Communication device, control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique for improving communication efficiency in a system in which multi-link communication is performed.SOLUTION: A communication device that is capable of communicating with other communication devices using multiple links identifies characteristics of each of the multiple links and assigns one or more of the multiple links to each of one or more types of data communicating with the other communication devices based on the characteristics.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a data communication technique in a communication device capable of using a plurality of links in parallel. [Background technology]

[0002] In the IEEE802.11be standard, multi-link communication is standardized as one of the new functions (see Patent Document 1). In multi-link communication, a communication device called a multi-link device (MLD) uses multiple links in parallel by linking and coordinating multiple communication interfaces. Note that IEEE is an abbreviation for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE802.11be standard is also called Wi-Fi7 or EHT (Extremely High Throughput). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-190722 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention provides a technique for improving communication efficiency in a system in which multi-link communication is performed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a communication means capable of communicating with other communication devices using a plurality of links, an identification means for identifying characteristics of each of the plurality of links, and an allocation means for assigning one or more of the plurality of links to each of one or more types of data communicated with the other communication devices based on the characteristics. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve communication efficiency in a system in which multi-link communication is performed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of a communication device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between TID and access category. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of a communication device. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence when a communication device establishes multilink communication with an information terminal device; [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a TID-To-Link Mapping Element. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart for link allocation for image data TID. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 illustrates an example flowchart for link allocation for non-image data TIDs. [Figure 9] 11 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence when a communication device establishes multilink communication with an information terminal device; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0009] (Embodiment 1) (System Configuration) FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to the present embodiment. The wireless communication system includes, for example, a communication device 200 and an information communication terminal 300. The communication device 200 and the information communication terminal 300 are wireless communication devices capable of performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE 802.11 series standard. In the present embodiment, the communication device 200 operates as an access point (AP), and the information communication terminal 300 operates as a station (STA). IEEE is an abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. FIG. 1 shows a state in which one AP and one STA exist, but there may be multiple APs and STAs. In addition, at that time, multiple STAs may be connected to one AP, or one STA may be connected to multiple APs. The communication device 200 and the information communication terminal 300 may be any electronic device such as a smartphone, tablet, PC, video camera, printer, or display. In the present embodiment, as an example, the communication device 200 is an imaging device such as a camera having an imaging function and a communication function, and the information communication terminal 300 is a smartphone.

[0010] In this embodiment, the communication device 200 and the information communication terminal 300 are assumed to be capable of performing wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard. One of the new functions in the IEEE802.11be standard is a multilink. In this embodiment, the communication device 200 and the information communication terminal 300 are configured to be capable of performing multilink communication using a plurality of links in the network 100. The example of FIG. 1 shows that three wireless links (links 101, 102, and 103) are established between the communication device 200 and the information communication terminal 300. Note that, in the following embodiment, a case where multilink communication using the IEEE802.11be standard is performed will be described, but is not limited to this. For example, the following discussion can also be applied to multilink communication conforming to other wireless communication standards and multilink communication using a plurality of wired links.

[0011] A communication device capable of multi-link communication is called a Multi-link device (MLD). A communication device that operates as an AP or STA conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard and has the function of operating as an MLD is called an AP MLD or a STA MLD, respectively. A STA MLD may also be called a non-AP MLD. In an AP MLD or a STA MLD, the communication interfaces (I / Fs) that constitute each link may also be called Affiliated AP or Affiliated STA, respectively. An Affiliated STA may also be called an Affiliated non-AP STA.

[0012] The links 101, 102, and 103 use frequency bands such as 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, and millimeter wave band (45 GHz band, 60 GHz band, etc.). In addition, a frequency band higher than millimeter wave, such as the terahertz band, may be used in at least some of these links. The same frequency band may be used in two or more of the multiple links to be established. When the same frequency band is used for two or more links, different channels may be used. In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the links 101, 102, and 103 use the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, respectively. In addition, the links 101 to 103 may use any of the frequency bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz specified in the IEEE 802.11 series standard. However, this is not limited to this, and at least one of the links 101 to 103 may use a frequency bandwidth different from the above examples, such as 240 MHz or 4 MHz.

[0013] In the multi-link in the IEEE802.11be standard, multiple links are established in parallel. However, it is not specified which link is assigned to transmit data. The IEEE802.11be standard specifies that all data can use all links as a default setting when the multi-link is established. On the other hand, if the frequency bands, etc. used in each link are different, the link characteristics, such as communication speed, may differ. Therefore, if a link with characteristics not suitable for a type of data is used for communication of that data, it is expected that sufficient communication efficiency cannot be obtained. And, in communication related to a certain service, if a link not suitable for communication of high-priority data is used for the communication of that data, the service will not be able to obtain sufficient quality.

