Access point, station, and wireless communication method

Abstract

An access point (AP), a station (STA), and a wireless communication method are disclosed. The wireless communication method comprises: a first STA receiving a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first AP; the first STA may be a type 1 STA affiliated to a non-AP multilink device (MLD). The first AP may be a type 1 AP affiliated to an AP MLD having zero or at least one affiliated type 2 AP. The beacon frame or the probe response frame may include a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information field, a multi-link control field, and / or a common information field.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more particularly, to an access point (AP), a station (STA), and a wireless communication method that can provide good communication performance and / or provide higher reliability. Background Art

[0002] Communication systems such as wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These communication systems can be multiple access systems that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Wireless networks such as wireless local area networks (WLANs) can include access points (APs) that can communicate with one or more stations (STAs) or mobile devices, such as Wi-Fi (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE) 802.11) networks. WLANs enable users to wirelessly access the Internet based on radio frequency technology at home, in the office, or in a specific service area using portable terminals, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, portable multimedia players (PMPs), smart phones, etc. APs can be coupled to a network (e.g., the Internet) and can enable mobile devices to communicate via the network (or communicate with other devices coupled to the AP). Wireless devices can communicate bidirectionally with network devices. For example, in a WLAN, a STA may communicate with an associated AP via a downlink and an uplink. A downlink may refer to a communication link from an AP to a STA, while an uplink may refer to a communication link from a STA to an AP.

[0003] The IEEE 802.11be Task Group (TGbe) is developing a new IEEE 802.11 amendment that defines an extremely high throughput (EHT) physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layer capable of supporting a maximum throughput of at least 30 Gbps. In addition, it is proposed to introduce multi-link operation (MLO) in frequency bands below 7 GHz (including 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band). The IEEE 802.11 working group is also exploring new amendments beyond IEEE 802.11be, which may target a maximum throughput of at least 100 Gbps. To this end, it may be necessary to implement MLO in both frequency bands below 7 GHz and millimeter wave (mmW) (>45 GHz) bands. However, implementing MLO in both frequency bands below 7 GHz and mmW bands in an efficient manner to maximize system throughput is an unsolved problem.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for an access point (AP), a station (STA), and a wireless communication method that can solve problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure is to propose such an access point (AP), a station (STA) and a wireless communication method: the AP, the STA and the wireless communication method can solve the problems in the prior art, improve the system throughput, improve the beamforming training, improve the beam tracking, improve the frequency diversity gain, reduce the power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0006] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method performed by a first STA includes: the first STA receives a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point (AP), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0007] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method performed by a first AP includes: the first AP sends a beacon frame or a probe response frame to a first station (STA), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0008] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a first STA includes a receiver configured to receive a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point (AP), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0009] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a first AP includes a transmitter configured to send a beacon frame or a probe response frame to a first station (STA), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD).

[0010] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first STA includes: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The first STA is configured to execute the above method.

[0011] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a first AP includes: a memory; a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver. The first AP is configured to execute the above method.

[0012] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above method.

[0013] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a chip includes a processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above method.

[0014] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, which enables a computer to execute the above method.

[0015] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product includes a computer program, and the computer program enables a computer to execute the above method.

[0016] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program causes a computer to execute the above method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments or related technologies of the present disclosure, the following briefly introduces the drawings to be described in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and ordinary technicians in this field can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without paying any price.

[0018] Figure 1is a diagram illustrating an example of a next generation (NG) AP MLD having a type 1 link (Link 1) and a type 2 link (Link 2) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 2A FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a process of discovering an NG AP MLD via a Type 1 link by an NG non-AP MLD according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram showing a process of multi-link (re)setting between an NG AP MLD and an NG non-AP MLD via a Type 1 link according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 3A is a schematic diagram showing a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 3B is a schematic diagram showing a neighbor AP information field according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 3C is a schematic diagram showing the format of a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information header subfield of a neighbor AP information field according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 3D is a schematic diagram showing the TBTT information field according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] Figure 3E is a schematic diagram showing the format of a basic service set (BSS) parameter subfield according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 3F is a schematic diagram showing the format of the MLD parameter subfield according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4A is a schematic diagram showing the format of a multilink element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram showing the format of a multilink control field of a multilink element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 5A is a schematic diagram showing the format of the presence bitmap subfield of the basic multilink element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 5B is a schematic diagram showing the format of the common information field of the basic multilink element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 5C is a schematic diagram showing the format of the MLD capability and operation fields according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 5D is a schematic diagram showing the format of the extended MLD capability and operation field according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Fig. 6A is a schematic diagram showing the format of a per-STA profile sub-element according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 6B is a schematic diagram showing the format of the STA control field according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 6C is a schematic diagram showing the format of the STA information field according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Fig. 9 is a block diagram of one or more stations (STAs) and an access point (AP) communicating in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Fig.10 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by a first AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Fig.11 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless communication method performed by a first STA according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Fig.12 is a block diagram of a first AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Fig.13 is a block diagram of a first STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Fig.14 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The technical themes, structural features, implementation purposes, and effects of various embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specifically, the terms in various embodiments of the present disclosure are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, rather than limiting the present disclosure.

[0045] Table 1:

[0046]

[0047] MLD is a logical entity that can support more than one STA, can also operate with one or more affiliated STAs, and has one MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to the LLC sublayer. For example, the MLD can be an 11be MLD or an NG MLD. In some examples, the 11be MLD is a logical entity that can support more than one affiliated type 1 STA, can also operate with one or more affiliated STAs, and has one MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to the LLC sublayer. Type 1 STA is a STA operating in the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, or the 6 GHz band. 11be AP MLD is an 11be MLD in which each STA affiliated to the 11be MLD is an AP. 11be non-AP MLD is an 11be MLD in which each STA affiliated to the 11be MLD is a non-AP STA. MLO between two 11be MLDs (eg, discovery of a 11be AP MLD by a 11be non-AP MLD) is defined in IEEE P802.11be / D1.5 or later.

[0048] In some examples, the NG MLD is a logical entity that can support more than one attached STA, can also operate with one or more attached STAs, and has a MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to the LLC sublayer. Each attached STA is a type 1 STA or a type 2 STA, and at least one attached STA is a type 1 STA. When the NG MLD operates with one or more attached STAs, the one or more attached STAs include at least one attached type 1 STA. Type 2 STA is a STA operating in the mmW band. NG AP MLD is an NG MLD in which each STA attached to the NG MLD is an AP. NG non-AP MLD is an NG MLD in which each STA attached to the NG MLD is a non-AP STA. It is necessary to define the MLO between two NG MLDs (for example, the NG APMLD is discovered by the NG non-AP MLD). In some examples, the above-mentioned 11be MLD and NG MLD can be used as examples. This does not mean that MLD is limited to device support in the 802.11be protocol, and MLD can also be used in other technical fields. In addition, NG is not limited to the next generation of the 802.11be protocol, but can also be used in other technical fields.

[0049] Figure 1, an example of an NG AP MLD having a type 1 link (link 1) and a type 2 link (link 2) is shown. The NGAP MLD has an MLD MAC address M, an affiliated type 1 AP (AP1 with MAC address w), and an affiliated type 2 AP (AP2 with MAC address x); and the NG AP MLD is associated with an NG non-AP MLD, which has an MLD MAC address P, an affiliated type 1 STA (STA1 with MAC address y), and an affiliated type 2 STA (STA2 with MAC address z). Link 1 is established between AP1 and STA1, and link 2 is established between AP2 and STA2. AP1 may be an example of a type 1 AP. In some examples of the present disclosure, the first AP may be a type 1 AP. In some examples of the present disclosure, the second AP may be another type 1 AP. AP2 may be an example of a type 2 AP. AP3 may be an example of another type 1 AP. AP3 may be different from AP1. Other APs are APs associated with the MLD other than the first AP and the second AP. The third AP is the first AP or a type 1 AP affiliated with another AP MLD and operating on the same link with the first STA. STA1 may be an example of a type 1 STA. In some examples of the present disclosure, the first STA may be a type 1 STA. In some examples of the present disclosure, the second STA may be another type 1 STA. STA2 may be an example of a type 2 STA. Other STAs are STAs associated with the MLD other than the first STA and the second STA.

