Wireless communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a wireless communication method performed by an AP, the AP being an NSTR AP MLD, the wireless communication method comprising: establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with a first MLD; in a first time period, transmitting data to or receiving data from the first MLD through the primary link and the non-primary link; in a second time period located after the first time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being busy, performing a dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the primary link, and communicating with the first MLD using the primary link.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present application generally relate to multi-link switching, and more particularly, to a wireless communication method and related apparatus with dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism. BACKGROUND

[0002] IEEE 802.11be defines multi-link operation, which allows an access point (AP) and a station to communicate with each other by using two or more links. Due to hardware limitations such as the spacing between antennas in the station, the AP / station can operate in a synchronous mode or an asynchronous mode. The synchronous mode is also referred to as a non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) mode, i.e., the AP / station cannot transmit and receive data through multiple links at the same time. The asynchronous mode is also referred to as a simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) mode, i.e., the AP / station can transmit and receive data through multiple links at the same time, but the AP / station is not required to transmit data using multiple links at the same time.

[0003] When multiple links of an AP use channels belonging to the 5 GHz band (e.g., 4.915 GHz-5.825 GHz) and / or the 6 GHz band (e.g., 5.925 GHz-7.125 GHz), an AP supporting the STR mode can have huge manufacturing costs. Therefore, how to design a low-cost and high-performance AP is an important issue. SUMMARY

[0004] The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In other words, the following summary is provided to introduce some concepts, highlights, benefits and advantages of the novel and non-obvious technology described herein. Selected implementations are described in further detail in the following detailed description. As such, the following summary is not intended to be used to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] Therefore, it is an object of the present application to provide a wireless communication method and related apparatus (e.g., an AP with NSTR) with a dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to improve performance to solve the above problems.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of wireless communication performed by an access point (AP), wherein the AP is a non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) AP multi-link device (MLD), and the method comprises: establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with a first MLD; during a first time period, transmitting data to or receiving data from the first MLD via the primary link and the non-primary link; and during a second time period after the first time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being busy, performing a dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the primary link, and communicating with the first MLD using the primary link.

[0007] In some embodiments, the step of performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the primary link comprises: performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

[0008] In some embodiments, the step of establishing the primary link and the non-primary link with the first MLD comprises: establishing the primary link with the first MLD using a first set of antennas; and establishing the non-primary link with the first MLD using a second set of antennas, wherein the primary link and the non-primary link have dynamic switching capability; wherein the step of performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception comprises: performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to at least a portion of the second set of antennas and the first set of antennas for data transmission / reception.

[0009] In some embodiments, the method further comprises: during a third time period after the second time period, in response to the channel used by the non-primary link being not busy, performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the primary link and the non-primary link, and communicating with at least one wireless device using the primary link and the non-primary link.

[0010] In some embodiments, the step of communicating with at least one wireless device using the primary link and the non-primary link comprises:

[0011] In the third time period: receiving data from a station using the primary link, wherein the station does not support multi-link communication; and receiving data from the first MLD using the non-primary link.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first MLD is a simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) MLD, a NSTR MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multi radio (eMLMR) MLD.

[0013] In some embodiments, the wireless communication method further includes: in a fourth time period after the third time period, in response to a channel used by the primary link being busy, performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the non-primary link, and using the non-primary link to communicate with the at least one wireless device.

[0014] In some embodiments, the step of performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the non-primary link includes: performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to cause the non-primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

[0015] In some embodiments, the primary link is configured to use one of a 5GHz frequency band and a 6GHz frequency band and a first set of antennas, and the non-primary link is configured to use the other of the 5GHz frequency band and the 6GHz frequency band and a second set of antennas different from the first set of antennas, wherein the first set of antennas and the second set of antennas are each two antennas.

[0016] In a second aspect, the present application provides an access point (AP), wherein the AP is a non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) AP multi-link device (MLD), and the AP comprises:

[0017] receiving circuitry configured to receive data from at least one wireless device;

[0018] transmitting circuitry configured to transmit data to the at least one wireless device; and

[0019] control circuitry configured to control the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry to perform the following steps:

[0020] establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with a first MLD;

[0021] in a first time period, transmitting data to or receiving data from the first MLD via the primary link and the non-primary link; and

[0022] in a second time period after the first time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being busy, performing a dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the primary link, and using the primary link to communicate with the first MLD.

