Methods for identifying link identifiers, methods for identifying transmission capabilities, and related equipment.

Abstract

The embodiment of the present invention discloses a link identification and transceiving capability indication method and a related device. The method comprises: a multi-link device working on multiple links sends a wireless frame, wherein the wireless frame includes link information of at least one of the multiple links, the link information of one link is used to indicate the link and corresponds to the link identity of the link, a receiving device that receives the wireless frame can determine the link identity of the link corresponding to the link information, so that in the communication of the multi-link device, the link identity can be used to mark the link to reduce the signaling overhead.

Description

A link identification and transceiving capability indication method and related device

[0001] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 201911122636.2, filed on November 15, 2019, and entitled "A link identification and transceiving capability indication method and related device", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and in particular to a link identification and transceiving capability indication method and related device. BACKGROUND

[0003] With the development of wireless technology, a multi-link device can support multi-link communication, for example, simultaneously communicating in 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 60GHz frequency bands. Even in the case of limited number of antennas, the multi-link device can switch between different frequency bands to select the best frequency band and ensure the quality of communication. There are multiple links between multi-link devices, but transmitting on one link can affect the reception on another link. In multi-link device communication, the links used by the communication parties need to be determined to enable accurate transmission and reception and improve communication efficiency. However, due to the large number of links on which the multi-link device operates, the signaling overhead for indicating the links is usually large.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a link identification and transceiving capability indication method and related device, which reduces signaling overhead and improves data transmission efficiency.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a link identification indication method, including: a first multi-link device generates a wireless frame, the first multi-link device operating on multiple links; the first multi-link device transmits the wireless frame, the wireless frame including link information of at least one link of the multiple links, the link information of a link being used to indicate the link and a link identification corresponding to the link. By assigning a link identification and corresponding the link identification with link information, the link supported by the first multi-link device can be indicated by the link identification. Thus, signaling overhead can be saved and transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0007] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a link identification indication method, including: receiving, by a receiving device, a wireless frame sent by a first multi-link device, the first multi-link device operating on a plurality of links, the wireless frame including link information of at least one link in the plurality of links, the link information of one link being used to indicate the link and a link identification corresponding to the link; and parsing the wireless frame to obtain the link information of the at least one link and the link identification corresponding to the at least one link. By assigning the link identification and corresponding the link identification to the link information, the link supported by the first multi-link device can be indicated by the link identification. Therefore, signaling overhead can be saved and transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0008] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a transceiving capability indication method, including: generating, by a first multi-link device, a wireless frame, the first multi-link device operating on N links, N being an integer greater than 1; and sending the wireless frame, the wireless frame including a multi-link operation capability list field, the multi-link operation capability list field including K multi-link operation capability fields, one multi-link operation capability field corresponding to one link in the N links, the multi-link operation capability field being used to indicate whether the corresponding link and other links in the N links support simultaneous transceiving, K being an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. By introducing a multi-link operation capability field in the wireless frame and indicating, by the multi-link operation capability field, whether the corresponding link and other links in the N links support simultaneous transceiving, the receiving device can determine the simultaneous transceiving capability of the plurality of links, thereby improving transmission efficiency.

[0009] It should be noted that "simultaneous transceiving" or "simultaneously" in the present application does not mean that the starting time point and the ending time point of the transmitted data and the received data are strictly the same, nor does it mean that the transmission time and the reception time are completely the same. It can be understood that when the time length of the data transmitted on one link and the time length of the data received on another link have a non-empty intersection in time, it can also be referred to as "simultaneously".

[0010] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a transceiving capability indication method, including: receiving, by a receiving device, a wireless frame sent by a first multi-link device, the first multi-link device operating on N links, the wireless frame including a multi-link operation capability list field, the multi-link operation capability list field including K multi-link operation capability fields, one multi-link operation capability field corresponding to one link in the N links, the multi-link operation capability field being used to indicate whether the corresponding link and other links in the N links support simultaneous transceiving, N being an integer greater than 1, and K being an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N; and determining, according to the multi-link operation capability field, whether the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field and other links in the N links support simultaneous transceiving.

[0011] In a possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a capability field number field, where the capability field number field is used to indicate a number of the multi-link operation capability fields, and the capability field number field has a value of K.

[0012] In another possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to one of the N links includes: the K multi-link operation capability fields sequentially corresponding to K of the N links; and an i-th multi-link operation capability field of the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponding to an i-th link of the K links, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and the i-th multi-link operation capability field is used to indicate whether the i-th link and other links of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0013] In another possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, one of the K multi-link operation capability fields includes a link identifier of the i-th link, and corresponds to the i-th link; and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the i-th link is used to indicate whether the i-th link and other links of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0014] In another possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, K = N, and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the i-th link includes a transmission and reception capability indication bitmap, where the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap includes N bits, and a j-th bit of the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap is used to indicate whether the i-th link and a j-th link of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0015] In another possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, K = N-1, and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the i-th link includes (N-i) bits, and a j-th bit of the (N-i) bits is used to indicate whether the i-th link and an (i+j)-th link of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0016] In another possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, one of the multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to one of the links, and includes: the K multi-link operation capability fields sequentially corresponding to K of the N links; and an i-th multi-link operation capability field of the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponding to an i-th link of the K links, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N, and the i-th multi-link operation capability field is used to indicate whether the i-th link using a first bandwidth and other links of the N links using a second bandwidth support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0017] In an example of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, one of the K multi-link operation capability fields includes a link identifier of the ith link, corresponding to the ith link; and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link indicates whether simultaneous transmission and reception is supported for the ith link using the first bandwidth and other links of the N links using the second bandwidth, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0018] In an example of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, K = N, and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link includes N simultaneous transmission and reception information units, where the jth simultaneous transmission and reception information unit of the N simultaneous transmission and reception information units indicates whether simultaneous transmission and reception is supported for the ith link using the first bandwidth and the jth link of the N links using the second bandwidth, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0019] In an example of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, K = N-1, and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link includes (N-i) simultaneous transmission and reception information units, where the jth simultaneous transmission and reception information unit of the (N-i) simultaneous transmission and reception information units indicates whether simultaneous transmission and reception is supported for the ith link using the first bandwidth and the (i+j)th link of the N links using the second bandwidth, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0020] In an example of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, one of the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to one link, and includes: the K multi-link operation capability fields sequentially correspond to K links of the N links; and the ith multi-link operation capability field of the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to the ith link of the K links, and indicates a minimum frequency interval allowed when the ith link simultaneously transmits and receives with other links of the N links, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0021] In an example of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, one of the K multi-link operation capability fields includes a link identifier of the ith link, corresponding to the ith link; and the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link indicates a minimum frequency interval allowed when the ith link simultaneously transmits and receives with other links of the N links, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0022] In an example of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a common frequency interval subfield, and the common frequency interval subfield indicates a minimum frequency interval allowed when two links of the N links simultaneously transmit and receive.

[0023] In a further possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, K is equal to N, the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link includes N frequency interval subfields, and the jth frequency interval subfield in the N frequency interval subfields is used to indicate the minimum frequency interval allowed when the ith link and the jth link in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive, j being an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0024] In a further possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, K is equal to N-1, the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link includes (N-i) frequency interval subfields, and the jth frequency interval subfield in the (N-i) frequency interval subfields is used to indicate the minimum frequency interval allowed when the ith link and the (i+j)th link in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive, j being an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0025] In a further possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a frequency position indication field, and the frequency position indication field is used to indicate that the minimum frequency interval is the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points of two links in the N links or the distance between the edge frequency points of the two links.

[0026] In a further possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a transmission power level field, and the transmission power level field is used to indicate the transmission power threshold supported by two links in the N links for simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0027] In a further possible design of the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the multi-link operation capability list field includes N transmission power level fields, and one transmission power level field corresponds to one multi-link operation capability field, and the transmission power level field is used to indicate the transmission power threshold supported by the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field and other links for simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0028] In the fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a first communication device configured to implement the method and functions performed by the first multi-link device in the first aspect or the third aspect, and the hardware / software thereof includes modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0029] In the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a second communication device configured to implement the method and functions performed by the receiving device in the second aspect or the fourth aspect, and the hardware / software thereof includes modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a first multi-link device, comprising a processor, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the communication bus is configured to realize connection communication between the processor and the memory, and the processor executes a program stored in the memory to realize the steps of the first aspect or the third aspect.

[0031] In a possible design, the first multi-link device provided by the present application can include a module for performing behaviors of the first entity in the above method design. The module can be software and / or hardware.