[0050] Before the NG non-AP MLD performs a multi-link setup with the NG AP MLD, the NG non-AP MLD discovers the NG APMLD in order to obtain capability information and operating parameters of the NG AP MLD. Discovering the NGAP MLD by the NG non-AP MLD via a type-2 link may be time-consuming because beamforming training may be required between a type-2 STA attached to the NG non-AP MLD and a type-2 AP attached to the NG AP MLD that establish a type-2 link. In some examples, the AP MLD includes at least one attached type-1 AP and zero or at least one attached type-2 AP. In some examples, the AP MLD includes at least one attached type-1 AP and zero, one, or more attached type-2 APs. In addition, discovering the NGAP MLD via a type-1 link may be easy to implement because it is similar to discovering an 11be AP MLD. Therefore, discovering the NG APMLD via a type-1 link may be preferable. Figure 2A The process of discovering the NG AP MLD by the NG non-AP MLD via the Type 1 link is shown.

[0051] An AP MLD or non-AP MLD is a logical entity that can support more than one attached STA, can also operate with one or more attached STAs, and has one MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to the LLC sublayer, wherein each attached STA is a type 1 STA or a type 2 STA, and at least one attached STA is a type 1 STA. When an AP MLD or non-AP MLD operates with one or more attached STAs, the one or more attached STAs include at least one attached type 1 STA. If the Type 1 AP attached to the NG AP MLD does not correspond to a non-transmitted BSSID (i.e., if the Type 1 AP attached to the NG AP MLD corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in a multiple BSSID set or is not in the multiple BSSID set), for each of the other Type 1 APs attached to the same NG AP MLD, a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the above-mentioned Type 1 AP includes a TBTT information field having the following items in the RNR element: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, a 20 megahertz (MHz) PSD subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield; and for each of the Type 2 APs attached to the same NG AP MLD, a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by the above-mentioned Type 1 AP includes a TBTT information field having the following items in the RNR element: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield. The format of the RNR element is shown in the following embodiment.

[0052] If a Type 1 AP (e.g., AP1) attached to an NG AP MLD (AP MLD 1) corresponds to a non-transmitted BSSID, and a Type 1 AP (e.g., AP3) attached to another NG AP MLD (AP MLD2) corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID set as AP1, then for each of the other Type 1 APs attached to AP MLD1, a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by AP3 includes a TBTT information field in an RNR element having the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, a 20MHz PSD subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield; and for each of the Type 2 APs attached to AP MLD1, a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by AP3 includes a TBTT information field in an RNR element having the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield. AP1 may be an example of a Type 1 AP. AP3 may be an example of another Type 1 AP. AP3 may be different from AP1.

[0053] If all of the following conditions are met: i) a Type 1 AP (AP1) attached to an NG AP MLD (AP MLD 1) is in the same co-located AP set as an AP attached to another NG AP MLD (AP MLD 2); ii) AP MLD 2 does not have an attached AP operating on the same channel as AP1; and iii) an AP attached to AP MLD 2 is in the same multi-BSSID set as an AP attached to AP MLD 1, then for each Type 1 AP of AP MLD 2, a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by AP1 includes a TBTT information field in the RNR element with the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameters subfield, a 20 MHz PSD subfield, and an MLD parameters subfield; and for each Type 2 AP of AP MLD 2, a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by AP1 includes a TBTT information field in the RNR element with the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameters subfield, a 20 MHz PSD subfield, and an MLD parameters subfield. TBTT offset subfield, BSSID subfield, short SSID subfield, BSS parameter subfield, MLD parameter subfield, unless the AP of APMLD 2 has reported it in the beacon frame and probe response frame sent by an AP in the same co-located AP set as AP1 and operating on the same channel as AP1.

[0054] If a Type 1 AP attached to an NG AP MLD does not correspond to a non-transmitting BSSID (i.e., if a Type 1 AP attached to an NGAP MLD corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in a multiple BSSID set or is not in the multiple BSSID set), the Type 1 AP includes a basic multilink element of the NG AP MLD in a beacon frame or a probe response frame. If a Type 1 AP attached to an NG AP MLD corresponds to a non-transmitting BSSID in a multiple BSSID set, a second AP corresponding to a transmitted BSSID in the same multiple BSSID set includes a basic multilink element of the NG AP MLD in a non-transmitting BSSID profile corresponding to the non-transmitting BSSID in a beacon frame or a probe response frame. The format of the basic multilink element is defined in the following embodiments.

[0055] The common information field of the basic multilink element carried in the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the MLD capability and operation subfield, and may include the extended MLD capability and operation subfield. The MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the capability information of the NG AP MLD related to the type 1 link, for example, the maximum number of simultaneous type 1 links subfield of the MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the maximum number of type 1 APs attached to the NG AP MLD. If the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field of the basic multilink element carried in the beacon frame or the probe response frame, the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the capability information of the NG AP MLD related to the type 2 link, for example, the maximum number of simultaneous type 2 links subfield of the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the maximum number of type 2 APs attached to the NG AP MLD; the link ID space boundary subfield of the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the boundary between the type 1 link ID subspace and the type 2 link ID subspace.

[0056] A Multi-Link (ML) Probe Request is a probe request frame sent outside of an active scan context for discovering APs. An ML Probe Request includes a Probe Request Multi-Link element, but does not include any other variants of the Multi-Link element. An ML Probe Request allows a non-AP STA to request that an AP include in an ML Probe Response a full or partial set of capabilities, parameters, and operational elements of one or more APs affiliated with a target NG AP MLD. An example format for a Probe Request Multi-Link element is defined in IEEE P802.11be / D1.5. An ML Probe Response is a probe response frame sent in response to receiving an ML Probe Request, and the probe response frame includes a Basic Multi-Link element, which may carry a complete or partial set of one or more per-STA profiles based on the solicited request for each of the one or more requested APs of the target NG AP MLD.

[0057] The NG non-AP MLD may discover the NG AP MLD when the NG non-AP MLD receives a basic multi-link element carried in a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by a type-1 AP affiliated to the NG AP MLD, or receives a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by a type-1 AP corresponding to a transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID set as at least one type-1 AP among the type-1 APs affiliated to the NG AP MLD. The NG non-AP MLD may discover the functions and operation parameters of the NG AP MLD and one or more APs affiliated to the NG AP MLD when a type-1 STA affiliated to the NG non-AP MLD receives an ML probe response from a type-1 AP affiliated to the NG AP MLD, or receives an ML probe response from a type-1 AP corresponding to a transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID set as at least one type-1 AP among the type-1 APs affiliated to the NG AP MLD, and the ML probe response carries the basic multi-link element with a complete profile of the reported AP.

[0058] When a Type-1 STA affiliated with an NG non-AP MLD receives a beacon frame or a probe response frame sent by a Type-1 AP (reporting AP), and the frame carries an RNR element including an MLD parameter subfield corresponding to the reported AP in the TBTT information field, the NG non-AP MLD can discover the AP (reported AP) as an AP affiliated with the NG AP MLD. The NG non-AP MLD can infer the relationship between the reported AP and the reporting AP by decoding the MLD ID subfield of the MLD parameter subfield in the RNR element. The NG non-AP MLD can use the information it collects from the RNR element and the basic multilink element to decide whether to perform multilink setup with the NGAP MLD.

[0059] Figure 2B The process of multi-link (re)setting between NG AP MLD and NG non-AP MLD via a Type 1 link is shown. For NG non-AP MLD to perform multi-link (re)setting with NG AP MLD, NG non-AP MLD and NG APMLD may exchange (re)association request / response frames via a Type 1 link and may follow the MLD (re)association process.

