Wireless communication method and device

Abstract

The present invention discloses a wireless communication method and apparatus. A first station (STA) in a non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD) having restrictions on simultaneous transmission and reception (TX / RX) on a first link and a second link receives a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first link or the second link. In response to the PPDU satisfying a condition, one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD are prohibited from performing an operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to station (STA) identifier (ID) indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0003] For the next generation of wireless communications, such as wireless communications in wireless local area networks (WLANs) according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 specifications, STAs should access multiple links simultaneously to meet the extremely low latency and extremely high throughput required by extreme-high-throughput (EHT). When a STA obtains transmission opportunities (TXOPs) on multiple links, the STA can transmit frames on multiple links at the same time. In addition, when a STA is transmitting a frame, the STA can receive another frame on a different link at the same time. However, when a STA sends and receives frames at the same time, there may be in-device coexistence (IDC) interference. When this simultaneous transmission and reception (TX / RX) operation occurs between the 2.4 GHz band and the 5 GHz band, the IDC interference can be ignored. However, depending on some implementation factors such as radio frequency (RF) filter performance, the IDC interference caused by simultaneous TX / RX operation between the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands can be significantly worse. Summary of the invention

[0004] The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce the concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious technologies described herein. Selected implementations are further described in the detailed description below. Therefore, the following summary is not intended to identify the essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide solutions, concepts, designs, techniques, methods and devices related to STAID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communication. According to various proposed solutions of the present invention, the aforementioned problems can be solved.

[0006] In one aspect, a method may involve receiving, by a first STA in a non-access point (non-AP) multi-link device (MLD), a Physical Layer Convergence Protocol (PLCP) Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) on a first link or a second link, the non-access point multi-link device having restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link. The method may also include: in response to the PPDU satisfying a condition, prohibiting one or more other STAs in a plurality of STAs in the non-AP MLD from performing an operation.

[0007] In another aspect, a method may involve receiving a PPDU on a first link or a second link by a first access point (AP) in an AP MLD. The method may also include: in response to the STA satisfying a condition, prohibiting one or more other APs in a plurality of APs in the APMLD from scheduling any transmission to the STA.

[0008] In another aspect, a method may involve setting a STAID field in a physical layer (PHY) header of an EHT PPDU of a receiving STA by: (i) in response to the receiving STA being a single STA, setting the STAID field to a value corresponding to an association identifier (AID) associated with the receiving STA; or (ii) in response to the receiving STA being one of multiple STAs of an MLD, setting the STA ID field to a predetermined value. The method may also involve sending the EHT PPDU to the receiving STA by an AP in an AP MLD.

[0009] It is worth noting that although the description provided herein may be in the context of a specific radio access technology, network and network topology (e.g., Wi-Fi), the proposed concepts, schemes and any (multiple) variants / derivatives may be implemented in and through other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies, such as but not limited to Bluetooth, ZigBee, 5th Generation (5G / New Radio, NR), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Advanced LTE Pro, Internet-of-Things (IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The following illustrations are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention and are incorporated into and constitute a part of the present invention. These illustrations illustrate embodiments of the present invention and are used together with the description to explain the principles of the present invention. In order to clearly illustrate the concept of the present invention, some elements may not be shown in proportion compared to the size in the actual embodiment, and these illustrations do not need to be drawn in proportion.

[0011] Figure 1 A diagram showing an example network environment in which various solutions and approaches according to the present invention may be implemented.

[0012] Figure 2 A block diagram of an exemplary communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0013] Figure 3 A flow chart illustrating an example process according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0014] Figure 4 A flow chart illustrating an example process according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0015] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating an example process according to an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The following describes detailed embodiments and implementations of the subject matter claimed by the present invention. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrations of the subject matter claimed, which can be embodied in various forms. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth in the present invention. Rather, the provision of these exemplary embodiments and implementations makes the description of the present invention thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art. In the following description, the details of well-known features and technologies may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments and implementations presented.

[0017] Overview

[0018] Embodiments according to the present invention relate to various technologies, methods, schemes and / or solutions related to STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communication. According to the present invention, multiple possible solutions can be implemented individually or jointly. That is, although the possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of the possible solutions may be implemented in one or another combination.

[0019] Figure 1 An example network environment 100 is shown in which various solutions and approaches according to the present invention may be implemented. Figure 2-Figure 5 An example of implementation of various proposed solutions in a network environment 100 according to the present invention is shown. Figure 1-Figure 5 ,A description of various proposed schemes is provided below.

[0020] refer to Figure 1, the network environment 100 may involve STA 110 and STA 120 wirelessly communicating on multiple links (e.g., link 1, link 2, and link 3) according to one or more Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11be and later versions). Each of STA 110 and STA 120 may function as an MLD. For example, STA 110 may function as a non-AP MLD having multiple virtual STAs (e.g., STA 1, STA 2, and STA 3) operating within STA 110. Accordingly, STA 120 may function as an AP MLD having multiple virtual APs (e.g., AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3) operating within STA 120. Under some limitations caused by IDC interference, each of the multiple virtual STAs in the non-AP MLD implemented in STA 110 and each of the multiple virtual APs in the AP MLD implemented in STA 120 may transmit and receive on one or more of the multiple links. That is, STA 110 may function as a restricted non-AP MLD, and STA 120 may function as a restricted AP MLD. Under various proposals according to the present invention, STA 110 and STA 120 may be configured to perform STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communication according to various proposals described herein.

[0021] In the context of EHT multi-link operation with restricted multi-link channel access, a restricted MLD, interchangeably referred to herein as a non-simultaneous TX / RX (non-STR) MLD, is an MLD in which IDC interference occurs when multiple STAs within the MLD simultaneously transmit and receive frames on multiple links. Therefore, when the STA receives a frame on the first link, the STA of the restricted MLD should not access the second link for transmission in case the STA has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX operations on the first link and the second link. For PPDU-level restricted multi-link channel access, when the STA has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX operations on the first link and the second link, when the STA is receiving a basic service set (BSS) intra-PPDU on the first link that satisfies one of multiple conditions or is receiving a PPDU on the first link that cannot be determined as an intra-BSS PPDU or an inter-BSS PPDU, the STA determines that the second link is not available for transmission.