[0032] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a receiving device, comprising a processor, a memory and a communication bus, wherein the communication bus is configured to realize connection communication between the processor and the memory, and the processor executes a program stored in the memory to realize the steps of the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0033] In a possible design, the receiving device provided by the present application can include a module for performing behaviors of the first multi-link device in the above method design. The module can be software and / or hardware.

[0034] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions, when the instructions are executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method of any of the above aspects.

[0035] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, when the instructions are executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method of any of the above aspects.

[0036] In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising a processor, configured to invoke and execute instructions stored in a memory, so that a communication device installed with the chip executes the method of any of the above aspects.

[0037] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides another chip, which can be a chip in the first multi-link device or the receiving device, and the chip comprises an input interface, an output interface and a processing circuit, the input interface, the output interface and the circuit are connected through an internal connection path, and the processing circuit is configured to execute the method of any of the above aspects.

[0038] In a thirteenth aspect, another chip is provided, comprising an input interface, an output interface, a processor and optionally a memory, the input interface, the output interface, the processor and the memory are connected through an internal connection path, and the processor is configured to execute code in the memory, when the code is executed, the processor is configured to execute the method in any of the above aspects.

[0039] In a fourteenth aspect, an apparatus is provided for realizing the method of any of the above aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0040] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the background art, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments of the present invention or the background art will be described below.

[0041] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of communication between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a link identification indication method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a multi-band element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another multi-band element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0046] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another multi-band element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a multi-link index element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of another multi-link index element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0049] Figure 9 is a flowchart illustrating a transceiver capability indication method provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0050] Figure 10 is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-link operational capability indicator element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of another multi-link operational capability indication element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of another multi-link operational capability indication element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another multi-link operational capability indicator element provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0054] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of another multi-link operational capability indicator element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 15 is a structural schematic diagram of another multi-link operational capability indicator element provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0056] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram of another multi-link operation capability domain provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0057] FIG. 17 is a structural diagram of another multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG. 18 is a structural diagram of another multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG. 19 is a structural diagram of another transmit power level field provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG. 20 is a structural diagram of another transmit power level field provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG. 21 is a structural diagram of a first communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG. 22 is a structural diagram of a second communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG. 23 is a structural diagram of a first multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG. 24 is a structural diagram of a receiving device provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0065] Embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0066] The indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to a wireless communication system, which can be a wireless local area network. The wireless local area network includes at least one access point (AP) and at least one station (STA). The AP is a network element that provides services for the station, which can be referred to as an access point station (AP Station). For example, the AP can be an access point that supports 802.11 series protocols. The STA can be a station that supports 802.11 series protocols, which can be referred to as a non-AP station (non-AP STA). For example, the STA can be an extremely high throughput (EHT) station or a station that supports IEEE 802.11be.

[0067] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to the communication system shown in FIG. 1. In the communication system, one AP can perform data transmission with multiple STAs. For example, the AP in FIG. 1 can perform uplink data or downlink data transmission with two STAs. The indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application can be applied to communication between APs, communication between an AP and a STA, and communication between STAs.

[0068] Currently, the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11 next generation WiFi protocol device can support increasing the peak throughput and reducing the delay of service transmission through multiple streams, multiple frequency bands (for example, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz frequency bands), and cooperation through multiple channels on the same frequency band and the like. That is, the STA in the communication system shown in FIG. 1 can transmit uplink or downlink data in a multi-band or multi-channel manner, that is, the STA can transmit uplink or downlink data through multiple links, and the STA that transmits uplink or downlink data through multiple links can be referred to as a multi-link STA. Among them, the next generation IEEE 802.11 standard station that can support multiple links at the same time can be referred to as an ML device, and the internal entity of the ML device responsible for any one link can be referred to as a STA. The IEEE 802.11 standard station that only supports one link or the IEEE 802.11 standard station that only works on one link can be referred to as a single link (SL) device, and since it only supports one link, it can also be referred to as an SL STA. Among them, if the ML device is an AP, it can be further referred to as an ML AP. If the ML device is a non-AP STA, it can be further referred to as an ML non-AP STA.

[0069] For example, the STA in the communication system shown in FIG. 1 can be a multi-link STA, and the AP in the communication system shown in FIG. 1 can also be a multi-link AP, that is, an AP that can receive uplink or transmit downlink data through multiple links. Among them, the multi-link STA can include one or more STAs working on multiple links, and the multi-link AP includes one or more APs working on multiple links.

[0070] Increasing throughput is a continuous technical goal for the evolution of cellular networks and WLANs. The protocols of WLAN systems are mainly discussed in the IEEE 802.11 standard group. In previous 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax standards, the throughput has been continuously improved. The next generation standard IEEE 802.11be takes Multi-Link (ML) as one of the key technologies to achieve the goal of extremely high throughput. The core idea is that the WLAN device supporting the next generation IEEE 802.11 standard has the capability of transmitting and receiving in multiple frequency bands (Multi-band), so as to use a larger bandwidth for data transmission, thereby significantly improving the throughput. The access and transmission in each frequency band are called a link, or the access and transmission in a frequency interval on the same frequency band are called a link, so the access and transmission composed of multiple links are called ML.

[0071] For example, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of communication between multi-link devices, for example, the communication between a multi-link AP and a multi-link STA in the communication system shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the multi-link STA can communicate with the multi-link AP through two links. Among them, the multi-link STA includes STA1 and STA2, and the multi-link AP includes AP1 and AP2. STA1 in the multi-link STA can communicate with AP1 in the multi-link AP through link 1, and STA2 in the multi-link STA can communicate with AP2 in the multi-link AP through link 2. That is, the multi-link STA can transmit data between the multi-link AP through multiple links, and one of the multiple STAs included in the multi-link STA works on one of the multiple links.

[0072] In the process of communication between multi-link devices, it is necessary to determine the links used by the two parties for communication to achieve accurate transmission and reception and improve the efficiency of communication. However, due to the large number of links on which the multi-link device works, the signaling overhead for indicating the links is usually large. In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide the following solutions. Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart of a link identification indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0073] S301, a first multi-link device generates a wireless frame, and the first multi-link device works on multiple links. Among them, the first multi-link device can include one or more stations, and the one or more stations work on the multiple links.

[0074] For example, the first multi-link device can be an access point in the communication system shown in FIG. 1, or a station.

[0075] S302, the first multi-link device sends the wireless frame, and the receiving device receives the wireless frame, the wireless frame comprising link information of at least one link in the plurality of links, the link information of one link being used to indicate the link and a link identifier corresponding to the link. Wherein, the link information can comprise a band identifier domain (Band ID) and an operating class domain (operating class) and a channel number (channel number). The link identifier can also be referred to as a link index value.

[0076] S303, the receiving device parses the wireless frame to obtain the link information of the at least one link and the link identifier corresponding to the at least one link. Optionally, the receiving device can be a multi-link device or a single-link device. For example, the receiving device is a STA or an AP in FIG. 1.

[0077] For how to indicate the link identifier and the link information to the receiving device, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the way of explicit indication of the link identifier and implicit indication of the link identifier. Specifically, the following several implementation manners can be included:

[0078] Manner one, the wireless frame comprises at least one multi-band element, one multi-band element comprising the link information of one link and a multi-band control domain (multi-band control). Wherein, the multi-band control domain comprises a multi-link indexing present domain (multi-link indexing present), which is used to indicate whether a multi-link indexing domain (multi-link indexing) exists in the multi-band element; if the multi-link indexing present domain indicates that the multi-link indexing domain exists in the multi-band element, the multi-link indexing domain comprises the link identifier of the link corresponding to the link information. Otherwise, the multi-band element does not comprise the multi-link indexing domain. Optionally, the multi-link indexing present domain can also not be included.

[0079] For example, as shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a multi-band element according to an embodiment of the present application. The multi-band element includes a multi-band control field, and the last bit in the multi-band control field is originally reserved. The present embodiment modifies the reserved bit as a multi-link indexing present field. If the value of the multi-link indexing present field is 0, it indicates that the multi-band element does not have a multi-link indexing field. If the value of the multi-link indexing present field is 1, it indicates that the multi-band element has a multi-link indexing field. A multi-link indexing field is added at the end of the existing multi-band element field in IEEE 802.11, and the multi-link indexing field indicates the link identification of the link indicated by the multi-band element. Of course, the values of the multi-link indexing present field can also be interchanged, expressing the same meaning. As shown in FIG. 4, the multi-band element can also include an element identification field (element ID), a length field (length), a band identification field (Band ID), an operating class field, a station MAC address field (STA MAC address), a pairwise cipher suite count field, and a pairwise cipher suite list field. The multi-band control field includes a station role field (STA Role), a station MAC address present field (STA MAC address present), a pairwise cipher suite present field (pairwise cipher suite present), a fast session transfer not supported field, an on channel tunneling not supported field, and the like. The number of bytes and bits of each field can refer to the sizes shown in FIG. 4, but are not limited.

