Communication methods and devices under multiple connections

Abstract

This disclosure provides a communication method and apparatus under multiple connections. The communication method under multiple connections may include: determining a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a transmission operation and second identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a reception operation, wherein the transmission operation and the reception operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous transmission and reception; and transmitting the first message frame.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to communication methods and devices under multiple connections. Background Technology

[0002] Current Wi-Fi technology research focuses on 320MHz bandwidth transmission, aggregation and coordination of multiple frequency bands, etc., with the aim of improving the speed and throughput by at least four times compared to existing standards. Its main application scenarios are video transmission, AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), etc.

[0003] Multi-band aggregation and coordination refers to communication between devices simultaneously in frequency bands such as 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz. Managing this simultaneous communication across multiple frequency bands requires defining a new MAC (Media Access Control) mechanism. Furthermore, it is expected that multi-band aggregation and coordination can support low-latency transmission.

[0004] The maximum bandwidth currently supported in multi-band aggregation and system technology is 320MHz (160MHz+160MHz), and it may also support 240MHz (160MHz+80MHz) and other bandwidths.

[0005] In current technology, stations (STAs) and access points (APs) can be multi-link devices (MLDs), meaning they support the ability to send and / or receive simultaneously under multiple connections. Therefore, in current technology, multiple connections can exist between STAs and APs, and research is underway on communication between these two types of devices under multiple connections. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Various aspects of this disclosure will at least address the aforementioned problems and / or drawbacks. The various embodiments of this disclosure provide the following technical solutions:

[0007] A communication method under multiple connections is provided according to an example embodiment of this disclosure. The communication method may include: determining a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a transmission operation and second identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a reception operation, wherein the transmission operation and the reception operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous transmission and reception; and transmitting the first message frame.

[0008] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure, a communication method under multiple connections is provided. The communication method may include: receiving a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a sending operation and second identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous sending and receiving functionality; and performing a communication operation based on the first message frame.

[0009] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, a communication device under multiple connections is provided. The communication device may include: a processing module configured to: determine a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a transmission operation and second identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a reception operation, wherein the transmission operation and the reception operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous transmission and reception; and a transceiver module configured to: transmit the first message frame.

[0010] According to an example embodiment of this disclosure, a communication device under multiple connections is provided. The communication device may include: a transceiver module configured to: receive a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a transmission operation and second identification information for identifying a spatial stream used in a reception operation, wherein the transmission operation and the reception operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous transmission and reception; and a processing module configured to: control the communication operation based on the first message frame.

[0011] An electronic device is provided according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. The electronic device includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the method described above.

[0012] According to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. A computer program is stored on the computer-readable storage medium. When executed by a processor, the computer program implements the method described above.

[0013] The technical solutions provided by the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure can achieve high spectrum utilization. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The above and other features of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0015] Figure 1 This is an exemplary diagram illustrating a communication scenario with multiple connections.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating a communication device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, is provided to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the various embodiments of this disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. The various embodiments of this disclosure include a variety of specific details, but these details are to be considered exemplary only. Furthermore, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of well-known techniques, functions, and constructions may be omitted.

[0020] The terms and words used in this disclosure are not limited to their literal meanings, but are used solely by the inventors to ensure a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Therefore, the descriptions of various embodiments of the disclosure provided are for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting purposes.

[0021] It should be understood that, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” “the,” and “the” used herein may also include the plural forms. It should be further understood that the word “comprising” as used in this disclosure means the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0022] It will be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. Therefore, without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments, the first element discussed below may be referred to as the second element.

[0023] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or there may be an intermediate element. Furthermore, the use of “connected” or “coupled” herein can include wireless connections or wireless couplings. The terms “and / or” or the expression “at least one of…” as used herein include any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0025] Figure 1 This is an exemplary diagram illustrating a communication scenario with multiple connections.

[0026] In a wireless local area network (WLAN), a basic service set (BSS) can consist of an access point (AP) and one or more stations (STAs) communicating with the AP. A BSS can connect to a distribution system (DS) through its APs, and then connect to another BSS to form an extended service set (ESS).

[0027] An Access Point (AP) is a wireless switch used in wireless networks and is the core of a wireless network. AP devices can be used as wireless base stations, primarily serving as bridges connecting wireless and wired networks. Using this type of access point (AP), wired and wireless networks can be integrated.