[0014] In the IEEE802.11 series of standards, TID is defined as an identifier for classifying data, and the priority order for transmitting frames is determined using TID. In addition, in the multi-link of the IEEE802.11be standard, a function for establishing multiple links is defined, in which a TID-To-Link Mapping is generated that associates a TID with a link when the link is established. However, it does not specify that a TID and a link are associated based on the type of data or the characteristics of each link, and it is still expected that a link that is not suitable for the type of data will be assigned to communicate that data.

[0015] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a technique for using multiple links more efficiently by allocating links having appropriate characteristics according to the type of data for frame transmission.

[0016] (Device configuration) 2 shows an example of the functional configuration of the communication device 200. The communication device 200 includes, as its functions, a communication unit 201, a TID allocation unit 202, a communication I / F allocation unit 203, a multi-link information generation unit 204, a display unit 205, an operation unit 206, an imaging unit 207, a storage unit 208, and a control unit 209. Note that the configuration in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and some or all of the functional blocks may be replaced with other functional blocks that perform similar functions, some functional blocks may be omitted, and further functional blocks may be added. Also, one functional block described below may be divided into multiple functional blocks, and multiple functional blocks may be integrated into one functional block.

[0017] The communication unit 201 performs communication processing for communicating with other communication devices such as the information communication terminal 300. In one example, the communication unit 201 performs wireless communication processing in accordance with the provisions of the IEEE 802.11be standard. The communication unit 201 may be compatible with at least one of the IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax standards (legacy standards) that are standards prior to the IEEE 802.11be standard. The communication unit 201 may also be compatible with other communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC, UWB, ZigBee, MBOA, etc., in addition to the IEEE 802.11 series standards. Note that NFC is an abbreviation for Near Field Communication. UWB is an abbreviation for Ultra Wide Band. MBOA is an abbreviation for Multi Band OFDM Alliance, where OFDM is an abbreviation for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. UWB includes wireless USB, wireless 1394, WiNET, etc. Furthermore, the communication unit 201 may be compatible with a communication standard for wired communication such as a wired LAN.

[0018] The communication unit 201 may include a plurality of communication I / Fs so that the communication device 200 performs multi-link communication. Each communication I / F may use a different frequency band such as the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band, and some communication I / Fs may use different frequency channels in the same frequency band. The communication unit 201 may perform multi-link communication using a plurality of communication I / Fs that comply only with legacy standards. In this embodiment, the communication unit 201 includes three communication I / Fs, and the communication I / Fs constitute the links 101 to 103 in FIG. 1.

[0019] The TID allocation unit 202 associates the type of data with a Traffic Indicator (TID). The TID is an identifier for classifying data. The types of data include, for example, still image data, video data, data related to the control of the communication device 200 (control data), and audio data. The association between the type of data and the TID may be specified by an application installed in the communication device 200 or the information communication terminal 300. The TID allocation unit 202 may estimate the type of data based on the amount of data input or the input period, and associate the data with the TID. The association between the type of data and the TID may be performed when the communication device establishes multilink communication with another communication device, or after the communication device establishes multilink communication with another communication device. The TID allocation unit 202 notifies the control unit 209 of the association between the type of data and the TID.

[0020] The TIDs are assigned a priority for transmitting associated data, and are determined as TID7, TID6, TID5, TID4, TID3, TID0, TID2, and TID1 in descending order of priority. Furthermore, each TID is associated with one of four Access Categories (ACs) according to the application. ACs are defined as Voice, Video, Best Effort, and Background in descending order of priority. FIG. 3 shows an example of the association of TIDs and ACs. TID7 and TID6 are associated with AC Voice, TID5 and TID4 are associated with AC Video, TID3 and TID0 are associated with AC Best Effort, and TID2 and TID1 are associated with AC Background. In this embodiment, still image and video data recorded by the communication device 200 are associated with TID5, TID4, or AC Video. Video data may be associated with TID5, and still image data may be associated with TID4. For example, when the data to be associated is still image and video data generated by the imaging unit 207 and recorded in the storage unit 208, the data may be associated with TID4 and TID5, respectively. By associating still image and video data, which have a high need for high-speed communication, with a TID with a high priority for data transmission, it becomes possible to preferentially assign appropriate links to these TIDs. On the other hand, control data and other data are associated with TID2, TID1, or Background of AC. Control data may be associated with TID2, and other data may be associated with TID1. Control data may be associated with TID3, TID0, or Best Effort of AC. For example, when the data to be associated is control data for controlling the communication device 200, which is generated by an application installed in the information communication terminal 300, the control data may be associated with any of TIDs TID0 to TID3. By associating control data, which have a relatively low need for high-speed communication, with a TID with a low priority for data transmission, it becomes possible to secure a link capable of high-speed communication for still image and video data.In this embodiment, a TID associated with still image data and video data is called a TID for image data, and a TID associated with other data is called a TID for non-image data. In this embodiment, the term "image data" includes both still image data and video data unless otherwise specified. Non-image data includes control data, etc. An access category may be used as an identifier associated with a data type. By using an access category with fewer classifications than a TID as an identifier associated with a data type, processing for associating a data type with an identifier and notification between devices can be simplified.

