Multi-link communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The application discloses a multi-link communication method and device. The method comprises the following steps: a sending end sends a first A-MPDU, and a receiving end receives the first A-MPDU. The receiving end obtains a locally recorded scoreboard context. When the first A-MPDU meets at least one of a first condition, a second condition, a third condition or a fourth condition, the receiving end refreshes the scoreboard context according to the SN of the first A-MPDU. The method provided by the application can enable the receiving end to reasonably and effectively refresh the local scoreboard context, so as to ensure that the receiving end correctly feeds back the receiving conditions of all MPDUs in the received A-MPDU.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a multi-link communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Next-generation wireless local area network (WLAN) standards are evolving towards continuously improving throughput. WLAN system standards are primarily researched and discussed within the IEEE 802.11 standards group. Key technologies targeting extremely high throughput (EHT) may include multi-link (ML) communication. Based on this multi-link communication, multiple devices can communicate simultaneously on the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz frequency bands, thereby selecting the optimal frequency band to ensure communication quality.

[0003] In multi-link communication scenarios, access point multi-link devices can send data packets corresponding to the same service identifier to site multi-link devices along multiple links. However, when site multi-link devices maintain their local scoreboards on each link, the existing block acknowledgment mechanism may prevent sites on different links from correctly responding to the reception status of all MPDUs within the received aggregation medium access control protocol data unit (A-MPDU).

[0004] Therefore, in multi-link communication scenarios, it is urgent to solve the problem of how to ensure that receiving devices on different links can correctly report the reception status of all MPDUs in the received A-MPDU. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a multi-link communication method and apparatus, which can effectively ensure that the receiving end correctly reports the reception status of all MPDUs in the A-MPDU it receives.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a multi-link communication method, the method comprising: a receiving end receiving a first aggregated Media Access Control Layer Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU); the receiving end acquiring a locally recorded scoreboard context, and refreshing the scoreboard context according to the sequence number (SN) of the first A-MPDU when the first A-MPDU satisfies any one or more of the following conditions; the first condition includes: the SN of an MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving end satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 The second condition includes: SN satisfies WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Neither of the MPDUs was received through any of the STAs; or, the SN satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B All MPDUs are received by other STAs belonging to the receiving end; the third condition includes: there is no MPDU in any other A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU have had a BA-based response.

[0007] In one possible implementation, the first A-MPDU also satisfies the following fourth condition: the fourth condition includes: no other MPDU with an SN in the first A-MPDU has satisfied the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition; or, the MPDU with an SN received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving end is the first MPDU in the first A-MPDU that satisfies the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA belonging to the receiving end has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDU in the first A-MPDU.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the receiver has a separate scoreboard context control on each link, which is the link between the receiver and the transmitter.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the STA belonging to the receiving end has the ability to update the scoreboard context using reordered buffer information.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the SN in the first A-MPDU belongs to the same service identifier TID.

[0011] The method provided in this application embodiment enables the receiving end to refresh the local scoreboard context reasonably and effectively.

[0012] Understandably, for a detailed description of the first aspect or any possible implementation, please refer to the descriptions of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations below, as well as the following... Figure 4 The methods shown will not be detailed here.

[0013] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a multi-link communication method, the method comprising: a transmitting end sending a second A-MPDU, the A-MPDU including indication information, the indication information being used to indicate whether a receiving end refreshes the scoring board context of the receiving end.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the indication information is used to indicate whether the STA corresponding to the link used to transmit the second A-MPDU refreshes the STA's scoreboard context.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the indication information is carried in an MPDU delimiter or a high throughput control field.

[0016] Understandably, for a detailed explanation of the second aspect or any possible implementation, please refer to the following text. Figure 5 The method shown, and Figures 6a to 6d The descriptions shown will not be elaborated upon here.

[0017] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device for executing the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The communication device includes units that execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0018] For example, the communication device may be a transmitter or a chip in the transmitter.

[0019] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication apparatus for executing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. The communication apparatus includes units capable of executing the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0020] For example, the communication device may be a receiver or a chip in the receiver.

[0021] In the third or fourth aspect, the aforementioned communication apparatus may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit. Further details regarding the transceiver unit and processing unit can be found in the apparatus embodiments shown below.

[0022] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device including a processor for executing the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the processor may execute a program stored in a memory, wherein when the program is executed, the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof is executed.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the aforementioned communication device.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the memory is located within the aforementioned communication device.

[0025] In this embodiment of the application, the processor and memory can also be integrated into a single device, that is, the processor and memory can be integrated together.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver for receiving or transmitting signals. For example, the transceiver can also be used to receive A-MPDUs, etc.

[0027] In this embodiment of the application, the communication device may be a transmitter or a chip in the transmitter, etc.

[0028] Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device including a processor for executing the method shown in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the processor is configured to execute a program stored in a memory, wherein when the program is executed, the method shown in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof is executed.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the aforementioned communication device.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the memory is located within the aforementioned communication device.

[0031] In the embodiments of this application, the processor and memory can also be integrated into a single device, that is, the processor and memory can be integrated together.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver for receiving or transmitting signals. For example, the transceiver may be used to transmit an A-MPDU.

[0033] In this embodiment of the application, the communication device may be a receiver or a chip in the receiver, etc.

[0034] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to input a first A-MPDU; and the logic circuit is used to refresh the local scoreboard context according to the first A-MPDU.

[0035] Optionally, the interface is also used to output BA frames.

[0036] Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory for storing one or more of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations.

[0037] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a logic circuit and an interface, wherein the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; the logic circuit is used to generate a first A-MPDU; and the interface is used to output the first A-MPDU.

[0038] In other embodiments of this application, an interface is provided for outputting a second A-MPDU, which includes indication information.

[0039] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the methods shown in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be executed.

[0040] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the methods shown in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be executed.

[0041] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product, which includes a computer program or computer code, and when run on a computer, causes the method shown in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect to be executed.

[0042] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product comprising a computer program or computer code that, when run on a computer, causes the methods shown in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be executed.

[0043] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, executes the methods shown in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0044] In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program that, when run on a computer, executes the methods shown in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0045] In a fifteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a wireless communication system, which includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter is configured to perform the method shown in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, and the receiver is configured to perform the method shown in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0046] The first through fifteenth aspects of WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 Based on WinSize R =1024 is used as an example. However, the WinSize involved in this application is... R It can also be 64, 128, 256, or 512, therefore, the WinStart involved in the first to fifteenth aspects R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 It can also be understood as: WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R They will not be listed one by one here. Attached Figure Description

[0047] Figures 1a to 1c This is a schematic diagram of a multi-link communication scenario provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-link communication method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figures 3a to 3f This is a schematic diagram of a scoreboard context control operation provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-link communication method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating another multi-link communication method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6a This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an MPDU subframe provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6b This is a schematic diagram of the format of an aggregation control field provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6cThis is a schematic diagram of the format of an aggregation control field provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6d This is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of command and status type control information provided in an embodiment of this application; Figures 7 to 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 10a and Figure 10b This is a schematic diagram of a scoreboard context control operation provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0048] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the application will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0049] The terms "first" and "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and drawings of this application are used only to distinguish different objects and not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or apparatuses.

[0050] The term "embodiment" as used herein means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it a separate or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0051] In this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "more than one" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three or more, and "and / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist simultaneously, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items. For example, at least one (item) 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".

