Cooperative transmission method under multi-ap mld architecture

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method of wireless communication for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), comprising transmitting an association request frame to a non-collocated access point multi-link device (non-collocated AP MLD), wherein the association request frame is used to request at least one access point link device (AP MLD) of a plurality of AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, such that the non-AP MLD is associated to the non-collocated AP MLD; and receiving a first association response frame from the non-collocated AP MLD, the first association response frame being sent by the non-collocated AP MLD based on the association request frame.

Description

Collaborative transmission method under multi-AP MLD architecture Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more specifically, to a wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD, a wireless communication method for a non-collocated AP MLD, a chip thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium thereof, a wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD, a wireless communication method for a virtual AP MLD (virtual AP MLD), a chip thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium thereof. Background Art

[0002] In the related art, multiple subordinate APs of an access point (AP) multi-link device (MLD) are usually collocated, so it is impossible for a non-AP (non-Access Point) multi-link device (MLD) to establish multiple links with different AP MLDs.

[0003] Furthermore, according to the 802.11be standard, a non-AP MLD can only associate with one of the M collocated AP MLDs. Therefore, the related art lacks a technical concept and framework for enabling non-AP MLDs to perform multi-link communication in a simple and efficient manner.

[0004] It should be noted that the content described in this section does not constitute or should not be regarded as an admission of any prior art.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] To at least overcome the aforementioned technical problems, the present disclosure provides a wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD, a wireless communication method for a non-co-located AP MLD, a chip thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium thereof, a wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD, and a wireless communication method for a virtual AP MLD, and a chip thereof, and a computer-readable storage medium thereof. Thus, multiple solutions for achieving efficient multi-AP MLD cooperative transmission are provided, enabling non-AP MLDs to perform multi-link communication in a simple and efficient manner, thereby improving throughput, and also enhancing the efficiency and reliability of wireless communication.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) is provided, comprising: transmitting an association request frame to a non-collocated AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used to request at least one access point multi-link device (AP MLD) among a plurality of access point multi-link devices (AP MLDs) included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD; and receiving a first association response frame from the non-collocated AP MLD, wherein the first association response frame is sent by the non-collocated AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0008] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a non-collocated AP MLD is provided, comprising: receiving an association request frame from the non-AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used by the non-AP MLD to request at least one of a plurality of AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD; and sending a first association response frame to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD is provided, comprising: transmitting an association request frame to a virtual access point multi-link device AP MLD, wherein the virtual AP MLD includes multiple AP MLDs, each AP MLD includes multiple access points APs, and one or more APs operating in the same frequency band among all APs are unified into a unique subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD associates with the virtual AP MLD; and receiving an association response frame from the virtual AP MLD, wherein the association response frame is sent by the virtual AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) is provided, comprising: receiving an association request frame from a non-AP MLD, wherein the virtual AP MLD includes multiple AP MLDs, each AP MLD includes multiple access points (APs), and one or more APs operating in the same frequency band among all APs are unified into a unique subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD; wherein the association request frame is used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD associates with the virtual AP MLD; and sending an association response frame to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0011] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a chip is provided, comprising: a processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in a memory, so that a device in which the chip is installed executes the method of any embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the method of the embodiments of any aspect of the present disclosure.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program enables a computer to execute the method of any embodiment of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or related technologies, the following drawings will be briefly introduced in the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and ordinary technicians in this field can derive other drawings based on these drawings without inventive work.

[0015] FIG1 illustrates a diagram of establishing multiple links between multiple collocated AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs in a non-collocated AP MLD architecture according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG2 illustrates the structure of an exemplary TID-To-Link mapping element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] 3A illustrates the format of a TID-To-Link Control field in an exemplary TID-To-Link Map element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG3B illustrates an exemplary modified format of a TID-To-Link Control field according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG4 illustrates a diagram of physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) end time alignment timing relationship according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG5 illustrates a diagram of AP-triggered PPDU end time alignment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] 6 illustrates a diagram of PPDU end time alignment based on SRS control of STAs according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG7 illustrates the format of the control information subfield of an example SRS control field according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] 8 illustrates a diagram of PPDU end time alignment in the event of link loss of synchronization according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG9 illustrates the format of the control information subfield of an example AAR control field according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG10 illustrates a diagram of channel sounding result reporting between a non-AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 11 illustrates data transmission and confirmation between a non-AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG12A illustrates the format of an example block acknowledgement frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] 12B illustrates the format of the BA Control field of an example block acknowledgement frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] 12C illustrates the definition of the BA information field of an example multi-link block acknowledgement frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 13 illustrates a diagram of a non-AP MLD performing seamless roaming between multiple collocated AP MLDs under a non-collocated AP MLD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG14 illustrates a schematic diagram of a virtual AP MLD architecture according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG15 illustrates a format of an example multi-link element under a virtual AP MLD framework according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] 16 illustrates a per-STA profile sub-element format of an example basic multilink element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG17 illustrates the format of an example Null Data Announcement Frame NDPA according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG18 illustrates a flow chart of a wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG19 illustrates a flowchart of a wireless communication method for a non-collocated access point multi-link device (AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG20 illustrates a flowchart of a wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG21 illustrates a flowchart of a wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG22 illustrates a block diagram of an example system for wireless communications according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] The embodiments of the present disclosure describe technical matters, structural features, objectives and effects in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, as described below. Specifically, the terms in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to describe the purpose of specific embodiments, rather than to limit the present disclosure.

[0041] In this disclosure, "A or B" may mean "only A," "only B," or "both A and B."

[0042] In other words, in the present disclosure, "A or B" may be interpreted as "A and / or B." For example, in the present disclosure, "A, B or C" may mean "only A," "only B," "only C," or "any combination of A, B, and C."

[0043] As used in this disclosure, a slash ( / ) or a comma may mean "and / or". For example, "A / B" may mean "A and / or B". Thus, "A / B" may mean "only A", "only B", or "both A and B". For example, "A, B, C" may mean "A, B, or C".

[0044] In the present disclosure, “at least one of A and B” may mean “only A”, “only B”, or “both A and B”. In addition, in the present disclosure, the expression “at least one of A or B” or “at least one of A and / or B” may be interpreted as “at least one of A and B”.

[0045] In addition, in the present disclosure, “at least one of A, B, and C” may mean “only A,” “only B,” “only C,” or “any combination of A, B, and C.” In addition, “at least one of A, B, or C” or “at least one of A, B, and / or C” may mean “at least one of A, B, and C.”

[0046] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated, nor should they be understood as referring to a spatial or temporal order. Therefore, features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this application, "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0047] In the related art, multiple subordinate APs of an AP MLD are usually co-located, so it is impossible to establish multiple links between a non-AP MLD and different AP MLDs.

[0048] In addition, according to the 802.11be standard, a non-AP MLD can only be associated with one of the M collocated AP MLDs.

[0049] Therefore, based on the research of the existing technologies, it is known that it is urgent to design a novel non-collocated AP MLD architecture that is compatible with the 802.11be AP MLD architecture, especially one that can overcome the deficiencies in the related technologies.

[0050] Therefore, the present disclosure aims to propose a solution, namely, to design a novel non-collocated AP MLD architecture that is compatible with the 802.11be AP MLD architecture. As an example and not a limitation, the architecture may also involve multiple technical difficulties and issues, such as how non-AP MLD performs multi-link transmission in the non-collocated AP MLD framework, how to map services to multiple links, how to avoid NSTR interference when performing multi-link joint transmission, and how non-AP MLD performs seamless roaming in the non-collocated AP MLD framework. This novel architecture design aims to achieve more efficient wireless data transmission. The non-AP MLD establishes multiple links with multiple collocated AP MLDs under the non-collocated AP MLD:

[0051] FIG1 illustrates a diagram of establishing multiple links between multiple collocated AP MLDs and non-AP MLDs in a non-collocated AP MLD architecture according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0052] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a new non-collocated AP MLD architecture compatible with 802.11be is provided. As shown in the figure, in some examples, the non-collocated AP MLD can be a UHR (Ultra-High Reliability) non-collocated AP MLD. By way of example and not limitation, the (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD architecture can include two collocated AP MLDs, namely AP MLD 1 and AP MLD 2. In some examples, any of the AP MLDs in the (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD architecture can be an EHT (Extremely High Throughput) AP MLD.

[0053] It should be noted that although Figure 1 illustrates a non-collocated AP MLD including two collocated AP MLDs (i.e., two collocated AP MLDs exist within a non-collocated AP MLD architecture), this is merely for illustrative purposes. Throughout this disclosure and as readily understood by those skilled in the art, any suitable number of collocated AP MLDs may exist or be included within a non-collocated AP MLD architecture, depending on actual scenarios and / or needs, and this disclosure does not impose any limitations thereon.

[0054] Similarly, although FIG1 illustrates two collocated AP MLDs (i.e., AP MLD 1 and AP MLD 2) each including three subordinate APs (e.g., AP1 to AP3), this is merely for illustrative purposes. Throughout this disclosure and as readily understood by those skilled in the art, different collocated AP MLDs may include correspondingly different or the same number of subordinate APs depending on actual scenarios and / or needs, and this disclosure does not impose any limitation thereto.

[0055] Furthermore, although Figure 1 illustrates non-AP MLD 1 as including three non-AP STAs, this is merely for illustrative purposes. Throughout this disclosure and as readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, a non-AP MLD may include any suitable number of non-AP STAs depending on practical scenarios and / or needs, and this disclosure does not impose any limitations thereto.

[0056] As shown in the figure, non-AP MLD 1 can successfully associate with a (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD by sending an association request (eg, an association request frame or a request message, etc.) to any AP MLD.

[0057] It is understood that when a device (such as non-AP MLD 1 shown in Figure 1) is at the edge of the basic service set (BSS), the following effects may occur:

[0058] Weak signal: Due to being far away from the AP or being blocked by obstacles, the signal strength received by the device may be weak, which may degrade the signal quality and affect the reliability and speed of data transmission.

[0059] Reduced transmission rates: Communication between devices and the AP may be limited due to weak signals or increased interference. This can result in reduced transmission rates and increased latency, impacting the quality of real-time applications such as video streaming or voice calls.

[0060] Unstable connection: When a device is at the edge of a BSS, the connection may become unstable due to weak signals or interference. This may lead to connection interruptions, packet loss, or frequent reconnections, affecting user experience and application performance.

[0061] Signal roaming delay: When a device moves from one BSS edge to another, signal roaming delay may occur, which may cause connection loss or data transmission interruption, especially when the mobile device is engaged in real-time communication.

[0062] Furthermore, when non-AP MLD 1 associates with the (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD, non-AP MLD 1 can make a multi-link establishment request in addition to sending an association request to the non-collocated AP MLD (e.g., via the sent association request). For example, as shown in Figure 1, non-AP MLD 1 can establish three links, Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3, with AP MLD 1 and AP MLD 2, respectively. Specifically, link 1 can be established between non-AP STA 1 in non-AP MLD 1 and subordinate AP 1 of (EHT) AP MLD 1 under (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD. Link 2 can be established between non-AP STA 2 in non-AP MLD 1 and subordinate AP 2 of (EHT) AP MLD 2 under (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD. Link 3 can be established between non-AP STA 3 in non-AP MLD 1 and subordinate AP 3 of (EHT) AP MLD 2 under (UHR) non-collocated AP MLD. In this way, non-AP MLD 1 at the BSS edge or in motion can achieve more stable uplink and downlink data transmission.

[0063] This new non-collocated AP MLD architecture enables more efficient and stable data transmission, providing a better user experience, especially for devices at the BSS edge or in motion. Furthermore, this architecture provides more flexible options for establishing multiple links to meet the needs of different scenarios. For example, non-AP MLD 1 can choose to establish a link with either AP MLD 1 or AP MLD 2 based on network load and signal strength to achieve optimal transmission performance.

[0064] It should be understood that the example described above in which a non-collocated AP MLD includes two collocated AP MLDs is provided for illustrative purposes only, and the present disclosure is not intended to impose any limitation thereto. For example, the proposed non-collocated AP MLD may include any suitable number of collocated AP MLDs, the non-AP MLD may establish multi-links with any suitable number of collocated AP MLDs under the non-collocated AP MLD (and thus any suitable subordinate APs each of these collocated AP MLDs includes), each collocated AP MLD may include a different number of subordinate APs, and so on. After reading the above description, those skilled in the art will readily conceive of other suitable additions, deletions, modifications, variations, and the like, and all of these fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0065] Based on research on the prior art, in order to enable a device (e.g., non-AP MLD 1) to establish multiple links with multiple collocated AP MLDs under the non-collocated AP MLD when requesting to associate with the non-collocated AP MLD, the device needs to send an association request (e.g., an association request frame) to the non-collocated AP MLD, and the non-collocated AP MLD needs to reply to the association request response (e.g., an association response frame).

[0066] Exemplarily, when making a multi-link establishment request, Non-AP MLD 1 can initiate a multi-link establishment request to a non-collocated AP MLD via an association request frame. In this embodiment, the association request frame includes multiple basic multi-link elements (Basic Multi-Link elements), as shown in Table 1 below. In this example, the multi-link element corresponds to one (EHT) AP MLD. That is, the MLD MAC address subfield of the Common Info field of the Basic Multi-Link element can indicate the MAC addresses of different AP MLDs.

[0067] When Non-AP MLD 1 requests to establish a link with a non-collocated AP MLD, if the link is carried by AP MLD 1 (e.g., Link 1 in Figure 1), the association request frame indicates this using the basic multilink element corresponding to AP MLD 1 (e.g., (Basic) Multilink Element 1 corresponding to sequence number x). Similarly, when Non-AP MLD 1 requests to establish a link with a non-collocated AP MLD, if the link is carried by AP MLD 2 (e.g., Link 2 and Link 3 in Figure 1), the association request frame indicates this using the basic multilink element corresponding to AP MLD 2 (e.g., (Basic) Multilink Element 2 corresponding to sequence number x+1). The specific indication method can be consistent with the 802.11be standard. In this way, Non-AP MLD 1 can initiate a multilink establishment request to the non-collocated AP MLD and explicitly indicate the AP MLD that carries the required link, thereby achieving more efficient multilink communication. This indication method is designed in accordance with the 802.11be standard and ensures normal communication and collaboration in a multilink environment.

[0068] Table 1

[0069] As can be seen, in the association request frame, the non-AP MLD can carry multiple multilink elements (for example, (basic) multilink element 1 to (basic) multilink element M in Table 1 above). The number of (basic) multilink elements is related to the number of collocated AP MLDs. The collocated AP MLDs corresponding to these (basic) multilink elements belong to the same non-collocated AP MLD. This structural design of the association request frame allows the non-AP MLD to initiate multilink establishment requests to multiple collocated AP MLDs at once, improving the efficiency of establishing multilinks.

[0070] In addition, the Link Info field of multiple (basic) multilink elements in the association request frame can also carry a received signal strength indication (RSSI) report obtained based on the non-AP MLD measuring the frames sent by the corresponding affiliated AP. As shown in Table 2 below, the Link Info field of the (basic) multilink element can carry various optional subelement identifiers (Optional subelement ID). In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, any value of Subelement ID 1 to 220 or 222-253 or 255 (for example, Subelement ID = 1) represents that the subelement is an RSSI report, which is used to carry the strength of the signal received by the non-AP MLD. Exemplarily, the length of the RSSI report can be 8 bits, so its value range can be -128dBm to 127dBm to indicate the signal strength. Of course, the present disclosure does not impose any restrictions on the length of the RSSI report.

[0071] Table 2

[0072] By carrying multiple basic multilink elements in the association request frame and using the optional sub-element identifier in its link information field to indicate RSSI reporting, the non-AP MLD can more comprehensively describe the link quality between the non-AP and the attached AP.

[0073] It can be understood that the non-AP MLD reports the RSSI reports of multiple (possibly not all) subordinate APs under the non-collocated AP MLD to the non-collocated AP MLD through the association request frame. These RSSI reports can assist the non-collocated AP MLD in making decisions on establishing multiple links. By transmitting the RSSI information of the subordinate APs in the association request frame, the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD can collaboratively make decisions on establishing multiple links to optimize the performance and data transmission efficiency of the wireless network. Considering the importance of RSSI to link quality, the non-collocated AP MLD can avoid wasting resources and reducing network capacity by rejecting potential invalid links. This mechanism can provide better link management and selection, ensuring normal communication and collaboration in a multi-link environment.

[0074] For example, when the RSSI value of a certain link is too low, even if the link is established, subsequent effective data transmission cannot be performed (for example, reduced data transmission rate, increased packet loss rate, reduced coverage, increased power consumption and interference, reduced network capacity, etc.). Therefore, in the association request response (for example, the association response frame), the non-collocated AP MLD can refuse to establish or maintain such a link.

