Information indication method of P2P link and related device

Abstract

The application relates to the field of wireless communication, is applied to a wireless local area network supporting an 802.11 series standard, for example, is applied to an 802.11be (EHT) standard, and in particular relates to a P2P link information indication method and a related device. The method comprises the following steps: a STA / non-AP MLD sends a QoS characteristic element to an AP / AP MLD, the QoS characteristic element carries first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating a physical layer rate of a P2P link; and a direction subfield in the QoS characteristic element indicates that a data direction is a P2P link. According to the embodiment of the application, the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink can be multiplexed on the AP side.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communication, and in particular to a method for indicating information of a peer-to-peer (P2P) link and related apparatuses. BACKGROUND

[0002] A continuous technical goal of the development and evolution of wireless local area network (WLAN) or cellular network is to continuously improve the throughput. The protocols of WLAN systems are mainly discussed and researched in the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) standard group. In previous 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax standard protocols, the throughput has been continuously improved. The next generation standard 802.11be is also known as the extremely high throughput (EHT) standard, Wi-Fi7, etc., which takes significantly improving the peak throughput as the most important technical goal.

[0003] Low latency or latency sensitive is an important feature of the 802.11be standard. When a station (STA) supports a service with latency sensitive characteristics, the characteristics of the service can be reported to an access point (AP) associated with the STA to request the AP to allocate time resources to meet the transmission requirements of the service. The station can perform peer-to-peer (P2P) transmission of the service with other stations or send uplink data of the service to the AP on the allocated time resources. The P2P link used for P2P transmission is established by two non-AP stations through tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) or other P2P protocols. P2P can also be referred to as device to device (D2D) or TDLS in some scenarios, which are essentially the same.

[0004] At present, how to report information on the P2P link by the station has not been solved. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a P2P link information indication method and related apparatus, which can report physical layer parameters (physical layer rate, modulation and coding strategy, number of spatial streams, etc.) of a P2P link through a quality of service (QoS) characteristic element, so that the AP side can also multiplex the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink when receiving the service characteristics on the P2P link. Further, the present application also provides a technical solution of extending the P2P link to multiple links to improve the transmission efficiency / throughput.

[0006] The present application is described below from different aspects. It should be understood that the implementation and advantages of the different aspects below can be referred to each other.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a P2P link information indication method, which includes: a first device generates and sends a QoS characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element includes a control information field and first indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is decimal 2), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a P2P link. The first indication information is used to (directly or indirectly) indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link. Wherein, the P2P link is a short for data transmission on the P2P link, i.e., data (such as medium access control (MAC) service data unit (MSDU) or aggregated MSDU) is sent from one non-access point station device to another non-access point station device. Here, the non-access point station device can be a STA or a non-AP multi-link device (non-AP MLD). That is, the data direction is that data is sent from one STA to another STA, or data is sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0008] The first device in the present application is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD. The Qos characteristic element in the present application is only an example, and the name should not be regarded as a limitation of its function. With the progress of the standard, other names are also possible.

[0009] For downlink traffic and uplink traffic, since the AP can learn the rate that the physical layer link can reach (depending on the modulation and coding strategy, the number of spatial streams, bandwidth, and other parameters), the AP can combine the rate of the physical layer link to calculate the transmission time required for the traffic reported by the station to be allocated. The P2P link is a communication between a station and another station, and the AP cannot obtain the information of the physical layer rate on the P2P link. Therefore, the present scheme carries first indication information in the QoSCharacteristic element to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link, so that the AP can calculate the transmission time required for the traffic reported on the P2P link based on the physical layer rate, and then the AP side can multiplex the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink.

[0010] In a second aspect, the present application provides a P2P link information indication method, comprising: a second device receiving and parsing a QoSCharacteristic element. The QoSCharacteristic element includes control information field and first indication information, the control information field includes direction subfield, the direction subfield is set to 2 (i.e. the first value is decimal 2), indicating that the data direction described by the QoSCharacteristic element is P2P link. The first indication information is used to (directly or indirectly) indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link. Wherein, the P2P link is a short for data transmission on the P2P link, i.e. data (such as MSDU or aggregated MSDU) is sent from one non-AP station device to another non-AP station device. Here, the non-AP station device can be STA or non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is that data is sent from one STA to another STA, or data is sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0011] The second device in the present application is an AP (single link) or an AP MLD.

[0012] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the method further comprises: the second device determining the time resource allocated for the traffic on the P2P link according to the indication of the first indication information. The specific allocation manner can refer to the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink.

[0013] Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a number of spatial streams (NSS). When the first indication information is the MCS and the NSS, the second device determines the physical layer rate according to the MCS value and the NSS; and determines the time resource allocated for the service on the P2P link according to the determined physical layer rate.

[0014] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the first device or a chip in the first device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication apparatus includes: a processing unit configured to generate a QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field and first indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the first indication information being used to indicate a physical layer rate of the P2P link; and a transceiver configured to send the QoS element.

[0015] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The communication apparatus can be the second device or a chip in the second device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication apparatus includes: a transceiver configured to receive a QoS element; and a parsing unit configured to parse the QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field and first indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the first indication information being used to indicate a physical layer rate of the P2P link.

[0016] With reference to the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication apparatus further includes: a determining unit configured to determine, according to an indication of the first indication information, a time resource allocated for a service on the P2P link.

[0017] Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a MCS, a NSS. The determining unit is specifically configured to, when the first indication information is the MCS and the NSS, determine the physical layer rate according to the MCS value and the NSS; and determine the time resource allocated for the service on the P2P link according to the determined physical layer rate.

[0018] The analysis unit and the determination unit can be integrated into one unit, such as a processing unit.

[0019] In a possible implementation of any of the above aspects, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding strategy (MCS), a number of spatial streams (NSS). When the first indication information is a physical layer rate of the P2P link, that is, the first indication information directly indicates the physical layer rate of the P2P link. When the first indication information is an MCS and an NSS of the P2P link, that is, the first indication information indirectly indicates the physical layer rate of the P2P link. This is because the MCS and the NSS are main parameters affecting the physical layer rate.

[0020] Optionally, the first indication information can further include other parameters that can be used to determine the physical layer rate, such as a padding length, a cyclic prefix (CP) length, and the like.

[0021] The present scheme can enable the AP side to obtain a more accurate physical layer rate by directly reporting the physical layer rate at the station side. This is because the station side knows the physical layer parameters of the P2P link established with other devices, such as an MCS, an NSS, a bandwidth, a padding length, a CP length, and the like, which can be used to calculate the physical layer rate. The present scheme can also report main parameters used to determine the physical layer rate, that is, an MCS and an NSS, at the station side, so that the AP side determines the physical layer rate based on the MCS and the NSS, which can reduce the complexity of the station side.

[0022] In a possible implementation of any of the above aspects, the QoS characteristic element can be carried in a stream classification service (SCS) request frame (SCS request frame).

[0023] In a possible implementation of any of the above aspects, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the P2P traffic can be transmitted over multi-link (ML), and therefore, the physical layer rate of each link needs to be indicated separately. Therefore, the QoS characteristics element further includes second indication information, which is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link that is used as the P2P link described in the QoS characteristics element. In other words, the second indication information is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link to which the P2P link described in the QoS characteristics element is mapped. If the second indication information indicates n links in the multi-link that are used as the P2P link described in the QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element includes n first indication information and n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One first indication information is used to indicate the physical layer rate of one link in the n links, and one bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth of one link in the n links.

[0024] Optionally, the second indication information can be in the form of a bitmap, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value (such as 1), it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described in the QoS characteristics element, or it is used to indicate that the P2P link described in the QoS characteristics element is mapped to the link corresponding to the bit.

[0025] The scheme extends the P2P link to multi-link devices (MLD), and designs a corresponding physical layer rate indication method, which not only enables the AP side to multiplex the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink, but also improves the transmission efficiency / throughput of the P2P traffic by taking advantage of the multi-link, and further reduces the time delay.

[0026] In a possible implementation of any of the above aspects, the QoS characteristics element further includes third indication information, which is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange. Alternatively, the third indication information is used to indicate the average length of two consecutive service intervals allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange. In other words, the third indication information indicates how long the time resource is allocated to the first device per interval.

[0027] The scheme refines the allocation of time resources by adding the third indication information in the QoS characteristics element to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange.

[0028] In a possible implementation of any of the above aspects, the QoS characteristic element further includes fifth indication information, which is used to indicate a P2P link to which a service flow (or P2P service) described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped.

[0029] Because one station can establish P2P links with multiple other stations respectively, when the station reports characteristics of P2P services to an AP associated with the station, the AP cannot know which P2P link is reported by the reported service. Therefore, the present solution introduces fifth indication information in the QoS characteristic element, which is used to indicate which P2P link is reported by the service flow described by the QoS characteristic element, so that the AP side can distinguish the P2P services reported by the station side, and avoid confusion of the AP side.

[0030] In a possible implementation of any of the above aspects, the control information field further includes a traffic identifier (TID) subfield. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to any service on a P2P link established by the first device and the other device. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any service on multiple P2P links when establishing the service. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to a service flow on a P2P link reported by the first device through the QoS characteristic element historically. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to a service that needs to be reported. And the TID corresponding to a service that does not need to be reported can be repeatedly used on different P2P links.

[0031] The present solution restricts P2P services to have a unique TID, or restricts P2P services that need to be reported to have a unique TID, so that the AP end will not receive multiple P2P services with the same TID reported from the same station, that is, the station will not use the same TID for services on different P2P links when reporting P2P services, so as not to cause confusion of the AP end.

[0032] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a method for indicating information of a P2P link, which comprises: a first device generating and sending a QoS characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element comprises a control information field, third indication information and fourth indication information. The control information field comprises a direction subfield, which is set as 2 (i.e. the first value is 2 in decimal), for indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is P2P link. The third indication information is used for indicating the average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange of the P2P link, in other words, the third indication information indicates how long the time resource is allocated to the first device every interval. The fourth indication information is used for indicating the medium time required by the first device for transmission of the P2P link every average service interval, in other words, the fourth indication information indicates how large the time resource is allocated to the first device every time.

[0033] Wherein, the P2P link is short for data transmission on the P2P link, i.e. data (such as MSD) or aggregated MSDU) is sent from one non-AP station device to another non-AP station device. Here, the non-AP station device can be STA or non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is that data is sent from one STA to another STA, or data is sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0034] The first device in the present application is STA (single link) or non-AP MLD.

[0035] Because there is a medium time (Medium Time) field in the QoS characteristic element for P2P service, the field is the length of time allocated to the station by the AP every second; it gives the total length of time required every second, but does not give how the time resource is allocated, such as how many parts the time resource is divided into, the length of each part of the time resource, etc. Therefore, the present application modifies the Medium Time in the QoS characteristic element from the total length of time required every second to the length of time required every average service interval, and adds the third indication information for indicating the average length of the service interval; the allocation of the time resource can be refined, so as to clearly indicate how long the time resource is allocated to the STA by the AP every interval, and the length of the time resource allocated every time.

[0036] Sixthly, this application provides a method for indicating information about a P2P link. The method includes: a second device receiving and parsing a QoS feature element. The QoS feature element includes a control information field, third indication information, and fourth indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is decimal 2), used to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS feature element is a P2P link. The third indication information is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange in the P2P link; in other words, the third indication information indicates how often time resources are allocated to the first device. The fourth indication information is used to indicate the media time required by the first device for each average service interval for P2P link transmission; in other words, the fourth indication information indicates the amount of time resources allocated to the first device each time.

[0037] Here, P2P link is short for data transmission via P2Plink, meaning data (such as MSD or aggregated MSDU) is sent from one non-access point site device to another. The non-access point site device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. In other words, the data direction is from one STA to another, or from one non-AP MLD to another.

[0038] The second device in this application is an AP (single link) or an AP MLD.

[0039] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: the second device determining the time resources allocated to the services on the P2P link based on the indications of the third and fourth indications. Specifically, the second device can determine the interval at which time resources are allocated to the first device based on the indications of the third indication, and the size of each allocated time resource can be determined based on the fourth indication. That is, the second device can allocate time resources to the first device every time interval indicated by the third indication, and the size of each allocated time resource can be the time length indicated by the fourth indication.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be the first device or a chip in the first device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication apparatus comprises: a processing unit configured to generate a QoS element, wherein the QoS element comprises a control information field, third indication information and fourth indication information, the control information field comprises a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, and the P2P link is a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the third indication information is used to indicate an average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange of the P2P link, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for transmission of the P2P link; and a transceiver configured to send the QoS element.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be the second device or a chip in the second device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication apparatus comprises: a transceiver configured to receive a QoS element; and an analyzing unit configured to analyze the QoS element, wherein the QoS element comprises a control information field, third indication information and fourth indication information, the control information field comprises a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, and the P2P link is a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the third indication information is used to indicate an average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange of the P2P link, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for transmission of the P2P link.

[0042] In a possible implementation of the eighth aspect, the communication apparatus further comprises a determining unit configured to determine time resources allocated for traffic on the P2P link according to the third indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0043] In the above aspect, the analyzing unit and the determining unit can be integrated into one unit, such as a processing unit.

[0044] In a possible implementation of any of the fifth to eighth aspects, the QoS element can be carried in a SCS request frame.

[0045] In a possible implementation of any of the aspects of the fifth to eighth aspects, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the P2P service can be transmitted over multi-link (ML), and therefore, the required medium time length for each average service interval needs to be indicated separately for each link. Therefore, the QoS feature element further includes second indication information, which is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link that is used as the P2P link described in the QoS feature element. Alternatively, the second indication information is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link to which the P2P link described in the QoS feature element is mapped. If the second indication information indicates n links in the multi-link that are used as the P2P link described in the QoS feature element, the QoS feature element includes n fourth indication information and n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One fourth indication information is used to indicate the required medium time length for each average service interval requested by the first device for transmission of one link in the n links. One bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth for transmission of one link in the n links.

[0046] Optionally, the second indication information can be in the form of a bitmap, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value (such as 1), it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described in the QoS feature element, or to indicate that the P2P link described in the QoS feature element is mapped to the link corresponding to the bit.

[0047] The scheme extends the P2P link to the MLDs, and designs a corresponding indication manner of the required medium time length for each average service interval, which can not only refine the allocation manner of the time resource, and clearly indicate how long the AP MLD allocates the time resource to one link in the non-AP MLD per interval, and the length of the time resource allocated each time, but also can improve the transmission efficiency / throughput of the P2P service by taking advantage of the multi-link, and further reduce the time delay.

[0048] In a possible implementation of any of the aspects of the fifth to eighth aspects, the QoS feature element further includes fifth indication information, which is used to indicate the P2P link to which the service flow (or the P2P service) described in the QoS feature element is mapped.

[0049] The scheme introduces the fifth indication information in the QoS feature element, which is used to indicate to which P2P link the service flow described in the QoS feature element is, so that the AP side can distinguish the P2P service reported by the station side, and avoid confusion of the AP side.

[0050] In a possible implementation of any of the fifth to eighth aspects, the control information field further includes a TID subfield. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on a P2P link established by the first device and the other device. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any traffic on a P2P link when establishing the traffic. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on a P2P link reported by the first device through the QoS characteristics element. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to traffic that needs to be reported. The TID corresponding to traffic that does not need to be reported can be reused on different P2P links.