[0080] In the second mode, the radio frame includes at least one multi-band element, one multi-band element includes the link information of one link and a pairwise cipher suite list field, the pairwise cipher suite list field includes a suite selector field, the suite selector field includes a manufacturer identification subfield and a suite type subfield; if the manufacturer identification subfield takes a first value, the suite type subfield includes a link identification of the link corresponding to the link information. Optionally, the multi-band element can further include a pairwise cipher suite count field, the pairwise cipher suite count field takes a value equal to the actual number of pairwise cipher suites plus 1.

[0081] For example, as shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another multi-band element provided by the embodiment of the present application. The multi-band element includes a pairwise cipher suite list field, the pairwise cipher suite list field includes m suite selector fields, and the last suite selector field is multiplexed as a multi-link indexing field. If it is required to assign a link identification to the link corresponding to the multi-band element, the pairwise cipher suite count field takes a value equal to the actual number of pairwise cipher suites field plus 1 (i.e. m), and the pairwise cipher suite present field in the multi-band control field takes a value of 1.

[0082] In addition, each suite selector field includes an organizationally unique identifier (OUI), and the multi-link indexing field and the suite selector field can be distinguished according to the OUI. Specifically, if the OUI is equal to a special value, it indicates that the OUI is followed by a link identification field, and if the OUI is not equal to the special value, the OUI is followed by a suite type field. For example, the multi-link indexing field includes 4 bytes, if the OUI of the first three bytes of the multi-link indexing field is equal to 00-0F-AC, since the last byte takes a value of 0-13 has been used, the last byte can take a value greater than or equal to 14, and the receiving device can determine that the OUI is followed by a link identification field according to the value of the last byte being greater than or equal to 14, and the value obtained by subtracting 14 or 13 from the value of the last byte is the link identification. If the value of the last byte is less than 14, it is determined that the OUI is followed by a suite type field. For another example, when the OUI of the first three bytes of the multi-link indexing field is equal to 00-FF-DD or some other OUI identification that has not been used, since the last byte takes a value of 0-13 has not been used, it can take any value (such as 1, 2, 3,...) as the link identification.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 5, the multi-band element can further include an element ID, a length, a Band ID, an operating class, a STA MAC address, and the like. The number of bytes and bits of each field can refer to the size shown in FIG. 5, but is not limited thereto.

[0084] In a third mode, the wireless frame includes at least one multi-band element, and one of the multi-band elements includes the link information of one link, a multi-band control field, and a multi-band connection capability field. The multi-band control field includes a multi-link indexing present field, which is used to indicate whether the link identification of the link exists in the multi-band element. If the multi-link indexing present field indicates that the link identification of the link exists in the multi-band element, the reserved bits in the multi-band connection capability field include the link identification of the link corresponding to the link information. Optionally, the multi-band control field can not include the multi-link indexing present field.

[0085] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, which is a schematic diagram of another multi-band element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The multi-band element includes a multi-band control field, and the last bit in the original multi-band control field is a reserved bit. The embodiment of the present application modifies the reserved bit to a multi-link indexing present field. If the value of the multi-link indexing present field is 0, it indicates that the link identification of the link does not exist in the multi-band element, and if the value of the multi-link indexing present field is 1, it indicates that the link identification of the link exists in the multi-band element, and the four reserved bits in the multi-band connection capability field are used to assign the link identification, and at most 16 links can be supported. Of course, the values of the multi-link indexing present field can be interchanged, and the same meaning can be expressed. The bits in the multi-band connection capability field respectively represent an access point (AP), a project control plan (PCP), a tunneled direct link setup (TDLS), an independent basic service set (IBSS), and the like.

[0086] The fourth mode is that the wireless frame comprises at least one multi-band element, the order of the at least one multi-band element corresponds to the link identification of the link corresponding to the at least one multi-band element one by one, one multi-band element comprises the link information of one link, and the order of the multi-band element in the at least one multi-band element indicates the link identification of the link corresponding to the multi-band element.

[0087] For example, as shown in Table 1, the embodiment is implicit link index value allocation. In the IEEE 802.11 probe request frame, probe response frame or beacon frame, there are multiple multi-band element fields, each of which represents one link. The order of the multi-band element field in the wireless frame represents the link identification of the link indicated by the multi-band element field. For example, the first multi-band element appears in the order of 1 in the wireless frame, so the link identification of the first multi-band element can be 1, the second multi-band element appears in the order of 2 in the wireless frame, so the link identification of the first multi-band element can be 2,..., the nth multi-band element appears in the order of n in the wireless frame, so the link identification of the nth multi-band element can be n. Alternatively, the link identification can start from 0, and the link identification of the first multi-band element to the nth multi-band element is 0, 2,..., n-1 respectively. The link identification can also be arranged in reverse order, and the link identification of the first multi-band element to the nth multi-band element is n-1, n-2,..., 1, 0 respectively.

[0088] Table 1

[0089] Information First multi-band element Second multi-band element... nth multi-band element

[0090] The fifth mode is that the wireless frame comprises at least one multi-band element and a multi-link index allocation field, the multi-link index allocation field comprises the link identification of at least one link, one multi-band element comprises the link information of one link, and one link identification corresponds to one multi-band element.

[0091] For example, as shown in Table 2, a multi-link indexing action frame is newly introduced in IEEE 802.11. The category in the wireless frame is consistent with the existing IEEE 802.11, and then a plurality of multi-band element fields are followed, each of which corresponds to a link. There is a multi-link indexing allocation at the end of the wireless frame, which is used to sequentially assign link identifiers to the links corresponding to the plurality of multi-band element fields in the wireless frame. The multi-link indexing allocation is composed of a plurality of multi-link indexing value fields, and the number of the multi-link indexing value fields is equal to the number of the multi-band element fields. The value of the ith multi-link indexing value field represents the link identifier of the link corresponding to the ith multi-band element field.

[0092] Table 2

[0093] Category 1 Type of sequence information 2 Multi-band 3 Multi-band …… XX Multi-link indexing allocation

[0094] The wireless frame can be a probe request frame, a probe response frame, or a beacon frame, etc.

[0095] It should be noted that the link identifier can be assigned by the AP. The AP can send a wireless frame carrying the link identifier to the STA, which can be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, an authentication frame, or a re-association response frame. After receiving the wireless frame sent by the AP, the STA can determine the link identifier of the link supported by itself. Optionally, the links supported by the STA are a subset of the links supported by the AP.

[0096] Optionally, the link identifier can also be allocated by the STA, and each STA associated with the AP can be allocated a link identifier. For example, STA1 supports three links, and the link identifiers are 1, 2 and 3 respectively, and STA2 supports four links, and the link identifiers are 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The STA can send a wireless frame carrying the link identifier to the AP, and the wireless frame can be a probe request frame, an authentication frame, an association request frame or a re-association request frame. After receiving the wireless frame sent by the STA, the AP can determine the link identifiers of the links supported by the STA. Since STA11 can allocate identifier 1 to link 1, and STA2 can allocate identifier 1 to link 2, in order to avoid the AP confusing the links corresponding to identifier 1, it is necessary to bind the link identifier and the address of the STA. After receiving the wireless frame sent by the STA, the AP can determine the link identifiers of the links supported by each STA according to the link identifier and the address of the STA. Optionally, the address of the STA can be the MAC address of the STA or an association identifier AID.

[0097] The link identifiers can be allocated to the links in the above-mentioned optional manners, or can be allocated in other manners. The following describes how to use the allocated link identifiers.

[0098] The first multi-link device sends a multi-link index element, and the receiving device can receive the multi-link index element sent by the first multi-link device. The multi-link index element includes a multi-link index information field, and the multi-link index information field includes a link identifier of a selected link in the multiple links or a bit map, and the bit map is used to indicate whether a link in the multiple links is selected.

[0099] For example, as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a multi-link index element provided by an embodiment of the application. The multi-link index element is a display implementation. A new element is introduced in IEEE 802.11, which is called a multi-link index element. The multi-link index element includes an element identifier field, a length field and a multi-link index information field (MLI Info). The multi-link index information field includes a selected link number field and a plurality of link identifier fields, and the number of link identifier fields is equal to the value of the selected link number field. Each link identifier corresponds to a selected link.