[0023] In some embodiments, the step of performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the primary link includes: performing the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

[0024] In some embodiments, the step of establishing the primary link and the non-primary link with the first MLD includes:

[0025] establish the primary link with the first MLD using a first set of antennas; and establish the non-primary link with the first MLD using a second set of antennas;

[0026] wherein the step of performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to use more antennas for data transmission / reception comprises performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to use at least a portion of the second set of antennas and the first set of antennas for data transmission / reception.

[0027] In some embodiments, the control circuit is further configured to perform the following steps: in a third time period after the second time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being not busy, performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configurations of the primary link and the non-primary link, and communicating with at least one wireless device using the primary link and the non-primary link.

[0028] In some embodiments, the step of communicating with at least one wireless device using the primary link and the non-primary link comprises:

[0029] In the third time period: receiving data from a station using the primary link, wherein the station does not support multi-link communication; and receiving data from the first MLD using the non-primary link.

[0030] In some embodiments, the first MLD is a simultaneous transmit and receive STR MLD, a non-STR MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio eMLSR MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multiple radio eMLMR MLD.

[0031] In some embodiments, the control circuit is further configured to perform the following steps:

[0032] In a fourth time period after the third time period, in response to a channel used by the primary link being busy, performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the non-primary link, and communicating with at least one wireless device using the non-primary link.

[0033] In some embodiments, the step of performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the non-primary link comprises performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the non-primary link to use more antennas for data transmission / reception.

[0034] In some embodiments, the primary link is configured to use one of a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band and a first set of antennas, and the non-primary link is configured to use another of the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band and a second set of antennas different from the first set of antennas, wherein the first set of antennas and the second set of antennas are each two antennas.

[0035] In a third aspect, the present application provides a method of wireless communication performed by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising:

[0036] establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with an access point (AP);

[0037] transmitting data to or receiving data from the AP through the primary link and the non-primary link in a first time period; and

[0038] transmitting data to the AP through the non-primary link in a second time period in response to the AP receiving data from a wireless device through only the primary link or a channel used by the primary link being busy.

[0039] In some embodiments, the MLD is a simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) MLD, a non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multi-radio (eMLMR) MLD, and the AP is a NSTR AP MLD.

[0040] These and other objects of the present application will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in the following figures. The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present application and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the present application can be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the present application. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present application can be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the present application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0041] The present application can be more fully understood with reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like reference numerals represent corresponding parts throughout the several views, indicate an example in which aspects of the present application can be practiced. The included drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of embodiments of the present application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain principles of the present application. It is understood that the drawings are schematic and not necessarily drawn to scale, as the dimensions of some components can be exaggerated relative to others for clarity of illustration.

[0042] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication system according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0043] Figure 2 is a timing diagram of AP and NSTR MLD, station communication according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0044] Figure 3 is a timing diagram of AP and STR MLD, station communication according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0045] In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present application. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that one or more embodiments can be practiced in other DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the application, and is provided for purposes of disclosure and description rather than limitation. Various modifications to the embodiments described can be readily made by those skilled in the art, and the generic principles recommended herein can be applied to other embodiments and applications without the use of the features and concepts of the present application not specifically recited in this description. Accordingly, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein and shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims, the principles and the practical discipline disclosed herein.

[0047] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) communication system 100 in accordance with embodiments of the present application. The Wi-Fi communication system has an access point (AP) 110 and a plurality of non-AP wireless devices. In Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the AP 110 is a non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) AP multi-link device (MLD), and the plurality of non-AP wireless devices includes at least one of a NSTR MLD 120, a station 130, and a simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) MLD 140. For example, but not limited to, the AP 110, the NSTR MLD 120, and the STR MLD 140 can comply with the IEEE 802.11be standard. In the present embodiment, because the AP 110 is a NSTR AP MLD, the AP 110 cannot transmit and receive data through multiple links at the same time. Likewise, the NSTR MLD 120 also cannot transmit and receive data through multiple links at the same time. In addition, the STR MLD 140 can transmit and receive data through multiple links at the same time.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 1, the AP 110 is coupled to a plurality of wireless devices, including the NSTR MLD 120, the station 130, and the STR MLD 140. The AP 110 is coupled to the NSTR MLD 120 via a first link 112, to the station 130 via a second link 114, and to the STR MLD 140 via a third link 116. The first link 112, the second link 114, and the third link 116 can be wireless links, such as Wi-Fi links. Figure 1As shown, AP 110 includes a processor 112, a memory 114, a control circuit 116, a receive (RX) circuit 118, a transmit (TX) circuit 119, and multiple antennas. Memory 114 is used to store program code. Processor 112 is configured to load and execute program code to manage AP 110. Control circuit 116 is configured to control wireless communications with NSTR MLD 120, station 130, and / or STR MLD 140 (via RX circuit 118 and TX circuit 119).