[0051] The scheme restricts P2P traffic to have a unique TID, or restricts P2P traffic that needs to be reported to have a unique TID, so that the AP end does not receive multiple P2P traffics with the same TID reported from the same station, that is, the station does not use the same TID for traffic on different P2P links when reporting P2P traffic, so as not to cause confusion at the AP end.

[0052] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a P2P link information indication method, which includes: a first device generates and sends a QoS characteristics element. The QoS characteristics element includes a control information field and fifth indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is 2 in decimal), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link. The fifth indication information is used to indicate the P2P link to which the traffic flow (or P2P traffic) described by the QoS characteristics element is mapped. The P2P link is data (such as MSDU or aggregated MSDU) sent from one non-access point station device to another non-access point station device. Here, the non-access point station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA, or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0053] The first device in the present application is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD.

[0054] Because one station can establish P2P link / Direct link with multiple other stations respectively, when the station reports the characteristics of P2P traffic to the AP associated with it, the AP cannot know which P2P link the reported traffic is for. Therefore, the present scheme introduces fifth indication information in the QoS characteristics element, which is used to indicate which P2P link the traffic flow described by the QoS characteristics element is for, so that the AP side can distinguish the P2P traffic reported by the station side, and avoid confusion on the AP side.

[0055] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a P2P link information indication method, which comprises: a second device receiving and parsing a QoS characteristics element. The QoS characteristics element includes a control information field and fifth indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is decimal 2), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link. The fifth indication information is used to indicate the P2P link to which the traffic flow (or P2P traffic) described by the QoS characteristics element is mapped. The P2P link is data (such as MSDU or aggregated MSDU) sent from one non-access point station device to another non-access point station device. Here, the non-access point station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA, or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0056] The second device in the present application is an AP (single link) or an AP MLD.

[0057] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be a first device or a chip in the first device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication device comprises: a processing unit configured to generate a QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element including a control information field and fifth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value, indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link, the P2P link being MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the fifth indication information being used to indicate the P2P link to which the traffic flow described by the QoS characteristics element is mapped; and a transceiver unit configured to send the QoS characteristics element.

[0058] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a second device or a chip in the second device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication apparatus comprises: a transceiver configured to receive a QoS element; and a parsing unit configured to parse the QoS element, wherein the QoS element comprises a control information field and fifth indication information, the control information field comprises a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, and the P2P link is a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate a P2P link to which a traffic flow described by the QoS element is mapped.

[0059] The parsing unit can also be referred to as a processing unit.

[0060] In a possible implementation of any of the ninth to twelfth aspects, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the QoS element further comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link used as the P2P link described by the QoS element. Alternatively, the second indication information is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link to which the P2P link described by the QoS element is mapped. If the second indication information indicates n links in the multi-link used as the P2P link described by the QoS element, the QoS element comprises n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One bandwidth field is used to indicate a maximum bandwidth of one link in the n links. It should be understood that, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, although the P2P link is mapped to the multi-link (or the P2P traffic is transmitted on the multi-link), there is only one P2P link between one non-AP MLD and another non-AP MLD, and therefore the fifth indication information in the QoS element is also only one.

[0061] Optionally, the second indication information can be in the form of a bitmap, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value (such as 1), it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS element, or it is used to indicate that the P2P link described by the QoS element is mapped to the link corresponding to the bit.

[0062] The scheme extends the P2P link to the MLDs, which not only enables the AP side to distinguish the P2P traffic reported by the stations, and avoids confusion of the AP side, but also improves the transmission efficiency / throughput of the P2P traffic by taking advantage of the multi-link, and further reduces the latency.

[0063] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application provides a method for indicating information of a P2P link, the method comprising: generating and sending, by a first device, a QoS element. The QoS element comprises a control information field, and the control information field comprises a direction subfield and a TID subfield. The direction subfield is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is decimal 2), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS element is P2P link. The TID subfield indicates a TID value which is different from any TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any traffic on any of the P2P links when establishing the traffic. Alternatively, the TID subfield indicates a TID value which is different from any TID value corresponding to any traffic flow on the P2P link reported by the first device through the QoS element in history. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to the traffic which needs to be reported. The TID corresponding to the traffic which does not need to be reported can be reused on different P2P links.

[0064] wherein the P2P link is for data (e.g., MSDU or aggregated MSDU) sent from one non-AP station device to another non-AP station device. Here, the non-AP station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA, or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0065] In the present application, the first device is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD.

[0066] The present application constrains the P2P traffic to have a unique TID, or constrains the P2P traffic which needs to be reported to have a unique TID, so that the AP end will not receive multiple P2P traffics with the same TID reported from the same station, that is, the station will not use the same TID for the traffics on different P2P links when reporting the P2P traffics, so as to avoid confusion of the AP end.

[0067] In a fourteenth aspect, the application provides a method for indicating information of a P2P link, the method comprising: receiving and parsing, by a second device, a QoS characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element comprises a control information field, and the control information field comprises a direction subfield and a TID subfield. The direction subfield is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is decimal 2), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a P2P link. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any traffic on a plurality of P2P links when establishing the traffic. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the traffic flow on the P2P link historically reported by the first device through the QoS characteristic element. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to the traffic that needs to be reported, and the TID corresponding to the traffic that does not need to be reported can be reused on different P2P links.

[0068] The P2P link is for data (e.g., MSDU or aggregated MSDU) sent from one non-AP station device to another non-AP station device. Here, the non-AP station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA, or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0069] The second device in the application is an AP (single link) or an AP MLD.

[0070] In a fifteenth aspect, the application provides a communication device, which can be a first device or a chip (e.g., a Wi-Fi chip) in the first device. The communication device comprises: a processing unit configured to generate a QoS characteristic element, the QoS characteristic element comprising a control information field, and the control information field comprising a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value, indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a point-to-point (P2P) link, and the P2P link is for media access control (MAC) service data unit (MSDU) or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the TID subfield indicating a TID value different from the TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices, or the TID value corresponding to the traffic flow on the P2P link historically reported by the first device through the QoS characteristic element; and a transceiver configured to send the QoS characteristic element.

[0071] In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which can be a second device or a chip in the second device, such as a Wi-Fi chip. The communication device comprises: a transceiver configured to receive a QoS element; and a parsing unit configured to parse the QoS element, wherein the QoS element comprises a control information field, the control information field comprises a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield is set to a first value, and the first value indicates that a data direction described by the QoS element is a point-to-point (P2P) link, and the P2P link is a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the TID subfield indicates a TID value which is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established between the first device and the other device, or the TID subfield indicates a TID value which is different from a TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on the P2P link reported by the first device through a QoS element history.

[0072] The parsing unit 22 can also be referred to as a processing unit.

[0073] In a possible implementation of any of the thirteenth to sixteenth aspects, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the QoS element further comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link used as the P2P link described by the QoS element. Alternatively, the second indication information is used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link mapped by the P2P link described by the QoS element. If the second indication information indicates n links in the multi-link used as the P2P link described by the QoS element, the QoS element comprises n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One bandwidth field is used to indicate a maximum bandwidth of one link in the n links. It should be understood that, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, although the P2P link is mapped to the multi-link (or the P2P traffic is transmitted on the multi-link), there is only one P2P link between one non-AP MLD and another non-AP MLD, and therefore the fifth indication information in the QoS element is also only one.

[0074] Optionally, the second indication information can be in the form of a bitmap, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value (such as 1), it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS element, or it is used to indicate that the P2P link described by the QoS element is mapped on the link corresponding to the bit.

[0075] The scheme extends the P2P link to the MLDs, which does not cause confusion to the AP end, and improves the transmission efficiency / throughput of the P2P service and further reduces the time delay by using the advantages of the multi-link.

[0076] In a seventeenth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, specifically a first device, comprising a processor and a transceiver.

[0077] In one design, the processor generates a QoS element including a control information field and first indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS element describes a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the first indication information indicating a physical layer rate for the P2P link; and the transceiver transmits the QoS element. Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding scheme, and a number of spatial streams.

[0078] In one design, the processor generates a QoS element including a control information field, third indication information, and fourth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS element describes a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, the third indication information indicating an average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange for the P2P link, and the fourth indication information indicating a medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for transmission for the P2P link; and the transceiver transmits the QoS element.

[0079] In one design, the processor generates a QoS element including a control information field and fifth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS element describes a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the fifth indication information indicating a P2P link to which a traffic stream described by the QoS element is mapped; and the transceiver transmits the QoS element.

[0080] In one design, a processor generates a QoS element including a control information field, the control information field including a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS element describes data direction for a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the TID subfield indicating a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and the other device or a TID value corresponding to a traffic stream on the P2P link reported by the first device in a history of QoS elements. A transceiver transmits the QoS element.

[0081] In an eighteenth aspect, a communication apparatus, specifically, a second device, includes a processor and a transceiver.

[0082] In one design, a transceiver receives a QoS element, and a processor parses the QoS element, which includes a control information field and first indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS element describes data direction for a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the first indication information indicating a physical layer rate for the P2P link. Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding scheme, and a number of spatial streams.

[0083] Optionally, the processor determines time resources allocated for traffic on the P2P link based on the first indication information.

[0084] In one design, a transceiver receives a QoS element, and a processor parses the QoS element, which includes a control information field, third indication information, and fourth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS element describes data direction for a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the third indication information indicating an average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange, and the fourth indication information indicating medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for P2P link transmission.

[0085] Optionally, the processor is further configured to determine time resources allocated for the service on the P2P link according to the third indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0086] In one design, the transceiver receives a QoS characteristics element; and the processor parses the QoS characteristics element, which includes a control information field and fifth indication information, where the control information field includes a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS characteristics element describes a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the fifth indication information indicates a P2P link to which a service flow described by the QoS characteristics element is mapped.

[0087] In one design, the transceiver receives a QoS characteristics element; and the processor parses the QoS characteristics element, which includes a control information field, where the control information field includes a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS characteristics element describes a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield that indicates a TID value different from any TID value corresponding to a service on a P2P link established between the first device and the other device or any TID value corresponding to a service flow on a P2P link reported by the first device in a historical QoS characteristics element report.

[0088] In a nineteenth aspect, an apparatus is provided that is implemented in a product form of a chip, and includes an input / output interface and a processing circuit. The apparatus is a chip in a first device.

[0089] In one design, the processing circuit generates a QoS characteristics element, which includes a control information field and first indication information, where the control information field includes a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that the QoS characteristics element describes a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the first indication information indicates a physical layer rate of the P2P link; and the input / output interface outputs the QoS characteristics element, which is processed by a radio frequency circuit and transmitted via an antenna. Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding scheme, and a number of spatial streams.

[0090] In one design, the processing circuitry is configured to generate a QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field, a third indication information, and a fourth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first device to a second device, the third indication information indicating an average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange of the P2P link, and the fourth indication information indicating a medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for transmission of the P2P link; and the input / output interface is configured to output the QoS element, and the QoS element is transmitted via an antenna after being processed by a radio frequency circuit.

[0091] In one design, the processing circuitry is configured to generate a QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field and a fifth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first device to a second device, and the fifth indication information indicating a P2P link to which a traffic stream described by the QoS element is mapped; and the input / output interface is configured to output the QoS element, and the QoS element is transmitted via an antenna after being processed by a radio frequency circuit.

[0092] In one design, the processing circuitry is configured to generate a QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field, the control information field including a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first device to a second device, and the TID subfield indicating a TID value that is different from any TID value corresponding to a traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and the second device, or the TID subfield indicating a TID value that is different from any TID value corresponding to a traffic stream on the P2P link reported by the first device in a history of QoS elements; and the input / output interface is configured to output the QoS element, and the QoS element is transmitted via an antenna after being processed by a radio frequency circuit.

[0093] In a twentieth aspect, an apparatus is provided, which is implemented in a product form of a chip, and includes an input / output interface and processing circuitry. The apparatus is a chip in a second device.

[0094] In one design, an input / output interface is configured to input a QoS element received via an antenna and radio frequency circuitry; and a processing circuit is configured to parse the QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field and a first indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the first indication information indicating a physical layer parameter of the P2P link. Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding scheme, and a number of spatial streams.

[0095] Optionally, the processing circuit is further configured to determine time resources allocated for traffic on the P2P link based on the first indication information.

[0096] In one design, an input / output interface is configured to input a QoS element received via an antenna and radio frequency circuitry; and a processing circuit is configured to parse the QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field, a third indication information, and a fourth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the third indication information indicating an average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange, and the fourth indication information indicating a medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for P2P link transmission.

[0097] Optionally, the processing circuit is further configured to determine time resources allocated for traffic on the P2P link based on the third indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0098] In one design, an input / output interface is configured to input a QoS element received via an antenna and radio frequency circuitry; and a processing circuit is configured to parse the QoS element, the QoS element including a control information field and a fifth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the fifth indication information indicating a P2P link to which a traffic stream described by the QoS element is mapped.

[0099] In one design, an input / output interface is configured to input a QoS characteristic element received via an antenna and radio frequency circuitry; and a processing circuitry is configured to parse the QoS characteristic element, the QoS characteristic element including a control information field, the control information field including a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the TID subfield indicating a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and the other device, or the TID subfield indicating a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to a traffic stream on the P2P link historically reported by the first device via a QoS characteristic element.

[0100] In a twenty-first aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores program instructions, when the program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the information indication method of the P2P link according to the first aspect, or the second aspect, or the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect, or the ninth aspect, or the tenth aspect, or the thirteenth aspect, or the fourteenth aspect.

[0101] In a twenty-second aspect, the present application provides a computer program product containing program instructions, when the program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the information indication method of the P2P link according to the first aspect, or the second aspect, or the fifth aspect, or the sixth aspect, or the ninth aspect, or the tenth aspect, or the thirteenth aspect, or the fourteenth aspect.

[0102] By implementing the embodiments of the present application, the physical layer parameters (physical layer rate, modulation and coding strategy, number of spatial streams, etc.) of the P2P link can be reported via the QoS characteristic element, so that the time allocation algorithm of the uplink and the downlink can be multiplexed when the AP side receives the traffic characteristics on the P2P link, and the P2P link can be extended to multiple links to improve the transmission efficiency / throughput. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0103] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced as follows.