[0021] Furthermore, the TID allocation unit 202 may assign a priority to each identifier different from that shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows the priority of each TID and each AC defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard, but is not limited to this, and other priorities may be used. For example, a table in which the priority of each identifier is recorded may be recorded in the storage unit 208, and the TID allocation unit 202 may read this table and assign a priority to each identifier.

[0022] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 identifies the characteristics of each link configured by each communication I / F, and allocates one or more communication I / Fs to an identifier associated with a type of data. In this embodiment, a TID is used as an identifier associated with a type of data. The characteristics of each link include a frequency band used in each link, a reception power of a signal from the information communication terminal 300 in each link, a frequency bandwidth available in each link, an interference power in each link, and a usage rate of each link, a wireless resource usage rate, and the like. The usage rate of a link is a ratio of a time during which the link is used for communication in a unit time. The wireless resource usage rate is a ratio of wireless resources used for communication among all wireless resources available in the link. An example of a wireless resource is a resource unit defined in the IEEE802.11ax standard. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may identify the frequency band and frequency bandwidth used in each link by acquiring them from the storage unit 208. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may specify each link by having the communication unit 201 measure the received power, interference power, channel utilization rate, and the like of a signal from the information communication terminal 300 in each link. Here, allocating a communication I / F to each TID is the same as allocating a link configured using this communication I / F to each TID. For example, when multiple links are established using one communication I / F, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 may allocate each TID on a link-by-link basis, rather than on a communication I / F-by-communication basis. In this embodiment, the process in which the communication I / F allocation unit 203 allocates a link to each TID is called link allocation. Furthermore, allocation information indicating the allocation of multiple links to each TID generated as a result of link allocation is called TID-To-Link Mapping. The TID-To-Link Mapping is expressed as a bitmap indicating whether each link is allocated for each TID, for example. For example, when there are three links, the link to which each TID is allocated is indicated using three bits for each TID. As an example, the first bit corresponds to link 101, the second bit corresponds to link 102, and the third bit corresponds to link 103.Here, the bitmap for a certain TID is expressed as "010", which indicates that the link 102 is assigned to that TID. When the link 103 is assigned to TID5, "001", in which the bit corresponding to the link 103 is 1 and the bits corresponding to the other links are 0, is set as the bitmap in the TID-To-Link Mapping corresponding to TID5. When the communication device 200 performs multi-link communication with a plurality of other terminals using the same TID-To-Link Mapping, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 may assign a link to each TID in advance in a fixed manner. Such a fixed TID-To-Link Mapping can be generated before the communication device 200 establishes a multi-link with another communication device. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 notifies the control unit 209 of the generated TID-To-Link Mapping.

[0023] The multilink information generating unit 204 generates information required to establish a multilink with another communication device. Examples of information required to establish a multilink include information on the network such as an ESSID, information on multilink communication such as the number of multilinks that the MLD can use in parallel, and information on each link such as the frequency band and channel used in each link. These pieces of information may be recorded as information for communication in the storage unit 208. An ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) ​​is an identifier for uniquely identifying a network, and in this embodiment, is used to identify the network 100 configured by the communication device 200.

[0024] The multi-link information generating unit 204 may use the generated information to generate an information element including information to be notified to other communication devices in order to establish a multi-link. In the following, the information element may be referred to as an "IE". Examples of IEs include a Basic Multi-Link (Basic ML) Element, a Reduced Neighbor Report (RNR) Element, and an SSID Element. For example, the Basic ML Element may include information such as the number of multi-links that the MLD can use in parallel, the address of each Affiliated STA, and the link to be used. The information included in these Basic ML Elements may be used when determining whether or not to perform multi-link communication between communication devices. The RNR Element may include information such as a frequency band and a channel used in each link. The SSID Element may include the ESSID of the network configured by the communication devices. The multi-link information generating unit 204 may also generate a TID-To-Link Mapping Element using information such as the TID-To-Link Mapping generated by the communication I / F allocation unit 203.