[0100] For another example, as shown in FIG. 8, which is a schematic diagram of another multi-link index element provided in the embodiments of the present application. The multi-link index element is an implicit implementation. A new element is introduced in IEEE 802.11, which is called multi-link index element. The element includes an element identification field, a length field, and a multi-link index information field (MLI Info). The multi-link index information field is in the form of a bitmap, and bit i represents whether the link with link identification i is selected. For example, if the value of the i th bit in the bitmap is 1, it means that the link corresponding to link identification i is selected, and if the value of the i th bit in the bitmap is 0, it means that the link corresponding to link identification i is not selected. Of course, the value 0 can represent that the link is selected, and the value 1 can represent that the link is not selected. Wherein, i is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

[0101] The multi-link index element can be carried in the add block acknowledgement (ADDBA) request frame and the ADDBA response frame, thereby supporting the establishment of multi-link BA. A multi-link index element can be added at the end of the frame structure of the existing ADDBA request frame and the ADDBA response frame. In the multi-link index element of the ADDBA request frame, the selected links are the links on which the sender wants to establish BA, and in the multi-link index element of the ADDBA response frame, the selected links are a subset of the selected links in the multi-link index element of the ADDBA request frame, and the sender confirms the establishment of BA on these selected links.

[0102] Optionally, the link index element can also be carried in the association request frame and the association response frame, thereby supporting multi-link selection. A multi-link index element can be added at the end of the frame structure of the existing association request frame and the association response frame. In the multi-link index element of the association request frame, the selected links are the links on which the sender wants to communicate with the receiver, and in the multi-link index element of the association response frame, the selected links are a subset of the selected links in the multi-link index element of the association request frame, and the sender confirms the communication between the two parties on these links.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present application, by allocating link identifications and corresponding the link identifications with link information, each link can be indicated by the link identification. For example, by establishing a BA connection through the link identification, or by establishing communication through the link identification, the signaling overhead can be saved, and the transmission efficiency can be improved.

[0104] In a case where the frequency interval between the multiple frequency bands supported by the WLAN device supporting the next generation standard is close, for the same ML STA, if transmitting a signal in one frequency band affects receiving a signal in another frequency band to make it difficult to normally receive or the effect of transmitting a signal in one frequency band on receiving a signal in another frequency band is greater than a certain threshold, it is considered that the multiple links do not have simultaneous transmit-receive capability. Conversely, if transmitting a signal in one frequency band does not affect normal reception of a signal in another frequency band or the effect on normal reception of another link is less than a certain threshold, it is considered that the multiple links have simultaneous transmit-receive capability. Whether or not to have simultaneous transmit-receive capability is not only related to the distance between the two frequency bands, but also related to the interference cancellation capability of each ML STA device itself, and different devices can have different simultaneous transmit-receive capabilities. Since the simultaneous transmit-receive capability of the multiple links in the ML system is different, the affected transmission method is also different. Therefore, in order to enable the devices in the WLAN to select appropriate links for simultaneous transmit-receive and improve transmission efficiency, in one solution, the ML STA can announce whether the multiple links have simultaneous transmit-receive capability, so that the transmitting and receiving parties can select the links supporting simultaneous transmit-receive for simultaneous transmit-receive and improve transmission efficiency. Since there are many factors affecting the simultaneous transmit-receive capability of the multiple links, such as bandwidth used, transmit power, etc., simply indicating whether the multiple links have simultaneous transmit-receive capability is not complete, and without giving a specific indication of the simultaneous transmit-receive capability of the multiple links, the data transmission efficiency will be affected. In order to solve the above technical problem, the embodiments of the present application provide the following solutions.

[0105] Please refer to FIG. 9, which is a flow diagram of a transmit-receive capability indication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0106] S901, a first multi-link device generates a wireless frame, the first multi-link device works on N links, the first multi-link device can include one or more stations, the one or more stations work on multiple links, the N links are part of the multiple links or all the links, and N is an integer greater than 1;

[0107] The first multi-link device can be a multi-link AP or a multi-link STA, for example, an AP or a STA in FIG. 1.

[0108] S902, the first multi-link device transmits the wireless frame, the wireless frame includes a multi-link operation capability list field, the multi-link operation capability list field includes K multi-link operation capability fields, one of the multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to one of the N links, the multi-link operation capability field is used to indicate whether the corresponding link supports simultaneous transmit-receive with other links in the N links, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0109] It should be noted that the "simultaneous transceiving" or "simultaneously" in the embodiments of the present application does not mean that the starting time point and the ending time point of the transmitted data and the received data are strictly the same, nor does it mean that the transmission time and the reception time are completely the same. It can be understood that when the time length of the data transmitted on one link and the time length of the data received on another link have a non-empty intersection in time, it can also be called "simultaneously".

[0110] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the simultaneous transceiving between the ith link and the jth link includes: a first case: the ith link transmits and the jth link receives; and a second case: the jth link transmits and the ith link receives. The embodiments of the present application can respectively indicate whether the two cases support simultaneous transceiving, or can not distinguish the two cases.

[0111] S903, the receiving device determines whether the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field and other links in the N links support simultaneous transceiving according to the multi-link operation capability field. Optionally, the receiving device is a multi-link device or a single-link device, for example, an STA or an AP in FIG. 1.

[0112] Specifically, the wireless frame can carry a multi-link operation capability indication element (MLO capability element), and optionally, the multi-link operation capability indication element includes an element identification field (element ID), a length field (length), and an MLO capability list field. The simultaneous transceiving capability between multiple links is indicated by the multi-link operation capability indication element. When the first multi-link device is an AP, the wireless frame can be a beacon frame, a probe response frame, an association response frame, an authentication frame, or a re-association response frame; when the first multi-link device is an STA, the wireless frame can be a probe request frame, an authentication frame, an association request frame, or a re-association request frame.

[0113] Table 3

[0114] Information multi-band element 1 …… multi-band element N multi-link operation capability

[0115] For example, as shown in Table 3, a plurality of multi-band elements and a multi-link operation capability indication element can be added to the element list of the existing IEEE 802.11 probe response frame and probe request frame, and each multi-band element corresponds to a link. The multi-link operation capability indication element is used to indicate the simultaneous transceiving capability between multiple links. Among them, the order of the links corresponding to the plurality of multi-link operation capability fields in the multi-link operation capability indication element is consistent with the appearance order of the multi-band element field.

[0116] Table 4

[0117] Information Category Multiband element 1 Multiband element 2 … Multiband element N Multilink operation capability

[0118] For example, as shown in Table 4, a new multilink capability announcement action frame (MLO capability announcement action frame) can be introduced, which is used to indicate the multilink operation capability of the first multilink device. The multilink capability announcement action frame includes a category element, one or more multiband elements, and a multilink operation capability indication element. Each multiband element corresponds to a link. The multilink operation capability indication element is used to indicate the simultaneous transceiving capability of multiple links. The order of the multiple multilink operation capability fields in the multilink operation capability indication element corresponds to the order of the appearance of the multiband element fields.

[0119] The embodiments of the present application provide various methods for indicating whether multiple links simultaneously transceive, including but not limited to:

[0120] Optionally, the multilink operation capability field corresponds to one of the N links, including: the order of the K multilink operation capability fields corresponds to the order of K links in the N links; the i th multilink operation capability field in the K multilink operation capability fields corresponds to the i th link in the K links, and is used to indicate whether the i th link and other links in the K links support simultaneous transceiving, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. This is an implicit indication method. The following optional methods are included:

[0121] The first optional method is K=N, indicating that there are N multilink operation capability fields, and the multilink operation capability field corresponding to the i th link includes a transceiving capability indication bitmap, which includes N bits. The j th bit of the transceiving capability indication bitmap is used to indicate whether the i th link and the j th link in the N links support simultaneous transceiving, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. A bit position of 1 indicates support for simultaneous transceiving, and a bit position of 0 indicates no support for simultaneous transceiving. Alternatively, 0 or 1 can indicate the opposite, i.e., a bit position of 0 indicates support for simultaneous transceiving, and a bit position of 1 indicates no support for simultaneous transceiving. Optionally, the transceiving capability indication bitmap can include a bit indicating the number of all links of the first multilink device, where the j th bit is used to indicate whether the i th link and the j th link in the all links support simultaneous transceiving. Optionally, the MLO capability list can further include a capability field number field indicating the number of MLO capability fields.