[0052] The multi-link communication method provided in this application can be applied to wireless communication systems. These systems may include WLANs or cellular networks. The method can be implemented by communication devices within the wireless communication system, or by logic circuits or processors within those devices. These communication devices can be wireless communication devices that support parallel transmission across multiple links, such as multi-link devices (MLDs) or multi-band devices. For example, in a wireless local area network, the communication device supports communication using the IEEE 802.11 series of protocols, including 802.11be, 802.11be next generation, 802.11ax, or 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, etc., which will not be listed here.

[0053] The following is a description of the multi-link devices involved in this application.

[0054] The core idea of ​​multi-link communication is that WLAN devices supporting the IEEE 802.11 standard, such as EHT devices, have the ability to transmit and / or receive on multiple frequency bands, thereby using greater bandwidth for transmission and improving throughput. Multiple frequency bands include, but are not limited to, the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band, the 5GHz Wi-Fi band, or the 6GHz Wi-Fi band. For example, access and / or transmission on each frequency band is called a link, and access and / or transmission on multiple frequency bands is called multi-link communication. For instance, a device that supports multi-link communication is called a multi-link device (MLD). Figure 1a This is a schematic diagram of a multi-link communication scenario provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, an MLD device may contain multiple access points (APs) or stations (STAs), thus forming an AP multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-AP multi-link device (non-AP MLD). Communication between MLDs is multi-link communication, such as... Figure 1a Link 1 and Link 2 in the middle form a multi-link network.

[0055] A multi-link device includes one or more affiliated sites. These affiliated sites are logical sites and can operate on a single link, frequency band, or channel. The affiliated site can be an access point (AP) or a non-access point station (non-AP STA). Generally, a multi-link device with an AP as its affiliated site can be called a multi-link AP, multi-link AP device, or AP MLD. A multi-link device with a non-AP STA as its affiliated site can be called a multi-link STA, multi-link STA device, or STA multi-link device (STA multi-link device), or a multi-link non-AP, multi-link non-AP device, or non-AP MLD, etc. In the following text, a multi-link device with an AP as its affiliated site will be referred to as an AP MLD, and a multi-link device with a non-AP STA as a non-AP MLD. An AP MLD can have one or more affiliated APs; a STA MLD can have one or more affiliated STAs.

[0056] Multilink devices can implement wireless communication by following the 802.11 series of protocols. For example, multilink devices that follow extremely high throughput (EHT) or multilink devices that follow 802.11be or are compatible with and support 802.11be can communicate with other devices.

[0057] A multi-link device (which can be either a non-AP MLD or an AP MLD) is a communication device with wireless communication capabilities. This communication device can be a complete device or a chip or processing system installed within a complete device. Devices with these chips or processing systems can implement the methods and functions of the embodiments of this application under the control of these chips or processing systems. For example, the multi-link device in the embodiments of this application has wireless transceiver capabilities, can support the 802.11 series protocols, and can communicate with AP multi-link devices or non-AP multi-link devices. For example, a non-AP multi-link device is any user communication device that allows users to communicate with an AP and thus with a WLAN. For example, a non-AP multi-link device can be a network-connected user device such as a tablet, desktop, laptop, notebook computer, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), handheld computer, netbook, personal digital assistant (PDA), or mobile phone, or an IoT node in the Internet of Things (IoT), or an in-vehicle communication device in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). A non-AP multi-link device can also be the chip and processing system within these terminals. An AP multi-link device is a device that can provide services to non-AP multi-link devices and supports the 802.11 series of protocols. For example, an AP multi-link device can be a communication server, router, switch, bridge, or other communication entity; alternatively, it can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, repeaters, etc. Furthermore, the AP multi-link device can also include the chips and processing systems within these various types of devices. The 802.11 protocol used can be one that supports or is compatible with 802.11be.

[0058] Understandably, multi-link devices (which can be either non-AP MLDs or AP MLDs) can support high-speed, low-latency transmission. With the continuous evolution of wireless LAN application scenarios, multi-link devices can be applied to more scenarios, such as sensor nodes in smart cities (e.g., smart water meters, smart electricity meters, smart air quality monitoring nodes), smart devices in smart homes (e.g., smart cameras, projectors, displays, televisions, speakers, refrigerators, washing machines, etc.), nodes in the Internet of Things (IoT), entertainment terminals (e.g., AR, VR wearable devices), smart devices in smart offices (e.g., printers, projectors, etc.), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) devices, and some infrastructure in daily life scenarios (e.g., vending machines, supermarket self-service navigation kiosks, self-checkout machines, self-ordering machines, etc.). The specific form of the multi-link device in this application embodiment is not limited; it is merely an illustrative example.

[0059] Combining the multi-link devices shown above, Figure 1b This is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-link communication scenario provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 1b As shown, the AP MLD includes AP1, AP2, ..., APn, and the non-AP MLD includes STA1, STA2, ..., STAN. Here, n is a positive integer. AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs can communicate in parallel using links 1, 2, ..., n. STA1 in the non-AP MLD establishes an association with AP1 in the AP MLD, STA2 in the non-AP MLD establishes an association with AP2 in the AP MLD, STAN in the non-AP MLD establishes an association with APn in the AP MLD, and so on. Thus, after one or more STAs in the non-AP MLD establish an association with one or more APs in the AP MLD, they can communicate.

[0060] Figure 1c This is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-link communication scenario provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 1c As shown, it includes at least one AP and at least one STA. Figure 1c The diagram shows two STAs, such as STA1 and STA2, and a non-AP MLD. For example, the non-AP MLD can communicate with the AP via two links, and it includes two subordinate STAs. Figure 1c Not shown. For example, STA2 or STA3 can communicate with the AP via a link. That is, Figure 1c The system shown includes both multi-link communication and single-link communication.

[0061] The method provided in this application can be applied to, but is not limited to, single-user uplink / downlink transmission, multi-user uplink / downlink transmission, vehicle-to-everything (V2X, where X can represent anything), and device-to-device (D2D). For example, the V2X can include: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0062] The sending end described below in this application can be understood as an MLD that sends data using a block acknowledge (BA) mechanism. This sending end can also be called the originator MLD, and the receiving end is called the receiver MLD, which can also be called the recipient MLD. For example, the sending end can be a non-AP MLD, and the receiver can be an AP MLD. Alternatively, the sending end can be an AP MLD, and the receiver can be a non-AP MLD. Multiple links can be included between the sending end and the receiver, each link providing communication between an STA affiliated with the originator MLD and an STA affiliated with the recipient MLD.

[0063] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a multi-link communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. This multi-link communication method is based on a block acknowledgement (BA) mechanism, which can aggregate multiple acknowledgments into a single frame, thereby improving channel efficiency. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes: 201. The sending end sends a Block Acknowledgment (add BA, ADDBA) request frame to the receiving end. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the ADDBA request frame.

[0064] 202. The receiving end sends an ADDBA response frame to the sending end. Correspondingly, the sending end receives the ADDBA response frame.

[0065] Through steps 201 and 202 above, the sending end and the receiving end can be said to have successfully established a BA protocol, or a BA mechanism, or a BA session.

[0066] 203. The sending end sends the aggregated Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU) to the receiving end. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the A-MPDU.

[0067] Understandably, based on the BA session established between the sender and receiver, when the sender needs to send multiple Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol data units (MPDUs) to the receiver, the sender can aggregate these multiple MPDUs into a single A-MPDU. In other words, after receiving the A-MPDU, the receiver performs deaggregation control on the A-MPDU to obtain multiple MPDUs. For example, each MPDU in the A-MPDU has a sequence number (SN), which indicates the order of each MPDU within the A-MPDU.