[0075] Continuing with the example shown in Figure 1, the non-collocated AP MLD can reply to non-AP MLD 1 with an association response frame regarding the result of its request for association and / or multilink establishment. When the non-AP MLD carries multiple basic multilink elements in the association request frame, the non-collocated AP MLD also carries multiple basic multilink elements in the reply association response frame, as shown in Table 3.

[0076] Table 3

[0077] In the above example, non-collocated AP MLD communicates the result of its multilink establishment request to non-AP MLD 1 using an association response frame. This response can include multiple basic multilink elements for a single request. When non-AP MLD includes multiple basic multilink elements in its request, non-collocated AP MLD includes these elements in its response accordingly.

[0078] Based on research into existing technologies, to ensure normal collaboration and communication between the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD, it is necessary to modify the corresponding multiple basic multilink elements included in the association response frame sent by the non-collocated AP MLD to the non-AP MLD. Exemplary modifications may include the following:

[0079] Aspect (1): If the non-collocated AP MLD agrees to the establishment request of the non-AP MLD to establish a link with a collocated AP MLD (i.e., agrees to a link carried by a collocated AP MLD) (e.g., a link carried by AP MLD 1 (e.g., link 1)), then the basic multilink element corresponding to the AP MLD can be carried in the association response frame. For example, the MLD MAC address subfield of the public information field of the basic multilink element 1 numbered x indicates the MAC address of AP MLD 1. In addition, the status code field (Status Code field) contained in the per-STA profile subelement (Per-STA Profile subelement) in the basic multilink element can be set to SUCCESS.

[0080] Aspect (2): If the non-collocated AP MLD rejects the link establishment request carried by a collocated AP MLD, the basic multilink element corresponding to the AP MLD can be carried in the association response frame. In addition, the status code field contained in the per-STA profile sub-element in the per-STA profile sub-element in the basic multilink element can be set to: DENIED_LINK_ON_WHICH_THE_(Re)ASSOCIATION_REQUEST_FRAME_IS_TRANSMITTED_NOT_ACCEPTED (reject the link on which the (re)association request frame is transmitted_not accepted).

[0081] This design enables non-collocated AP MLD to effectively respond to and process multilink establishment requests initiated by non-AP MLD. By carrying multiple basic multilink elements in the reply frame, it can provide a detailed and comprehensive response to multilink requests, thereby promoting accurate multilink transmission establishment and ensuring normal cooperation and communication between non-AP MLD and non-collocated AP MLD.

[0082] In the example, if the non-collocated AP MLD agrees to establish multi-links with the non-AP MLD on different AP MLDs, different links can be established through the tuple<MLD MAC Address,Link ID> or tuple<Collocated AP MLD ID,Link ID> The collocated AP MLD ID is a unique identifier (e.g., assigned uniformly to different (co-located) AP MLDs by the non-collocated AP MLD (its Upper MAC address). In this example, the identifier can be carried in beacon frames, probe response frames, and / or multi-link probe response frames sent by the non-collocated AP MLD (a subordinate AP of a (co-located) AP MLD). This allows the non-AP MLD to distinguish between different (co-located) AP MLDs upon receiving the relevant frames.

[0083] It is understandable that those skilled in the art may use any appropriate frame or message to carry different identifiers assigned by the non-collocated AP MLD to different links as needed, and the present disclosure does not impose any limitation on this.

[0084] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0085] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) is provided. The method may include transmitting an association request frame to a non-collocated AP MLD. The association request frame may be used to request at least one of a plurality of access point multi-link devices (AP MLDs) included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD. The method may also include receiving a first association response frame from the non-collocated AP MLD. The first association response frame may be sent by the non-collocated AP MLD based on the association request frame. Thus, if the non-AP MLD successfully requests an association with any one of the non-collocated AP MLDs, it may be associated with the non-collocated AP MLD, thereby facilitating the non-AP MLD to flexibly associate with other AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLD and subsequently communicate with them.

[0086] It should be noted that associating a non-AP MLD with a non-collocated AP MLD means associating the non-AP MLD with the entire non-collocated AP MLD. This allows the non-AP MLD to subsequently request link establishment with any AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD and subsequently transmit data when the link is established. This eliminates the redundant operations and signaling overhead of the non-AP MLD requesting link establishment with different AP MLDs separately, effectively improving wireless communication efficiency.

[0087] As can be seen from the background of this disclosure, existing non-AP MLDs can only associate with a single co-located AP MLD among M co-located AP MLDs and thus perform data transmission. Specifically, the related art has not yet implemented the ability to associate a non-AP MLD with different AP MLDs. This association would enable the non-AP MLD to subsequently establish multiple links with the associated AP MLD and perform data transmission once the links are established.

[0088] In short, in the related art, a non-AP MLD can only associate with an AP MLD, establish a link with it, and subsequently perform data transmission when the link is established.

[0089] Therefore, the technical difficulties addressed by the present disclosure may include at least how to facilitate communication between a non-AP MLD device and multiple collocated AP MLD devices. For example, this convenience is beneficial for subsequent link establishment (e.g., multi-link establishment) between the non-AP MLD device and multiple AP MLD devices, and for data communication after the links are established.

[0090] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-AP MLD can associate with at least one of the non-collocated AP MLDs by sending an association request to the at least one AP MLD, thereby ultimately establishing a link and conducting data communications therewith. Furthermore, by associating with at least one AP MLD, the non-AP MLD device can also associate with the non-collocated AP MLDs that include these AP MLDs (e.g., responsible for managing and controlling the MAC addresses of these AP MLDs). Thus, the non-AP MLD can associate similarly to other AP MLDs to which it has not sent an association request. Accordingly, the non-AP MLD can subsequently establish multiple links with any number of associated AP MLDs, avoiding adverse effects such as delays, signaling overhead, and forced communication interruptions caused by the non-AP MLD sending additional link establishment requests to establish new links when roaming, switching to other links due to poor current link conditions, or other situations. It should be noted that the present disclosure also aims to address other technical difficulties, as described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and various exemplary embodiments and examples.

[0091] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, associating a non-AP MLD with a non-collocated AP MLD may include establishing a multi-link between the non-AP MLD and at least one of the multiple AP MLDs. Thus, establishing the multi-link enables the non-AP MLD at the edge of a BSS or in motion to achieve more stable uplink and downlink transmission rates, thereby ensuring communication efficiency and reliability.

[0092] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an association request frame may include one or more basic multilink elements corresponding to one or more AP MLDs. A non-AP MLD requests to establish a multilink with one or more AP MLDs via the association request frame. Furthermore, the basic multilink elements (e.g., each basic multilink element included in the association request frame) may indicate the media access control (MAC) address of one of the one or more AP MLDs. Thus, the correspondence between the basic multilink elements and the AP MLDs (and their MAC addresses) ensures the correctness and stability of multilink communication.

[0093] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first sub-element in the basic multi-link element may include (for example, carry) a received signal strength indication RSSI. The RSSI may indicate the strength of a signal received by a non-AP MLD on a link carried by one of one or more AP MLDs. The signal is sent by the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD. This helps assist the non-collocated AP MLD in making efficient decisions about establishing multiple links. For example, if the RSSI on certain links is too low, even if the link is established, it cannot be used for data transmission. Therefore, the non-collocated AP MLD may refuse to establish such links (for example, in an association request response frame), thereby achieving reasonable configuration and utilization of wireless communication resources.

[0094] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include receiving a first association response frame from the non-collocated AP MLD. The first association response frame may include one or more basic multilink elements, and the one or more basic multilink elements included in the first association response frame may correspond one-to-one with the one or more basic multilink elements included in the association request frame. The second sub-element of the basic multilink element (e.g., each basic multilink element) included in the first association response frame may indicate whether one of the one or more AP MLDs is permitted to establish at least one multilink. This facilitates the non-AP MLD to obtain simple information from the non-collocated AP MLD regarding whether the requested link establishment is permitted, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0095] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second sub-element is a per-STA configuration sub-element.

[0096] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include receiving a second frame different from the first association response frame from the non-collocated AP MLD, the second frame carrying identifiers corresponding to one or more AP MLDs. Thus, when the non-collocated AP MLD grants permission to establish a multilink with the non-AP MLD, which is carried by different AP MLDs, the non-AP MLD can distinguish between the different AP MLDs, thereby ensuring the correctness and stability of multilink communication.

[0097] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-collocated AP MLDs. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0098] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a non-collocated AP MLD is provided. The method may include receiving an association request frame from the non-AP MLD. The association request frame may be used by the non-AP MLD to request at least one of a plurality of AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD. The method may also include sending a first association response frame to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame. Thus, if the non-AP MLD successfully requests an association with any one of the non-collocated AP MLDs, it may be associated with the non-collocated AP MLD, thereby facilitating the non-AP MLD to flexibly associate with other AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLD and subsequently communicate with them.

[0099] It should be noted that associating a non-AP MLD with a non-collocated AP MLD refers to associating the non-AP MLD with the entire non-collocated AP MLD. This enables the non-AP MLD to request link establishment with any AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD and subsequently transmit data when the link is established. This eliminates the redundant operations and signaling overhead of the non-AP MLD requesting link establishment with different AP MLDs separately, effectively improving wireless communication efficiency.

[0100] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, associating a non-AP MLD with a non-collocated AP MLD may include establishing a multi-link between at least one of the multiple AP MLDs and the non-AP MLD. Thus, establishing the multi-link enables a non-AP MLD at the edge of a BSS or in motion to achieve more stable uplink and downlink transmission rates, thereby ensuring communication efficiency and reliability.

[0101] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an association request frame may include one or more basic multilink elements corresponding to one or more AP MLDs. A non-AP MLD requests to establish a multilink with one or more AP MLDs via the association request frame. Furthermore, the basic multilink elements (e.g., each basic multilink element included in the association request frame) may indicate the media access control (MAC) address of one of the one or more AP MLDs. Thus, the correspondence between the basic multilink elements and the AP MLDs (and their MAC addresses) ensures the correctness and stability of multilink communication.

[0102] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first sub-element in the basic multi-link element may include (for example, carry) a received signal strength indication RSSI. The RSSI may indicate the strength of a signal received by a non-AP MLD on a link carried by one of one or more AP MLDs. The signal is sent by the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD. This helps assist the non-collocated AP MLD in making efficient decisions about establishing multiple links. For example, if the RSSI on certain links is too low, even if the link is established, it cannot be used for data transmission. Therefore, the non-collocated AP MLD may refuse to establish such links (for example, in an association request response frame), thereby achieving reasonable configuration and utilization of wireless communication resources.

[0103] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include transmitting a first association response frame to the non-AP MLD. The first association response frame may include one or more basic multilink elements, and the one or more basic multilink elements included in the first association response frame correspond one-to-one to the one or more basic multilink elements included in the association request frame. The second sub-element of the basic multilink element (e.g., each basic multilink element) included in the first association response frame may indicate whether one of the one or more AP MLDs is permitted to establish at least one multilink. This facilitates the non-AP MLD to obtain simple information about whether the requested link establishment is permitted from the non-collocated AP MLD, saving signaling overhead.

[0104] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second sub-element is a per-STA configuration sub-element.

[0105] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include transmitting a second frame different from the first association response frame to the non-AP MLD, the second frame carrying identifiers corresponding to one or more AP MLDs. Thus, when the non-collocated AP MLD grants permission to establish multilinks with the non-AP MLD carried by different AP MLDs, the non-AP MLD can distinguish between the different AP MLDs, thereby ensuring the correctness and stability of multilink communication.

[0106] The method for mapping different services to different links through the TID-to-Link mapping mechanism for multiple collocated AP MLDs under Non-AP MLD and non-collocated AP MLD is as follows:

[0107] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, TID-to-Link mapping (Traffic Identifier-to-Link Mapping) between a non-AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD can be implemented through various interaction methods. For example, the following three methods are provided. In this example, traffic can be divided into uplink transmission (UL) and downlink transmission (DL).

[0108] 1) Non-AP MLD can implement mapping of service ID to link by carrying one or more TID-To-Link mapping elements in an association request message (eg, an association request frame) sent to a non-collocated AP MLD, as shown in Table 4 below.

[0109] Table 4

[0110] Accordingly, the non-collocated AP MLD replies the mapping result of the service ID to the link to the non-AP MLD through an association request response message (eg, an association response frame), as shown in Table 5 below.

[0111] Table 5

[0112] 2) The Non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD can also implement service ID-to-link mapping by exchanging TID-To-Link Mapping Request frames and TID-To-Link Mapping Response frames. For example, Tables 6 and 7 below show the action field structure of an example TID-To-Link Mapping Request frame and the action field structure of an example TID-To-Link Mapping Response frame, respectively.

[0113] Table 6

[0114] Table 7

[0115] 3) A non-collocated AP MLD can carry a TID-To-Link Mapping element in a beacon frame and / or a probe response frame to notify the non-AP MLD of the mandatory service ID to link mapping. For example, Tables 8 and 9 below show the frame body structures of an example beacon frame and an example probe response frame, respectively.

[0116] Table 8

[0117] Table 9

[0118] As can be seen, when mapping service identifiers (TIDs) to links, the three methods described above all utilize the TID-To-Link Mapping element in the relevant frame to indicate the mapping relationship between service identifiers (TIDs) and link identifiers (Link IDs). For example, the formats of the TID-To-Link Mapping element are shown in Figures 2 to 3A.

[0119] Figure 2 illustrates the structure of an exemplary TID-To-Link Map element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3A illustrates the format of a TID-To-Link Control field in an exemplary TID-To-Link Map element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0120] Exemplarily, when the Direction subfield of the TID-To-Link control field is set to 0, it may indicate that the current TID-To-Link mapping element indicates downlink TID-To-Link mapping information.

[0121] Exemplarily, when the Direction subfield of the TID-To-Link control field is set to 1, it may indicate that the current TID-To-Link mapping element indicates uplink TID-To-Link mapping information.

[0122] Exemplarily, when the Direction subfield of the TID-To-Link control field is set to 2, it may indicate that the current TID-To-Link mapping element indicates downlink and uplink TID-To-Link mapping information.

[0123] Illustratively, the value 3 of the Direction subfield of the TID-To-Link control field may be a reserved value.

[0124] Based on existing technology research, to better implement the TID-to-Link mapping mechanism between non-AP MLD and multiple collocated AP MLDs under non-collocated AP MLD, different services are mapped to different links. The following modifications can be made to the TID-to-Link Mapping element carried in relevant frames:

[0125] Modification 1: The above-mentioned relevant frames (such as Tables 4 to 9 above) can carry one or more (for example, more than two) TID-To-Link mapping elements, where a maximum of two TID-To-Link mapping elements can exist between a non-AP MLD and each AP MLD under a non-collocated AP MLD. For example, the TID-To-Link Mapping element (1) in Tables 4 to 9 above indicates TID-To-Link mapping in downlink between non-AP MLD and AP MLD1 (i.e., the link requested / granted to be established between non-AP MLD and AP MLD1 corresponds to downlink traffic), the TID-To-Link Mapping element (2) indicates TID-To-Link mapping in uplink between non-AP MLD and AP MLD1 (i.e., the link requested / granted to be established between non-AP MLD and AP MLD1 corresponds to uplink traffic), the TID-To-Link Mapping element (3) indicates TID-To-Link mapping in downlink between non-AP MLD and AP MLD2 (i.e., the link requested / granted to be established between non-AP MLD and AP MLD2 corresponds to downlink traffic), and the TID-To-Link Mapping element (4) indicates TID-To-Link mapping in uplink between non-AP MLD and AP MLD2 (i.e., the link requested / granted to be established between non-AP MLD and AP MLD2 corresponds to downlink traffic). The link requested / granted to be established between MLD2 corresponds to uplink traffic).

[0126] Modification 2: The TID-To-Link control field can also be modified. There are two ways to implement this.

[0127] FIG3B illustrates an exemplary modified format of a TID-To-Link Control field according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0128] 1) Option 1: As shown in FIG3B , reserved bits B6 to B7 may be used to carry the collocated AP MLD identifier ID described in the above embodiment, so as to distinguish between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD indicated by the current TID-To-Link Mapping element for which link the service ID to link mapping is performed.

[0129] 2) Option 2: By extending the length of Link Mapping of TID 0 to Link Mapping of TID 7, the collocated AP MLD ID can be additionally indicated on the basis of indicating the original Link ID bitmap, so that, for example, Link Mapping of TID 0 to Link Mapping of TID 7 can indicate a tuple<Collocated AP MLD ID,Link ID> , thereby distinguishing which AP MLD link under the non-AP MLD and non-collocated AP MLD is indicated by the current TID-To-Link mapping element and performs service ID-to-link mapping.