[0028] An access point (AP) may include software applications and / or circuitry to enable other types of nodes in a wireless network to communicate with the outside and inside of the wireless network via the AP. In some examples, for instance, the AP may be a terminal device or network device equipped with a Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) chip.

[0029] As an example, a site (STA) may include, but is not limited to: cellular phones, smartphones, wearable devices, computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal communication system (PCS) devices, personal information managers (PIMs), personal navigation devices (PNDs), global positioning systems, multimedia devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc.

[0030] In the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, the AP and STA can be multi-connection devices, for example, they can be represented as AP MLD and non-AP STA MLD, respectively. For ease of description, the following mainly describes an example of communication between one AP MLD and one non-AP STA MLD under multi-connection conditions; however, the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto, and multi-connection communication between other numbers of AP MLDs and non-AP STA MLDs is also included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0031] exist Figure 1 In this context, by way of example only, AP MLD can represent an access point that supports multi-connection communication functionality, and non-AP STA MLD can represent a site that supports multi-connection communication functionality. (See also...) Figure 1 The AP MLD can operate in four connections, such as Figure 1As shown, AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP4, the non-AP STA MLD can also operate under four connections, such as... Figure 1 STA1, STA2, STA3, and STA4 are shown. Figure 1 In the example, it is assumed that AP1 communicates with STA1 through the corresponding first connection Link 1. Similarly, AP2, AP3, and AP4 communicate with STA2, STA3, and STA4 through the second connection Link 2, the third connection Link 3, and the fourth connection Link 4, respectively. Furthermore, Links 1 to 4 can be multiple connections at different frequencies, such as connections at 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz, or several connections with the same or different bandwidths at 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz. Additionally, multiple channels can exist under each connection. However, it should be understood that... Figure 1 The communication scenarios shown are merely illustrative, and the inventive concept is not limited thereto. For example, an AP MLD can connect to multiple non-AP STA MLDs, or under each connection, the AP can communicate with multiple other types of stations.

[0032] In the Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (STR) mechanism, a non-AP STA MLD can operate in EMLMR (Enhanced-Multi-Link Multi-Radio) mode on a set of designated enabled connections between the non-AP STA MLD and its associated AP MLD. EMLMR mode can refer to the non-AP STA MLD communicating with the AP MLD under multiple connections at a given time, while simultaneously listening on the channel under multiple connections. A set of designated enabled connections in EMLMR mode can be called EMLMR connections. When the non-AP STA MLD operates in EMLMR mode, the spatial stream capabilities and operating modes of each connection can be exchanged on one of the EMLMR connections via an initial frame. However, in the prior art, it is not defined which spatial streams are specifically used during receive and transmit operations (e.g., spatial stream numbers are not identified). Therefore, in EMLMR mode, the number of spatial streams (NSS) used for receive and transmit operations between the non-AP MLD and AP MLD will be as large as possible (e.g., maximum), which can easily lead to the reuse of certain spatial streams and cause conflicts.

[0033] Based on the concept of this disclosure, the following communication method and communication apparatus are provided to at least solve the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages, and to better utilize the STR mechanism.

[0034] Figure 2This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 The communication method shown can be an operation performed by the initiator. According to the embodiment, the initiator can be an access point or site that supports multiple connection communication.

[0035] Reference Figure 2 In step 210, a first message frame is determined. According to an embodiment, the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the transmission operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the reception operation, wherein the transmission operation and the reception operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections that support simultaneous transmission and reception.

[0036] In the embodiments of this disclosure, there can be many ways to determine the first message frame. For example, the first message frame can be generated based on at least one of the following: network conditions, load conditions, hardware capabilities of the transmitting / receiving devices, service type, and relevant protocol specifications; this disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this. In the embodiments of this disclosure, the first message frame can also be obtained from an external device, and this disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this. For example, according to the embodiments of this disclosure, the first message frame can be determined based on the actual data volume (e.g., the data volume in the transmitting operation and the data volume in the receiving operation). Specifically, the spatial stream used for the transmitting operation and the spatial stream used for the receiving operation can be determined based on the actual data volume. In other words, the sender and receiver can coordinate the NSS based on the actual data volume to improve spectrum utilization. This will be described in detail later.

[0037] In step 220, a first message frame is sent. That is, the initiator notifies the receiver of the usage of the space stream by carrying information about the space stream used for sending and receiving operations in the first message frame.