[0104] Figure 1 is the architecture schematic diagram of the wireless communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0105] Figure 2a is the structure schematic diagram of the access point provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0106] Figure 2b is a structural schematic diagram of a station provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] Figure 3a is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0108] Figure 3b is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of multi-link communication provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] Figure 5a is a schematic diagram of a P2P link established between STAs provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] Figure 5b is a schematic diagram of a P2P link established between non-AP MLDs provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0112] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of a QoS feature element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0113] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of a control information field provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0114] Figure 8 is a first schematic flow chart of an information indication method of a P2P link provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0115] Figure 9a is a schematic diagram of a frame format of first indication information in a QoS feature element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] Figure 9b is another schematic diagram of a frame format of first indication information in a QoS feature element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0117] Figure 10a is a schematic diagram of a frame format of first indication information and second indication information in a QoS feature element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0118] Figure 10b is another schematic diagram of a frame format of first indication information and second indication information in a QoS feature element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a frame format of third indication information in a QoS feature element provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] Figure 12is a frame format schematic diagram of the fifth indication information in the QoS characteristic element provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0121] Figure 13 is a second schematic flow chart of the information indication method of the P2P link provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0122] Figure 14a is a frame format schematic diagram of the third indication information and the fourth indication information provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0123] Figure 14b is another frame format schematic diagram of the third indication information and the fourth indication information provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0124] Figure 15 is a third schematic flow chart of the information indication method of the P2P link provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0125] Figure 16 is a frame format schematic diagram of the fifth indication information provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0126] Figure 17 is a fourth schematic flow chart of the information indication method of the P2P link provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0127] Figure 18 is a structure schematic diagram of the communication device 1 provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0128] Figure 19 is a structure schematic diagram of the communication device 2 provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0129] Figure 20 is a structure schematic diagram of the communication device 1000 provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0130] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0131] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this article is only a description of the relationship between the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0132] In the description of the present application, "first", "second", and the like do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", and the like do not necessarily mean different.

[0133] In the present application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary", "for example", or "for example" in the present application should not be interpreted as more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Rather, the use of "exemplary", "for example", or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concept in a specific manner.

[0134] In the present application, the element expressed by the singular is intended to represent "one or more", rather than "one and only one", unless otherwise specified.

[0135] It should be understood that in each embodiment of the present application, "B corresponding to A" and "B mapped by A" mean that B is associated with A, and B can be determined according to A. However, it should also be understood that the determination of B according to A does not mean that B is determined only according to A, but B can also be determined according to A and / or other information.

[0136] The technical solutions provided in the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as systems adopting 802.11 standards. For example, the 802.11 standards include but are not limited to: 802.11be standards, or the next generation 802.11 standards. The technical solutions of the present application are applicable to scenarios including communication between an AP and one or more STAs, or communication between an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) and one or more non-AP multi-link devices (non-AP MLD), or communication between STAs, or communication between non-AP MLDs. In the embodiments of the present application, the term "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission". The term "transmission" can generally refer to sending and receiving.

[0137] Referring to Figure 1 , Figure 1 is an architecture diagram of a wireless communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 1 indicated, the wireless communication system can include one or more APs (such as the AP 100 in Figure 1 ), and one or more STAs (such as the STA 200, the STA 300, and the STA 400 in Figure 1 ). Wherein, the AP and the STA both support a WLAN communication protocol, which can include 802.11be (or Wi-Fi 7, EHT protocol), and can also include 802.11ax, 802.11ac, etc. Of course, with the continuous evolution and development of communication technology, the communication protocol can also include the next generation protocol of 802.11be, etc. Taking WLAN as an example, the device implementing the method of the present application can be an AP or a STA in WLAN, or a chip or processing system installed in the AP or the STA.

[0138] Optionally, the present application relates to an access point (such as Figure 1The AP 100 is a device with wireless communication function, supports communication using WLAN protocol, has the function of communicating with other devices (such as stations or other access points) in the WLAN network, and of course, can also have the function of communicating with other devices. In the WLAN system, the access point can be referred to as an access point station (AP STA). The device with wireless communication function can be a whole machine device, or a chip or processing system installed in the whole machine device, and the device installed with the chip or processing system can realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system. The AP in the embodiments of the present application is a device providing services for the STA, and can support 802.11 series protocols. For example, the AP can be a communication server, a router, a switch, a network bridge and the like; the AP can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations and the like, and of course, the AP can also be a chip and a processing system in these various forms of devices, so as to realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application.

[0139] Optionally, the present application relates to a station (such as Figure 1 The STA 200, STA 300 or STA 400 is a device with wireless communication function, supports communication using WLAN protocol, and has the ability to communicate with other stations or access points in the WLAN network. In the WLAN system, the station can be referred to as a non-access point station (non-AP STA). For example, the STA is any user communication device that allows the user to communicate with the AP and then communicate with the WLAN, and the device with wireless communication function can be a whole machine device, or a chip or processing system installed in the whole machine device, and the device installed with the chip or processing system can realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system. For example, the STA can be a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone and the like, or an Internet of Things node in the Internet of Things, or a vehicle communication device in the Internet of Vehicles, or an entertainment device, a game device or system, a global positioning system device, and the STA can also be a chip and a processing system in the above terminal.

[0140] In some embodiments, the above Figure 1The AP in the wireless communication system shown can be replaced by an AP MLD, and the STA can be replaced by a non-AP MLD, that is, the technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to a scenario in which a multi-link device (MLD) communicates with another multi-link device. A multi-link device is a wireless communication device that supports multiple links to transmit in parallel. Compared with a device that supports only single-link transmission, a multi-link device has higher transmission efficiency and higher throughput. A multi-link device includes one or more affiliated stations (affiliated STAs), which are logical stations and can work on one link or one frequency band or one channel. Among them, the affiliated stations can be access points or non-access point stations (non-AP STAs). 802.11be refers to a multi-link device with affiliated stations as APs as an AP multi-link device (AP MLD), and a multi-link device with affiliated stations as non-AP STAs as a non-AP multi-link device (non-AP MLD).

[0141] Optionally, the multi-link device (both non-AP MLD and AP MLD) in the present application is a device with wireless communication function, which can be a whole device, or a chip or processing system installed in the whole device, and the device installed with the chip or processing system can realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application under the control of the chip or processing system. For example, the non-AP MLD in the embodiments of the present application has wireless transceiving function and can support 802.11 series protocol, and can communicate with AP MLD, single-link device or other non-AP MLD. For example, the non-AP MLD is any user communication device that allows the user to communicate with the AP and then communicate with the WLAN. For example, the non-AP MLD can be a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, etc. which can be connected to the network, or an Internet of Things node in the Internet of Things, or a vehicle communication device in the Internet of Vehicles, etc. The non-AP MLD can also be a chip and a processing system in the above terminals. The AP MLD can be a device that provides services for the non-AP MLD, and can support 802.11 series protocol. For example, the AP MLD can be a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, etc. For example, the AP MLD can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. Of course, the AP MLD can also be a chip and a processing system in the above various forms of devices, so as to realize the method and function of the embodiments of the present application. The 802.11 protocol can be a protocol supporting 802.11be or compatible with 802.11be.

[0142] The WLAN system can provide high-rate and low-latency transmission. As the WLAN application scenarios continue to evolve, the WLAN system will be applied to more scenarios or industries, such as the Internet of Things industry, the Internet of Vehicles industry, or the banking industry, enterprise offices, stadiums, exhibition halls, concert halls, hotel rooms, dormitories, hospital rooms, classrooms, supermarkets, squares, streets, production workshops, and warehouses, etc. Of course, the device (such as an access point or a station) supporting WLAN communication can be a sensor node in a smart city (such as a smart water meter, a smart electricity meter, a smart air detection node), a smart device in a smart home (such as a smart camera, a projector, a display screen, a television, a sound system, a refrigerator, a washing machine, etc.), a node in the Internet of Things, an entertainment terminal (such as an augmented reality (AR) device, a virtual reality (VR) device, etc.), a smart device in a smart office (such as a printer, a projector, a loudspeaker, a sound system, etc.), a vehicle-to-vehicle device in the Internet of Vehicles, infrastructure in daily life (such as a vending machine, a self-service navigation station in a supermarket, a self-service checkout device, a self-service ordering machine, etc.), and a device in a large sports and music venue, etc. The specific forms of the STA, the AP, and the MLD in the embodiments of the present application are not limited, and are only exemplarily described herein.

[0143] It should be understood that the 802.11 standard focuses on the physical (PHY) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer part. In one example, see Figure 2a , Figure 2a is a structural schematic diagram of an access point provided by an embodiment of the present application. The AP can be multi-antenna / multi-radio or single-antenna / single-radio, and the antenna / radio is used to transmit / receive a data packet (which can also be referred to as a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) herein). In one implementation, the antenna or radio part of the AP can be separated from the main part of the AP, and the structure is in a pull-out layout. Figure 2a In the above-mentioned embodiments, the AP can include a physical layer processing circuit and a medium access control processing circuit, the physical layer processing circuit can be used to process a physical layer signal, and the MAC layer processing circuit can be used to process a MAC layer signal. In another example, see Figure 2b , Figure 2b is a structural schematic diagram of a station provided by an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2bThe STA structure diagram of a single antenna / radio frequency is shown. In an actual scenario, the STA can also be a multi-antenna / multi-radio frequency device, and can be a device with more than two antennas, which are used to transmit / receive data packets. In an implementation, the antenna or radio frequency part of the STA can be separated from the main part of the STA, and the structure is in a remote layout. Figure 2b In an implementation, the STA can include a PHY processing circuit and a MAC processing circuit. The physical layer processing circuit can be used to process physical layer signals, and the MAC layer processing circuit can be used to process MAC layer signals.

[0144] Optionally, referring to Figure 3a , Figure 3a is a structure diagram of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3a , the multiple STAs included in the multi-link device are independent of each other at the low MAC (low MAC) layer and the PHY layer, and are also independent of each other at the high MAC (high MAC) layer. Referring to Figure 3b , Figure 3b is another structure diagram of a multi-link device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3b , the multiple STAs included in the multi-link device are independent of each other at the low MAC (low MAC) layer and the PHY layer, and share the high MAC (high MAC) layer. Of course, in the multi-link communication process, the non-AP MLD can adopt a structure in which the high MAC layers are independent of each other, and the AP MLD adopts a structure in which the high MAC layers are shared; or the non-AP MLD adopts a structure in which the high MAC layers are shared, and the AP MLD adopts a structure in which the high MAC layers are independent of each other; or the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD both adopt a structure in which the high MAC layers are shared; or the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD both adopt a structure in which the high MAC layers are independent of each other. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the internal structure diagram of the multi-link device, Figure 3a and Figure 3b are only exemplary descriptions. Exemplarily, the high MAC layer or the low MAC layer can be implemented by one processor in a chip system of the multi-link device, and can also be implemented by different processing modules in one chip system, respectively.

[0145] Exemplarily, the multi-link device in the embodiments of the present application can be a single-antenna device, or a multi-antenna device. For example, it can be a device with more than two antennas. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of antennas included in the multi-link device.

[0146] The above describes the system architecture of the embodiments of the present application in brief. Next, some terms or names related to the present application are briefly introduced.

[0147] I. Multi-link (ML)

[0148] To achieve the technical goal of extremely high throughput, the next generation standard 802.11be takes multi-link (ML) as one of the key technologies. The core idea is that the WLAN device supporting the next generation 802.11 standard has the capability of transmitting and receiving in multi-band, so as to use a larger bandwidth for data transmission, thereby significantly improving the throughput. The multi-band includes but is not limited to: 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band, 5GHz Wi-Fi band and 6GHz Wi-Fi band. In addition, 802.11be can reduce latency and improve robustness through multi-link (ML).

[0149] Referring to Figure 4 , Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of multi-link communication provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4 , a multi-link device 1 (MLD1) includes n stations, which are station 1 1, station 1 2, …, and station 1 n, respectively. A multi-link device 2 (MLD2) also includes n stations, which are station 2 1, station 2 2, …, and station 2 n, respectively. A station in one MLD can establish a link (or a channel, or a band) with a station in another MLD for communication. The communication between the MLDs is multi-link communication, Figure 4 , links 1 to n in the multi-link. In other words, MLD1 and MLD2 can use links 1, 2, …, and n to communicate in parallel.

[0150] It should be understood that a link in a multi-link can be understood as a band or a channel.

[0151] II. Peer-to-peer (P2P) link (P2P link)

[0152] A P2P link is established by two non-AP STAs through tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) or other P2P protocols. In some scenarios, the P2P link is also referred to as a direct link, which means that data (such as MAC service data units (MSDUs) or aggregated MSDUs (A-MSDUs)) is sent from one non-AP STA to another non-AP STA (Direct link: MSDUs or A MSDUs are sent from the non-AP STA to another non-AP STA). The P2P link can also be understood as: a direct link within a quality-of-service (QoS) basic service set (BSS), a tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) link, or a station-to-station (STA-to-STA) communication in an independent basic service set (IBSS) (peer-to-peer link: A direct link within a quality-of-service (QoS) basic service set (BSS), a tunneled direct link setup (TDLS) link, or a station-to-station (STA-to-STA) communication in an independent basic service set (IBSS)).

[0153] When the concept of multi-link (ML) is introduced in the 802.11be standard, since one service can be mapped on multiple links, accordingly, P2P data transmission can also be performed between non-AP MLD devices, that is, the P2P link can also refer to data (such as MSDUs or A-MSDUs) sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0154] In an example, refer to Figure 5a , Figure 5a is a schematic diagram of a P2P link established between STAs provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 5aAs shown, STA1 and STA2 are both associated with AP1, while STA3 is not associated with AP1. STA1 can establish one P2P link with STA2, referred to here as P2P link1. STA1 can also establish another P2P link with STA3, referred to here as P2P link2. Here, P2P link1 and P2P link2 share one physical channel or one frequency band of STA1.

[0155] See another example. Figure 5b , Figure 5b This is a schematic diagram of a P2Plink established between non-AP MLDs provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 5bAs shown, non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD2 are both associated with AP MLD1, and non-AP MLD3 has not established association with AP MLD1. AP MLD1 includes 4 APs, AP1, AP2, AP3, and AP4, which correspond to 4 links, L1, L2, L3, and L4, respectively (L1, L2, L3, and L4 represent link 1, link 2, link 3, and link 4, respectively, hereinafter the same, and will not be repeated). The 4 links form a multi-link (ML). Non-AP MLD1 includes 3 non-AP STAs, which correspond to 3 links between non-AP MLD1 and AP MLD1, L1, L2, and L3, respectively; or in other words, non-AP MLD1 operates on L1, L2, and L3. Non-AP MLD2 includes 2 non-AP STAs, which correspond to 2 links between non-AP MLD2 and AP MLD1, L1 and L2, respectively; or in other words, non-AP MLD2 operates on L1 and L2. Non-AP MLD3 has not established a link with AP MLD1, but has 2 links with non-AP MLD1, L1 and L3; or in other words, non-AP MLD3 operates on L1 and L3. Non-AP MLD1 can establish one (or a) P2P link with non-AP MLD2, referred to as P2P link3 here; P2P link3 is mapped on L1 and L2, or in other words, L1 and L2 are used as P2P link. Non-AP MLD1 can also establish another (or a) P2P link with non-AP MLD3, referred to as P2P link4, and P2P link4 is mapped on L1 and L3, or in other words, L1 and L3 are used as P2P link. Since one link in a multi-link can be understood as one frequency band or one channel, mapping a P2P link on a multi-link can be understood as mapping a P2P link on multiple channels or multiple frequency bands, and can also be understood as transmitting services on a P2P link through multiple channels or multiple frequency bands, or in other words, multiple channels or multiple frequency bands can be used as a P2P link.

[0156] When a station supports a service with latency sensitive characteristics, it can report the characteristics of the service to the AP with which it is associated to request the AP to allocate time resources to meet the transmission needs of the service. In one implementation, a station of embodiments of the application can report the characteristic parameters of a latency sensitive service / low latency service through a quality of service (QoS) characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element contains a set of parameters that define the characteristics and QoS expectations of a traffic flow. In other words, the QoS characteristic element indicates / describes the traffic identifier (TID) to which a traffic flow is mapped and the corresponding QoS parameters and the like.