[0130] It will be understood that those skilled in the art may make any appropriate modifications to the TID-To-Link Mapping element and / or the TID-To-Link Control field as needed to better implement a TID-to-Link mapping mechanism between a non-AP MLD and multiple collocated AP MLDs under a non-collocated AP MLD. This disclosure does not impose any limitations in this regard.

[0131] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0132] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) described above may further include receiving a TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame for traffic identifier to link (TID-to-Link) mapping from the non-collocated AP MLD. The TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame is sent by the non-collocated AP MLD after receiving a TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame from the non-AP MLD (e.g., the non-collocated AP MLD sends the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame in response to receiving the TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame from the non-AP MLD). Exemplarily, the TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame includes a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements.

[0133] Illustratively, the second number may be the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the non-collocated AP MLD grants the establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the non-collocated AP MLD grants the establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (e.g., the second number is smaller than the first number). For example, when not relying on the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link Mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may result in the second number being different from the first number.

[0134] Exemplarily, from a link perspective, there may be at most two links (e.g., less than or equal to two links) corresponding to TID-to-Link Mapping elements between a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD. Exemplarily, from the perspective of frames and / or devices (e.g., non-AP MLD and AP MLD), a TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame and a TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame may each include at most two TID-to-Link Mapping elements to indicate a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and one of one or more AP MLDs. For example, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish both an uplink and a downlink with an AP MLD, two TID-to-Link Mapping elements may be present to indicate a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. This allows for simple and efficient mapping of services to different links.

[0135] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an association request frame may include a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements for mapping a traffic identifier to a link TID-to-Link, and a first association response frame may include a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number may be the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the non-collocated AP MLD grants the establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the non-collocated AP MLD grants the establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (e.g., the second number is smaller than the first number). For example, when not relying on the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link Mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may result in the second number being different from the first number.

[0136] Exemplarily, from a link perspective, there may be at most two links (e.g., less than or equal to two links) corresponding to TID-to-Link Mapping elements between a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD. Exemplarily, from the perspective of frames and / or devices (e.g., a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD), an association request frame and a first association response frame may each include at most two TID-to-Link Mapping elements for indicating a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and one of the one or more AP MLDs. For example, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish both an uplink and a downlink with an AP MLD, two TID-to-Link Mapping elements may exist for indicating a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. This allows for simple and efficient mapping of services to different links.

[0137] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second frame may include one or more TID-to-Link Mapping elements for mapping traffic identifiers to links (TID-to-Link). For example, from a link perspective, there may be at most two links (e.g., less than or equal to two links) corresponding to the TID-to-Link Mapping elements between a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD. For example, from the perspective of a frame and / or device (e.g., a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD), there may be at most two TID-to-Link Mapping elements used to indicate the TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and one of the one or more AP MLDs. For example, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish both an uplink and a downlink with an AP MLD, two TID-to-Link Mapping elements may be present to indicate the TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. This allows for simple and efficient mandatory mapping of traffic to different links.

[0138] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the TID-to-Link Mapping Control field of a TID-to-Link Mapping element (e.g., each TID-to-Link Mapping element) may include at least one bit for carrying a collocated AP MLD identifier (ID). The collocated AP MLD ID may indicate the identifier corresponding to the AP MLD to which the non-AP MLD is TID-to-Link mapped, thereby distinguishing TID-to-Link Mapping elements. This allows distinguishing which AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD the current TID-to-Link Mapping element indicates is TID-to-Link mapping to, thereby reducing signaling overhead and ensuring the accuracy and stability of multi-link communication.

[0139] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the length of the predefined field of a TID-to-Link mapping element (e.g., each TID-to-Link mapping element) can be extended so that the predefined field can simultaneously indicate the collocated AP MLD identifier ID and the link identifier ID. This allows differentiation between the non-AP MLD and the link under the non-collocated AP MLD indicated by the current TID-to-Link mapping element, ensuring the correctness and stability of multi-link communication.

[0140] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-collocated AP MLDs. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0141] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-collocated access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) described above may further include transmitting a TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame for traffic identifier to link (TID-to-Link) mapping to the non-AP MLD, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD transmits the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame in response to receiving the TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame from the non-AP MLD. Exemplarily, the TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame includes a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number is the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the non-collocated AP MLD grants establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the non-collocated AP MLD grants establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (e.g., the second number is less than the first number). For example, when the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement is not relied upon, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD that carries the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may cause the second number to be different from the first number.

[0142] Exemplarily, from a link perspective, there may be at most two links (e.g., less than or equal to two links) corresponding to TID-to-Link Mapping elements between a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD. Exemplarily, from the perspective of a frame and / or device (e.g., a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD), a TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame and a TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame each include at most two TID-to-Link Mapping elements for indicating a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and one of one or more AP MLDs. For example, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish both an uplink and a downlink with an AP MLD, two TID-to-Link Mapping elements may be present for indicating a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. This allows for simple and efficient mapping of services to different links.

[0143] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an association request frame may include a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements for mapping a traffic identifier to a link TID-to-Link, and a first association response frame may include a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number is the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the non-collocated AP MLD grants the establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the non-collocated AP MLD grants the establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (e.g., the second number is smaller than the first number). For example, when not relying on the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link Mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may result in the second number being different from the first number.

[0144] Exemplarily, from a link perspective, there may be at most two links (e.g., less than or equal to two links) corresponding to TID-to-Link Mapping elements between a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD. Exemplarily, from the perspective of frames and / or devices (e.g., a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD), an association request frame and a first association response frame may each include at most two TID-to-Link Mapping elements for indicating a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and one of the one or more AP MLDs. For example, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish both an uplink and a downlink with an AP MLD, two TID-to-Link Mapping elements may exist for indicating a TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. This allows for simple and efficient mapping of services to different links.

[0145] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second frame includes one or more TID-to-Link Mapping elements for mapping traffic identifiers to links (TID-to-Link). Exemplarily, from a link perspective, there may be at most two links (e.g., less than or equal to two links) corresponding to the TID-to-Link Mapping elements between a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD. Exemplarily, from a frame and / or device perspective (e.g., a non-AP MLD and an AP MLD), there may be at most two TID-to-Link Mapping elements used to indicate the TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and one of the one or more AP MLDs. For example, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish both an uplink and a downlink with an AP MLD, two TID-to-Link Mapping elements may be used to indicate the TID-to-Link mapping between the non-AP MLD and the AP MLD. This allows for simple and efficient mandatory mapping of traffic to different links.

[0146] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the TID-to-Link Mapping Control field of a TID-to-Link Mapping element (e.g., each TID-to-Link Mapping element) may include at least one bit for carrying a collocated AP MLD identifier (ID). The collocated AP MLD ID may indicate the identifier corresponding to the AP MLD to which the non-AP MLD is TID-to-Link mapped, thereby distinguishing TID-to-Link Mapping elements. This allows distinguishing which AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD the current TID-to-Link Mapping element indicates is TID-to-Link mapping to, thereby reducing signaling overhead and ensuring the accuracy and stability of multi-link communication.

[0147] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the length of the predefined field of a TID-to-Link mapping element (e.g., each TID-to-Link mapping element) can be extended so that the predefined field can simultaneously indicate the collocated AP MLD identifier ID and the link identifier ID. This allows differentiation between the non-AP MLD and the link under the non-collocated AP MLD indicated by the current TID-to-Link mapping element, ensuring the correctness and stability of multi-link communication.

[0148] When a non-AP MLD establishes an NSTR link pair with multiple collocated AP MLDs under a non-collocated AP MLD, the method for aligning the end times of the Physical Layer (PHY) Protocol Data Units (PPDUs) on different links is as follows:

[0149] Referring back to Figure 1, non-AP MLD 1 establishes Link 1 with AP MLD 1 under the non-collocated AP MLD. Non-AP MLD 1 also establishes Links 2 and 3 with AP MLD 2 under the non-collocated AP MLD. If Links 1 and 2 form a Nonsimultaneous Transmit and Receive (NSTR) pair, Links 1 and 3 form an NSTR pair, and Links 2 and 3 form an NSTR pair, the following conditions must be met when non-AP MLD 1 and the non-collocated AP MLD use Links 1, 2, and 3 for frame transmission to avoid self-interference between STAs 1, 2, and 3, which are affiliated with non-AP MLD 1.

[0150] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, when more than one AP attached to a non-collocated AP MLD (multiple) AP MLDs simultaneously transmit to a non-AP STA (multiple) non-AP STA attached to a non-AP MLD operating on a pair of NSTR links of the MLD, and at least one PPDU carries a frame requesting an immediate response (i.e., an immediate response), the APs should align the end times of the PPDUs requesting an immediate response according to the rules defined below.

[0151] When the AP MLDs of non-collocated AP MLDs need to align the end times of simultaneously transmitted PPDUs, the following exemplary preset criteria (a) and (b) should be met:

[0152] Exemplary preset criterion (a): The non-collocated AP MLD shall ensure that the difference between the end times of simultaneously transmitted PPDUs is less than or equal to a first preset time, where the end time of the PPDU is the end time of the last OFDM symbol or the end time of the packet extension (if present), whichever is later.

[0153] For example, the first preset time may be 8 μs, etc. It is understood that those skilled in the art may select any appropriate first preset time as needed, and the present disclosure does not impose any limitation thereto.

[0154] Example preset criterion (b): The non-collocated AP MLD shall ensure that the end time of one or more PPDUs carrying frames requesting an immediate response is at most a second preset time earlier than the end time of any PPDU containing a triggering frame whose CS Required subfield is set to 1.

[0155] For example, the second preset time may be 4 μs, etc. It is understood that those skilled in the art may select any appropriate second preset time as needed, and the present disclosure does not impose any limitation thereto.

[0156] Figure 4 illustrates a diagram of the timing relationship for aligning the end time of physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, AP 1 is attached to AP MLD 1, and APs 2 and 3 are both attached to AP MLD 2. AP MLD 1 and AP MLD 2 belong to the same non-collocated AP MLD. When the non-collocated AP MLD uses three links (such as Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3 in the figure) to send PPDUs to non-AP MLD 1, and one or more PPDUs on one or more of the links are PPDUs that require an immediate reply (such as Trigger and Data in the figure), the end times of the PPDUs on these three links must be aligned and meet the above conditions.

[0157] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to achieve the above conditions for PPDU end time alignment, one or more of the following methods may be used:

[0158] Option 1: Method for PPDU end time alignment in ideal backhaul link

[0159] As shown in Figure 1, when the backhaul link between AP MLDs is an ideal backhaul (for example, with negligible latency or using a wired backhaul), the Upper MAC of the non-collocated AP MLD (which manages and controls the Upper MAC and / or Lower MAC of each AP MLD) can send instructions to the Upper MAC and / or Lower MAC of each AP MLD via the ideal backhaul link, requesting the subordinate APs participating in multi-link transmission to execute PPDU transmission. Exemplarily, these instructions may include at least one of the following:

[0160] (1) The time when PPDU starts to be sent on each link,

[0161] (2) The length of the PPDU on each link (same length),

[0162] (3) The time when PPDU transmission ends on each link,

[0163] (4) The above rules.

[0164] • Specifically, item (4) includes the exemplary preset criteria (a) and (b) as described above.

[0165] For example, in some cases, the above item (4) must be satisfied, while items (1) to (3) are additional optional items.

[0166] FIG5 illustrates a diagram of AP-triggered PPDU end time alignment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0167] Option 2: Method for aligning the PPDU end time by sending a Trigger (e.g., Multi-AP Trigger) frame by an AP under a non-ideal backhaul link

[0168] As shown in Figure 1, when the backhaul link between AP MLDs is a non-ideal backhaul (for example, a wireless backhaul), the Upper MAC of the non-collocated AP MLD (which manages and controls the Upper MAC and / or Lower MAC of each AP MLD) needs to enable the subordinate APs of one of the AP MLDs to send a trigger frame / synchronization frame (such as the multi-AP trigger frame in Figure 5) to enable the subordinate APs of other AP MLDs participating in multi-link transmission to maintain synchronized downlink transmission and meet the above rules.

[0169] As shown in Figure 5, AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 1, sends a multi-AP trigger frame to trigger devices participating in multi-link transmission (such as AP 2 and AP 3, which are subordinate to AP MLD 2) to send PPDUs simultaneously. After the short interframe space (SIFS) time, AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 1, and AP 2 and AP 3, which are subordinate to AP MLD 2, which are participating in multi-link transmission, will send PPDUs simultaneously. However, since AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3 are subordinate to different AP MLDs, it is difficult to fully guarantee that the end time of the PPDUs they send meets the above rules without additional restrictions. Therefore, it may be necessary to include at least the following information in the multi-AP trigger frame:

[0170] (1) The time when PPDU starts to be sent on each link,

[0171] (2) The length of the PPDU on each link (same length),

[0172] (3) The time when PPDU transmission ends on each link,

[0173] (4) The above rules.

[0174] • Specifically, item (4) includes the exemplary preset criteria (a) and (b) as described above.

[0175] For example, in some cases, the above item (4) must be satisfied, while items (1) to (3) are additional optional items.

[0176] As can be seen from Figure 5, the end time difference of the data (i.e., PPDU) on link 1, link 2, and link 3 is kept within a preset time (e.g., 8 μs, etc., which is not limited in this disclosure), which can meet the restrictions of the NSTR link pair.

[0177] Option 3: STA uses SRS (Single Response Scheduling) to control the PPDU end time alignment

[0178] In order to enable the subordinate APs of different AP MLDs under the same non-collocated AP MLD to align the downlink PPDUs, it is also possible to synchronize the subordinate non-AP STAs of the non-AP MLD.

[0179] Figure 6 illustrates a diagram of PPDU end time alignment based on SRS control of STAs according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 7 illustrates the format of the control information subfield of an example SRS control field according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0180] As shown in Figure 6 , non-AP STA 1, non-AP STA 2, and non-AP STA 3, affiliated with the non-AP MLD, simultaneously transmit non-TB PPDUs (Non-Trigger-Based Physical Layer Protocol Data Units). The MPDUs (MAC Protocol Data Units) within these non-TB PPDUs contain an SRS Control field, the format of which is shown in Figure 7 for the Control Information subfield of the SRS Control field. The PPDU Response Duration subfield contains the duration of the requested non-TB PPDU carrying a Control Response frame, which immediately follows the PPDU carrying the SRS Control subfield. For example, the PPDU Response Duration subfield can be expressed in units of 4 μs. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art may select any suitable length for the PPDU Response Duration subfield as needed, and this disclosure does not impose any limitations thereto.

[0181] After receiving the non-TB PPDU containing the SRS Control field, each subordinate AP (i.e., AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3) as shown in Figure 6 immediately responds with a frame, which can be a frame corresponding to the control response type or a non-TB PPDU containing data. The length of the frame responded by each subordinate AP is indicated by the PPDU Response Duration subfield of the SRS Control field contained in the MPDU in the non-TB PPDU sent by each subordinate non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD. It should be noted that in order to avoid interference between the NSTR link pairs of link 1, link 2, and link 3, the value of the PPDU Response Duration subfield of the SRS Control field contained in the non-TB PPDU sent by the subordinate non-AP STA 1, subordinate non-AP STA 2, and subordinate non-AP STA 3 of the non-AP MLD is set to the same value, or the difference does not exceed a preset time (e.g., 8μs, etc., which is not limited by the present disclosure).

[0182] Option 4: PPDU end time alignment method when link loses synchronization

[0183] 8 illustrates a diagram of PPDU end time alignment in the event of link loss of synchronization according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0184] As shown in Figure 8, when non-AP STA 2 and non-AP STA 3 of non-AP MLD 1 lose synchronization with the non-collocated AP MLD, the synchronized non-AP STA 1 can send a data frame (or other frame) carrying the AP Assistance Request (AAR) control field to the non-collocated AP MLD over link 1. The non-collocated AP MLD then schedules AP 2 and AP 3 of AP MLD 2, corresponding to the links indicated by the AAR control field, to send trigger frames to the non-AP STA 2 and non-AP STA 3 of non-AP MLD 1 that lost synchronization. After receiving the trigger frames from AP 2 and AP 3 of AP MLD 2, the non-AP STA 2 and non-AP STA 3 of non-AP MLD 1 immediately respond with frames (e.g., data frames), thereby restoring synchronization with the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0185] Note that if non-AP MLD 1 is to restore synchronization with AP MLD 2 through the AAR control field between non-AP MLD 1 and AP MLD 2, the following modifications need to be made to the control information subfield of the AAR control field in the data frames (or other frames) sent by non-AP MLD 1.