[0049] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of communication between AP 110, NSTR MLD 120, and station 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Initially, NSTR MLD 120, station 130, and AP 110 establish a link, wherein there are two links between AP 110 and NSTRMLD 120, for example, a primary link and a non-primary link. That is, AP 110 can simultaneously send data to NSTR MLD 120 through / via these two links, and AP 110 can simultaneously receive data from NSTR MLD 120 through these two links. In addition, if station 130 does not support multi-link communication, AP 110 communicates with station 130 only through one link (i.e., the primary link). In this embodiment, the primary link is configured to use two antennas and one channel in the 5 GHz band (e.g., 4.915 GHz-5.825 GHz) and the 6 GHz band (e.g., 5.925 GHz-7.125 GHz), while the non-primary link is configured to use the other two antennas and another channel in the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band.

[0050] exist Figure 2 In the time period T1 shown, during the backoff time (eg Figure 2 After that, AP 110 starts transmitting (also interchangeably described as "sending" or "transmitting") data to NSTR MLD 120 via the primary link and the non-primary link, wherein, in a preferred embodiment, the start and end times of the data transmissions of the two links are aligned.

[0051] In time period T2, which is immediately after time period T1, after the backoff time, NSTR MLD 120 starts transmitting data to AP 110 through the primary link and the non-primary link, and AP 110 receives data through both links, where in a preferred embodiment, the start time and end time of data reception through both links are aligned.

[0052] In time period T3, which is immediately after time period T2, AP 110 detects that the channel used by the non-primary link is currently busy (also interchangeably described as "busy"), or AP 110 is notified by another device that the channel used by the non-primary link is currently busy, i.e., the channel used by the non-primary link can be occupied by another basic service set (BSS). At this time, AP 110 notifies NSTR MLD 120 and / or station 130 that only the primary link is used for data transmission / reception, and AP 110 handshakes with NSTR MLD 120 and / or station 130 to learn their capabilities (i.e., AP 110 exchanges their multi-link capabilities with NSTR MLD 120 and / or station 130, e.g., whether they support multi-link communication, and / or whether they are NSTR MLD or STR MLD), to perform a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to switch the antenna configuration of the primary link to use more antennas for data transmission / reception. In this embodiment, control circuit 116 can configure the primary link to use three antennas or four antennas, and the non-primary link is now not used for data transmission / reception. In time period T3, since the primary link is configured to use more antennas (e.g., from using two antennas to using three or four antennas), AP 110 is able to transmit data to NSTR MLD 120 and / or station 130 with higher performance.

[0053] In time period T4, immediately after time period T3, due to the reconfiguration of the antennas in time period T3, after the backoff time, the station 130 transmits data over the primary link with more antennas, and the AP 110 receives data over the primary link only. At this time, the non-primary link cannot be used for data transmission / reception by the AP 110 (annotated as "Cannot use" in the figure). In an embodiment, the antenna switching configuration can be implemented through a protocol-based mechanism (e.g., using RTS (request to send) or MU-RTS (multi user request to send) as the initial control PPDU (physical layer protocol data unit), such that sending the initial control PPDU triggers the AP to switch the antenna configuration) or a protocol-less mechanism (i.e., switching the antennas after SIG decoding).

[0054] In time period T5, immediately after time period T4, the AP 110 detects that the channel used by the primary link is currently busy, or the AP 110 is informed by another device that the channel used by the primary link is currently busy, i.e., the channel can be occupied by another BSS (basic service set). At this time, the primary link is not used for data transmission / reception, and the non-primary link cannot be used for data transmission / reception due to the previous configuration of the antennas in time period T3.

[0055] After time period T5, after the AP 110 detects that the channel used by the primary link is not busy, the AP 110 can inform the NSTR MLD 120 (or the station 130) that both the primary link and the non-primary link can be used for data transmission / reception, and the AP 110 performs a dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism to switch the antenna configuration of the primary link and the non-primary link, such that the primary link corresponds to two antennas, and the non-primary link corresponds to another two antennas.