[0060] In the (re)association request / response frame exchange of multilink setup, both frames carry the basic multilink element. In the (re)association request frame sent by the type-1 STA attached to the NG non-AP MLD, the NG non-AP MLD indicates the link requested for (re)setting up and the function and operation parameters of the requested link in the basic multilink element. The NG non-AP MLD may request to (re)set up links with a subset of the APs attached to the NG AP MLD. The common information field of the basic multilink element carried in the (re)association request frame includes the MLD capability and operation subfield, and may include the extended MLD capability and operation subfield. The MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the capability information of the NG non-AP MLD related to the type-1 link, for example, the maximum number of simultaneous type-1 links subfield of the MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the maximum number of type-1 STAs attached to the NG non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and the type-1 frequency interval subfield of the STR of the MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two type-1 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation. If an extended MLD capability and operation subfield is present in the common information field of the basic multilink element carried in the (re)association request frame, the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates functional information of the NG non-AP MLD related to the type-2 link, for example, the maximum number of simultaneous type-2 links subfield of the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the maximum number of type-2 STAs attached to the NG non-AP MLD that support simultaneous sending or receiving of frames on the corresponding link; and the type-2 frequency interval subfield of the STR of the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two type-2 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation.

[0061] In the (re)association response frame sent by the Type 1 AP attached to the NG AP MLD, the NG AP MLD may indicate the requested links accepted and the requested links rejected for (re)setting, and the functions and operation parameters of the accepted requested links. The NG AP MLD may not accept all the links requested for (re)setting. The NG APMLD may accept a subset of the links requested for (re)setting. The (re)association response frame may be sent to the non-AP STA attached to the NG non-AP MLD that sent the (re)association request frame. The common information field of the basic multi-link element carried in the (re)association response frame includes the MLD capability and operation subfield, and may include the extended MLD capability and operation subfield. The MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the capability information of the NG AP MLD related to the Type 1 link, for example, the maximum number of simultaneous Type 1 links subfield of the MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the maximum number of Type 1 APs attached to the NG AP MLD. If the extended MLD capability and operation subfield is present in the common information field of the basic multilink element carried in the (re)association response frame, the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates capability information of the NG AP MLD related to the type 2 link, for example, the maximum number of simultaneous type 2 links subfield of the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the maximum number of type 2 APs attached to the NG AP MLD; the link ID space boundary subfield of the extended MLD capability and operation subfield indicates the boundary between the type 1 link ID subspace and the type 2 link ID subspace.

[0062] Figure 3A The RNR element described in the specification includes a Neighbor AP Information Fields field, which contains Figure 3B One or more of the neighbor AP information fields described in .

[0063] The neighbor AP information field includes a TBTT information header subfield, an operation category subfield, a channel number subfield, and a TBTT information set subfield. The TBTT information set subfield includes one or more TBTT information fields for a specified TBTT in each TBTT information field, and other information related to a group of neighbor APs on a channel specified in the operation category subfield and the channel number subfield. Figure 3C The format of the TBTT information header subfield of the neighbor AP information field is defined in.

[0064] The TBTT Information Count subfield contains the number of TBTT Information fields included in the TBTT Information Set subfield minus one. If the TBTT Information Field Type subfield is 1, the TBTT Information Length subfield is set to 3, and each TBTT Information field includes a 3-octet MLD Parameter subfield. If the TBTT Information Field Type subfield is 0, the TBTT Information Length subfield indicates Figure 3D and are interpreted as shown in Table 1. For example, when the TBTT information length subfield value is 15, each TBTT information field includes a 1-octet Neighbor APTBTT Offset subfield, a 6-octet BSSID subfield, a 4-octet Short SSID subfield, a 1-octet BSS Parameter subfield, and a 3-octet MLD Parameter subfield.

[0065] Table 1:

[0066]

[0067] The TBTT Information Set subfield of the Neighbor AP Information field contains Figure 3D One or more of the TBTT information fields described in . The Neighbor AP TBTT Offset field, BSSID field, and Short SSID field are defined in IEEE P802.11-REVme / D1.2.

[0068] Figure 3EThe format of the BSS parameter subfield is shown in . If the reported AP is a type 2 AP, the OCT recommendation field, the ESS member field with 2.4 / 5GHz co-located APs, and the unsolicited probe response activity field are reserved. If the reported AP is a type 1 AP, the OCT recommendation field, the ESS member field with 2.4 / 5GHz co-located APs, and the unsolicited probe response activity field are defined in IEEE P802.11-REVme / D1.2. The Same SSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP has the same SSID as the reporting AP. Otherwise, the Same SSID subfield is set to 0. The Multiple BSSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP is part of a multiple BSSID set. Otherwise, the Multiple BSSID subfield is set to 0. The Transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 1 to indicate that the reported AP is a transmitted BSSID. If the reported AP is a non-transmitted BSSID, the Transmitted BSSID subfield is set to 0. If the Multiple BSSIDs subfield is set to 0, the Transmitted BSSID subfield is reserved. If every AP in this Neighbor AP Information field is in the same co-located AP set as the transmitting AP, the Co-located AP subfield is set to 1. Otherwise, the Co-located AP subfield is set to 0.

[0069] Figure 3F The format of the MLD parameter subfield is defined in IEEE P802.11be / D1.5. The MLD ID subfield, Link ID subfield, and All Updates Included subfield are defined in IEEE P802.11be / D1.5.

[0070] The BSS parameter change count subfield is an unsigned integer, initialized to 0, and incremented when a critical update is sent for the BSS parameters of the reported AP. If the reported AP is not part of the AP MLD, or if the reported AP does not have this information, the BSS parameter change count subfield is set to 255. Critical updates of BSS parameters of reported type 1 APs are defined in IEEE P802.11be / D1.5. Critical updates of BSS parameters of reported type 2 APs include: modifying EDCA parameter set elements, modifying DMG operation elements, modifying EDMG operation elements, including silent elements, including DMGBSS parameter change elements, and / or including extended channel switch announcement elements. Modifying an element means that at least one value of a field in the element has changed. Including an element means that the element is included in the DMG beacon frame. The MLD version subfield indicates the version of the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached. If the AP MLD to which the reported AP belongs is the 11be AP MLD, the MLD version subfield is set to 0; if the AP MLD to which the reported AP belongs is the NG AP MLD, the MLD version subfield is set to 1; or vice versa.

[0071] Figure 4A The format of the multilink element is defined in .

[0072] Figure 4B The format of the multilink control field of the multilink element is defined in . The type subfield has a common encoding for all variants of the multilink element and is used to distinguish the variants of the multilink element. For example, the type subfield is set to 0 to indicate a basic multilink element and is set to 1 to indicate a probe request multilink element. The presence bitmap subfield is used to indicate the presence of various subfields in the common information field and has different formats for different variants of the multilink element.

[0073] Figure 5A The format of the existence bitmap subfield of the basic multilink element is defined in. The existence bitmap subfield is used to indicate the existence of various subfields in the common information field and has different formats for different variants of the multilink element.

[0074] The MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield indicates that the MLD Capability and Operation subfield exists in the Common Information field. If the MLD Capability and Operation subfield exists in the Common Information field, the MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield is set to 1. Otherwise, the MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield is set to 0. The Extended MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield indicates that the Extended MLD Capability and Operation subfield exists in the Common Information field. If the Extended MLD Capability and Operation subfield exists in the Common Information field, the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield is set to 1. Otherwise, the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield is set to 0. If the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield is set to 1, the MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield may be set to 1.

[0075] Figure 5B The format of the common information field of the basic multilink element is defined in . The common information field carries information common to all links, except for the link ID information subfield and the BSS parameter change count subfield of the link sending the multilink element.

[0076] Figure 5C The format of the MLD Capabilities and Operations field is shown in . The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield of the MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type 1 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link. For non-AP MLDs, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield is set to the maximum number of Type 1 STAs attached to the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1. For AP MLDs, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield is set to the number of attached Type 1 APs minus 1. The Type 1 Frequency Spacing subfield of the STR of the MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two Type 1 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation. The frequency gap is specified as the difference between the nearest frequency edges of the two links. The Type 1 Frequency Spacing subfield of the STR is set to 0 to indicate that no frequency spacing information is provided; and is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency gap is (n-1)×80MHz.

[0077] Figure 5DThe format of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field is shown in . The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type-2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type-2 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link. For non-AP MLDs, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type-2 Links subfield is set to the maximum number of Type-2 STAs attached to the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1. For AP MLDs, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type-2 Links subfield is set to the number of attached Type-2 APs minus 1. The Type-2 Frequency Interval subfield of the STR of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two Type-2 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation. The Type-2 Frequency Interval subfield of the STR is set to 0 to indicate that no frequency interval information is provided; and is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency gap is (n-1)×2.16GHz.