[0186] FIG9 illustrates the format of the control information subfield of an example AAR control field according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0187] As shown in the figure, in the control information subfield B16 to B19 of the example AAR control field, two, three, or all bits can be defined as the Collocated AP MLD ID, which indicates the AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD that the AAR control field requests to perform synchronization recovery. In other words, the Collocated AP MLD ID in Figure 9 indicates a specific AP MLD under the non-collocated AP MLD, while the Assisting AP Link ID Bitmap can indicate the specific subordinate AP and / or Link ID of the AP MLD.

[0188] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-collocated AP MLDs. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0189] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when a non-AP MLD establishes a non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR link pair with multiple AP MLDs in a non-collocated AP MLD, the non-collocated AP MLD can, based on a preset criterion, align the end times of physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) transmitted simultaneously on multiple links between the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD. This effectively controls the establishment of non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR link pairs between the non-AP MLD and multiple AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLD, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of multi-link communication.

[0190] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the preset criteria may include that the difference between the end times of any two PPDUs in the simultaneously transmitted PPDUs is less than or equal to a preset value (as an example and not limitation, the preset value may be 8 μs, of course, the present disclosure does not impose any limitation on this), and / or the end time of the PPDU carrying the frame requesting an immediate response is earlier than the end time of the PPDU containing the trigger frame with the value of the carrier sense CS requirement subfield set to 1 by up to another preset value (as an example and not limitation, the other preset value may be 4 μs, of course, the present disclosure does not impose any limitation on this).

[0191] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when links between multiple AP MLDs included in a non-collocated AP MLD utilize ideal backhaul links, the non-collocated AP MLD can send a command to at least one AP MLD. This command can carry preset criteria and at least one of the following: the start time for PPDU transmission on each link in the multilink, the length of the PPDU on each link in the multilink, and / or the end time for PPDU transmission on each link in the multilink. This provides a simple and effective method for aligning PPDU end times when ideal backhaul links are used between AP MLDs, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of multi-link communication.

[0192] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when links between multiple AP MLDs included in a non-collocated AP MLD utilize non-ideal backhaul links, a multi-AP trigger frame may be transmitted by an access point AP of a first AP MLD in at least one AP MLD to an AP of a second AP MLD in at least one AP MLD. The multi-AP trigger frame may be used to synchronize transmissions between the APs of the second AP MLD. The first AP MLD and the second AP MLD are different. The multi-AP trigger frame may carry preset criteria and may also carry at least one of the following: a start time for transmitting a PPDU on each link in the multilink, a length of the PPDU on each link in the multilink, and / or a stop time for transmitting a PPDU on each link in the multilink. This provides a simple and effective method for aligning PPDU end times when non-ideal backhaul links are used between AP MLDs, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of multi-link communication.

[0193] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0194] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when a non-AP MLD establishes a non-simultaneous transmit and receive NSTR link pair with multiple AP MLDs in a non-collocated AP MLD, multiple non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD can send non-triggered physical layer protocol data units (non-TB) to multiple access points (APs) corresponding one-to-one with the multiple non-AP STAs. As described in the present disclosure, the phrase "multiple access points (APs) corresponding one-to-one with the multiple non-AP STAs" means that each non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD can be paired with an AP associated with each collocated AP MLD (e.g., in a non-collocated AP MLD). In each pair of non-AP STA and AP, the non-AP STA and AP are peers. That is, when one of the non-AP STA and AP acts as a transmitter, the other acts as a receiver, and vice versa.

[0195] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a medium access control protocol data unit MPDU in a non-TB PPDU (eg, each non-TB PPDU) may contain a single response scheduling SRS control field.

[0196] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the PPDU Response Duration subfield in the SRS Control field may indicate the length of the frame fed back by each AP in at least one AP MLD. The PPDU Response Duration subfields corresponding to non-TB PPDUs (e.g., each corresponding non-TB PPDU) may be set to the same value or may be set to differ from each other by no more than a preset value. This depends on the hardware design capabilities, and such a preset value can ensure that interference between the transmitting and receiving devices is staggered. For example, the preset value may be 8 μs, although this disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0197] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when a non-AP MLD establishes a non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR link pair with multiple AP MLDs among non-collocated AP MLDs, the method may further include: when a desynchronized link exists between the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD, a synchronized non-AP STA among the non-AP MLD transmits a frame carrying an access point assistance request (AAR) control field to the non-collocated AP MLD through a link corresponding to the non-AP STA, wherein a preset bit in a control information subfield of the AAR control field indicates an identifier of the AP MLD corresponding to the AAR control field requesting execution of a synchronization restoration operation; the non-AP MLD receives a trigger frame sent by an access point AP among the multiple AP MLDs corresponding to the desynchronized link; and in response to the received trigger frame, the STA in the non-AP MLD transmits a data frame to the AP to complete the synchronization operation.

[0198] Specifically, when a non-AP MLD establishes a non-simultaneous transmit and receive NSTR link pair with multiple AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLD, if a link is out of sync between the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD, a synchronized non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD may transmit a frame carrying an Access Point Assistance Request (AAR) control field to the non-collocated AP MLD (specifically, to a synchronized AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLD, which also has a peer-to-peer relationship with the synchronized non-AP STA) via the link corresponding to the non-AP STA (herein, the link is the synchronized link). Exemplarily, the frame may be a data frame. The AAR control field may be used to perform synchronization operations, for example, by carrying information indicating which APs of the AP MLDs need to be synchronized. Exemplarily, the non-collocated AP MLD may schedule the APs of the AP MLDs indicated by the AAR control field to send trigger frames to the (out-of-sync) peer non-AP STAs. Subsequently, the non-AP MLD can receive trigger frames from the access points (APs) corresponding to the desynchronized links in the multiple AP MLDs. Specifically, in the above steps, the trigger frames are received by non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD that are in a peer relationship with the APs affiliated with the desynchronized AP MLD. Furthermore, in response to receiving the trigger frames, these non-AP STAs transmit data frames to the desynchronized APs, thereby completing the synchronization operation.

[0199] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the AAR control field may include a control information subfield. A first preset bit of the control information subfield may indicate at least one AP MLD for which synchronization is to be performed, and a second preset bit of the control information subfield may indicate a link identifier (ID) of an out-of-sync link corresponding to the at least one AP MLD and / or an access point (AP) corresponding to the out-of-sync link in the at least one AP MLD.

[0200] The non-AP MLD and multiple collocated AP MLDs use one link to perform channel detection and report the detection results on another link:

[0201] FIG10 illustrates a diagram of channel sounding result reporting between a non-AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0202] As shown in the figure, in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, for a non-collocated AP MLD, subordinate AP 1 of AP MLD 1 sends a multi-AP trigger frame to subordinate AP 2 of AP MLD 2, requesting subordinate AP 2 to perform channel sounding together with subordinate AP 1. After, for example, a SIFS period, subordinate AP 1 and subordinate AP 2 send Null Data Packet Announcement (NDPA) and Null Data Packet (NDP) frames on Link 1 and Link 2, respectively, to perform channel sounding. Then, subordinate AP 3 of AP MLD 2 can send a Beamforming Report Poll (BFRP) trigger frame on Link 3, requesting non-AP MLD 1 to feed back the channel sounding results on Link 1 and Link 2 to subordinate AP 3 of AP MLD 2 via Link 3, thereby ultimately transmitting the channel sounding results to the non-collocated AP MLD.

[0203] In the above embodiment, based on research on existing technologies, a new rule that needs to be added to the existing 802.11 standard is to allow subordinate APs of other AP MLDs under the same non-collocated AP MLD, or other subordinate APs of the same AP MLD under the same non-collocated AP MLD, to send BFRP trigger frames to obtain channel sounding results on other (multiple) links other than the current link. The advantage of doing so is that load balancing or more efficient reporting of channel sounding results can be achieved. For example, if link 1 and link 2 are links in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, since channel state information (e.g., CSI reports) generally have a large size, if reporting is performed on link 1 and link 2 via 2.4 GHz, it may take longer to complete the reporting of channel sounding results due to the limited bandwidth and / or severe interference of 2.4 GHz. However, if link 3 is in the 6 GHz frequency band, which has a wider channel bandwidth and / or weaker interference, reporting of the large-size CSI report via link 3 will take less time. It should be noted that the operating frequency bands of each link in the examples of the present disclosure are given only for the purpose of exemplary explanation, and the present disclosure does not impose any limitation on this.

[0204] In addition, the CSI report frame on link 3 needs to indicate the channel sounding results from link 1 and link 2 respectively. Therefore, for example, the tuple can be added to the CSI report frame of link 3<MLD MAC Address,Link ID> or tuple<Collocated AP MLD ID,Link ID> Alternatively, you can add the tuple <sender MAC address, receiver MAC address> to distinguish them. It's important to note that the sender and receiver mentioned above refer to the NDP frame. That is, the device that sends the NDP frame is the sender, and the device that receives the NDP frame is the receiver.

[0205] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0206] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) described above may further include receiving a beamforming report polling (BFRP) trigger frame from a non-collocated AP MLD, wherein the BFRP trigger frame instructs the non-AP MLD to transmit a channel state information (CSI) report of a first link to the non-collocated AP MLD via a second link, wherein the first link and the second link are both links established between the non-collocated AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, and the BFRP trigger frame is transmitted on the second link; and in response to the received BFRP trigger frame, the CSI report is transmitted to the non-collocated AP MLD via the second link. Thus, efficient utilization of channel resources can be achieved, thereby improving the efficiency of wireless communication.

[0207] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include: before receiving the BFRP trigger frame from the non-collocated AP MLD, receiving a Null Data Announcement (NDPA) frame and a Null Data (NDP) frame from the non-collocated AP MLD via the first link.

[0208] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when there are multiple first links, that is, when the first link includes multiple links, the CSI report can indicate the channel sounding results of each first link respectively. In other words, the CSI report can indicate the channel sounding results of multiple links. This allows the channel sounding results of different links to be differentiated, facilitating the rational allocation of channel resources.

[0209] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the CSI report includes one of the following tuples: <MLD MAC address, Link identifier ID>, <collocated AP MLD ID, Link ID>, <transmitter MAC address, receiver MAC address>.

[0210] Some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are provided from the perspective of the non-collocated AP MLD side below. It can be understood that these embodiments are given only for illustrative purposes. Those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, changes, and / or combinations, etc. to these embodiments under the description and teachings of the present disclosure, and thus can easily obtain equivalent embodiments of these embodiments.

[0211] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for the non-collocated access point multi-link device (non-collocated AP MLD) described above may further include: transmitting a beamforming report poll (BFRP) trigger frame to the non-AP MLD, the BFRP trigger frame instructing the non-AP MLD to transmit the channel state information (CSI) report of the first link to the non-collocated AP MLD via the second link, both the first link and the second link being links established between the non-collocated AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, and the BFRP trigger frame being transmitted on the second link; in response to transmitting the BFRP trigger frame, receiving the CSI report from the non-AP MLD via the second link. Thereby, efficient utilization of channel resources can be achieved, and the efficiency of wireless communication is improved.

[0212] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the above method may further include: before transmitting the BFRP trigger frame to the non-AP MLD, transmitting an empty data announcement (NDPA) frame and an empty data (NDP) frame to the non-AP MLD via the first link.

[0213] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the first link includes multiple links, the CSI report may indicate the channel detection results of the multiple links. Thereby, the channel detection results of different links can be distinguished, which helps in the reasonable allocation of channel resources.

[0214] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the CSI report includes one of the following tuples: <MLD MAC address, Link identifier ID>, <collocated AP MLD ID, Link ID>, <transmitter MAC address, receiver MAC address>.

[0215] The method in which a non-AP MLD and multiple collocated AP MLDs use one link to send data (Data) and instruct another link to perform acknowledgment (Ack):

[0216] FIG. 11 illustrates data transmission and confirmation between a non-AP MLD and a non-collocated AP MLD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0217] Similar to the above, in order to ensure efficient transmission of some high-speed links (for example, link 2 operating in the 5 GHz band and link 3 operating in the 6 GHz band in FIG11 ), block acknowledgments (BAs) on these links can be placed on other links (for example, link 1 operating in the 2.4 GHz band in FIG11 ) to avoid frequent interruptions of high-speed link transmissions.

[0218] Figure 12A illustrates the format of an example block acknowledgement frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 12B illustrates the format of the BA control field of an example block acknowledgement frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 12C illustrates the definition of the BA information field of an example multi-link block acknowledgement frame according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0219] In order to implement the reply of the block acknowledgment corresponding to the PPDU on one or more links on other links, the following method may be used.

[0220] As shown in FIG. 12A , the format of an example block acknowledgement frame is illustrated, wherein the format of the BA control field is exemplarily illustrated in FIG. 12B .

[0221] Table 10 below gives the definition of BA Type in the BA Control field.

[0222] Exemplarily, when the BA Type value is defined as 0, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13, 14, or 15 (e.g., value 0 in Table 10 below), the Block Ack is called a multi-link variant and is used to acknowledge physical layer protocol data units (PPDUs) from other links. In this case, various definitions of the BA Information field of a multi-link Block Ack frame are shown in FIG12C. As shown, the BA Information field may include one or more Block Ack Unit (BA Unit) fields, each of which may include a 4-bit Link ID and a 2 / 3 / 4-bit Collocated AP MLD ID (corresponding to the three BA Unit formats shown in FIG12C, respectively). Together, they indicate which AP MLD and which subordinate APs of which links the multi-link Block Ack frame acknowledges the PPDUs on.

[0223] Table 10

[0224] Therefore, by placing block confirmation on a portion of the high-speed links on other links, frequent interruption of high-speed link transmission can be avoided, thereby ensuring efficient data transmission on the high-speed links.

[0225] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0226] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) described above may further include: receiving at least one physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the non-collocated AP MLD via at least one link in the multi-links with the non-collocated AP MLD; and in response to receiving the at least one PPDU, transmitting a block acknowledgment (BA) frame for the at least one PPDU to the non-collocated AP MLD via another link in the multi-links that is different from the at least one link. Thus, by using separate links for data transmission acknowledgment to avoid interruption of data transmission, the throughput of the link carrying data transmission is improved, and the efficiency of wireless communication is enhanced.

[0227] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a value of the BA type of the BA control field of the BA frame indicates that the BA frame is a multilink BA frame for acknowledging a PPDU on a link other than another link in the multilink.

[0228] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the BA information field of the BA frame includes one or more BA unit subfields, and the one or more BA unit subfields are used to jointly indicate the links in the multi-link used to carry the confirmed PPDU (for example, jointly indicate which links in the multi-link the BA frame is used to confirm the PPDU on).

[0229] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, each BA unit subfield includes a Link identifier ID and / or a collocated AP MLD identifier ID, thereby distinguishing the link and / or the co-located AP MLD carrying data transmission, thereby ensuring the correctness of wireless communication.

[0230] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-collocated AP MLDs. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0231] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method described above for a non-collocated access point multi-link device (AP MLD) may further include: transmitting at least one physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the non-AP MLD via at least one of the multilinks with the non-AP MLD; and, in response to transmitting the at least one PPDU, receiving a block acknowledgement (BA) frame for the at least one PPDU from the non-AP MLD via a different link in the multilink than the at least one link. Thus, by using separate links for data transmission acknowledgement to avoid interruption of data transmission, the throughput of the link carrying data transmission is improved, thereby enhancing the efficiency of wireless communication.

[0232] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a value of the BA type of the BA control field of the BA frame indicates that the BA frame is a multilink BA frame for acknowledging a PPDU on a link other than another link in the multilink.

[0233] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the BA information field of the BA frame includes one or more BA unit subfields, and the one or more BA unit subfields are used to jointly indicate the links in the multi-link used to carry the confirmed PPDU (for example, jointly indicate which links in the multi-link the BA frame is used to confirm the PPDU on).

[0234] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, each BA unit subfield includes a Link ID and a collocated AP MLD ID, thereby distinguishing the link carrying data transmission and / or the co-located AP MLD, thereby ensuring the correctness of wireless communication.

[0235] Method for seamless roaming between multiple collocated AP MLDs under a non-collocated AP MLD:

[0236] FIG. 13 illustrates a diagram of a non-AP MLD performing seamless roaming between multiple collocated AP MLDs under a non-collocated AP MLD according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0237] As shown in the figure, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, non-AP MLD 1 can be allowed to establish links with the same Link ID with different collocated AP MLDs under non-collocated AP MLDs. For example, non-AP STA 1 affiliated with non-AP MLD 1 establishes Link 1 with Link ID = 1 with AP 1 affiliated with AP MLD 1, and non-AP STA 1 affiliated with non-AP MLD 1 also establishes Link 1 with Link ID = 1 with AP 1 affiliated with AP MLD 2. In some examples, these two Links 1 with Link ID = 1 can operate on the same channel. In some examples, these two Links 1 with Link ID = 1 can operate on different channels.

