Communication method and device between multi-link devices

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a communication method and device between multi-link equipment, relates to the technical field of communication, and reduces the power consumption of a multi-link station. According to the specific scheme, the multi-link device comprises a plurality of STAs, one STA works on one of a plurality of links, and the STA determines a main link in the plurality of links; an STA working on a main link in a multi-link device can receive information which is sent by an AP and indicates whether the STA working on the main link has a downlink service, and / or information which indicates whether the STA working on links except the main link has the downlink service. Therefore, the STA working on the main link can determine which link the STA working on in the multi-link equipment has the downlink service.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The application number of the original application is 202010172040.X, and the original application date is March 12, 2020. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technology, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus between multi-link devices. Background Art

[0003] Currently, the extremely high throughput (EHT) equipment of the next generation Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) protocol of IEEE 802.11 supports increasing peak throughput and reducing service transmission latency through multiple streams, multiple frequency bands (e.g., 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz frequency bands), and cooperation of multiple channels on the same frequency band. The multiple frequency bands or multiple channels can be collectively referred to as multi-links.

[0004] Multi-link operation greatly improves the site rate, but because multiple links need to be in operation at the same time, more energy is consumed. Therefore, on the basis of improving the site rate, it is also necessary to consider how to reduce the power consumption of multi-link sites. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus between multi-link devices, which does not require each station in the multi-link station to receive information indicating whether there is a downlink service on the respective link, and can reduce the power consumption of the multi-link station.

[0006] In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] In a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method between multi-link devices is provided, which is applied to a first station STA, the first STA includes multiple second STAs, and one second STA works on one of the multiple links. The method includes: the first STA determines a main link, and the multiple links include the main link; the second STA in the first STA working on the main link receives downlink service indication information sent by the first access point AP; wherein the downlink service indication information includes: information for indicating whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink service, or at least one of the information of whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the secondary link includes the links in the multiple links except the main link. Based on this scheme, the downlink service information of the main link and / or the secondary link is sent through the main link, so that the second STA working on the main link can determine whether there is downlink service on the main link, and whether there is downlink service on the secondary link, so that all the second STAs included in the multi-link STA do not need to receive downlink service indications on their respective links. It can be understood that based on the present solution, since the second STA working on the main link can obtain both the downlink service information of the second STA working on the main link and the downlink service information of the second STA working on the secondary link only on the main link, the second STA working on the secondary link may not receive information indicating whether there is downlink service on the secondary link on which it works, that is, the second STA working on the secondary link may enter a doze state when there is no data transmission, thereby reducing the power consumption of the multi-link site.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in a first possible implementation, the downlink service is a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service, and the method further includes: when the second STA working on the primary link determines that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service according to the downlink service indication information, the second STA working on the secondary link sends a first frame to the first AP, and the first frame is used to indicate that the second STA working on the secondary link is in an awake state; or, when the second STA working on the primary link determines that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink multicast service according to the downlink service indication information, the second STA working on the secondary link receives the downlink multicast service from the first AP. Based on this solution, when the second STA working on the primary link determines that the second STA working on the secondary link has a unicast service transmitted on the secondary link, the second STA working on the secondary link enters an awake state and sends a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame to the first AP to inform the first AP that the second STA is in an awake state, so that it can receive downlink service data from the first AP. In the case where the second STA working on the primary link determines that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink multicast service, the second STA working on the secondary link receives the downlink multicast service from the first AP. It can be understood that since the downlink service information of the primary link and / or the secondary link is sent through the primary link, the second STA working on the primary link can determine whether the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service, and the second STA working on the secondary link may not receive information indicating whether there is a downlink service on the secondary link on which it works, so the second STA working on the secondary link can enter a sleep state when there is no data transmission, thereby saving power consumption.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect and the above-mentioned possible implementations, in another possible implementation, the above-mentioned downlink service is a downlink multicast service, and the above-mentioned method further includes: when the second STA working on the above-mentioned main link determines that the second STA working on the above-mentioned secondary link has a downlink multicast service according to the above-mentioned downlink service indication information, the second STA working on the above-mentioned main link receives the above-mentioned downlink multicast service from the above-mentioned first AP; or, when the second STA working on the above-mentioned main link determines that the second STA working on the above-mentioned main link has a downlink multicast service according to the downlink service indication information, the second STA working on the above-mentioned main link receives the above-mentioned downlink multicast service from the above-mentioned first AP. Based on this scheme, when the second STA working on the main link determines that it or the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink multicast service transmitted on the main link, the second STA working on the main link can receive the downlink multicast service. It can be understood that in this solution, when the first AP transmits a downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link through the main link, the second STA working on the secondary link can remain in a sleep state. After the second STA working on the main link receives the downlink multicast service transmitted by the first AP on the main link, the second STA working on the main link can then transmit the service to the second STA working on the secondary link, thereby saving power consumption of multi-link sites.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect and the above possible implementation, in another possible implementation, the method further includes: the above first STA sends an association request frame to the above first AP, the association request frame carries the number of second STAs to which the association identifier AID is to be assigned, or at least one of the identification information of the link on which the second STA to which the AID is to be assigned works; the above first STA receives an association response frame from the above first AP, the association response frame carries the AID assigned to the second STA to which the AID is to be assigned; wherein the AID assigned to the second STA working on the above primary link is 1, and the AID assigned to the second STA working on the above secondary link is 1 or 2. Based on this solution, the first AP can be requested to assign an AID to the second STA to which the AID is to be assigned (part or all of the second STAs included in the first STA) through an association request frame. It can be understood that in this solution, the first AP can assign 1 AID to the second STA working on the primary link and 1 or 2 AIDs to the second STA working on the secondary link. It should be noted that the AIDs of multiple second STAs in a BSS are different from each other. The second STAs to be allocated an AID may be all the second STAs included in the first STA, or may be some of the second STAs included in the first STA.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect and the above possible implementations, in another possible implementation, the link through which the above first STA sends the above association request frame to the above first AP is the above main link, or the above association request frame also carries identification information of the above main link. Based on this solution, when the first STA and the first AP are not associated, the association request frame can be sent to the first AP through the main link determined by the first STA, or the identification information of the main link determined by the first STA can be carried in the association request frame, thereby informing the first AP which link the main link determined by the first STA is.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect and the above-mentioned possible implementations, in another possible implementation, the above-mentioned method further includes: the above-mentioned first STA sends a management frame to the above-mentioned first AP, and the management frame carries the identification information of the main link. Based on this scheme, when the first STA and the first AP are already associated, the first AP can be informed through the management frame which link the main link determined by the first STA is. It can be understood that in this implementation, the management frame informs the first AP that the main link is the replaced main link determined by the first STA, that is, the identification information of the main link carried in the management frame is the identification information of the replaced main link.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect and the above-mentioned possible implementation, in another possible implementation, the above-mentioned downlink service indication information is carried in a TIM element field in a beacon frame or a service indication bitmap TIM frame, and the TIM frame also includes a field indicating the identification information of the link, a beacon frame Beacon check field, or at least one of the fields indicating the number of links, and the Beacon check field is used to indicate whether the link indicated by the identification information of the link has a key parameter update. Based on this scheme, the downlink service indication information can be carried by a beacon frame or a TIM frame (multi-link TIM frame). It can be understood that when the downlink service indication information is carried by the beacon frame, each second STA has its corresponding AID, so that it is possible to determine which second STA has downlink service according to the TIM element in the beacon frame. When the downlink service indication information is carried by the multi-link TIM frame, since the multi-link TIM frame includes a field indicating the identification information of the link, it is possible to determine which specific link has downlink service according to the TIM element and the identification information of the link.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect and the above possible implementations, in another possible implementation, the above identification information includes one or more of the following information: an operation set and a channel number corresponding to the link; a media access control MAC address (or a basic service set identifier (BSS identifier, BSSID)) of the link; an identification number of the link. Based on this solution, the identification information of the link can be indicated by one or more information such as an operation set and a channel number corresponding to the link, or a media access control MAC address (or BSSID) of the link, or an identification number of the link.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect and the above possible implementations, in another possible implementation, the above method further includes: the above first STA receives candidate link set information from the above first AP, and the candidate link set information includes identification information of one or more candidate links; accordingly, the above first STA determines the main link, including: the first STA determines the above main link from the above one or more candidate links based on the above candidate link set information. Based on this solution, the first STA can determine the main link from one or more candidate links by receiving the candidate link set information from the first AP.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect and the above-mentioned possible implementations, in another possible implementation, the above-mentioned one or more candidate links belong to a basic service set BSS, or each candidate link belongs to a BSS, or some of the one or more candidate links belong to a BSS; wherein, the AID assigned to a second STA in a BSS is unique. Based on this solution, the first AP can establish a BSS for all candidate links in the candidate link set, or for each candidate link in the candidate link set, or for some of the candidate links in the candidate link set. It should be noted that when the first AP assigns an AID to the second STA, the AID assigned to a second STA in a BSS is unique.

[0017] The second aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method between multi-link devices, the method comprising: a first access point AP obtains identification information of a main link determined by a first station STA; the first STA includes multiple second STAs, one second STA works on one of multiple links, and the multiple links include the main link; the first AP sends downlink service indication information to the second station STA in the first STA working on the main link, the downlink service indication information includes: information for indicating whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink service, or at least one of the information of whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, the secondary link includes links in the multiple links except the main link. Based on this scheme, the first AP can obtain the identification information of the main link determined by the first STA, and send the downlink service indication information to the second STA working on the main link. It can be understood that, since the downlink service indication information sent by the first AP to the second STA working on the main link includes both information indicating whether there is downlink service on the main link and information indicating whether there is downlink service on the secondary link, by sending the downlink service information of the main link and / or the secondary link through the main link, the second STA working on the main link can determine whether there is downlink service on the main link and whether there is downlink service on the secondary link, so that all the second STAs included in the multi-link STA do not need to receive downlink service indications on their respective links. Optionally, the second STA working on the secondary link may not receive information indicating whether there is downlink service on the secondary link on which it works, that is, the second STA working on the secondary link may enter a doze state when there is no data transmission, thereby reducing the power consumption of the multi-link station.

[0018] According to a third aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a first station STA, wherein the first STA includes multiple second STAs, and one second STA works on one link among multiple links. The first STA includes: a processing unit, which is used to determine a main link, and the multiple links include the main link; a transceiver unit, which is used to receive downlink service indication information sent by a first access point AP; wherein the downlink service indication information includes: information for indicating whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink service, or at least one item of information whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the secondary link includes links among the multiple links except the main link.

[0019] In a fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processing unit, used to obtain identification information of a main link determined by a first station STA; the first STA includes multiple second STAs, and one second STA works on one link among multiple links, and the multiple links include the main link; a transceiver unit, used to send downlink service indication information to the second station STA in the first STA working on the above-mentioned main link, and the downlink service indication information includes: information used to indicate whether the second STA working on the above-mentioned main link has downlink service, or at least one item of information whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the secondary link includes links among the above-mentioned multiple links except the above-mentioned main link.

[0020] The description of the effects of the above-mentioned third aspect and its various implementation methods can refer to the description of the corresponding effects of the first aspect and its various implementation methods. The description of the effects of the above-mentioned fourth aspect and its various implementation methods can refer to the description of the corresponding effects of the second aspect and its various implementation methods, and they will not be repeated here.

[0021] The communication device of the third aspect and the fourth aspect mentioned above may be a chip, wherein the processing unit may be a processing circuit of the chip, the transceiver unit may be an input / output interface circuit, the processing circuit may be used to process signaling or data information provided by the input / output, and the input / output interface circuit may be used to input / output data or signaling information for the chip.

[0022] According to a fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program code. When the computer program code runs on a processor, the processor executes the communication method between multi-link devices described in any one of the above aspects.

[0023] According to a sixth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is provided, which stores computer software instructions executed by the above-mentioned processor, and the computer software instructions include a program for executing the scheme described in the above-mentioned aspects.

[0024] In a seventh aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and may also include a transceiver and a memory, wherein the transceiver is used to send and receive information, or to communicate with other network elements; the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions; and the processor is used to execute the computer-executable instructions to support the communication device to implement the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0025] In an eighth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided. The device may be in the form of a chip product. The structure of the device includes a processor and may also include a memory. The memory is used to couple with the processor to store program instructions and data necessary for the device. The processor is used to execute the program instructions stored in the memory to support the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0026] In a ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication device is provided. The device may be in the form of a chip product. The structure of the device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The processor is used to communicate with other devices through a receiving circuit so that the device executes the method described in any one of the above aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of communication between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a multi-link device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a scenario of a communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a frame structure of a multi-link TIM frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a frame structure of another multi-link TIM frame provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Fig. 9 A flowchart of another communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Fig.10 A flowchart of another communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Fig.11 A flowchart of another communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Fig.12 A flowchart of another communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Fig.13 A flowchart of another communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Fig.14 A flowchart of another communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of an application of a communication method between multi-link devices provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Fig.17 A schematic diagram of the composition of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c or a and b and c, where a, b and c can be single or multiple.

