-link establishment method 603, the indication bit information in the multi-link association response frame indicates whether the link is successfully established. If the establishment fails, the indication information can be set to a different value to indicate the reason for the failure. Possible indications The way is shown in Table 4. The specific codes and corresponding names of the established link state are only for illustration, and are not limited in the embodiments of the present application, including forms with the same indication function and meaning.

The status code field in the link-index element in Table 4

·link status: Indicates what state the link is set to, indicating what state the link is expected to be in or in what state. The first status information is carried in the link status of the multi-link association request frame, and the second status information is carried in the link status of the multi-link association response frame. In this embodiment of the present application, the indication information in the multi-link association request frame in the multi-link establishment method 601 is reserved, that is, reserved or suggested values or meaningless or waiting to be changed. It is only meaningful in the link association response frame. In the multi-link association request frame, the link status carried by the non-AP side is used to indicate the desired state of the multi-link requested to be established after the establishment is successful, and the AP side receives the indication. After the information is received, the link status after multi-link establishment is returned according to the actual link establishment situation. In the multi-link establishment method 603, the indication bit information in the multi-link association response frame indicates the status of the link establishment.

One indication method is to use the status code to indicate whether the link is established successfully or not, and then use the link status to indicate the status after the link is established successfully. Including one of Enable, Disable, and Power Save. Among them, Enable means that the link is turned on; Disable means that the link is closed; Power Save means that the link is in a power-saving state. The Disable state means that both the baseband processing module and the RF module are turned off. Power Save means that only the RF module is turned off. The baseband processing module is the digital processing part, and the RF module is the sending/receiving part. When a link is in the Power Save state, the AP MLD is required to indicate in the Beacon of the anchor link whether the AP of the link has data to send to the corresponding STA. The anchor link is negotiated by the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD, or the non-AP MLD specifies one of the anchor links in the Enable link. The non-AP MLD listens to the Beacon frames on the anchor link to learn that the other ones are dormant. Whether the link in the state needs to wake up to receive data, and then carry the information to wake up the link in the Power Save state.

Another indication method is to use link status to indicate the status of the link, including one of Enable, Disable, Power Save, and Reject. At this time, the status code field is no longer required. Among them, Enable means that the link is turned on; Disable means that the link is completely closed; Power Save means that the link is in an energy-saving state; Reject means that the establishment of the link fails. The Disable state means that both the baseband processing module and the RF module are turned off. Power Save means that only the RF module is turned off. The baseband processing module is the digital processing part, and the RF module is the sending/receiving part. When a link is in the Power Save state, the AP MLD is required to indicate in the Beacon of the anchor link whether the AP of the link has data to send to the corresponding STA. The anchor link is negotiated between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD, or the non-AP MLD specifies one of the anchor links in the Enable link. The non-AP MLD listens to the Beacon frames on the anchor link to learn that the other ones are dormant. Whether the link in the state needs to wake up to receive data, and then carry the information to wake up the link in the Power Save state. When the link status is Reject, it means that the corresponding link fails to be established. In this case, the status code field is no longer needed, which can effectively save signaling overhead.

In one embodiment, when one STA requests to establish multiple links, only one of the links is allowed to be enabled, and the other links are allowed to be disabled. For example, a non-AP MLD has one physical STA, which can work in three frequency bands: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz, and can establish three links link1, link2, and link3, but the three links share a physical STA, so it is in the Only one link can be in the Enable state at the same time, and the other links are in the Disable state. For example, if the original link2 is in the Enable state, and link1 and link3 are in the Disable state, the non-AP MLD can quickly switch from link2 to link3, so that link2 changes from the enable state to the disable state, and link3 changes from the disable state to the enable state.

link status allows non-AP MLD to request the establishment of multiple links, and can disable the temporarily unnecessary links (Disable), and then enable the corresponding links when needed or when a large amount of data needs to be transmitted (Enable), reducing the number of links handover delay. When a STA requests to establish multiple links (one physical STA virtualizes multiple STAs), only one link is allowed to be enabled, and the other links are disabled.