[0238] When non-AP MLD 1 moves within the coverage of the non-collocated AP MLD (for example, from the coverage of the current AP MLD 1 to the coverage of the target AP MLD 2), Link 1 of non-AP MLD 1 needs to be switched between AP 1 of AP MLD 1 and AP 1 of AP MLD 2. Based on research in the prior art, specific switching methods can be divided into the following scenarios, depending on the role of the Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) holder.

[0239] Option 1: Using a non-AP MLD as the TXOP holder

[0240] As shown in FIG13 , if non-AP STA 1 of non-AP MLD 1 is a TXOP holder, exemplary steps for switching a link with the same Link ID during the mobility of non-AP MLD 1 include:

[0241] 1) At time T i , non-AP STA 1, which is affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, sends PPDU i (or Data i) to AP 1, which is affiliated with AP MLD 1, through Link 1;

[0242] 2) Non-AP STA 1, which is subordinate to non-AP MLD 1, indicates to AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 1, via Link 1 that it will be handed over to AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 2. (In some examples, this is an optional step and may not be performed.)

[0243] 3) AP 1, subordinate to AP MLD 1, transfers the relevant information and remaining buffered data of non-AP STA 1, subordinate to non-AP MLD 1, to AP 1, subordinate to AP MLD 2, via the backhaul link (in preparation for handover. In some examples, this is an optional step and may not be performed).

[0244] 4) At time T i+1 , non-AP STA 1 affiliated with non-AP MLD 1 sends PPDU i+1 (or Data i+1) to AP 1 affiliated with AP MLD 2 through Link 1, and disconnects from Link 1 of AP MLD 1.

[0245] During this process, since non-AP MLD 1's subordinate AP 1 is the TXOP holder, it can decide to which destination to send the PPDU (or data). When non-AP MLD 1 moves closer to AP MLD 2 and further away from AP MLD 1, it can disconnect from AP MLD 1's Link 1 and maintain only the Link 1 connection with AP MLD 2. Based on this embodiment, link switching during roaming by non-AP MLD 1 does not require link reconfiguration, thus achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0246] This ensures seamless handover to a new access point without interruption during mobility, controlled by the TXOP holder. This provides continuous communication connectivity. By avoiding link reconfiguration mechanisms, communication latency and system overhead during handover are reduced. This uninterrupted roaming improves user experience and supports the continuous communication needs of various application scenarios, such as wireless mobile devices, smart cities, and industrial automation.

[0247] Option 2: Use the AP MLD as the TXOP holder and share the current AP MLD's TXOP with the non-AP MLD.

[0248] As shown in FIG13 , when AP 1 subordinate to AP MLD 1 is the TXOP holder, during the mobility process of non-AP MLD 1, if it is desired to communicate with AP 1 subordinate to AP MLD 2 using Link 1, the following exemplary steps may be performed:

[0249] 1) At time T i , non-AP STA 1, which is affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, sends PPDU i (or Data i) to AP 1, which is affiliated with AP MLD 1, through Link 1;

[0250] 2) Non-AP STA 1, which is subordinate to non-AP MLD 1, sends a handover request to AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 1, and requests AP 1 to share the TXOP with non-AP STA 1.

[0251] 3) AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 1, shares the TXOP with non-AP STA 1, which is subordinate to non-AP MLD 1, through the triggered TXOP sharing mechanism.

[0252] 4) Non-AP STA 1 affiliated with non-AP MLD 1 directly uses the current TXOP to send PPDU i+1 (or Data i+1) to AP 1 affiliated with AP MLD 2, and disconnects from Link 1 of AP MLD 1.

[0253] Through the above exemplary steps, when non-AP MLD 1 moves near AP MLD 2 but away from it, it can disconnect from Link 1 of AP MLD 1 and maintain only the connection to Link 2 of AP MLD 2. Based on this embodiment, link switching during roaming by non-AP MLD 1 does not require link reconfiguration, achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0254] By using the AP MLD as the TXOP holder and sharing the current AP MLD's TXOP with the non-AP MLD, roaming with uninterrupted link switching is achieved during the non-AP MLD's mobility. Through this triggered TXOP sharing mechanism, the non-AP MLD's affiliated STAs can obtain the current AP MLD's TXOP and directly use it to communicate with the target AP MLD without the need for link reconfiguration. This approach enables instant data transfer during link switching and provides a continuous communication connection, improving the user experience and supporting the continuous communication needs of various application scenarios, such as wireless mobile devices, smart cities, and industrial automation.

[0255] Option 3: Use the AP MLD as the TXOP holder and share the current AP MLD's TXOP with the target AP MLD

[0256] As shown in FIG13 , when AP 1 subordinate to AP MLD 1 is the TXOP holder, during the mobility process of non-AP MLD 1, if it is desired to communicate with AP 1 subordinate to AP MLD 2 using Link 1, the following exemplary steps may be performed:

[0257] 1) At time T i , non-AP STA 1, which is affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, sends PPDU i (or Data i) to AP 1, which is affiliated with AP MLD 1, through Link 1;

[0258] 2) Non-AP STA 1, affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, sends a handover request to AP 1, affiliated with AP MLD 1, indicating that the target AP is AP 1, affiliated with AP MLD 2.

[0259] 3) AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 1, shares the TXOP with AP 1, which is subordinate to AP MLD 2, through the triggered TXOP sharing mechanism.

[0260] 4) AP 1 of AP MLD 2 directly uses the current TXOP to send PPDU i+1 (or Data i+1) to non-AP STA 1 of non-AP MLD 1, and disconnects Link 1 of AP MLD 1.

[0261] During this process, when non-AP MLD 1 moves closer to AP MLD 2 but further away from it, it can disconnect from Link 1 of AP MLD 1 while maintaining its connection to Link 2 of AP MLD 2. Based on this embodiment, link switching during roaming by non-AP MLD 1 does not require link reconfiguration, achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0262] This approach, with the AP MLD acting as the TXOP holder, a triggered TXOP sharing mechanism, and a handover request indicating the target AP, enables fast, seamless link handover and sustained communication connectivity. When a non-AP MLD moves closer to a target AP MLD and further away from the original AP MLD, it disconnects from the original AP MLD and maintains only a connection to the target AP MLD, achieving seamless roaming. This allows users to maintain a stable communication connection during mobility, improving wireless communication continuity and user experience.

[0263] Based on the research of existing technologies, in related technologies, the non-collocated AP MLD architecture cannot achieve transparency of non-AP MLD, resulting in relatively large overhead of frame structure and signaling indication. Therefore, it is urgent to design a new non-collocated AP MLD architecture.

[0264] To address this issue, this disclosure proposes a virtual AP MLD architecture to transparently handle non-AP MLD and simplify frame structures and signaling instructions. Furthermore, this disclosure further describes multi-link capability discovery, multi-link establishment, multi-link coordinated transmission, and seamless roaming within this virtual AP MLD architecture.

[0265] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0266] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, if a non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in a non-collocated AP MLD, respectively, and the third and fourth links have the same Link Identifier (ID), and the non-AP MLD is the holder of a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP), the non-AP MLD may transmit a first Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) to the first AP MLD via the third link at a first moment; and at a second moment subsequent to the first moment, transmit a second PPDU to the second AP MLD via the fourth link and disconnect the third link. Consequently, link switching during roaming by the non-AP MLD does not require a Link Reconfiguration mechanism, achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0267] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, if a non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in a non-collocated AP MLD, respectively, and the third link and the fourth link have the same link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP: the non-AP MLD can transmit a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the first AP MLD via the third link at a first moment; transmit a request message to the first AP MLD, the request message being used to request link switching and requesting the first AP MLD to share the TXOP with the non-AP MLD; and transmit a second PPDU to the second AP MLD via the fourth link based on the shared TXOP, and disconnect the third link. As a result, link switching during roaming by the non-AP MLD does not require a link reconfiguration mechanism, thus achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0268] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, if a non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in a non-collocated AP MLD, respectively, and the third link and the fourth link have the same Link Identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP), the non-AP MLD may transmit a first Physical Layer Protocol Data Unit (PPDU) to the first AP MLD via the third link at a first moment; transmit a request message to the first AP MLD, the request message being used to request a link switch and indicating that the second AP MLD is the AP MLD to be switched to; receive a second PPDU transmitted by the second AP MLD based on the shared TXOP via the fourth link, and disconnect the third link. Therefore, link switching of the non-AP MLD during roaming does not require a Link Reconfiguration mechanism, thus achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0269] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-collocated AP MLDs. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0270] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, if a non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in a non-collocated AP MLD, respectively, and the third link and the fourth link have the same Link Identifier ID, and the non-AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP: then the non-collocated AP MLD can receive a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the first AP MLD via the third link at a first moment; and at a second moment subsequent to the first moment, the second AP MLD can receive a second PPDU via the fourth link and disconnect the third link. As a result, link switching during roaming by the non-AP MLD does not need to be performed through a Link Reconfiguration mechanism, achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0271] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, if a non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in a non-collocated AP MLD, respectively, and the third link and the fourth link have the same link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity (TXOP), the non-collocated AP MLD can receive a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the first AP MLD via the third link at a first moment; the first AP MLD can receive a request message from the non-AP MLD, the request message being used to request link switching and requesting the first AP MLD to share the TXOP with the non-AP MLD; and after the first AP MLD shares the TXOP with the non-AP MLD, the second AP MLD can receive a second PPDU via the fourth link and disconnect the third link. Therefore, link switching during roaming for the non-AP MLD does not require a link reconfiguration mechanism, achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0272] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, if a non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in a non-collocated AP MLD, respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity (TXOP): then, at a first moment, the first AP MLD can receive a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) via the third link (e.g., from the first AP MLD of the non-collocated AP MLD); the first AP MLD receives a request message from the non-AP MLD, the request message being used to request a link switch and indicating the second AP MLD as the AP MLD to be switched to; after the first AP MLD shares the TXOP with the second AP MLD, the second AP MLD transmits a second PPDU to the non-AP MLD based on the shared TXOP and disconnects the third link. Thus, link switching during roaming by the non-AP MLD does not require a link reconfiguration mechanism, achieving uninterrupted roaming.

[0273] Definition of the virtual AP MLD architecture and functions:

[0274] FIG14 illustrates a schematic diagram of a virtual AP MLD architecture according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the virtual AP MLD architecture proposed in the present disclosure is shown. According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the virtual AP MLD architecture includes multiple APs with collocated AP MLDs. For example, (co-located) AP MLD 1 has AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3 as its subordinates, while (co-located) AP MLD 2 has AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3 as its subordinates, and so on. The virtual AP MLD includes an upper MAC, which can be located on a separate device (e.g., a controller) or on any of the included AP MLDs, for managing and controlling the lower MACs of the subordinate APs.

[0275] It should be noted that although FIG14 illustrates a virtual AP MLD including six subordinate APs in total (i.e., AP MLD 1's three subordinate APs, AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3, and AP MLD 2's three subordinate APs, AP 1, AP 2, and AP 3), this is merely for illustrative purposes. Throughout this disclosure and as readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, any suitable number of subordinate APs may exist or be included in a virtual AP MLD architecture, and / or each collocated AP MLD may include any suitable number of subordinate APs (e.g., each collocated AP MLD may include a different number of subordinate APs), depending on actual scenarios and / or needs. This disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0276] Furthermore, although FIG14 illustrates non-AP MLD 1 as including three non-AP STAs, this is merely for illustrative purposes. Throughout this disclosure and as readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, a non-AP MLD may include any suitable number of non-AP STAs depending on practical scenarios and / or needs, and this disclosure does not impose any limitation thereto.

[0277] For the virtual AP MLD side behavior of the virtual AP MLD architecture, there may be the following exemplary rules.

[0278] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, each virtual AP MLD may have a MAC address, and each subordinate AP may also have an independent MAC address. The virtual AP MLD identifies each subordinate AP by its MAC address.

[0279] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a virtual AP MLD unifies (i.e., virtualizes) all subordinate APs operating in the same frequency band that it manages and controls into a single subordinate AP. For example, referring to FIG14 , subordinate AP 1 of AP MLD 1 and subordinate AP 1 of AP MLD 2, operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency band, are unified (i.e., virtualized) into subordinate AP 1; subordinate AP 2 of AP MLD 1 and subordinate AP 2 of AP MLD 2, operating in the 5 GHz frequency band, are unified (i.e., virtualized) into subordinate AP 2; and subordinate AP 3 of AP MLD 1 and subordinate AP 3 of AP MLD 2, operating in the 6 GHz frequency band, are unified (i.e., virtualized) into subordinate AP 3.

[0280] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the Upper MAC of the virtual AP MLD is responsible for TID-to-Link mapping, that is, mapping the TID to different links corresponding to different subordinate APs.

[0281] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-AP MLD may request to associate with a virtual AP MLD through any subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD, without having to re-initiate an association request for each subordinate AP.

[0282] For the non-AP MLD side behavior of the virtual AP MLD architecture, there may be the following exemplary rules.

[0283] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-AP MLD can only use the (multi-link) capability information carried in relevant frames (e.g., including but not limited to beacon frames, probe response frames, etc.) sent by a virtual AP MLD to identify the virtual AP MLD and its affiliated APs operating in different frequency bands.

[0284] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the non-AP MLD cannot distinguish between subordinate APs operating in the same frequency band. For example, continuing with the above example, the non-AP MLD only knows that the virtual AP MLD has one subordinate AP 1 operating in the 2.4 GHz band, one subordinate AP 2 operating in the 5 GHz band, and one subordinate AP 3 operating in the 6 GHz band.

[0285] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, when a Non-AP MLD sends a frame to a virtual AP MLD, the Receiver Address (RA) of the frame may be filled with the MAC address of a subordinate AP without specifying which AP MLD the subordinate AP belongs to.

[0286] This helps achieve unified management and control of attached APs, enhances the flexibility and efficiency of the virtual AP MLD architecture, and simplifies the association process between non-AP MLD and virtual AP MLD.

[0287] How non-AP MLD discovers virtual AP MLD:

[0288] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-AP MLD may discover a virtual AP MLD that supports multi-link capabilities by receiving relevant frames (e.g., including but not limited to beacon frames and / or unsolicited probe response frames, etc.) sent by an affiliated AP of the virtual AP MLD.

[0289] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a non-AP MLD can discover a virtual AP MLD that supports multi-link capabilities by sending an ML Probe Request frame to a virtual AP MLD or to an AP affiliated with the virtual AP MLD, and then receiving an ML Probe Response frame sent by the AP affiliated with the virtual AP MLD.

[0290] Specifically, for non-AP MLD, there may be the following two exemplary methods for discovering virtual AP MLD.

[0291] Option 1: Passive discovery

[0292] Figure 15 illustrates the format of an example multi-link element in a virtual AP MLD framework according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the virtual AP MLD can add a basic multi-link element (Basic Multi-Link element) to the relevant frames it sends (e.g., including but not limited to beacon frames and / or unsolicited probe response frames, etc.).

[0293] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the basic multilink element may be used to carry multilink related information of the virtual AP MLD.

[0294] Exemplarily, when the Type field of the Multi-Link Control field in the example multi-link element is set to 0, it may indicate that the multi-link element is a basic multi-link element.

[0295] As an example but not a limitation, as shown in FIG15 , bit 3 of the multi-link control field in the basic multi-link element may be defined as normal or virtual to indicate whether the AP MLD corresponding to the current basic multi-link element is a normal AP MLD compatible with 802.11be MLD or a virtual AP MLD (e.g., which may support 802.11bn and later standards).

[0296] Exemplarily, when normal or virtual=0, it may indicate that the AP MLD indicated by the current basic multi-link element is a (non-co-located) AP MLD compatible with 802.11be MLD.

[0297] Exemplarily, when normal or virtual=1, it may indicate that the AP MLD indicated by the current basic multilink element is a virtual AP MLD.

[0298] Optionally, as an example but not a limitation, when Normal or Virtual=1, the MLD MAC Address field of the Common Info field of the basic multilink element indicates the MAC address of the virtual AP MLD.

[0299] 16 illustrates a per-STA profile sub-element format of an example basic multilink element according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0300] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the Link Info field of the basic multi-link element may include one or more Per-STA Profile subelements (Per-STA Profile subelement) for carrying information of the subordinate APs supported by the current virtual AP MLD, as shown in FIG16 .

[0301] Exemplarily, when the STA MAC Address Present of the STA Control field is set to 1, it may indicate that a STA MAC address field exists in the STA Information field of the per-STA profile sub-element, and the STA MAC address field may be used to indicate the MAC address of the subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD.