[0022] The first of these conditions may be that the receive direction vector (RXVECTOR) parameter BSS_COLOR of the PPDU carrying the frame is the BSS color of the BSS to which the STA belongs, or in the case where the STA is a high-efficiency (HE) STA associated with a non-HE AP, the BSS color of any tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) link to which the STA belongs. The second condition may be that the PPDU is a very-high-throughput (VHT) PPDU, its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID is equal to the BSS identifier (BSSID) [39.47] of the BSS, which is the BSS associated with the STA or any other BSS of the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 0. The third condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID[5:8] is equal to the four least-significant bits (LSB) of the BSS color announced by the BSS to which the STA belongs with dot11PartialBSSColorImplemented equal to true, the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 63 and the partial BSS color field element in the most recent HE operation is 1. The fourth condition may be that the frame carried by the PPDU has a receiver address (RA), transmitter address (TA) or BSSID field, which is equal to the BSSID of the BSS or the BSSID of any BSS associated with other STAs in the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and the individual / group bit in the TA field is forced to a value of 0 before comparison. The fifth condition may be that the control frame carried by the PPDU does not have a TA field or a RA field that matches the stored TXOP holder address of the BSS or any BSS, the any BSS being any BSS associated with the STA or any other BSS of the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs.

[0023] In addition, for multi-link channel access with PPDP level restrictions, when the STA has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX operations on the first link and the second link, the STA determines that the second link is available for transmission when the STA receives an inter-BSS PPDU on the first link that satisfies one of a plurality of conditions or when the STA does not receive any PPDU. The first condition may be that the RXVECTOR parameter BSS_COLOR is not 0 and is not the BSS color of the BSS to which the STA belongs. The second condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID is equal to the BSS identifier (BSSID) [39.47] of the BSS, the BSS being the BSS associated with the STA or any other BSS of the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 0. The third condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU whose RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID[5:8] is not equal to the four LSBs of the BSS color announced by the BSS to which the STA belongs with dot11PartialBSSColorImplemented being true, and the RXVECTOPR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 63 when the Partial BSS Color field of the most recent HE operation element is 1. The fourth condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT multi-user (MU) PPDU or HE MU PPDU with the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG being equal to 0, and the STA is an AP. The fifth condition may be that the PPDU carries a frame with a BSSID field that is not the BSSID of the BSS associated with the STA or the BSSID of any other BSS in the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, or a wildcard BSSID. The sixth condition may be that the frame carried by the PPDU does not have a BSSID field, but has an RA field and a TA field, and the values ​​of both are not equal to the BSSID of the BSS associated with the STA or the BSSID of any other BSS in the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and the individual / group bit in the TA field is forced to be set to 0 before comparison.

[0024] It is worth noting that even if the STA is receiving an intra-BSS PPDU or a PPDU that cannot be determined as an intra-BSS PPDU or an inter-BSS PPDU on the first link, if the STA knows that the PPDU being received is not sent to the STA, then the STA does not need to decode the remaining PPDUs, and the STA can access the second link for transmission. For PPDU-level restricted multi-link channel access, when the STA has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link, when the STA is receiving a PPDU on the first link that satisfies one of multiple conditions or when the STA does not receive any PPDU, the STA determines that the second link is available for transmission. The first of these conditions may be that the STA is a non-AP STA and the PPDU is a HE MU PPDU, wherein the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is 0 and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID_LIST does not include an identifier of the STA or one or more broadcast identifiers for the STA. The second condition may be that the STA is a non-AP STA and the PPDU is a HE MU PPDU, a HE single-user (SU) PPDU, or a HE extended-range (ER) SU PPDU with the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG being 1. The third condition may be that the STA is a non-AP STA and the PPDU is a HE trigger-based (TB) PPDU. The fourth condition may be that the STA is an AP STA and the PPDU is a HE MU PPDU with its RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG being set to 0, or a VHT MU PPDU. The fifth condition may be that the STA is an AP STA and the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is 0 and the RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID is not the BSSID of the BSS to which the STA is associated [39:47]. The sixth condition may be that the PPDU contains at least one medium access control (MAC) product data unit (MPDU) whose RA is not an individual MAC address of the STA or a group address of the STA. The seventh condition may be that the PPDU is an inter-BSS PPDU that satisfies one of the aforementioned conditions. According to an embodiment, if the STA needs to update its network allocation vector (NAV) on the first link, this condition may be modified because the PPDU is an intra-BSS PPDU that satisfies one of the aforementioned conditions and valid NAV information is obtained from the PPDU or the spatial reuse condition is satisfied from the PPDU.Otherwise, if either condition is not met, the STA determines that the second link is not available for transmission.

[0025] For EHT multi-link operation with restricted multi-link packet scheduling, after obtaining a transmission opportunity (TXOP) on the second link, if a peer STA with restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link is using the first link, the STA may not transmit one or more frames to the peer STA on the second link.

[0026] It is worth noting that when the STA receives an intra-BSS PPDU that satisfies one of multiple conditions on the first link or a PPDU that cannot be determined as an intra-BSS PPDU or an inter-BSS PPDU, the STA that obtains the TXOP on the second link may consider that the peer STA that has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX of the first link and the second link is using the first link. The first condition may be that the RXVECTOR parameter BSS_COLOR of the PPDU carrying the frame is the BSS color of the BSS to which the STA belongs, or the BSS color of any TDLS link to which the STA belongs (in the case where the STA is a HE STA associated with a non-HE AP). The second condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, and its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID is equal to the BSSID [39:47] of the BSS associated with the STA or any BSSID in the same multiple BSSIDs or co-hosted by the BSS, and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 0. The third condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID[5:8] is equal to the four LSBs of the BSS color announced by the BSS to which the STA belongs with dot11PartialBSSColorImplemented equal to true, the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 63, and the Partial BSS Color field in the most recent HE operation element is 1. The fourth condition may be that the RA, TA, or BSSID field of the frame carried by the PPDU is equal to the BSSID of the BSS or the BSSID of any BSS associated with the STA or any BSSID of other BSSs of the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosting BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and before comparison, the individual / group bit in the TA field is forced to be set to a value of 0. The fifth condition may be that the control frame carried by the PPDU does not have a TA field or a RA field that matches the stored TXOP holder address of the BSS or any BSS, the BSS being any BSS associated with the STA or any other BSS of the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs. Otherwise, if no condition is met, the STA may not transmit frames to the peer STA on the second link.