[0045] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0046] The first, second, etc. descriptions appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only used for illustration and distinction of the description objects. There is no order, nor do they indicate any special limitation on the number of devices in the embodiments of the present application, and cannot constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0047] The "connection" that appears in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection methods such as direct connection or indirect connection to achieve communication between devices, and the embodiments of the present application do not impose any limitations on this.

[0048] Unless otherwise specified, the "transmission" (transmit / transmission) that appears in the embodiments of the present application refers to bidirectional transmission, including the actions of sending and / or receiving. Specifically, the "transmission" in the embodiments of the present application includes the sending of data, the receiving of data, or the sending of data and the receiving of data. In other words, the data transmission here includes uplink and / or downlink data transmission. Data may include channels and / or signals, uplink data transmission is uplink channel and / or uplink signal transmission, and downlink data transmission is downlink channel and / or downlink signal transmission.

[0049] The “network” and “system” that appear in the embodiments of the present application express the same concept, and the communication system is the communication network.

[0050] The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method between multi-link devices, and the method is applied to a wireless communication system, and the wireless communication system can be a wireless local area network, and the wireless local area network includes at least one access point (Access Point, AP) and at least one station (Station, STA). The AP is a network element that provides services for the station, for example, an access point that can support the 802.11 series protocol, and the station STA can be a station that supports the 802.11 series protocol, for example, an Extremely High Throughput (EHT) station, or a station that supports IEEE 802.11be.

[0051] For example, Figure 1 As shown, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to Figure 1 In the communication system shown in FIG. 1 , an access point AP can perform data transmission with multiple STAs. For example, Figure 1 The AP can transmit uplink data or downlink data with two STAs.

[0052] Currently, IEEE 802.11 next-generation WiFi protocol devices can support multiple streams, multiple frequency bands (for example, 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz bands), and cooperation of multiple channels on the same frequency band to increase peak throughput and reduce service transmission latency. In other words, Figure 1The STA in the communication system shown can transmit uplink or downlink data in a multi-band or multi-channel manner, that is, the STA can transmit uplink or downlink data through multiple links, and the STA that transmits uplink or downlink data through multiple links can be called a multi-link STA. For example, Figure 1 The STA in the communication system shown may be a multi-link STA. Figure 1 The AP in the communication system shown may also be a multi-link AP, that is, an AP that transmits uplink or downlink data through multiple links. A multi-link STA may include one or more STAs, and the one or more STAs work on multiple links; a multi-link AP includes one or more APs, and the one or more APs work on multiple links.

[0053] For example, Figure 2 A schematic diagram of communication between multi-link devices is shown, for example, Figure 1 A communication diagram of a multi-link AP and a multi-link STA in the communication system. Figure 2 As shown, a multi-link STA can communicate with a multi-link AP through two links. Among them, the multi-link STA includes STA1 and STA2, and the multi-link AP includes AP1 and AP2. STA1 in the multi-link STA can communicate with AP1 in the multi-link AP through link 1, and STA2 in the multi-link STA can communicate with AP2 in the multi-link AP through link 2. That is, a multi-link STA can transmit data with a multi-link AP through multiple links, and one STA among the multiple STAs included in the multi-link STA works on one of the multiple links.

[0054] For example, Figure 3 The 802.11 standard focuses on the 802.11 physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) layer in multi-link devices. Figure 3 As shown in (a) in FIG. 1 , the multiple STAs (or multiple APs) included in the multi-link STA (or multi-link AP) are independent of each other at the low MAC layer and the PHY layer, and are also independent of each other at the high MAC layer. Figure 3As shown in (b), the multiple STAs (or multiple APs) included in the multi-link STA (or multi-link AP) are independent of each other in the low MAC (Low MAC) layer and the PHY layer, and share the high MAC (High MAC) layer. Of course, in the multi-link communication process, the multi-link STA may adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is independent of each other, while the multi-link AP adopts a structure in which the high MAC layer is shared; or the multi-link STA may adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is shared, while the multi-link AP may adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is independent of each other; or the multi-link STA may adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is shared, while the multi-link AP may also adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is shared; or the multi-link STA may adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is independent of each other, while the multi-link AP may also adopt a structure in which the high MAC layer is independent of each other. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the internal structure diagram of the multi-link device. Figure 3 This is an illustrative description only.

[0055] Exemplarily, the multi-link STA and multi-link AP in the embodiments of the present application can be single-antenna devices or multi-antenna devices. For example, it can be a device with more than two antennas. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the number of antennas included in the multi-link device. In the embodiments of the present application, the multi-link STA and multi-link AP can allow services of the same access type to be transmitted on different links, and even allow the same data packets to be transmitted on different links; they can also not allow services of the same access type to be transmitted on different links, but allow services of different access types to be transmitted on different links.

[0056] Exemplarily, a multi-link device in an embodiment of the present application, such as a multi-link site device, or a multi-link AP device, includes one or more sites in a logical sense, each site works on a link, allowing one or more sites to work on the same link, and the working link of the site can be changed. The link identifier in the embodiment of the present application is used to identify a link or a BSS or an AP of a multi-link AP device, or a STA of a multi-link site device, representing the operation set of the link, the channel number, and one or more combinations of MAC addresses.

[0057] Exemplarily, the multi-link STA in the embodiment of the present application may be a device that supports the 802.11 series of protocols and has wireless transceiver functions. For example, the multi-link STA may be a user device that can be connected to the Internet, such as a tablet computer, a desktop, a laptop, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a handheld computer, a netbook, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, or an IoT node in the IoT. The multi-link AP in the embodiment of the present application may be a device that supports the 802.11 series of protocols and provides services for the multi-link STA. For example, the multi-link AP may be a communication entity such as a communication server, a router, a switch, a bridge, or the multi-link AP may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, there is no special restriction on the specific forms of the multi-link STA and the multi-link AP, which are only exemplary descriptions. Among them, the 802.11 protocol may be a protocol that supports 802.11be or is compatible with 802.11be.

[0058] In the specific implementation, Figure 1-Figure 3 Each device shown in (such as: AP, STA, multi-link STA, multi-link AP) can use Figure 4 The structure shown, or including Figure 4 Parts shown.

[0059] For example, Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 As shown, the communication device 400 may include at least one processor 401 , a memory 402 , a transceiver 403 , and a communication bus 404 .

[0060] Combine the following Figure 4 The components of the communication device 400 are described in detail:

[0061] The processor 401 is the control center of the communication device 400, and can be a processor or a general term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 401 is a central processing unit (CPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more microprocessors (digital signal processors, DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGAs).

[0062] The processor 401 may execute various functions of the communication device by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 402 and calling data stored in the memory 402 .

[0063] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 401 may include one or more CPUs, such as Figure 4 CPU0 and CPU1 are shown in the figure.

[0064] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 400 may include multiple processors, such as Figure 4 4 and 5. Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor here may refer to one or more communication devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0065] The memory 402 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage communication devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage communication devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage communication device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 402 may exist independently and be connected to the processor 401 via a communication bus 404. The memory 402 may also be integrated with the processor 401. Among them, the memory 402 is used to store the software program that executes the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 401.

[0066] The transceiver 403 is used for communication with other devices (such as access points or stations). Of course, the transceiver 403 can also be used to communicate with a communication network, such as Ethernet, a radio access network (RAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc. The transceiver 403 may include a receiving unit to implement a receiving function, and a sending unit to implement a sending function. In an embodiment of the present application, when the communication device 400 is a multi-link device, the transceiver 403 can both transmit and receive data transmitted on the main link in the multi-link device and transmit and receive data transmitted on the secondary link in the multi-link device. Optionally, the transceiver 403 may also include multiple transceiver modules, one transceiver module is used to transmit and receive data on the main link in the multi-link device, and other transceiver modules are used to transmit and receive data on the secondary link in the multi-link device.

[0067] The communication bus 404 may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 4 Only one thick line is used in the diagram, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0068] Generally, in order to save the power consumption of a single-link STA, energy-saving technologies such as traffic indication map (TIM), wireless network management (WNM), target wake up time (TWT), or automatic power saved transmission (APSD) can be used to reduce the power consumption of a single-link STA. The embodiment of the present application mainly introduces the energy-saving technology based on TIM as an example.

[0069] In the 802.11 protocol, STA usually has two working modes, one is non-energy-saving mode and the other is energy-saving mode. When STA works in non-energy-saving mode, the STA is in active state (active state, also called awake state) regardless of whether there is data transmission. When STA works in energy-saving mode, when transmitting data with AP, STA can be in active state (active state); when there is no data transmission between AP and STA, STA can be in doze state (doze state) to save power consumption. Whether STA is in energy-saving mode can be determined by sending a frame to AP, and the energy-saving bit in the frame control field (frame control field) of the MAC header in the frame is set to 1 to inform AP that the STA is in energy-saving mode, and the energy-saving bit in the frame control field (frame control field) of the MAC header in the frame is set to 0 to inform AP that the STA is in non-energy-saving mode.

[0070] In order to save the power consumption of STA, AP can buffer the downlink service of STA and wait for the STA to wake up before sending the downlink service to the STA. However, due to the limited buffer space of AP, AP will periodically carry TIM element in 802.11 beacon frame to inform its associated STA whether it has downlink service to receive. STA working in energy-saving mode will wake up periodically to receive beacon frames sent by AP to determine whether AP has transmitted its downlink service. If not, STA can switch to sleep state. If so, STA can choose a time point to wake up and send a power-saving polling frame (PS-poll frame) to AP to inform AP that the STA is in active state. This time point can be the same as the time period of receiving beacon frame or different.

[0071] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned 802.11 beacon frames (beacon) can be divided into two categories, one is the traffic indication map (TIM) beacon frame, and the other is the delivery traffic indication map (DTIM) beacon frame. Compared with the TIM beacon frame, the DTIM beacon frame not only indicates the cached unicast information, but also indicates the multicast information cached by the AP. Each beacon frame (beacon) contains a TIM element field, which is used to indicate which STA managed by the AP has downlink data cached in the AP. The frame format of the TIM element field is shown in Table 1 below.

[0072] Table 1

[0073]

[0074] As shown in Table 1, the element ID (identifier) ​​field is used to identify the element as a TIM element. The length field is used to indicate the length of the TIM element. The DTIM period (DTIM Period) field indicates the period duration of the DTIM beacon frame, that is, the arrival interval, in units of the beacon frame period. The DTIM count (DTIM count) field is used to indicate how many TIM beacon frames appear before the next DTIM beacon frame arrives. The DTIM count field is a count value, which is variable. When the value of the DTIMcount field is 0, it indicates that the beacon frame is a DTIM beacon frame, otherwise the beacon frame is a TIM beacon frame, that is, when the value of the DTIMcount field is not 0, it indicates that the beacon frame is a TIM beacon frame. For example, if the DTIM Period is set to 1, then in each TIM element field, the DTIM count is equal to 0, so each beacon frame is a DTIM beacon frame.

[0075] The first bit (bit 0) in the bitmap control field in Table 1 indicates whether the AP sends a DTIM beacon frame with downlink multicast service. Bits 1 to 7 in the bitmap control field indicate the offset of the partial virtual bitmap, which is in bytes, that is, 8 bits. Each bit in the partial virtual bitmap field maps a STA. When the value of the bit is 1, it means that the STA corresponding to the bit has downlink data cached in the AP. For example, if the offset is 0, the partial virtual bitmap starts from association identifier (AID) 1. If the offset is 1, the partial virtual bitmap starts from AID9. The end bit of the partial virtual bitmap is determined by the length field. Therefore, the maximum length of the partial virtual bitmap is 251 bytes, that is, 2008 bits.

[0076] For example, taking the length field as 4 bytes, bits 1 to 7 in the bitmap control field indicating that the offset of the partial virtual bitmap is 0 as an example, when the partial virtual bitmap field is 01100110, the TIM element field indicates that the STAs corresponding to AID2, AID3, AID6, and AID7 have downlink data cached in the AP. For another example, taking the length field as 4 bytes, bits 1 to 7 in the bitmap control field indicating that the offset of the partial virtual bitmap is 1 as an example, when the partial virtual bitmap field is 01100110, the TIM element field indicates that the STAs corresponding to AID10, AID11, AID14, and AID15 have downlink data cached in the AP.