Embodiment 2

The capability information in Embodiment 1 is introduced here. The first capability information is specifically the capability information carried in the multi-link association request frame, and the third capability information is specifically the capability information carried in the multi-link association response frame. The information locations are the same because the functions they represent are the same, but in the actual link establishment process, the first capability information is used to carry the non-AP MLD capability information, and the third capability information is used to carry the AP MLD capability information. Therefore, Although both are indication information representing capability information, they are distinguished by being carried in the multi-link association request frame or the multi-association response frame.

The present application also provides a multi-link establishment method 700, as shown in FIG. 13, the multi-link establishment method 700 is similar to the multi-link establishment method 600, and the multi-link association request in the multi-link establishment method 700 / The response frame carries capability information indication field information, and the capability information indication field information is used to indicate the functions supported by the AP MLD or non-AP MLD.

Please refer to FIG. 13 , which is a schematic flowchart of a method 700 for establishing a multi-link provided by an embodiment of the present application. Wherein, the multi-link establishment method 700 includes but is not limited to the following steps:

S701. The non-AP MLD sends a multi-link association request frame, where the multi-link association request frame carries capability information related information on the STA side;

S702, the AP MLD receives the multi-link association request frame;

S703, the AP MLD sends a multi-link association response frame, where the multi-link association response frame carries capability information related information on the AP side;

S704, the non-AP MLD receives the association response frame.

The structure of the capability information indication field information is shown in Figure 3, wherein each bit represents a special function, and the description of the function represented by each bit information is consistent with that in the first embodiment.

Specifically, in the multi-link establishment method 700, there are two ways to carry the capability information in the multi-link association request/response frame: In one embodiment, in the multi-link establishment method 701, the non-AP MLD sends a The capability information indicates the multi-link association request frame of the field information, which carries the capability information reported to the STA side of the AP side, and at the same time reserves the indication position of the capability information on the AP side. In the multi-link establishment method 702, the AP MLD receives the multi-link association request frame, and judges with the capability information indication field information of the AP itself whether to support all the functions in the capability information indication field information of the basic service set. If the STA cannot support all functions in the capability information indication field information of the basic service set, it cannot join the basic service set. If all functions can be supported, in the multi-link establishment method 703, the AP MLD sends a multi-link association response frame carrying capability information indicating field information, which carries the STA side capability information and AP side capability information reported by the non-AP MLD. In another embodiment, in the multi-link establishment method 701, the non-AP MLD sends a multi-link association request frame carrying the capability information indication field information, which only carries the capability information reported to the STA side of the AP. In the multi-link establishment method 702, the AP MLD receives the multi-link association request frame, and judges with the capability information indication field information of the AP itself whether to support all the functions in the capability information indication field information of the basic service set. If the STA cannot support all functions in the capability information indication field information of the basic service set, it cannot join the basic service set. If all functions can be supported, in the multi-link establishment method 703, the AP MLD sends a multi-link association response frame carrying the capability information indication field information, which only carries the capability information of the AP side and returns it to the non-AP MLD.

In this embodiment of the present application, two capability indication methods are provided. In one embodiment, when all non-APs and APs use the same capability information, the capability information is considered to be device-level capability information. The device-level capability information is carried in the capability information element of the multi-link association request/response frame, so there is no need to add the corresponding capability information indication to the per-link profile info in the multi-link element. In another embodiment, all non-APs and APs have their own capability information indication fields, that is, the corresponding capability information indication field information needs to be added to the per-link profile info, carried in the multi-link association request/response frame in the multi-link element in . In this case, each link has its own capability information indication field information, and the settings of some indication bits in the respective capability information indication field information in each non-AP or AP are the same to maintain consistency. For example, ESS indicator bit, IBSS indicator bit, privacy indicator bit, QoS indicator bit, etc. The two indication methods of capability information can enable different non-APs and APs to satisfy the same or different capability information, which can be better adjusted according to data transmission conditions and needs, and more flexible to establish multiple links to meet the Different service requirements.

Embodiment 3

The embodiment of the present application provides a method for fast link switching during multi-link communication. When the number of APs in the AP MLD is the same as the number of STAs in the non-AP MLD, the STAs and APs can be in one-to-one correspondence. Usually, there is no need for the AP to switch to another STA. However, when the number of APs in the AP MLD is not equal to the number of STAs in the non-AP MLD, and the STAs and APs cannot meet the requirements of one-to-one correspondence, at least one of the first link and the at least one second link must have at least one The STAs with two links are the same, that is, the STAs of at least two links in the multi-link are the same. This application shows that when a multi-link is established, the corresponding link is established. When switching is required, the AP MLD or non-AP MLD directly informs the opposite end, which can achieve the effect of fast switching. The link switching method provides an indication mode that can realize flexible and fast link switching.