[0027] It is also worth noting that the STA that obtains the TXOP on the second link may not take into account that a peer STA that has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link is using the first link when the STA receives an inter-BSS PPDU on the first link that satisfies one of multiple conditions or the STA does not receive any PPDU. The first condition may be that the RXVECTOR parameter BSS_COLOR is not 0 and is not the BSS color of the BSS to which the STA belongs. The second condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID is not equal to the BSSID [39:47] of the BSS associated with the STA or any BSSID in the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is 0. The third condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT PPDU, its RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID[5:8] is not equal to the four LSBs of the BSS color of the BSS to which the STA belongs, dot11PartialBSSColorImplemented is equal to true, and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is equal to 63 when the Partial BSS Color field in the most recent HE Operation element is 1. The fourth condition may be that the PPDU is a VHT MU PPDU or HE MU PPDU with the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG being 0, and the STA is an AP. The fifth condition may be that the PPDU carries a frame with a BSSID field that is not the BSSID of the BSS associated with the STA or any BSSID or wildcard BSSID of other BSSs in the same multi-BSSID set or co-host BSSID set to which the BSS belongs. The sixth condition may be that the PPDU carries a frame without a BSSID field but with an RA field and a TA field, neither of which is equal to the BSSID of the BSS associated with the STA or any BSSID of other BSSs in the same multi-BSSID set or co-hosted BSSID set to which the BSS belongs, and before comparison, the individual / group bit in the TA field is forced to be set to 0. In such a case, the STA may transmit one or more frames to the peer STA on the second link.

[0028] It is also worth noting that even if the STA receives an intra-BSS PPDU or a PPDU that cannot be determined to be an intra-BSS PPDU or an inter-BSS PPDU on the first link, the STA may send one or more frames to the peer STA on the second link in case the STA knows that the PPDU being received is not originated from the peer STA. When the STA receives a PPDU on the first link that satisfies one of the following multiple conditions, the STA that obtains the TXOP on the second link may believe that the peer STA that has restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link is using the first link. The first condition may be that the peer STA is an AP associated with the STA and the PPDU is one of: (a) a HE TB PPDU, where the RXVECTOR parameter BSS_COLOR is the BSS color of the BSS associated with the STA, (b) a HE MU PPDU, HE SU PPDU or HE ER SU PPDU, where the RXVECTOR parameter BSS_COLOR is the BSS color of the BSS associated with the STA and the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is 1, or (c) a VHT PPDU, where the RXVECTOR parameter PARTIAL_AID is the BSSID [39:47] of the BSS associated with the STA and the RXVECTOR parameter GROUP_ID is 0. The second condition may be that the peer STA is a non-AP STA of the BSS associated with the STA, and the PPDU is a HE MUPPDU, wherein the RXVECTOR parameter BSS_COLOR is the BSS color of the BSS associated with the STA, and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID_LIST includes an identifier of the peer STA or one or more broadcast identifiers for the STA. The third condition may be that the PPDU contains at least one MPDU, and the RA or TA of the at least one MPDU is an individual MAC address of the peer STA or a group address of the peer STA. In this case, the STA may not transmit one or more frames to the peer STA on the second link.

[0029] In view of the above, it is believed that providing STA ID related information to assist or otherwise improve restricted multi-link operation may be helpful. For example, in the case where the STA ID information indicates a restricted STA, the AP may still transmit to other restricted STAs. Therefore, various schemes proposed herein relate to the configuration of the STA ID field in the EHT SU PPDU and related MLD behaviors. Under various proposed schemes for the STA ID indication in the EHT SIG field in the preamble or frame according to the present invention, for the EHT PPDU sent from the AP in the AP MLD, the STA ID field may be configured according to the situation. For example, if the receiver of the EHT PDU is a single STA, the STA ID field may be set to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA (e.g., a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID). Otherwise (e.g., when the receiver of the EHT PPDU is a group of STAs), the STAID field may be set to a predetermined value (e.g., 0). For the EHT PPDU sent to the AP in the AP MLD, the STAID field may be configured because the STA ID field may be set to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the STA of the sending STA.

[0030] According to various proposed schemes of the present invention, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD is receiving an EHT PPDU that satisfies one of the specific conditions, other STAs in the same restricted non-AP MLD may not send any PPDU or may suspend EDCA (enhanced distributed channel access, referred to as EDCA) channel access (if any). Such conditions may include, for example but not limited to: (1) the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) fields in the EHT PPDU PHY header indicate or are equal to DL transmission, and the value in the STAID field in the EHT PPDU PHY header matches the value associated with the AID associated with the receiving STA in the restricted non-AP MLD (e.g., a hash value or an encoded version of the AID); (2) the UL / DL field in the EHT PPDU PHY header indicates or is equal to DL transmission, and the STAID field in the EHT PPDU PHY header is equal to a predetermined value (e.g., 0). However, after decoding the MAC header, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD determines that it is not a receiver of an EHT PPDU, other STAs in the same restricted non-AP MLD may initiate PPDU transmission or resume EDCA channel access.

[0031] Under various proposed schemes according to the present invention, when an AP in an AP MLD is receiving an EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to a specific STA, including a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD, where the value corresponding to the AID matches the value in the STAID field in the EHT PPDU PHY header. However, after decoding the MAC header, if the address (e.g., MAC address) or identifier (e.g., BSSID) associated with the STA in the restricted non-AP MLD does not match either the RA or TA in the MAC header of the received EHT PPDU, then the STA may be scheduled by other APs in the same AP MLD.

[0032] Therefore, the STAID field in the EHT PPDU can be used to solve the IDC interference problem of the restricted MLD. In addition, the STAID field in the EHT PPDU may help reduce the power consumption of the non-AP MLD. This is because when multiple STAs of the MLD are started, the power consumption of the MLD tends to increase proportionally compared to the traditional single link STA. Therefore, it will be important to reduce the power consumption during the reception of the intra-BSS PPDU.