[0056] In Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the embodiment shown, since the AP 110 can dynamically switch the antenna configuration of the primary link, the communication between the AP 110 and the NSTR MLD 120 (or the station 130) will have better performance.

[0057] Moreover, due to the dynamic radio frequency chain switching mechanism used by the AP 110, there can be a phase consistency issue for the data transmission / reception of the AP 110. To solve this issue, the AP 110 is configured to use an uncompressed beamforming report to calibrate the phase of the data transmission / reception. Specifically, the AP 110 sends a training signal to the NSTR MLD 120, and the NSTR MLD 120 sends an uncompressed beamforming report to the AP 110 in response to the training signal, where the uncompressed beamforming report means that the beamforming report is not matrix-processed into a smaller frame, and the AP 110 does not need to obtain a new beamforming report after the dynamic radio frequency chain switching and due to the phase inconsistency.

[0058] Figure 3 is a timing diagram of the AP 110 communicating with the STR MLD 140, the station 130 according to an embodiment of the present application. Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 3 , initially, the STR MLD 140 establishes a link with the AP 110, where there are two links (a primary link and a non-primary link) between the AP 110 and the STR MLD 140, i.e., the AP 110 can simultaneously transmit data to the STR MLD 140 through the two links, and the AP 110 can simultaneously receive data from the STR MLD 140 through the two links. Moreover, in the case that the station 130 does not support multi-link communication, the AP 110 only communicates with the station 130 through one link (e.g., the primary link). In the present embodiment, the primary link is configured to use two antennas and one of the 5GHz frequency band and the 6GHz frequency band (e.g., 5.925GHz-7.125GHz), and the non-primary link is configured to use the other two antennas and the other of the 5GHz frequency band and the 6GHz frequency band.

[0059] In Figure 3 , during the time period T1, after a backoff time (indicated by the symbol “BO” in Figure 3 ), the AP 110 starts to transmit data to the STR MLD 140 via the primary link (i.e., the symbol “MLD0” in Figure 3 ), and starts to transmit data to another MLD (e.g., the NSTR MLD 120) via the non-primary link (indicated by the symbol “MLD1” in Figure 3 ), where in a preferred embodiment, the start time and the end time of the data transmission of the two links are aligned.

[0060] In time period T2, immediately after time period T1, after the backoff time, STR MLD 140 starts transmitting data to AP 110 through both the primary link and the non-primary link, and AP 110 receives data through both links, preferably with the start time and end time of data reception of the two links being aligned.

[0061] In time period T3, immediately after time period T2, AP 110 detects that the channel used by the non-primary link is currently busy, or AP 110 is informed by another device that the channel used by the non-primary link is currently busy, i.e. the channel used by the non-primary link can be occupied by another BSS. At this time, AP 110 only uses the primary link to transmit data to STR MLD 140, and the non-primary link is not used for data transmission / reception of AP 110.

[0062] In time period T4, immediately after time period T3, since station 130 does not support multi-link transmission, station 130 only transmits data to AP 110 through the primary link. At this time, if the channel used by the non-primary link is not busy, STR MLD 140 actively uses the non-primary link to transmit data to AP 110 after the backoff time when it knows that AP is receiving data. For example, when STR MLD 140 receives a notification from AP 110 or station 130 indicating that station 130 starts to transmit to AP 110, STR MLD 140 can immediately use the non-primary link to transmit data to AP 110.

[0063] In addition, since AP 110 is an NSTR AP, it cannot simultaneously transmit and receive data through multiple links, so AP 110 will align the end time of data reception of the two links to avoid interference of data transmission of STR MLD 140 with subsequent data transmission of AP 110. In addition, STR MLD 140 can perform PPDU alignment for AP 110, wherein information from L_LENGTH (it can be understood that L_LENGTH is a proprietary term in Wi-Fi standard, one of its main functions is to describe the length of Wi-Fi PPDU package), BSS color (a proprietary term used to help determine who the package may be transmitted from), AID (association identity), MAC (media access control) address can be used for alignment.

[0064] In time period T5 immediately following time period T4, AP 110 detects that the channel used by the primary link is currently busy, or AP 110 is notified by another device that the channel used by the primary link is currently busy. This means that the channel used by the primary link may be occupied by another BSS. In this case, the primary link is not used for data transmission / reception by AP 110. Furthermore, if the channel used by the non-primary link is not busy, then when STR MLD 140 knows that the channel used by the primary link is currently busy, STR MLD 140 can proactively use the non-primary link to send data to AP 110 (as indicated by "MLD0→AP" in the figure).