In the embodiment of this application, in an implementation manner, the Non-AP MLD indicates the relevant information of each STA according to the STA ID in the multi-link association response frame, and the AP MLD indicates the relevant information of each link according to the link ID. Among them, the AP MLD needs the multi-link element in the multi-link association response frame to indicate the STA/radio that is allowed to establish the non-AP MLD of each link. Alternatively, each STA/radio indicating a non-AP MLD allows APs in the associated AP MLD. Or, among the multiple links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish, it is allowed to share the link of each STA/radio of the non-AP MLD. Alternatively, each STA/radio that indicates the non-AP MLD is allowed to establish a link. Alternatively, instruct each AP in the AP MLD to allow the STA/radio of the associated non-AP MLD.

For example, AP MLD has AP0, AP1, AP2, and has 3 links, and non-AP MLD has 2 STAs: STA0 and STA1. In an indication method, the bitmap form is used to indicate that among the multiple links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish, the STA/radio of the non-AP MLD of each link is allowed to be established. For example, for link0, the corresponding bitmap is 10, indicating that link0 is established through STA 0; for link1, the corresponding bitmap is 10, indicating that link1 is established through STA0; for link2, the corresponding bitmap is 01, indicating that link2 is established through STA1, indicating that STA0 can establish link0 or link1, and STA1 can establish link2. In another indication method, the non-AP MLD carries the desired links one by one in the form of a link profile. For example, AP MLD has AP0, AP1, and AP2, and has 3 links. Non-AP MLD has 2 STAs: STA0 and STA1, which are listed one by one through the link profile. For example, for link0, if it can only be established through STA0, Carry the link profile corresponding to <link0, STA0>; if link0 can be established by STA0 or STA1, then carry the link profile corresponding to <link0, STA0> and <link0, STA1> respectively. Another indication form is to directly enumerate each link configuration information per link profile info, or the indication information bit can directly indicate the corresponding STA index. For example, for link0, if link0 is specified to be established through STA0, then the STA ID is 0; for link1, if link1 is specified to be established through STA0, then the STA ID is 0; for link2, if link2 is specified to be established through STA1, then the STA ID is 0. STA ID is 1. It means that STA0 can establish link0 or link1, and STA1 can establish link2. In the embodiments of this application, the form of bitmap, the form of link profile, and the form of directly indicating the corresponding STA index are listed to illustrate the STA information of the established corresponding link. The same form of indication that indicates functions and effects.

In this way, each STA does not need to indicate the desired link, and the AP MLD indicates which STAs can establish each link. Alternatively, each STA/radio indicating a non-AP MLD allows APs in the associated AP MLD. Alternatively, among the multiple links that the non-AP MLD requests to establish, the link of each STA/radio that is allowed to share the non-AP MLD can be indicated. Alternatively, each STA/radio of the non-AP MLD can indicate which links are allowed to be established. Alternatively, each AP in the AP MLD can be instructed to allow the STA/radio of the associated non-AP MLD. AP MLD determines whether each STA can associate with an AP based on information such as STA capabilities or access control.

In another embodiment, the non-AP MLD can use the link status field to indicate that certain links are disabled after setup, and then enabled when link switching is required. In this mode, the AP MLD can indicate whether to accept or reject the establishment of the link through the status code. The non-AP MLD carries the desired links one by one in the form of a link profile. For example, AP MLD has AP0, AP1, AP2, and has 3 links. Non-AP MLD has 2 physical STAs: STA0 and STA1, which are listed one by one through the link profile. For example, for link0, if it can only be established through STA0 , then carry the link profile corresponding to <link0, STA0>; if link0 can be established by either STA0 or STA1, then carry the link profile corresponding to <link0, STA0> and <link0, STA1> respectively.