[0025] The display unit 205 displays a viewfinder image for the user to take still images and videos using the communication device 200, which is an imaging device, displays captured image data, and displays characters for interactive operations. The display unit 205 may present information to the user by displaying a lamp as on / blinking / off.

[0026] The operation unit 206 is used to receive instructions from the user to the communication device 200. The operation unit 206 includes a power button for the user to instruct the communication device 200 to start or shut down, a release button for instructing the communication device 200 to take still images or videos, and a playback button for instructing the communication device 200 to play back the captured image data. The operation unit 206 may also include an operation member such as a connection button for the communication device 200 to start communication with another communication device via the communication unit 201. The operation unit 206 may include a touch panel configured by the display unit 205.

[0027] The imaging unit 207 generates still image and video data to be transmitted by the communication device 200, which is an imaging device, to another communication device. The imaging unit 207 is composed of, for example, an optical system that controls an optical lens unit, an aperture, zoom, focus, etc., and an imaging element for converting light (image) introduced through the optical lens unit into an electrical video signal. As the imaging element, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is generally used. The data generated by the imaging unit 207 is output to a storage unit 208.

[0028] The storage unit 208 stores a control program executed by the control unit 209, information for communication, a TID, a Link ID, etc. The storage unit 208 may record the association between the data type and the TID by the TID allocation unit 202, the TID-To-Link Mapping generated by the communication I / F allocation unit 203, etc.

[0029] The control unit 209 controls each functional unit of the communication device 200 according to signals input from each functional unit of the communication device 200 and control programs stored in the storage unit 208. For example, the control unit 209 may control the TID allocation unit 202 to associate a TID with each data type. The control unit 209 may also control the communication I / F allocation unit 203 to perform link allocation and generate TID-To-Link Mapping. The control unit 209 may assign one or more links to each data type by associating a TID with a data type and allocating a link to each TID. The control unit 209 may also execute control related to MLD, such as signal processing for establishing a multilink. Furthermore, the control unit 209 may control the multilink information generation unit 204 to generate information and information elements required to establish a multilink with another communication device. Note that a plurality of hardware may operate as the control unit 209 by sharing and cooperating in the process for controlling each functional unit of the communication device 200.

[0030] The information communication terminal 300 is configured similarly to the communication device 200. A communication unit 301, a TID allocation unit 302, and a communication I / F allocation unit 303 of the information communication terminal 300 are respectively similar to the communication unit 201, the TID allocation unit 202, and the communication I / F allocation unit 203 of the communication device 200. A multi-link information generation unit 304, a display unit 305, an operation unit 306, and an imaging unit 307 of the information communication terminal 300 are respectively similar to the multi-link information generation unit 204, the display unit 205, the operation unit 206, and the imaging unit 207 of the communication device 200. A storage unit 308 and a control unit 309 of the information communication terminal 300 are respectively similar to the storage unit 208 and the control unit 209 of the communication device 200.

[0031] The display unit 305 and the operation unit 306 may be integrated into a touch panel or the like. For example, an application may be started by a user touching an icon of the application displayed on the display unit. Such an application operation by the user on the touch panel may be notified to the communication device 200 as a wireless signal, whereby image data stored in the communication device 200 may be downloaded. Similarly, the communication device 200 may be controlled by a user operation.

[0032] 4 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the communication device 200. The communication device 200 has, for example, a storage unit 401, a control unit 402, a function unit 403, an input unit 404, an output unit 405, a communication unit 406, and an antenna 407 as an example of its hardware configuration. The communication device 200 may have a plurality of antennas. In this embodiment, the information communication terminal 300 has the same hardware configuration as the communication device 200, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0033] The storage unit 401 is configured with one or more memories including a ROM, a RAM, etc., and may store various information such as control programs for each functional unit constituting the communication device 200 to perform various operations and parameters for communication. ROM and RAM are abbreviations for Read Only Memory and Random Access Memory, respectively. The storage unit 401 may be configured to include storage media such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, and a DVD, in addition to memories such as a ROM and a RAM.

[0034] The control unit 402 is configured with one or more processors including, for example, a CPU, an MPU, etc., and controls the entire communication device 200 by executing a control program stored in the storage unit 401. The control unit 402 may control the entire communication device 200 in cooperation with the control program stored in the storage unit 401 and an OS (Operating System). The control unit 402 also generates signals for establishing multi-links with other communication devices and data (wireless frames) in multi-link communication. The CPU and MPU are abbreviations for Central Processing Unit and Micro Processing Unit, respectively. When the control unit 402 has multiple processors that can be implemented by multi-cores, etc., the entire communication device 200 may be configured to be controlled by the multiple processors.