[0068] For example, the maximum number of MPDUs included in an A-MPDU can be 1024. For instance, the scoreboard window size can vary and can be determined through negotiation during the interaction of ADDBA request and response frames. For example, the scoreboard window size could be 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, etc. The data aggregated in an A-MPDU does not exceed the size of the scoreboard window, but can be smaller than the scoreboard window size.

[0069] 204. The sending end sends a BA request (BAR) frame to the receiving end. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the BAR.

[0070] It is understood that step 204 is illustrated by the sending end sending a BA request frame. Optionally, the sending end can also set the ACK policy to implicit BAR in the sent A-MPDU, so that the sending end does not need to send a separate BAR frame.

[0071] 205. The receiving end sends a BA frame to the sending end based on the BAR. This BA is used to confirm the reception status of the MPDU in the A-MPDU. Correspondingly, the sending end receives this BA frame.

[0072] Typically, the receiving end needs to maintain a Block Acknowledgment Record (BA record). This BA record contains a bitmap indexed by sequence number; a 12-bit unsigned integer start sequence number (which can be obtained using WinStart). R (This indicates that) the start sequence number can be used to represent the lowest sequence number position in the bitmap; the highest sequence number in the current transmission window (which can be represented using WinEnd). R (Indicated); Maximum window size (e.g., WinSize can be used) R(Indicated). For ease of description, the following will refer to the scoreboard of the receiving end, including WinStart. R WinSize R and WinEnd R The three parameters are defined as examples to illustrate the method provided in the embodiments of this application. Among them, WinStart R Indicates the starting number of the scoreboard, WinSize R Indicates the window size of the scoreboard (e.g., 1024), WinEnd R Indicates the end number of the scoreboard (the current end number of the scoreboard).

[0073] For example, after obtaining multiple MPDUs based on A-MPDUs, the receiving end performs scoreboard context control on each MPDU and, after scoring, submits the received MPDUs to the receive reordering buffer. The MPDUs are then sorted according to their serial numbers (SNs), and the correctly received MPDUs are submitted upwards. If an MPDU is not successfully received during the reordering process, the SN corresponding to that MPDU is recorded as WinStart. B The receiver will then forward all MPDUs received in sequence prior to the current SN to the upper layer. For MPDUs following the current SN, the receiver will only forward them and any subsequent correctly received MPDUs after receiving the MPDU corresponding to the current SN.

[0074] Figure 3f This is a schematic diagram of a scoreboard context control operation provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, as shown... Figure 3f As shown, after decomposing and aggregating an A-MPDU, the receiving end obtains four MPDUs with SNs of 102, 103, 105, and 100. The receiving end can then record a "1" in the bit position corresponding to the SN in the scoring board context. This "1" indicates that the MPDU corresponding to the SN has been correctly received. Based on the scoring results, a bitmap is formed and placed in the BA frame as an acknowledgment of the corresponding A-MPDU. Figure 3f In the middle, WinStart R =98, WinSize R =12, WinEnd R =109.

[0075] A BA record's sequence number space can include 4096 SNs, and the scoreboard window can be moved within this sequence number space. The scoreboard can be initialized upon the establishment of the BA session, such as via WinStart. RThis can be set to the start sequence number (SSN) provided by the ADDBA request frame. When an MPDU arrives, if the MPDU's SSN falls within the space represented by the scoring board, the receiver will use the SSN to index the scoring board and record its correct reception. If the SSN is outside the space represented by the scoring board, but is within the WinEnd's range... R To WinStart R +2 11 Within the range (within half of the sequence number space), the receiver will move the scoreboard window to the right (which can be understood as: the receiver updates WinEnd). R Make WinEnd R =The SN) until the rightmost edge of the scoreboard window contains the new SN. When the BAR frame arrives, the scoreboard window moves to the right, causing WinStart to... R It equals the SSN provided by the BAR frame and returns the BA frame with the recorded content of the scoreboard.

[0076] For example, when the receiving end receives an MPDU with a serial number (SN), it checks whether the MPDU has a scoreboard record for the corresponding BA session. This BA session is identified by the transmiss address (TA) and the transmiss ID (TID). If no scoreboard record exists, the receiving end creates a scoreboard for this BA session, perhaps reusing memory from another session.

[0077] It should be noted that in the multi-link communication scenario shown in this application embodiment, each link between the sending end and the receiving end maintains its own scoreboard context control, and there is also a common scoreboard for the MLD. Devices on each link (such as each STA in the MLD, or each AP in the MLD) use their respective scoreboard context control to report the MPDU reception status on that link. The common scoreboard can be used to record parameter information of scoreboards on other links, such as the start and / or end sequence numbers of the scoreboards on each link, or to record information combining the scoreboards of all links (such as WinStart). B ).

[0078] The following describes the method provided in the embodiments of this application in conjunction with specific scoreboard context control operations.

[0079] For example, the range of SN is 0-4095. When SN is 4095, if 1 is added, 4096 will become 0. Therefore, the values ​​of SN in the various examples shown below are all obtained modulo 4096. If the receiving end can operate on SN modulo 4096, each SN space can be represented by a modulo 4096 counter.

[0080] Figures 3a to 3c In the diagram shown, the transmitting end can communicate with the receiving end through two links, such as the first link and the second link. For ease of description, the STA belonging to the receiving end on the first link will be referred to as the first STA, and the STA belonging to the receiving end on the second link will be referred to as the second STA. That is, the first STA and the second STA belong to the same MLD.

[0081] First type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to this receiving MLD can update the scoreboard context using the reordered buffer information; When the SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R +2 11 ≤SN <WinStart R And does not meet WinStart B +2 11 ≤SN <WinStart B ; Then a certain STA can consider that the SN of the MPDU it receives satisfies WinEnd. R <SN<WinStart R +2 11 A particular STA can update its scoreboard context.

[0082] Figure 3a This is a schematic diagram of a scoreboard context control operation provided in an embodiment of this application. For example, the same TID corresponds to four A-MPDUs, and the aggregation length of each A-MPDU is 1024, that is, each A-MPDU includes 1024 MPDUs, and the acknowledgment policy for each A-MPDU is immediate block acknowledgment. The first STA receives the first A-MPDU (e.g., Figure 3a The A-MPDU1 shown is SN 0-1023; the second STA receives the second A-MPDU (e.g., Figure 3a The A-MPDU2 shown has SNs of 1024-2047, and the third A-MPDU (such as...) Figure 3a The A-MPDU3 shown is SN 2048-3071; the first STA receives the fourth A-MPDU (e.g., Figure 3a The A-MPDU4 shown has serial numbers 3072-4095. This is understandable regarding... Figure 3b The explanation of the relationship between each A-MPDU and SN shown can be found in [reference]. Figure 3a The details will not be elaborated further below.

[0083] After the first STA updates its scoreboard context based on the SN of the first A-MPDU, the WinStart of the scoreboard of that first STA (also known as the scoreboard of the first link) is activated. R =0, WinEnd R =1023. And, after the second STA updates its scoreboard context based on the SNs of the second and third A-MPDUs, the WinStart of the scoreboard of that second STA (also known as the scoreboard of the second link)... R =2048, WinEnd R =3071. Meanwhile, the WinStart scores on the first STA's scoreboard and the second STA's scoreboard... B =3072.

[0084] According to the first type of scoreboard context control operation described above, when the SN of the fourth A-MPDU received by the first STA satisfies 0 + 2048 ≤ SN < 0, and the SN does not satisfy 1024 (obtained by taking the modulo of 4096 modulo the sum of 3072 and 2048) ≤ SN < 3072, the first STA can update its scoreboard context based on the SN of the fourth A-MPDU. Since the SN of the fourth A-MPDU is 3072-4095, if the first STA successfully receives all MPDUs in the fourth A-MPDU, then the first STA's scoreboard WinStart is updated. R =3072, WinEnd R =4095.