In another embodiment, the non-AP MLD indicates the relevant information of each STA through the STA ID; the AP MLD indicates the relevant information of each link according to the link ID. Among them, the non-AP MLD can clearly indicate the link list list of one or more links that each STA expects to establish, and the AP MLD indicates whether each link requested to be established is successful or not. The specific instruction measures in this embodiment are the same as those in the previous two embodiments. It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the AP MLD determines whether each STA can associate with an AP in addition to STA capabilities or access control information. , and also consider whether the non-AP MLD requests the establishment of the link.

Embodiment 4

A schematic diagram of a MAC layer structure of a multi-link device is given in the embodiment of the present application. Referring to FIG. 14 , as shown in the figure, each MLD has its own multimedia access control address (MAC address) for each link. There is also a service access point multimedia access control address (SAP MAC address). Therefore, when sending and receiving data, there is a certain difference between the transmission and reception of multi-link devices and single-link devices.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the connection between an AP multi-link device and a Non-AP multi-link device. As shown in Figure 15, both the Non-AP multi-link device and the AP multi-link device use the structure shared by the high MAC layer. The AP multi-link device includes two APs, and the Non-AP multi-link device includes two STAs, each of which has its own lower MAC layer and PHY layer. An AP in the AP multi-link device can establish a link to communicate with a STA in the Non-AP multi-link device. For example, in the AP multi-link device in Figure 15, AP1 establishes link 1 with STA1 in the Non-AP multi-link device to communicate, and AP2 in the AP multi-link device establishes link 2 with STA2 in the Non-AP multi-link device to communicate.

The architecture of the data plane of the single-link device defined by the existing protocol is shown in Figure 16, which defines the sending and receiving processing flow of a MAC service data unit (MAC service data unit, MSDU) at the MAC layer. The sequence number (SN) is used to sort according to the sequence number at the receiving end, and then deliver the received data to the upper layer in order. At the same time, the receiver will use the sequence number in the BA (block Ack) frame to indicate which packets are received correctly and which packets are received incorrectly. Packet No. (PN) is used for encryption/decryption and playback detection.

In an implementation manner, the embodiment of the present application provides a specific architecture of the MAC layer data plane of the multi-link device, as shown in FIG. 17 . The specific information bits in the architecture are explained as follows:

IEEE 802.1X control port and uncontrol Port filtering: The control port and the non-control port will filter the received frames according to the frame type and the current state of the STA;

Rx/Tx MSDU rate limiting: used to control the rate at which MSDUs are received/transmitted;

A-MSDU Aggregation(Tx)/Deaggregation(Rx): Aggregation operation under sending aggregation A-MSUD/Deaggregation operation under receiving aggregation A-MSUD;

PS defer queueing: The AP caches data for the STA that is in energy saving;

Sequence Number Assignment: AP assigns sequence number to downlink MSDU;

MSDU Integrity and Protection: integrity and protection of MSDU;

Fragmentation and Defragmentation: The sender can perform fragmentation operations on MSDU/receiver de-fragmentation operations;

Packet Number Assignment: Packet Number Assignment;

Replay Detection: The receiver can judge whether it is under replay attack according to the PN;

SYNRA Receiver Filtering: Synthetic receive address receiver filtering;

Block ACK buffering and reordering: The receiving end sorts the received MSDUs according to the SN, and then submits them to the upper layer in order;

Duplicate Detection: The receiving end performs packet duplication detection and eliminates repeatedly received data;

Encrption/Decryption and Integrity: Encryption/Decryption operation;

Block Ack Scoreboarding: The receiving end maintains a scoreboard to record which MSDUs are correctly received;

Address 1 address filtering: The receiving end performs packet filtering operation according to the receiving address;

MPDU Header+CRC creation(TX)/Validation(RX): Construction/validation of MPDU header and cyclic check code;

A-MPDU Aggregation/Deaggregation: Aggregation/Deaggregation operations of aggregated MPDUs;

The sequence number (SN) allocation module and the packet sequence number (PN) allocation module related to packet transmission and the block acknowledgement buffer module, reordering module and duplicate detection module related to packet reception are placed in the high MAC (MAC-U). In a multi-link device, although the pairwise transient keys (PTK) used by each link are the same, since each link can use a different link MAC address, the corresponding additional authentication data ( The additional authentication data, AAD) is also different, so the encryption/decryption and integrity protection modules, block acknowledgment scoreboard modules need to be processed in low MAC (MAC-L). Therefore, the main difference between the MAC layer data plane architecture of multi-link devices and the existing single-link device MAC layer data plane architecture is that the encryption/decryption and integrity protection modules and block acknowledgment scoreboard modules are moved down to low MAC.