[0033] Under the first proposed scheme according to the present invention, the EHT SIG field in the preamble or frame may include a STA ID field for identifying a STA, and the STA ID field may be configured in one of a plurality of ways in different scenarios. In the first scenario, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to an AP in an AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 1), the STAID field may be set to a value associated with an AID associated with the transmitting STA in the restricted non-AP MLD (e.g., a hash value or an encoded version of the AID). In the second scenario, when a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to an AP in an AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 1), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0). In the third scenario, when a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a peer STA (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STAID field may be set to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving peer STA. In the third scenario, the peer STA may be a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD, a single link STA, or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD. In the fourth scenario, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a peer STA (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0). In the fourth scenario, the peer STA may be a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD, a single link STA, or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD. In the fifth scenario, when an AP in an APMLD sends an EHT PPDU to other STAs (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with the receiving STA. In the fifth scenario, the other STA may be a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD, a single link STA, or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD. In the sixth scenario, when an AP in an AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU addressed to more than one STA (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0).

[0034] Under the first proposed scheme for EHT PPDU level restricted multi-link channel access, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD is receiving an EHT PPDU that satisfies one of multiple conditions, other STAs in the same restricted non-AP MLD may not transmit any PPDU or may suspend the execution of enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA). One of the conditions may be that the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is equal to 0 (e.g., the UL / DL field in the PHY header is equal to 0) and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU matches the value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA in the restricted non-AP MLD. Another condition may be that the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is equal to 0 (e.g., the UL / DL field in the PHY header is equal to 0) and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU is equal to a first reserved value (e.g., 0). However, after decoding the MAC header, when the STA in the restricted non-AP MLD determines that it is not the receiver of the EHT PPDU, other STAs in the same restricted non-AP MLD may initiate PPDU transmission or resume EDCA channel access.

[0035] Under the first proposed scheme for multi-link packet scheduling with EHT PPDU level restriction, when an AP in an AP MLD is receiving an EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to a specific STA. For example, for a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD and whose AID corresponds to a value matching the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU, when the AP in the AP MLD is receiving the EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to the STA. As another example, for STAs in all restricted non-AP MLDs, when the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is equal to 0 (e.g., the UL / DL field in the PHY header is equal to 0) and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU is equal to a first reserved value (e.g., 0), when the AP in the AP MLD is receiving the EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to the STA. Under the proposed scheme, except when the MAC header is decoded, STAs in restricted non-AP MLDs that do not match the RA or TA in the MAC header in the received EHTPPDU can be scheduled by other APs in the same AP MLD.

[0036] Under the first proposed scheme of the AID hash function for the STA ID, the hash value of the AID may not include the first reserved value. Under the proposed scheme, the hash function may have the following offset values:

[0037] Hash(AID)=AID mod 2^N+Offset

[0038] Here, N represents the number of bits of the STA ID, and Offset represents the number of reserved values. For example, when N=5 and the first reserved value=0, Hash(AID)=AID mod 2^5+1.

[0039] Under the second proposed scheme according to the present invention, the EHT SIG field in the preamble or frame may include a STAID field for identifying a STA, and the STA ID field may be configured in one of a plurality of ways in different scenarios. In the first scenario, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to an AP in an AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 1), the STA ID field may be set to a value associated with an AID associated with the transmitting STA in the restricted non-AP MLD (e.g., a hash value or an encoded version of the AID). In the second scenario, when a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to an AP in an AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 1), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0). In the third scenario, when a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STAID field may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with the receiving STA in the restricted non-AP MLD. In the fourth scenario, when a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a peer STA (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0) or a value corresponding to an AID associated with the receiving peer STA. In the fourth scenario, the peer STA may be a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD. In the fifth scenario, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a peer STA (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a second reserved value (e.g., 1). In the fifth scenario, the peer STA may be a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD, a single link STA, or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD. In the sixth scenario, when an AP in an AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with the receiving STA in the restricted non-AP MLD. In the seventh scenario, when the AP in the AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD (the UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0) or a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA.In the eighth scenario, when the AP in the AP MLD transmits an EHT PPDU addressed to more than one STA (the UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to the second reserved value (e.g., 1) or in the case where a STA in at least one restricted non-AP MLD is included as a receiving STA, the STA ID field may be set to the second reserved value (e.g., 1) (otherwise, the STA ID field may be set to the first reserved value (e.g., 0)).

[0040] Under the second proposed scheme for EHT PPDU level restricted multi-link channel access, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD is receiving an EHT PPDU that satisfies one of multiple conditions, other STAs in the same restricted non-AP MLD may not transmit any PPDU or may suspend EDCA channel access. One of the conditions may be that the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is equal to 0 (e.g., the UL / DL field in the PHY header is equal to 0) and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU matches the value corresponding to the AID of the STA associated with the receiving STA in the restricted non-AP MLD. Another condition may be that the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is equal to 0 (e.g., the UL / DL field in the PHY header is equal to 0) and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU is equal to a second reserved value (e.g., 1). However, after decoding the MAC header, when the STA in the restricted non-AP MLD determines that it is not the recipient of the EHT PPDU, other STAs in the same restricted non-AP MLD may initiate PPDU transmission or resume EDCA channel access.

[0041] Under the second proposed scheme for multi-link packet scheduling with EHT PPDU level restriction, when an AP in an AP MLD is receiving an EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to a specific STA. For example, for a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD and whose AID corresponds to a value matching the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU, when the AP in the AP MLD is receiving the EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to the STA. As another example, for STAs in all restricted non-AP MLDs, when the RXVECTOR parameter UPLINK_FLAG is equal to 0 (e.g., the UL / DL field in the PHY header is equal to 0) and the RXVECTOR parameter STA_ID of the EHT PPDU is equal to a second reserved value (e.g., 1), when the AP in the AP MLD is receiving the EHT PPDU, other APs in the same AP MLD may not schedule any PPDU to the STA. Under the proposed scheme, except when the MAC header is decoded, a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD that does not match the RA or TA in the MAC header in the received EHT PPDU can be scheduled by other APs in the same AP MLD.