[0085] However, when the A-MPDU received by the first STA and the second STA is as follows Figure 3b As shown, when the first STA receives the fifth A-MPDU with SN 0-1023 (e.g. Figure 3b When A-MPDU5 is shown, according to the first type of scoring board context control operation described above, the first STA cannot correctly report the reception status of all MPDUs in the fifth A-MPDU.

[0086] To address the aforementioned issues, this application also provides a second type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to this receiving MLD can update the scoreboard context using the reordered buffer information; When the SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinEnd R ; Other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD have received MPDUs whose SNs satisfy WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; Then a certain STA can refresh (or flush) the scoreboard context of that STA and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0087] The receiving MLD shown above has a separate scoreboard context control on each link, which can also be understood as: each STA belonging to the receiving MLD maintains its own scoreboard context control.

[0088] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, refreshing the scoreboard context of a certain STA refers to the STA initializing its scoreboard context, or clearing its scoreboard context, or clearing the content already recorded in the scoreboard context, or clearing the cache of the scoreboard context, etc. Updating the scoreboard context of a certain STA means that the STA can update it based on the content already existing in the scoreboard context.

[0089] by Figure 3b For example, the SN of the fifth A-MPDU received by the first STA satisfies 0 ≤ SN < 1023, and the SN of the MPDU received by the scoreboard context of the second STA (i.e., the scoreboards of other STAs) satisfies 3072 ≤ SN < 4096. Therefore, the first STA can refresh its scoreboard and update its scoreboard context. In other words, the first STA can clear its records prior to receiving the fifth A-MPDU, thus using the SN of the fifth A-MPDU to update the initialized scoreboard context. Therefore, if the first STA successfully receives all MPDUs in the fifth A-MPDU, the refreshed and updated scoreboard WinStart of the first STA will be achieved. R =0, WinEnd R =1023.

[0090] In another scenario, when the A-MPDU received by the first STA and the second STA is as follows: Figure 3c As shown, the first STA did not receive the sixth A-MPDU (e.g. Figure 3c Before A-MPDU6 (as shown), WinStart in the scoreboard context of the first STA. R =0, WinEnd R=1023. When the receiver receives the sixth A-MPDU, since the SN is 1024-1500, the SN of this sixth A-MPDU belongs to neither the first type of scoreboard context control operation nor the second type of scoreboard context control operation. Therefore, the first STA cannot know how to update its scoreboard context. This can also be understood as follows: when the receiver receives the sixth A-MPDU, the second type of scoreboard context control operation does not consider the situation where the SN of the MPDU received by the first STA is in WinEnd mode. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 This range. If we directly use the WinEnd scoreboard from the first STA... R Move to position 1500, WinStart R In frame 477 (i.e., 1500-1023), the status information from the previous round (477-1023) will be incorrectly fed back when the BA frame is fed back.

[0091] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a third type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; Then, a specific STA can refresh and update its scoreboard context. Based on the third type of scoreboard context control operation described above, such as... Figure 3c For example, before the first STA receives the sixth A-MPDU, the WinStart function in the scoreboard context of that first STA... R =0, WinEnd R =1023. When the first STA receives the sixth A-MPDU, the SN of the sixth A-MPDU satisfies: 0≤SN<0+2. 11 Other STAs (such as Figure 3cThe second STA shown has received an A-MPDU whose SN satisfies: WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B (WinStart) B =1024). Therefore, the first STA can refresh its scoreboard context and update the scoreboard context, with WinStart in the updated scoreboard context. R =477, WinEnd R =1500.

[0092] Combining the first and second scoreboard context control operations described above, a STA belonging to the receiving MLD can refresh its scoreboard context for each MPDU it receives. This approach can lead to the problem of inappropriately flushing the local scoreboard.

[0093] Suppose the STA receives an A-MPDU containing a first MPDU and a second MPDU. Based on the SN of the first MPDU, the local scoring board context might be flushed once. Then, when the local scoring board context is flushed again based on the second MPDU, the scoring board context associated with the SN of the first MPDU that has not yet been fed back as a BA frame is also flushed. Because the STA has not yet fed back a BA frame after flushing the local scoring board context based on the SN1 of the first MPDU, flushing the local scoring board context again based on the second MPDU would prevent the STA from correctly feeding back a BA frame.

[0094] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a fourth type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinEnd R ; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfy all of the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the A-MPDUs that satisfies the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0095] In other words, in the fourth scoring board context control operation, when the receiving end obtains an A-MPDU, and the multiple MPDUs included in the A-MPDU are all sent to a certain STA, and the SNs of these multiple MPDUs all satisfy WinStart... R ≤SN <WinEnd R If a certain STA can refresh its scoreboard context based on the first MPDU in the A-MPDU that satisfies all conditions except the last one, then the STA can refresh its scoreboard context based on the SN of the MPDU that is not the first in the A-MPDU that satisfies all conditions except the last one.

[0096] by Figure 3d Taking the illustrated diagram as an example, when the first STA receives two A-MPDUs with SNs of 500-1023 and 0-499, since both A-MPDUs satisfy the second type of scoreboard context control operation described above, the first STA will perform two flushes respectively. For example, when flushing the local scoreboard context after receiving the A-MPDU with SNs of 0-499, the BA records with SNs of 500-1023 that have not yet responded with a BA frame will also be flushed. This is understandable. Figure 3d The first ACK policy shown indicates that the first STA does not need to send back a BA frame for the time being. Figure 3d The second confirmation principle shown (also known as implicit BAR) is used to indicate that the first STA needs to send back a BA frame.

[0097] To address the aforementioned issues, this application also provides a fifth type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinEndR ; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0098] In other words, in the fifth type of scoring board context control operation, when a certain STA receives two A-MPDUs successively, the SN of the MPDU in the first A-MPDU satisfies WinStart. R ≤SN <WinEnd R If the STA can refresh its scoreboard context, then the STA can refresh its scoreboard context. If the STA has not yet fed back the BA frame of the first A-MPDU, even if the SN of the MPDU in the second A-MPDU also meets the above conditions, the STA will not refresh its scoreboard context, but can update its scoreboard context.

[0099] by Figure 3e Taking the illustrated diagram as an example, when the first STA receives an A-MPDU with an SN of 200-299, it satisfies the second type of scoreboard context control operation described above, and the scoreboard context in the first STA is refreshed. However, Figure 3e In the scenario shown, based on the SN relationship between the first A-MPDU, the third A-MPDU, and the fourth A-MPDU, the first STA does not need to be flushed.

[0100] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a sixth type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinEnd R; SN satisfies WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B None of the MPDUs were received through that STA; or, the SN satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B All MPDUs are received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD; it should be noted that the SN here satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B MPDU refers to WinStart for the currently reordered buffer. B In this regard, it does not consider whether SN satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B The range is limited to MPDUs received in the previous round or earlier within the reordered buffer.

[0101] Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0102] In other words, in the sixth type of scoreboard context control operation, when a certain STA receives the SN of the A-MPDU and satisfies WinStart... R ≤SN <WinEnd R And SN satisfies WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B If none of the MPDUs are received by a particular STA, then that STA can refresh its scoreboard context.

[0103] As Figure 3e For example, before the first STA receives the second and third A-MPDUs, the WinStart function in the scoreboard context of that first STA... R =199-1023+4096=3272,WinEnd R =199, WinStart B =200. When the first STA receives the third A-MPDU, since the SN of the third A-MPDU is 300~399, it does not meet the above conditions, so its scoreboard context is not refreshed. The same applies to the fourth A-MPDU, and will not be listed one by one.