[0035] Furthermore, the control unit 402 controls the functional unit 403 to execute predetermined processes such as communication, image capture, printing, and projection. The functional unit 403 is hardware for the communication device 200 to execute the above-mentioned predetermined processes. For example, if the device is a camera, the functional unit 403 is an image capture unit and performs image capture processing. Also, for example, if the device is a printer, the functional unit 403 is a print unit and performs print processing. Also, for example, if the device is a projector, the functional unit 403 is a projection unit and performs projection processing.

[0036] The input unit 404 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 405 outputs various types of information to the user via a monitor screen or a speaker. The output from the output unit 405 may be a display on a monitor screen, a voice output from a speaker, a vibration output, or the like. The input unit 404 and the output unit 405 may both be implemented as a single module, such as a touch panel. The input unit 404 and the output unit 405 may be devices integrated with the communication device 200, or may be separate devices.

[0037] The communication unit 406 controls wireless communication conforming to the IEEE802.11be standard. The communication unit 406 may control wireless communication conforming to other IEEE802.11 series standards such as legacy standards in addition to the IEEE802.11be standard. The communication unit 406 controls the antenna 407 to transmit and receive signals for wireless communication generated by the control unit 402. The communication unit 406 is a so-called wireless chip, and may itself include one or more processors and memories. In addition to the IEEE802.11be standard, if the communication device 200 supports other wireless communication standards such as the NFC standard and the Bluetooth standard, or wired communication such as a wired LAN, the communication unit 406 may control communication conforming to these communication standards. In addition, if the communication device 200 can perform wireless communication conforming to multiple communication standards, the communication device 200 may have a configuration in which a communication unit and an antenna corresponding to each communication standard are individually included. The communication device 200 communicates data such as image data, control data, and document data with the information communication terminal 300 via the communication unit 406. The antenna 407 may be configured separately from the communication unit 406, or may be configured together with the communication unit 406 as one module.

[0038] Antenna 407 is an antenna capable of communication in, for example, the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, the 6 GHz band, millimeter waves, etc. In Fig. 4, communication device 200 is shown having two antennas 407, but communication device 200 may have one or three or more antennas, and may have one or more antennas for each frequency band that the device can use. In addition, when communication device 200 has multiple antennas, communication device 200 may have a communication unit 406 for each antenna.

[0039] (Multi-link establishment flow) FIG. 5 is a sequence example when the communication device 200 establishes a multi-link with the information terminal device 300. The communication device 200 operates as an AP MLD by a control program executed by the control unit 209, and the information communication terminal 300 operates as an STA MLD by a control program executed by the control unit 309. Here, as described above, the communication unit 201 of the communication device 200 has three communication I / Fs, and in FIG. 5, these communication I / Fs are respectively shown as AP501, AP502, and AP503. The APs 501 to 503 may be called Affiliated APs without being differentiated from each other. The communication unit 301 of the information communication terminal 300 also has three communication I / Fs, and in FIG. 5, these communication I / Fs are respectively shown as STA511, STA512, and STA513. The STAs 511 to 513 may be called Affiliated STAs without being differentiated from each other.

[0040] The control unit 209 periodically broadcasts a Beacon frame (hereinafter, referred to as a Beacon) using each Affiliated AP. Prior to broadcasting a Beacon, the control unit 209 instructs the multilink information generating unit 204 to generate a Basic ML Element, an RNR Element, an SSID Element, and the like. The multilink information generating unit 204 generates a Basic ML Element, and the like (S521), and notifies the control unit 209. The control unit 209 instructs the communication unit 201 to transmit a Beacon including a Basic ML Element, and the like. The communication unit 201 transmits a Beacon using each of the APs 501 to 503 (S522). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the STA 511 of the information communication terminal 300 first receives a Beacon from the communication device 200, and the subsequent sequence will be described.

[0041] When the STA 511 receives the Beacon transmitted by the AP 501, it notifies the control unit 309 of the Basic ML Element and the like contained in the Beacon. The control unit 309 confirms from the Basic ML Element and the like that the source of the Beacon supports multi-link communication, and obtains information necessary for establishing a multi-link (S523). The control unit 309 also obtains the ESSID from the SSID Element as an identifier of the network formed by the communication device 200.