[0157] Referring to Figure 6 , Figure 6 is a frame format diagram of the QoS characteristic element provided by embodiments of the application. As shown in Figure 6 , the QoS characteristic element includes one or more of the following fields: element ID, length, element ID extension, control info, minimum service interval, maximum service interval, minimum data rate, delay bound, maximum MSDU size, service start time, mean data rate, burst size, MSDU lifetime, MSDU delivery ratio, MSDU count exponent, medium time, bandwidth. The definitions of the element ID field, the length field, and the element ID extension field refer to the description of the existing standard, and will not be described here.

[0158] The frame format of the control info field is as shown in Figure 7shown, Figure 7is a frame format schematic diagram of the control information field provided by the embodiment of the present application. The control information field includes but is not limited to a Direction subfield, a Traffic Identifier (TID) subfield, a user-priority subfield, and a presence bitmap of additional parameters subfield. The Direction subfield is used to indicate the data direction described by the QoS element. When the Direction subfield (length of 2 bits) is set to 00 (decimal 0), it indicates that the data direction described by the QoS element is uplink (UL), i.e., the data direction is MSDU or A-MSDU sent from the non-AP STA to the AP (MSDUs or A MSDUs are sent from the non-AP STA to the AP). When the Direction subfield is set to 01 (decimal 1), it indicates that the data direction described by the QoS element is downlink (DL), i.e., the data direction is MSDU or A-MSDU sent from the AP STA to the non-AP STA (MSDUs or A MSDUs are sent from the AP to the non-AP STA). When the Direction subfield is set to 10 (decimal 2), it indicates that the data direction described by the QoS element is Direct link, i.e., the data direction is MSDU or A-MSDU sent from the non-AP STA / non-AP MLD to another non-AP STA / non-AP MLD (MSDUs or A MSDUs are sent from the non-AP STA / non-AP MLD to another non-AP STA / non-AP MLD). When the Direction subfield is set to 11 (decimal 3), it is reserved. The TID subfield contains the TID value of the data frames that are described by this element. The TID subfield is set to the same value as the User Priority subfield. The values 8~15 are reserved. The user-priority subfield contains the user-priority value (0~7) of the data frames that are described by the QoS element.The other parameters present bitmap subfield contains a bitmap, where the i-th bit of the bitmap is set to one if the i-th field starting from the maximum MSDU size field is present in the QoS characteristics element.

[0159] The following describes Figure 6 The part of the fields of the QoS characteristics element shown are introduced, and the values and meanings of the other part of the fields can refer to the description of the existing standards, which will not be described here.

[0160] Minimum Service Interval field: If the Direction subfield is set to 0 (Uplink), the Minimum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the minimum interval, in microseconds, between the start of two consecutive service periods that are allocated to the STA for UL frame exchanges and the value 0 is reserved. If the Direction subfield is set to 1 (Downlink), the Minimum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the minimum interval, in microseconds, between the two consecutive service periods that are allocated for DL frame exchange sequences and the value 0 indicates that this parameter (i.e., Minimum Service Interval) is unspecified. If the Direction subfield is set to 2 (Direct Link), the Minimum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the minimum interval, in microseconds, between the start of two consecutive service periods that are allocated to the STA for direct link frame exchanges and the value 0 is reserved.(If the Direction subfield is set to 2 (Direct link) the Minimum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the minimum interval, in microseconds, between the start of two consecutive service periods that are allocated to the STA for direct link frame exchanges and the value 0 is reserved.)

[0161] Maximum Service Interval field: If the Direction subfield is set to 0 (Uplink), the Maximum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the maximum interval, in microseconds, between the start of two consecutive service periods allocated to the STA for UL frame exchanges and the value 0 is reserved. If the Direction subfield is set to 1 (Downlink), the Maximum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the maximum interval, in microseconds, between the start of two consecutive service periods allocated for a sequence of DL frame exchanges and the value 0 indicates that the parameter (i.e., Minimum Service Interval) is not specified. If the Direction subfield is set to 2 (Direct link), the Maximum Service Interval field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the maximum interval, in microseconds, between the start of two consecutive service periods allocated to the STA for direct link frame exchanges and the value 0 is reserved. The value of the Maximum Service Interval field is greater than or equal to the value of the Minimum Service Interval field.

[0162] Minimum Data Rate field: The Minimum Data Rate field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the lowest data rate specified at the MAC SAP, in kbps, for transport of MSDUs or A-MSDUs belonging to the traffic flow described by this element.

[0163] Mean Data Rate field: The Mean Data Rate field indicates the average data rate specified at the MAC SAP, in kbps, for transport of MSDUs or A-MSDUs belonging to the traffic flow within the bounds of this element.

[0164] Burst Size field: The Burst Size field is 4 octets long and contains an unsigned integer that specifies the maximum burst, in octets, of the MSDUs or A-MSDUs belonging to the traffic flow that arrive at the MAC SAP at the peak data rate.

[0165] Medium Time field: The Medium Time field contains an unsigned integer that specifies the medium time, in units of 256 microseconds per second, requested by the STA for direct link transmissions as the average medium time needed in each second, assuming the STA uses the bandwidth indicated in the Bandwidth field for direct link transmissions. This field is present if the Direction subfield is set to 2 (Direct link).

[0166] Bandwidth field: The Bandwidth field specifies the maximum bandwidth available to the STA for direct link transmissions. This field is present if the Direction subfield is set to 2 (Direct link).

[0167] For uplink and downlink traffic, the AP allocates the time resource size according to the parameters reported in the QoS profile element and the physical layer rate between the AP and the STA. However, for P2P link (or Direct link), the AP determines the allocated time resource size according to the medium time, which cannot reuse the time allocation algorithm for uplink and downlink at the AP side.

[0168] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application provides a P2P link information indication method, which directly reports physical layer parameters (physical layer rate, modulation and coding strategy, number of spatial streams, etc.) of the P2P link through a QoS characteristic element, so that the AP side can multiplex the time allocation algorithm of the uplink and downlink. Further, the present application also provides a technical solution for extending the P2P link to multiple links to improve transmission efficiency / throughput. In addition, the P2P link information indication method provided by the embodiment of the present application also carries a P2P link identifier in the QoS characteristic element, which is used to identify the P2P link to which the service flow described by the element is mapped; or by constraining the TID in the QoS characteristic element to be unique, the AP can distinguish which P2P link the service reported by the station is for.

[0169] The technical solutions provided by the present application can be described through multiple embodiments, as described below. In the present application, the same or similar parts between various embodiments or implementation manners can be mutually referenced, unless otherwise specified. In various embodiments in the present application, and various implementation manners / implementation methods / implementation approaches in each embodiment, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments, and between various implementation manners / implementation methods / implementation approaches in each embodiment have consistency and can be mutually referenced, unless otherwise specified and logically conflicted. The technical features in different embodiments, and various implementation manners / implementation methods / implementation approaches in each embodiment can be combined to form new embodiments, implementation manners, implementation methods, or implementation approaches according to their inherent logical relationship. The implementation manners of the present application described below do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present application.

[0170] Optionally, the first device in the present application can be a STA (single link), such as the STA 200 shown in the foregoing Figure 1 or the STA1 shown in the foregoing Figure 5a . It can also be a non-AP MLD, such as the non-AP MLD1 shown in the foregoing Figure 5b . The second device in the present application can be an AP (single link), such as the AP 100 shown in the foregoing Figure 1 or the AP1 shown in the foregoing Figure 5a . It can also be an AP MLD, such as the AP MLD1 shown in the foregoing Figure 5b . The first device and the second device in the present application both support the 802.11be protocol (or Wi-Fi 7, EHT protocol), and can also support other WLAN communication protocols, such as the 802.11ax, 802.11ac, etc. It should be understood that the first device and the second device in the present application can also support future 802.11 protocols, such as Wi-Fi 8, Wi-Fi 9, etc. That is, the method provided by the present application is not only applicable to the 802.11be protocol, but also applicable to future 802.11 protocols.

[0171] The following will be described in detail respectively for each embodiment.

[0172] Embodiment one

[0173] Reference Figure 8 , Figure 8 is the first schematic flow chart of the P2P link information indication method provided by the embodiment of the application. It mainly introduces that the STA reports the physical layer parameter indication information of the P2P link in the QoS Characteristic element. As shown in Figure 8 , the P2P link information indication method includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0174] S101, a first device generates a quality of service (QoS) characteristic element, the QoS characteristic element includes a control information field and first indication information, the control information field includes a direction subfield, the direction subfield is set to a first value, used to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a point-to-point (P2P) link, the P2P link is a media access control (MAC) service data unit (MSDU) or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point (non-AP) station device to another non-AP station device, and the first indication information is used to indicate a physical layer rate of the P2P link.

[0175] S102, the first device sends the QoS characteristic element.

[0176] Optionally, the first device in the embodiment of the application is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD. The first device generates a QoS characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element can be carried in a stream classification service (SCS) request frame (SCS request frame). Of course, the QoS characteristic element can also be carried in other MAC frames, and the embodiment of the application does not limit it. The first device sends the QoS characteristic element, in other words, the first device sends a frame carrying the QoS characteristic element, for example, the first device sends an SCS request frame, and the SCS request frame carries the QoS characteristic element. In addition, the QoS characteristic element of the application is only an example, and the name should not be regarded as a limitation of its function. With the progress of the standard, other names are also possible.

[0177] The QoS characteristic element includes, but is not limited to, a control info field and first indication information. The control info field includes, but is not limited to, a direction subfield, which is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is 2 in decimal, 10 in binary), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a P2P link / Direct link, i.e., the data direction is data (such as MSDU or A-MSDU) sent from one non-AP station device to another non-AP station device. Here, the non-AP station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA, or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD. The first indication information can be used to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link / Direct link. The first indication information can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: physical layer rate, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), number of spatial streams (NSS).

[0178] The implementation of the first indication information is described below.

[0179] 1. The first device is a single-link STA

[0180] When the first device is a single-link STA, the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped on one physical link (or one physical channel, or one frequency band). In other words, when the first device is a single-link STA, the P2P traffic described by the QoS characteristic element is transmitted on one physical link (or one physical channel, or one frequency band).

[0181] Implementation 1.1: The first indication information described above can be the physical layer rate of the P2P link / Direct link. That is, the first indication information directly indicates the physical layer rate of the P2P link / Direct link.

[0182] The unit of the physical layer rate can be Mbps (megabits per second). The first indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristic element, such as the PHY Rate of P2P link field; of course, the first indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0183] Referring to Figure 9a ,Figure 9a This is a schematic diagram of a frame format for the first indication information in the QoS feature elements provided in this application embodiment. For example... Figure 9a As shown, this QoS feature element includes, but is not limited to, a control info field and a PHY Rate of P2P link field (i.e., the aforementioned first indication information). The frame format of the control info field is as described above. Figure 7 As shown, this will not be elaborated further here. When the direction subfield in this control information field is set to 2, the PHYRate of P2P link field exists. When the PHYRate of P2P link field exists in the QoS feature element, this PHYRate of P2P link field (1 byte in length, i.e., 8 bits) is used to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link / Direct link. The physical layer rate indicated by this PHYRate of P2P link field can be linear, piecewise linear, or one-to-one mapped. In one example, linear indication: the PHYRate of P2P link field has 8 bits, and when its value is k, the physical layer rate indicated is equal to (k+1)*10Mbps; the PHYRate of P2P link field can indicate a total rate ranging from 10Mbps to 2560Mbps. In another example, piecewise linear indication: The PHY Rate of P2P link field has 8 bits. When the value is greater than or equal to 0 and less than 128 (i.e., 0 ≤ k < 128), the indicated physical layer rate is (k + 1) * 1 Mbps; when the value is greater than or equal to 128 and less than 255 (i.e., 128 ≤ k < 255), the indicated physical layer rate is (k - 127) * 10 Mbps + 128 Mbps. In yet another example, one-to-one mapping indication: Possible physical layer rates are obtained based on parameters such as the physical layer supported MCS, spatial stream count, and bandwidth, and then mapped one-to-one to the value of the PHYRate of P2P link field from smallest to largest / largest to smallest.

[0184] For example, such as Figure 9aAs shown, the PHY Rate of P2P link field can replace the medium time field in the QoS characteristic element. In this way, the time allocation algorithm of multiplexing uplink and downlink at the AP side can be implemented without increasing bit overhead, and information redundancy can be reduced, that is, both medium time and physical layer rate are reported, but only one of the medium time and the physical layer rate will be used by the AP side to allocate time resources. Of course, the PHY Rate of P2P link field can also be a newly added field in the QoS characteristic element, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0185] Implementation manner 1.1 calculates the physical layer rate at the station side and reports it to the AP side, which can make the AP side obtain a more accurate physical layer rate. This is because the station side knows the physical layer parameters of the P2P link established with other devices, such as MCS, NSS, bandwidth, padding length, cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc., which can be used to calculate the physical layer rate.

[0186] Implementation manner 1.2: The above-mentioned first indication information can be the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) and the number of spatial streams (NSS) of the P2P link / Direct link. That is, the first indication information indirectly indicates the physical layer rate of the P2P link / Direct link. Because MCS and NSS are the main parameters affecting the physical layer rate, the second device (AP or AP MLD) can also determine the physical layer rate after receiving the MCS and NSS reported by the first device. Optionally, the first indication information can also include other parameters that can be used to determine the physical layer rate, such as padding length, cyclic prefix (CP) length, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0187] Wherein, the unit of the physical layer rate can be Mbps (Megabits per second). The first indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristic element, such as the MCS and NSS of P2P link field; of course, the first indication information can also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0188] Referring to Figure 9b , Figure 9b is another frame format diagram of the first indication information in the QoS characteristic element provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 9bAs shown, the QoS feature element includes, but is not limited to, a control info field and a MCS and NSS of P2P link field (i.e., the first indication information). The frame format of the control info field is described above. Figure 7 As shown, the MCS and NSS of P2P link field is not described herein. When the direction subfield in the control info field is set to 2, the MCS and NSS of P2P link field exists. The MCS and NSS of P2P link field (1 byte in length, i.e., 8 bits) includes a MCS of P2P link subfield and a NSS of P2P link subfield, each of which is 4 bits. The MCS of P2P link subfield is used to indicate the MCS value of the P2P link / Direct link, and the NSS of P2P link subfield is used to indicate the NSS supported by the P2P link / Direct link. The NSS of P2P link subfield is set to the number of spatial streams supported by the P2P link / Direct link minus 1. For example, if the number of spatial streams supported by the P2P link / Direct link is 1, the NSS of P2P link subfield is set to 0; if the number of spatial streams supported by the P2P link / Direct link is 2, the NSS of P2P link subfield is set to 1; if the number of spatial streams supported by the P2P link / Direct link is 3, the NSS of P2P link subfield is set to 2, and so on.

[0189] For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the MCS and NSS of P2P link field can replace the medium time field in the QoS feature element. Of course, the MCS and NSS of P2P link field can also be a newly added field in the QoS feature element, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. Figure 9b As shown, the MCS and NSS of P2P link field can replace the medium time field in the QoS feature element. Of course, the MCS and NSS of P2P link field can also be a newly added field in the QoS feature element, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0190] The implementation manner 1.2 can reduce the complexity of the station side by reporting the main parameters, i.e., the MCS and the NSS, used to determine the physical layer rate, so that the AP side determines the physical layer rate based on the MCS and the NSS.