[0038] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first message frame can be an initial frame defined before STR communication, indicating the start of STR communication. This initial frame can be initiated by the AP or the STA, for example, it can be performed on a connection under an STR (simultaneous transmit and receive) connection (such as a connection under an STR connection determining and sending the first message frame). For example, the STR connection can be a pair of connections supporting simultaneous transmit and receive functions. Furthermore, the first message frame (i.e., the initial frame) can be any type of frame (e.g., various forms of data frames, management frames, control frames), such as MU-RTS frames or BSRP (buffer status report poll) frames, and this disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this.

[0039] Figure 2The communication method shown can be performed under one or more pairs of STR connections, which will be described in detail below with reference to Table 1 and Table 2 respectively.

[0040] When the STR communication to be performed is under a pair of STR connections, the first message frame may include spatial flow information (first identification information) of the connection used for transmitting operations and spatial flow information (second identification information) of the connection used for receiving operations in the pair of STR connections. For example, the format of the first message frame (i.e., the initial frame) may have the format shown in Table 1 below:

[0041] Table 1. Format of the first message frame

[0042]

[0043] Referring to Table 1, the first message frame (i.e., the initial frame) may include: the spatial stream Tx SS corresponding to the transmit operation (specifically, which spatial streams are used for data transmission) and the spatial stream Rx SS corresponding to the receive operation (specifically, which spatial streams are used for data reception). In Table 1, Tx SS may correspond to first identification information used to identify the spatial streams used in the transmit operation, and Rx SS may correspond to second identification information used to identify the spatial streams used in the receive operation. Furthermore, although not shown in Table 1, the first message frame may also contain other information.

[0044] According to embodiments of this disclosure, each of Tx SS (first identification information) and Rx SS (second identification information) can be identified by multiple bytes.

[0045] In one embodiment of this disclosure, both the first identification information and the second identification information may include a bitmap corresponding to all supported spatial streams. For example, if the sender and receiver can support a maximum of 16 spatial streams, the bitmap of all spatial streams can be identified using 16 bits (2 bytes), that is, all supported spatial streams can be identified using 16 bits (2 bytes). Specifically, the spatial stream used for transmission operations among all spatial streams can be identified using 2 bytes (i.e., Tx SS in Table 1 has 2 bytes), and the spatial stream used for reception operations among all spatial streams can be identified using 2 bytes (i.e., Rx SS in Table 1 has 2 bytes). For example, for Tx SS, each of the 16 bits included in the 2 bytes can correspond to one of the 16 spatial streams. The spatial stream corresponding to the corresponding bit can be identified as being usable for transmission operations by setting the corresponding bit to a first value (e.g., "1") in the first message frame. The 2 bytes in Rx SS can be set similarly. For simplicity, repeated descriptions are omitted here. The first and second identification information are represented by a bitmap, allowing the sender and receiver to encode and decode the relevant information of the spatial stream in a simple way.

[0046] In another embodiment of this disclosure, both the first identification information and the second identification information can identify the space stream used by two parts of bits. The first part of the two parts of bits identifies the starting space stream, and the second part of the two parts of bits identifies the number of space streams used. For example, if the sender and receiver can support a maximum of 16 space streams, each of the Tx SS and Rx SS in Table 1 can have 2 bytes. The first part (e.g., 4 bits in the high-order byte) can represent the starting space stream used for Tx or Rx, and the second part (e.g., 4 bits in the low-order byte) can represent the number of space streams used for Tx or Rx. Taking Tx SS as an example, Tx SS can be set to 10000101. The first part (the high four bits "1000") identifies the starting spatial stream as the eighth spatial stream out of 16 spatial streams. The second part (the low four bits "0101") identifies the number of spatial streams used for transmission operations as 5. Thus, it can identify that the eighth to twelfth spatial streams after the first 16 spatial streams can be used for transmission operations. Rx SS can be identified similarly; for simplicity, repeated descriptions are omitted here. Using two parts of bits to represent the first and second identification information eliminates the need for each spatial stream to occupy one bit. Therefore, when supporting a large number of spatial streams, more information about a larger number of spatial streams can be identified with fewer bits.

[0047] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the spatial stream used by the transmission operation identified by the first identification information does not overlap with the spatial stream used by the reception operation identified by the second identification information. In other words, for example, through the identification methods in the above two embodiments, the spatial streams corresponding to the transmission operation and the reception operation do not overlap, thus avoiding the reuse of spatial streams and preventing conflicts.