[0042] The control unit 309 instructs the STA 511 to transmit a Probe Request frame (hereinafter, Probe Request) including an SSID Element generated based on the ESSID of the communication device 200. The STA 511 transmits the Probe Request to the AP 501 (S524). When the AP 501 receives the Probe Request, it notifies the control unit 209 of the ESSID Element and the like included in the Probe Request. When the ESSID included in the ESSID Element matches its own ESSID, the control unit 209 instructs the AP 501 to transmit a Probe Response frame (hereinafter, Probe Response) to the STA 511. The AP 501 transmits the Probe Response to the STA 511 (S525). When the STA 511 receives the Probe Response from the AP 501, it notifies the control unit 309. When the control unit 309 receives the Probe Response, it starts the next step, authentication.

[0043] The control unit 309 instructs the STA 511, which has received the Probe Response, to transmit an authentication frame (hereinafter, Authentication) to the AP 501. The STA 511 transmits Authentication to the AP 501 (S526). When the AP 501 receives Authentication from the STA 511, it notifies the control unit 209. The control unit 209 determines whether the authentication is successful based on the received Authentication, and instructs the AP 501 to transmit Authentication including the determination result to the STA 511. The AP 501 transmits Authentication to the STA 511 (S527). When the STA 511 receives Authentication from the AP 501, it notifies the control unit 309. When the control unit 309 receives Authentication, authentication is completed. Note that the authentication method may be, but is not limited to, common key authentication, open authentication, 802.1X authentication, etc. In addition to the authentication judgment, processing may be performed between control unit 209 and control unit 309 to mutually confirm that the other device is an MLD.

[0044] The control unit 309 instructs the STA 511 to transmit an Association Request frame (hereinafter, Association Request) to the AP 501. The Association Request is also called a connection request. The Association Request includes a Basic ML Element including profile information of each Affiliated STA. The profile information may include the address of each Affiliated STA, information on the link to be used, and the like. The STA 511 transmits the Association Request to the AP 501 (S528). Upon receiving the Association Request from the AP 501, the STA 511 notifies the control unit 209. The control unit 209 acquires the profile information of each Affiliated STA from the received Association Request, thereby identifying the links to be the targets of the multi-link communication, and the like.

[0045] When the control unit 209 receives the Association Request, it assigns one or more links to the data type to be communicated (S529). By assigning an appropriate data type and link when the Association Request is received, it is possible to flexibly and efficiently use frequency resources according to the link usage status at the time when the request is generated. First, the control unit 209 instructs the TID assignment unit 202 to associate a TID with each of still image data, video data, and other data. For example, video data is assigned to TID5, still image data to TID4, and other data to TID1. In this case, the TIDs for image data are TID4 and TID5, and the TID for non-image data is TID1. If there is no data to be communicated at the time when the Association Request is received, each data type may be associated with a TID after the multi-link is established.

[0046] Next, the control unit 209 instructs the communication I / F allocation unit 203 to allocate one or more of the links 101 to 103 to each of the image data TID and the non-image data TID. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 allocates one or more of the links 101 to 103 to each of the image data TID and the non-image data TID. For example, the link 103 using the 6 GHz band is allocated to the image data TID, and the link 101 using the 2.4 GHz band is allocated to the non-image data TID. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 generates a TID-To-Link Mapping and notifies the control unit 209.

[0047] The control unit 209 instructs the information generating unit 204 for multilink to create a TID-To-Link Mapping Element based on the notified TID-To-Link Mapping. The information generating unit 204 creates a TID-To-Link Mapping Element based on the notified TID-To-Link Mapping, and notifies the control unit 209. The control unit 209 instructs the AP 501 to transmit an Association Response (hereinafter, Association Response) including the TID-To-Link Mapping Element to the STA 511. The AP 501 transmits the Association Response to the STA 511 (S530). When the STA 511 receives the Association Response, it notifies the control unit 309 of the TID-To-Link Mapping Element included in this Association Response.

[0048] When the control unit 309 acquires the TID-To-Link Mapping Element, the control unit 309 reflects the TID-To-Link Mapping set by the control unit 209 in the TID-To-Link Mapping in the storage unit 208 (S531). As a result, a multi-link between the control unit 209 and the control unit 309 is established, and the allocation of the TID and link between the control unit 209 and the control unit 309 is completed. After this, an encryption key is acquired between the control unit 209 and the control unit 309 by a 4-way handshake, but a detailed description will be omitted.