[0122] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the simultaneous transmission and reception between the ith link and the jth link includes: the first case: the ith link transmits and the jth link receives; and the second case: the jth link transmits and the ith link receives. In the first optional mode, whether the two cases support the simultaneous transmission and reception can be indicated respectively, or the two cases can not be distinguished. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 10 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by the embodiments of the present application. The multi-link operation capability indication element includes an element identification domain, a length domain, and an MLO capability list domain, etc. The MLO capability list domain includes N fixed-length multi-link operation capability fields (MLO capability fields), and N is a fixed value, for example, N = 8. The ith MLO capability field is used to indicate whether the transmission of the ith link corresponding to the MLO capability field affects the reception of other links. Each MLO capability field includes a transmission and reception capability indication bitmap, and the length of the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap can be equal to N, or equal to the number of all links supported by the first multi-link device. For the ith MLO capability field, the jth bit indicates whether the transmission of the ith link and the reception of the jth link can be performed simultaneously. The bit is set to 1 to indicate that the transmission of the ith link can be performed simultaneously with the reception of the jth link, and the bit is set to 0 to indicate that the transmission of the ith link cannot be performed simultaneously with the reception of the jth link. 0 or 1 can also be indicated in the opposite way, which will not be described here. According to the MLO capability field, the receiving device can determine whether the transmission of the ith link can be performed simultaneously with the reception of the jth link.

[0123] In the second optional mode, the multi-link operation capability list domain includes a capability field number domain, which is used to indicate the number of multi-link operation capability fields, and the value of the capability field number domain is K.

[0124] For example, as shown in FIG. 11, FIG. 11 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by the embodiments of the present application. The multi-link operation capability indication element includes an element identification domain (element ID), a length domain (length), and an MLO capability list domain, etc. The ith MLO capability field corresponds to the ith link. The length of the MLO capability list domain is variable. The first byte of the MLO capability list domain includes a capability field number domain, which indicates the number of MLO capability fields contained in the MLO capability list domain. After the capability field number domain, one or more MLO capability fields are sequentially arranged. The content of the MLO capability field is the same as that shown in FIG. 10, which will not be described here.

[0125] In a third alternative, the MLO capability list field optionally includes a capability field number field, the value of the capability field number field is K=N-1, indicating that there are N-1 MLO capability fields. The MLO capability field corresponding to the ith link includes (N-i) bits, the jth bit of the (N-i) bits is used to indicate whether the ith link and the (i+j)th link support simultaneous transmission and reception, j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Optionally, the MLO capability field corresponding to the ith link can also include (N-i) bits, the jth bit of the (N-i) bits is used to indicate whether the ith link and the (i+j)th link support simultaneous transmission and reception. Optionally, in the third alternative, the jth bit indicates simultaneous transmission and reception without distinguishing between the following two cases: the ith link transmits and the jth link receives, and the jth link transmits and the ith link receives. That is, the jth bit indicates simultaneous transmission and reception, including: the ith link transmits and the jth link receives, and the jth link transmits and the ith link receives.

[0126] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 12 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The multi-link operation capability indication element includes an element identification field (element ID), a length field (length), and an MLO capability list field, etc., and the ith MLO capability field corresponds to the ith link. The length of the MLO capability list field is variable. The first byte of the MLO capability list field includes a capability field number field, the value of the capability field number field is K=(N-1), indicating that there are (N-1) MLO capability fields. The number of bits of the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap contained in the (N-1) MLO capability fields decreases in turn, that is, the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap of the ith MLO capability field includes (N-i) bits, the jth bit of the (N-i) bits indicates whether the ith link and the (i+j)th link support simultaneous transmission and reception. For example, the jth bit is set to 1 to indicate that the ith link and the (i+j)th link support simultaneous transmission and reception, and the jth bit is set to 0 to indicate that the ith link and the (i+j)th link do not support simultaneous transmission and reception. Of course, 1 can indicate support and 0 can indicate not support. Since the number of bits of the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap decreases in turn, the signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0127] Optionally, one of the K multi-link operation capability fields includes a link identifier of the ith link, corresponding to the ith link; the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link is used to indicate whether the ith link and other links in the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. In this way, a display indication mode is adopted, and the multi-link device and the receiving device can negotiate the link identifiers of the links by using the scheme of the previous embodiment, which will not be described herein. The following optional modes are included:

[0128] In a first optional mode, the number of multi-link operation capability fields K = N, the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link includes a transmission and reception capability indication bitmap and a link identifier field, and the link identifier field is used to indicate the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field. The transmission and reception capability indication bitmap includes N bits, and the jth bit of the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap is used to indicate whether the ith link and the jth link in the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Optionally, the transmission and reception capability indication bitmap can include bits of the number of all links supported by the first multi-link device, and the jth bit is used to indicate whether the ith link and the jth link in the all links support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0129] In the first optional mode, two cases of simultaneous transmission and reception, i.e., the ith link transmits and the jth link receives, and the jth link transmits and the ith link receives, can be indicated respectively. For example, the jth bit in the multi-link operation capability field of the ith link indicates whether the ith link transmits and the jth link receives simultaneously, and the ith bit in the multi-link operation capability field of the jth link indicates whether the jth link transmits and the ith link receives simultaneously.

[0130] For example, as shown in FIG. 13, FIG. 13 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The multi-link operation capability indication element includes an element identification field, a length field, and an MLO capability list field, etc. The MLO capability list field includes N fixed-length MLO capability fields, and N is a fixed value, for example, N=8. The MLO capability field i indicates whether the transmission of the ith link affects the reception of other links. Each MLO capability field includes a link identification field (Link ID) and a transceiver capability indication bitmap field (TX / RX bitmap). For any MLO capability field, the link identification field indicates the ID number of the link indicated by the link identification. The jth bit in the transceiver capability indication bitmap field indicates whether the transmission of the link corresponding to the link ID affects the reception of the jth link. The bit position 1 indicates that the transmission of the ith link can be performed simultaneously with the reception of the jth link, and the bit position 0 indicates that the transmission of the ith link cannot be performed simultaneously with the reception of the jth link. 0 or 1 can also be indicated in the opposite way, which will not be described here.

[0131] In a second optional mode, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a capability field number field, which is used to indicate the number of multi-link operation capability fields, and the value of the capability field number field is N.

[0132] For example, as shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 14 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The length of the MLO capability list field is variable. The starting position of the MLO capability list field is a capability field number field, which indicates the number of MLO capability fields included in the MLO capability list field. One or more MLO capability fields are sequentially arranged after the capability field number field. The content of the MLO capability field is the same as that shown in FIG. 13, which will not be described here.

[0133] In a third optional mode, the multi-link operation capability list field optionally includes a capability field number field, the value of the capability field number field is K=N-1, indicating that there are N-1 multi-link operation capability fields. The multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link includes (N-i) bits and a link identification field, and the link identification field is used to indicate the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field. The jth bit in the (N-i) bits is used to indicate whether the ith link and the (i+j)th link in the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, and j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Optionally, the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the ith link can also include the number of all links of the first multi-link device minus i bits, and the jth bit in the i bits is used to indicate whether the ith link and the (i+j)th link in the all links support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0134] For example, as shown in FIG. 15, FIG. 15 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The multi-link operation capability indication element includes an element identification field (element ID), a length field, and an MLO capability list field, etc. The length of the MLO capability list field is variable. The first byte of the MLO capability list field includes a capability field number field, the value of which is K equal to (N-1), indicating that there are (N-1) multi-link operation capability fields. Each multi-link operation capability field includes a link identification and a transceiving capability indication bitmap, and the link identification is used to indicate the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field. The number of bits contained in the transceiving capability indication bitmap in the (N-1) MLO capability fields decreases successively, that is, the transceiving capability indication bitmap of the i th MLO capability field includes (N-i) bits, and the j th bit in the (N-i) bits indicates whether the i th link and the (i+j) th link support simultaneous transceiving. For example, the bit is set to 1 to indicate that the i th link and the (i+j) th link support simultaneous transceiving, and is set to 0 to indicate that the i th link and the (i+j) th link do not support simultaneous transceiving. 0 or 1 can also be indicated in the opposite way, which will not be described here. Since the number of bits of the transceiving capability indication bitmap decreases successively, the signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0135] In wireless communication, factors affecting the simultaneous transceiving capability include bandwidth, frequency interval, and power, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the indication schemes of the simultaneous transceiving capability are described below by considering the bandwidth, frequency interval, and power factors respectively.

[0136] The implementation of the multi-link operation capability indication element considering the bandwidth factor is described below.

[0137] The one multi-link operation capability field corresponds to one link, and includes: the order of the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to K links in the N links successively; the i th multi-link operation capability field in the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to the i th link in the K links, and is used to indicate whether the i th link adopting a first bandwidth and other links in the N links adopting a second bandwidth support simultaneous transceiving. Alternatively, one multi-link operation capability field in the K multi-link operation capability fields includes a link identification of the i th link, and corresponds to the i th link. The multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the i th link is used to indicate whether the i th link adopting a first bandwidth and other links in the N links adopting a second bandwidth support simultaneous transceiving, and the i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Optionally, the multi-link operation capability indication element includes a capability field number field, which is used to indicate the number of MLO capability fields.