[0048] Although the above embodiments are described with a total of 16 space streams and 2 bytes (16 bits), it will be understood that these numbers are merely illustrative examples and not limitations of this disclosure, and the Tx SS (first identification information) and Rx SS (second identification information) in Table 1 may have different sizes depending on the supported space streams.

[0049] When the STR communication to be performed is under multiple STR connections, that is, when transmission and reception operations can be performed simultaneously on at least two pairs of connections that support simultaneous transmission and reception, the first message frame may further include: a connection identifier for each of the at least two pairs of connections. For example, the format of the first message frame may be as shown in Table 2 below.

[0050] Table 2. Format of the first message frame

[0051] … STR link pair1 STR link pair2 … Tx SS1 Rx SS1 Tx SS2 Rx SS2 …

[0052] Referring to Table 2, STR link pair1 and STR link pair2 can be connection identifiers for each pair. For example, each of STR link pair1 and STR link pair2 can contain a connection identifier (link ID) for the connection used for transmitting operations and a connection identifier for the connection used for receiving operations within that pair of STR connections. Alternatively, the connection identifiers used to identify each pair of STR link pair1 and STR link pair2 can take the form of a link set identifier. For example, if n connections are established between the initiator and the receiver for communication, each pair of STR link pair1 and STR link pair2 can have n bits (each bit corresponding to one of the n connections), and when two corresponding bits in each pair of STR link pair1 and STR link pair2 are set to a first specific value (e.g., "1"), the two connections corresponding to these two bits are identified as a pair of STR connections.

[0053] Referring again to Table 2, the first message frame may include multiple first identification information (e.g., Tx SS1, Tx SS2, etc.) and multiple second identification information (e.g., Rx SS1, Rx SS2, etc.). In the mapping of multiple first and second identification information, each pair of connection identifiers can be mapped to the corresponding first and second identification information. For example, STR link pair1 can be mapped to the first identification information Tx SS1 and the second identification information Rx SS1, and STR linkpair2 can be mapped to the first identification information Tx SS2 and the second identification information Rx SS2. Mapping each first and second identification information to the corresponding connection allows multiple STR connection pairs to communicate simultaneously, increasing spectrum utilization. Each of the multiple first identification information and each of the multiple second identification information can identify the spatial stream using a bitmap or two-part bitmap method, as described in the embodiments in Table 1. For simplicity, repeated descriptions are omitted here.

[0054] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the number of spatial streams identified by each first identification information and the number of spatial streams identified by each second identification information are both less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

[0055] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the sum of the number of spatial streams identified by a plurality of first identification information and the number of spatial streams identified by a plurality of second identification information is less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

[0056] The maximum number of spatial streams can be pre-negotiated between the initiator and the receiver, or determined according to a standard. For example, in an EHT (extreme high-throughput) communication environment, the maximum number of spatial streams can be, for example, but not limited to, 16.

[0057] Combination Figure 1The description is as follows: For example, Link 1 and Link 2 can be the first STR connection pair, and the number of spatial flows mapped to Link 1 is N1, and the number of spatial flows mapped to Link 2 is N2; Link 3 and Link 4 can be the second STR connection pair, and the number of spatial flows mapped to Link 3 is N3, and the number of spatial flows mapped to Link 4 is N4; the maximum number of spatial flows is N, then each of N1, N2, N3, and N4 can be less than N, and the sum of N1, N2, N3, and N4 can be less than N. This avoids the reuse of spatial flows, thereby avoiding conflicts. It will be understood that the description here is merely exemplary. For example, Link 1 and Link 2 can be the first STR connection pair, Link 1 and Link 3 can be the second STR connection pair, and Link 3 and Link 4 can be the third STR connection pair. In this case, the spatial flows mapped to each pair of connection identifiers need to be non-overlapping, and the mapped spatial flows need to satisfy the aforementioned maximum number of spatial flows constraint.

[0058] According to embodiments of this disclosure, in the case of a STR link pair, since the non-APSTA MLD and AP MLD can identify the STR link pair during the multi-link establishment process, there is no need to indicate the mapping between the link ID and the spatial stream, as shown in Table 1, which does not include the link ID of the STR link pair.