[0077] For example, if the AP is working in a multiple Basic Service Set identifier (BSSID) mode, that is, the AP includes a Basic Service Set (BSS) of a transmission BSSID and a plurality of BSSs of a non-transmission BSSID. The maximum number of sets of multiple BSSIDs allowed is 2. n where n is the value indicated by the MaxBSSID Indicator field in the Multiple BSSID element. In this case, bits 1 to 2 of the Partial Virtual Bitmap field n -1, used to indicate the downlink multicast service corresponding to the BSS of the non-transmitting BSSID. Bit 2 n In combination with the indication of the offset of the virtual bitmap, it is indicated whether the STA corresponding to each AID has a downlink unicast service.

[0078] The 802.11-2016 protocol further optimizes the length of some virtual bitmaps, such as using method A recorded in the 802.11-2016 protocol.

[0079] and method B. And method C specified in the subsequent 802.11ah protocol draft. These methods are applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0080] The above-mentioned energy-saving technology based on TIM can only reduce the power consumption of single-link STA, but cannot reduce the power consumption of multi-link STA. Regarding the problem of how to reduce the power consumption of multi-link STA, in one implementation method, an independent energy-saving mechanism can be performed on each link to reduce the power consumption of multi-link STA to a certain extent. For example, based on the TIM technology, energy saving is performed on each link of the multi-link STA. Each STA in the multi-link STA receives a beacon frame on the corresponding link, that is, wakes up at the time when the beacon frame is sent, and can be in a dormant state at other times. However, in this method, the multi-link STA still needs to continuously turn on the multiple STAs it manages, and the power consumption of the multi-link STA is still relatively high. In order to avoid the problem that a multi-link site needs to continuously turn on the multiple sites it manages, resulting in high power consumption of the site, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method between multi-link devices, which does not require the multi-link site to periodically turn on all sites managed by the multi-link site, further reducing the power consumption of the multi-link site.

[0081] In order to solve the problem that a multi-link station needs to continuously open multiple stations it manages, resulting in high power consumption of the station, the embodiment of the present application provides a communication method between multi-link devices, which is applied to a first station STA, the first STA includes one or more second STAs, and a second STA works on one link among multiple links. Figure 1-Figure 4 He Ru Figure 5 As shown, the method includes steps S501-S504, and some steps may be omitted.

[0082] S501: A first STA determines a primary link.

[0083] Exemplarily, the first STA is a multi-link STA, and the multi-link STA can work on multiple links, that is, the multi-link STA can transmit data through multiple links, and the frequency bands or channels of the multiple links are different. The multi-link STA may include one or more second STAs, wherein a second STA works on one link among the multiple links. The multiple links include the above-mentioned main link.

[0084] Exemplarily, one or more second STAs included in the above-mentioned first STA are independent of each other in the low MAC layer and the physical layer, and can be shared or independent of each other in the high MAC layer. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0085] For example, Figure 6 FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of communication between multi-link devices. Figure 6As shown, the multi-link AP can communicate with multiple stations (STA1, STA2 and STA3) it manages, and STA2 and STA3 are multi-link STAs. Among them, STA1 works in the 2.4GHz frequency band; multi-link STA2 includes STA2-1 and STA2-2, STA2-1 works in the 5GHz frequency band, and STA2-2 works in the 6GHz frequency band; multi-link STA3 includes STA3-1 and STA3-2, STA3-1 works in the 2.4GHz frequency band, and STA3-2 works in the 6GHz frequency band. AP1 working in the 2.4GHz frequency band in the multi-link AP can transmit uplink or downlink data with the STA working in the 2.4GHz frequency band through link 1. AP2 working in the 5GHz frequency band in the multi-link AP can transmit uplink or downlink data with the STA working in the 5GHz frequency band in the multi-link STA through link 2. AP3 working in the 6GHz frequency band in the multi-link AP can transmit uplink or downlink data with the STA working in the 6GHz frequency band in the multi-link STA through link 3. For example, Figure 6 AP1 working in the 2.4 GHz band in the multi-link AP can transmit uplink or downlink data with STA1 working in the 2.4 GHz band and STA3-1 working in the 2.4 GHz band in the multi-link STA3 through link 1. AP2 working in the 5 GHz band in the multi-link AP can transmit uplink or downlink data with STA2-1 working in the 5 GHz band in the multi-link STA2 through link 2. AP3 working in the 6 GHz band in the multi-link AP can transmit uplink or downlink data with STA2-2 working in the 6 GHz band in the multi-link STA2 and STA3-2 working in the 6 GHz band in the multi-link STA3 through link 3.

[0086] It should be noted that Figure 6 Only a multi-link AP supports three frequency bands, each frequency band corresponds to a link, and the multi-link AP can work on one or more links of link 1, link 2 or link 3 as an example for illustration. On the AP side or the STA side, the link here can also be understood as a station working on the link. In practical applications, the multi-link AP can also support more or fewer frequency bands, that is, the multi-link AP can work on more links or fewer links, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0087] For example, Figure 6 For example, the multi-link STA2 in step S501 is the first STA, which includes STA2-1 and STA2-2. The first STA can work on multiple links. Figure 6As shown, the STA2-1 included in the first STA can work on link 2, and the working frequency band of link 2 is 5 GHz. The STA2-2 included in the first STA can work on link 3, and the working frequency band of link 3 is 6 GHz. The main link determined by the first STA is link 2 or link 3.

[0088] Exemplarily, the first STA determining the primary link may include: the first STA determining the primary link based on the channel utilization information corresponding to the link and / or the signal quality parameters of the link. The specific method for the first STA to determine the primary link is not limited in the embodiment of the present application, and is only an exemplary description. In one example, the method for determining the primary link may be combined with Fig.14 The scheme of steps S1401-1404.

[0089] Optionally, the first STA may also include only one second STA, and the link of the second STA may be changed and switched. For example, the second STA included in the first STA may work in the 5 GHz frequency band in some scenarios and in the 6 GHz frequency band in other scenarios.

[0090] S502: The first AP obtains identification information of the primary link determined by the first STA.

[0091] Exemplarily, the first AP may be a multi-link AP, which may work on multiple links. Figure 6 The multi-link AP shown can work on one or more links among link 1, link 2 or link 3.

[0092] Exemplarily, the identification information of the main link may include one or more of the following information: the operating class and channel number corresponding to the main link; or, the MAC address (or BSSID) of the main link; or, the identifier (ID) of the main link. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific content included in the identification information of the main link. As long as the information can uniquely identify the main link, it can be the identification information of the main link in the embodiment of the present application. The MAC address of the above-mentioned main link can be the MAC address of the STA working on the main link, or the MAC address of the AP working on the main link. When the MAC address of the main link is the MAC address of the AP working on the main link, the MAC address of the main link can also be called BSSID.

[0093] In one implementation, when the first AP and the first STA are not associated, the first AP obtains the identification information of the main link, which may include: the first AP receives an association request frame from the first STA. The link through which the first AP receives the association request frame is the main link determined by the first AP, or the association request frame received by the first AP carries the identification information of the main link determined by the first AP. In other words, the first AP may determine the link through which the association request frame is received as the main link, and the identification information of the link is the identification information of the main link; or, the first AP obtains the identification information of the main link carried in the association request frame.

[0094] In another implementation, when the first AP and the first STA are already associated, the first AP obtains the identification information of the main link, which may include: the first AP receives a management frame from the first STA, and the management frame carries the identification information of the main link determined by the first STA. It can be understood that in this implementation, the management frame is used to inform the AP of the main link after the first STA is replaced, that is, the identification information of the main link carried in the management frame is the identification information of the replaced main link. Optionally, the management frame may also include a replacement count to indicate the countdown of the main link replacement.

[0095] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific method for the first AP to obtain the identification information of the primary link, which is only an exemplary description. For example, the first AP can also determine the primary link by itself.

[0096] It should be noted that the above-mentioned main link may also be agreed upon by the protocol. In the case where the main link is a link agreed upon by the protocol, the above-mentioned steps S501-S502 are optional steps. For example, the protocol may agree that a link working in a certain frequency band is the main link.

[0097] S503: The first AP sends downlink service indication information to a second STA in the first STA that works on the primary link.

[0098] The downlink service indication information includes at least one of the following: information indicating whether the second STA working on the primary link has downlink service, or information indicating whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service. For example, the downlink service indication information includes information indicating whether the second STA working on the primary link has downlink service; or the downlink service indication information includes information indicating whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service; or the downlink service indication information includes information indicating whether the second STA working on the primary link has downlink service and information indicating whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service.

[0099] The secondary link includes links other than the primary link in the multiple links. The downlink service includes a downlink unicast service and a downlink multicast service. The secondary link of the first STA may be one or more.

[0100] Exemplarily, the secondary link may include some or all of the links except the primary link in the above multiple links. For example, taking the example that the first STA can work on four links, the four links are link 1, link 2, link 3 and link 4. If the primary link determined by the first STA is link 2, the secondary link may include at least one of link 1, link 3 or link 4. For example, the secondary link may include link 1, link 3 and link 4. For another example, the secondary link may include link 3 and link 4.

[0101] Exemplarily, in the above step S503, the first AP may send information indicating whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink service to the first STA (or the second STA working on the main link) on the main link, and may also send information indicating whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service to the first STA (or the second STA working on the main link) on the main link, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. For example, taking the periodic awakening of the second STA working on the main link as an example, the first AP may send downlink service indication information to the first STA (or the second STA working on the main link) through the main link, and after the second STA working on the main link enters the awake state, it can receive the downlink service indication information from the first AP. It should be noted that the above-mentioned secondary link may be one or more, the second STA working on the secondary link may be one or more, and the second STA working on the main link may be one or more. This situation is also applicable to the following embodiments, and the following embodiments will not be repeated.

[0102] Exemplarily, the first AP may also send the above-mentioned downlink service indication information on the secondary link. Specifically, the first AP may send the downlink service indication information to the first STA (or the second STA working on the primary link) on the secondary link. For example, when the first AP learns that the second STA working on the secondary link is in the awake state, the first AP may send the downlink service indication information to the first STA (or the second STA working on the primary link) via the secondary link.

[0103] Exemplarily, the downlink service indication information may be carried in a TIM element field in a beacon frame or a TIM frame. Optionally, the downlink service indication information may be carried in other management frames. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the TIM element field may specifically indicate whether the second STA corresponding to each link has downlink service information.

[0104] In the first case, when the downlink service indication information is carried in the TIM element field in the beacon frame or other management frame, the TIM element field can indicate whether the second STA corresponding to each link has downlink service information through the following two implementation methods. The other management frames may include TIM frames, detection response frames, and association response frames.

[0105] In the first implementation, the beacon frame or other management frame sent by the first AP on the main link may include multiple TIM element fields, the multiple TIM element fields correspond to multiple links, and one TIM element field includes downlink service indication information of the second STA working on one link. Optionally, the TIM element field may also include link identification information. After the first STA receives the beacon frame or other management frame sent by the first AP on the main link, it can be known whether the multiple stations it contains have downlink services.

[0106] In the second implementation, the fields contained in the existing TIM element may not be changed, and each beacon frame or other management frame includes one TIM element. One bit in the partial virtual bit map in the TIM element corresponds to indicating whether one STA has downlink service. For example, in each BSS, the first AP assigns an AID to each second STA in the multi-link STA in the BSS, that is, the AID corresponds to the second STA working on a certain link in the multi-link site. For another example, the first AP assigns AIDs to some of the second STAs in the multi-link STA, and the links on which these some STAs work are links in the candidate link set managed by the first AP. Optionally, there are multiple methods for the AP to assign an AID to the STA. For example, a method for the AP to assign an AID to the STA can be referred to the description in steps S1301-1305.

[0107] Exemplarily, in each BSS, the first AP allocates 1 AID to the STA working on the primary link among the multi-link STAs in the BSS, and the first AP allocates 1 or 2 AIDs to the STA working on each secondary link among the multi-link STAs in the BSS.