[0138] The first bandwidth can include 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz, etc. The second bandwidth can include 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, or 160 MHz, etc. The structure of the multi-link operation capability field can refer to the above description, which will not be repeated here. The specific implementation can include the following optional ways.

[0139] The first optional way is that K=N, indicating that there are N multi-link operation capability fields, and the i th multi-link operation capability field in the N multi-link operation capability fields includes N simultaneous transmission and reception information units, and the j th simultaneous transmission and reception information unit in the N simultaneous transmission and reception information units is used to indicate whether the i th link in the N links adopts the first bandwidth and the j th link in the N links adopts the second bandwidth support simultaneous transmission and reception, and the j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. The i th multi-link operation capability field in the N multi-link operation capability fields can also include S simultaneous transmission and reception information units, and S is the number of all links supported by the first multi-link device.

[0140] For example, as shown in FIG. 16, FIG. 16 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the application. The MLO capability list field includes a plurality of simultaneous transmission and reception information units, and the j th simultaneous transmission and reception information unit of the i th MLO capability field includes M 2 bits, where M represents the number of transmission bandwidth size types that can be used by IEEE 802.11 on each link. If at most four bandwidth size types of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and 160 MHz, etc. can be used on each link, then M=4, and each simultaneous transmission and reception information unit includes 16 bits. If at most five bandwidth size types of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz, etc. can be used on each link, then M=5, and each simultaneous transmission and reception information unit includes 25 bits. Wherein the i th MLO capability field corresponds to the i th link, and the j th simultaneous transmission and reception information unit corresponds to the j th link. The horizontal direction in FIG. 16 can represent the MLO capability field corresponding to the link, and the vertical direction represents the simultaneous transmission and reception information unit corresponding to the link. The links represented by the horizontal direction and the vertical direction can also be interchanged. The following takes 16 bits and 25 bits as examples to introduce the meaning of the simultaneous transmission and reception information unit.

[0141] For 16 bits. The first 4 bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 20MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, i.e. can transmit and receive simultaneously, 0 means affect on normal reception, i.e. cannot transmit and receive simultaneously. The 5th-8th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 40MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. The 9th-12th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 80MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. The 13th-16th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 160MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. 0 or 1 can also indicate the opposite, which will not be repeated here.

[0142] For 25 bits. The first 5 bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 20MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. The 6th-10th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 40MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. The 11th-15th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 80MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. The 16th-20th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 160MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. The 21st-25th bits represent whether the reception of the jth link is affected when the ith link uses 320MHz transmission, and the jth link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively, 1 means no affect on normal reception, 0 means affect on normal reception. 0 or 1 can also indicate the opposite, which will not be repeated here.

[0143] The second optional mode is that K=N-1, indicating that there are N-1 multi-link operation capability fields, and the i-th multi-link operation capability field in the N-1 multi-link operation capability fields includes (N-i) simultaneous transmission and reception information units, and the j-th simultaneous transmission and reception information unit in the N-i simultaneous transmission and reception information units is used to indicate whether simultaneous transmission and reception is supported when the i-th link in the N links uses a first bandwidth and the (i+j)-th link in the N links uses a second bandwidth, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. The j-th simultaneous transmission and reception information unit of the i-th MLO capability field includes M 2 bits, and the meaning of M is the same as described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0144] For 16 bits, the first 4 bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)-th link is affected when the (i+j)-th link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively when the i-th link uses 20MHz to transmit, and 1 indicates that the normal reception will not be affected, and 0 indicates that the normal reception will be affected. The 5th-8th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)-th link is affected when the (i+j)-th link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively when the i-th link uses 40MHz to transmit, and 1 indicates that the normal reception will not be affected, and 0 indicates that the normal reception will be affected. The 9th-12th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)-th link is affected when the (i+j)-th link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively when the i-th link uses 80MHz to transmit, and 1 indicates that the normal reception will not be affected, and 0 indicates that the normal reception will be affected. The 13th-16th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)-th link is affected when the (i+j)-th link uses 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz and 160MHz respectively when the i-th link uses 160MHz to transmit, and 1 indicates that the normal reception will not be affected, and 0 indicates that the normal reception will be affected. 0 or 1 can also be indicated in the opposite way, which will not be repeated here.

[0145] For 25 bits, the first 5 bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)th link using 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively will be affected when the ith link is transmitting using 20MHz, 1 means no affect, 0 means affect. The 6th-10th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)th link using 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively will be affected when the ith link is transmitting using 40MHz, 1 means no affect, 0 means affect. The 11th-15th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)th link using 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively will be affected when the ith link is transmitting using 80MHz, 1 means no affect, 0 means affect. The 16th-20th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)th link using 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively will be affected when the ith link is transmitting using 160MHz, 1 means no affect, 0 means affect. The 21st-25th bits indicate whether the reception of the (i+j)th link using 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz and 320MHz respectively will be affected when the ith link is transmitting using 320MHz, 1 means no affect, 0 means affect. 0 or 1 can also be indicated in the opposite way, which is not described here. In this way, the signaling overhead can be saved.

[0146] It should be noted that in the above embodiments, "affect normal reception" means that it cannot be simultaneously transmitted and received, and "no affect normal reception" means that it can be simultaneously transmitted and received.

[0147] The following describes an embodiment of a multi-link operation capability indication element considering the frequency location factor:

[0148] The one multi-link operation capability field corresponds to one link, and the K multi-link operation capability fields correspond to K links in the N links in sequence; an i-th multi-link operation capability field in the K multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to an i-th link in the K links, and is used to indicate a minimum frequency interval allowed when the i-th link and other links in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Alternatively, one multi-link operation capability field in the K multi-link operation capability fields includes a link identifier of the i-th link, and corresponds to the i-th link; the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to the i-th link is used to indicate a minimum frequency interval allowed when the i-th link and other links in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive, where i is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Optionally, the multi-link operation capability indication element includes a capability field number field, used to indicate a number of capability fields.

[0149] In an optional manner, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a common frequency interval subfield, which is used to indicate a minimum frequency interval allowed when two links in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive. The receiving device can determine whether the two links support simultaneous transmission and reception according to an actual working frequency point interval of the two links and the minimum frequency interval indicated by the common frequency interval subfield. If the actual working frequency point interval is not less than the value of the frequency interval subfield, the simultaneous transmission and reception is supported.

[0150] In another optional manner, the K is equal to N, indicating that there are N multi-link operation capabilities, and an i-th multi-link operation capability field in the N multi-link operation capabilities includes N frequency interval subfields, and a j-th frequency interval subfield in the N frequency interval subfields is used to indicate a minimum frequency interval allowed when an i-th link in the N links and a j-th link in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive, where j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. Optionally, the i-th multi-link operation capability field can also include frequency interval subfields of a number of all links, and a j-th frequency interval subfield in the frequency interval subfields is used to indicate a minimum frequency interval allowed when the i-th link and a j-th link in the all links simultaneously transmit and receive. If a frequency interval between a frequency position of a bandwidth occupied by the i-th link when transmitting and a frequency position of a bandwidth occupied by the j-th link when receiving is less than a value of the frequency interval subfield, the simultaneous transmission and reception is not supported. Otherwise, the simultaneous transmission and reception is allowed. For the case of equality, the simultaneous transmission and reception can be supported or not supported.

[0151] For example, as shown in FIG. 17, which is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The MLO capability field list includes N MLO capability fields. The first MLO capability field includes N frequency interval subfields, the second frequency interval subfield in the N frequency interval subfields is used to indicate the minimum frequency interval when the first link and the second link are allowed to simultaneously transmit and receive, the third frequency interval subfield in the N frequency interval subfields is used to indicate the minimum frequency interval when the first link and the third link are allowed to simultaneously transmit and receive, and the like.

[0152] In another optional mode, K=N-1, indicating that there are N-1 multi-link operation capabilities, the i-th multi-link operation capability field in the N-1 multi-link operation capabilities includes N-i frequency interval subfields, the j-th frequency interval subfield in the N-i frequency interval subfields is used to indicate the minimum frequency interval allowed when the i-th link in the N links and the (i+j)-th link in the N links simultaneously transmit and receive, and j is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N. If the frequency interval between the frequency position of the bandwidth occupied by the i-th link when transmitting and the frequency position of the bandwidth occupied by the i+j-th link when receiving is less than the value of the frequency interval subfield, simultaneous transmission and reception is not supported. Otherwise, simultaneous transmission and reception is allowed. In this way of indication, signaling overhead can be saved.