[0104] It is understood that the third to sixth scoreboard context control operations described above can be implemented individually or in combination. For example, the third scoreboard context control operation can be combined with the fourth scoreboard context control operation to obtain the seventh scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that meet the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the A-MPDUs that meets the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0105] Therefore, this seventh type of scoreboard context control operation can not only improve the above-mentioned... Figure 3c The issues shown can also be improved by addressing the problem of refreshing the scoreboard context for each MPDU, as mentioned above.

[0106] For example, the third type of scoreboard context control operation described above can be combined with the fifth type of scoreboard context control operation to obtain the eighth type of scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0107] Therefore, this eighth type of scoreboard context control operation can not only improve the above-mentioned... Figure 3c The problems shown can also be improved in the above text, such as Figure 3d The problem shown.

[0108] It is understood that the fourth and fifth scoreboard context control operations shown in the embodiments of this application can also be combined, which will not be described in detail here.

[0109] For example, combining the third, fourth, and fifth scoreboard context control operations described above yields the ninth scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfy all of the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfies the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0110] Therefore, this ninth type of scoreboard context control operation can effectively improve the above-mentioned... Figures 3c to 3d The problem shown.

[0111] For example, combining the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth scoreboard context control operations described above yields a tenth scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The MPDU received by a certain STA does not contain an MPDU SN that satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Alternatively, the SN of the MPDU received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. It is understandable that the order in which the conditions shown above are executed by STA is not limited.

[0112] There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfy all of the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the A-MPDUs that satisfies the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0113] Therefore, this tenth type of scoreboard context control operation can effectively improve the above-mentioned... Figures 3c to 3e The problem shown.

[0114] Understandable Figures 3a to 3e The examples shown all use a single A-MPDU comprising multiple MPDUs as an example, with each SN corresponding to one MPDU. It is understood that the SNs of the various A-MPDUs shown above in this application are all examples of those belonging to the same TID.

[0115] In conjunction with the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations described above, this application embodiment provides a multi-link communication method. The descriptions of the sending and receiving ends involved in this method can be found above and will not be detailed here. Figure 4 As shown, this multi-link communication method includes: 401. The sending end sends the first A-MPDU to the receiving end, and the receiving end receives the first A-MPDU.

[0116] Optionally, a link may be included between the sender and the receiver.

[0117] Optionally, there may be at least two links between the sender and receiver.

[0118] Optionally, the first A-MPDU may include one MPDU. Optionally, the first A-MPDU may include at least two MPDUs.

[0119] It is understood that since the A-MPDU is carried in the PPDU, usually only one A-MPDU is carried in a PPDU for a receiving station. Therefore, the A-MPDU shown in the embodiments of this application can also be understood as a PPDU, and the embodiments of this application do not limit it in this way.

[0120] 402. The receiving end obtains the scoreboard context of the local record, and refreshes the scoreboard context according to the SN of the first A-MPDU when the first A-MPDU meets any one or more of the following conditions.

[0121] It is understood that the locally recorded scoreboard context shown in the embodiments of this application can be an initialized scoreboard context, or a scoreboard context updated by the receiving end based on the A-MPDU it has received before receiving the first A-MPDU, or a scoreboard context refreshed based on the A-MPDU it has received before receiving the first A-MPDU, etc., which will not be listed here one by one.

[0122] The conditions that the first A-MPDU must satisfy include: The first condition is that the SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to this receiver satisfies WinStart. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 .

[0123] The second condition, SN, satisfies WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Neither of the MPDUs was received through any of the STAs; or, the SN satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B All MPDUs are received by other STAs belonging to the receiving end.

[0124] The third condition is that there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the aforementioned first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the aforementioned first A-MPDU have had a BA-based response.

[0125] The fourth condition is that no other MPDU with an SN in the first A-MPDU has satisfied all the above conditions (as shown in the first to third conditions above); or, the MPDU with an SN received by a certain STA belonging to the above receiving end is the first MPDU in the first A-MPDU that satisfies the above conditions; or, the scoring board context of a certain STA belonging to the above receiving end has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDU in the first A-MPDU.

[0126] It is understood that the embodiments of this application do not limit the order in which the STA executes the first to third conditions described above.

[0127] Optionally, when the first A-MPDU satisfies any one of the first to fourth conditions shown above, the other conditions satisfied by the first A-MPDU can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the third to sixth scoreboard context control operations shown above.

[0128] Optionally, when the first A-MPDU satisfies any two of the first to fourth conditions shown above, the other conditions satisfied by the first A-MPDU can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the sixth to ninth context control operations shown above.

[0129] Optionally, when the first A-MDPU satisfies the first to fourth conditions shown above, other conditions satisfied by the first A-MPDU can be referred to the relevant description of the tenth scoreboard context control operation shown above.

[0130] It is understandable that the conditions satisfied by the first A-MPDU can be further explained in the descriptions of the third to tenth context control operations shown above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0131] 403. The receiving end sends a BA frame to the sending end. The BA frame is used to confirm the reception status of the MPDU in the first A-MPDU.

[0132] It is understood that the descriptions of the ADDBA request frame, ADDBA response frame, and BAR frame not shown in the embodiments of this application can be found above. Figure 2 These will not be detailed here.

[0133] The method provided in this application embodiment enables the receiving end to refresh the local scoreboard context reasonably and effectively.

[0134] Figure 4In the multi-link communication method shown, the receiving end can refresh or update its local scoreboard context based on the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations described above. This application also provides a multi-link communication method in which the sending end can indicate to the receiving end whether it has a local scoreboard context, effectively reducing the complexity of the receiving end.

[0135] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating another multi-link communication method provided in this application embodiment. The descriptions of the sending and receiving ends involved in this method can be found above and will not be detailed here. Figure 5 As shown, this multi-link communication method includes: 501. The sending end sends a second A-MPDU to the receiving end. The second A-MPDU includes indication information, which is used to indicate whether the receiving end should refresh the scoreboard context in the receiving end. Correspondingly, the receiving end receives the second A-MPDU.

[0136] Understandable Figure 4 In the method shown, the STA in the receiving end is able to update the scoreboard context using the reordered buffer information. Figure 5 In the method shown, the STA in the receiving end may or may not be able to update the scoreboard context using the reordered buffer information.

[0137] For example, setting the indication information to 0 indicates that the receiving end does not need to refresh the local scoreboard context. Conversely, setting the indication information to 1 indicates that the receiving end must refresh the local scoreboard context, which may also implicitly indicate that the receiving end is capable of doing so. Generally, the second A-MPDU is transmitted through a specific link, and the STA receiving the A-MPDU on this link is unique. Therefore, the STA corresponding to the link used to transmit the second A-MPDU can determine whether to refresh the local scoreboard context based on the indication information.

[0138] Figure 6a This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an MPDU subframe provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 6a As shown, the indication information can be carried in the reserved field of the MPDU delimiter, or in the high throughput (HT) control field.

[0139] The HT control field can be carried in MPDUs (e.g., Quality of Service (QoS) data frames, QoS null frames, and management frames) to carry control information. The HT control field is 4 bytes long. There are three types of HT control fields, distinguished by bits B0 and B1. As shown in Table 1, when B0=0, the corresponding HT control field is of the high throughput (HT) type; when B0=1 and B1=0, the corresponding HT control field is of the very high throughput (VHT) type; and when B0=1 and B1=1, the corresponding HT control field is of the high efficiency (HE) type.