[0078] The link ID space of MLD is divided into two subspaces: a type 1 link ID subspace and then a type 2 link ID subspace. The Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield of the extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the boundary between the type 1 link ID subspace and the type 2 link ID subspace. The Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield can be set to the maximum type 1 link ID minus 1. In one example, if the maximum type 1 link ID in the MLD is 8, the Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield is set to 7. In this case, the type 2 link ID subspace in the MLD is [8 15]. In another example, if the maximum type 1 link ID in the MLD is 16, the Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield is set to 15. In this case, there are no type 2 links in the MLD.

[0079] The Link Information field may include one or more per-STA profile sub-elements. Fig. 6A The format of each STA configuration file sub-element is defined in . Figure 6B The format of the STA Control field is defined in .

[0080] The Link ID subfield in the STA Control field specifies a value that uniquely identifies the link that the reported STA is operating. The NSTR Link Pair Existence subfield in the STA Control field indicates whether there is at least one NSTR link pair in the MLD containing the links corresponding to the STA. If there is at least one such link pair, the NSTR Link Pair Existence subfield is set to 1; otherwise, the NSTR Link Pair Existence subfield is set to 0. If the NSTR Link Pair Existence subfield in the STA Control field is equal to 1, the STA Information field contains an NSTR Indication Bitmap subfield, the size of which is indicated in the NSTR Bitmap Size subfield; otherwise, the NSTR Indication Bitmap subfield does not exist in the STA Information field.

[0081] Figure 6C The format of the STA information field is defined in<i,j> If the link pair corresponding to the link ID of the basic multilink element is NSTR, and the basic multilink element contains a per-STA profile sub-element with a link ID value equal to j, then each bit B in the NSTR indication bitmap subfield included in the per-STA profile sub-element with a link ID sub-field equal to i (where 0≤i<15) j (j≠i) is set to 1; otherwise, each bit B j Set to 0. Bit B in the NSTR Indication Bitmap subfield included in the Per-STA Profile subelement with the Link ID subfield value equal to i i is reserved. A link pair of a Type 1 link and a Type 2 link is an STR link pair because the frequency interval between them is large. Therefore, for a per-STA profile sub-element corresponding to a Type 1 link, each bit corresponding to a Type 2 link in the NSTR Indication Bitmap subfield included in the per-STA profile sub-element is set to 0. Similarly, for a per-STA profile sub-element corresponding to a Type 2 link, each bit corresponding to a Type 1 link in the NSTR Indication Bitmap subfield included in the per-STA profile sub-element is set to 0.

[0082] Various embodiments are described. It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited in any way to the embodiments shown in this specification and the drawings. Within the framework of the present disclosure, many variations and combinations of the embodiments are possible. Within the framework of the present disclosure, combinations of one or more aspects of the embodiments, or combinations of different embodiments are possible. All similar variations should be understood to fall within the framework of the present disclosure.

[0083] Figure 7An example of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The wireless communication system may be an example of a WLAN 100 (also referred to as a Wi-Fi network) (e.g., a next generation Wi-Fi network, a next big thing (NBT) Wi-Fi network, an ultra-high throughput (UHT) Wi-Fi network) configured according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As described herein, the terms next generation, NBT, and UHT may be considered synonymous, and may each correspond to a Wi-Fi network that supports a large number of space-time streams. The WLAN 100 may include an AP 10 and a plurality of associated STAs 20, which may represent devices such as mobile stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), other handheld devices, netbooks, laptops, tablet computers, laptop computers, display devices (e.g., televisions (TVs), computer monitors, etc.), printers, etc. The AP 10 and the associated stations 20 may represent a basic service set (BSS) or an extended service set (ESS). The various STAs 20 in the network may communicate with each other through the AP 10. Also shown is a coverage area 110 of the AP 10, which may represent a basic service area (BSA) of the WLAN 100. Extended network sites (not shown) associated with the WLAN 100 may be connected to a wired or wireless distribution system that may allow multiple APs 10 to be connected into an ESS or virtual BSS (VBSS).

[0084] In some embodiments, a STA 20 may be located at the intersection of more than one coverage area 110 and may be associated with more than one AP 10. A single AP 10 and an associated group of STAs 20 may be referred to as a BSS. An ESS or VBSS is a group of connected BSSs. A distribution system (not shown) may be used to connect the APs 10 in an ESS or VBSS. In some cases, the coverage area 110 of an AP 10 may be divided into a plurality of sectors (also not shown). The WLAN 100 may include different types of APs 10 (e.g., metropolitan area networks, home networks, etc.) having different and overlapping coverage areas 110. Two STAs 20 may also communicate directly via a direct wireless link 125, regardless of whether the two STAs 20 are located in the same coverage area 110. Examples of direct wireless links 120 may include Wi-Fi direct connections, Wi-Fi tunneled direct links (tunneled direct linksetup, TDLS) links, and other group connections. The STA 20 and the AP 10 may communicate according to IEEE 802.11 and various versions of WLAN radio and baseband protocols at the physical layer and the media access control (MAC) layer, including but not limited to 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11a, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ad, 802.11ah, 802.11ax, 802.11be, 802.11ay, etc. In some other implementations, a peer-to-peer connection or an ad hoc network may be implemented within the WLAN 100.

[0085] Figure 8 2 shows an example of a wireless communication system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system 200 may be an example of a next generation Wi-Fi system or a UHT Wi-Fi system, and may include an AP 10-a and STAs 20-a and 20-b, and a coverage area 110-a, which may be reference 10-1. Figure 8 The AP 10 - a may send a downlink presentation protocol data unit (DL PPDU) 210 (eg, an ultra high throughput multi-user protocol data unit (UHT MU PPDU)) including a resource unit (RU) allocation table indication 215 to the STA 20 on the downlink 205 .

[0086] In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 200 may be a next generation Wi-Fi system (e.g., a UHT system). In some embodiments, the wireless communication system 200 may also support multiple communication systems. For example, the wireless communication system 200 may support UHT communication and EHT communication. In some embodiments, STA 20-a and STA 20-b may be different types of STAs. For example, STA 20-a may be an example of a UHT STA, and STA 20-b may be an example of an EHT STA. STA 20-b may be referred to as a legacy STA.

[0087] In some instances, UHT communications may support higher modulation than traditional communications. For example, UHT communications may support 16K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), whereas traditional communications may support 4K QAM. UHT communications may support a greater number of spatial streams than traditional systems. In a non-limiting illustrative example, UHT communications may support 16 spatial streams, whereas traditional communications may support 8 spatial streams. In some cases, UHT communications may occur on a 2.4 GHz channel, a 5 GHz channel, or a 6 GHz channel in an unlicensed spectrum.

[0088] Fig. 9 One or more STAs 20, AP 10, and AP 30 communicating in a wireless communication system 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Fig. 9 As shown, the wireless communication system 700 includes an AP 10, an AP 30, and one or more STAs 20. The AP 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11, which is coupled to the memory 12 and the transceiver 13. The AP 30 may include a memory 32, a transceiver 33, and a processor 31, which is coupled to the memory 32 and the transceiver 33. The one or more STAs 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21, which is coupled to the memory 22 and the transceiver 23. The processor 11, 21, or 31 may be configured to implement the proposed functions, processes, and / or methods described in this specification. The radio interface protocol layer may be implemented in the processor 11, 21, or 31. The memory 12, 22, or 32 is operably coupled to the processor 11, 21, or 31, and stores various information for operating the processor 11, 21, or 31. The transceiver 13 , 23 , or 33 is operably coupled to the processor 11 , 21 , or 31 , and the transceiver 13 , 23 , or 33 transmits and / or receives a radio signal.