[0065] exist Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, when the primary link is used by a station 130 that does not support multi-link transmission or the channel of the primary link is occupied by another BSS, the STR MLD 140 can actively use a non-primary link to send data to the AP 110 to fully utilize bandwidth and improve transmission efficiency.

[0066] In an alternative embodiment, Figure 3 The STR MLD 140 in the illustrated embodiment may be replaced by an NSTR MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multiple radio (eMLMR) MLD.

[0067] In an alternative embodiment, Figure 2 Can be modified to use Figure 3 The dynamic RF chain switching mechanism shown in Figure 1 can further improve the performance. Figure 3 During time period T3, AP 110 can notify STR MLD 140 and / or station 130 that only the primary link is used for data transmission / reception. AP 110 also performs a handshake with STR MLD 140 and / or station 130 to implement a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to switch the antenna configuration of the primary link, enabling the primary link to utilize more antennas for data transmission / reception. In this embodiment, control circuit 116 can configure the primary link to utilize three or four antennas, and non-primary links are not used for data transmission / reception. During time period T3, because the primary link is configured to utilize more antennas, AP 110 can transmit data to NSTR MLD 120 and / or station 130 with higher performance.

[0068] In an alternative embodiment, Figure 3In the illustrated time period T4, after the AP 110 detects that the channel for non-primary link usage is not busy, the AP 110 informs the STR MLD 140 that both the primary link and the non-primary link can be used for data transmission / reception, and the AP 110 performs a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to switch the antenna configuration of the primary link and the non-primary link, such that the primary link corresponds to two antennas, and the non-primary link corresponds to another two antennas. Then, the station 130 transmits data to the AP 110 through the primary link, and the STR MLD 140 transmits data to the AP 110 through the non-primary link.

[0069] In an alternative embodiment, in ​ In the illustrated time period T5, the AP 110 can inform the STR MLD 140 that only the non-primary link is used for data transmission / reception, and the AP 110 and the STR MLD 140 handshake the capability to perform a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to switch the antenna configuration of the non-primary link, such that the non-primary link corresponds to more antennas for data transmission / reception. In this embodiment, the control circuit 116 can configure the non-primary link to use three antennas or four antennas, and the primary link is not used for data transmission / reception of the AP 110. In the time period T5, since the non-primary link is configured to use more antennas, the STR MLD 140 can transmit data to the AP 110 with higher performance.

[0070] In short, in the embodiments of the present application, by using a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism, the primary link and the non-primary link can be configured to correspond to different antennas to improve the efficiency of the AP. In addition, when the primary link is used by a station that does not support multi-link transmission or the channel of the primary link is occupied by other devices, the STR MLD can actively transmit data to the AP via the non-primary link, thereby more effectively utilizing the bandwidth.

[0071] The use of ordinal terms such as "first", "second", "third", etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another, or of an execution of a method action, but are used merely as labels to identify elements of the claim with like reference numerals.

[0072] While the present application has been described by example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the application is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements (as would be apparent to one skilled in the art). It is to be understood that the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the specific examples described herein, but should be given the broadest interpretation available to them under the law.

Claims

1. A method of wireless communication performed by an access point (AP), comprising: The AP is a non-simultaneous transmit and receive, NSTR, AP multi-link device, MLD, and the wireless communication method comprises the following steps: establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with a first MLD; in a first time period, transmitting data to or receiving data from the first MLD through the primary link and the non-primary link; and, in a second time period after the first time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being busy, performing a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the primary link, and using the primary link to communicate with the first MLD; wherein the step of performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the primary link comprises: performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

2. The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein, The step of establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with a first MLD comprises: establishing the primary link with the first MLD using a first set of antennas; and, establishing the non-primary link with the first MLD using a second set of antennas, wherein the primary link and the non-primary link have dynamic switching capability; wherein the step of performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception comprises: performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to at least part of the second set of antennas and the first set of antennas for data transmission / reception.

3. The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein, The wireless communication method further comprises: in a third time period after the second time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being not busy, performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configurations of the primary link and the non-primary link, and using the primary link and the non-primary link to communicate with at least one wireless device.