[0108] Exemplarily, corresponding to the second implementation, when the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element indicates whether the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink multicast service, for the second STA working on the primary link in the multi-link STA, the corresponding bit of the partial virtual bit field of the TIM element can be used to indicate whether it has a corresponding downlink unicast service. The first AP allocates 1 AID to the second STA working on the primary link, and whether the bit corresponding to the AID of the second STA working on the primary link in the partial virtual bitmap field in the TIM element is set to 1 to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink unicast service. For the second STA working on the secondary link in the multi-link STA, the first AP allocates 1 AID to the second STA working on the secondary link, and whether the bit corresponding to the AID of the second STA in the partial virtual bitmap field in the TIM element is set to 1 to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service. That is, when the first AP allocates 1 AID to the second STA working on the secondary link, the AID does not distinguish between downlink unicast services and downlink multicast services. For the second STA working on the secondary link in the multi-link STA, the first AP allocates 2 AIDs to the second STA working on the secondary link, wherein one AID is used to indicate whether the second STA corresponding to the AID has a downlink unicast service, and the other AID is used to indicate whether the second STA corresponding to the AID has a downlink multicast service. For example, the first AP can allocate 2 AIDs to the second STA working on the secondary link, and whether the bit corresponding to one AID in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element is set to 1 to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink unicast service. Whether the bit corresponding to another AID in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element is set to 1 to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink multicast service.

[0109] Exemplarily, corresponding to the second implementation method, when the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element is used to indicate whether the first STA has a downlink multicast service, when the value of the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element is 1, it indicates that the first STA has a downlink multicast service. The downlink multicast service can be sent to the second STA working on the main link, or it can be sent to the second STA working on the secondary link. In this case, the downlink multicast service can be sent after the DTIM beacon frame of the main link. It can be understood that in this embodiment, the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element does not distinguish whether the downlink multicast service is sent to the second STA on the working main link or the second STA working on the secondary link. Optionally, the multicast service frame may include link identification information, thereby further informing the first STA that the multicast service frame is sent to the second STA working on which link among the multiple second STAs included in the first STA. In this implementation, the first AP only needs to allocate one AID to the second STA working on the secondary link, and whether the bit corresponding to the AID in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element is set to 1 is used to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink unicast service.

[0110] It can be understood that when the above-mentioned first AP allocates 1 or 2 AIDs to the second STA working on the secondary link, the second STA working on the secondary link may be part or all of the second STAs included in the first STA, and the first AP allocates 1 or 2 AIDs to each of the part or all of the second STAs.

[0111] Exemplarily, the second implementation method mentioned above, by utilizing the correspondence between AID and link, indicates whether there is downlink service on each link respectively, without changing the structure of the existing TIM element field, has better compatibility, and comparatively speaking, does not require additional additional information to identify each link, which can save signaling overhead.

[0112] Exemplarily, the downlink unicast service sent by the multi-link AP to the multi-link site may not distinguish which specific link the unicast service is. In this embodiment, for the downlink unicast service, multiple second STAs of the multi-link site can share one AID, and the AID can be the AID of the multi-link site. For example, whether the bit corresponding to the AID in the partial virtual bitmap field in the TIM element is set to 1 is used to indicate whether the multi-link STA has a downlink unicast service. In the case where the TIM element indicates that the multi-link STA has a downlink unicast service, the downlink unicast service can be received by the second STA working on the main link, or by the second STA working on any secondary link. The multi-link AP assigns an AID to the second STA working on each secondary link in the multi-link site, and whether the bit corresponding to the AID in the partial virtual bitmap field in the TIM element is set to 1 is used to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink multicast service. Alternatively, the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element is used to indicate whether the first STA has a downlink multicast service, without distinguishing which second STA of the first STA has a downlink multicast service. The downlink multicast service is sent after the primary link DTIM beacon frame. When sent, the multicast service may optionally carry a link identification information field.

[0113] Multicast services are generally related to links. The multicast services of each link can be different or the same.

[0114] If the first STA includes only one second STA, and the link on which the second STA works can be changed and switched, then the first AP can assign multiple AIDs to the second STA, and the corresponding AIDs of the second STA working on different links are different. For example, when the second STA works in the 5GHz frequency band, it corresponds to one AID, and when the second STA works in the 6GHz frequency band, it corresponds to another AID. Through the correspondence between the AID and the link, the first STA that receives the multicast service frame can determine which link the downlink multicast service is for.

[0115] Optionally, the TIM element may also include a special field, which may be a multi-link identification bitmap field or a plurality of link identification information fields, and the multi-link bitmap field or the plurality of link information fields are used to indicate one or more links that receive the downlink service of the multi-link site. One bit of the multi-link identification bitmap field may correspond to one link, and when the value of one or more bits is a first value, such as 1, it indicates that the one or more links corresponding to the one or more bits receive downlink services; when the value of one or more bits is a second value, such as 0, it indicates that the one or more links corresponding to the one or more bits do not need to receive downlink services. The plurality of link identification information fields carry identification information for distinguishing different links. Among them, the downlink service includes a downlink multicast service and / or a downlink unicast service. In this embodiment, the multi-link AP may assign one AID to the multi-link site, or may assign multiple AIDs.

[0116] In the second case, the downlink service indication information can be carried in the TIM element field in the TIM frame. Optionally, the TIM frame includes frame control, duration, address 1, address 2, BSSID, sequence control, frame carrier and FCS (frame check sequence) fields. The action field of the TIM frame is located in the frame carrier field.

[0117] In the WNM or TWT energy-saving mechanism, the STA can communicate a wake-up cycle with the AP. The AP sends a broadcast TIM frame to the corresponding multiple STAs at the beginning of each wake-up cycle. The TIM frame is much shorter than the beacon frame. The TIM element included in the TIM frame is used to inform multiple STAs whether there are corresponding downlink service indications. At this time, since the TIM frame is much shorter than the beacon frame, the STA can achieve energy-saving effects. In the WNM mechanism, the TIMBroadcast Interval (TIM broadcast interval) field in the TIM request frame sent by the STA or the TIM response replied by the AP is used to indicate the wake-up cycle. Alternatively, in the TWT mechanism, the wake-up cycle corresponds to the TWT wake-up interval in the TWT mechanism, where the TWT wake-up interval is calculated by the TWT wake-up duration decimal field and the TWT wake-up interval index field in the TWT element. Specifically, TWT wake-up interval = TWT wake-up duration decimal * 2 (TWT 醒来间隔指数) .

[0118] Optionally, the frame carrier in the TIM frame may also include at least one of the following: a type field, an unprotected wireless network management (WNM) behavior field, a timestamp field, a beacon frame Beacon check field, and a link identification information field. Among them, the unprotected WNM behavior field is used to indicate different behavior values. The timestamp field is used to indicate clock information. The beacon frame Beacon check field is used to indicate whether the BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information field is located has a key BSS parameter update, or the beacon frame Beacon check field is used to indicate whether the link indicated by the link identification information field has a key parameter update. The link identification information field is used to identify a specific link.

[0119] Exemplarily, if the BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information field is located has a key BSS parameter update, or the link indicated by the link identification information field has a key parameter update, the value of the Beacon check field is increased by 1. For example, when the first AP determines that the BSS on a certain link has a key BSS parameter update, the Beacon check field value in the service is increased by 1, and the identification information of the link in the service indicates the link. The above BSS parameters can also be understood as link parameters.

[0120] Exemplarily, the multi-link STA will remember the value of the Beacon check field corresponding to each link received last time each time. If the value of the Beacon check field corresponding to a link in the most recently received service is different from the value of the Beacon check field corresponding to the link received last time, the multi-link STA will receive the beacon frame sent by the multi-link AP on the link.

[0121] Exemplarily, the key BSS parameters may include one or more of the following: Inclusion of a ChannelSwitch Announcement element includes a channel change notification element Inclusion of an ExtendedChannel Switch Announcement element includes an extended channel change notification element; Modification of the EDCA parameters element changes the EDCA parameters element;Including a Quiet element, Modification of the DSSS Parameter Set, Modification of the CF Parameter Set element, Modification of the HT Operation element, Inclusion of a Wide Bandwidth Channel Switch element, Inclusion of a Channel Switch Wrapper element, Inclusion of an Operating Mode Notification element, Inclusion of a Quiet Channel element, Modification of the VHT Operation element, Modification of the HE Operation element, Insertion of a Broadcast TWT element, Inclusion of the BSS Color Change Announcement element, Modification of the MU EDCA Parameter Set element element), Modification of theSpatial Reuse Parameter Set element. One or more of the above key BSS parameters may also be listed as key parameters of the link. ;

[0122] Exemplarily, the behavior value of the unprotected WNM behavior field is shown in Table 2.

[0123] Table 2

[0124] Behavior Value 0 TIM service indication bitmap 1 Time measurement 2-255 Reserved

[0125] Exemplarily, as shown in Table 2, the behavior value is set to one of the reserved values, indicating that the TIM frame is a frame including the aforementioned downlink service indication information, and the downlink service indication information is used to indicate whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink service information, or whether the second STA working on the secondary link has at least one of the downlink service information. Optionally, the TIM frame can be called a multi-link TIM frame. In other words, the reserved value indicates that the TIM frame is a multi-link TIM frame. In other words, the multi-link TIM frame can be distinguished from the traditional TIM frame by a reserved value of the unprotected WNM behavior field in Table 2, such as 2. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific value of a reserved value of the unprotected WNM behavior field. For example, it can also be other values ​​in 2-255. This is only an exemplary description.

[0126] In one implementation, the frame structure of the multi-link TIM frame is as follows: Figure 7 As shown, the multi-link TIM behavior field is located in the frame carrier, and the frame carrier includes a type, an unprotected WNM behavior field, a Beacon check field, a TIM element field, and a link identification information field. Optionally, a timestamp field may also be included. Figure 7 The multi-link TIM frame shown is used to indicate whether multiple stations working on the link indicated by the link identification information field have downlink services.

[0127] It can be understood that since the multi-link TIM frame includes a link identification information field, when a multi-link TIM frame is used, within a BSS, even if the multi-link STA includes multiple second STAs, only one AID is required. Combined with the link identification information and the AID, it can be determined which station working on the link indicated by the link identification information field has downlink service.

[0128] Exemplarily, the link identification information field may be a special field for indicating which links in a multi-link site are used to receive downlink services. In one implementation, the special field includes a special link identification number, a special MAC address (or BSSID) or a combination of an operation set and a channel number, or a combination thereof, for indicating that all links of a multi-link site (first STA) are used to receive downlink services. In another implementation, the special field may also be a multi-link identification bitmap field or multiple link identification information fields, and the multi-link identification bitmap field or multiple link information identification fields are used to indicate that one or more links receiving the downlink service of the multi-link site are used to receive the downlink service. For example, when the value of the bit corresponding to the AID of the multi-link site in the partial virtual bitmap field in the TIM element is 1, it is determined that the multi-link site has downlink services, and one or more links indicated by the multi-link identification bitmap field or the multi-link information field can receive the downlink service sent by the AP. One bit of the multi-link identification bitmap field may correspond to one link, and when the value of one or more bits is 1, it indicates that one or more links corresponding to the one or more bits receive downlink services. Optionally, the station working on the primary link among the multi-link stations may send the PS-Poll, or multiple stations working on the secondary links among the multi-link stations may send the PS-Poll respectively.

[0129] Optionally, the multi-link TIM frame may not include the link identification information field. When the multi-link TIM frame does not include the link identification information field, the multi-link TIM frame may be used to indicate whether the multi-link station (the first STA) has downlink service.

[0130] For example, Figure 7 The multi-link TIM frame shown includes a field indicating the identification information of the link, and the field of the identification information of the link is used to identify which link it is. Figure 6 As shown, taking the first STA as multi-link STA2, and the main link determined by the multi-link STA2 as link 2 as an example, the first AP can send a multi-link TIM frame to multi-link STA2 through link 2. If the link indicated by the link identification information in the multi-link TIM frame is link 3, and the value of the bit corresponding to the AID of multi-link STA2 in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element is 1, it indicates that STA2-2 working on link 3 in the multi-link STA2 has downlink service data cached in the first AP.

[0131] In another implementation, the frame structure of the multi-link TIM frame is as follows: Figure 8As shown, the multi-link TIM behavior field is located in the frame carrier, and the frame carrier includes the type, unprotected WNM behavior field, and the link number field. When the number of links indicated by the link number field is multiple, for each link, it also includes a Beacon check field, a TIM element field, and a link identification information field. Optionally, it may also include a timestamp field or multiple timestamp fields. Figure 8 The multi-link TIM frame shown is used to indicate whether multiple stations operating on the link indicated by each link identification information field have downlink services.