[0191] It should be understood that the last two fields in the QoS Characteristic element, i.e., the Medium Time field and the Bandwidth field, are only used for P2P link traffic, while all other fields in the QoS Characteristic element can be used for downlink (DL), uplink (UL) and P2P link traffic. The reason why the Medium Time and Bandwidth information is not needed for DL and UL traffic is that the AP already knows the achievable rate of the physical layer link (depending on the MCS, number of spatial streams, bandwidth, etc.), so the AP can calculate the transmission time needed for the traffic reported by the station in combination with the rate of the physical layer link. The P2P link is between a station and another station, so the AP cannot obtain the information of the physical layer rate on the P2P link.

[0192] Therefore, the station side of the embodiments of the present application directly reports the physical layer rate of the P2P link by carrying the PHYRate of P2P link field in the QoS Characteristic element, or reports the MCS and NSS used to determine the physical layer rate by carrying the MCS and NSS of P2P Link field, so that the AP side can calculate the transmission time needed for the traffic reported on the P2P link based on the physical layer parameters (physical layer rate or MAC and NSS) reported by the station, and then the AP side can reuse the time allocation algorithm for uplink and downlink.

[0193] 2. The first device is a non-AP MLD

[0194] When the first device is a non-AP MLD, the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS characteristic element described above can be mapped to one or more physical links (or one physical channel, or one frequency band). In other words, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS characteristic element described above can be mapped to at least one link of a multi-link (ML). In other words, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the P2P traffic described in the QoS characteristic element described above can be transmitted on at least one link of a multi-link. The multi-link here can refer to multiple links established by the first device (non-AP MLD) and another non-AP MLD. For example, the first device (non-AP MLD) and the second device (non-AP MLD) can establish a multi-link (ML) including a first link and a second link. The P2P traffic described in the QoS characteristic element described above can be transmitted on the first link and the second link of the multi-link. Figure 5bFor example, assuming the first device is non-AP MLD1, a P2P link4 is established between non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD3, and the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element reported by non-AP MLD1 is P2P link4; then P2P link4 can be mapped to at least one of links L1 and L3, or in other words, the P2P traffic between non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD3 can be transmitted on at least one of links L1 and L3.

[0195] Because P2P traffic can be transmitted on multiple links (ML), it is necessary to indicate the physical layer rate of each link separately.

[0196] Implementation 2.1: The above QoS characteristic element further includes second indication information, which can be used to indicate that at least one of the multiple links is used as the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element. Alternatively, the second indication information can be used to indicate at least one of the multiple links to which the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped.

[0197] In an implementation, the second indication information can exist in the form of a bitmap, one bit of the second indication information corresponding to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value (such as 1), it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element, or it is used to indicate that the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped to the link corresponding to the bit. For example, assuming the first device is non-AP MLD1, a P2P link4 is established between non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD3, and the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element reported by non-AP MLD1 is P2P link4; the second indication information is 4 bits, corresponding to links L1, L2, L3, and L4 respectively. When the second indication information is 1010, it indicates that L1 and L3 of links L1, L2, L3, and L4 are used as P2P link4, or in other words, it indicates that P2P link4 is mapped to links L1 and L3, or in other words, it indicates that the P2P traffic between non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD3 is transmitted on links L1 and L3. Figure 5b For example, assuming the first device is non-AP MLD1, a P2P link4 is established between non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD3, and the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element reported by non-AP MLD1 is P2P link4; the second indication information is 4 bits, corresponding to links L1, L2, L3, and L4 respectively. When the second indication information is 1010, it indicates that L1 and L3 of links L1, L2, L3, and L4 are used as P2P link4, or in other words, it indicates that P2P link4 is mapped to links L1 and L3, or in other words, it indicates that the P2P traffic between non-AP MLD1 and non-AP MLD3 is transmitted on links L1 and L3.

[0198] If n bits in the second indication information are set to the second value (e.g., 1), that is, the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS characteristics element, then the QoS characteristics element includes n first indication information and n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One first indication information can be the physical layer rate of one link in the n links, that is, one first indication information is used to directly indicate the physical layer rate of the link. One bandwidth field can be used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one link in the n links. In other words, if n bits in the second indication information are set to the second value (e.g., 1), then n first indication information and n bandwidth fields are needed in the QoS characteristics element to indicate the physical layer rate of the n links and the maximum bandwidth transmitted by the n links.

[0199] The unit of the physical layer rate can be Mbps. The second indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristics element, such as the ML bitmap for P2P field or the ML bitmap for P2P link field; of course, the second indication information can also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any limitation. The first indication information can also be a field in the QoS characteristics element, such as the PHY Rate of link field; of course, the first indication information can also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any limitation.

[0200] Referring to Figure 10a , Figure 10a is a frame format schematic diagram of the first indication information and the second indication information in the QoS characteristics element provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 10a indicated, the QoS characteristics element includes but is not limited to the control information (control info) field, the ML bitmap for P2P link field (i.e., the second indication information described above), and one or more PHY Rate of link (i.e., the first indication information described above). The frame format of the control information (control info) field refers to the foregoing Figure 7As shown, the ML bitmap for P2P link field is not described here. When the direction subfield in the control information field is set to 2, the ML bitmap for P2P link field exists. When the ML bitmap for P2P link field exists in the QoS feature element, the length of the ML bitmap for P2P link field is 1 byte or 2 bytes, where one bit corresponds to one link, and the link ID of the link is assigned by the AP MLD associated with it (i.e. the first device). When a bit in the ML bitmap for P2P link field is set to 1, it indicates that the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS feature element is mapped on the link corresponding to the bit; when a bit in the ML bitmap for P2P link field is set to 0, it indicates that the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS feature element is not mapped on the link corresponding to the bit. When there are n bits in the ML bitmap for P2P link field set to 1, n PHY Rate of link fields and n bandwidth fields are included in the QoS feature element. n is a positive integer. One of the PHY Rate of link fields is used to indicate the physical layer rate of the link corresponding to the bit set to 1 in the ML bitmap for P2P link field. Similarly, one of the bandwidth fields is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth of the link corresponding to the bit set to 1 in the ML bitmap for P2P link field.

[0201] For example, the value of the physical layer rate indicated by the PHY Rate of link field can be linear, piecewise linear, or one-to-one mapping. For details, refer to the foregoing description, which is not described here.

[0202] Implementation 2.2: The QoS feature element described above further includes second indication information, which can be used to indicate that at least one link in the multi-link is used as the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS feature element. Alternatively, the second indication information can be used to indicate at least one link in the multi-link to which the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS feature element is mapped. The second indication information can exist in the form of a bitmap, where one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When a bit in the second indication information is set to a second value (such as 1), it indicates that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described in the QoS feature element, or that the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS feature element is mapped on the link corresponding to the bit.

[0203] If n bits in the second indication information are set to the second value (e.g., 1), that is, the second indication information indicates that the number of links mapped by the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristics element is n; the QoS characteristics element includes n first indication information and n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One first indication information can be the MCS and NSS of one of the n links, that is, one first indication information is used to indirectly indicate the physical layer rate of the link. One bandwidth field can be used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one of the n links. In other words, if n bits in the second indication information are set to the second value (e.g., 1), n first indication information and n bandwidth fields are needed in the QoS characteristics element to indicate the MCS and NSS of the n links and the maximum bandwidth transmitted by the n links.

[0204] The unit of the physical layer rate can be Mbps. The second indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristics element, such as a ML bitmap for P2P field or a ML bitmap for P2P link field; of course, the second indication information can also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any limitation. The first indication information can also be a field in the QoS characteristics element, such as a MCS and NSS of link field; of course, the first indication information can also have other names, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any limitation.

[0205] Referring to Figure 10b , Figure 10b is another frame format diagram of the first indication information and the second indication information in the QoS characteristics element provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 10a indicated, the QoS characteristics element includes but is not limited to a control information (control info) field, a ML bitmap for P2P link field (i.e., the second indication information described above), and one or more MCS and NSS of link (i.e., the first indication information described above). The frame format of the control information (control info) field is described above Figure 7As shown, details are not repeated here. When the direction subfield in the control information field is set to 2, the ML bitmap for P2P link field exists. When the ML bitmap for P2P link field exists in the QoS feature element, the length of the ML bitmap for P2P link field is 1 byte or 2 bytes, wherein one bit corresponds to one link, and the link ID of the link is assigned by the AP MLD associated with it (i.e. the first device). When a bit in the ML bitmap for P2P link field is set to 1, it indicates that the P2P link / Direct link mapped by the QoS feature element is mapped on the link corresponding to the bit; when a bit in the ML bitmap for P2P link field is set to 0, it indicates that the P2P link / Direct link mapped by the QoS feature element is not mapped on the link corresponding to the bit. When there are n bits in the ML bitmap for P2P link field set to 1, n MCS and NSS of link fields and n bandwidth fields are included in the QoS feature element. n is a positive integer. One of the MCS and NSS of link fields includes two subfields, namely the MCS of link subfield and the NSS of link subfield. The MCS of link subfield is used to indicate the MCS value of the link corresponding to the bit set to 1 in the ML bitmap for P2P link field, and the NSS of link subfield is used to indicate the NSS supported by the link corresponding to the bit set to 1 in the ML bitmap for P2P link field. The NSS of link subfield is set to the number of spatial streams supported by the P2P link / Direct link minus 1. Similarly, one bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by the link corresponding to the bit set to 1 in the ML bitmap for P2P link field.

[0206] It should be understood that if the P2P link is directly extended to multiple links, the data of the P2P link can be transmitted through multiple links, and when resources are requested on multiple links, the problem of how to allocate the total demand time on multiple links also needs to be considered, so the prior art cannot be directly extended to multiple links.

[0207] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application adds second indication information in the QoS characteristic element to indicate that at least one link in the multi-link is used as the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element; and correspondingly designs the indication mode of the first indication information, i.e. respectively indicates the physical layer rate for each link indicated by the second indication information, so as to not only enable the AP side to multiplex the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink, but also extend the P2P link / Direct link to the MLD, thereby taking advantage of the multi-link to improve the transmission efficiency / throughput rate of the P2P service and further reduce the time delay.

[0208] Optionally, the QoS characteristic element can further include third indication information, which can be used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange. The third indication information can be a newly added field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a Mean Service Interval field; of course, the third indication information can also have other names, and the embodiment of the present application does not make any limitation.

[0209] Referring to Figure 11 , Figure 11 is a frame format diagram of the third indication information in the QoS characteristic element provided by the embodiment of the present application. The first indication information in the QoS characteristic element is taken as the foregoing Figure 9a for example. As shown in Figure 11 , the QoS characteristic element includes but is not limited to a control information (control info) field, a Mean Service Interval field (i.e. the third indication information), and a PHY Rate of P2P link field (i.e. the first indication information). The length of the Mean Service Interval field is 4 bytes, which is used to indicate the average length of the service interval. The meanings of the control information (control info) field and the PHY Rate of P2P link field are described in the foregoing, and will not be described here.

[0210] The embodiment of the present application adds the Mean Service Interval field (i.e. the third indication information) in the QoS characteristic element to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange, thereby refining the allocation mode of the time resource.

[0211] Optionally, the QoS characteristics element can further include fifth indication information, which can be used to indicate a P2P link / Direct link to which a service flow (or P2P service) described by the QoS characteristics element is mapped. The fifth indication information can be a newly added field in the QoS characteristics element, such as a P2P link identifier field; of course, the fifth indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0212] Referring to Figure 12 , Figure 12 is a frame format diagram of the fifth indication information in the QoS characteristics element provided by the embodiments of the present application. The first indication information in the QoS characteristics element is taken as an example as described above. Figure 9a As shown in Figure 12 , the QoS characteristics element includes but is not limited to a control info field, a P2P link identifier field (i.e., the fifth indication information), and a PHY Rate of P2P link field (i.e., the first indication information). When the direction subfield in the control info field is set to 2, the P2P link identifier field exists, which can occupy 4 bits in 1 byte (i.e., 8 bits), and each value corresponds to a unique P2P link. The identifier value of the P2P link can be determined by the station. The meanings of the control info field and the PHY Rate of P2P link field are described above, which are not described herein.

[0213] It should be understood that when the first device is a non-AP MLD, although the P2P link is mapped to multiple links (or the P2P service is transmitted on multiple links), there is only one P2P link between one non-AP MLD and another non-AP MLD, so the P2P link identifier field in the QoS characteristics element also has only one.

[0214] Optionally, the control info field can further include a TID subfield, which indicates a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to any service on a P2P link established by the first device and other devices. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any service on multiple P2P links when establishing the service. For example, the control info field includes a TID subfield, which indicates a TID value corresponding to a service on a P2P link established by the first device and other devices. Figure 5aFor example, assuming the first device is STA1, if the TID corresponding to the traffic on the P2P link1 established by STA1 and STA2 is 0, then the TID corresponding to the traffic on the P2P link2 established by STA1 and STA3 cannot be 0, but other values, such as 1.

[0215] Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the traffic flow on the P2P link reported by the first device through the QoS characteristic element in history. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to the traffic that needs to be reported. The TID corresponding to the traffic that does not need to be reported can be repeatedly used on different P2P links. For example, assuming the first device is STA1, if the TID corresponding to the traffic on the P2P link1 established by STA1 and STA2 is 0, then the TID corresponding to the traffic on the P2P link2 established by STA1 and STA3 cannot be 0, but other values, such as 1. Figure 5a

[0216] The embodiments of the present application carry the P2P link identifier field (i.e., the fifth indication information) in the QoS characteristic element, which is used to indicate the P2P link / Direct link to which the traffic flow described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped; or restrict the TID of the P2P traffic reported in the QoS characteristic element to be unique; so that the AP side can distinguish which P2P link the P2P traffic flow reported by the station side is for, avoiding confusion on the AP side.

[0217] S103, the second device receives the QoS characteristic element.

[0218] S104, the second device parses the QoS characteristic element.

[0219] S105, the second device determines the time resource allocated for the traffic on the P2P link according to the indication of the first indication information.

[0220] Optionally, the second device in the embodiments of the present application is an AP (single link) or an AP MLD. After receiving the QoS characteristic element, the second device parses the QoS characteristic element to obtain the first indication information. When the first indication information is a physical layer rate, the second device can determine the time resource allocated for the traffic on the P2P link according to the physical layer rate. The specific allocation method can refer to the time allocation algorithm of uplink and downlink. When the first indication information is MCS and NSS, the second device can determine the physical layer rate according to the MCS value and the NSS; and then determine the time resource allocated for the traffic on the P2P link according to the determined physical layer rate.​

[0221] The specific way of allocating time resource according to the physical layer rate can be implemented by using different algorithms, which are illustrated below. It should be understood that other algorithms can also be implemented in actual applications, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited. The Service Interval subfield gives the time interval between the start time of two consecutive service periods (one of Minimum Service Interval, Maximum Service Interval, Mean Service Interval can be used, or obtained by operation of at least one of them). The Mean Data Rate subfield gives the average data rate. When the uplink and downlink services are concerned, the physical layer rate is obtained by the AP according to the historical data transmission or by channel measurement. When the P2P service is concerned, the physical layer rate is obtained by the physical layer rate subfield of the P2P link reported by the embodiments of the present application. Time is allocated once every Service Interval, and the length of each time allocation is: Service Interval * Mean Data Rate / physical layer rate of the P2P link.