[0089] The processor 11, 21 or 31 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits and / or data processing devices. The memory 12, 22 or 32 may include a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a memory card, a storage medium and / or other storage devices. The transceiver 13, 23 or 33 may include a baseband circuit for processing radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., programs, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein. These modules may be stored in the memory 12, 22 or 32 and executed by the processor 11, 21 or 31. The memory 12, 22 or 32 may be implemented within the processor 11, 21 or 31, or may be implemented outside the processor 11, 21 or 31, in which case these memories may be communicatively coupled to the processor 11, 21 or 31 via various methods known in the art.

[0090] In some embodiments, the transceiver 13 or 33 is configured to send a beacon frame or a probe response frame to the STA 20 (e.g., the first STA), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0091] In some embodiments, the transceiver 23 is configured to receive a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point (AP) (e.g., AP 10), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0092] Fig.10A wireless communication method 800 performed by a first AP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, the method 800 includes: block 802, the first AP sends a beacon frame or a probe response frame to a first station (STA), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0093] Fig.11 A wireless communication method 900 performed by a first STA according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. In some embodiments, the method 900 includes: block 902, the first STA receives a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point (AP), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0094] Fig.12 1 is a block diagram of a first access point (AP) 1400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first access point (AP) 1400 includes a transmitter 1402, which is configured to send a beacon frame or a probe response frame to a first station (STA), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0095] Fig.13 1 is a block diagram of a first STA 1500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The first STA 1500 includes a receiver 1502, which is configured to receive a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point (AP), wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device (MLD). This can solve the problems in the prior art, improve system throughput, improve beamforming training, improve beam tracking, improve frequency diversity gain, reduce power consumption, achieve ultra-high throughput, provide good communication performance, and / or provide higher reliability.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first AP is a Type 1 AP attached to an AP MLD that has zero or at least one attached Type 2 APs. In some embodiments, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a target beacon transmission time (TBTT) information field, a multi-link control field, and / or a common information field. In some embodiments, if the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in a multiple BSSID set or is not in the multiple BSSID set (i.e., if the first AP does not correspond to a non-transmitted basic service set identifier (BSSID)), then for each Type 2 AP in each Type 2 AP attached to the AP MLD or for each other Type 1 AP in each other Type 1 AP attached to the same AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a TBTT information field in a reduced neighbor report (RNR) element having the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short service set identifier (SSID) subfield, a basic service set (BSS) parameter subfield, and / or an MLD parameter subfield. In some embodiments, if a second AP attached to another AP MLD corresponds to a non-transmitted SSID and the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in the same multi-BSSID set as the second AP, then for each Type 2AP among the Type 2APs attached to the other AP MLD or for each other Type 1AP among the other Type 1APs attached to the AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a TBTT information field in the RNR element having the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield and / or an MLD parameter subfield.

[0097] In some embodiments, if a first AP is in the same co-located AP set as an AP affiliated with another AP MLD, the other AP MLD does not have an affiliated AP operating on the same channel as the first AP, and an AP affiliated with the other AP MLD is in the same multi-BSSID set as the AP affiliated with the AP MLD, then for each type 1 AP of the other AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a TBTT information field in the RNR element having the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short BSSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, a 20MHz power spectral density (PSD) subfield, and / or an MLD parameter subfield; and / or for each type 2 AP of the other AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a TBTT information field in the RNR element having the following items: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short BSSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, and / or an MLD parameter subfield. In some embodiments, if the reported AP is a type 2 AP, the fields of the BSS parameter subfield are reserved. In some embodiments, fields of the BSS parameters subfield include an On-Channel Tunnel (OCT) recommendation field, an Extended Service Set (ESS) Membership with 2.4 / 5 GHz Co-located APs field, and an Unsolicited Probe Response Activity field.

[0098] In some embodiments, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield indicates the version of the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached. In some embodiments, the BSS parameter change count subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is an unsigned integer and is initialized to 0, and the BSS parameter change count subfield is incremented when a critical update of the BSS parameters of the reported AP occurs. In some embodiments, if the reported AP is a type 2 AP, the critical update of the BSS parameters of the reported AP includes: modifying an enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) parameter set element, modifying a directional multi-gigabit (DMG) operation element, modifying an enhanced directional multi-gigabit (EDMG) operation element, including a silent element, including a DMG BSS parameter change element, and / or including an extended channel switch notification element.

[0099] In some embodiments, if the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in a multi-BSSID set or is not in a multi-BSSID set (i.e., if the first AP does not correspond to a non-transmitted BSSID), the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a multi-link control field and a common information field in a basic multi-link element. In some embodiments, an extended MLD capability and operation presence subfield of the multi-link control field indicates that an extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field. In some embodiments, when an extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, an MLD capability and operation subfield also exists in the common information field. In some embodiments, a maximum number of simultaneous type 1 links subfield of the MLD capability and operation field indicates the maximum number of type 1 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the number of attached type 1 APs minus 1.

[0100] In some embodiments, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type 2 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the number of attached Type 2 APs minus 1. In some embodiments, the Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the boundary between the Type 1 Link ID Subspace and the Type 2 Link ID Subspace, and / or the Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield is set to the Maximum Type 1 Link ID minus 1.

[0101] In some embodiments, a first STA attached to a non-AP MLD sends an association request frame or a reassociation request frame to a third AP. In some embodiments, the third AP is the first AP or a type 1 AP attached to another AP MLD and operating on the same link as the first STA. In some embodiments, the association request frame or the reassociation request frame includes a multilink control field, a common information field, and a link information field in a basic multilink element.

[0102] In some embodiments, the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Presence subfield of the Multi-Link Control field indicates that the Extended MLD Capability and Operation subfield is present in the Common Information field. In some embodiments, when the Extended MLD Capability and Operation subfield is present in the Common Information field, the MLD Capability and Operation subfield is also present in the Common Information field. In some embodiments, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field indicates the maximum number of Type 1 STAs supporting simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link attached to the MLD; and / or is set to the maximum number of Type 1 STAs supporting simultaneous transmission or reception of frames attached to the non-AP MLD minus 1.

[0103] In some embodiments, the Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type 2 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the Maximum Number of Type 2 STAs attached to the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1. In some embodiments, the Type 1 Frequency Spacing subfield of the Simultaneous Transmission and Reception (STR) of the MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two Type 1 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation; and / or is set to 0 to indicate that frequency spacing information is not provided; and / or is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency gap is (n-1)×80MHz. In some embodiments, the Type 2 Frequency Spacing subfield of the STR of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two Type 2 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation; and / or is set to 0 to indicate that frequency spacing information is not provided; and / or is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency gap is (n-1)×2.16GHz.

[0104] In some embodiments, the per-STA profile subelement of the link information field includes a non-simultaneous transmission and reception (NSTR) indication bitmap subfield in the STA information field. In some embodiments, if the per-STA profile subelement corresponds to a type 1 link, each bit corresponding to a type 2 link in the NSTR indication bitmap subfield is set to 0. In some embodiments, if the per-STA profile subelement corresponds to a type 2 link, each bit corresponding to a type 1 link in the NSTR indication bitmap subfield is set to 0. In some embodiments, the AP MLD is a next generation (NG) AP MLD, and the discovery of the NG AP MLD is performed via a type 1 link. In some embodiments, the TBTT information field of each type 2 AP includes a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a BSS parameter subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield.

[0105] In some embodiments, the TBTT information field of each Type 2 AP includes a 1-octet Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield, a 6-octet BSSID subfield, a 4-octet Short SSID subfield, a 1-octet BSS Parameters subfield, and a 3-octet MLD Parameters subfield. In some embodiments, if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is an 11be AP MLD, the MLD Version subfield of the MLD Parameters subfield is set to 0; and / or if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is an NG AP MLD, the MLD Version subfield of the MLD Parameters subfield is set to 1. In some embodiments, if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is an 11be AP MLD, the MLD Version subfield of the MLD Parameters subfield is set to 1; and / or if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is an NG AP MLD, the MLD Version subfield of the MLD Parameters subfield is set to 0. In some embodiments, if the Extended MLD Capability and Operation subfield is present in the Common Information field, the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1; otherwise, the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 0. In some embodiments, if the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1, the MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1. In some embodiments, the non-AP MLD is a logical entity with one MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to a logical link control (LLC) sublayer; and the non-AP MLD is capable of supporting more than one attached STA, and / or operating with one or more attached STAs, wherein each attached STA is a type 1 STA or a type 2 STA, and at least one attached STA is a type 1 STA. In some embodiments, the AP MLD is a logical entity with one MAC data service and a single MAC SAP to the LLC sublayer; and the AP MLD is capable of supporting more than one attached AP, and / or operating with one or more attached APs, wherein each attached AP is a type 1 AP or a type 2 AP, and at least one attached AP is a type 1 AP. In some embodiments, when a non-AP MLD operates with one or more attached STAs, the one or more attached STAs include at least one attached Type 1 STA. In some embodiments, when an AP MLD operates with one or more attached APs, the one or more attached APs include at least one attached Type 1 AP.