[0132] It is worth noting that the beacon check field and link identification information field included in the TIM frame or multi-link TIM frame can also be placed in other management frames, and the multiple fields can be used separately to notify whether the link BSS parameters indicated by the link identification information field have changed. The above method can also be used to determine whether the BSS parameters of multiple links have changed, such as including the number of links, n beacon check fields and n link identification information fields, where n is indicated by the link number field, and another example includes a link identification bit map, and n beacon check fields, and optionally includes a link identification bit map length field, where n is the number of link identification bit maps set to the first value (such as 1). Among them, the value of one or more Beacon check fields is initialized to 0.

[0133] For example, Figure 8 The multi-link TIM frame shown includes a field indicating the number of links and a link identification information field, where the link identification information field is used to identify which link it is. Figure 7 The multilink TIM frame shown is different in that Figure 7 The multi-TIM frame shown can only indicate whether multiple stations working on one link have downlink services. Figure 8 The multiple TIM frames shown can indicate whether multiple stations working on multiple links have downlink services. Figure 6As shown, taking the first STA as multi-link STA2, and the main link determined by the multi-link STA2 as link 2 as an example, the first AP can send a multi-link TIM frame to the multi-link STA2 (or STA2-1 working on link 2) through link 2. If the number of links indicated by the link number field in the multi-link TIM frame is 2, the links indicated by the link identification information are link 2 and link 3, and the value of the corresponding bit of the AID of the multi-link STA2 in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element is 1, the TIM element in the multi-link TIM frame indicates that the STA2-1 working on link 2 and the STA2-2 working on link 3 in the multi-link STA2 have downlink service data cached in the first AP. It is worth noting that in a BSS, even if the multi-link STA2 here includes multiple second STAs, only one AID is needed. Combined with the AID and the identification information of the link, it can be determined which station working on the link indicated by the link identification information field has downlink service.

[0134] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application can use the first AP to assign 1 or 2 AIDs to the STA working on each link in the multi-link STA without changing the frame format in the existing beacon frame or management frame, so as to distinguish which link the second STA working on in the multi-link STA has downlink business. It is also possible to change the existing frame format to a multi-link TIM frame, which includes a field indicating the identification information of the link, and optionally also includes a field indicating the number of links, so as to determine which station working on the link indicated by the link identification information field has downlink business.

[0135] The energy-saving mode or non-energy-saving mode of a multi-link station (e.g., the first STA) can be set individually by each second STA or by the second STA working on the main link. Specifically, it can be set by the power management bit in the frame control field in the MAC header of the MAC frame. When the multi-link station (e.g., the first STA) is in energy-saving mode, the second STA working on the main link in the multi-link station (e.g., the first STA) periodically receives beacon frames, and the second STA working on the secondary link does not need to periodically receive beacon frames.

[0136] S504: The second STA working on the primary link receives downlink service indication information from the first AP.

[0137] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the main link can receive beacon frames, other management frames or TIM frames sent by the first AP. The second STA on the main link can determine whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink business according to the downlink business indication information, and can also determine whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink business.

[0138] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, take the first STA as multi-link STA2 and the main link as link 2 as an example. STA2-1 working on link 2 in multi-link STA2 receives the beacon frame from the first AP, and can determine whether STA2-1 working on link 2 and STA2-2 working on link 3 have downlink services based on the TIM element in the beacon frame. If the AID of STA2-1 is 1, the AID corresponding to the downlink unicast service of STA2-2 is 2, and the AID corresponding to the downlink multicast service of STA2-2 is 3, STA2-1 working on link 2 can determine that the value of the bit corresponding to AID 3 in the partial virtual bit map field of the TIM element is 1 based on the beacon frame, that is, STA2-1 working on link 2 can determine that STA2-2 working on link 3 in multi-link STA2 has downlink multicast services.

[0139] It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the second STA working on the main link can receive downlink service indication information from the first AP, and determine whether the second STA working on the main link and the second STA working on the secondary link have downlink services based on the downlink service indication information. That is, in the embodiment of the present application, the downlink service information of the main link and / or the secondary link are all sent through the main link, so that the second STA working on the main link can determine whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink services, and can also determine whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink services, so that all the second STAs included in the multi-link STA do not need to receive downlink service indications on their respective links.

[0140] It can be understood that since the second STA working on the main link can receive both information indicating whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink business and information indicating whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink business, the second STA working on the secondary link may not receive information indicating whether there is downlink business on the secondary link on which it works, that is, the second STA working on the secondary link can enter a doze state when there is no data transmission, thereby reducing the power consumption of the multi-link site.

[0141] When a multi-link AP sends a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service to a second STA working on a secondary link in a multi-link site, it can be sent to the multi-link site through a primary link or through a secondary link. Specifically, whether to send through a primary link or a secondary link, one way is that the multi-link AP and the multi-link site can negotiate through a management frame, another way is that the protocol directly stipulates, or it can be a combination of the two (downlink unicast service and downlink multicast service use different methods), and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0142] The present application also provides a communication method between multi-link devices. Fig. 9 As shown, in the case where the downlink service is a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service sent to a second STA working on a secondary link, the method may further include steps S505-S510 after the step S504.

[0143] S505: The second STA working on the primary link determines, according to the downlink service indication information, that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service.

[0144] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the primary link may determine, based on the downlink service indication information in the TIM element field, that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service transmitted on the secondary link.

[0145] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, take the first STA as multi-link STA2 and the main link as link 2 as an example. The AID corresponding to the downlink unicast service of STA2-1 is 1, the AID corresponding to the downlink unicast service of STA2-2 is 2, and the AID corresponding to the downlink multicast service of STA2-2 is 3. If the value of the bit corresponding to AID2 in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element field is 1, STA2-1 working on link 2 can determine that there is a downlink unicast service on STA2-2 working on link 3.

[0146] Optionally, if the second STA working on the primary link determines, based on the downlink service indication information, that the second STA working on the secondary link has no downlink service, the second STA working on the secondary link is in an awake state or a dormant state.

[0147] Exemplarily, when it is determined in step S505 that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service, it can be divided into two cases. The following describes the two cases in detail.

[0148] In the first case, in step S505, it is determined that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink unicast service. When the downlink unicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link, steps S506-S509 are continued to be executed after step S505.

[0149] S506: The second STA working on the secondary link sends a first frame to the first AP.

[0150] The first frame is used to indicate that the second STA working on the secondary link is in an active state (also referred to as an active state). Exemplarily, the first frame may be a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the first frame, which is only an exemplary description.

[0151] For example, since the second STA working on the main link can exchange data with the STA working on the secondary link, when the second STA working on the main link determines that there is a downlink unicast service on the second STA working on the secondary link, the second STA working on the main link or the first STA can instruct the second STA working on the secondary link to enter an active state from a doze state, and send a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame to the first AP to inform the first AP that the second STA working on the secondary link is in an awake state.

[0152] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, take the first STA as multi-link STA2 and the main link as link 2 as an example. If STA2-1 working on link 2 determines that there is a downlink unicast service on STA2-2 working on link 3, STA2-2 working on link 3 enters the awake state from the sleep state and sends a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame to the multi-link AP to inform the first AP that STA2-2 working on link 3 is in the awake state.

[0153] Exemplarily, the first STA (or the second STA working on the primary link) may also send the first frame (e.g., PS-Poll frame or multi-link PS-Poll frame) to the first AP on the primary link, and the first frame carries the identification information of the secondary link to inform the first AP which link is in the awake state and can receive the downlink service sent by the first AP on the secondary link. The first frame is sent by the station working on the secondary link.

[0154] S507: The first AP receives the first frame.

[0155] Exemplarily, the first AP receives a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame from a second STA operating on the secondary link, and can determine that the second STA operating on the secondary link is in an awake state.

[0156] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, the multi-link AP receives a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame sent by STA2-2 working on link 3, and determines that STA2-2 working on link 3 is in an awake state.

[0157] S508: The first AP sends a downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link.

[0158] Exemplarily, after receiving a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame, the first AP may call out the cached data of the second STA working on the secondary link cached in its cache area, and send the downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link. For example, after receiving a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame from a second STA working on a secondary link, the first AP may send the cached downlink unicast service of the STA to the second STA working on the secondary link through the secondary link.

[0159] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, the multi-link AP sends a downlink unicast service to STA2-2 working on link 3.

[0160] S509: The second STA working on the secondary link receives a downlink unicast service from the first AP.

[0161] Exemplarily, the second STA in the awake state working on the secondary link can receive the downlink unicast service sent by the first AP. Optionally, after the second STA working on the secondary link receives the downlink unicast service from the first AP, if there is no data transmission on the second STA on the secondary link, the specific method can be carried by the transmitted frame carrying information bits, such as the more data field in the MAC header, to inform that the second STA working on the secondary link can enter a doze state to save power consumption.

[0162] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, STA2-2 working on link 3 receives downlink unicast services from the multi-link AP. Optionally, after STA2-2 working on link 3 receives downlink unicast services from the multi-link AP, if there is no data transmission on STA2-2 working on link 3, STA2-2 working on link 3 can enter a dormant state from an awake state to save power consumption.

[0163] In the second case, in step S505, it is determined that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink multicast service. When the downlink multicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link, step S510 is continued after step S505.

[0164] S510. A second STA working on a secondary link receives a downlink multicast service from a first AP.

[0165] Exemplarily, before the above step S510, the second STA working on the primary link can receive downlink service indication information from the first AP, and determine based on the downlink service indication information that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink multicast service, so that the second STA working on the secondary link in step S510 can receive downlink multicast service from the first AP. Optionally, the above downlink service indication information can be carried in a DTIM frame.

[0166] Optionally, before step S510, the second STA working on the secondary link may receive a DTIM frame from the first AP, and then receive the downlink multicast service sent by the first AP after receiving the DTIM frame.

[0167] Optionally, the embodiment of the present application also provides a communication method between multi-link devices, such as Fig.10 As shown, in the case where the downlink service is a downlink unicast or downlink multicast service sent to a second STA working on a secondary link, the method may further include steps S511-S520 after the step S504.

[0168] S511. The second STA working on the primary link determines, according to the downlink service indication information, that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service.

[0169] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the primary link may determine, based on the downlink service indication information in the TIM element field, that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast or downlink multicast service transmitted on the primary link.

[0170] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, the first STA is multi-link STA2, and the main link is link 2. The AID of STA2-1 is 1, the AID corresponding to the downlink unicast service of STA2-2 is 2, and the AID corresponding to the downlink multicast service of STA2-2 is 3. If the value of the bit corresponding to AID 3 in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element field is 1, STA2-1 working on link 2 can determine that there is a downlink multicast service on STA2-2 working on link 3. The downlink multicast service is a multicast service transmitted on link 2.

[0171] When it is determined in step S511 that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service, it can be divided into three cases, which are described in detail below.

[0172] In the first case, in step S511, it is determined that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink unicast service. When the downlink unicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the primary link, steps S512-S515 are continued to be executed after step S511.

[0173] S512: The second STA working on the primary link sends a second frame to the first AP.

[0174] The second frame is used to indicate that the second STA working on the main link is in an active state (also referred to as an active state). Exemplarily, the second frame may be a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the second frame, which is only an exemplary description.

[0175] Optionally, the second frame may carry identification information of the secondary link.

[0176] S513: The first AP receives the second frame.

[0177] S514: The first AP sends a downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the primary link.

[0178] S515. The second STA working on the primary link receives a downlink unicast service from the first AP.

[0179] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the primary link receives the downlink unicast service from the first AP, and forwards the downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link.

[0180] In the second case, in step S510, it is determined that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink multicast service. When the downlink multicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the primary link, step S516 is continued after step S510.

[0181] S516: The second STA working on the primary link receives the downlink multicast service from the first AP.

[0182] Exemplarily, before the above step S516, the second STA working on the main link receives downlink service indication information from the first AP, and determines based on the downlink service indication information that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink multicast service, so that in step S516, the second STA working on the main link receives the downlink multicast service from the first AP. Optionally, the second STA working on the main link can also receive DTIM frames. After receiving the downlink multicast service, the second STA working on the main link can forward the downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link.

[0183] In the third case, in step S510, it is determined that the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink multicast service. When the downlink multicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the primary link, steps S517-S520 are continued after step S510.

[0184] S517: The second STA working on the primary link sends a third frame to the first AP.

[0185] The third frame is used to inform the first AP that the second STA working on the main link is in the awake state, and requires the first AP to send the above downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the main link in the form of unicast.

[0186] Exemplarily, the third frame may be a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the third frame, which is merely an exemplary description.

[0187] Optionally, the third frame may carry identification information of the secondary link.

[0188] S518: The first AP receives the third frame.

[0189] Exemplarily, the first AP receives a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame from the second STA operating on the main link, and can determine that the second STA operating on the main link is in an awake state.