[0222] Optionally, if the third indication information is further included in the QoS characteristic element, the second device can determine how long the interval is for allocating time resource for the first device once according to the indication of the third indication information, and the size of the time resource allocated each time can be determined according to the first indication information. That is, the second device can allocate time resource for the first device once every time length indicated by the third indication information, and the size of the time resource allocated each time can be determined according to the physical layer rate.

[0223] The embodiment of the present application indicates the physical layer rate of the P2P link by carrying the first indication information in the QoS Characteristic element, so that the AP can calculate the transmission time required by the reported traffic on the P2P link based on the physical layer rate, and then the AP side can multiplex the time allocation algorithm of the uplink and the downlink; and the P2P link is also extended to multiple links to improve the transmission efficiency / throughput. In addition, the embodiment of the present application also indicates how long the interval is allocated to the first device by carrying the third indication information in the QoS Characteristic element, so as to refine the allocation mode of the time resource. The embodiment of the present application also indicates which P2P link the reported P2P traffic flow is for by carrying the fifth indication information in the QoS Characteristic element, or restricts that the TID in the QoS Characteristic element is unique, so that the AP side can distinguish which P2P link the P2P traffic flow reported by the station side is for, to avoid confusion caused by the AP side.

[0224] Embodiment two

[0225] Referring to Figure 13 , Figure 13 is a second schematic flowchart of the information indication method of the P2P link provided by the embodiment of the present application. It mainly introduces that the STA reports the average service interval of the P2P link and the medium time length required per average service interval in the QoS Characteristic element. As shown in Figure 13 , the information indication method of the P2P link includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0226] S201, the first device generates a quality of service QoS characteristic element, the QoS characteristic element includes control information field, third indication information and fourth indication information, the control information field includes direction subfield, the direction subfield is set to a first value, and is used to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a point-to-point P2P link, the P2P link is a medium access control MAC service data unit MSDU or an aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the third indication information is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange of the P2P link, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate the medium time required per average service interval for transmission of the P2P link requested by the first device.

[0227] S202, the first device sends the QoS characteristic element.

[0228] Optionally, the first device in the embodiments of the present application is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD. The first device generates a QoS characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element can be carried in an SCS request frame. Of course, the QoS characteristic element can also be carried in other MAC frames, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The first device sends the QoS characteristic element, in other words, the first device sends a frame carrying the QoS characteristic element, such as the first device sends an SCS request frame carrying the QoS characteristic element.

[0229] The QoS characteristic element includes but is not limited to a control information field, third indication information and fourth indication information. The control information field includes but is not limited to a direction subfield, which is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is 2 in decimal, 10 in binary), indicating that the data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a P2P link / Direct link, i.e., the data direction is that data (such as MSDU or A-MSDU) is sent from one non-access point station device to another non-access point station device. Here, the non-access point station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is that data is sent from one STA to another STA, or data is sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD. The third indication information can be used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange. The fourth indication information can be used to indicate the medium time length required by the first device per average service interval for P2P link / Direct link transmission.

[0230] The implementation of the third indication information and the fourth indication information is described below.

[0231] Implementation 3.1

[0232] The first device is a single link STA, and the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped on one physical link (or one physical channel, or one frequency band). Or, the first device is a single link STA, and the P2P traffic described by the QoS characteristic element is transmitted on one physical link (or one physical channel, or one frequency band).

[0233] The third indication information can be used to indicate an average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange, or to indicate an average length of two consecutive service intervals allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange, or to indicate an average length of a service interval. In other words, the third indication information indicates how long a time resource is allocated to the first device per interval. The fourth indication information can be used to indicate a medium time length required by the first device per average service interval for P2P link / Direct link transmission. In other words, the fourth indication information indicates how large a time resource is allocated to the first device per time.

[0234] The third indication information can be a newly added field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a Mean Service Interval field. Of course, the third indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application. The fourth indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval field. Of course, the fourth indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0235] Referring to Figure 14a , Figure 14a is a frame format schematic diagram of the third indication information and the fourth indication information provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 14a indicated, the QoS characteristic element includes but is not limited to a control information (control info) field, a Mean Service Interval field (i.e., the third indication information), and a Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval field (i.e., the fourth indication information). The frame format of the control information field refers to the foregoing Figure 7The Mean Service Interval field is 4 bytes long and contains an unsigned integer that specifies the average length of two consecutive service intervals allocated to the STA for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange. The Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval field is present when the Direction subfield in this control information field is set to 2. When the Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval field is present in the QoS Characteristic element, the Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval field is 1 byte long, i.e. 8 bits, and contains an unsigned integer that specifies the medium time requested by the STA for P2P link / Direct link transmission as the medium time length required per mean service interval.

[0236] As shown in the table, the Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval field can replace the medium time field in the QoS Characteristic element. Figure 14a In other words, the Medium Time is modified from the total time length required per second to the medium time length required per mean service interval. In this way, the time allocation algorithm for multiplexing uplink and downlink at the AP side can be implemented without increasing the bit overhead, and information redundancy can be reduced.

[0237] It should be understood that the Medium Time field in the QoS Characteristic element for P2P service is the time length requested by the station from the AP for each second; it gives the total time length required per second, but does not give how the time resource is allocated, such as how many parts the time resource is divided into and the length of each part of the time resource.

[0238] Therefore, the Medium Time in the QoS Characteristic element is modified from the total time length required per second to the medium time length required per mean service interval, and the Mean Service Interval field is added to indicate the average length of the service interval; the allocation of the time resource can be refined, and it is further clear how long the time resource is allocated to the STA by the AP per interval and the length of the time resource allocated each time.

[0239] Implementation 3.2

[0240] The first device is a non-AP MLD, and the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element can be mapped to one or more physical links (or one physical channel, or one frequency band). In other words, the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element can be mapped to at least one link of a multi-link (ML). In other words, the P2P traffic described by the QoS characteristic element can be transmitted on at least one link of a multi-link. Here, the multi-link can refer to multiple links established by the first device (non-AP MLD) and another non-AP MLD. For example, as described in the foregoing Figure 5b For example, assuming that the first device is a non-AP MLD1, a P2P link3 is established between the non-AP MLD1 and a non-AP MLD2, and the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element reported by the non-AP MLD1 is the P2P link3; the P2P link3 can be mapped to at least one of the links L1 and L2, or in other words, the P2P traffic between the non-AP MLD1 and the non-AP MLD2 can be transmitted on at least one of the links L1 and L2.

[0241] Because the P2P traffic can be transmitted on a multi-link (ML), the length of the medium time required for each average service interval of each link transmission needs to be indicated separately. Therefore, the QoS characteristic element further includes second indication information, and the specific implementation of the second indication information is described in the foregoing embodiment one, which is not repeated here.

[0242] If n bits in the second indication information are set to the second value (such as 1), that is, the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element; the QoS characteristic element includes n fourth indication information and n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One fourth indication information is used to indicate the length of the medium time required by the first device for each average service interval of the transmission of one link of the n links. In other words, the fourth indication information indicates the size of the time resource allocated for one link of the n links each time. One bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth of the transmission of one link of the n links. In other words, if n bits in the second indication information are set to the second value (such as 1), n fourth indication information and n bandwidth fields are needed in the QoS characteristic element to indicate the length of the medium time required for each average service interval of the transmission of the n links and the maximum bandwidth of the transmission of the n links.

[0243] The third indication information can be used to indicate an average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange, or to indicate an average length of two consecutive service intervals allocated to the first device for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange, or to indicate an average length of a service interval. In other words, the third indication information indicates how long time resource is allocated to the first device per interval.

[0244] The second indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a ML bitmap for P2P field or a ML bitmap for P2P link field; of course, the second indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application. The third indication information can be a newly added field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a Mean Service Interval field; of course, the third indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application. The fourth indication information can be a field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval for link x field; of course, the fourth indication information can also have other names, which are not limited by the embodiments of the present application.

[0245] Referring to Figure 14b , Figure 14b is another frame format diagram of the third indication information and the fourth indication information provided by the embodiments of the present application. As shown in Figure 14b , the QoS characteristic element includes but is not limited to a control info field, a Mean Service Interval field (i.e. the third indication information), a ML bitmap for P2P link field (i.e. the second indication information), and a Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval for link x field (i.e. the fourth indication information). The frame format of the control info field refers to the foregoing Figure 7The Mean Service Interval field is 4 bytes long and contains an unsigned integer that specifies the average length of two consecutive service intervals allocated to the STA for P2P link / Direct link frame exchange. The ML bitmap for P2P link field exists when the Direction subfield in the control information field is set to 2. When the ML bitmap for P2P link field exists in the QoS characteristics element, the ML bitmap for P2P link field is 1 byte or 2 bytes long, with one bit corresponding to one link, and the link ID of the link is assigned by the AP MLD associated with it (i.e. the first device). A bit in the ML bitmap for P2P link field is set to 1, indicating that the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS characteristics element is mapped on the link corresponding to the bit; a bit in the ML bitmap for P2P link field is set to 0, indicating that the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS characteristics element is not mapped on the link corresponding to the bit. When there are n bits in the ML bitmap for P2P link field set to 1, the QoS characteristics element includes n Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval for link x fields and n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. A Medium Time Per Mean Service Interval for link x field is 1 byte long, i.e. 8 bits, and contains an unsigned integer that specifies the medium time required for link x transmission requested by the STA as the medium time length per average service interval.

[0246] The above implementation mode 3.2 extends the P2P link / Direct link to between MLDs and designs a corresponding medium time length per average service interval required indication mode, which not only can refine the allocation mode of time resources, and clearly indicate how long the AP MLD allocates time resources for one link in the non-AP MLD per interval, and the length of time resources allocated each time; but also can take advantage of multi-link to improve the transmission efficiency / throughput of P2P service, and further reduce the time delay.

[0247] Optionally, the QoS characteristic element can further include fifth indication information, which can be used to indicate a P2P link / Direct link to which a service flow (or P2P service) described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped. The fifth indication information can be implemented in the manners described in Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 3, which will not be repeated here. The fifth indication information can be a newly-added field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a P2P link identifier field. Of course, the fifth indication information can also have other names, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0248] Optionally, the control information field can further include a TID subfield, which indicates a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to any service on a P2P link established by the first device and other devices. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any service on a plurality of P2P links when establishing the service. Alternatively, the TID subfield indicates a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to a service flow on a P2P link reported by the first device through a QoS characteristic element. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to a service that needs to be reported. The TID corresponding to a service that does not need to be reported can be repeatedly used on different P2P links.

[0249] The embodiments of the present application can carry a P2P link identifier field (i.e., the fifth indication information) in the QoS characteristic element, which is used to indicate a P2P link / Direct link to which a service flow described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped. Alternatively, the embodiments of the present application can constrain a TID of a P2P service reported in the QoS characteristic element to be unique. In this way, the AP side can distinguish a P2P service flow reported by the station side to be for which P2P link, and confusion caused by the AP side can be avoided.

[0250] S203, the second device receives the QoS characteristic element.

[0251] S204, the second device parses the QoS characteristic element.

[0252] S205, the second device determines time resources assigned to a service on the P2P link according to indications of the third indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0253] Optionally, the second device in the embodiments of the present application is an AP (single link) or an AP MLD. After receiving the QoS characteristic element, the second device parses the QoS characteristic element to obtain the third indication information and the fourth indication information. The second device can determine how long the interval is for allocating time resources to the first device according to the indication of the third indication information, and the size of the time resources allocated each time can be determined according to the fourth indication information. That is, the second device can allocate time resources to the first device once every interval of the time length indicated by the third indication information, and the size of the time resources allocated each time can be the time length indicated by the fourth indication information. For example, assuming that the time length indicated by the third indication information is 100 ms (milliseconds) and the time length indicated by the fourth indication information is 2 ms, the second device can allocate time resources to the first device once every 100 ms, and the size of the time resources allocated each time is 2 ms.

[0254] The embodiments of the present application can refine the allocation mode of time resources by adding the Mean Service Interval field in the QoS characteristic element and allocating the Medium Time from the total time length required per second according to the medium time length required by the Mean Service Interval, and further specify how long the interval is for the AP to allocate time resources to the STA each time and the length of the time resources allocated each time.

[0255] Embodiment Three

[0256] The third embodiment of the present application can be implemented independently, or can be implemented together with the first embodiment or the second embodiment, and the present application does not make any limitation.

[0257] Reference is made to Figure 15 , Figure 15 is a third schematic flowchart of the information indication method of the P2P link provided by the embodiments of the present application. It mainly introduces adding the P2P link identifier in the QoS Characteristic element, which is used to distinguish the services of the STA on different P2P links. As shown in Figure 15 , the information indication method of the P2P link includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0258] S301, the first device generates a quality of service, QoS, characteristic element, wherein the QoS characteristic element comprises a control information field and fifth indication information, the control information field comprises a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to a first value, indicating that a data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a point-to-point, P2P, link, and the P2P link is a media access control, MAC, service data unit, MSDU, or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate a P2P link to which a traffic flow described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped.

[0259] S302, the first device sends the QoS characteristic element.

[0260] Optionally, the first device in the embodiment of the application is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD. The first device generates a QoS characteristic element. The QoS characteristic element can be carried in an SCS request frame. Of course, the QoS characteristic element can also be carried in other MAC frames, which are not limited in the embodiment of the application. The first device sends the QoS characteristic element, in other words, the first device sends a frame carrying the QoS characteristic element, such as the first device sends an SCS request frame carrying the QoS characteristic element.

[0261] The QoS characteristic element comprises but is not limited to a control information field and fifth indication information. The control information field comprises but is not limited to a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to 2 (that is, the first value is 2 in decimal, 10 in binary), indicating that a data direction described by the QoS characteristic element is a P2P link / Direct link, that is, the data direction is data (such as MSDU or A-MSDU) sent from one non-access point station device to another non-access point station device. Here, the non-access point station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA, or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD. The fifth indication information can be used to indicate a P2P link / Direct link to which a traffic flow described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped.

[0262] Optionally, the fifth indication information described above can be a newly added field in the QoS characteristic element, such as a P2P link identifier field; of course, the fifth indication information can also have other names, which are not limited in the embodiment of the application. See Figure 16 , Figure 16This is a schematic diagram of the frame format of the fifth instruction information provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 16 As shown, this QoS feature element includes, but is not limited to, the control info field and the P2P linkidentifier field (i.e., the fifth indication information mentioned above). The frame format of the control info field is as described above. Figure 7 As shown, details will not be repeated here. When the direction sub-field in the control information field is set to 2, the P2P linkidentifier field exists, occupying 4 bits out of 1 byte (i.e., 8 bits), and each value corresponds to a unique P2P link. The P2P link identifier value can be determined by the site. In other words, the P2P link identifier value is used to identify the P2P link / Direct link mapped to the service flow described by the QoS feature element.