[0153] In the above two links, the frequency interval can be the distance between the center frequency points of the two links or the distance between the edge frequency points of the two links. The distance between the edge frequency points of the two links can be the distance between the end frequency point of the bandwidth of one link and the start frequency point of the bandwidth of the other link, or the distance between the start frequency points on the respective bandwidths of the two links, or the distance between the end frequency points on the respective bandwidths of the two links. Here, it is not limited.

[0154] Optionally, the multi-link operation capability field list includes a frequency position indication field. In one implementation, the frequency position indication field is used to indicate that the minimum frequency interval is the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points of the two links or the distance between the edge frequency points of the two links in the N-th link. In another implementation, the frequency position indication field is used to indicate whether the MLO capability field indicates the minimum frequency interval and which one (the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points of the two links or the distance between the edge frequency points of the two links).

[0155] For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the MLO capability list field includes a frequency location indication field, and the value of the frequency location indication field is 1, which means that the minimum frequency interval in the MLO capability field refers to the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points of the two links. The value of the frequency location indication field is 0, which means that the minimum value of the distance between the edge frequency points of the two links. 0 and 1 can also indicate the opposite, 0 means the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points, and 1 means the minimum value of the distance between the edge frequency points. Here is not limited.

[0156] For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the MLO capability list field includes a frequency location indication field, and the value of the frequency location indication field is 1, which means that the minimum frequency interval in the MLO capability field refers to the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points of the two links. The value of the frequency location indication field is 0, which means that the minimum value of the distance between the edge frequency points of the two links. 0 and 1 can also indicate the opposite, 0 means the minimum value of the distance between the center frequency points, and 1 means the minimum value of the distance between the edge frequency points. Here is not limited.

[0157] The following describes an embodiment of a multi-link operation capability indication element considering power factors:

[0158] In an implementation, the multi-link operation capability list field includes a transmit power level field, and the transmit power level field is used to indicate a transmit power threshold of the two links in the N links supporting simultaneous transmission, and the transmit power threshold is a common transmit power threshold. Wherein, the transmit power level field is a signed integer, and the unit can be decibel milliwatt (dBm). The receiving device can determine whether the first multi-link device supports simultaneous transmission between the link and other links according to the transmit power threshold indicated by the transmit power level field and the actual transmit power on a link. For example, the receiving device can first receive the wireless frame sent by the first multi-link device, which carries the multi-link operation capability list field including the transmit power threshold indicated by the transmit power level field. Then the first multi-link device can specify its actual transmit power in the trigger frame or in a transmit opportunity (TXOP) window. After the receiving device determines the actual transmit power of the first multi-link device, it can compare the actual transmit power with the transmit power threshold. If the actual transmit power is not greater than the transmit power threshold, it is determined that the two links support simultaneous transmission, and if the actual transmit power is greater than the transmit power threshold, it is determined that the two links do not support simultaneous transmission.

[0159] For example, as shown in FIG. 18, FIG. 18 is a structure diagram of a multi-link operation capability indication element provided by an embodiment of the present application. The multi-link operation capability list field includes a transmit power level field, which is used to indicate the transmit power threshold of link 1, link 2, …, and link N. Optionally, the MLO capability field can include the aforementioned transceiving capability indication bitmap or simultaneous transceiving information element. In one example, if the i th MLO capability field includes the transceiving capability indication bitmap, if the j th bit in the transceiving capability indication bitmap is 0, it indicates that two links (the i th link and the j th link) do not support simultaneous transceiving. If the j th bit in the i th MLO capability field is 1, it indicates that if the actual transmit power is not higher than the transmit power threshold indicated by the transmit power level field, simultaneous transceiving is supported, otherwise, simultaneous transceiving is not supported. After receiving the multi-link operation capability indication element, if the simultaneous transceiving information element in the MLO capability field is 1, and the actual transmit power is not higher than the transmit power threshold indicated by the transmit power level field, the receiving device determines that two links (the i th link and the j th link) support simultaneous transceiving; if the j th bit in the transceiving capability indication bitmap in the i th MLO capability field is 1, and the actual transmit power is higher than the transmit power threshold indicated by the transmit power level field, the receiving device determines that two links (the i th link and the j th link) do not support simultaneous transceiving.

[0160] In another implementation, one of the transmit power level fields corresponds to one of the MLO capability fields, and the transmit power level field is used to indicate the transmit power threshold of simultaneous transceiving of the link corresponding to the MLO capability field and other links. In this implementation, N links correspond to N transmit power thresholds respectively. The receiving device can determine whether the first multi-link device supports simultaneous transceiving of the link and other links according to the transmit power threshold indicated by the transmit power level field and the actual transmit power on the link.

[0161] For example, as shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 19 is a structure diagram of a transmit power level field provided by an embodiment of the present application. The multi-link operation capability list field includes N MLO capability fields and N transmit power level fields, and one MLO capability field corresponds to one transmit power level field. The transmit power level field is used to indicate the transmit power threshold of the link corresponding to the MLO capability field.

[0162] In another implementation, the multi-link operation capability list field includes N-1 transmission power level list fields and N-1 multi-link operation capability fields, the i-th multi-link operation capability field corresponds to the i-th transmission power level list field, the i-th multi-link operation capability field corresponds to the i-th link, and the i-th transmission power level list field includes N-i transmission power level fields, the i-th transmission power level field in the N-i transmission power level fields is used to indicate a transmission power threshold of the i-th link and the (i+j)-th link. If the receiving device determines that the actual transmission power of at least one of the i-th link and the (i+j)-th link is greater than the transmission power threshold, simultaneous transmission and reception is not supported. If the receiving device determines that the actual transmission power of the i-th link and the (i+j)-th link is not greater than the transmission power threshold, simultaneous transmission and reception is supported.

[0163] For example, as shown in FIG. 20, which is a structure diagram of a transmission power level field provided by an embodiment of the present application. The reference power level list field of the i-th link includes a transmission power level field of the i-th link and the i+1-th link, a transmission power level field of the i-th link and the i+2-th link, and a transmission power level field of the i-th link and the N-th link. The transmission power level field of the i-th link and the i+1-th link is used to indicate a transmission power threshold of the i-th link and the i+1-th link, and the others are similar, which will not be described herein.

[0164] It should be noted that for the case that N links correspond to a common transmission power threshold, the common transmission power threshold can be carried before the multi-link operation capability field; for the case that one link corresponds to a respective transmission power level field, the transmission power level field can be included in the multi-link operation capability field corresponding to each link, or can be carried before the multi-link operation capability field, corresponding to the plurality of multi-link operation capability fields.

[0165] It should be noted that the transmission power level field can be used alone to indicate whether two links of N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, or can be combined with the frequency location factor and bandwidth factor to indicate whether two links of N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, for example, the MLO capability field shown in FIG. 18 can adopt the MLO capability field shown in FIGS. 10 to 17 in the foregoing embodiments, for example, if combined with the MLO capability field described in FIG. 16, the MLO capability field corresponds to the i-th link, the first bit in the j-th simultaneous transmission and reception information unit in the MLO capability field corresponds to 20MHz*20MHz and is set to 1, and if the actual transmission power is not higher than the transmission power threshold indicated by the transmission power level field, it is determined that two links (the i-th link adopts 20MHz and the j-th link adopts 20MHz) support simultaneous transmission and reception. The specific implementation can refer to the above description, which will not be described herein.

[0166] It can be understood that, since the number K of the capability field number is related to the number N of the links, the capability field number can also be replaced by the link number field indicating the number N of the links. No matter according to the capability field number or the link number field, the receiving device can obtain the number N of the links and the number K of the capability field number.

[0167] In the embodiment of the present application, by introducing a multi-link operation capability field in a wireless frame, by indicating whether the corresponding link and other links in the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception through the multi-link operation capability field, the receiving device can determine the simultaneous transmission and reception capability of the multiple links, thereby improving the transmission efficiency.

[0168] The above describes the method of the embodiment of the present application in detail, and the device of the embodiment of the present application is provided below.

[0169] Please refer to FIG. 21, which is a structural schematic diagram of a first communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application, the first communication device can be used to implement any method and function related to the first multi-link device in any embodiment described above, and the first communication device can include a processing module 2101 and a sending module 2102. Optionally, the sending module 2102 corresponds to a radio frequency circuit included in the first multi-link device. Wherein, the detailed description of each module is as follows.

[0170] In one embodiment:

[0171] The processing module 2101 is configured to generate a wireless frame, and the first multi-link device works on multiple links.

[0172] The sending module 2102 is configured to send the wireless frame, and the wireless frame includes link information of at least one link in the multiple links, the link information of a link is used to indicate the link, and corresponds to a link identifier of the link.