[0190] S519: The first AP sends a downlink service to the second STA working on the primary link in unicast form.

[0191] The downlink service is sent to the second STA working on the primary link in a unicast form.

[0192] S520: The second STA working on the primary link receives a downlink service.

[0193] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the primary link can receive downlink service data from the first AP. The second STA working on the primary link can forward the received downlink service data to the second STA working on the secondary link. It can be understood that in this implementation, the second STA working on the secondary link can be in a dormant state all the time.

[0194] It can be understood that if the first AP transmits a downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link through the secondary link, the second STA working on the secondary link needs to enter the awake state and send the first frame to the first AP before it can receive the downlink unicast service transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link. If the first AP sends the downlink unicast service of the second STA working on the secondary link through the main link, the second STA working on the secondary link does not need to enter the awake state, and the second STA working on the main link can receive the downlink unicast service transmitted by the first AP on the main link, and then the second STA working on the main link can forward the service to the second STA working on the secondary link.

[0195] Exemplarily, the present application also provides a communication method between multi-link devices, such as Fig.11 As shown, in the case where the downlink service is a downlink multicast service or a downlink unicast service sent to the second STA working on the main link, the method may further include steps S521-S526 after the above step S504.

[0196] S521. The second STA working on the main link determines, according to the downlink service indication information, that the second STA working on the main link has downlink service.

[0197] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the main link may determine, based on the downlink service indication information in the TIM element field, that the second STA working on the main link has a downlink unicast or downlink multicast service transmitted on the main link.

[0198] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, the first STA is multi-link STA2, and the main link is link 2. The AID of STA2-1 is 1, the AID corresponding to the downlink unicast service of STA2-2 is 2, and the AID corresponding to the downlink multicast service of STA2-2 is 3. If the value of the bit corresponding to AID 1 in the partial virtual bit map field in the TIM element field is 1, STA2-1 working on link 2 can determine that there is a downlink unicast service on link 2. The downlink unicast service can be a downlink unicast service transmitted on link 2.

[0199] Exemplarily, when it is determined in step S521 that the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service, it can be divided into two cases. The following describes the two cases in detail.

[0200] In the first case, in step S521, it is determined that the second STA working on the main link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink unicast service. When the downlink unicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the main link, steps S522-S525 are continued after step S521.

[0201] S522: The second STA working on the primary link sends a second frame to the first AP.

[0202] S523: The first AP receives the second frame.

[0203] S524: The first AP sends a downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the primary link.

[0204] S525. The second STA working on the primary link receives a downlink unicast service from the first AP.

[0205] In the second case, in step S521, it is determined that the second STA working on the main link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink multicast service. When the downlink multicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the main link, step S526 is continued to be executed after step S521.

[0206] S526: The second STA working on the primary link receives the downlink multicast service from the first AP.

[0207] Exemplarily, before the above step S526, the second STA working on the main link can receive downlink service indication information from the first AP, and based on the downlink service indication information, it is determined that the second STA working on the main link has downlink multicast service, and the second STA working on the main link receives the downlink multicast service sent by the first AP. Optionally, the downlink service indication information from the first AP received by the second STA working on the main link can be carried in a DTIM frame.

[0208] It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, when the second STA working on the main link determines that the STA has a downlink multicast service transmitted on the main link, the second STA working on the main link can receive the DTIM beacon frame and then receive the downlink multicast service from the first AP.

[0209] Exemplarily, the present application also provides a communication method between multi-link devices, such as Fig.12 As shown, in the case where the above-mentioned downlink service is a downlink multicast service or a downlink unicast service sent to the second STA working on the main link, the method may further include steps S527-S536 after the above-mentioned step S504.

[0210] S527: The second STA working on the main link determines, according to the downlink service indication information, that the second STA working on the main link has downlink service.

[0211] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the primary link may determine, based on the downlink service indication information in the TIM element field, that the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink unicast or downlink multicast service transmitted on the secondary link.

[0212] Exemplarily, when it is determined in step S527 that the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service, it can be divided into three cases. The following describes the three cases in detail.

[0213] In the first case, in step S527, it is determined that the second STA working on the primary link has downlink service, and the downlink service is a downlink unicast service. When the downlink unicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link, steps S528-S531 are continued after step S527.

[0214] S528. The second STA working on the secondary link sends a first frame to the first AP.

[0215] S529: The first AP receives the first frame.

[0216] S530: The first AP sends a downlink unicast service to a second STA operating on the secondary link.

[0217] S531. The second STA working on the secondary link receives a downlink unicast service from the first AP.

[0218] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the secondary link receives the downlink unicast service from the first AP and may forward the downlink unicast service to the second STA working on the primary link.

[0219] In the second case, in step S527, it is determined that the second STA working on the primary link has downlink service, which is a downlink multicast service. When the downlink multicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link, step S532 is continued after step S527.

[0220] S532: The second STA working on the secondary link receives a downlink multicast service from the first AP.

[0221] Exemplarily, before the above step S532, the second STA working on the main link can receive downlink service indication information from the first AP, and determine based on the downlink service indication information that the second STA working on the main link has downlink multicast service, so that the second STA working on the secondary link can receive the downlink multicast service from the first AP. After the second STA working on the secondary link receives the downlink multicast service, the downlink multicast service can be forwarded to the second STA working on the main link.

[0222] Optionally, the second STA working on the secondary link before step S532 may receive a DTIM frame from the first AP, and then receive the downlink multicast service sent by the first AP after receiving the DTIM frame.

[0223] It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, when the second STA working on the main link determines that the STA has a multicast service transmitted on the secondary link, the second STA working on the secondary link can receive the downlink multicast service from the first AP after the DTIM beacon frame, and forward the downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the main link.

[0224] In the third case, in step S527, it is determined that the second STA working on the primary link has downlink service, which is a downlink multicast service. When the downlink multicast service is transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link, steps S533-S536 are continued after step S527.

[0225] S533: The second STA working on the secondary link sends a fourth frame to the first AP.

[0226] The fourth frame is used to inform the first AP that the second STA working on the secondary link is in an awake state, and requires the first AP to send the above downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link in a unicast form.

[0227] Exemplarily, the fourth frame may be a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the fourth frame, which is merely an exemplary description.

[0228] Optionally, the fourth frame may carry identification information of the primary link.

[0229] S534: The first AP receives the fourth frame.

[0230] Exemplarily, the first AP receives a PS-Poll frame or a multi-link PS-Poll frame from a second STA operating on the secondary link, and can determine that the second STA operating on the secondary link is in an awake state.

[0231] S535: The first AP sends a downlink service to the second STA working on the secondary link in unicast form.

[0232] The downlink service is sent to the second STA working on the secondary link in the form of unicast.

[0233] S536: The second STA working on the secondary link receives downlink traffic.

[0234] Exemplarily, the second STA working on the secondary link may receive downlink service data from the first AP. The second STA working on the secondary link may forward the received downlink service data to the second STA working on the primary link.

[0235] It can be understood that if the first AP transmits a downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the primary link through the secondary link, after the second STA working on the secondary link enters the awake state, it sends the fourth frame to the first AP, instructing the first AP to send the downlink multicast service to the second STA working on the secondary link in the form of unicast, and receive the downlink unicast service transmitted by the first AP on the secondary link. The second STA working on the secondary link can forward the received downlink service data to the second STA working on the primary link.

[0236] The present application also provides a method for allocating an association identifier AID, such as Fig.13 As shown, the method also includes steps S1301-S1305.

[0237] S1301. A first STA sends an association request frame to a first AP.

[0238] The association request frame carries at least one of the number of second STAs to be assigned an AID or identification information of a link on which the second STA works.

[0239] Exemplarily, the second STA to be assigned an AID may be all or part of the second STAs in the first STA. The first STA may carry the number of second STAs to be assigned an AID and / or the identification information of the link to which each second STA to be assigned an AID works in the association request frame.

[0240] Optionally, the association request frame may also carry capability information of the first STA, and the capability information includes all second STAs included in the first STA, and identification information of the link on which each second STA works. It can be understood that when the association request frame carries the capability information of the first STA, it can be considered that the first STA implicitly informs the first AP to allocate AIDs to all second STAs.

[0241] Exemplarily, the above association request frame may carry an element, which includes the number of second STAs to be assigned an AID, and / or the identification information of the link on which each second STA to be assigned an AID works, and the link identification information includes a combination of a link number (link ID), an operating class, and a channel number (channel number), a MAC address (or BSSID), or one or more of the above. The element may be obtained by modifying an existing element (such as a multi-band element), or may be a new element. The first three fields of the new element are an element ID field, a length field, and an element ID extension field.

[0242] Exemplarily, the link through which the first STA sends the association request frame to the first AP may be the primary link. Optionally, the association request frame may also carry identification information of the primary link determined by the first STA.

[0243] S1302: The first AP receives an association request frame from a first STA.

[0244] Exemplarily, the first AP receives an association request frame from the first STA, and determines, based on the association request frame, the number of second STAs to which the AID is to be allocated and / or identification information of links to which the second STAs to which the AID is to be allocated work.

[0245] S1303: The first AP allocates an AID to a second STA to which an AID is to be allocated.

[0246] Exemplarily, when the first AP allocates an AID to the second STA to which the AID is to be allocated, the AID in one BSS is unique.

[0247] Exemplarily, when the value of the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element is 1, indicating that the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink multicast service, the first AP can allocate 1 AID to the second STA working on the primary link, and the AID is used to indicate whether the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink unicast service; the first AP allocates 1 or 2 AIDs to the second STA working on the secondary link. For the implementation method in which the first AP allocates 1 AID to the second STA working on the secondary link, whether the bit corresponding to the AID of the second STA in the partial virtual bitmap field in the TIM element is set to 1 is used to indicate whether the second STA has a downlink unicast service or a downlink multicast service. That is, when the first AP allocates 1 AID to the second STA working on the secondary link, the AID does not distinguish between downlink unicast service and downlink multicast service. For the implementation method in which the first AP allocates 2 AIDs to the second STA working on the secondary link, one AID is used to indicate whether the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service, and the other AID is used to indicate whether the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink multicast service.

[0248] Exemplarily, when the value of the first bit in the bitmap control field in the TIM element is 1, indicating that the first STA has a downlink multicast service, the downlink multicast service can be sent to the second STA working on the primary link, or to the second STA working on the secondary link. In this implementation, the first AP can allocate 1 AID to the second STA working on the primary link, and the AID is used to indicate whether the second STA working on the primary link has a downlink unicast service; the first AP can allocate 1 AID to the second STA working on the secondary link, and the AID is used to indicate that the second STA working on the secondary link has a downlink unicast service.

[0249] For example, when the first STA includes a second STA, if the second STA can operate in different frequency bands, when the first AP allocates an AID to the second STA, it allocates an AID to each frequency band, that is, the corresponding AIDs of the second STA operating in different frequency bands are different.

[0250] S1304. The first AP sends an association response frame to the first STA.

[0251] The association response frame carries the AID allocated to each second STA to which an AID is to be allocated.

[0252] Exemplarily, an association response frame sent by the first AP to the first STA carries an element. The element carries the number of second STAs to which the AID is to be assigned. For each second STA to which the AID is to be assigned, the element may also include the AID assigned to each second STA to which the AID is to be assigned. Optionally, the element may also include identification information of the link to which the second STA to which the AID is to be assigned works. Among them, each second STA to which the AID is to be assigned is assigned 1 or 2 AIDs. The number of second STAs to which the AID is to be assigned may be the number of other second STAs in the first STA except the second STA working on the main link, or the number of all second STAs in the first STA.

[0253] Exemplarily, the elements included in the above-mentioned association response frame may be elements of the same structure as the elements included in the association request frame. In this case, the element needs 1 bit to indicate whether the element is used for request or response. For example, the first value and the second value may be used to indicate the association request frame and the association response frame, respectively. Optionally, the elements included in the association response frame may be different from the elements included in the association request frame, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0254] S1305. The first STA receives an association response frame from the first AP.

[0255] Exemplarily, the first STA receives an association response frame from the first AP and learns the AID corresponding to the second STA to which the AID is to be assigned. Thus, after the second STA working on the main link in the first STA receives the beacon frame, it can determine whether the second STA corresponding to the AID has downlink service according to the AID indicated in the TIM element field in the beacon frame.

[0256] It should be noted that the AID allocation method in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to and combined with the aforementioned embodiment.