[0263] It should be understood that because a site can establish P2P links / Direct links with multiple other sites, when the site reports the characteristics of a P2P service to its associated AP, the AP cannot know which P2P link the reported service is for. In other words, assuming that services identified by a certain TID are established on two P2P links (actually different services because they are on different P2P links), when a site successively reports parameters of services identified by the same TID on two P2P links, the AP may assume that the parameters of the later reported service are updates to the parameters of the earlier reported service, and thus replace the parameters of the earlier reported service, instead of treating them as two different services and storing them separately. For example, as described above... Figure 5a For example, suppose that P2P link 1 between STA1 and STA2 has services identified by TIDs 0 to 3, and P2P link 2 between STA1 and STA3 has services identified by TIDs 0 and 1. Suppose STA1 first reports parameters for a service with TID 1 to its associated AP1, and this service with TID 1 is on P2P link 1. Then, STA1 reports parameters for another service with TID 1 to AP1, and this service with TID 1 is on P2P link 2. Because AP1 is unaware that these two services with TID 1 reported sequentially are on different P2P links, AP1 might interpret the parameters of the later-reported service with TID 1 as an update of the parameters of the earlier-reported service with TID 1, and replace the parameters of the earlier-reported service with TID 1, instead of treating them as two different services and storing them separately.

[0264] Therefore, the embodiment of the present application introduces a P2PLink Identifier field indicating a P2P link in the QoS Characteristic element. In this way, even if a station reports services on multiple P2P links in succession and the multiple services use the same TID, the AP can distinguish the multiple services through the P2PLink Identifier field.

[0265] Optionally, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the QoS characteristic element can further include second indication information. The specific implementation of the second indication information can refer to the corresponding description in the foregoing embodiment I, which will not be described here. If n bits in the second indication information are all set to a second value (such as 1), that is, the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link / Direct link described by the QoS characteristic element; the QoS characteristic element includes n bandwidth fields. n is a positive integer. One bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one link of the n links.

[0266] It should be understood that when the first device is a non-AP MLD, although the P2P link is mapped to multiple links (or the P2P service is transmitted on multiple links), there is only one P2P link between one non-AP MLD and another non-AP MLD, so the P2PLink Identifier field in the QoS characteristic element is also only one.

[0267] S303, the second device receives the QoS characteristic element.

[0268] S304, the second device parses the QoS characteristic element.

[0269] Optionally, the second device in the embodiment of the present application is an AP (single link) or a non-AP MLD. After receiving the frame carrying the QoS characteristic element, the second device can parse the QoS characteristic element to obtain fifth indication information. The second device can determine the service flow described by the QoS characteristic element according to the fifth indication information.

[0270] The embodiment of the present application adds a P2PLink Identifier field (i.e., fifth indication information) in the QoS characteristic element to indicate the service flow described by the QoS characteristic element, so that the AP side can distinguish the P2P service reported by the station side and avoid confusion on the AP side.

[0271] Embodiment Four

[0272] Embodiment Four of the present application can be implemented independently, or together with Embodiment One or Embodiment Two, which is not limited by the present application.

[0273] Referring to Figure 17 , Figure 17 is a fourth exemplary flowchart of a method for indicating P2P link information according to an embodiment of the present application. It mainly introduces that STA assigns a unique TID to the P2P service reported in the QoS Characteristic element, so as to avoid the confusion of services on different P2P links by AP. As shown in Figure 17 , the method for indicating P2P link information includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0274] S401, a first device generates a Quality of Service, QoS, Characteristic element, wherein the QoS Characteristic element includes a control information field, the control information field includes a direction subfield and a Traffic Identifier, TID, subfield, the direction subfield is set to a first value, indicating that the data direction described by the QoS Characteristic element is a Point-to-Point, P2P, link, the P2P link is a Media Access Control, MAC, Service Data Unit, MSDU, or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to any service on the P2P link established by the first device and another device, or the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the service flow on the P2P link historically reported by the first device through the QoS Characteristic element.

[0275] S402, the first device sends the QoS Characteristic element.

[0276] S403, a second device receives the QoS Characteristic element.

[0277] S404, the second device parses the QoS Characteristic element.

[0278] Optionally, in the embodiment of the present application, the first device is a STA (single link) or a non-AP MLD, and the second device is an AP (single link) or a non-AP MLD. The first device generates a QoS Characteristic element. The QoS Characteristic element can be carried in an SCS request frame. Of course, the QoS Characteristic element can also be carried in other MAC frames, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. The first device sends the QoS Characteristic element, in other words, the first device sends a frame carrying the QoS Characteristic element, for example, the first device sends an SCS request frame, and the SCS request frame carries the QoS Characteristic element.

[0279] The QoS characteristics element includes, but is not limited to, a control info field. The control info field includes, but is not limited to, a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield. The direction subfield is set to 2 (i.e., the first value is decimal 2, binary 10) to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link / Direct link, i.e., the data direction is data (e.g., MSDU or A-MSDU) sent from one non-AP station device to another non-AP station device. Here, the non-AP station device can be a STA or a non-AP MLD. That is, the data direction is data sent from one STA to another STA or data sent from one non-AP MLD to another non-AP MLD.

[0280] The TID subfield indicates a TID value that is different from any TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on a P2P link established by the first device and another device. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any traffic on any P2P link when establishing the traffic. For example, referring to the above Figure 5a For example, assuming that the first device is STA1, if the TID corresponding to a traffic on a P2P link1 established by STA1 and STA2 is 0, then the TID corresponding to a traffic on a P2P link2 established by STA1 and STA3 cannot be 0, but another value, e.g., 1.

[0281] Alternatively, the TID subfield indicates a TID value that is different from any TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on a P2P link reported by the first device through a QoS characteristics element in the past. In other words, the first device assigns a unique TID to any traffic that needs to be reported, and the TID corresponding to a traffic that does not need to be reported can be reused on different P2P links. This is because a station only reports traffic characteristics for traffic that has explicit requirements on QoS, such as low latency. Therefore, by restricting that traffic that needs to be reported has a unique TID, confusion at the AP end can be avoided. For example, referring to the above Figure 5a For example, assuming that the first device is STA1, if a certain traffic on a P2P link1 established by STA1 and STA2 needs to be reported through a QoS characteristics element, and the TID corresponding to the traffic is 0, then the TID corresponding to a traffic on a P2P link2 established by STA1 and STA3 that needs to be reported cannot be 0, but another value, e.g., 1.

[0282] Optionally, when the first device is a non-AP MLD, the QoS characteristics element can further include second indication information. The specific implementation of the second indication information can refer to the corresponding description in the foregoing embodiment I, which will not be described here. If n bits in the second indication information are all set to the second value (such as 1), that is, the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link / Direct link described in the QoS characteristics element; the QoS characteristics element includes n bandwidth fields. N is a positive integer. One bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth of one link in the n links.

[0283] After the second device receives the frame carrying the QoS characteristics element, the second device can parse the QoS characteristics element to obtain the TID value indicated by the TID subfield; and can store the parameters corresponding to the TID value (here, the parameters are carried in the QoS characteristics element).

[0284] The embodiments of the present application can constrain the P2P service to have a unique TID, or constrain the P2P service to be reported to have a unique TID, so that the AP end will not receive multiple P2P services with the same TID reported from the same station, that is, the station will not use the same TID for the services on different P2P links when reporting the P2P service, so as to avoid confusion of the AP end.

[0285] The above describes the method provided by the present application in detail. In order to implement the above scheme of the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application further provide a corresponding device or apparatus.

[0286] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional modules of the first device and the second device according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, another division mode can be used. The following will be described in detail Figure 18 and Figure 20 The communication apparatus of the embodiments of the present application is described in detail. The communication apparatus is the first device or the second device, and further, the communication apparatus can be the device in the first device; or the communication apparatus is the device in the second device.

[0287] In the case of using the integrated unit, refer to Figure 18 , Figure 18Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 1 can be a first device or a chip in the first device, such as a Wi-Fi chip, etc. As shown in Figure 1, the communication apparatus 1 comprises a processing unit 11 and a transceiver unit 12. Figure 18 The processing unit 11 is configured to generate a QoS element, wherein the QoS element comprises a control information field and a first indication information, the control information field comprises a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS element is a P2P link, and the P2P link is a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the first indication information is used to indicate a physical layer rate of the P2P link; and the transceiver unit 12 is configured to send the QoS element. Wherein, the P2P link is a short form of data transmission on a P2P link.

[0288] In an embodiment, the first indication information comprises one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding strategy, and a number of spatial streams.

[0289] Optionally, the QoS element further comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that at least one link in a multi-link is used as the P2P link described by the QoS element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link described by the QoS element, the QoS element comprises n first indication information and n bandwidth fields, and n is a positive integer. One first indication information is used to indicate a physical layer rate of one link in the n links, and one bandwidth field is used to indicate a maximum bandwidth of one link in the n links.

[0290] Optionally, the second indication information is a bitmap, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value, it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS element.

[0291] Optionally, the QoS element further comprises third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate an average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange.

[0292] Optionally, the QoS element further comprises fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate a P2P link to which a traffic flow described by the QoS element is mapped.

[0293] Optionally, the QoS element further comprises fifth indication information, and the fifth indication information is used to indicate a P2P link to which a traffic flow described by the QoS element is mapped.

[0294] Optionally, the control information field further includes a traffic identifier (TID) subfield. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from any TID value corresponding to a traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and the other device. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from any TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on the P2P link historically reported by the first device through the QoS profile element.

[0295] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspond to the implementation of the aforementioned embodiment one, and the aforementioned operations or functions of each unit in the communication apparatus are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the first device in the aforementioned embodiment one, which will not be repeated here for brevity.

[0296] In one design, the processing unit 11 is configured to generate a QoS profile element, the QoS profile element including a control information field, third indication information, and fourth indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS profile element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, the third indication information indicating an average service interval allocated to the first device for frame exchange of the P2P link, and the fourth indication information indicating a medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for transmission of the P2P link. The transceiver unit 12 is configured to transmit the QoS profile element. The P2P link is short for a data transmission over a P2P link.

[0297] Optionally, the QoS profile element further includes second indication information, the second indication information indicating that at least one link in a multi-link is used as the P2P link described by the QoS profile element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link described by the QoS profile element, the QoS profile element includes n fourth indication information and n bandwidth fields, n being a positive integer. One fourth indication information indicates a medium time required per average service interval requested by the first device for transmission of one link in the n links, and one bandwidth field indicates a maximum bandwidth for transmission of one link in the n links.

[0298] Optionally, the second indication information is a bitmap, one bit of the second indication information corresponding to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value, it indicates that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS profile element.

[0299] Optionally, the QoS characteristics element further comprises fifth indication information, the fifth indication information being used to indicate a P2P link mapped by the traffic flow described by the QoS characteristics element.

[0300] Optionally, the control information field further comprises a traffic identifier (TID) subfield. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on the P2P link reported by the first device through the QoS characteristics element history.

[0301] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspondingly perform the aforementioned embodiment two, and the aforementioned operations or functions of each unit in the communication apparatus are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the first device in the aforementioned embodiment two, which will not be described herein again for brevity.

[0302] In one design, the processing unit 11 is configured to generate a QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element comprising a control information field and fifth indication information, the control information field comprising a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value, and used to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link, the P2P link being a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the fifth indication information being used to indicate a P2P link mapped by a traffic flow described by the QoS characteristics element. The transceiver unit 12 is configured to send the QoS characteristics element.

[0303] Optionally, the QoS characteristics element further comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate that at least one link in a multi-link is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element comprises n bandwidth fields, n being a positive integer. One bandwidth field is used to indicate a maximum bandwidth transmitted by one link in the n links.

[0304] Optionally, the second indication information is a bitmap, one bit of the second indication information corresponding to one link. When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value, it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element.

[0305] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspondingly perform the aforementioned embodiment three, and the aforementioned operations or functions of each unit in the communication apparatus are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the first device in the aforementioned embodiment three, which will not be described herein again for brevity.

[0306] In one design, the processing unit 11 is configured to generate a QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element including a control information field, the control information field including a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that the QoS characteristics element describes data direction for a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the TID subfield indicating a TID value that is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established between the first device and the other device or a TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on the P2P link reported by the first device in a historical QoS characteristics element. The transceiver unit 12 is configured to transmit the QoS characteristics element.

[0307] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspondingly implement the aforementioned embodiment four, and the above operations or functions of the units in the communication apparatus are respectively for implementing the corresponding operations of the first device in the aforementioned embodiment four, which will not be repeated here for brevity.

[0308] Referring to Figure 19 , Figure 19 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 2 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 2 can be a second device or a chip in the second device, such as a Wi-Fi chip, etc. As shown in Figure 19 , the communication apparatus 2 includes a transceiver unit 21 and an analysis unit 22.

[0309] In one design, the transceiver unit 21 is configured to receive a QoS characteristics element, and the analysis unit 22 is configured to analyze the QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element including a control information field and first indication information, the control information field including a direction subfield, the direction subfield being set to a first value to indicate that the QoS characteristics element describes data direction for a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first non-access point station device to another non-access point station device, and the first indication information being used to indicate a physical layer rate of the P2P link.

[0310] Optionally, the first indication information includes one or more of the following: a physical layer rate, a modulation and coding strategy, and a number of spatial streams.

[0311] Optionally, the communication apparatus 2 further includes a determination unit 23 configured to determine time resources allocated for traffic on the P2P link according to the indication of the first indication information.

[0312] Optionally, the QoS characteristic element further comprises second indication information, which is used to indicate that at least one link in the multi-link is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element, the QoS characteristic element comprises n first indication information and n bandwidth fields, where n is a positive integer. One first indication information is used to indicate the physical layer rate of one link in the n links, and one bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one link in the n links.

[0313] Optionally, the second indication information is a bitmap, and one bit in the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value, it indicates that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristic element.

[0314] Optionally, the QoS characteristic element further comprises third indication information, which is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange.

[0315] Optionally, the QoS characteristic element further comprises fifth indication information, which is used to indicate the P2P link to which the service flow described by the QoS characteristic element is mapped.

[0316] Optionally, the control information field further comprises a traffic identifier (TID) subfield. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to any service on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the service flow on the P2P link reported by the first device through the QoS characteristic element history.

[0317] The analysis unit 22 and the determination unit 23 can be integrated into one unit, such as a processing unit.

[0318] It should be understood that the communication device in this design can correspondingly perform the foregoing embodiment one, and the operations or functions of each unit in the communication device are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the second device in the foregoing embodiment one. For brevity, they will not be described here again.

[0319] In one design, the transceiver 21 is configured to receive a QoS characteristics element; and the parsing unit 22 is configured to parse the QoS characteristics element, which includes a control information field, a third indication information, and a fourth indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link for MSDU or aggregated MSDU transmission from a first device to another device. The third indication information indicates an average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange. The fourth indication information indicates a medium time required by the first device per average service interval for P2P link transmission.

[0320] Optionally, the communication apparatus 2 further includes a determining unit 23 configured to determine time resources allocated to traffic on the P2P link according to indications of the third indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0321] Optionally, the QoS characteristics element further includes a second indication information, which indicates that at least one link in a multi-link is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element includes n fourth indication information and n bandwidth fields, where n is a positive integer. One fourth indication information indicates a medium time required by the first device per average service interval for transmission on one of the n links. One bandwidth field indicates a maximum bandwidth for transmission on one of the n links.