[0106] Some embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to peer to peer (PTP) communication. As used herein, the phrase "PTP communication" may refer to device-to-device communication between multiple devices over a wireless link ("peer link"). PTP communication may include, for example, Wi-Fi direct (WFD) communication, such as WFD P2P communication, wireless communication via a direct link within a quality of service (QoS) basic service set (BSS), tunnel direct link establishment (TDLS) link, STA to STA communication in an independent basic service set (IBSS), etc. Some illustrative embodiments are described herein with reference to Wi-Fi communication. However, other embodiments may be implemented with reference to any other communication scheme, network, standard and / or protocol.

[0107] The commercial benefits of some embodiments are as follows. 1. Solve problems in the prior art. 2. Improve system throughput. 3. Improve beamforming training. 4. Improve beam tracking. 5. Improve frequency diversity gain. 6. Reduce power consumption. 7. Achieve extremely high throughput. 8. Provide good communication performance. 9. Provide higher reliability. 10. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are used by the following: chipset suppliers; communication system development suppliers; automobile manufacturers (including cars, trains, trucks, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, and helmets, etc.); drones (unmanned aerial vehicles); smartphone manufacturers; communication devices for public safety purposes; artificial reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) device manufacturers, such as for games, conferences / seminars, educational purposes. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of "techniques / processes" that can be adopted in communication specifications and / or communication standards such as IEEE specifications and / or IEEE standards to create terminal products. Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose technical mechanisms.

[0108] Fig.14 7 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The various embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and / or software. Fig.14A system 700 is shown, which includes a radio frequency (RF) circuit 710, a baseband circuit 720, an application circuit 730, a memory / storage device 740, a display 750, a camera 760, a sensor 770, and an input / output (I / O) interface 780 coupled to each other at least as shown. The application circuit 730 may include, for example, but not limited to, a circuit for one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors, such as graphics processors and application processors. The processor may be coupled to a memory / storage device and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications and / or operating systems to run on the system.

[0109] The baseband circuit 720 may include, for example but not limited to, circuits for one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include a baseband processor. The baseband circuit may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks through RF circuits. The radio control functions may include but are not limited to signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the baseband circuit may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit may support communications with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) and / or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and wireless personal area networks (WPAN). An embodiment in which the baseband circuit is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuit.

[0110] In various embodiments, the baseband circuit 720 may include circuits for operating on signals that are not strictly considered to be in the baseband frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit may include circuits for operating on signals having an intermediate frequency (which is between the baseband frequency and the radio frequency). The RF circuit 710 may use modulated electromagnetic radiation to communicate with a wireless network through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 710 may include circuits for operating on signals that are not strictly considered to be in the radio frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuit may include circuits for operating on signals having an intermediate frequency (which is between the baseband frequency and the radio frequency).

[0111] In various embodiments, the transmitter circuit, control circuit, or receiver circuit discussed above with respect to an AP or STA may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, and / or an application circuit. As used herein, a "circuit" may refer to, be part of, or include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and / or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs; a combinational logic circuit; and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, an electronic device circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit, application circuit, and / or memory / storage device may be implemented together on a system on a chip (SOC). The memory / storage device 740 may be used, for example, to load and store data and / or instructions for the system. The memory / storage device of one embodiment may include any combination of suitable volatile memory (such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM)) and / or non-volatile memory (such as flash memory).

[0112] In various embodiments, the I / O interface 780 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system and / or a peripheral component interface designed to enable peripheral components to interact with the system. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (universal serial bus, USB) port, an audio jack, and a power interface. In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and / or location information related to the system. In some embodiments, the sensor may include, but is not limited to, a gyroscope sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may also be a part of a baseband circuit and / or an RF circuit, or interact with a baseband circuit and / or an RF circuit to communicate with a component of a positioning network (e.g., a global positioning system (global positioning system, GPS) satellite).

[0113] In various embodiments, the display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, the system 700 may be a mobile computing device, such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, an ultrabook, a smart phone, AR / VR glasses, etc. In various embodiments, the system may have more components or fewer components, and / or different architectures. Where appropriate, the methods described herein may be implemented as a computer program. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium, such as a non-transitory storage medium.

[0114] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that each of the units, algorithms, and steps described and disclosed in the various embodiments of the present disclosure is implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are run on hardware or software depends on the conditions of the application and the design requirements of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can implement the function in different ways for each specific application, and such implementation should not exceed the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that since the working processes of the systems, devices, and units in the above-mentioned embodiments are basically the same, he / she can refer to the working processes of the above-mentioned systems, devices, and units. For ease of description and simplicity, these working processes will not be described in detail.

[0115] It should be understood that the systems, devices and methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in other ways. The above embodiments are exemplary only. The division of each unit is based only on logical functions, but there are other divisions in the implementation. It is possible that multiple units or components are combined or integrated into another system. It is also possible to omit or skip some features. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication coupling shown or discussed is operated indirectly or communicatively in electrical, mechanical or other forms through some ports, devices or units. The units used as separate components for explanation are or are not physically separated. The units shown are or are not physical units, that is, located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all units are used according to the purpose of each embodiment. In addition, each of the functional units in each of the embodiments can be integrated in a processing unit, physically independent, or integrated in a processing unit with two or more units.

[0116] If the software functional unit is implemented and used and sold as a product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium in a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical solution proposed in the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of a software product in general or in part. Alternatively, a part of the technical solution that is beneficial to the prior art can be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium, and the software product includes multiple instructions for a computing device (such as a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to run all or part of the steps disclosed by the various embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes a USB disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other media capable of storing program code.

[0117] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, performed by a first station STA, the wireless communication method include: The first STA receives a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point AP, wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device MLD.

2. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, in, The first AP is a Type 1 AP subordinate to an AP MLD, which has zero or at least one subordinate Type 2 AP.

3. The wireless communication method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a target beacon transmission time TBTT information field, a multi-link control field and / or a common information field.

4. The wireless communication method according to claim 3, in, If the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in a multiple basic service set identifier BSSID set or is not in a multiple BSSID set, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field for each type 2AP among the type 2APs attached to the AP MLD or for each other type 1AP among the other type 1APs attached to the same AP MLD.

5. The wireless communication method according to claim 4, in, The TBTT information field in the reduced neighbor report RNR element includes: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short service set identifier SSID subfield, a basic service set BSS parameter subfield and / or an MLD parameter subfield.

6. The wireless communication method according to claim 3, in, If a second AP attached to another AP MLD corresponds to a non-transmitted service set identifier SSID, and the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in the same multiple basic service set identifier BSSID set as the second AP, then for each type 2AP among the type 2APs attached to the other AP MLD or for each other type 1AP among the other type 1APs attached to the AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field.

7. The wireless communication method according to claim 6, in, The TBTT information field in the reduced neighbor report RNR element includes: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a basic service set BSS parameter subfield and / or an MLD parameter subfield.

8. The wireless communication method according to claim 3, in, If the first AP is in the same co-located AP set as an AP attached to another AP MLD, the other AP MLD does not have an attached AP operating on the same channel as the first AP, and an AP attached to the other AP MLD is in the same multi-BSSID set as the AP attached to the AP MLD, then for each type 1 AP of the other AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field in the reduced neighbor report RNR element having the following items: the neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, the basic service set identifier BSSID subfield, the short service set identifier SSID subfield, the basic service set BSS parameter subfield, the 20MHz power spectral density PSD subfield and / or the MLD parameter subfield; and / or for each type 2 AP of the other AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field in the RNR element having the following items: the neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, the BSSID subfield, the short SSID subfield, the BSS parameter subfield and / or the MLD parameter subfield.

9. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, in, If the reported AP is a Type 2 AP, the fields of the Basic Service Set (BSS) parameter subfield are reserved.

10. The wireless communication method according to claim 9, in, The fields of the BSS parameter subfield include an on-channel tunnel OCT recommendation field, an extended service set ESS member field with 2.4 / 5 GHz co-located APs, and an unsolicited probe response activity field.

11. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, in, The MLD Version subfield of the MLD Parameters subfield indicates the version of the AP MLD to which the reporting AP belongs.

12. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, in, The Basic Service Set BSS Parameter Change Count subfield of the MLD Parameter subfield is an unsigned integer and is initialized to 0. The BSS Parameter Change Count subfield is incremented when a critical update occurs to the BSS parameters of the reported AP.

13. The wireless communication method according to claim 12, in, If the reported AP is a type 2 AP, the key update of the BSS parameters of the reported AP includes: modifying the enhanced distributed channel access EDCA parameter set element, modifying the directional multi-gigabit DMG operation element, modifying the enhanced directional multi-gigabit EDMG operation element, including a silence element, including a DMG BSS parameter change element and / or including an extended channel switching announcement element.

14. The wireless communication method according to claim 3, in, If the first AP corresponds to the transmitted BSSID in a multiple BSSID set or is not in a multiple BSSID set, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the multi-link control field and the common information field in a basic multi-link element.

15. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, in, The extended MLD capability and operation presence subfield of the multi-link control field indicates that an extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field.

16. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, in, When the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, the MLD capability and operation subfield also exists in the common information field.

17. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field indicates the maximum number of Type 1 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the number of attached Type 1 APs minus one.

18. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type-2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type-2 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the number of attached Type-2 APs minus one.

19. The wireless communication method according to claim 14, in, The Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates a boundary between a Type 1 Link ID Subspace and a Type 2 Link ID Subspace, and / or the Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield is set to the maximum Type 1 Link ID minus 1.

20. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, in, The first STA attached to the non-AP MLD sends an association request frame or a re-association request frame to a third AP.

21. The wireless communication method according to claim 20, in, The third AP is the first AP or a type 1 AP that is affiliated with another AP MLD and operates on the same link with the first STA.

22. The wireless communication method according to claim 20 or 19, in, The association request frame or the reassociation request frame includes a multilink control field, a common information field and a link information field in a basic multilink element.

23. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, The extended MLD capability and operation presence subfield of the multi-link control field indicates that an extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field.

24. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, When the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, the MLD capability and operation subfield also exists in the common information field.

25. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field indicates the maximum number of Type 1 STAs affiliated with the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the maximum number of Type 1 STAs affiliated with the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1.

26. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type 2 STAs affiliated with the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the maximum number of Type 2 STAs affiliated with the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1.

27. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, The Type 1 Frequency Spacing subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field for simultaneous transmission and reception of STR indicates the minimum frequency spacing between any two Type 1 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation; and / or is set to 0 to indicate that no frequency spacing information is provided; and / or is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency spacing is (n-1)×80 MHz.

28. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, The Type 2 Frequency Spacing subfield of the STR of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two Type 2 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation; and / or is set to 0 to indicate that no frequency spacing information is provided; and / or is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency gap is (n-1)×2.16GHz.

29. The wireless communication method according to claim 22, in, The per-STA profile sub-element of the link information field includes the non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR indication bitmap sub-field in the STA information field.

30. The wireless communication method according to claim 29, in, If the per-STA profile sub-element corresponds to a type 1 link, each bit in the NSTR indication bitmap sub-field corresponding to a type 2 link is set to 0.

31. The wireless communication method according to claim 29, in, If the per-STA profile sub-element corresponds to a type 2 link, each bit in the NSTR indication bitmap sub-field corresponding to a type 1 link is set to 0.

32. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, in, The AP MLD is a next generation NG AP MLD, and discovery of the NG AP MLD is performed via a Type 1 link.

33. The wireless communication method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, in, The TBTT information field of each Type 2 AP includes a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short service set identifier SSID subfield, a basic service set BSS parameter subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield.

34. The wireless communication method according to claim 33, in, The TBTT information field of each Type 2 AP includes a 1-octet Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield, a 6-octet BSSID subfield, a 4-octet Short SSID subfield, a 1-octet BSS Parameter subfield, and a 3-octet MLD Parameter subfield.

35. The wireless communication method according to claim 11, in, If the APMLD to which the reported AP is attached is an 11be AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 0; and / or if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is a next generation NG AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 1.

36. The wireless communication method according to claim 11, in, If the APMLD to which the reported AP is attached is an 11be AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 1; and / or if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is a next generation NG AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 0.

37. The wireless communication method according to claim 15 or 23, in, If the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, the extended MLD capability and operation existence subfield is set to 1; otherwise, the extended MLD capability and operation existence subfield is set to 0.

38. The wireless communication method according to claim 16 or 24, in, If the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1, the MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1.

39. The wireless communication method according to claim 1, in, The non-AP MLD is a logical entity having a media access control MAC data service and a single MAC service access point SAP to the logical link control LLC sublayer; and the non-AP MLD is capable of supporting more than one attached STA, and / or operating using one or more attached STAs, wherein each attached STA is the type 1 STA or the type 2 STA, and at least one attached STA is the type 1 STA.

40. The wireless communication method according to claim 2, in, The AP MLD is a logical entity having a media access control MAC data service and a single MAC service access point SAP to the logical link control LLC sublayer; and the APMLD is capable of supporting more than one attached AP, and / or operating using one or more attached APs, wherein each attached AP is the type 1 AP or the type 2 AP, and at least one attached AP is the type 1 AP.

41. The wireless communication method according to claim 39, in, When the non-AP MLD operates using one or more attached STAs, the one or more attached STAs include at least one attached Type 1 STA.

42. The wireless communication method according to claim 40, in, When the AP MLD operates with one or more attached APs, the one or more attached APs include at least one attached Type 1 AP.

43. A wireless communication method, performed by a first access point AP, the wireless communication method include: The first AP sends a beacon frame or a probe response frame to a first station STA, wherein the first STA includes a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device MLD.

44. The wireless communication method according to claim 43, in, The first AP is a Type 1 AP subordinate to an AP MLD, which has zero or at least one subordinate Type 2 AP.

45. The wireless communication method according to claim 43 or 44, in, The beacon frame or the probe response frame includes a target beacon transmission time TBTT information field, a multi-link control field and / or a common information field.

46. ​​The wireless communication method according to claim 45, in, If the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in a multiple basic service set identifier BSSID set or is not in a multiple BSSID set, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field for each type 2AP among the type 2APs attached to the AP MLD or for each other type 1AP among the other type 1APs attached to the same AP MLD.

47. The wireless communication method according to claim 46, in, The TBTT information field in the reduced neighbor report RNR element includes: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short service set identifier SSID subfield, a basic service set BSS parameter subfield and / or an MLD parameter subfield.

48. The wireless communication method according to claim 45, in, If a second AP attached to another AP MLD corresponds to a non-transmitted service set identifier SSID, and the first AP corresponds to a transmitted BSSID in the same multiple basic service set identifier BSSID set as the second AP, then for each type 2AP among the type 2APs attached to the other AP MLD or for each other type 1AP among the other type 1APs attached to the AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field.

49. The wireless communication method according to claim 48, in, The TBTT information field in the reduced neighbor report RNR element includes: a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short SSID subfield, a basic service set BSS parameter subfield and / or an MLD parameter subfield.

50. The wireless communication method according to claim 45, in, If the first AP is in the same co-located AP set as an AP attached to another AP MLD, the other AP MLD does not have an attached AP operating on the same channel as the first AP, and an AP attached to the other AP MLD is in the same multi-BSSID set as the AP attached to the AP MLD, then for each type 1 AP of the other AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field in the reduced neighbor report RNR element having the following items: the neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, the basic service set identifier BSSID subfield, the short basic service set identifier BSSID subfield, the basic service set BSS parameter subfield, the 20MHz power spectral density PSD subfield and / or the MLD parameter subfield; and / or for each type 2 AP of the other AP MLD, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the TBTT information field in the RNR element having the following items: the neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, the BSSID subfield, the short BSSID subfield, the BSS parameter subfield and / or the MLD parameter subfield.