[0042] Under the second proposed scheme of the AID hash function for the STA ID, the hash value of the AID may not include the first reserved value or the second reserved value. Under the proposed scheme, the hash function may have the following offset values:

[0043] Hash(AID)=AID mod 2^N+Offset

[0044] Here, N represents the number of bits of STAID, and Offset represents the number of reserved values. For example, N=5, the first reserved value=0, the second reserved value=1, and Hash(AID)=AID mod 2^5+2.

[0045] In the first and second proposals, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a peer STA (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a second reserved value (e.g., 1). It is worth noting that the peer STA may be a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD, a single link STA, or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD. Under the third proposal according to the present invention, the rule may be further extended. For example, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a single link STA or a STA in an unrestricted non-AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a value associated with an AID associated with the transmitting STA in the restricted non-AP MLD (e.g., a hash value or an encoded version of the AID). In addition, when a STA in a restricted non-AP MLD sends an EHT PPDU to a peer STA in a restricted non-AP MLD (UL / DL field is set to 0), the STA ID field may be set to a first reserved value (e.g., 0).

[0046] Illustrative Embodiments

[0047] Figure 2 An example system 200 having at least an example device 210 and an example device 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Each of the devices 210 and 220 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein related to STA ID indication for limited multi-link operation in wireless communication, including the various schemes described above with respect to various proposed designs, the concepts, schemes, systems, and methods described above, and the processes described below. For example, the device 210 can be an example implementation of the STA 110, and the device 220 can be an example implementation of the STA 120.

[0048] Each of the devices 210 and 220 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a STA or an AP, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. Each of the devices 210 and 220 may be implemented in a smart phone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a notebook computer. Each of the devices 210 and 220 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT device such as a stationary or fixed device, a household device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, each of the devices 210 and 220 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network device, the devices 210 and 220 may be implemented in a network node such as an AP in a WLAN.

[0049] In some embodiments, each of the apparatus 210 and the apparatus 220 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set computing (CISC) processors. In the above various schemes, each of the apparatus 210 and the apparatus 220 may be implemented as a STA or an AP. Each of the apparatus 210 and the apparatus 220 may include Figure 2 At least some of those elements shown in, for example, Figure 2 The processors shown are respectively such as processor 212 and processor 222. Each of the apparatus 210 and the apparatus 220 may further include one or more other elements not related to the proposed solution of the present invention (e.g., an internal power supply, a display device and / or a user interface device), and therefore, such elements in the apparatus 210 and the apparatus 220 are not shown in the figure. Figure 2 For the purpose of simplicity and brevity, it is not described below.

[0050] In one aspect, each of the processor 212 and the processor 222 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, even if the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to the processor 212 and the processor 222, each of the processor 212 and the processor 222 may include multiple processors in some embodiments and may include a single processor in other embodiments according to the present invention. On the other hand, each of the processor 212 and the processor 222 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally, firmware) having electronic components, which include, for example, but not limited to, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors and / or one or more varactor diodes, which are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes according to the present invention. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each of the processor 212 and the processor 222 is a dedicated machine specially designed, arranged and configured to perform specific tasks, including those tasks related to STA ID indication for limited multi-link operation in wireless communication according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0051] In some embodiments, the device 210 may further include a transceiver 216 coupled to the processor 212. The transceiver 216 is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the device 220 may further include a transceiver 226 coupled to the processor 222. The transceiver 226 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. The transceiver 216 of the device 210 and the transceiver 226 of the device 220 may communicate with each other through one or more of a plurality of links Link 1 to Link N, where N>1, such as a first link and a second link.

[0052] In some embodiments, the device 210 may further include a memory 214 coupled to the processor 212 and accessible to the processor 212 and storing data therein. In some embodiments, the device 220 may further include a memory 224 coupled to the processor 222 and accessible to the processor 222 and storing data therein. Each of the memory 214 and the memory 224 may include a random-access memory (RAM), such as a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and / or a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively or additionally, each of the memory 214 and the memory 224 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM), such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and / or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM). Alternatively or additionally, each of the memory 214 and the memory 224 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM), such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and / or phase change memory.

[0053] Each of the devices 210 and 220 may be communication entities capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes according to the present invention. For illustrative purposes and not limitation, a description of the capabilities of the device 210, as the STA 110, which may be a restricted non-AP MLD, and the device 220, as the STA 120, which may be a restricted AP MLD, is provided below. It is worth noting that although the example implementations described below are provided in the context of a WLAN, they may also be implemented in other types of networks.

[0054] Under the proposed scheme for STA ID indication regarding restricted multi-link operation in wireless communication according to the present invention, a first STA in a restricted non-AP MLD implemented in the processor 212 of the device 210 may receive a PPDU on a first link or a second link via the transceiver 216. In addition, in response to the PPDU satisfying a condition, the processor 212 may prohibit one or more other STAs among a plurality of STAs in the non-AP MLD from performing an operation.

[0055] In some implementations, the condition may include: (a) the UL / DL field in the PHY header of the PPDU indicates DL transmission, and (b) the value in the STA ID field in the PHY header matches the value corresponding to the AID associated with the first STA in the non-AP MLD. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0056] In some implementations, the condition may include: (a) a UL / DL field in a PHY header of the PPDU indicates DL transmission, and (b) a STA ID field in the PHY header is equal to a predetermined value.

[0057] In some implementations, when one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD are prohibited from performing operations, the processor 212 may prohibit one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD from transmitting any PPDU.

[0058] In some implementations, when one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD are prohibited from performing operations, the processor 212 may cause one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD to suspend performing EDCA.

[0059] In some implementations, the PPDU may include an EHT PPDU.

[0060] In some embodiments, the processor 212 may perform additional operations. For example, the processor 212 may decode the MAC header of the PPDU. In addition, the processor 212 may allow one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD to initiate or resume operation in response to determining that the first STA is not a receiver of the PPDU as a result of decoding the MAC header. In some embodiments, when allowing one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD to initiate or resume operation, the processor 212 may initiate PPDU transmission or resume EDCA.

[0061] In some implementations, the processor 212 may also receive an EHT PPDU from an AP in the AP MLD via the transceiver 216. In this case, the STAID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU may be set to a predetermined value (eg, 0).