[0140] Table 1

[0141] Among them, the B2-B31 part of the HT control field of HE type is called the aggregate control (A-control) field (subfield). Figure 6b This is a schematic diagram of the format of an aggregated control field provided in an embodiment of this application. The aggregated control field includes a control list and a padding portion. The bit length of the control list is variable, and it may include one or more control subfields; the padding portion includes zero or more bits. Figure 6c The diagram shown illustrates the format of a control subfield within the aggregated control field provided in this embodiment. A control subfield includes a 4-bit control ID and control information. The control ID identifies the control information. The lengths of the control ID and its corresponding control information are shown in Table 2. Table 2

[0142] Understandable Figure 6aOther fields shown, such as the end of frame (EOF), reversed, MPDU length, cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and delimeter signature included in the MPDU delimiter, as well as the frame control, duration / ID, address 1 to address 4, sequence control, QoS control, and HT control included in the MPDU, and padding, can be found in the relevant standards or protocols and will not be detailed here.

[0143] Based on the above description, this application provides two methods for carrying indication information in the HT control field of HE type.

[0144] The first method is to use the reserved (reversed) bits in the CAS type control information to implement the indication information. The frame structure of this CAS type control information is as follows: Figure 6d As shown. Figure 6d As shown, the CAS type control information may include access category (AC) type (AC constraint), reverse direct grant (RDG), parameterized spatial reuse transmission (PSRT) PPDU, and reserved. It is understood that regarding... Figure 6d For descriptions of other fields, please refer to the relevant standards or protocols; they will not be detailed here.

[0145] The second method is to use a currently reserved control ID to establish a new control type (such as...). Figure 6c (as shown), and then indication is given through the control information of this new control type. For example, the bit length of the indication information can be 1 bit.

[0146] 502. The receiving end refreshes the scoreboard context according to the instruction information.

[0147] Understandably, the receiving end may also choose not to refresh the scoreboard context based on the indicated information. For example, the receiving end could update the scoreboard context.

[0148] 503. The receiving end sends a BA frame to the sending end, and the sending end receives the BA frame.

[0149] It is understood that the descriptions of the ADDBA request frame, ADDBA response frame, and BAR frame not shown in the embodiments of this application can be found above. Figure 2 These will not be detailed here.

[0150] The method provided in this application embodiment, by having the sending end carry indication information in the A-MPDU to instruct the receiving end to refresh the scoreboard context, can effectively reduce the complexity of the receiving end and improve the efficiency of the receiving end in refreshing the scoreboard context.

[0151] This application also provides a multi-link communication method. In this implementation, the STA in the receiving end may or may not be able to update the scoreboard context using the reordered buffer information.

[0152] In this embodiment, the transmitting end includes a first field in the transmitted data frame (i.e., A-MPDU), which indicates the current SN round of transmission. This first field can be called the SN round subfield, and its initial value is set to 0. Once the SN of the data frame exceeds the maximum SN value (4095) and returns to 0, the value of the SN round subfield is incremented by 1. For example, assuming the SN round subfield includes 5 bits, its value can be 0-31. If the SN round subfield is set to 31, incrementing it again will return it to 0.

[0153] Therefore, after receiving a data frame, the receiving end can refresh the local scoreboard context before updating it if the following conditions are met: If the local scoreboard context is updated based on the SN of the data frame, the updated local scoreboard context will at least partially cover the scope before the update; The value of the SN round digital segment is different from the value of the SN round digital segment carried in the previously received data frame.

[0154] For example, the SN wheel number field can be included in, such as Figure 5 The newly created HE type HT control type shown is a control type created using an ID that is not used in the first column of Table 2, such as... Figure 6c (As shown). The bit length of the SN round digital segment is not limited in this embodiment. For example, it can be 5 bits. Exemplarily, the SN round digital segment can be carried by a newly created A-control type, or carried in the Reserved bits of the CAS control type, as can be seen in... Figure 5 The location where the indicated information is carried is shown.

[0155] It's understandable that if the length of the SN round data segment is limited (e.g., 5 bits), it's possible that after increasing the number 32 times, it will revert to the original value. In this case, the receiver might not be able to determine whether the SN round number has changed. However, as long as the length of the SN round data segment is long enough, the probability of this happening will be very low, and it can be ignored as a low-probability event.

[0156] This application embodiment also provides a scoreboard context control operation, as shown below: If a STA belonging to the receiving MLD cannot update its scoreboard context using reordering buffer information, and the receiving MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link, then the STA should implement partial state operations (referring to partial state operations of the BA mechanism) and should discard temporary records for the time period defined below: After the BA is sent, the BA and the confirmed A-MPDU are in the same transmission opportunity (TXOP) and before the scoreboard context is processed when the next QoS data frame belonging to the same TID is received from the initiator MLD on the same link; If the BA is not sent before the end of the current TXOP, it will be sent after the next QoS data frame from the initiator MLD is received on the same link within a new TXOP, and before the updated scoreboard context.

[0157] It is understood that, in the various embodiments shown above, if one embodiment is not described in detail, other embodiments may be referenced.

[0158] As mentioned above, the scoreboard window size can be 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, etc. Therefore, the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations described above involve 2... 11 All are based on WinSize R =1024 is used as an example.

[0159] When the scoreboard window size is not 1024, at least one of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations described above involves 2 11 It can also change.

[0160] For example, taking the third type of scoreboard context control operation as an example, when a WinStart is received... R ≤SN <WinStart R +Q*WinSize RFrames within the specified range will need to have their scoreboards flushed, for example, if Q equals 2, or Q could also equal 3, etc. For ease of description, the method provided in this application will be illustrated below using Q=2 as an example.

[0161] When Q=2, because when WinStart R +2*WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 At that time, the first STA will update WinStart. R and WinEnd R The scoreboard (new [WinStart]) R WinEnd R []) and the scoreboard range before the update (the old [WinStart] R WinEnd R The data frames do not overlap, and the scoring board will not retain the received records of old data frames; that is, the records of old data will not be fed back to the sending station through the BA.

[0162] Understandably, if the critical point is taken into account, then the WinStart shown above... R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 It can also be understood as: WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 -1. And WinStart as shown below. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R It can also be understood as: WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1, or WinStart R ≤SN <WinEnd R +WinSize R In other words, if we take into account factors such as rounding or formula simplification, the range of SN involved in this application can be adjusted based on a certain range (such as the range from -2 to +2), which will not be listed here.

[0163] For ease of description, the following text will refer to WinStart. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R Let's take -1 as an example to illustrate.

[0164] Taking Q=2 as an example, the third type of scoreboard context control operation can also be understood as: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0165] Regarding the third type of context control operation mentioned above, Figure 10a Based on WinSize R Taking =256 as an example, in a process where the first STA does not receive the sixth A-MPDU (e.g. Figure 10a Before A-MPDU6 (as shown), WinStart in the scoreboard context of the first STA. R =0, WinEnd R =255. When the receiver receives the sixth A-MPDU, since the SN is 256-400, the SN of this sixth A-MPDU belongs to neither the first type of scoreboard context control operation nor the second type of scoreboard context control operation. Therefore, the first STA cannot know how to update its scoreboard context. This can also be understood as follows: when the receiver receives the sixth A-MPDU, the second type of scoreboard context control operation does not consider the situation where the SN of the MPDU received by the first STA is in WinEnd mode. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1 is the range. If you directly use the WinEnd score from the first STA's scoreboard... R Move to position 400, WinStart R If the frame is 145 (i.e., 400-255), the status information from the previous round (145-255) will be incorrectly fed back when the BA frame is fed back.