51. A wireless communication method according to any one of claims 46 to 50, in, If the reported AP is a Type 2 AP, the fields of the Basic Service Set (BSS) parameter subfield are reserved.

52. The wireless communication method according to claim 51, in, The fields of the BSS parameter subfield include an on-channel tunnel OCT recommendation field, an extended service set ESS member field with 2.4 / 5 GHz co-located APs, and an unsolicited probe response activity field.

53. A wireless communication method according to any one of claims 47 to 50, in, The MLD Version subfield of the MLD Parameters subfield indicates the version of the AP MLD to which the reporting AP belongs.

54. A wireless communication method according to any one of claims 48 to 50, in, The Basic Service Set BSS Parameter Change Count subfield of the MLD Parameter subfield is an unsigned integer and is initialized to 0. The BSS Parameter Change Count subfield is incremented when a critical update occurs to the BSS parameters of the reported AP.

55. The wireless communication method according to claim 54, in, If the reported AP is a type 2 AP, the key update of the BSS parameters of the reported AP includes: modifying the enhanced distributed channel access EDCA parameter set element, modifying the directional multi-gigabit DMG operation element, modifying the enhanced directional multi-gigabit EDMG operation element, including a silence element, including a DMG BSS parameter change element and / or including an extended channel switching announcement element.

56. The wireless communication method according to claim 46, in, If the first AP corresponds to the transmitted BSSID in a multiple BSSID set or is not in a multiple BSSID set, the beacon frame or the probe response frame includes the multi-link control field and the common information field in a basic multi-link element.

57. The wireless communication method according to claim 56, in, The extended MLD capability and operation presence subfield of the multi-link control field indicates that an extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field.

58. The wireless communication method according to claim 56, in, When the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, the MLD capability and operation subfield also exists in the common information field.

59. The wireless communication method according to claim 56, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field indicates the maximum number of Type 1 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the number of attached Type 1 APs minus one.

60. The wireless communication method according to claim 56, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type-2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type-2 STAs attached to the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the number of attached Type-2 APs minus one.

61. The wireless communication method according to claim 56, in, The Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates a boundary between a Type 1 Link ID Subspace and a Type 2 Link ID Subspace, and / or the Link ID Subspace Boundary subfield is set to the maximum Type 1 Link ID minus 1.

62. The wireless communication method according to claim 44, in, The first STA attached to the non-AP MLD sends an association request frame or a re-association request frame to a third AP.

63. The wireless communication method according to claim 62, in, The third AP is the first AP or a type 1 AP that is affiliated with another AP MLD and operates on the same link with the first STA.

64. The wireless communication method according to claim 62 or 63, in, The association request frame or the reassociation request frame includes a multilink control field, a common information field and a link information field in a basic multilink element.

65. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, The extended MLD capability and operation presence subfield of the multi-link control field indicates that an extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field.

66. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, When the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, the MLD capability and operation subfield also exists in the common information field.

67. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 1 Links subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field indicates the maximum number of Type 1 STAs affiliated with the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the maximum number of Type 1 STAs affiliated with the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1.

68. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, The Maximum Number of Simultaneous Type 2 Links subfield of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the maximum number of Type 2 STAs affiliated with the MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames on the corresponding link; and / or is set to the maximum number of Type 2 STAs affiliated with the non-AP MLD that support simultaneous transmission or reception of frames minus 1.

69. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, The Type 1 Frequency Spacing subfield of the MLD Capability and Operation field for simultaneous transmission and reception of STR indicates the minimum frequency spacing between any two Type 1 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation; and / or is set to 0 to indicate that no frequency spacing information is provided; and / or is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency spacing is (n-1)×80 MHz.

70. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, The Type 2 Frequency Spacing subfield of the STR of the Extended MLD Capabilities and Operations field indicates the minimum frequency gap between any two Type 2 links recommended by the non-AP MLD for STR operation; and / or is set to 0 to indicate that no frequency spacing information is provided; and / or is set to a non-zero value n to indicate that the STR frequency gap is (n-1)×2.16GHz.

71. The wireless communication method according to claim 64, in, The per-STA profile sub-element of the link information field includes the non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR indication bitmap sub-field in the STA information field.

72. The wireless communication method according to claim 60, in, If the per-STA profile sub-element corresponds to a type 1 link, each bit in the NSTR indication bitmap sub-field corresponding to a type 2 link is set to 0.

73. The wireless communication method according to claim 60, in, If the per-STA profile sub-element corresponds to a type 2 link, each bit in the NSTR indication bitmap sub-field corresponding to a type 1 link is set to 0.

74. The wireless communication method according to claim 44, in, The AP MLD is a next generation NG AP MLD, and discovery of the NG AP MLD is performed via a Type 1 link.

75. A wireless communication method according to any one of claims 46 to 50, in, The TBTT information field of each Type 2 AP includes a neighbor AP TBTT offset subfield, a BSSID subfield, a short service set identifier SSID subfield, a basic service set BSS parameter subfield, and an MLD parameter subfield.

76. The wireless communication method according to claim 75, in, The TBTT information field of each Type 2 AP includes a 1-octet Neighbor AP TBTT Offset subfield, a 6-octet BSSID subfield, a 4-octet Short SSID subfield, a 1-octet BSS Parameter subfield, and a 3-octet MLD Parameter subfield.

77. The wireless communication method according to claim 53, in, If the APMLD to which the reported AP is attached is an 11be AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 0; and / or if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is a next generation NG AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 1.

78. The wireless communication method according to claim 53, in, If the APMLD to which the reported AP is attached is an 11be AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 1; and / or if the AP MLD to which the reported AP is attached is a next generation NG AP MLD, the MLD version subfield of the MLD parameter subfield is set to 0.

79. The wireless communication method according to claim 57 or 65, in, If the extended MLD capability and operation subfield exists in the common information field, the extended MLD capability and operation existence subfield is set to 1; otherwise, the extended MLD capability and operation existence subfield is set to 0.

80. The wireless communication method according to claim 58 or 66, in, If the Extended MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1, the MLD Capability and Operation Present subfield is set to 1.

81. The wireless communication method according to claim 43, in, The non-AP MLD is a logical entity having a media access control MAC data service and a single MAC service access point SAP to the logical link control LLC sublayer; and the non-AP MLD is capable of supporting more than one attached STA, and / or operating using one or more attached STAs, wherein each attached STA is the type 1 STA or the type 2 STA, and at least one attached STA is the type 1 STA.

82. The wireless communication method according to claim 44, in, The AP MLD is a logical entity having a media access control MAC data service and a single MAC service access point SAP to the logical link control LLC sublayer; and the APMLD is capable of supporting more than one attached AP, and / or operating using one or more attached APs, wherein each attached AP is the type 1 AP or the type 2 AP, and at least one attached AP is the type 1 AP.

83. The wireless communication method according to claim 82, in, When the non-AP MLD operates using one or more attached STAs, the one or more attached STAs include at least one attached Type 1 STA.

84. The wireless communication method according to claim 83, in, When the AP MLD operates with one or more attached APs, the one or more attached APs include at least one attached Type 1 AP.

85. The first station STA, include: A receiver is configured to receive a beacon frame or a probe response frame from a first access point AP, wherein the first STA is a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device MLD.

86. The first station STA, include: Memory; Transceiver; as well as a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; The first STA is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 42.

87. The first access point AP, include: A transmitter is configured to send a beacon frame or a probe response frame to a first station STA, wherein the first STA comprises a type 1 STA attached to a non-AP multi-link device MLD.

88. The first access point AP, include: Memory; Transceiver; as well as a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; The AP is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 43 to 84.

89. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 84.

90. A chip, include: A processor, wherein the processor is configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory so as to enable a device equipped with the chip to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 84.

91. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored therein, in, The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 84.

92. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer program, in, The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 84.

93. A computer program, in, The computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 84.

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