[0049] The TID-To-Link Mapping Element may be notified by a Beacon or a Probe Request. In this case, the AP MLD may generate the TID-To-Link Mapping before the establishment of the multilink. When the same TID-To-Link Mapping is used to perform multilink communication with a plurality of other devices, individual processing between the communication devices can be omitted by assigning a link to each TID in advance in a fixed manner. The TID-To-Link Mapping may be notified by using a new wireless frame such as a TID-To-Link Mapping Request and a TID-To-Link Mapping Response. When the TID-To-Link Mapping is not created when establishing the multilink communication, the TID-To-Link Mapping can be notified by using a new wireless frame. When it becomes necessary to change the TID-To-Link Mapping due to a change in the communication environment, the TID-To-Link Mapping can be updated by using a new wireless frame.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the TID-To-Link Mapping Element according to the present embodiment. The TID-To-Link Mapping Element is included in an Association Request and an Association Response. The TID-To-Link Mapping Element may be included in a Reassociation Request and a Reassociation Response, etc. The TID-To-Link Mapping Element may also be included in a Beacon, a Probe Request, a Probe Response, an Authentication, etc. The TID-To-Link Mapping Element may also be included in a new radio frame such as a TID-To-Link Mapping Request frame and a TID-To-Link Mapping Response frame. The TID-To-Link Mapping Element may not be included in all radio frames, and a plurality of TID-To-Link Mapping Elements may be included in one radio frame. For example, a TID-To-Link Mapping Element for data in the downlink direction and a TID-To-Link Mapping Element for data in the uplink direction may be included in one radio frame. The downlink is a link for transmitting data from an AP to a STA, and the uplink is a link for transmitting data from a STA to an AP.

[0051] The TID-To-Link Mapping Element includes an Element ID field 601, a Length field 602, and an Element ID Extension field 603. Furthermore, the TID-To-Link Mapping Element may include a TID-To-Link Mapping Control field 604 and a Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n.

[0052] A value indicating that this IE is a TID-To-Link Mapping Element is stored in an Element ID field 601 and an Element ID Extension field 603. For example, the values ​​of the Element ID field 601 and the Element ID Extension field 603 are set to 255 and 109, respectively. A Length field 602 indicates the length of the entire IE.

[0053] The TID-To-Link Mapping Control field 604 includes a Direction field 611, a Default Link Mapping field 612, and a Link Mapping Size field 613. The TID-To-Link Mapping Control field 604 further includes a Link Mapping Presence Indicator field 614.

[0054] The Direction field 611 indicates the direction of communication to which this IE is applied. When this IE is applied only to communication in the downlink direction, 0 is stored. When this IE is applied only to uplink communication, 1 is stored. When this IE is applied to both, 2 is stored. The Default Link Mapping field 612 is a field for indicating whether or not the TID-To-Link Mapping is a default value. When the Default Link Mapping field 612 is 1, the default value is applied to the TID-To-Link Mapping. Here, the default value indicates that all links are assigned to each TID. That is, when the TID-To-Link Mapping is the default value, data associated with each TID can be communicated using all links. On the other hand, for example, when a certain link is made unavailable for some TIDs, the Default Link Mapping field 612 is set to 0. In this embodiment, different links are assigned to the image data TID and the non-image data TID, so the Default Link Mapping field 612 is set to 0.

[0055] The Link Mapping Size field 613 indicates the length of the following Link Mapping Of TID n field 605. If the length of the Link Mapping Of TID n field 605 is 1 octet, the Link Mapping Size field 613 is set to 1. If the length of the Link Mapping Of TID n field 605 is 2 octets, the Link Mapping Size field 613 is set to 0.

[0056] The Link Mapping Presence Indicator field 614 indicates whether or not a corresponding field exists for each TID with respect to the Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n by using a bitmap. For example, when the first bit of the Link Mapping Presence Indicator field 614 is 1, it indicates that the Link Mapping Of TID 0 field 605-0 corresponding to TID0 exists. In this embodiment, when TID4 and TID5 are used as the image data TIDs and TID1 is used as the non-image data TID, the 1st, 4th, and 5th bits corresponding to these TIDs are set to 1. Note that when the Default Link Mapping field 612 is 1, the Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n does not exist.

[0057] The Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n expresses the TID-To-Link Mapping in a bitmap format. The value of n ranges from 0 to 7, and corresponds to each TID. For example, TID4 and TID5 as TIDs for image data correspond to the Link Mapping Of TID 4 field 605-4 and the Link Mapping Of TID 5 field 605-5, respectively. Also, TID1 as a TID for non-image data corresponds to the Link Mapping Of TID 1 field 605-1.

[0058] Each Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n is composed of 8 bits. The position of each bit is associated with the link corresponding to that position. For example, link 101 corresponds to the first bit of each Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n as LINK ID=1. Link 102 corresponds to the second bit of each Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n as LINK ID=2. Link 103 corresponds to the third bit of each Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n as LINK ID=3. In this embodiment, since there are three links formed by the communication unit 201, the fourth bit and subsequent bits of each Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n are set to 0.