4. The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein, The step of using the primary link and the non-primary link to communicate with at least one wireless device comprises: in the third time period: receiving data from a station using the primary link, wherein the station does not support multi-link communication; and, receiving data from the first MLD using the non-primary link.

5. The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein, The first MLD is a simultaneous transmit and receive, STR, MLD, a non-simultaneous transmit and receive, NSTR, MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio, eMLSR, MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multi radio, eMLMR, MLD.

6. The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein, The wireless communication method further comprises: in a fourth time period after the third time period, in response to a channel used by the primary link being busy, performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the non-primary link, and using the non-primary link to communicate with at least one wireless device; wherein the step of performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the non-primary link comprises: performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the non-primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

7. The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein, The primary link is configured to use one of a 5 GHz frequency band and a 6 GHz frequency band and a first set of antennas, and the non-primary link is configured to use the other of the 5 GHz frequency band and the 6 GHz frequency band and a second set of antennas different from the first set of antennas, wherein the first set of antennas and the second set of antennas are two antennas respectively.

8. An access point (AP) comprising: The AP is a non-simultaneous transmit and receive, NSTR, AP multi-link device, MLD, and the AP comprises: receiving circuitry configured to receive data from at least one wireless device; transmitting circuitry configured to transmit data to the at least one wireless device; and control circuitry configured to control the receiving circuitry and the transmitting circuitry to perform the following steps: establish a primary link and a non-primary link with a first MLD; in a first time period, transmit data to or receive data from the first MLD via the primary link and the non-primary link; and in a second time period after the first time period, in response to a channel used by the non-primary link being busy, perform a dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the primary link, and use the primary link to communicate with the first MLD; wherein performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the primary link comprises: performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

9. The AP of claim 8, wherein, The step of establishing the primary link and the non-primary link with the first MLD comprises: establishing the primary link with the first MLD using a first set of antennas; and establishing the non-primary link with the first MLD using a second set of antennas; wherein performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception comprises: performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the primary link to correspond to at least a portion of the second set of antennas and the first set of antennas for data transmission / reception.

10. The AP of claim 8, wherein, The control circuitry is further configured to perform the following steps: in a third time period after the second time period, in response to the channel used by the non-primary link being not busy, performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configurations of the primary link and the non-primary link, and using the primary link and the non-primary link to communicate with at least one wireless device.

11. The AP of claim 10, wherein, The step of using the primary link and the non-primary link to communicate with at least one wireless device comprises: in the third time period: receiving data from a station using the primary link, wherein the station does not support multi-link communication; and receiving data from the first MLD using the non-primary link.

12. The AP of claim 10, wherein, The first MLD is a simultaneous transmit and receive, STR, MLD, a NSTR MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio, eMLSR, MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multiple radio, eMLMR, MLD.

13. The AP of claim 10, wherein, The control circuitry is further configured to perform the following steps: in a fourth time period after the third time period, in response to a channel used by the primary link being busy, performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust an antenna configuration of the non-primary link, and using the non-primary link to communicate with at least one wireless device; wherein performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to adjust the antenna configuration of the non-primary link comprises: performing the dynamic radio chain switching mechanism to cause the non-primary link to correspond to more antennas for data transmission / reception.

14. The AP of claim 8, wherein, The primary link is configured to use one of a 5 GHz band and a 6 GHz band and a first set of antennas, and the non-primary link is configured to use the other of the 5 GHz band and the 6 GHz band and a second set of antennas different from the first set of antennas, wherein the first set of antennas and the second set of antennas are each two antennas.

15. A method of wireless communication performed by a multi-link device (MLD), comprising: establishing a primary link and a non-primary link with an access point (AP); in a first time period, transmitting or receiving data to or from the AP through the primary link and the non-primary link; and, in a second time period, in response to the AP receiving data from a wireless device through only the non-primary link or a channel used by the primary link being busy, performing a dynamic radio link switching mechanism to cause the non-primary link to use more antennas for data transmission / reception, and transmitting data to the AP through the non-primary link.

16. The wireless communication method of claim 15, wherein, the MLD is a simultaneous transmit and receive (STR) MLD, a non-simultaneous transmit and receive (NSTR) MLD, an enhanced multi-link single radio (eMLSR) MLD, or an enhanced multi-link multi radio (eMLMR) MLD, and the AP is a NSTR AP MLD.

Images