[0062] In some implementations, the processor 212 may also send an EHT PPDU to an AP in the AP MLD via the transceiver 216. In this case, the STA ID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with one of the multiple STAs in the non-AP MLD that sends the EHT PPDU. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0063] Under the proposed scheme for STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communication according to the present invention, a first AP in the restricted AP MLD implemented in the processor 222 of the device 220 may receive the PPDU on the first link or the second link via the transceiver 226. In addition, in response to the STA satisfying the condition, the processor 222 may prohibit one or more other APs in the plurality of APs in the AP MLD from scheduling any transmission to the STA.

[0064] In some implementations, the condition may include: (a) the STA is a non-AP MLD STA with restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link, and (b) the value corresponding to the AID associated with the STA matches the value in the STA ID field in the PHY header of the PPDU. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0065] In some implementations, the PPDU may include an EHT PPDU.

[0066] In some implementations, the processor 222 may perform additional operations. For example, the processor 222 may decode the MAC header of the PPDU. In addition, in response to the STA satisfying different conditions, the processor 222 may allow one or more other APs in the AP MLD to schedule transmissions to the STA.

[0067] In some embodiments, the different conditions may include: (a) the STA is a non-AP MLD STA with restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link, and (b) the address or identifier associated with the STA does not match the RA or TA in the MAC header of the PPDU.

[0068] In some implementations, the processor 222 may also receive an EHT PPDU from the STA via the transceiver 226. In this case, the STA ID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with the STA. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0069] In some implementations, the processor 222 may perform additional operations. For example, the processor 222 may set the STA ID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU for the receiving STA. In addition, the processor 222 may transmit the EHT PPDU to the receiving STA via the transceiver 226.

[0070] In some implementations, when setting the STAID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU, the processor 222 may: (i) in response to the receiving STA being a single STA; set the STA ID field to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA, or (ii) in response to the receiving STA being one of the multiple STAs of the MLD, set the STA ID field to a predetermined value. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0071] Under the proposed scheme for STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communication according to the present invention, the first AP in the restricted AP MLD implemented in the processor 222 of the device 220 can set the STA ID field in the PHY header of the first EHT PPDU for the receiving STA by: (i) in response to the receiving STA being a single STA, setting the STA ID field to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA; or (ii) in response to the receiving STA being one of the multiple STAs of the MLD, setting the STA ID field to a predetermined value. In addition, the processor 222 can transmit the first EHT PPDU to the receiving STA via the transceiver 226. The value corresponding to the AID can be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0072] In some embodiments, the processor 222 may also receive a second EHT PPDU from the transmitting STA via the transceiver 226, wherein the STA ID field in the PHY header of the second EHT PPDU is set to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the transmitting STA. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0073] Illustrative Process

[0074] Figure 3An example process 300 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Process 300 may represent one aspect of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above. More specifically, process 300 may represent one aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes related to STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communications in accordance with the present invention. Process 300 may include one or more operations, actions or functions shown in one or more of blocks 310 and 320. Although shown as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 300 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 300 may be arranged as follows: Figure 3 300 may be performed in the order shown, or in other orders. In addition, one or more blocks / sub-blocks of process 300 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 300 may be implemented by or in device 210 and device 220 or any variation thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, process 300 is described as follows in the context of device 210 as STA 110 (e.g., STA or AP) and device 220 as STA 120 (e.g., peer STA or AP) in a wireless network (e.g., WLAN) according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards. Process 300 begins at block 310.

[0075] At 310, process 300 may involve a first STA in a non-AP MLD having restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on a first link and a second link and implemented in processor 212 of device 210, receiving a PPDU on the first link or the second link via transceiver 216. Process 300 may proceed from 310 to 320.

[0076] At 320 , process 300 may involve one or more other STAs of the plurality of STAs in the non-AP MLD refraining from performing operations in response to the PPDU satisfying a condition.

[0077] In some implementations, the condition may include: (a) the UL / DL field in the PHY header of the PPDU indicates DL transmission, and (b) the value in the STA ID field in the PHY header matches the value corresponding to the AID associated with the first STA in the non-AP MLD. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0078] In some implementations, the condition may include: (a) a UL / DL field in a PHY header of the PPDU indicates DL transmission, and (b) a STA ID field in the PHY header is equal to a predetermined value.

[0079] In some implementations, when one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD are prohibited from performing operations, the process 300 may involve the processor 212 prohibiting the one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD from transmitting any PPDUs.

[0080] In some implementations, process 300 may involve processor 212 causing one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD to suspend performing EDCA when one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD are prohibited from performing operations.

[0081] In some implementations, the PPDU may include an EHT PPDU.

[0082] In some embodiments, the process 300 may involve the processor 212 performing additional operations. For example, the process 300 may involve the processor 212 decoding the MAC header of the PPDU. In addition, the process 300 may involve the processor 212 allowing one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD to initiate or resume operation in response to determining that the first STA is not a recipient of the PPDU as a result of decoding the MAC header. In some embodiments, when allowing one or more other STAs in the non-AP MLD to initiate or resume operation, the process 300 may involve the processor 212 initiating PPDU transmission or resuming EDCA.

[0083] In some implementations, process 300 may further involve processor 212 receiving an EHT PPDU from an AP in the AP MLD via transceiver 216. In this case, a STAID field in a PHY header of the EHT PPDU may be set to a predetermined value (eg, 0).

[0084] In some implementations, the process 300 may further involve the processor 212 sending the EHT PPDU to the AP in the AP MLD via the transceiver 216. In this case, the STAID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with one of the multiple STAs in the non-AP MLD that sends the EHT PPDU. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0085] Figure 4An example process 400 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 400 may represent one aspect of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above. More specifically, process 400 may represent one aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes related to STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communications according to the present invention. Process 400 may include one or more operations, actions or functions as shown in one or more of blocks 410 and 420. Although shown as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 400 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 400 may be arranged as follows: Figure 4 4. The process 400 may be performed in the order shown, or in a different order. In addition, one or more of the blocks / sub-blocks of process 400 may be performed repeatedly or iteratively. Process 400 may be implemented by or in device 210 and device 220 and any variants thereof. For illustrative purposes only and without limiting the scope, in a wireless network (e.g., WLAN) according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards, device 210 as STA 110 (e.g., STA or AP) and device 220 as STA 120 (e.g., peer STA or AP), process 400 is described as follows. Process 400 starts at block 410.