[0257] In this embodiment, since the first AP can assign different AIDs to different second STAs in a BSS, it is possible to distinguish which second STA in a multi-link site has downlink services by checking whether the bits corresponding to different AIDs in the virtual bitmap field in a TIM element are set to 1. Therefore, there is no need to change the frame format of the beacon frame or other management frames, and the compatibility is better.

[0258] The present application also provides a communication method between multi-link devices. Fig.14 As shown, the method may further include steps S1401-S1404 before the above step S501.

[0259] S1401. A first AP determines one or more candidate links.

[0260] The one or more candidate links may be links among the multiple links on which the first AP works. That is, the first AP may work on the one or more candidate links. Exemplarily, the first AP determines the one or more candidate links, which may include: the first AP determines some or all of the links on which it can work as candidate links.

[0261] For example, combined with Figure 6 As shown, the first AP is a multi-link AP. The multi-link AP can communicate with STA1 through link 1, the multi-link AP can communicate with multi-link STA2 through link 2 and link 3, and the multi-link AP can communicate with multi-link STA3 through link 1 and link 3. If link 2 and link 3 do not support simultaneous transmission and reception, the multi-link AP can use link 1 and link 2 as a candidate link set. The multi-link AP can also use link 1 and link 3 as a candidate link set. Here, we only take the example that the multi-link AP uses link 1 and link 2 as a candidate link set. The above one or more candidate links include link 1 and link 2.

[0262] S1402. The first AP sends candidate link set information to the first STA.

[0263] Exemplarily, the candidate link set information may include identification information of one or more candidate links. The candidate link set information may be carried in a beacon frame or other management frames.

[0264] Optionally, the beacon frame or other management frame may also carry channel utilization information corresponding to the candidate link.

[0265] Optionally, the candidate link set information in step S1402 and the downlink service indication information in step S503 may be carried in one beacon frame or in different beacon frames.

[0266] Optionally, the first AP may send capability information of the first AP to the first STA, where the capability information of the first AP includes all links on which the first AP can work. The first STA may use all links in the capability information as candidate links to determine the main link among the links included in the first capability information.

[0267] S1403. The first STA receives candidate link set information from the first AP.

[0268] Correspondingly, in the above step S501, the first STA determines the main link, including: the first STA determines the main link from one or more candidate links based on the candidate link set information.

[0269] For example, combined with Figure 6As shown, taking the example that the candidate link set information includes identification information of link 1 and link 2, the first STA can determine link 2 as the main link according to the channel utilization information corresponding to link 1 and link 2.

[0270] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the first STA may determine some or all of its working links as a candidate link set, and send information of the candidate link set to the first AP. The first AP determines the main link from the candidate link set, and sends identification information of the main link determined by it to the first STA. In this implementation, the main link determined by the first STA in step S501 may be the main link determined by the first AP sent by the first AP and received by the first STA. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific method for the first STA to determine the main link, which is only an exemplary description here.

[0271] Optionally, S1404: The first AP establishes a basic service set BSS for one or more candidate links; or, the first AP establishes a BSS for each candidate link; or, the first AP establishes a BSS for some of the one or more candidate links. The AID assigned to a STA in a BSS is unique.

[0272] Exemplarily, in one implementation, the first AP may establish a BSS for each candidate link in the candidate link set. Figure 6 As shown, taking the candidate links including link 1, link 2 and link 3 as an example, the first AP can establish a BSS for each candidate link. For example, BSS1 is established for link 1, BSS2 is established for link 2, and BSS3 is established for link 3.

[0273] Exemplarily, in another implementation, the first AP may jointly establish a BSS for some of the candidate links in the candidate link set. Figure 6 As shown, taking the candidate links including link 1 , link 2 , and link 3 as an example, the first AP can establish BSS1 for link 1 and link 2 .

[0274] For example, in another implementation, the first AP may jointly establish a BSS for all candidate links in the candidate link set. Figure 6 As shown, taking the candidate links including link 1, link 2 and link 3 as an example, the first AP can establish a BSS for link 1, link 2 and link 3, which is recorded as BSS1.

[0275] For example, when the first AP establishes a BSS for each candidate link in the candidate link set, after the multi-link STA selects a primary link, it joins the BSS corresponding to the primary link. Figure 6As shown, taking the first AP establishing BSS1, BSS2 and BSS3 on link 1, link 2 and link 3 respectively, and multi-link STA2 selecting link 2 as the main link as an example, after multi-link STA2 selects link 2 as the main link, multi-link STA2 joins BSS2.

[0276] For example, when the first AP establishes a BSS for some or all of the candidate links in the candidate link set, the multi-link STAs or traditional STAs that select the links in the candidate link set as the main links all join the BSS. Figure 6 As shown, taking the example that the first AP establishes BSS1 on link 1, link 2 and link 3, and multi-link STA2 selects link 2 as the main link, after multi-link STA2 selects link 2 as the main link, multi-link STA2 joins BSS1.

[0277] It should be noted that when the first AP allocates an AID to the second STA, it should be satisfied that the AIDs of multiple second STAs in one BSS are different from each other, so that different second STAs in one BSS can be identified.

[0278] It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the execution order of steps S1402-S1403 and step S1404. Fig.13 The following description is given by taking the example of first executing steps S1402-S1403 and then executing step S1404. Optionally, after determining one or more candidate links, the first AP may also establish a BSS for the one or more candidate links.

[0279] In an embodiment of the present application, the first AP sends candidate link set information to the first STA. After receiving the candidate link combination information, the first STA selects a main link from the multiple links included in the candidate link set, and the second STA working on the main link can receive both information indicating whether the second STA working on the main link has downlink business and information indicating whether the second STA working on the secondary link has downlink business. Therefore, the second STA working on the secondary link may not receive information indicating whether there is downlink business on the secondary link on which it works, that is, the second STA working on the secondary link can enter a doze state when there is no data transmission, thereby reducing the power consumption of the multi-link site.

[0280] Generally speaking, before a station sends data, it needs to consider whether it has been set with a network allocation vector (NAV) (referred to as virtual carrier sensing), and whether the channel being listened to is idle or busy (referred to as physical carrier sensing). When not set with NAV and the listened channel is idle, the station listens for the X inter frame space (XIFS) time, and then performs backoff. When the backoff count reaches 0, it can seize the channel and send data.

[0281] Here, the XIFS time is related to the type of service to be sent. Exemplarily, if the frame to be sent is a response frame, such as an Acknowledgement (Ack), Block Ack, or clear to send (CTS), the XIFS time is the SIFS (short IFS) time, and at this time, there is no need to perform backoff, and the channel can be directly seized for sending. If the frame to be sent is a Beacon frame, the XIFS time is the PIFS (Point coordinate function (PCF) IFS) time, and at this time, there is no need to perform backoff, and the channel can be directly seized for sending. If the frame to be sent is traditional non-quality of service (QoS) data, the XIFS time is the DIFS (Distributed coordinate function (DCF) IFS) time, and backoff is performed. After the traditional backoff count reaches 0, the channel is seized for sending. If the frame to be sent is traditional QoS data, the XIFS time is the arbitration IFS (AIFS) time, and backoff is performed. When the backoff count reaches 0, the right to send on the channel can be obtained. Among them, the QoS data access category (AC) is further divided into AC_BK (background flow), AC_BE (Best effort flow), AC_VI (video flow), and AC_VO (voice flow). The AIFS time and backoff count for each type of access category data are different. The AIFS times are AIFS[AC_BK], AIFS[AC_BE], AIFS[AC_VI], AIFS[AC_VO] respectively, and the backoff counts are backoff[AC_BK], backoff[AC_BE], backoff[AC_VI], backoff[AC_VO] respectively. Among them, the time length order is: (SIFS < PIFS < DIFS = AIFS[AC_VO] < AIFS[AC_VI] < AIFS[AC_BE] < AIFS[AC_BK], reflecting the priorities of different services.

[0282] During data transmission, the station maintains a contention window (cw) CW[AC] for each access type AC. The value of this window is within [CW_min[AC], CW_max[AC]]. During initialization, the contention window is CW=CW_min. If data transmission fails, CW=(CW+1)*2-1 until it rises to CW_max. If the transmission is successful, CW is reset to CW_min. The backoff number generates a random number from [0, CW], and then uses the random number as the backoff number to perform backoff. If the system is idle for a period of time, the backoff number is reduced by 1, and the data frame is not sent until the backoff reaches 0. If the channel is busy in the middle, the backoff number is suspended. When the channel becomes idle, the suspended backoff number will be re-executed. When data, including MSDU (MAC service data unit), A-MSDU (aggregate MAC service data unit), and MMPDU (management MAC protocol data unit) that are not under the confirmation agreement, fail to be transmitted, if the length of the erroneously transmitted data packet is less than or equal to the RTS (request to send) threshold, the short retry counter of the data packet will be accumulated by 1. If the length of the erroneously transmitted data packet is greater than the RTS (request to send) threshold, the long retry counter of the data packet will be accumulated by 1. If the short retransmission count or the long retransmission count reaches the specified upper limit, the sender abandons the data transmission. In addition, the station maintains a station short retransmission count [AC] and a station long retransmission count [AC] for each access type of data. If the short retransmission count of a data packet belonging to a certain class [AC] increases by 1, the station short retransmission count [AC] increases by 1; if the long retransmission count of a data packet belonging to a certain class [AC] increases by 1, the station long retransmission count [AC] increases by 1; in another implementation method, the short retransmission count and the long retransmission count are combined. For each data packet, a retransmission count field is maintained. If the retransmission count field reaches the upper limit, the data packet is abandoned for retransmission. For each type of data, the station maintains a station retransmission count [AC] field.

[0283] For example, for a multi-link site, Fig.15As shown, when a multi-link site sends data, when the site backoff number of a link B retreats to 0, if the other link A is also idle at this time, for example, the link A is idle for the previous PIFS time, the multi-link site can transmit data on two links (link A and link B) at the same time. Since link A does not obtain the channel transmission right based on channel competition, if the channel competition method of a single link is still used at this time, the success or error of data transmission of this opportunity will affect the transmission opportunities of other sites on link A, which is unfair to other sites on the link. Therefore, the embodiment of the present application proposes that, in the case where link A does not obtain the channel transmission right based on channel competition, if the data of the site working on link A in the multi-link site is successfully transmitted (the data can be divided according to the access type), the contention window does not need to be reset to the minimum contention window, and can remain unchanged. If the data transmission of the site working on link A in the multi-link site fails, the contention window does not double but remains unchanged. In addition, the retransmission count field value remains unchanged, including the long retransmission count field, the short retransmission count field, the site long retransmission count field [AC], the site short retransmission count field [AC], the retransmission count field, and the site retransmission count field [AC], thereby ensuring the access fairness of the sites on link A.

[0284] After the station working on link A in the multi-link station completes data transmission, or after the transmission opportunity (TXOP) seized by the station working on link B in the multi-link station is used up, the multi-link station restores the previous backoff number, or randomly generates a backoff number from the previous contention window, and continues to compete for the channel.

[0285] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of method steps. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the computer includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the modules and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiment disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of a combination of hardware and computer software. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0286] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the first STA and the first AP according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0287] In the case of an integrated unit, Fig.16 A possible structural diagram of a communication device 1600 is shown, and the communication device 1600 can be a station or a chip for a station, and the communication device 1600 can perform the operations of the first STA, the second STA working on the primary link, or the second STA working on the secondary link in the above method embodiment. The communication device 1600 includes: a processing unit 1601 and a transceiver unit 1602.

[0288] The processing unit 1601 may be used to control and manage the actions of the communication device 1600. For example, determining the primary link. For another example, controlling the operation of the transceiver unit 1602. Optionally, if the communication device 1600 includes a storage unit, the processing unit 1601 may also execute a program or instruction stored in the storage unit, so that the communication device 1600 implements the method and function involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0289] Exemplarily, the processing unit 1601 may be used to execute, for example Figure 5 Step S501 in , or Fig. 9 Step S505 in, or, Fig.10 Step S511 in, or, Fig.11 Step S521 in, or, Fig.12 Step S527 in, or, Fig.14 Step S1404 in the embodiment, and / or other processes for the technology described herein. Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0290] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1602 can both transmit and receive data transmitted on the main link in the first STA (communication device 1600) and transmit and receive data transmitted on the secondary link in the first STA (communication device 1600). Optionally, the transceiver unit 1602 can be a transceiver module or can include two transceiver modules. When the transceiver unit 1602 is a transceiver module, the transceiver module can both transmit and receive data on the main link in the first STA (communication device 1600) and transmit and receive data on the secondary link in the first STA (communication device 1600). When the transceiver unit 1602 includes two transceiver modules, one of the transceiver modules is used to transmit and receive data on the main link in the first STA (communication device 1600), and the other transceiver module is used to transmit and receive data on the secondary link in the first STA (communication device 1600).