[0302] According to this embodiment, after receiving relevant frames (e.g., including but not limited to beacon frames and / or unsolicited probe response frames) sent by the virtual AP MLD and carrying the above-mentioned basic multilink elements, the non-AP MLD confirms that the current AP MLD is a virtual AP MLD by checking bit 3 in the multilink control field (i.e., Normal or Virtual = 1). The non-AP MLD then obtains the MAC address of the current virtual AP MLD through the MLD MAC Address field in the public information field and obtains information about the affiliated APs of the current virtual AP MLD through the Link Information field.

[0303] As a result, the non-AP MLD can identify whether the AP MLD is a virtual AP MLD and learn the attributes of the virtual AP MLD by receiving and parsing relevant frames sent by the AP MLD, thereby promoting further interoperability and management of the virtual AP MLD.

[0304] Option 2: Active discovery

[0305] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the non-AP MLD may also proactively send an ML Probe Request frame carrying a Probe Request Multi-Link element to the virtual AP MLD.

[0306] Exemplarily, when the Type field in the multilink control field of a multilink element is set to 1, it may indicate that the multilink element is a probe request multilink element.

[0307] Illustratively, the Address 1 field of the ML probe request frame may be set to the broadcast address, and the Address 3 field may be set to the BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) ​​of the virtual AP MLD; or both the Address 1 field and the Address 3 field of the ML probe request frame may be set to the BSSID of the virtual AP MLD.

[0308] Then, the virtual AP MLD sends an ML Probe Response frame carrying a basic multilink element to the non-AP MLD in reply. The specific content and parameter settings of the basic multilink element can be consistent with Option 1 and are not repeated here.

[0309] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0310] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, before a non-AP MLD transmits an association request frame to a virtual AP MLD, the non-AP MLD may receive a frame carrying a basic multilink element from the virtual AP MLD. For example, the basic multilink element may include a multilink control field, which may indicate whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an 802.11be-compatible AP MLD or a virtual AP MLD.

[0311] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the value of the preset bit of the Multilink Control field is a preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be. When the value of the preset bit of the Multilink Control field is another preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is a virtual AP MLD. This provides an effective means for a non-AP MLD to passively discover a virtual AP MLD that supports multilink capabilities.

[0312] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, before a non-AP MLD transmits an association request frame to a virtual AP MLD, the non-AP MLD may transmit an ML probe request frame carrying a probe request multilink element to the virtual AP MLD; an ML probe response frame is received from the virtual AP MLD, and the ML probe response frame is transmitted by the virtual AP MLD in response to the ML probe request frame. For example, the ML probe response frame may carry a basic multilink element, and the basic multilink element may include a multilink control field. The multilink control field may indicate whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an 802.11be-compatible AP MLD or a virtual AP MLD.

[0313] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be. When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is another preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is a virtual AP MLD. This provides an effective means for a non-AP MLD to proactively discover a virtual AP MLD that supports multi-link capabilities.

[0314] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0315] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, before a virtual AP MLD receives an association request frame from a non-AP MLD, the virtual AP MLD may transmit a frame carrying a basic multilink element to the non-AP MLD. For example, the basic multilink element may include a multilink control field, which may indicate whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an 802.11be-compatible AP MLD or a virtual AP MLD.

[0316] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the value of the preset bit of the Multilink Control field is a preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be. When the value of the preset bit of the Multilink Control field is another preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is a virtual AP MLD. This provides an effective means for a non-AP MLD to passively discover a virtual AP MLD that supports multilink capabilities.

[0317] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, before a virtual AP MLD receives an association request frame from a non-AP MLD, the virtual AP MLD may receive an ML probe request frame carrying a probe request multilink element from the non-AP MLD, and transmit an ML probe response frame to the non-AP MLD. The ML probe response frame is sent by the virtual AP MLD in response to the ML probe request frame. For example, the ML probe response frame may carry a basic multilink element, which may include a multilink control field. The multilink control field may indicate whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an 802.11be-compatible AP MLD or a virtual AP MLD.

[0318] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the value of the preset bit of the Multilink Control field is a preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be. When the value of the preset bit of the Multilink Control field is another preset value, it can indicate that the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multilink element is a virtual AP MLD. This provides an effective means for a non-AP MLD to proactively discover a virtual AP MLD that supports multilink capabilities.

[0319] How to associate a non-AP MLD with a virtual AP MLD and establish multilinks:

[0320] In the virtual AP MLD framework, when a non-AP MLD requests to establish an association with a virtual AP MLD and establish a multilink, it does not need to include a corresponding basic multilink element for each AP MLD to indicate the link information requested with the AP MLD. Instead, it only needs to include one basic multilink element.

[0321] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the Link Info field in the Basic Multilink Element in the Association Request frame sent by the non-AP MLD may be used to indicate information about the subordinate AP requesting to establish a link with the virtual AP MLD (i.e., the subordinate AP that is transparent to the non-AP MLD and with which the non-AP MLD desires to establish a link).

[0322] After receiving the association request frame sent by the non-AP MLD, the virtual AP MLD replies with an association request frame to indicate whether it receives the association request from the non-AP MLD and / or agrees to establish a multi-link with the non-AP MLD.

[0323] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0324] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD is provided. The method may include transmitting an association request frame to a virtual AP MLD. Exemplarily, the virtual AP MLD may include multiple AP MLDs, each of which may include multiple access points (APs). One or more APs operating in the same frequency band among all APs may be unified into a single subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD. Exemplarily, the association request frame may be used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, thereby associating the non-AP MLD with the virtual AP MLD. The method may also include receiving an association response frame from the virtual AP MLD. The association response frame may be sent by the virtual AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0325] As a result, a non-AP MLD can request to associate with a virtual AP MLD through any of its subordinate APs, eliminating the need to re-initiate association requests for each subordinate AP. When a non-AP MLD sends a frame to a virtual AP MLD, the frame's receiver address (RA) can be filled with the MAC address of a subordinate AP, eliminating the need to specify which AP MLD the subordinate AP belongs to. This facilitates unified management and control of subordinate APs, enhancing the flexibility and efficiency of the virtual AP MLD architecture. It also simplifies the association process between non-AP MLDs and virtual AP MLDs, saving signaling overhead and significantly improving communication efficiency.

[0326] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, associating the non-AP MLD with the virtual AP MLD may include establishing a multi-link between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD.

[0327] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the association request frame may include only one basic multilink element, and the link information field in the basic multilink element may be used to indicate information of at least one unique subordinate AP corresponding to the multilink.

[0328] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include receiving an association response frame from the virtual AP MLD, where the virtual AP MLD sends an association response frame in response to receiving an association request frame from a non-AP MLD. For example, the association response frame may indicate whether the association request from the non-AP MLD is accepted and / or whether multi-link establishment with the non-AP MLD is permitted.

[0329] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0330] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) is provided. The method may include receiving an association request frame from a non-AP MLD. Exemplarily, the virtual AP MLD may include multiple AP MLDs, each of which may include multiple access points (APs). One or more APs operating in the same frequency band among all APs may be unified into a single subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD. Exemplarily, the association request frame may be used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, thereby associating the non-AP MLD with the virtual AP MLD. The method may also include sending an association response frame to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0331] As a result, a non-AP MLD can request to associate with a virtual AP MLD through any of its subordinate APs, eliminating the need to re-initiate association requests for each subordinate AP. When a non-AP MLD sends a frame to a virtual AP MLD, the frame's receiver address (RA) can be filled with the MAC address of a subordinate AP, eliminating the need to specify which AP MLD the subordinate AP belongs to. This facilitates unified management and control of subordinate APs, enhancing the flexibility and efficiency of the virtual AP MLD architecture. It also simplifies the association process between non-AP MLDs and virtual AP MLDs, saving signaling overhead and significantly improving communication efficiency.

[0332] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, associating the non-AP MLD with the virtual AP MLD may include establishing a multi-link between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD.

[0333] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the association request frame may include only one basic multilink element, and the link information field in the basic multilink element may be used to indicate information of at least one unique subordinate AP corresponding to the multilink.

[0334] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include transmitting an association response frame to the non-AP MLD, where the virtual AP MLD sends the association response frame in response to receiving an association request frame from the non-AP MLD. For example, the association response frame may indicate whether the non-AP MLD's association request is accepted and / or whether multi-link establishment with the non-AP MLD is permitted.

[0335] Non-AP MLD and virtual AP MLD use the TID-to-Link mapping mechanism to map different services to different links:

[0336] Because virtual AP MLDs are somewhat analogous to collocated AP MLDs in the 802.11be standard, the AP MLDs under a virtual AP MLD are transparent to non-AP MLDs. Therefore, the TID-to-Link mapping mechanism between non-AP MLDs and virtual AP MLDs remains consistent with the 802.11be standard, allowing TIDs to be mapped to the links corresponding to the APs affiliated with the virtual AP MLDs without requiring additional changes.

[0337] As a result, the non-AP MLD can use the 802.11be-compliant TID-to-Link mapping mechanism to map the service identifier (TID) to the link corresponding to the corresponding subordinate AP in the virtual AP MLD. The transparency of the AP MLD under the virtual AP MLD and the TID-to-Link mapping mechanism consistent with existing standards ensure efficient communication between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD without introducing additional adjustments or changes, ensuring strong compatibility.

[0338] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0339] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD described above may further include receiving a TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping from a virtual AP MLD. The TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame may be transmitted by the virtual AP MLD in response to receiving a TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame from the non-AP MLD. Exemplarily, the TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame may include a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame may include a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number may be the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the virtual AP MLD grants establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the virtual AP MLD grants establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (e.g., the second number is smaller than the first number). For example, when the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement is not relied upon, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link Mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may cause the second number to be different from the first number. This allows for simple and efficient mapping of services to different links.

[0340] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an association request frame may include a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements for mapping a service identifier to a link TID-to-Link, and an association response frame may include a second number of TID-to-Link mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number may be the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the virtual AP MLD grants the establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the virtual AP MLD grants the establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (for example, the second number is less than the first number). For example, when not relying on the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may result in the second number being different from the first number. In this way, services can be mapped to different links simply and efficiently.

[0341] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include receiving a second frame different from the association response frame from the virtual AP MLD, wherein the second frame may include a TID-to-Link mapping element for mapping a traffic identifier to a link (TID-to-Link). This allows for simple and efficient mapping of traffic to different links in a mandatory manner.

[0342] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0343] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) described above may further include transmitting a TID-to-Link mapping response frame for traffic identifier to link (TID-to-Link) mapping to a non-AP MLD. The TID-to-Link mapping response frame may be transmitted by the virtual AP MLD in response to receiving a TID-to-Link mapping request frame from the non-AP MLD. Exemplarily, the TID-to-Link mapping request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link mapping response frame includes a second number of TID-to-Link mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number may be the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the virtual AP MLD grants establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the virtual AP MLD grants establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (e.g., the second number is smaller than the first number). For example, when the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement is not relied upon, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link Mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may cause the second number to be different from the first number. This allows for simple and efficient mapping of services to different links.

[0344] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an association request frame may include a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements for mapping a service identifier to a link TID-to-Link, and an association response frame may include a second number of TID-to-Link mapping elements. Exemplarily, the second number may be the same as or different from the first number. For example, when the virtual AP MLD grants the establishment of all requested multi-links, the first number may be equal to the second number, and when the virtual AP MLD grants the establishment of a portion of the requested multi-links, the first number may not be equal to the second number (for example, the second number is less than the first number). For example, when not relying on the Status Code Field in the Per-STA Profile subelement, the non-collocated AP MLD may not reply in the request response frame with the TID-to-Link mapping element corresponding to the AP MLD carrying the link requested by the non-AP MLD, which may result in the second number being different from the first number. In this way, services can be mapped to different links simply and efficiently.

[0345] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further include transmitting a second frame different from the association response frame to the non-AP MLD, wherein the second frame may include a TID-to-Link mapping element for mapping a traffic identifier to a link (TID-to-Link). This allows for simple and efficient mapping of traffic to different links in a mandatory manner.

[0346] Channel detection between non-AP MLD and virtual AP MLD:

[0347] When performing channel probing between a non-AP MLD and a virtual AP MLD, the virtual AP MLD can determine which subordinate AP of the AP MLD to use to send NDP frames for channel probing. However, the non-AP MLD can only identify which subordinate AP of the virtual AP the NDP frame originated from, but it does not know which AP MLD that subordinate AP belongs to. This is because the AP MLD under the virtual AP MLD is transparent to the non-AP MLD (in other words, the AP MLD under the virtual AP MLD is considered non-existent to the non-AP MLD).

[0348] For example, as shown in Figure 14, when the virtual AP MLD and the non-AP MLD perform channel sounding on Link 1, the virtual AP MLD can, for example, select AP 1, subordinate to AP MLD 1, to send an NDP frame for channel sounding. However, the non-AP MLD only knows that the NDP frame comes from AP 1, subordinate to the virtual AP MLD, but does not know which specific AP MLD's subordinate AP 1 the NDP frame comes from.

[0349] FIG17 illustrates the format of an example Null Data Announcement Frame NDPA according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0350] According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, channel sounding between a non-AP MLD and a virtual AP MLD can be implemented in the following manner: the non-AP MLD only needs to feed back the channel sounding result (i.e., CSI report) on the link where the virtual AP MLD sends NDPA frames and NDP frames. After receiving the CSI report, the virtual AP MLD automatically matches the transceiver (i.e., which AP MLD's subordinate AP sends the NDP frame, and which non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD's subordinate receives the NDP frame) according to the sequence of previously sent NDPA frames and NDP frames (as shown in the Sounding Dialog Token field of the NDPA frame in FIG. 17 ).

[0351] Of course, in addition to the detection dialogue token shown in FIG17 , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that any other suitable elements for instructing the virtual AP MLD to send a sequence of NDPA frames and NDP frames are also feasible, and the present disclosure does not impose any limitation thereto.

[0352] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0353] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-AP multi-link device (non-AP MLD) described above may further include receiving a Null Data Announcement (NDPA) frame and a Null Data (NDP) frame from a virtual AP MLD; and in response to receiving the NDPA and NDP frames, transmitting a link-specific Channel State Information (CSI) report to the virtual AP MLD via the link over which the NDPA and NDP frames were transmitted. This enables simple and efficient channel sounding between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD.

[0354] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0355] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) described above may further include transmitting a Null Data Announcement (NDPA) frame and a Null Data (NDP) frame to a non-AP MLD; and receiving a Channel State Information (CSI) report for the link from the non-AP MLD via the link over which the NDPA and NDP frames were transmitted. This allows for simple and efficient channel sounding between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD.

[0356] Method for MCS indication between non-AP MLD and virtual AP MLD:

[0357] After channel probing between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD as described above, both parties can select an appropriate modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and / or transmission parameter configuration for data transmission based on the channel probing results. In some cases, the channel conditions between the APs affiliated with different AP MLDs under the virtual AP MLD and the non-AP STAs affiliated with the non-AP MLD may differ. Therefore, different MCSs and / or transmission parameter configurations may need to be selected for data transmission based on the corresponding channel probing results.

[0358] For example, as shown in FIG14 , when the channel state between AP 1 subordinate to AP MLD 1 under the virtual AP MLD and non-AP STA 1 subordinate to non-AP MLD 1 is different from the channel state between AP 1 subordinate to AP MLD 2 under the virtual AP MLD and non-AP STA 1 subordinate to non-AP MLD 1, then when link 1 is used for data communication between the virtual AP MLD and the non-AP STA, different MCSs and / or transmission parameter configurations should be selected according to the different subordinate APs of the virtual AP MLD performing data transmission.

[0359] For example, and with reference to FIG14 , exemplary operations of performing MCS indication between a non-AP MLD and a virtual AP MLD may include:

[0360] 1) The virtual AP MLD uses AP 1 attached to a certain AP MLD (for example, AP MLD 1) and non-AP STA 1 attached to non-AP MLD 1 to perform channel detection on link 1;

[0361] 2) Non-AP STA 1, which is affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, feeds back the channel detection results to the virtual AP MLD on link 1.

[0362] 3) The virtual AP MLD confirms the transmitting and receiving ends corresponding to the channel sounding results based on the sequence of performing channel sounding (for example, it can be indicated by the Sounding Dialog Token field of the NDPA frame in Figure 17) (for example, the transmitting end can be AP 1 affiliated with AP MLD 1 under the virtual AP MLD, rather than AP 1 affiliated with AP MLD 2 under the virtual AP MLD, and the receiving end can be non-AP STA 1 affiliated with non-AP MLD 1), and calculates the appropriate MCS and / or transmission parameter configuration;

[0363] 4) The virtual AP MLD sends the MCS and / or transmission parameter configuration to the attached non-AP STA 1 of the non-AP MLD 1 through a related frame (e.g., a trigger frame);

[0364] 5) The non-AP STA 1 attached to the non-AP MLD 1 sends a (data) frame according to the MCS and / or transmission parameter configuration indicated by the virtual AP MLD.