The specific fields or elements, etc. listed throughout the application are not limited to the listed forms in the specific implementation operations, and also include the indicating forms that can achieve the same indicating function and effect.

In another implementation manner, this embodiment of the present application provides another specific architecture of the MAC layer data plane of a multi-link device. As shown in FIG. 18 , the corresponding information bits in the framework are the same as those in the previous implementation manner. The functions of the architecture of the MAC layer data plane of the multi-link device are the same, and the difference from the above architecture diagram is that the block acknowledgement cache is placed in the low MAC.

In another implementation manner, the embodiment of the present application provides another specific architecture of the MAC layer data plane of the multi-link device. As shown in FIG. 19 , the corresponding information bits in the framework are the same as those in the above two implementation manners. The functions of the architecture of the MAC layer data plane of the multi-link device are the same, and the difference from the architecture diagram in the first embodiment is that the block acknowledgment scoreboard is placed at the high MAC.

In another implementation manner, the embodiment of the present application provides another specific architecture of the MAC layer data plane of the multi-link device. As shown in FIG. 20 , the corresponding information bits in the framework are the same as those in the above three implementation manners. The functions of the architecture of the MAC layer data plane of the multi-link device are consistent. It is worth noting that in the architecture of the third embodiment, considering that the block acknowledgment cache and the scoreboard are placed at a high MAC, the receiver may not be able to return to the BA after a short interframe space (SIFS). frame, in this embodiment, there will be a local block acknowledgment cache and scoreboard module at the low MAC of each link.

The application examples given above are only for the convenience of description. They are divided into the first embodiment, the second embodiment, the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment. .

In the above-mentioned embodiments provided by the present application, the methods provided by the embodiments of the present application are respectively introduced from the perspectives of AP MLD and STA MLD. In order to realize the various functions in the methods provided by the above embodiments of the present application, the AP MLD and the STA MLD may include a hardware structure and a software module, and implement the above-mentioned functions in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. A certain function among the above functions may be implemented in the form of a hardware structure, a software module, or a hardware structure plus a software module. The communication device according to the embodiment of the present application will be described below with reference to FIG. 21 to FIG. 23 . Wherein, the communication device is an access point of an access point multi-link device or a site of a site multi-link device, and further, the communication device may be a device in an AP MLD; or, the communication device is a non-AP MLD device in . In addition, the apparatus may be a multi-link device, a device in a multi-link device, or a device that can be matched and used with the multi-link device. Wherein, the communication device may also be a chip system.

The communication apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 21 may include a sending unit 301 and a receiving unit 302 . The sending unit 301 is used for sending data, and the receiving unit 302 is used for receiving data. in:

When the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 21 is used to execute the first device in the method embodiments described in FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 13 :

The sending unit 301 is configured to send a request to a second device through a first link, where the request includes a request for establishing the first link and at least one second link between the first device and the second device. the first instruction information;

a receiving unit 302, configured to receive a response to the request sent by the second device;

The first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

The communication apparatus 400 shown in FIG. 22 may include a receiving unit 401 and a sending unit 402 . The receiving unit 401 is used for receiving data, and the sending unit 402 is used for sending data. in:

When the communication apparatus shown in FIG. 22 is used to execute the second device in the method embodiments described in the foregoing FIG. 5 , FIG. 6 and FIG. 13 :

A receiving unit 401, configured to receive a request sent by a first device, where the request includes first indication information for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device ;

a sending unit 402, configured to send a response to the request;

The responses in the communication apparatus 300 and the communication apparatus 400 include second indication information for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device;

The communication device 300 and the communication device 400 have any of the functions of the non-AP and AP MLD in the above method. For the relevant content of the first indication information and the second indication information, refer to the previous embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

FIG. 23 shows a schematic block diagram of another communication device 200 . In an implementation manner, the communication apparatus 200 corresponds to the AP MLD described in the above-mentioned second device applicable to the multi-link establishment method 500, the multi-link establishment method 600, and the multi-link establishment method 700. Optionally, the communication device 200 may be the access point APO, AP1 in FIG. 1 or a device therein; or the communication device 200 may be the AP MLD in FIG. 2 . Optionally, the communication apparatus 200 is a chip, a chip system, or a processor that implements the foregoing method embodiments. The communication apparatus 200 may be used to implement the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, and for details, reference may be made to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments.