[0166] And in Figure 10bIn the case where the first STA does not receive the sixth A-MPDU (e.g. Figure 10b Before A-MPDU6 (as shown), WinStart in the scoreboard context of the first STA. R =0, WinEnd R =255. When the receiving end receives the sixth A-MPDU, since the SN is 512-767, the SN of this sixth A-MPDU does not belong to either the first type of scoreboard context control operation or the second type of scoreboard context control operation mentioned above. Therefore, the first STA cannot know how to update its scoreboard context. This can also be understood as: when the receiving end receives the sixth A-MPDU, it directly updates the WinEnd in the first STA's scoreboard. R Move to position 767, WinStart R In frame 512, the status information of any frame in the 0-255 range from the previous round will not be incorrectly fed back when the BA frame is fed back. Therefore, the scoreboard does not need to be flushed for the sixth A-MPDU. This is understandable. Figure 10b In the example shown, the ellipsis indicates other A-MPDUs that are not shown.

[0167] Taking Q=2 as an example, the seventh type of scoreboard context control operation can also be understood as: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that meet the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the A-MPDUs that meets the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0168] Taking Q=2 as an example, the eighth type of scoreboard context control operation can also be understood as: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0169] Taking Q=2 as an example, the ninth type of scoreboard context control operation can also be understood as: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1; The SNs of MPDUs already received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfy WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfy all of the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfies the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0170] Taking Q=2 as an example, the tenth scoreboard context control operation can also be understood as: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1; The MPDU received by a certain STA does not contain an MPDU SN that satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Alternatively, the SN of the MPDU received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; There is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the currently received A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. It is understandable that the order in which the conditions shown above are executed by STA is not limited.

[0171] There are no other MPDUs with SNs among the currently received A-MPDUs that satisfy all of the above conditions; or, the MPDU with SNs received by a certain STA is the first MPDU among the A-MPDUs that satisfies the above conditions; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs among the currently received A-MPDUs. Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0172] It is understood that the above description of the scoreboard context control operations is merely an example, and the two methods mentioned above in this application are not applicable. 11 The relationship between SN and the scoreboard window will not be detailed here. For example, combining the conditions satisfied by SN with the size of the scoreboard window, the above-described 2... 11 Both can be replaced with 2*WinSize R .

[0173] Combining the third and sixth scoreboard context control operations described above, this application also provides an eleventh scoreboard context control operation: The receive MLD has a separate scoreboard context control on each link; All STAs belonging to the receiving MLD can use the reordered buffer information to update the scoreboard context; The SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart R ≤SN <WinStart R +2*WinSize R -1; The MPDU received by a certain STA does not contain an MPDU SN that satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Alternatively, the SN of the MPDU received by other STAs belonging to the receiving MLD satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B ; Then a certain STA can refresh and update the scoreboard context of that STA.

[0174] The following describes the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0175] This application divides the communication device into functional modules according to the above-described method embodiments. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation. The following will combine... Figures 7 to 9 The communication device of the present application embodiment is described in detail.

[0176] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the communication device includes a processing unit 701 and a transceiver unit 702.

[0177] In some embodiments of this application, the communication device may be the transmitting end shown above. That is... Figure 7 The communication device shown can be used to perform the steps or functions executed by the sending end in the above method embodiments.

[0178] For example, transceiver unit 702 is used to send ADDBA request frames and receive ADDBA response frames.

[0179] For example, the transceiver unit 702 is also used to transmit the first A-MPDU.

[0180] For example, the transceiver unit 702 is also used to send BAR frames and receive BA frames.

[0181] For example, transceiver unit 702 is also used to transmit a second A-MPDU.

[0182] It is understood that the specific descriptions of the transceiver unit and processing unit shown in the embodiments of this application are merely examples. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit and processing unit, please refer to the above method embodiments (such as those including...). Figure 4 and Figure 5 (etc.), which will not be elaborated here.

[0183] Reuse Figure 7 In other embodiments of this application, the communication device may be the receiving end shown above. That is... Figure 7 The communication device shown can be used to perform the steps or functions executed by the receiving end in the above method embodiments.

[0184] For example, transceiver unit 702 is used to receive ADDBA request frames and send ADDBA response frames.

[0185] For example, the transceiver unit 702 is also used to receive the first A-MPDU.

[0186] For example, processing unit 701 is used to obtain the locally recorded scoreboard context, and refresh the scoreboard context according to the SN of the first A-MPDU when the first A-MPDU satisfies at least one of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations shown above in the embodiments of this application.

[0187] For example, the transceiver unit 702 is also used to receive BAR frames and send BA frames.

[0188] For example, the transceiver unit 702 is also used to receive a second A-MPDU; the processing unit 701 is also used to refresh the scoreboard context according to the indication information in the second A-MPDU.

[0189] It is understood that specific descriptions of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations can be found in the method embodiments shown above, and will not be detailed here.

[0190] It is understood that the specific descriptions of the transceiver unit and processing unit shown in the embodiments of this application are merely examples. For the specific functions or execution steps of the transceiver unit and processing unit, please refer to the above method embodiments (such as those including...). Figure 4 and Figure 5 (etc.), which will not be elaborated here.

[0191] The foregoing has described the sending end and receiving end of the embodiments of this application. The following describes the possible product forms of the sending end and receiving end. It should be understood that any product possessing the above-described features... Figure 7 Any product in any form that possesses the aforementioned sending end functionality, or any product that has the above-mentioned features. Figure 7 Any form of product with the aforementioned receiver functionality falls within the protection scope of this application's embodiments. It should also be understood that the following description is merely illustrative and does not limit the product forms of the transmitter and receiver in this application's embodiments to these specific examples.

[0192] Figure 7 In the communication device shown, the processing unit 701 may be one or more processors, and the transceiver unit 702 may be a transceiver. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 702 may also be a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit may be a transmitter, and the receiving unit may be a receiver. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit are integrated into a single device, such as a transceiver. In the embodiments of this application, the processor and the transceiver may be coupled, etc. The connection method between the processor and the transceiver is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0193] like Figure 8As shown, the communication device 80 includes one or more processors 820 and transceivers 810.

[0194] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods, or functions performed by the transmitting end described above, transceiver 810 is used to send an ADDBA request frame and receive an ADDBA response frame. For another example, transceiver 810 is also used to send a first A-MPDU. For another example, transceiver 810 is also used to send a BAR frame and receive a BA frame. For another example, transceiver 810 is also used to send a second A-MPDU.

[0195] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the steps, methods, or functions performed by the receiving end described above, for example, transceiver 810 is used to receive an ADDBA request frame and send an ADDBA response frame. For another example, transceiver 810 is also used to receive a first A-MPDU. For another example, processor 820 is used to acquire the locally recorded scoreboard context and, when the first A-MPDU satisfies at least one of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations described above in the embodiments of this application, refresh the scoreboard context according to the SN of the first A-MPDU. For another example, transceiver 810 is also used to receive a BAR frame and send a BA frame. For another example, transceiver 810 is also used to receive a second A-MPDU; processor 820 is also used to refresh the scoreboard context according to the indication information in the second A-MPDU.

[0196] Understandably, for more detailed information on the processor and transceiver, please refer to [link / reference needed]. Figure 7 The descriptions of the processing unit and transceiver unit shown will not be repeated here.

[0197] exist Figure 8 In various implementations of the communication apparatus shown, the transceiver may include a receiver for performing a receiving function (or operation) and a transmitter for performing a transmitting function (or operation). The transceiver is also used to communicate with other devices / appliances via a transmission medium.

[0198] Optionally, the communication device 80 may further include one or more memories 830 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 830 is coupled to the processor 820. The coupling in this embodiment is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 820 may operate in conjunction with the memory 830. The processor 820 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 830. Optionally, at least one of the above-mentioned memories may be included in the processor.