[0322] Optionally, the second indication information is a bitmap, where one bit of the bitmap corresponds to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value, it indicates that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element.

[0323] Optionally, the QoS characteristics element further includes a fifth indication information, which indicates a P2P link to which a traffic flow described by the QoS characteristics element is mapped.

[0324] Optionally, the control information field further includes a traffic identifier (TID) subfield. The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on a P2P link established by the first device and another device. Alternatively, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from a TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on a P2P link reported by the first device through a historical QoS characteristics element.

[0325] The analysis unit 22 and the determination unit 23 can be integrated into one unit, such as a processing unit.

[0326] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspond to the implementation of the aforementioned embodiment two, and the operations or functions of the units in the communication apparatus are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the second device in the aforementioned embodiment two, which will not be repeated here for brevity.

[0327] In one design, the transceiver 21 receives a QoS characteristics element; and the analysis unit 22 analyzes the QoS characteristics element, which includes a control information field and fifth indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to a first value to indicate that a data direction described by the QoS characteristics element is a P2P link, and the P2P link is for MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point station device to another non-access point station device. The fifth indication information indicates a P2P link mapped by a traffic flow described by the QoS characteristics element.

[0328] Optionally, the QoS characteristics element further includes second indication information, which indicates that at least one link in a multi-link is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element, the QoS characteristics element includes n bandwidth fields, and n is a positive integer. One bandwidth field indicates a maximum bandwidth of one link in the n links.

[0329] Optionally, the second indication information is a bitmap, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link. When one bit of the second indication information is set to a second value, it indicates that the link corresponding to the bit is used as the P2P link described by the QoS characteristics element.

[0330] The analysis unit 22 can also be referred to as a processing unit.

[0331] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspond to the implementation of the aforementioned embodiment three, and the operations or functions of the units in the communication apparatus are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the second device in the aforementioned embodiment three, which will not be repeated here for brevity.

[0332] In one design, the transceiver 21 is configured to receive a QoS feature element; and the parsing unit 22 is configured to parse the QoS feature element, wherein the QoS feature element includes a control information field, the control information field includes a direction subfield and a traffic identifier (TID) subfield, the direction subfield is set to a first value, and the first value indicates that a data direction described by the QoS feature element is a P2P link, and the P2P link is a MSDU or aggregated MSDU sent from a first non-AP station device to another non-AP station device, and the TID subfield indicates a TID value which is different from a TID value corresponding to any traffic on the P2P link established by the first device and the other device; or the TID subfield indicates a TID value which is different from a TID value corresponding to a traffic flow on the P2P link reported by the first device through a historical QoS feature element.

[0333] The parsing unit 22 can also be referred to as a processing unit.

[0334] It should be understood that the communication apparatus in this design can correspondingly perform the aforementioned embodiment four, and the operations or functions of each unit in the communication apparatus are respectively for realizing the corresponding operations of the second device in the aforementioned embodiment four, and for brevity, will not be described here.

[0335] The first device and the second device of the embodiments of the present application are introduced above, and possible product forms of the first device and the second device are introduced below. It should be understood that any product form with the functions of the first device and any product form with the functions of the second device fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. It should also be understood that the following introduction is only an example, and the product forms of the first device and the second device of the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. Figure 18 The product form of the first device and the product form of the second device are not limited to this. Figure 19 The product form of the first device and the product form of the second device are not limited to this.

[0336] As a possible product form, the AP MLD and the non-AP MLD according to the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture.

[0337] For ease of illustration, refer to Figure 20 , Figure 20 FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication apparatus 1000 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The communication apparatus 1000 can be the first device or the second device, or a chip therein. Figure 20 Only the main components of the communication apparatus 1000 are shown. In addition to the processor 1001 and the transceiver 1002, the communication apparatus can further include a memory 1003, and an input / output device (not shown in the figure).

[0338] The processor 1001 is mainly used for processing communication protocol and communication data, and controlling the whole communication device, executing software program, and processing data of the software program. The memory 1003 is mainly used for storing software program and data. The transceiver 1002 can include control circuit and antenna, and the control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signal and radio frequency signal, and processing radio frequency signal. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic wave. Input and output device, such as touch screen, display screen, keyboard, etc. is mainly used for receiving user input data and outputting data to user.

[0339] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 1001 can read the software program in the memory 1003, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 1001 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit converts the baseband signal into a radio frequency signal, and transmits the radio frequency signal in the form of electromagnetic wave through the antenna. When data is transmitted to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0340] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged independently of the processor for baseband processing, such as in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna can be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0341] The processor 1001, the transceiver 1002, and the memory 1003 can be connected through a communication bus.

[0342] In one design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in the foregoing embodiment one: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S101 in Figure 8 and / or other processes described herein. Figure 8 The transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S102 in and / or other processes described herein.

[0343] In another design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in the foregoing embodiment one: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S104 and step S105 in Figure 8 and / or other processes described herein. Figure 8 The transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S103 in and / or other processes described herein.

[0344] In one design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in the preceding embodiment two: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S201 in Figure 13 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S202 in Figure 13 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0345] In another design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in the preceding embodiment two: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform steps S204 and S205 in Figure 13 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S203 in Figure 13 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0346] In one design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in the preceding embodiment three: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S301 in Figure 15 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S302 in Figure 15 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0347] In another design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in the preceding embodiment three: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S304 in Figure 15 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S303 in Figure 15 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0348] In one design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in the preceding embodiment four: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S401 in Figure 17 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S402 in Figure 17 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0349] In another design, the communication device 1000 can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in the preceding embodiment four: the processor 1001 can be configured to perform step S404 in Figure 17 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the transceiver 1002 can be configured to perform step S403 in Figure 17at step S403 in FIG. 4, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0350] In any of the above designs, the processor 1001 can include a transceiver for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit, or an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and transmitting functions can be separate or integrated together. The above transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit can be used for reading and writing of code / data, or the above transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit can be used for transmission or transfer of signals.

[0351] In any of the above designs, the processor 1001 can store instructions, which can be a computer program, running on the processor 1001, to cause the communication apparatus 1000 to perform the methods described in any of the above method embodiments. The computer program can be fixed in the processor 1001, in which case the processor 1001 can be implemented by hardware.

[0352] In an implementation manner, the communication apparatus 1000 can include a circuit, which can implement the functions of sending or receiving or communicating in the above method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the present application can be implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), a mixed-signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver can also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), positive channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

[0353] The scope of the communication apparatus described in the present application is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication apparatus can not be limited to Figure 20The communication device can be a stand-alone device or can be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device can be a:

[0354] (1) a stand-alone integrated circuit (IC), or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

[0355] (2) a set of one or more ICs, optionally including storage for data, computer programs, etc.

[0356] (3) an ASIC, such as a modem;

[0357] (4) a module that can be embedded within other devices;

[0358] (5) a receiver, terminal, intelligent terminal, cellular telephone, wireless device, handset, mobile unit, vehicle-mounted device, network device, cloud device, artificial intelligence device, etc.

[0359] (6) other, etc.

[0360] As a possible product form, the first device and the second device described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a general-purpose processor.

[0361] The general-purpose processor implementing the first device includes a processing circuit and an input / output interface in communication with the processing circuit.

[0362] In one design, the general-purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in Embodiment One. Specifically, the processing circuit can be configured to perform step S101 in Figure 8 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform step S102 in Figure 8 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0363] In one design, the general-purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in Embodiment Two. Specifically, the processing circuit can be configured to perform step S201 in Figure 13 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform step S202 in Figure 13 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0364] In one design, the general-purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in Embodiment Three. Specifically, the processing circuit can be configured to perform step S301 in Figure 15 and / or other processes for the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform step S302 in Figure 15at step S302 in FIG. 3, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0365] In one design, the general -purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the first device in preceding embodiment one. Specifically, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform Figure 17 at step S401 in FIG. 4, and / or other processes for performing the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform Figure 17 at step S402 in FIG. 4, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0366] The general -purpose processor implementing the second device includes processing circuitry and an input / output interface in communication with the processing circuitry.

[0367] In one design, the general -purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in preceding embodiment one. Specifically, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform Figure 8 at steps S104 and S105 in FIG. 1, and / or other processes for performing the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform Figure 8 at step S103 in FIG. 1, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0368] In one design, the general -purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in preceding embodiment two. Specifically, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform Figure 13 at steps S204 and S205 in FIG. 2, and / or other processes for performing the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform Figure 13 at step S203 in FIG. 2, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0369] In one design, the general -purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in preceding embodiment three. Specifically, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform Figure 15 at step S304 in FIG. 3, and / or other processes for performing the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform Figure 15 at step S303 in FIG. 3, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0370] In one design, the general -purpose processor can be configured to perform the functions of the second device in preceding embodiment four. Specifically, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform Figure 17 at step S404 in FIG. 4, and / or other processes for performing the techniques described herein; and the input / output interface can be configured to perform Figure 17 at step S403 in FIG. 4, and / or other processes for the techniques described herein.

[0371] It should be understood that the communication apparatuses in various product forms described above have any function of the first device or the second device in the method embodiments described above, and thus will not be described herein.

[0372] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores computer program codes, and when the processor executes the computer program codes, the electronic device executes the method in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0373] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which, when running on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0374] The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which can exist in the form of a chip, and the structure of the apparatus includes a processor and an interface circuit, the processor is used to communicate with other apparatuses through the receiving circuit, and the apparatus executes the method in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0375] The embodiment of the present application further provides a wireless communication system, which includes a first device and a second device, and the first device and the second device can execute the method in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0376] The steps of the method or algorithm described in connection with the present application can be implemented in hardware, or can be implemented by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a compact disk (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, so that the processor can read information from the storage medium, and can write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in the core network interface device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the core network interface device.

[0377] Those skilled in the art should be aware that, in the above one or more examples, the functions described in the present application can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions can be stored in a computer readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or code on the computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes computer readable storage medium and communication medium, and the communication medium includes any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

[0378] The above detailed description has further explained the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific implementation of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for indicating information in a point-to-point link, characterized in that, include: The first device generates a Quality of Service (QoS) feature element, which includes a control information field and a first indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to a first value to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS feature element is a point-to-point (P2P) link. The P2P link is a Media Intervention Control (MAC) Service Data Unit (MSDU) or Aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point site device to another non-access point site device. The first indication information is used to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link. The first device sends the QoS feature element.

2. A method for indicating information in a point-to-point link, characterized in that, include: The second device receives Quality of Service (QoS) feature elements from the first device; The second device parses the QoS feature element, which includes a control information field and a first indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, which is set to a first value to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS feature element is a point-to-point (P2P) link. The P2P link is a Media Intervention Control (MAC) Service Data Unit (MSDU) or Aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point site device to another non-access point site device. The first indication information is used to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second device determines the time resources allocated to the services on the P2P link according to the instructions of the first instruction information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The first indication information includes one or more of the following: physical layer rate, modulation and coding strategy, and spatial stream number.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes second indication information, which is used to indicate that at least one of the multiple links is used as the P2P link described by the QoS feature element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as P2P links described by the QoS feature element, then the QoS feature element includes n first indication information and n bandwidth fields, where n is a positive integer; A first indication field is used to indicate the physical layer rate of one of the n links, and a bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one of the n links.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The second indication information is a bit map, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link; When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value, it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to that bit is used as a P2P link described by the QoS feature element.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes third indication information, which is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes a fifth indication information, which is used to indicate the P2P link mapped to the service flow described by the QoS feature element.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The control information field also includes a business identifier (TID) subfield; The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to any service on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices; or, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the service flow on the P2P link historically reported by the first device through QoS feature elements.

10. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processing unit is configured to generate Quality of Service (QoS) feature elements, wherein the QoS feature elements include a control information field and a first indication information. The control information field includes a direction subfield, and the direction subfield is set to a first value to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS feature elements is a point-to-point (P2P) link. The P2P link is a Media Intervention Control (MAC) Service Data Unit (MSDU) or Aggregated MSDU being sent from a non-access point site device to another non-access point site device. The first indication information is used to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link. The transceiver unit is used to send the QoS feature elements.

11. The communication device according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first indication information includes one or more of the following: physical layer rate, modulation and coding strategy, and spatial stream number.

12. The communication device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes second indication information, which is used to indicate that at least one of the multiple links is used as the P2P link described by the QoS feature element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as P2P links described by the QoS feature element, then the QoS feature element includes n first indication information and n bandwidth fields, where n is a positive integer; A first indication field is used to indicate the physical layer rate of one of the n links, and a bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one of the n links.

13. The communication device according to claim 12, characterized in that, The second indication information is a bit map, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link; When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value, it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to that bit is used as a P2P link described by the QoS feature element.

14. The communication device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes third indication information, which is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the communication device for P2P link frame exchange.

15. The communication device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes a fifth indication information, which is used to indicate the P2P link mapped to the service flow described by the QoS feature element.

16. The communication device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The control information field also includes a business identifier (TID) subfield; The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to any service on the P2P link established by the communication device and other devices; or, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the service flow on the P2P link historically reported by the communication device through QoS feature elements.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver unit is used to receive Quality of Service (QoS) feature elements from the first device. The parsing unit is used to parse the QoS feature element, which includes a control information field and a first indication information. The control information field includes a direction sub-field, which is set to a first value to indicate that the data direction described by the QoS feature element is a point-to-point (P2P) link. The P2P link is a Media Intervention Control (MAC) Service Data Unit (MSDU) or Aggregated MSDU sent from a non-access point site device to another non-access point site device. The first indication information is used to indicate the physical layer rate of the P2P link.

18. The communication device according to claim 17, characterized in that, The communication device further includes: The determining unit is configured to determine the time resources allocated to the services on the P2P link based on the indication of the first indication information.

19. The communication device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The first indication information includes one or more of the following: physical layer rate, modulation and coding strategy, and spatial stream number.

20. The communication device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes second indication information, which is used to indicate that at least one of the multiple links is used as the P2P link described by the QoS feature element. If the second indication information indicates that n links in the multi-link are used as P2P links described by the QoS feature element, then the QoS feature element includes n first indication information and n bandwidth fields, where n is a positive integer; A first indication field is used to indicate the physical layer rate of one of the n links, and a bandwidth field is used to indicate the maximum bandwidth transmitted by one of the n links.

21. The communication device according to claim 20, characterized in that, The second indication information is a bit map, and one bit of the second indication information corresponds to one link; When one bit in the second indication information is set to a second value, it is used to indicate that the link corresponding to that bit is used as a P2P link described by the QoS feature element.

22. The communication device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes third indication information, which is used to indicate the average service interval allocated to the first device for P2P link frame exchange.

23. The communication device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The QoS feature element also includes a fifth indication information, which is used to indicate the P2P link mapped to the service flow described by the QoS feature element.

24. The communication device according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The control information field also includes a business identifier (TID) subfield; The TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to any service on the P2P link established by the first device and other devices; or, the TID value indicated by the TID subfield is different from the TID value corresponding to the service flow on the P2P link historically reported by the first device through QoS feature elements.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor and a transceiver, the transceiver being used to send and receive QoS feature elements, and the processor, when executing program instructions, causing the communication device to perform the method of any one of claims 1-9.

26. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

27. A computer program product containing program instructions, characterized in that, When the program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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