In another implementation manner, the communication apparatus 200 corresponds to the non-AP MLD described in the above-mentioned first device applicable to the multi-link establishment method 500, the multi-link establishment method 600, and the multi-link establishment method 700, Or the communication device 200 is the non-access point STA0, STA1 in FIG. 1 or a device therein; or the communication device 200 is the non-AP MLD in FIG. 2 . Optionally, the communication apparatus 200 is a chip, a chip system, or a processor that implements the foregoing method embodiments. The communication apparatus 200 may be used to implement the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments, and for details, reference may be made to the descriptions in the foregoing method embodiments.

Communication apparatus 200 may include one or more processors 201 . The processor 201 may be a general-purpose processor or a special-purpose processor, or the like. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control communication devices (such as base stations, baseband chips, terminals, terminal chips, DU or CU, etc.), execute computer programs, process computer program data.

The communication device 200 may also include a transceiver 205 . The transceiver 205 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., and is used to implement a transceiver function. The transceiver 205 may include a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver may be called a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for implementing a receiving function; the transmitter may be called a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for implementing a transmitting function. The sending unit in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 may be implemented by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 may be implemented by a receiver. Optionally, the communication device 200 may further include an antenna 206 .

Optionally, the communication apparatus 200 may include one or more memories 202 on which instructions 204 may be stored, and the instructions 204 may be computer programs that may be executed on the communication apparatus 200 to enable the communication apparatus 200 Execute the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memory 202 may also store data. The communication device 200 and the memory 202 can be provided separately or integrated together.

For the communication device 200 for implementing the non-AP MLD functions in the multilink establishment method 500, the multilink establishment method 600, and the multilink establishment method 700 in the above method embodiments:

The processor 201 may be configured to execute the computer program or program instructions 204 stored in the memory 202, so that the communication apparatus 200 implements the multi-link establishment method 500, the multi-link establishment method 600, and the multi-link establishment method 700 in the above method embodiments. Features of non-AP MLD.

The transceiver 205 is configured to perform steps S501 and S504 in FIG. 5 ; or steps S601 and S604 in FIG. 6 ; or steps S701 and S704 in FIG. 13 .

For the communication device 200 to implement the functions of the AP MLD in the multi-link establishment method 500, the multi-link establishment method 600, and the multi-link establishment method 700 in the above method embodiments:

The processor 201 may be configured to execute the computer program or program instructions 204 stored in the memory 202, so that the communication apparatus 200 implements the multi-link establishment method 500, the multi-link establishment method 600, and the multi-link establishment method 700 in the above method embodiments. Features of AP MLD.

The transceiver 205 is configured to perform steps S502 and S503 in FIG. 5 ; steps S602 and S603 in FIG. 6 ; or steps S702 and S703 in FIG. 13 .

In one implementation, the processor 201 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, or an interface, or an interface circuit. Transceiver circuits, interfaces or interface circuits used to implement receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface or interface circuit can be used for code/data reading and writing, or the above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface or interface circuit can be used for signal transmission or transmission.

In an implementation manner, the processor 201 may store instructions 203, which may be computer programs, and the computer program 203 runs on the processor 201 to enable the communication device 200 to execute the methods described in the above method embodiments. The computer program 203 may be embodied in the processor 201, in which case the processor 201 may be implemented by hardware.

In an implementation manner, the communication apparatus 200 may include a circuit, and the circuit may implement the function of sending or receiving or communicating in the foregoing method embodiments. The processors and transceivers described in this application can be implemented in integrated circuits (ICs), analog ICs, radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs), mixed-signal ICs, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), printed circuit boards ( printed circuit board, PCB), electronic equipment, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be fabricated using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), nMetal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS), P-type Metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a device in a non-AP MLD or a non-AP MLD or a device in an AP MLD or an AP MLD, but the scope of the communication device described in this application is not limited thereto, and the communication device The structure of can not be limited by FIG. 22 . The communication apparatus may be a stand-alone device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication means may be:

(1) Independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or, chip system or subsystem;

(2) a set with one or more ICs, optionally, the IC set can also include a storage component for storing data and computer programs;

(3) ASIC, such as modem (Modem);

(4) Modules that can be embedded in other equipment;

(5) Receivers, terminals, smart terminals, cellular phones, wireless devices, handsets, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

(6) Others, etc.