[0199] This application embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the transceiver 810, processor 820, and memory 830. This application embodiment... Figure 8 The memory 830, processor 820, and transceiver 810 are connected via a bus 840, and the bus is in... Figure 8 The connections between other components are shown in bold and are for illustrative purposes only, not as limiting information. The bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 8 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0200] In the embodiments of this application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., and can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly manifested as being executed by a hardware processor, or being executed by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0201] In this application embodiment, the memory may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memory such as hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), read-only memory (ROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), etc. Memory is any storage medium capable of carrying or storing program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and capable of being read and / or written by a computer (such as the communication device shown in this application), but is not limited to this. The memory in this application embodiment may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions, used to store program instructions and / or data.

[0202] The processor 820 is primarily used for processing communication protocols and data, controlling the entire communication device, executing software programs, and processing software program data. The memory 830 is primarily used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 810 may include control circuitry and an antenna. The control circuitry is primarily used for converting baseband signals to radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is primarily used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, and keyboards, are primarily used for receiving user input data and outputting data to the user.

[0203] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 820 can read the software program in the memory 830, 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 820 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 820. The processor 820 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0204] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0205] It is understood that the communication device shown in the embodiments of this application may also have more than Figure 8 This application does not limit the use of other components or other related elements. The methods performed by the processor and transceiver shown above are merely examples; the specific steps performed by the processor and transceiver can be found in the methods described above.

[0206] In another possible implementation, Figure 7 In the communication device shown, the processing unit 701 can be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver unit 702 can be an input / output interface, or a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Alternatively, the transceiver unit 702 can also be a transmitting unit and a receiving unit; the transmitting unit can be an output interface, and the receiving unit can be an input interface, integrated into one unit, such as an input / output interface. Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9The communication device shown includes logic circuitry 901 and interface 902. That is, the processing unit 701 can be implemented using logic circuitry 901, and the transceiver unit 702 can be implemented using interface 902. The logic circuitry 901 can be a chip, processing circuit, integrated circuit, or system-on-chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 902 can be a communication interface, input / output interface, pins, etc. For example, Figure 9 Taking the aforementioned communication device as an example, the chip includes a logic circuit 901 and an interface 902.

[0207] In this embodiment, the logic circuit and the interface can also be coupled to each other. The specific connection method between the logic circuit and the interface is not limited in this embodiment.

[0208] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the methods, functions, or steps performed by the sending end described above, interface 902 is used, for instance, to send an ADDBA request frame and receive an ADDBA response frame. For another example, interface 902 is also used to send a first A-MPDU. For yet another example, interface 902 is also used to send a BAR frame and receive a BA frame. For yet another example, interface 902 is also used to send a second A-MPDU.

[0209] For example, when the communication device is used to perform the methods, functions, or steps performed by the receiving end described above, for example, interface 902 is used to receive an ADDBA request frame and send an ADDBA response frame. For another example, interface 902 is also used to receive a first A-MPDU. For another example, logic circuit 901 is used to obtain the locally recorded scoreboard context and, when the first A-MPDU satisfies at least one of the third to tenth scoreboard context control operations described above in the embodiments of this application, refresh the scoreboard context according to the SN of the first A-MPDU. For another example, interface 902 is also used to receive a BAR frame and send a BA frame. For another example, interface 902 is also used to receive a second A-MPDU; logic circuit 901 is also used to refresh the scoreboard context according to the indication information in the second A-MPDU.

[0210] It is understood that the communication device shown in the embodiments of this application can implement the method provided in the embodiments of this application in hardware form or in software form, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit it in this way.

[0211] for Figure 9 For specific implementations of the various embodiments shown, please refer to the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

[0212] This application also provides a wireless communication system, which includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter and the receiver can be used to perform the methods in any of the foregoing embodiments (such as...). Figure 4 and Figure 5 wait).

[0213] In addition, this application also provides a computer program for implementing the operations and / or processes performed by the sending end in the method provided in this application.

[0214] This application also provides a computer program for implementing the operations and / or processes performed by the receiving end in the method provided in this application.

[0215] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and / or processes performed by the sending end in the method provided in this application.

[0216] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer code that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the operations and / or processes performed by the receiving end in the method provided in this application.

[0217] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer code or a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the operations and / or processes performed by the sending end in the method provided in this application to be executed.

[0218] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer code or a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the operations and / or processes performed by the receiving end in the method provided in this application to be executed.

[0219] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices, or units, or it may be an electrical, mechanical, or other form of connection.

[0220] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the technical effects of the solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0221] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0222] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0223] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A multi-link communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The receiving end receives the first aggregated Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU); The receiving end obtains the locally recorded scoreboard context, and refreshes the scoreboard context according to the serial number SN of the first A-MPDU when the first A-MPDU meets the following conditions; The first condition includes: the SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving end satisfies WinStart. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The second condition includes: SN meets WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Neither of the MPDUs was received through any of the STAs; or, the SN satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B All MPDUs are received by other STAs belonging to the receiving end; The third condition includes: there is no MPDU in any other A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. The fourth condition includes: no other MPDU with an SN in the first A-MPDU has satisfied the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition; or, an MPDU with an SN received by a certain STA belonging to the receiving end is the first MPDU in the first A-MPDU that satisfies the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA belonging to the receiving end has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs in the first A-MPDU. Among them, WinStart R Indicates the starting number of the scoreboard, WinSize R Indicates the window size of the scoreboard, WinStart B This indicates the SN of the MPDU that was not successfully received.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The receiving end has a separate scoreboard context control on each link, which is the link between the receiving end and the sending end.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The STA belonging to the receiving end has the ability to update the scoreboard context using reordered buffer information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The SN in the first A-MPDU belongs to the same service identifier TID.

5. A communication device, characterized in that, include: The transceiver unit is used to receive the first aggregated Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU). The processing unit is used to obtain the scoreboard context of the local record and refresh the scoreboard context according to the serial number SN of the first A-MPDU when the first A-MPDU meets the following conditions. The first condition includes: the SN of the MPDU received by a certain STA belonging to the communication device satisfies WinStart. R ≤SN <WinStart R +2 11 ; The second condition includes: SN meets WinStart B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B Neither of the MPDUs was received through any of the STAs; or, the SN satisfies WinStart. B -WinSize R ≤SN <WinStart B All MPDUs are received by other STAs belonging to the communication device; The third condition includes: there is no MPDU in any other A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, there is no MPDU in any A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU that does not have a BA-based response; or, all MPDUs carried in any A-MPDU received before the first A-MPDU have had a BA-based response. The fourth condition includes: no other MPDU with an SN in the first A-MPDU has satisfied the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition; or, an MPDU with an SN received by a certain STA belonging to the communication device is the first MPDU in the first A-MPDU that satisfies the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition; or, the scoreboard context of a certain STA belonging to the communication device has not yet been refreshed based on the MPDUs in the first A-MPDU. Among them, WinStart R Indicates the starting number of the scoreboard, WinSize R Indicates the window size of the scoreboard, WinStart B This indicates the SN of the MPDU that was not successfully received.

6. A communication device, characterized in that, Including processor and memory; The memory is used to store instructions; The processor is configured to execute the instructions to cause the method described in any one of claims 1 to 4 to be performed.

7. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes logic circuits and interfaces, wherein the logic circuits and interfaces are coupled; The interface is used to input and / or output code instructions, and the logic circuit is used to execute the code instructions to cause the method described in any one of claims 1 to 4 to be performed.

8. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, which, when executed, performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program, which, when executed, performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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