[0059] According to embodiments of this disclosure, in the case of multiple STR connection pairs, a mapping between link IDs and spatial streams needs to be added to Table 1, as shown in Table 2. Here, Link ID refers to a combination of information including operating spectrum, bandwidth / channel, and BSSID (basis service set identifier).

[0060] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the maximum number of NSS for all mappings must conform to the baseline established in the EHT communication environment and cannot exceed the maximum NSS for Rx / Tx at the Multi-Connected Device (MLD) level.

[0061] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment. Figure 3 The communication method shown can be applied to receivers that support multi-connection communication. For example, in Figure 2 The communication method shown is applied when the AP MLD is the initiator. Figure 3 The communication method shown can be applied to non-AP STA MLD; while Figure 2The communication method shown is applied to the case of a non-AP STA MLD as the initiator. Figure 3 The communication method shown can be applied to AP MLD.

[0062] Reference Figure 3 In step 310, a first message frame is received, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the sending operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections that support simultaneous sending and receiving functions.

[0063] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the spatial stream used by the transmission operation identified by the first identification information may not overlap with the spatial stream used by the reception operation identified by the second identification information.

[0064] According to embodiments of this disclosure, both the first identification information and the second identification information may include bitmaps corresponding to all supported spatial streams.

[0065] According to embodiments of this disclosure, both the first identification information and the second identification information can identify the spatial stream used by two parts of bits, wherein the first part of the two parts of bits can identify the starting spatial stream, and the second part of the two parts of bits can identify the number of spatial streams used.

[0066] According to embodiments of this disclosure, at least one pair of connections includes at least two pairs of connections, wherein the first message frame further includes: a connection identifier for each of the at least two pairs of connections.

[0067] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the first message frame includes multiple first identification information and multiple second identification information, wherein in the mapping of multiple first identification information and multiple second identification information, each pair of connection identifiers is mapped to the corresponding first identification information and the corresponding second identification information.

[0068] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the number of spatial streams identified by each first identification information and the number of spatial streams identified by each second identification information are both less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

[0069] According to embodiments of this disclosure, the sum of the number of spatial streams identified by a plurality of first identification information and the number of spatial streams identified by a plurality of second identification information is less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

[0070] Figure 3 The first message frame, (multiple) first identification information and (multiple) second identification information, connection identifier, etc. described in the document can be similar to those in the reference document. Figure 2 The embodiments described in Tables 1 and 2 are also referenced here, and for the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0071] Continue to refer to Figure 3 In step 320, a communication operation is performed based on the first message frame. For example, the spatial stream used for sending operations, the spatial stream used for receiving operations, and / or the connection identifier identified in the first message frame can be used to simultaneously send and receive data through the corresponding spatial stream under the corresponding connection.

[0072] Figure 4 This is a block diagram illustrating a communication device 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0073] Reference Figure 4 The communication device 400 may include a processing module 410 and a transceiver module 420. Figure 4 The communication device shown can be applied to both the sending and receiving devices that support multi-connection communication.

[0074] exist Figure 4 When the communication device shown is applied to a sending device, the processing module 410 can be configured to: determine a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the sending operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous sending and receiving; the transceiver module 420 can be configured to: send the first message frame. In this case, the communication device 400 can perform the reference... Figure 2 For the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions of the communication method described are omitted here.

[0075] exist Figure 4 When the communication device shown is used as a receiver, the transceiver module 420 can be configured to: receive a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the transmission operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the reception operation, wherein the transmission operation and the reception operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections supporting simultaneous transmission and reception; the processing module 410 can be configured to: control the communication operation based on the first message frame. In this case, the communication device 400 can perform the reference... Figure 3 For the sake of brevity, repeated descriptions of the communication method described are omitted here.

[0076] also, Figure 4 The communication device 400 shown is merely exemplary, and the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto. For example, the communication device 400 may also include other modules, such as a memory module. Furthermore, the various modules in the communication device 400 may be combined into more complex modules, or may be divided into more individual modules.

[0077] The communication method and communication apparatus according to embodiments of the present disclosure enable the transmission / reception operation to use sufficient spatial flow without causing collisions, thereby improving spectrum utilization.

[0078] Based on the same principles as the methods provided in the embodiments of this disclosure, embodiments of this disclosure also provide an electronic device, which includes a processor and a memory; wherein the memory stores machine-readable instructions (also referred to as a "computer program"); ​​and the processor is configured to execute the machine-readable instructions to implement the reference... Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described.