[0291] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1602 may be used to perform, for example, Figure 5 Step S504 in, or, Fig. 9 Steps S506, S509 and S510 in, or, Fig.10 Steps S512, S515, S516, S517 and S520 in, or, Fig.11 Steps S522, S525 and S526 in, or, Fig.12 Steps S528, S531, S532, S533 and S536 in, or, Fig.13 S1301 and S1305 in Fig.14 Step S1403 in the embodiment, and / or other processes for the technology described herein. Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0292] Exemplarily, the communication device 1600 may be Figure 4 The communication device shown in FIG. 1 may include a processing unit 1601. Figure 4 The processor 401 and the transceiver unit 1602 may be Figure 4 Optionally, the communication device 1600 may further include a memory, the memory being used to store program codes and data corresponding to the communication device 1600 executing any of the multi-link device communication methods provided above. Figure 4 The description of all relevant contents of each component involved can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding components of the communication device 1600, and will not be repeated here.

[0293] In the case of an integrated unit, Fig.17 A possible structural diagram of a communication device 1700 is shown. The communication device 1700 may be an access point device or a chip for an access point device. The communication device 1700 may perform the operation of the first AP in the above method embodiment. The communication device 1700 includes: a processing unit 1701 and a transceiver unit 1702.

[0294] The processing unit 1701 may be used to control and manage the actions of the communication device 1700. For example, it may control the operation of the transceiver unit 1702. Optionally, if the communication device 1700 includes a storage unit, the processing unit 1701 may also execute a program or instruction stored in the storage unit, so that the communication device 1700 implements the method and function involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0295] Exemplarily, the processing unit 1701 may be used to execute, for example Figure 5 Step S502 in, or Fig.13 Step S1303 in, or, Fig.14Step S1401 in the embodiment, and / or other processes for the technology described herein. Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0296] Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1702 may be used to perform, for example, Figure 5 Step S503 in, or, Fig. 9 Steps S507 and S508 in, or, Fig.10 Steps S513, S514, S518 and S519 in, or, Fig.11 Steps S523 and S524 in, or, Fig.12 Steps S529, S530, S534 and S535 in, or, Fig.13 S1302 and S1304 in Fig.14 Step S1402 in the embodiment, and / or other processes for the technology described herein. Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0297] Exemplarily, the communication device 1700 may be Figure 4 The communication device shown in FIG. 1 may include a processing unit 1701. Figure 4 The processor 401 and the transceiver unit 1702 may be Figure 4 Optionally, the communication device 1700 may further include a memory, the memory being used to store program codes and data corresponding to the communication device 1700 executing any of the multi-link device communication methods provided above. Figure 4 The description of all relevant contents of each component involved can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding components of the communication device 1700, and will not be repeated here.

[0298] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor, and may also include a transceiver and a memory, wherein the transceiver is used to send and receive information, or to communicate with other network elements; the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions; the processor is used to execute the computer-executable instructions to support the site to implement Figure 5 , Figures 9 to 14 A communication method between multi-link devices in any one of the embodiments.

[0299] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor, and may also include a transceiver and a memory, wherein the transceiver is used to send and receive information, or to communicate with other network elements; the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions; the processor is used to execute the computer-executable instructions to support the access point device to implement Figure 5 , Figures 9 to 14 A communication method between multi-link devices in any one of the embodiments.

[0300] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program code. When the processor executes the computer program code, the electronic device executes Figure 5 , Figures 9 to 14 A communication method between multi-link devices in any one of the embodiments.

[0301] The present application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute Figure 5 , Figures 9 to 14 A communication method between multi-link devices in any one of the embodiments.

[0302] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which can exist in the form of a chip product. The structure of the device includes a processor and an interface circuit. The processor is used to communicate with other devices through a receiving circuit, so that the device executes the above Figure 5 , Figures 9 to 14 A communication method between multi-link devices in any one of the embodiments.

[0303] The present application also provides a communication system, including an access point and a station, wherein the access point and the station can perform the above Figure 5 , Figures 9 to 14 A communication method between multi-link devices in any one of the embodiments.

[0304] The steps of the method or algorithm described in conjunction with the disclosure of the present application may be implemented in hardware or by executing software instructions by a processor. The software instructions may be composed of corresponding software modules, which may be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may be located in a core network interface device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium may also exist in a core network interface device as discrete components.

[0305] Those skilled in the art should be aware that in one or more of the above examples, the functions described in this application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, these functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include computer-readable storage media and communication media, wherein communication media include any media that facilitates the transmission of computer programs from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computers.

[0306] The specific implementation methods described above further illustrate the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application in detail. It should be understood that the above description is only the specific implementation methods of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method between multi-link devices, characterized in that: Applied to a multi-link access point AP, the multi-link AP includes multiple access points APs, the multiple APs include a first AP, and the method includes: Generate link identification information and basic service set BSS information, wherein the link identification information is used to indicate a link, and the BSS information is used to indicate whether a BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update; The first AP sends the link identification information and the BSS information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The BSS information includes a BSS parameter change count value. If the BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update, the BSS parameter change count value is increased by 1.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The multi-link AP works on multiple links, and each link in the multiple links corresponds to a set of the link identification information and the BSS information.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The BSS parameter change count value is initialized to 0.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The key BSS parameters include one or more of the following information: channel change notification element, extended channel change notification element, change EDCA parameter element, static element, modify DSSS parameter set, modify CF parameter set element, modify HT operation element, wide bandwidth channel change element, wide bandwidth channel change envelope element, operation mode notification element, static channel element, modify ultra-high throughput VHT operation element, modify high-efficiency HE operation element, insert broadcast TWT element, BSS color change notification element, MU EDCA parameter set element, modify spatial multiplexing parameter set element.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The link identification information is indicated by one or more of the following information: The operation set and channel number corresponding to the link, the media access control MAC address of the link, the basic service set identifier BSSID, and the identification number of the link.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The link identification information represents one or more of the following information: an operation set corresponding to the link, a channel number corresponding to the link, and a MAC address of the link.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Generate downlink service indication information, where the downlink service indication information is used to indicate whether the multi-link station STA has downlink service.

9. A communication method between multi-link devices, characterized in that: Applied to a multi-link station STA, the multi-link STA includes multiple STAs, the multiple STAs include a first STA, and the method includes: The first STA receives link identification information and basic service set BSS information, where the link identification information is used to indicate a link, and the BSS information is used to indicate whether a BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update; The first STA determines whether a key BSS parameter is updated according to the link identification information and the BSS information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The BSS information includes a BSS parameter change count value. If the BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update, the BSS parameter change count value is increased by 1.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The multi-link STA works on multiple links, and the multi-link STA receives a set of link identification information and BSS information corresponding to each link in the multiple links.

12. The method according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The multi-link STA maintains the BSS parameter change count value received last time. If the BSS parameter change count value corresponding to the most recently received first link is different from the BSS parameter change count value corresponding to the first link received last time, the multi-link STA receives a beacon frame sent from the multi-link access point AP on the first link.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that: The BSS parameter change count value is initialized to 0.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that: The key BSS parameters include one or more of the following information: channel change notification element, extended channel change notification element, change EDCA parameter element, static element, modify DSSS parameter set, modify CF parameter set element, modify HT operation element, wide bandwidth channel change element, wide bandwidth channel change envelope element, operation mode notification element, static channel element, modify ultra-high throughput VHT operation element, modify high-efficiency HE operation element, insert broadcast TWT element, BSS color change notification element, MU EDCA parameter set element, modify spatial multiplexing parameter set element.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that: The link identification information is indicated by one or more of the following information: The operation set and channel number corresponding to the link, the media access control MAC address of the link, the basic service set identifier BSSID, and the identification number of the link.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that The link identification information represents one or more of the following information: an operation set corresponding to the link, a channel number corresponding to the link, and a MAC address of the link.

17. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that: The first STA receives downlink service indication information, where the downlink service indication information is used to indicate whether the multi-link station STA has downlink service.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: Applied to a multi-link access point AP, the multi-link access point AP includes multiple access points AP, and the device includes: The first module is used to generate link identification information and basic service set BSS information, wherein the link identification information is used to indicate a link, and the BSS information is used to indicate whether a BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update; The second module is used to send the link identification information and the BSS information.

19. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The BSS information includes a BSS parameter change count value. If the BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update, the BSS parameter change count value is increased by 1.

20. The device according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that The multi-link AP works on multiple links, and each link in the multiple links corresponds to a set of the link identification information and the BSS information.

21. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that The BSS parameter change count value is initialized to 0.

22. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 21, characterized in that The key BSS parameters include one or more of the following information: channel change notification element, extended channel change notification element, change EDCA parameter element, static element, modify DSSS parameter set, modify CF parameter set element, modify HT operation element, wide bandwidth channel change element, wide bandwidth channel change envelope element, operation mode notification element, static channel element, modify ultra-high throughput VHT operation element, modify high-efficiency HE operation element, insert broadcast TWT element, BSS color change notification element, MU EDCA parameter set element, modify spatial multiplexing parameter set element.

23. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that The link identification information is indicated by one or more of the following information: The operation set and channel number corresponding to the link, the media access control MAC address of the link, the basic service set identifier BSSID, and the identification number of the link.

24. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that The link identification information represents one or more of the following information: an operation set corresponding to the link, a channel number corresponding to the link, and a MAC address of the link.

25. The device according to any one of claims 18 to 24, characterized in that The device also generates downlink service indication information, where the downlink service indication information is used to indicate whether the multi-link station STA has downlink service.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: Applied to a multi-link station STA, the multi-link STA includes multiple STAs, and the device includes: The first module is used to receive link identification information and basic service set BSS information, wherein the link identification information is used to indicate a link, and the BSS information is used to indicate whether a BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update; The second module is used to determine whether there is a key BSS parameter update according to the link identification information and the BSS information, and the first STA determines whether there is a key BSS parameter update according to the link identification information and the BSS information.

27. The device according to claim 26, characterized in that The BSS information includes a BSS parameter change count value. If the BSS where the link indicated by the link identification information is located has a key BSS parameter update, the BSS parameter change count value is increased by 1.

28. The device according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that The multi-link STA works on multiple links, and the device receives a set of link identification information and BSS information corresponding to each link in the multiple links.

29. The device according to claim 26 or 27, characterized in that The multi-link STA maintains the BSS parameter change count value received last time. If the BSS parameter change count value corresponding to the most recently received first link is different from the BSS parameter change count value corresponding to the first link received last time, the multi-link STA receives a beacon frame sent from the multi-link access point AP on the first link.

30. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that The BSS parameter change count value is initialized to 0.

31. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 29, characterized in that The key BSS parameters include one or more of the following information: channel change notification element, extended channel change notification element, change EDCA parameter element, static element, modify DSSS parameter set, modify CF parameter set element, modify HT operation element, wide bandwidth channel change element, wide bandwidth channel change envelope element, operation mode notification element, static channel element, modify ultra-high throughput VHT operation element, modify high-efficiency HE operation element, insert broadcast TWT element, BSS color change notification element, MU EDCA parameter set element, modify spatial multiplexing parameter set element.

32. The method according to any one of claims 26 to 31, characterized in that The link identification information is indicated by one or more of the following information: The operation set and channel number corresponding to the link, the media access control MAC address of the link, the basic service set identifier BSSID, and the identification number of the link.

33. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 31, characterized in that The link identification information represents one or more of the following information: an operation set corresponding to the link, a channel number corresponding to the link, and a MAC address of the link.

34. The device according to any one of claims 26 to 33, characterized in that The device further receives downlink service indication information, where the downlink service indication information is used to indicate whether the multi-link station STA has downlink service.

35. A chip, characterized in that: The chip comprises a processing circuit and an input-output interface circuit, and the processing circuit is used to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 through the input-output interface circuit.

36. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program code therein, characterized in that: When the computer program code is executed on a processor, the processor is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

37. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product stores instructions for executing the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

38. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: A transceiver is used to send and receive information or to communicate with other network elements; A processor, configured to execute instructions to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

39. A chip, characterized in that: The chip comprises a processing circuit and an input-output interface circuit, and the processing circuit is used to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 17 through the input-output interface circuit.

40. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program code therein, characterized in that: When the computer program code is executed on a processor, the processor is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

41. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product stores instructions for executing the communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

42. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises: A transceiver is used to send and receive information or to communicate with other network elements; A processor, configured to execute instructions to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 9 to 17.

Images