[0365] 6) The virtual AP MLD uses a pre-matched receiving end to receive the (data) frame sent by non-AP MLD 1.

[0366] The above operation example enables the virtual AP MLD to select an appropriate MCS and / or transmission parameter configuration and effectively communicate with the non-AP MLD. Specifically, by dynamically selecting the appropriate MCS and / or transmission parameter configuration based on varying channel conditions, efficient data communication between the virtual AP MLD and the non-AP MLD is achieved. Consequently, data transmission performance can be optimized based on actual channel conditions, ensuring optimal transmission quality and data rates under varying channel conditions.

[0367] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0368] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a non-AP MLD described above may further include receiving a third frame carrying a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) from a virtual AP MLD, obtained by the MSC based on a CSI report; and transmitting data frames to the virtual AP MLD over the link based on the MCS. This enables simple and efficient MCS indication between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD.

[0369] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0370] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) described above may further include transmitting a third frame carrying a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to a non-AP MLD, the MSC obtaining the MCS based on a CSI report; and receiving data frames from the non-AP MLD via a link, wherein the data frames are configured by the non-AP MLD based on the MCS. This allows for simple and efficient MCS indication between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD.

[0371] Rules for multi-link coordinated transmission between non-AP MLD and virtual AP MLD:

[0372] As shown in Figure 14, the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD can be transmitted over multiple links. However, based on research on existing technologies, the multi-link transmission between the non-AP MLD and the virtual AP MLD needs to follow certain rules. Example rules include but are not limited to:

[0373] 1) In the frames sent by the virtual AP MLD, the receiver address (RA) is set to the specific subordinate non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD, and the transmitter address (TA) is set to the specific subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD.

[0374] 2) In the frames sent by the non-AP MLD, the receiver address (RA) is set to the specific subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD, and the transmitter address (TA) is set to the specific subordinate non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD.

[0375] Through such exemplary rules, it is ensured that a specific subordinate AP of a virtual AP MLD will deliver a frame to the Upper MAC of the virtual AP MLD after receiving the frame.

[0376] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0377] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, for frames transmitted from a non-AP MLD to a virtual AP MLD, the frame's receiver address is the MAC address of a subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD, and the frame's sender address is the MAC address of a non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD. This reduces signaling overhead because the AP MLD under the virtual AP MLD is transparent to the non-AP MLD.

[0378] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0379] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, for frames transmitted from a virtual AP MLD to a non-AP MLD, the frame's receiver is the MAC address of a non-AP STA in the non-AP MLD, and the frame's sender address is the MAC address of an AP subordinate to the virtual AP MLD. This reduces signaling overhead because the AP MLD under the virtual AP MLD is transparent to the non-AP MLD.

[0380] The method for seamless roaming using non-AP MLD in the virtual AP MLD framework is as follows:

[0381] Given the virtual AP MLD architecture shown in FIG14 and the aforementioned rules, exemplary steps for switching links when a non-AP MLD moves may include:

[0382] (1) At time T i , non-AP STA 1, affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, sends PPDU i (or Data i) to AP 1, affiliated with virtual AP MLD, via link 1. (Note that the actual receiver of this PPDU is AP 1, affiliated with AP MLD 1 under the virtual AP MLD, although AP MLD 1 is transparent to non-AP MLD 1 and its affiliated non-AP STA 1).

[0383] (2) When non-AP MLD 1 moves away from the coverage of AP MLD 1 and approaches the coverage of AP MLD 2, at time T i+1, non-AP STA 1, affiliated with non-AP MLD 1, continues to send PPDU i+1 (or Data i+1) to AP 1, affiliated with virtual AP MLD, through link 1. (Note that the actual receiver of this PPDU is AP 1, affiliated with AP MLD 2 under the virtual AP MLD, rather than AP 1, affiliated with AP MLD 1.)

[0384] In the above exemplary process, from the perspective of the virtual AP MLD, the subordinate AP serving the non-AP MLD has been switched (from subordinate AP 1 of AP MLD 1 to subordinate AP 1 of AP MLD 2). However, from the perspective of the non-AP MLD, it still maintains the connection with the virtual AP MLD via Link 1 and is unaware of the subordinate AP switch. This achieves seamless roaming for the non-AP MLD.

[0385] This allows seamless roaming of non-AP MLDs without having to interrupt or re-establish the connection with the virtual AP MLD, ensuring that the mobile non-AP MLD can continue to communicate with the virtual AP MLD regardless of whether the attached AP switches.

[0386] This technology ensures continuous connectivity and uninterrupted data transmission during non-AP MLD mobility, improving overall mobile network performance and stability while reducing latency and disconnection impacts, enabling seamless roaming and efficient data transmission.

[0387] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of non-AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0388] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when a first AP and a second AP in a virtual AP MLD operate on the same frequency band, the non-AP MLD can transmit a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to the first AP via a link at a first moment, and transmit a second PPDU to the second AP via the link at a second moment, where the second moment is later than the first moment. Although the virtual AP MLD switches the subordinate AP serving the non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD maintains a connection to the virtual AP MLD over the same link and is unaware of the subordinate AP switching. This enables seamless roaming for the non-AP MLD and improves communication efficiency and stability.

[0389] The following provides some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from the perspective of a virtual AP MLD. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only. Based on the description and teachings of this disclosure, those skilled in the art can conceive of any suitable modifications, additions, deletions, variations, and / or combinations of these embodiments, thereby readily obtaining equivalent implementations of these embodiments.

[0390] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, when a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD of a virtual AP MLD operate in the same frequency band, the virtual AP MLD may transmit a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) to a non-AP MLD via a link at a first moment, and transmit a second PPDU to the non-AP MLD via the link at a second moment, where the second moment is later than the first moment. Although the virtual AP MLD has switched the subordinate AP serving the non-AP MLD, the non-AP MLD maintains a connection to the virtual AP MLD over the same link and is unaware of the subordinate AP switching. This enables seamless roaming for the non-AP MLD and improves communication efficiency and stability.

[0391] It should be noted that the steps in the above embodiments and examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and changes can be made to the steps without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0392] The order of the described steps (signaling / boxes) is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described steps (signaling / boxes) may be skipped or combined in any order to implement a method or an alternative method.

[0393] The present disclosure describes an example of communication between a non-co-located / virtual AP MLD and a non-APMLD in the above embodiments, which is mainly for illustrative purposes and not restrictive.

[0394] The order of the steps (signaling / boxes) described is not intended to be interpreted as limiting, and any number of the steps (signaling / boxes) described can be skipped or combined in any order to implement a method or alternative method. Typically, any of the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods can be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on a computer-readable memory locally and / or remotely on a computer processing system, and implementation methods can include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively or in addition, any function described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as, but not limited to, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application specific standard product (ASSP), a system on a chip (SoC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the like.

[0395] In addition, the signaling described in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in any manner known in the art. For example, the signaling can be explicit and / or implicit. In addition, the steps (signaling / frames) shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the present application.

[0396] FIG18 illustrates a flow chart of a method 1800 of wireless communication for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0397] As shown in FIG18 , according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, method 1800 includes step S1810 of transmitting an association request frame to a non-collocated AP MLD. The association request frame may be used to request at least one of a plurality of AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD. Method 1800 also includes step S1820 of receiving a first association response frame from the non-collocated AP MLD. The first association response frame may be sent by the non-collocated AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0398] FIG19 illustrates a flowchart of a wireless communication method for a non-collocated access point multi-link device (AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0399] As shown in FIG. 19 , according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, method 1900 includes step S1910 of receiving an association request frame from a non-AP MLD. The association request frame may be used by the non-AP MLD to request at least one of a plurality of AP MLDs included in a non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, thereby associating the non-AP MLD with the non-collocated AP MLD. Method 1900 also includes step S1920 of sending a first association response frame to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0400] FIG20 illustrates a flowchart of a wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0401] As shown in FIG. 20 , according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, method 2000 includes step S2010: transmitting an association request frame to a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD). The virtual AP MLD may include multiple AP MLDs, each of which may include multiple access points (APs). One or more APs operating in the same frequency band among all APs may be unified into a single subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD. The association request frame may be used by a non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, thereby associating the non-AP MLD with the virtual AP MLD. Method 2000 also includes step S2020: receiving an association response frame from the virtual AP MLD. The association response frame may be sent by the virtual AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0402] FIG21 illustrates a flowchart of a wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device (AP MLD) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0403] As shown in FIG. 21 , according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, method 2100 includes step S2110 of receiving an association request frame from a non-AP MLD. A virtual AP MLD may include multiple AP MLDs, each of which may include multiple access points (APs). One or more APs operating in the same frequency band among all APs may be unified into a single subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD. The association request frame may be used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, thereby associating the non-AP MLD with the virtual AP MLD. Method 2100 also includes step S2120 of sending an association response frame to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

[0404] For further extensions of the above methods 1800, 1900, 2000, and 2100, reference can be made to the exemplary embodiments, embodiments, and / or examples described above with respect to FIG. 1 to FIG. 17, which will not be repeated here.

[0405] FIG22 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented into a system using any appropriately configured hardware and / or software. FIG22 illustrates system 700, including radio frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, processing unit 730, memory / storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input / output (I / O) interface 780, coupled to one another as shown.

[0406] The processing unit 730 may include circuits, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors, such as a graphics processor and an application processor. The processor may be coupled to a memory / storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage to enable various applications and / or operating systems running on the system. The RF circuit 710, baseband circuit 720, processing unit 730, memory / storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and I / O interface 780 are well-known components of the system 700, such as, but not limited to, laptop computing devices, tablet computing devices, netbooks, ultrabooks, smartphones, etc. In addition, instructions as a software product may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium and includes multiple commands for a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, or network device) to execute all or some of the steps disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes a USB disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other types of media capable of storing program codes.

[0407] The embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of techniques / processes that may be employed in 3GPP specifications to create a final product.

[0408] While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements embodied within the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), comprising: Transmitting an association request frame to a non-collocated AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used to request at least one access point multi-link device AP MLD among a plurality of access point multi-link devices AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD; A first association response frame is received from the non-collocated AP MLD, where the first association response frame is sent by the non-collocated AP MLD based on the association request frame.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD including: The non-AP MLD establishes a multi-link with at least one AP MLD among the multiple AP MLDs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The association request frame includes one or more basic multi-link elements corresponding to one or more AP MLDs, the non-AP MLD requests to establish the multi-link with the one or more AP MLDs via the association request frame, and the basic multi-link element indicates the media access control MAC address of one AP MLD among the one or more AP MLDs.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The first sub-element in the basic multi-link element includes a received signal strength indication RSSI, wherein the RSSI indicates the strength of a signal received by the non-AP MLD on a link carried by one of the one or more AP MLDs, and the signal is sent by the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The first association response frame includes one or more basic multilink elements, the one or more basic multilink elements included in the first association response frame correspond one to one with the one or more basic multilink elements included in the association request frame, and The second sub-element of the basic multi-link element included in the first association response frame indicates whether one AP MLD among the one or more AP MLDs is permitted to establish at least one of the multi-links.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The second sub-element is a per-STA configuration sub-element.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: A second frame different from the first association response frame is received from the non-collocated AP MLD, the second frame carrying identifiers corresponding to one or more AP MLDs.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving a TID-to-Link mapping response frame for mapping a service identifier to a link TID-to-Link from the non-collocated AP MLD, wherein the TID-to-Link mapping response frame is sent by the non-collocated AP MLD after receiving a TID-to-Link mapping request frame from the non-AP MLD, wherein the TID-to-Link mapping request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link mapping response frame includes a second number of the TID-to-Link mapping elements, and There are less than or equal to two links between the non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD, corresponding to the TID-to-Link mapping element.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The association request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping, and the first association response frame includes a second number of the TID-to-Link mapping elements, and There are less than or equal to two links between the non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD, corresponding to the TID-to-Link mapping element.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein: The second number is the same as or different from the first number.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The second frame includes one or more TID-to-Link mapping elements for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping, and There are less than or equal to two links between the non-AP MLD and an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD, corresponding to the TID-to-Link mapping element.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein: The TID-to-Link mapping control field of the TID-to-Link mapping element includes at least one bit for carrying a collocated AP MLD identifier ID, wherein the collocated AP MLD ID indicates an identifier corresponding to the AP MLD that performs TID-to-Link mapping with the non-AP MLD, so as to distinguish the TID-to-Link mapping element.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein: The length of the predefined field of the TID-to-Link mapping element is extended so that the predefined field can indicate the collocated AP MLD identifier ID and the link identifier ID at the same time.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising: Receive a beamforming report poll (BFRP) trigger frame from the non-collocated AP MLD, where the BFRP trigger frame indicates that the non-AP MLD will transmit channel state information (CSI) report of a first link to the non-collocated AP MLD via a second link, both the first link and the second link are links established between the non-collocated AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, and the BFRP trigger frame is transmitted on the second link; In response to the received BFRP trigger frame, transmit the CSI report to the non-collocated AP MLD via the second link.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: Before receiving the BFRP trigger frame from the non-collocated AP MLD, Receive an empty data announcement (NDPA) frame and an empty data packet (NDP) frame from the non-collocated AP MLD via the first link.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein: When the first link includes multiple links, the CSI report indicates channel sounding results of the multiple links.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: The CSI report includes one of the following tuples: <MLD MAC address, Link identifier ID>, <collocated AP MLD ID, Link ID>, <transmitter MAC address, receiver MAC address>.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, further comprising: Receive at least one physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) from the non-collocated AP MLD via at least one link of the multi-link with the non-collocated AP MLD respectively; In response to receiving the at least one PPDU, transmit a block acknowledgment (BA) frame for the at least one PPDU to the non-collocated AP MLD via another link different from the at least one link in the multi-link.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein: The value of the BA type in the BA control field of the BA frame indicates that the BA frame is a multi-link BA frame for acknowledging PPDUs on other links different from the other link in the multi-link.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The BA information field of the BA frame includes one or more BA unit sub-fields, and the one or more BA unit sub-fields are used to jointly indicate the link in the multi-link for carrying the acknowledged PPDU.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The BA unit sub-field includes Link identifier ID and / or collocated AP MLD identifier ID.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein: If the non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with a first AP MLD and a second AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLD respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same Link identifier ID, and the non-AP MLD is the holder of the transmission opportunity (TXOP), the method further comprises: transmitting, at a first moment, a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first AP MLD via the third link; At a second time subsequent to the first time, a second PPDU is transmitted to the second AP MLD via the fourth link and the third link is disconnected.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein: If the non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with the first AP MLD and the second AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLDs respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same Link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP, the method further includes: transmitting, at a first moment, a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first AP MLD via the third link; Transmitting a request message to the first AP MLD, where the request message is used to request link switching and request the first AP MLD to share the TXOP with the non-AP MLD; A second PPDU is transmitted to the second AP MLD via the fourth link based on the shared TXOP and the third link is disconnected.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein: If the non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with the first AP MLD and the second AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLDs respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same Link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP, the method further includes: transmitting, at a first moment, a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first AP MLD via the third link; Transmitting a request message to the first AP MLD, where the request message is used to request link switching and indicates that the second AP MLD is the AP MLD to be switched to; A second PPDU transmitted by the second AP MLD based on the shared TXOP is received via the fourth link, and the third link is disconnected.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, when the non-AP MLD and a plurality of AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLD establish a non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR link pair, further comprising: The multiple non-AP STAs in the non-AP MLD send non-TB PPDUs to multiple access points AP corresponding to the multiple non-AP STAs.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein: The medium access control protocol data unit MPDU in the non-TB PPDU contains a single response scheduling SRS control field.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The PPDU response duration subfield in the SRS control field indicates the length of the frame fed back by each AP in at least one AP MLD, and the PPDU response duration subfields corresponding to the non-TB PPDU are set to the same value or are set to differ from each other by no more than a first preset value.

28. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, when the non-AP MLD and a plurality of AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLD establish a non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR link pair, further comprising: When there is a desynchronized link between the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD, a non-AP STA in synchronization in the non-AP MLD transmits a frame carrying an access point assistance request AAR control field to the non-collocated AP MLD through a link corresponding to the non-AP STA, wherein a preset bit in a control information subfield in the AAR control field indicates an identifier of the AP MLD corresponding to the AAR control field requesting to perform a synchronization recovery operation; receiving a trigger frame sent by an access point AP corresponding to the out-of-sync link in the multiple AP MLDs; In response to the received trigger frame, the STA in the non-AP MLD transmits a data frame to the AP to complete the synchronization operation.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein: The AAR control field includes a control information subfield, a first preset bit of the control information subfield indicates at least one AP MLD that is to perform the synchronization operation, and a second preset bit of the control information subfield indicates a link identifier ID of the out-of-sync link corresponding to the at least one AP MLD and / or an access point AP corresponding to the out-of-sync link in the at least one AP MLD.