[0079] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements a reference... Figure 2 and Figure 3 The method described.

[0080] In exemplary embodiments, the processor may be a variety of exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with this disclosure, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a general-purpose processor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The processor may also be a combination that implements computational functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, etc.

[0081] In the example embodiment, the memory may be, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or other optical disc storage, optical disk storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto.

[0082] It should be understood that although the steps in the flowcharts of the accompanying figures are shown sequentially as indicated by the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless explicitly stated herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and they can be executed in other orders. Furthermore, at least some steps in the flowcharts of the accompanying figures may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages. These sub-steps or stages are not necessarily completed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and their execution order is not necessarily sequential, but can be performed alternately or in turn with other steps or at least some of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

[0083] While this disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure should not be limited to the embodiments, but rather should be defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method under multiple connections, wherein, The communication method includes: A first message frame is determined, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the sending operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections that support simultaneous sending and receiving functions; Send the first message frame; The spatial stream used by the sending operation identified by the first identification information does not overlap with the spatial stream used by the receiving operation identified by the second identification information.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein, Both the first identification information and the second identification information include bitmaps corresponding to all supported spatial streams.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein, Both the first and second identification information use two bits to identify the spatial stream used. The first part of the two sets of bits identifies the starting space stream, and the second part of the two sets of bits identifies the number of space streams used.

4. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The at least one pair of connections includes at least two pairs of connections. The first message frame further includes: a connection identifier for each of the at least two pairs of connections.

5. The communication method according to claim 4, wherein, The first message frame includes multiple first identification information and multiple second identification information. In the mapping of multiple first identification information and multiple second identification information, each pair of connection identifiers is mapped to the corresponding first identification information and the corresponding second identification information.

6. The communication method according to claim 5, wherein, The number of spatial streams identified by each of the first identifiers and the number of spatial streams identified by each of the second identifiers are both less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

7. The communication method according to claim 5, wherein, The sum of the number of spatial streams identified by the first identification information and the number of spatial streams identified by the second identification information is less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

8. A communication method under multiple connections, wherein, The communication method includes: Receive a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the sending operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections that support simultaneous sending and receiving functions; Perform communication operations based on the first message frame; The spatial stream used by the sending operation identified by the first identification information does not overlap with the spatial stream used by the receiving operation identified by the second identification information.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein, Both the first identification information and the second identification information include bitmaps corresponding to all supported spatial streams.

10. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein, Both the first and second identification information use two bits to identify the spatial stream used. The first part of the two sets of bits identifies the starting space stream, and the second part of the two sets of bits identifies the number of space streams used.

11. The communication method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein, The at least one pair of connections includes at least two pairs of connections. The first message frame further includes: a connection identifier for each of the at least two pairs of connections.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein, The first message frame includes multiple first identification information and multiple second identification information. In the mapping of multiple first identification information and multiple second identification information, each pair of connection identifiers is mapped to the corresponding first identification information and the corresponding second identification information.

13. The communication method according to claim 12, wherein, The number of spatial streams identified by each of the first identifiers and the number of spatial streams identified by each of the second identifiers are both less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

14. The communication method according to claim 12, wherein, The sum of the number of spatial streams identified by the first identification information and the number of spatial streams identified by the second identification information is less than the maximum number of spatial streams.

15. A communication device under multiple connections, wherein, The communication device includes: The processing module is configured to: determine a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the sending operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections that support simultaneous sending and receiving functions; The transceiver module is configured to: send the first message frame; the spatial stream used by the sending operation identified by the first identification information does not overlap with the spatial stream used by the receiving operation identified by the second identification information.

16. A communication device under multiple connections, wherein, The communication device includes: The transceiver module is configured to receive a first message frame, wherein the first message frame includes first identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the sending operation and second identification information for identifying the spatial stream used in the receiving operation, wherein the sending operation and the receiving operation are performed simultaneously on at least one pair of connections that support simultaneous sending and receiving functions. The processing module is configured to: perform a communication operation based on the first message frame; the spatial stream used by the sending operation identified by the first identification information does not overlap with the spatial stream used by the receiving operation identified by the second identification information.

17. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and machine-readable instructions stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein, When the processor executes the machine-readable instructions, it implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 7 or any one of claims 8 to 14.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein, The computer-readable storage medium stores machine-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7 or any one of claims 8 to 14.

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