[0173] Optionally, the sending module 2102 is further configured to send a multi-link index element, the multi-link index element includes a multi-link index information field, the multi-link index information field includes a link identifier of a selected link in the multiple links or a bit map, and the bit map is used to indicate whether a link in the multiple links is selected.

[0174] In another embodiment:

[0175] The processing module 2101 is configured to generate a wireless frame, and the first multi-link device works on N links, and the N is an integer greater than 1.

[0176] The sending module 2102 is configured to send the wireless frame, where the wireless frame comprises a multi-link operation capability list field, and the multi-link operation capability list field comprises K multi-link operation capability fields, one of the multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to one of the N links, and the multi-link operation capability field is used to indicate whether the corresponding link and other links of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, where K is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0177] The content and functions of elements or fields included in the wireless frame can refer to the descriptions of the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be described herein.

[0178] It should be noted that the implementation of each module can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 9, and the method and function performed by the first multi-link device in the foregoing embodiments are executed.

[0179] Please refer to FIG. 22, which is a structural schematic diagram of a second communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The second communication device can be used to implement any method and function related to the receiving device in any of the foregoing embodiments. The second communication device can comprise a receiving module 2201 and a processing module 2202. Optionally, the receiving module 2102 corresponds to a baseband circuit included in the receiving device. The detailed description of each module is as follows.

[0180] In one embodiment:

[0181] The receiving module 2201 is configured to receive a wireless frame sent by a first multi-link device, where the first multi-link device operates on multiple links, and the wireless frame comprises link information of at least one link of the multiple links, and the link information of one link is used to indicate the link and a link identifier corresponding to the link.

[0182] The processing module 2202 is configured to parse the wireless frame to obtain the link information of the at least one link and the link identifier corresponding to the at least one link.

[0183] Optionally, the receiving module 2201 is further configured to receive a multi-link index element sent by the first multi-link device, where the multi-link index element comprises a multi-link index information field, and the multi-link index information field comprises a link identifier of a selected link of the multiple links or a bit map, and the bit map is used to indicate whether a link of the multiple links is selected.

[0184] In another embodiment:

[0185] The receiving module 2201 is configured to receive a wireless frame sent by a first multi-link device, the first multi-link device operating on N links, the wireless frame comprising a multi-link operation capability list field, the multi-link operation capability list field comprising K multi-link operation capability fields, one of the multi-link operation capability fields corresponding to one of the N links, the multi-link operation capability field being used to indicate whether the corresponding link and other links of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, N being an integer greater than 1, and K being an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0186] The processing module 2202 is configured to determine, according to the multi-link operation capability field, whether the corresponding link and other links of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0187] It should be noted that the implementation of each module can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIG. 9, and the method and function performed by the first multi-link device in the above embodiments are executed.

[0188] It should be noted that the implementation of each module can also correspond to the description of the corresponding method embodiments of FIG. 3 and FIG. 9, and the method and function performed by the first multi-link device in the above embodiments are executed.

[0189] Please continue to refer to FIG. 23, which is a structural schematic diagram of a first multi-link device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 23, the first multi-link device can comprise at least one processor 2301, at least one communication interface 2302, at least one memory 2303 and at least one communication bus 2304.

[0190] The processor 2301 can be a central processing unit, a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or other programmable logic device, transistor logic, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute various example logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor can also be a combination of computing components, such as one or more microprocessors, a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, and so on. The communication bus 2304 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 23, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. The communication bus 2304 is used to realize the connection and communication between the components. The communication interface 2302 of the device in the embodiment of the present application is used to communicate signaling or data with other node devices. The memory 2303 can include volatile memory, such as non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), phase change RAM (PRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and the like, and can also include non-volatile memory, such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory device, such as a NOR flash memory or a NAND flash memory, a semiconductor device, such as a solid state disk (SSD), and the like. The memory 2303 can also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 2301. The memory 2303 can optionally store a set of program codes. The processor 2301 can optionally execute the program stored in the memory 2303.

[0191] In one embodiment, the processor 2301 is configured to perform the following steps:

[0192] generating a wireless frame, the first multi-link device operating on a plurality of links;

[0193] sending the wireless frame through the communication interface 2302, the wireless frame including link information of at least one link of the plurality of links, the link information of a link being used to indicate the link and a link identifier corresponding to the link.

[0194] Optionally, the processor 2301 is further configured to perform the following operation steps:

[0195] The multi-link index element is transmitted through the communication interface 2302, the multi-link index element includes a multi-link index information field, and the multi-link index information field includes a link identifier of a selected link in the multiple links or a bit map used to indicate whether a link in the multiple links is selected.

[0196] In another embodiment, the processor 2301 is configured to perform the following operation steps:

[0197] A wireless frame is generated, the first multi-link device operates on N links, and N is an integer greater than 1.

[0198] The wireless frame is transmitted through the communication interface 2302, and the wireless frame includes a multi-link operation capability list field, the multi-link operation capability list field includes K multi-link operation capability fields, one of the multi-link operation capability fields corresponds to one of the N links, and the multi-link operation capability field is used to indicate whether the corresponding link and other links in the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, and K is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0199] Among them, the content and function of the elements or fields included in the wireless frame can refer to the description of the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0200] Further, the processor can also cooperate with the memory and the communication interface to perform the operations of the first multi-link device in the above application embodiments.

[0201] Please continue to refer to FIG. 24, which is a structural schematic diagram of a receiving device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the receiving device can include at least one processor 2401, at least one communication interface 2402, at least one memory 2403 and at least one communication bus 2404.

[0202] The processor 2401 can be various types of processors as mentioned above. The communication bus 2404 can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, or the like. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, or the like. For ease of representation, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 24, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus. The communication bus 2404 is used to realize the connection communication between the components. The communication interface 2402 of the device in the embodiment of the present application is used to communicate signaling or data with other node devices. The memory 2403 can be various types of memories as mentioned above. The memory 2403 can also be at least one storage device located away from the aforementioned processor 2401. The memory 2403 stores a set of program codes, and the processor 2401 executes the program codes in the memory 2403.

[0203] In one embodiment, the processor 2401 is further configured to perform the following operation steps:

[0204] The communication interface 2402 receives a wireless frame sent by a first multi-link device, the first multi-link device operating on a plurality of links, the wireless frame including link information of at least one link of the plurality of links, the link information of a link being used to indicate the link and a link identifier corresponding to the link;

[0205] The wireless frame is parsed to obtain the link information of the at least one link and the link identifier corresponding to the at least one link.

[0206] Optionally, the processor 2401 is further configured to perform the following operation steps:

[0207] The communication interface 2302 is further configured to receive a multi-link index element sent by the first multi-link device, the multi-link index element including a multi-link index information field, the multi-link index information field including a link identifier of a selected link of the plurality of links or a bitmap, the bitmap being used to indicate whether a link of the plurality of links is selected.

[0208] In another embodiment, the communication interface 2402 receives a wireless frame sent by a first multi-link device, the first multi-link device operating on N links, the wireless frame including a multi-link operation capability list field, the multi-link operation capability list field including K multi-link operation capability fields, one of the multi-link operation capability fields corresponding to one of the N links, the multi-link operation capability field being used to indicate whether the corresponding link and other links of the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception, N being an integer greater than 1, and K being an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N;

[0209] According to the multi-link operation capability field, it is determined whether the link corresponding to the multi-link operation capability field and other links in the N links support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0210] The content and function of elements or fields included in the wireless frame can refer to the description of the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0211] Further, the processor can also cooperate with the memory and the communication interface to perform the operation of the receiving device in the foregoing application embodiments.

[0212] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting the first multi-link device or the receiving device to implement the functions involved in any of the foregoing embodiments, such as generating or processing the data and / or information involved in the foregoing methods. In a possible design, the chip system can also include a memory, and the memory is used for the necessary program instructions and data of the first multi-link device or the receiving device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0213] The embodiments of the present application also provide a processor for coupling with a memory, for performing any method and function related to the first multi-link device or the receiving device in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0214] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product containing instructions, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to perform any method and function related to the first multi-link device or the receiving device in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0215] The embodiments of the present application also provide an apparatus for performing any method and function related to the first multi-link device or the receiving device in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0216] The embodiments of the present application also provide a wireless communication system, which includes at least one first multi-link device and at least one receiving device involved in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0217] In the embodiments described above, all or some of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or some of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product storing the computer program instructions. The computer program instructions can be loaded into and executed by a computer to produce the processes or functions described above according to the embodiments of the present application. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatus. The computer program instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program instructions can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center through wired (for example, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

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