[0086] At 410, process 400 may involve a first AP in an AP MLD, implemented in processor 222 of device 220, receiving a PPDU on a first link or a second link via transceiver 226. Process 400 may proceed from 410 to 420.

[0087] At 420, process 400 may involve one or more other APs of the plurality of APs in the AP MLD refraining from scheduling any transmissions to the STA in response to the STA satisfying the condition.

[0088] In some implementations, the condition may include: (a) the STA is a non-AP MLD STA with restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link, and (b) the value corresponding to the AID associated with the STA matches the value in the STA ID field in the PHY header of the PPDU. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0089] In some implementations, the PPDU may include an EHT PPDU.

[0090] In some implementations, process 400 may involve processor 222 performing additional operations. For example, process 400 may involve processor 222 decoding a MAC header of a PPDU. Additionally, process 400 may involve processor 222 allowing one or more other APs in the AP MLD to schedule transmissions to the STA in response to the STA satisfying different conditions.

[0091] In some embodiments, the different conditions may include: (a) the STA is a non-AP MLD STA with restrictions on simultaneous TX / RX on the first link and the second link, and (b) the address or identifier associated with the STA does not match the RA or TA in the MAC header of the PPDU.

[0092] In some implementations, the process 400 may further involve the processor 222 receiving an EHT PPDU from the STA via the transceiver 226. In this case, the STA ID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU may be set to a value corresponding to an AID associated with the STA. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0093] In some implementations, process 400 may involve processor 222 performing additional operations. For example, process 400 may involve processor 222 setting a STAID field in a PHY header of an EHT PPDU for a receiving STA. Additionally, process 400 may involve processor 222 transmitting the EHT PPDU to a receiver STA via transceiver 226.

[0094] In some implementations, when setting the STA ID field in the PHY header of the EHT PPDU, the process 400 may involve the processor 222: (i) in response to the receiving STA being a single STA, setting the STA ID field to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA; or (ii) in response to the receiving STA being one of the multiple STAs of the MLD, setting the STA ID field to a predetermined value. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0095] Figure 5An example process 500 is shown according to an embodiment of the present invention. Process 500 may represent one aspect of implementing the various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above. More specifically, process 500 may represent one aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes related to STA ID indication for restricted multi-link operation in wireless communications according to the present invention. Process 500 may include one or more operations, actions or functions as shown in one or more of blocks 510 and 520. Although shown as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 500 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. In addition, the blocks / sub-blocks of process 500 may be arranged as follows: Figure 5 110 (e.g., STA or AP) and device 220 (e.g., peer STA or AP) in a wireless network (e.g., WLAN) according to one or more IEEE 802.11 standards, the process 500 is described as follows in the context of device 210 as STA 110 (e.g., STA or AP) and device 220 as STA 120 (e.g., peer STA or AP). Process 500 begins at block 410.

[0096] At 510, the process 500 may involve an AP in an AP MLD, which is implemented in the processor 222 of the device 220, setting the STA ID field in the PHY header of the first EHT PPDU for the receiving STA by: (i) in response to the receiving STA being a single STA, setting the STA ID field to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the receiving STA; or (ii) in response to the receiving STA being one of multiple STAs of the MLD, setting the STA ID field to a predetermined value. The process 500 may proceed from 510 to 520. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0097] At 520 , process 500 may involve processor 222 sending a first EHTPPDU to a receiving STA via transceiver 226 .

[0098] In some embodiments, the process 500 may further involve the processor 222 receiving a second EHT PPDU from the transmitting STA via the transceiver 226, and the STA ID field in the PHY header of the second EHT PPDU is set to a value corresponding to the AID associated with the transmitting STA. The value corresponding to the AID may be a hash value of the AID or an encoded version of the AID.

[0099] Additional Notes

[0100] The subject matter described herein sometimes represents different elements, which are contained in or connected to other different elements.It is understandable that the described structure is only an example, and in fact, it can be implemented by many other structures to achieve the same function. Conceptually, the arrangement of any element that achieves the same function is actually "associated" to achieve the desired function.Therefore, regardless of the structure or the intermediate component, any two elements combined to achieve a specific function are considered to be "interrelated" to achieve the desired function.Similarly, any two associated elements are considered to be "operably connected" or "operably coupled" to achieve a specific function.Any two elements that can be associated with each other are also considered to be "operably coupled" to achieve a specific function.Any two elements that can be associated with each other are also considered to be "operably coupled" to achieve a specific function.Any two elements that can be associated with each other are also considered to be "operably coupled" to achieve a specific function.Specific examples of operable connections include but are not limited to physically pairable and / or physically interacting elements, and / or wirelessly interactive and / or wirelessly interactive elements, and / or logically interactive and / or logically interactive elements.

[0101] Furthermore, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms, those skilled in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural as appropriate to the context and / or application. For clarity, the various singular / plural permutations are expressly set forth herein.

[0102] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, the terms used in the present invention, especially in the claims, and the subject matter of the claims, are generally used as "open" terms, for example, "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", "having" should be interpreted as "at least having", "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to", etc. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that if a specific number of claim contents are intended to be introduced, it will be explicitly indicated in the claim, and will not be displayed in the absence of such content. For example, to aid understanding, the following claims may include the phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce the content of the claims. However, the use of these phrases should not be interpreted as implying the use of "one" or "an" to introduce the claim content, while limiting any particular claim. Even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one", the indefinite article, such as "one" or "an", should be interpreted to mean at least one or more, and the same is true for the use of the explicit description used to introduce the claim. In addition, even if a specific number of introductory contents are explicitly cited, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that such content should be interpreted to mean the cited number, for example, "two references" without other modifications means at least two references, or two or more references. In addition, when using expressions similar to "at least one of A, B, and C", it is usually expressed in this way so that those skilled in the art can understand the expression, for example, "a system includes at least one of A, B, and C" will include but not limited to a system with A alone, a system with B alone, a system with C alone, a system with A and B, a system with A and C, a system with B and C, and / or a system with A, B, and C, etc. Those skilled in the art will further understand that any separated words and / or phrases represented by two or more alternative terms, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to include the possibility of one of these terms, one of them, or both of these terms. For example, "A or B" should be understood as the possibility of "A", or "B", or "A and B".