Those skilled in the art can also understand that various illustrative logical blocks (illustrative logical blocks) and steps (steps) listed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. Whether such functionality is implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and overall system design requirements. Those skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be construed as exceeding the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

The present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer-readable storage medium is executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the foregoing method embodiments.

The present application also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when the computer program product is executed by a computer.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program may be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program may be downloaded from a website site, computer, server, or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server, or data center by wire (eg, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line, DSL) or wireless (eg, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that includes an integration of one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (eg, floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (eg, high-density digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (eg, solid state disks, SSD)) etc.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the various numbers such as the first, second, etc. involved in the present application are only for the convenience of description, and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, nor do they indicate the order of precedence.

At least one item in this application may also be described as one or more, and the multiple may be two, three, four or more, which is not limited in this application. In the embodiments of the present application, for a technical feature, the technical feature is distinguished by "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D", etc. The technical features described in the "first", "second", "third", "A", "B", "C" and "D" described technical features in no order or order of magnitude.

The corresponding relationships shown in each table in this application may be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are only examples, and can be configured with other values, which are not limited in this application. When configuring the corresponding relationship between the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the corresponding relationships indicated in each table. For example, in the tables in this application, the corresponding relationships shown in some rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above table, for example, splitting, merging, and so on. The names of the parameters shown in the headings in the above tables may also adopt other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters may also be other values or representations that the communication device can understand. When the above tables are implemented, other data structures can also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables, or hash tables. Wait.

Predefined in this application may be understood as defining, predefining, storing, pre-storing, pre-negotiating, pre-configuring, curing, or pre-firing.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality using different methods for each particular application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described systems, devices and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited to this. should be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A method for establishing a multi-link, comprising:

The first device sends a request to the second device over the first link, the request including a first indication for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device information;

receiving, by the first device, a response to the request sent by the second device;

The first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

first capability information, used to carry capability information of the first device;

Antenna sharing information, used to indicate the STA information of the shared antenna in one or more STAs of the first device;

first status information, used to indicate the status after the first link and the at least one second link are successfully established;

address information, used to indicate that the MAC address used by the STA of the first device is the same as the MAC address of the first device;

The second capability information is used to indicate whether any two STAs in the one or more STAs can transmit and receive at the same time under different links;

The first station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STAs of the first link and at least one second link after the establishment is successful.
A method for establishing a multi-link, comprising:

The second device receives a request sent by the first device through the first link, where the request includes a first request for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device instruction information;

sending, by the second device, a response to the request to the first device;

The first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

first capability information, used to carry capability information of the first device;

Antenna sharing information, used to indicate the STA information of the shared antenna in one or more STAs of the first device;

first status information, used to indicate the status after the first link and the at least one second link are successfully established;

address information, used to indicate that the MAC address used by the STA of the first device is the same as the MAC address of the first device;

The second capability information is used to indicate whether any two STAs in the one or more STAs can transmit and receive at the same time under different links;

The first station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STAs of the first link and at least one second link after the establishment is successful.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the response includes a second indication for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device information;

Wherein, the second indication information includes one or more of the following:

third capability information, used to carry capability information of the second device;

second status information, used to indicate the establishment status of the first link and at least one second link;

The second station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STA that establishes the first link and at least one second link.
The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the request is carried in an association request frame, and the response is carried in an association response frame.
The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein one or more of the following in the first indication information are carried in a multi-link element of the association request frame: antenna sharing information, First state information, address information, second capability information or first site indication information.
The method of claim 3, wherein the second state information or the second station indication information is carried in a multilink element of the association response frame.
The method of claim 3, wherein the second device comprises at least two access points APs for establishing the first link and at least one second link; wherein

The first capability information includes capability information of STAs used to establish the first link and at least one second link;

The third capability information includes capability information of APs used to establish the first link and at least one second link.
The method of claim 7, wherein:

The capability information of the STA is carried in the multi-link element of the association request frame, and the capability information of the AP is carried in the multi-link element of the association response frame.
The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein,

the antenna sharing information includes information indicating that there is no shared antenna; or

The antenna sharing information includes information indicating that a shared antenna exists and information of STAs sharing the antenna.
The method according to any one of claims 1-9, wherein the status information is used to indicate:

The link is set to the open state, the link is set to the closed state, the link is set to the state of energy saving or the state of link establishment failure.
The method according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the STAs of at least two links in the first link and the at least one second link are the same.
The method according to claim 11, wherein the state of one link among the multiple links established by the same STA is set to be open, and the state of other links is set to be closed.
A first device, characterized in that it includes:

A sending unit, configured to send a request to a second device through a first link, where the request includes a first link for the first device and the second device to establish the first link and at least one second link an instruction message;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a response to the request sent by the second device;

The first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

first capability information, used to carry capability information of the first device;

Antenna sharing information, used to indicate the STA information of the shared antenna in one or more STAs of the first device;

first status information, used to indicate the status after the first link and the at least one second link are successfully established;

address information, used to indicate that the MAC address used by the STA of the first device is the same as the MAC address of the first device;

The second capability information is used to indicate whether any two STAs in the one or more STAs can transmit and receive at the same time under different links;

The first station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STAs of the first link and at least one second link after the establishment is successful.
A second device, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a request sent by a first device, where the request includes first indication information for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device;

a sending unit, configured to send a response to the request;

Wherein, the first device includes one or more STAs corresponding to establishing the first link and at least one second link, and the first indication information includes one or more of the following:

first capability information, used to carry capability information of the first device;

Antenna sharing information, used to indicate the STA information of the shared antenna in one or more STAs of the first device;

first status information, used to indicate the status after the first link and the at least one second link are successfully established;

address information, used to indicate that the MAC address used by the STA of the first device is the same as the MAC address of the first device;

The second capability information is used to indicate whether any two STAs in the one or more STAs can transmit and receive at the same time under different links;

The first station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STAs of the first link and at least one second link after the establishment is successful.
The device of claim 13 or 14, wherein the response includes a second indication for the first device to establish the first link and at least one second link with the second device information;

Wherein, the second indication information includes one or more of the following:

third capability information, used to carry capability information of the second device;

second status information, used to indicate the establishment status of the first link and at least one second link;

The second station indication information is used to indicate the information of the STA that establishes the first link and at least one second link.
The device according to any one of claims 13-15, wherein the request is carried in an association request frame, and the response is carried in an association response frame.
The device according to any one of claims 13-16, wherein one or more of the following in the first indication information is carried in a multi-link element of the association request frame: antenna sharing information, First state information, address information, second capability information or first site indication information.
The device of claim 15, wherein the second status information or second site indication information is carried in a multilink element of the association response frame.
The device of claim 15, wherein the second device comprises at least two access points APs for establishing the first link and at least one second link; wherein

The first capability information includes: capability information of STAs used to establish the first link and at least one second link;

The third capability information includes capability information of an AP used to establish the first link and at least one second link.
The apparatus of claim 19, wherein

The capability information of the STA is carried in the multi-link element of the association request frame, and the capability information of the AP is carried in the multi-link element of the association response frame.
The device according to any one of claims 13-20, characterized in that,

the antenna sharing information includes information indicating that there is no shared antenna; or

The antenna sharing information includes information indicating that a shared antenna exists and information of STAs sharing the antenna.
The device according to any one of claims 13-21, wherein the status information is used to indicate:

The link is set to the open state, the link is set to the closed state, the link is set to the state of energy saving or the state of link establishment failure.
The device according to any one of claims 13-22, wherein the STAs of at least two links in the first link and the at least one second link are the same.
The device according to claim 23, wherein a state of one link among the multiple links established by the same STA is set to be open, and the state of other links is set to be closed.
A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium, when the instructions are executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12.
A communication apparatus, applied to a first device, characterized in that it includes a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the first device executes the right The method described in any one of claims 1-2 and 4-12.
A communication device applied to a second device, characterized in that it comprises a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the first device executes the right The method of any one of claims 3-12.
A computer program product, characterized in that it includes computer program code, which, when the computer program code is run on a computer, causes the computer to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-12.
A device, characterized in that, is used for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1-12.