30. A non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

31. A wireless communication method for a non-collocated AP MLD, comprising: receiving an association request frame from a non-AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used by the non-AP MLD to request at least one of a plurality of AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD to associate with the non-AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD; A first association response frame is sent to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein: The non-AP MLD is associated with the non-collocated AP MLD including: At least one AP MLD among the multiple AP MLDs establishes a multi-link with the non-AP MLD.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein: The association request frame includes one or more basic multi-link elements corresponding to one or more AP MLDs, the non-AP MLD requests to establish the multi-link with the one or more AP MLDs via the association request frame, and the basic multi-link element indicates the media access control MAC address of one AP MLD among the one or more AP MLDs.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein: The first sub-element in the basic multi-link element includes a received signal strength indication RSSI, wherein the RSSI indicates the strength of a signal received by the non-AP MLD on a link carried by one of the one or more AP MLDs, and the signal is sent by the AP MLD to the non-AP MLD.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein: The first association response frame includes one or more basic multilink elements, and the one or more basic multilink elements included in the first association response frame correspond one to one with the one or more basic multilink elements included in the association request frame. The second sub-element of the basic multi-link element included in the first association response frame indicates whether one AP MLD among the one or more AP MLDs is permitted to establish at least one of the multi-links.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein: The second sub-element is a per-STA configuration sub-element.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising: A second frame different from the first association response frame is transmitted to the non-AP MLD, the second frame carrying identifiers corresponding to one or more AP MLDs.

38. The method according to claim 31 or 32, further comprising: transmitting a TID-to-Link mapping response frame for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping to the non-AP MLD, wherein the non-collocated AP MLD transmits the TID-to-Link mapping response frame in response to receiving a TID-to-Link mapping request frame from the non-AP MLD, wherein the TID-to-Link mapping request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link mapping response frame includes a second number of TID-to-Link mapping elements, and There are less than or equal to two links between an AP MLD included in the non-collocated AP MLD and the non-AP MLD, corresponding to the TID-to-Link mapping element.

39. The method of claim 35, wherein: The association request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping, and the first association response frame includes a second number of the TID-to-Link mapping elements, and Among them, there are less than or equal to two links between one AP MLD included in the non - collocated AP MLD and the non - AP MLD corresponding to the TID - to - Link mapping element.

40. The method according to claim 38 or 39, wherein: The second number is the same as or different from the first number.

41. The method of claim 37, wherein: The second frame includes one or more TID - to - Link mapping elements for traffic identifier to link TID - to - Link mapping, and Among them, there are less than or equal to two links between one AP MLD included in the non - collocated AP MLD and the non - AP MLD corresponding to the TID - to - Link mapping element.

42. The method according to any one of claims 38 to 41, wherein: The TID - to - Link mapping control field of the TID - to - Link mapping element includes one or more bits for carrying the collocated AP MLD identifier ID, where the collocated AP MLD ID indicates the identifier corresponding to the AP MLD that performs TID - to - Link mapping with the non - AP MLD to distinguish the TID - to - Link mapping element.

43. The method according to any one of claims 38 to 41, wherein: Perform length extension on the predefined field of the TID - to - Link mapping element so that the predefined field can simultaneously indicate the collocated AP MLD identifier ID and the link identifier ID.

44. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 43, further comprising: Transmit a beamforming report poll BFRP trigger frame to the non - AP MLD, the BFRP trigger frame instructing the non - AP MLD to report the channel state information CSI of a first link via a second link to the non - collocated AP MLD, both the first link and the second link being links established between the non - collocated AP MLD and the non - AP MLD, and the BFRP trigger frame being transmitted on the second link; In response to transmitting the BFRP trigger frame, receive the CSI report from the non - AP MLD via the second link.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising: Before transmitting the BFRP trigger frame to the non - AP MLD, Transmit an empty data announcement NDPA frame and an empty data NDP frame to the non - AP MLD via the first link.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein: When the first link includes multiple links, the CSI report indicates the channel sounding results of the multiple links.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein: The CSI report includes one of the following tuples: <MLD MAC address, Link identifier ID>, <collocated AP MLD ID, Link ID>, <transmitter MAC address, receiver MAC address>.

48. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 47, further comprising: transmitting at least one physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the non-AP MLD via at least one link in the multiple links with the non-AP MLD; In response to transmitting the at least one PPDU, a block acknowledgment (BA) frame for the at least one PPDU is received from the non-AP MLD via another link among the multiple links different from the at least one link.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein: The value of the BA type of the BA control field of the BA frame indicates that the BA frame is a multi-link BA frame for confirming PPDUs on other links in the multi-links than the other link.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein: The BA information field of the BA frame includes one or more BA unit subfields, and the one or more BA unit subfields are used to collectively indicate a link in the multi-link used to carry the confirmed PPDU.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein: The BA unit subfield includes Link ID and collocated AP MLD ID.

52. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 51, wherein: If the non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with the first AP MLD and the second AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLDs respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same Link identifier ID, and the non-AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP, the method further includes: At a first moment, the first AP MLD receives a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU via the third link; A second PPDU is received by the second AP MLD via the fourth link at a second time subsequent to the first time and the third link is disconnected.

53. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 51, wherein: If the non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with the first AP MLD and the second AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLDs respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same Link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP, the method further includes: At a first moment, the first AP MLD receives a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU via the third link; The first AP MLD receives request information from the non-AP MLD, where the request information is used to request link switching and request the first AP MLD to share the TXOP with the non-AP MLD; After the first AP MLD shares the TXOP with the non-AP MLD, the second AP MLD receives a second PPDU via the fourth link and disconnects the third link.

54. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 51, wherein: If the non-AP MLD establishes a third link and a fourth link with the first AP MLD and the second AP MLD in the non-collocated AP MLDs respectively, the third link and the fourth link have the same Link identifier ID, and the first AP MLD is the holder of a transmission opportunity TXOP, the method further includes: At a first moment, the first AP MLD receives a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU via the third link; The first AP MLD receives request information from the non-AP MLD, where the request information is used to request link switching and indicates that the second AP MLD is the AP MLD to be switched to; After the first AP MLD shares the TXOP with the second AP MLD, the second AP MLD transmits a second PPDU to the non-AP MLD based on the shared TXOP and disconnects the third link.

55. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 54, when the non-AP MLD establishes a non-simultaneous transmission and reception NSTR link pair with a plurality of AP MLDs in the non-collocated AP MLDs, further comprising: The non-collocated AP MLD performs end time alignment of physical layer protocol data units PPDUs simultaneously transmitted on multiple links of the non-AP MLD and the non-collocated AP MLD based on a preset rule.

56. The method of claim 55, wherein: The preset criteria include: The difference between the end times of any two PPDUs in the simultaneously transmitted PPDUs is less than or equal to a second preset value, and / or The end time of the PPDU carrying the frame requesting an immediate response is earlier than the end time of the PPDU including the trigger frame with the value of the Carrier Sense CS Required subfield set to 1 by up to a third predetermined value.

57. The method of claim 55 or 56, wherein: In the case where the links between the multiple AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD adopt an ideal backhaul link, the non-collocated AP MLD sends an instruction to at least one AP MLD, The instruction carries the preset criteria and also carries at least one of the following: the time when the PPDU on each link of the multi-link starts to be sent, the length of the PPDU on each link of the multi-link, or / and the time when the PPDU on each link of the multi-link ends to be sent.

58. The method of claim 55 or 56, wherein: In the case where the links between the multiple AP MLDs included in the non-collocated AP MLD adopt non-ideal backhaul links, the method further includes: An access point AP of a first AP MLD in at least one AP MLD transmits a multi-AP trigger frame to an AP of a second AP MLD in the at least one AP MLD, wherein the multi-AP trigger frame is used to enable the AP of the second AP MLD to maintain synchronous transmission, Among them, the first AP MLD is different from the second AP MLD, and the multi-AP trigger frame carries the preset criterion and also carries at least one of the following: the time when the PPDU on each link of the multi-link starts to be sent, the length of the PPDU on each link of the multi-link, or / and the time when the PPDU on each link of the multi-link ends to be sent.

59. A non-collocated access point multi-link device (non-collocated AP MLD), configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 31 to 58.

60. A wireless communication method for a non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), comprising: Transmitting an association request frame to a virtual access point multilink device AP MLD, wherein the virtual AP MLD includes a plurality of AP MLDs, and the AP MLD includes a plurality of access points APs, wherein one or more APs working in the same frequency band among all the APs are unified into a unique subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the virtual AP MLD; An association response frame is received from the virtual AP MLD, where the association response frame is sent by the virtual AP MLD based on the association request frame.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein: The non-AP MLD is associated with the virtual AP MLD including: The non-AP MLD establishes a multi-link with the virtual AP MLD.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein: The association request frame includes only one basic multilink element, and the link information field in the basic multilink element is used to indicate information of at least one unique subordinate AP corresponding to the multilink.

63. The method of claim 61 or 62, wherein: The association response frame indicates whether the association request of the non-AP MLD is accepted and / or whether establishment of the multi-link with the non-AP MLD is permitted.

64. The method of claim 61 or 62, further comprising: receiving a TID-to-Link mapping response frame for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping from the virtual AP MLD, the TID-to-Link mapping response frame being transmitted by the virtual AP MLD in response to receiving a TID-to-Link mapping request frame from the non-AP MLD, The TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame includes a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein: The association request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping, and the association response frame includes a second number of the TID-to-Link mapping elements.

66. The method of claim 64 or 65, wherein: The second number is the same as or different from the first number.

67. The method of claim 63, further comprising: A second frame different from the association response frame is received from the virtual AP MLD, the second frame including a TID-to-Link mapping element for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping.

68. The method according to any one of claims 60 to 67, further comprising: Receiving a null data announcement NDPA frame and a null data NDP frame from the virtual AP MLD; In response to receiving the NDPA frame and the NDP frame, a channel state information (CSI) report for the link is transmitted to the virtual AP MLD via the link over which the NDPA frame and the NDP frame are transmitted.

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising: receiving a third frame carrying a modulation coding scheme MCS from the virtual AP MLD, the MSC obtaining based on the CSI report; A data frame is transmitted to the virtual AP MLD over the link based on the MCS.

70. The method according to any one of claims 60 to 69, in, For the frame transmitted from the non-AP MLD to the virtual AP MLD, the receiver address of the frame is the MAC address of a subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD, and the sender address of the frame is the MAC address of a non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD.

71. The method according to any one of claims 60 to 70, wherein: When the operating frequency bands of the first AP and the second AP in the virtual AP MLD are the same: Transmitting a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the first AP via a link at a first moment; A second PPDU is transmitted to the second AP via the link at a second time, wherein the second time is later than the first time.

72. The method of any one of claims 60 to 71, wherein: Before the non-AP MLD transmits the association request frame to the virtual AP MLD, the method further includes: receiving a frame carrying a basic multilink element from the virtual AP MLD, The basic multi-link element includes a multi-link control field, and the multi-link control field indicates whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be or a virtual AP MLD.

73. The method according to claim 72, in, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a fourth preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a fifth preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is a virtual AP MLD.

74. The method of any one of claims 60 to 71, wherein: Before the non-AP MLD transmits the association request frame to the virtual AP MLD, the method further includes: Transmitting a multilink ML probe request frame carrying a probe request multilink element to the virtual AP MLD; receiving an ML probe response frame from the virtual AP MLD, the ML probe response frame being transmitted by the virtual AP MLD in response to the ML probe request frame, The ML detection response frame carries a basic multi-link element, the basic multi-link element includes a multi-link control field, and the multi-link control field indicates whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be or a virtual AP MLD.

75. The method according to claim 74, in, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a sixth preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be, Wherein, when the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is the seventh preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is a virtual AP MLD.

76. A non-access point multi-link device (non-AP MLD), configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 60 to 75.

77. A wireless communication method for a virtual access point multi-link device AP MLD, comprising: Receiving an association request frame from a non-access point multilink device non-AP MLD, wherein the virtual AP MLD includes a plurality of AP MLDs, the AP MLD includes a plurality of access points APs, one or more APs working in the same frequency band among all the APs are unified into a unique subordinate AP by the virtual AP MLD, wherein the association request frame is used by the non-AP MLD to make an association request to the virtual AP MLD, so that the non-AP MLD is associated with the virtual AP MLD; An association response frame is sent to the non-AP MLD based on the association request frame.

78. The method of claim 77, wherein: The non-AP MLD is associated with the virtual AP MLD including: The non-AP MLD establishes a multi-link with the virtual AP MLD.

79. The method of claim 78, wherein: The association request frame includes only one basic multilink element, and the link information field in the basic multilink element is used to indicate information of at least one unique subordinate AP corresponding to the multilink.

80. The method of claim 77 or 78, wherein: The association response frame indicates whether the association request of the non-AP MLD is accepted and / or whether establishment of the multi-link with the non-AP MLD is permitted.

81. The method of claim 77 or 78, further comprising: transmitting a TID-to-Link mapping response frame for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping to the non-AP MLD, wherein the TID-to-Link mapping response frame is transmitted by the virtual AP MLD in response to receiving a TID-to-Link mapping request frame from the non-AP MLD, The TID-to-Link Mapping Request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements, and the TID-to-Link Mapping Response frame includes a second number of TID-to-Link Mapping elements.

82. The method of claim 80, wherein: The association request frame includes a first number of TID-to-Link mapping elements for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping, and the association response frame includes a second number of the TID-to-Link mapping elements.

83. The method of claim 81 or 82, wherein: The second number is the same as or different from the first number.

84. The method of claim 80, further comprising: A second frame different from the association response frame is transmitted to the non-AP MLD, the second frame including a TID-to-Link mapping element for traffic identifier to link TID-to-Link mapping.

85. The method of any one of claims 77 to 84, further comprising: Transmitting a null data announcement NDPA frame and a null data NDP frame to the non-AP MLD; A channel state information (CSI) report for the link is received from the non-AP MLD via the link over which the NDPA frame and the NDP frame are transmitted.

86. The method of claim 85, further comprising: transmitting, to the non-AP MLD, a third frame carrying a modulation and coding scheme MCS, which the MSC obtains based on the CSI report; A data frame of the non-AP MLD is received via the link, wherein the data frame is configured by the non-AP MLD based on the MCS.

87. The method according to any one of claims 77 to 86, in, For the frame transmitted from the virtual AP MLD to the non-AP MLD, the receiver of the frame is a MAC address of a non-AP STA of the non-AP MLD, and the transmitter address of the frame is a MAC address of a subordinate AP of the virtual AP MLD.

88. The method of any one of claims 77 to 87, wherein: When the operating frequency bands of the first AP MLD and the second AP MLD of the virtual AP MLD are the same: Transmitting a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU to the non-AP MLD via a link at a first time; Transmitting a second PPDU to the non-AP MLD via the link at a second time, wherein the second time is later than the first time.

89. The method according to any one of claims 77 to 88, wherein: Before the virtual AP MLD receives the association request frame from the non-AP MLD, the method further includes: transmitting a frame carrying a basic multilink element to the non-AP MLD, The basic multi-link element includes a multi-link control field, and the multi-link control field indicates whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be or a virtual AP MLD.

90. The method according to claim 89, in, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a fourth preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a fifth preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is a virtual AP MLD.

91. The method of any one of claims 77 to 88, wherein: Before the virtual AP MLD receives the association request frame from the non-AP MLD, the method further includes: receiving, from the non-AP MLD, an ML probe request frame carrying a probe request multilink element; transmitting an ML probe response frame to the non-AP MLD, the ML probe response frame being sent by the virtual AP MLD in response to the ML probe request frame, The ML detection response frame carries a basic multi-link element, the basic multi-link element includes a multi-link control field, and the multi-link control field indicates whether the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be or a virtual AP MLD.

92. The method according to claim 91, in, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is a sixth preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is an AP MLD compatible with 802.11be, When the value of the preset bit of the multi-link control field is the seventh preset value, the AP MLD corresponding to the basic multi-link element is a virtual AP MLD.

93. A virtual access point multi-link device AP MLD, configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 77 to 92.

94. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

95. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: Used to store a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 29.

96. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 31 to 58.

97. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: Used to store a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 31 to 58.

98. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 60 to 75.

99. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: Used to store a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 60 to 75.

100. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and run a computer program from a memory so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 77 to 92.

101. A computer-readable storage medium, wherein: Used to store a computer program, which causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 77 to 92.

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