[0103] As can be seen from the foregoing, various embodiments have been described for illustrative purposes, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope is indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a first station in a non-access point multi-link device, a physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit on a first link or a second link, the non-access point multi-link device having a restriction on simultaneous transmission and reception on the first link and the second link; as well as In response to the physical layer convergence protocol data unit satisfying a condition, prohibiting one or more other stations of the plurality of stations in the non-access point multi-link device from performing operations, The conditions include any one or both of the following: an uplink flag of a receive direction quantity RXVECTOR parameter of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a predetermined value, and a station identifier of the receive direction quantity RXVECTOR parameter matches a value corresponding to an association identifier of the first station association; or The uplink flag of the receive direction vector RXVECTOR parameter of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to the predetermined value, and the station identifier of the receive direction vector RXVECTOR parameter is equal to a reserved value.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The conditions include: an uplink / downlink field in a physical layer header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit indicates a downlink transmission, and The station identifier field in the physical layer header matches a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with the first station in the non-access point multi-link device.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The conditions include: an uplink / downlink field in a physical layer header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit indicates a downlink transmission, and The station identifier field in the physical layer header is equal to a predetermined value.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: Prohibiting the one or more other stations in the plurality of stations in the non-access point multi-link device from performing the operation comprises: prohibiting the one or more other STAs in the non-access point multi-link device from sending any physical layer convergence protocol data unit; or The one or more other stations in the non-access point multi-link device are caused to suspend performing enhanced distributed channel access.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: decoding a media access control header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit; as well as In response to decoding the MAC header and determining that the first station is not a recipient of the PHY convergence protocol data unit, one or more other stations in the non-AP multi-link devices are allowed to initiate PHY convergence protocol data unit transmission or resume enhanced distributed channel access.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: receiving very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol data units from an access point in an access point multilink device, Wherein a station identifier field in a physical layer header of the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a predetermined value.

7. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: sending a very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol data unit to an access point in an access point multi-link device, wherein a station identifier field in a physical layer header of the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with one of the plurality of stations in the non-access point multi-link device sending the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit.

8. A wireless communication method, comprising: receiving, by a first access point in an access point multi-link device, a physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit on a first link or a second link; as well as In response to the station satisfying a condition, prohibiting one or more other access points in the access point multi-link device from scheduling any transmission to the station, The conditions include: An uplink flag of a receive direction vector RXVECTOR parameter of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a predetermined value, and a station identifier of the receive direction vector RXVECTOR parameter is equal to a reserved value.

9. The wireless communication method according to claim 8, wherein: The conditions include: The station is a station of a non-access point multi-link device, the non-access point multi-link device having restrictions on simultaneous transmission and reception on the first link and the second link, and The station identifier field in the physical layer header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit matches a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with the station.

10. The wireless communication method according to claim 8, wherein: The method further comprises: decoding a media access control header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit; and In response to the station satisfying a different condition, one or more other access points in the access point multi-link device are allowed to schedule transmissions to the station.

11. The wireless communication method according to claim 10, wherein: The different conditions include: The station is a station of a non-access point multi-link device, the non-access point multi-link device having restrictions on simultaneous transmission and reception on the first link and the second link, and An address or identifier associated with the station does not match a recipient address or a sender address in the medium access control header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit.

12. The wireless communication method according to claim 8, wherein: The method further comprises: Receive very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol data units from the station, Wherein a station identifier field in a physical layer header of the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with the station.

13. The wireless communication method according to claim 8, wherein: The method further comprises: Setting the station identifier field in the physical layer header of the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit for the receiving station by any of the following means: In response to the recipient station being a single station, setting the station identifier field to a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with the recipient station; or In response to the receiving station being one of a plurality of stations of a multi-link device, setting the station identifier field to a predetermined value; and The very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is sent to the recipient station.

14. A wireless communication device, comprising: a transceiver configured to perform wireless communication over at least a first link and a second link; as well as a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform a plurality of operations as a non-access point multi-link device having limitations on simultaneous transmission and reception on the first link and on the second link, the plurality of operations comprising: Receiving, by a first station in the non-access point multi-link device through the transceiver, a physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit on the first link or the second link; and In response to the physical layer convergence protocol data unit satisfying a condition, prohibiting one or more other stations of the plurality of stations in the non-access point multi-link device from performing operations, The conditions include any one or both of the following: an uplink flag of a receive direction quantity RXVECTOR parameter of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a predetermined value, and a station identifier of the receive direction quantity RXVECTOR parameter matches a value corresponding to an association identifier of the first station association; or The uplink flag of the receive direction vector RXVECTOR parameter of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to the predetermined value, and the station identifier of the receive direction vector RXVECTOR parameter is equal to a reserved value.

15. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The conditions include: an uplink / downlink field in a physical layer header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit indicates a downlink transmission, and The station identifier field in the physical layer header matches a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with the first station in the non-access point multi-link device.

16. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The conditions include: an uplink / downlink field in a physical layer header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit indicates a downlink transmission, and The station identifier field in the physical layer header is equal to a predetermined value.

17. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: When prohibiting the one or more other stations of the plurality of stations in the non-access point multi-link device from performing the operation, the processor is configured to execute: prohibiting the one or more other STAs in the non-access point multi-link device from sending any physical layer convergence protocol data unit; or The one or more other stations in the non-access point multi-link device are caused to suspend performing enhanced distributed channel access.

18. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is further configured to perform the following operations: decoding a media access control header of the physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit; and In response to decoding the MAC header and determining that the first station is not a recipient of the PHY convergence protocol data unit, one or more other stations in the non-AP multi-link devices are allowed to initiate PHY convergence protocol data unit transmission or resume enhanced distributed channel access.

19. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is further configured to perform the following operations: receiving, via the transceiver, a very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit from an access point in an access point multi-link device, Wherein a station identifier field in a physical layer header of the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a predetermined value.

20. The wireless communication device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is further configured to perform the following operations: sending, via the transceiver, very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol data units to an access point in an access point multi-link device, wherein a station identifier field in a physical layer header of the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit is set to a value corresponding to an association identifier associated with the plurality of stations in the non-access point multi-link device sending the very high throughput physical layer convergence protocol protocol data unit.

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