[0059] For example, it is assumed that link 103 in the 6 GHz band is assigned to the image data TID, and link 101 in the 2.4 GHz band is assigned to the non-image data TID. In this case, the third bit of the Link Mapping Of TID 4 field 605-4 and the Link Mapping Of TID 5 field 605-5, which respectively correspond to the image data TID, is set to 1. Also, the first bit of the Link Mapping Of TID 1 field 605-1, which corresponds to the non-image data TID, is set to 1. The information communication terminal 300 that has received the TID-To-Link Mapping Element can acquire the TID-To-Link Mapping in the communication device 200 from the Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n.

[0060] FIG. 7 shows an example of a flow chart of link allocation for image data TID according to the present embodiment. The communication device 200 assigns a priority for communication speed to each link based on the characteristics of each link, and assigns links so that the higher the transmission priority of a TID is, the higher the link is assigned a priority indicating a higher communication speed. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the higher the frequency band used for each link is, the higher the priority is assigned to the link. This is because a high frequency band has a wide available frequency bandwidth and a large number of available frequency channels, so that a link using a high frequency band is more likely to be able to perform high-speed communication. In this way, by performing link allocation for an identifier associated with a data identifier while taking into consideration the characteristics of the link, it is possible to assign an appropriate link for the type of data.

[0061] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 obtains the number of links (unassigned links) that are not assigned to any TID, and determines whether the number of links is two or more (S701). The communication I / F allocation unit 203 can calculate the number of unassigned links by, for example, identifying links that have already been assigned to any TID based on the TID-To-Link Mapping recorded in the storage unit 208. Furthermore, when the control unit 209 requests the communication I / F allocation unit 203 to assign a link, the control unit 209 may notify the communication I / F allocation unit 203 of the unassigned links.

[0062] If the number of unassigned links is two or more (YES in S701), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 determines whether the signal reception strength of the unassigned links using the 6 GHz band exceeds a threshold (S702). The signal reception strength is the strength of the signal received by the communication device 200 from the information communication device 300, and may be calculated using the power of the signal received by the communication unit 201, for example. If there is one or more unassigned 6 GHz links whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (YES in S702), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns the link with the highest signal reception strength among them to the image data TID (S703). If there are multiple unassigned links, a link that can perform faster communication can be assigned to the image data TID. Note that if there are multiple links whose signal reception strength exceeds a predetermined value, any of the multiple links may be assigned to the image data TID randomly or based on a predetermined rule. Thereafter, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 determines whether to further allocate other unallocated links to the image data TID (S704). For example, when the amount of image data to be communicated is large or when the image data is to be communicated in a short period of time, the time required for communication can be reduced by allocating multiple links to the image data TID. If multiple links are to be allocated to the image data TID (YES in S704), the process returns to step S701. If no other unallocated links are to be allocated (NO in S704), the process ends.

[0063] If the number of unassigned links is less than two (NO in S701), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 ends the allocation process. For example, if multi-link communication is not possible because there are not multiple unassigned links or if multiple links cannot be assigned to the image data TID, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 may end the allocation process. Note that if the number of unassigned links is less than two, the communication I / F allocation unit 206 may assign the same link to both the image data TID and the non-image data TID.

[0064] If there is no unassigned 6 GHz link whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (NO in S702), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 determines whether the signal reception strength exceeds the threshold for unassigned links using the 5 GHz band (S705). If there is one or more unassigned 5 GHz links whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (YES in S705), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns the link with the highest signal reception strength to the image data TID (S706). Note that if there are multiple links whose signal reception strength exceeds a predetermined value, any one of the multiple links may be assigned to the image data TID randomly or based on a predetermined rule. Subsequent processing is the same as in step S704.

[0065] If there is no unallocated link in 5 GHz whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (NO in S705), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 determines whether the signal reception strength exceeds the threshold for the unallocated links using the 2.4 GHz band (S707). If there is one or more unallocated links in the 2.4 GHz band whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (YES in S707), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns the link with the highest signal reception strength among them to the image data TID (S708). Note that if there are multiple links whose signal reception strength exceeds a predetermined value, any of the multiple links may be assigned to the image data TID randomly or based on a predetermined rule. Subsequent processing is the same as in step S704. Subsequent processing is the same as in step S704.

[0066] If there is no unassigned link of 2.4 GHz whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (NO in S707), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 targets all links and assigns a higher priority to a link with a stronger signal reception strength. In this case, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns the link with the highest signal reception strength among all unassigned links to the image data TID (S709), regardless of the frequency band used by each unassigned link. Note that this is only an example, and if there are multiple links whose signal reception strength exceeds a predetermined value, any of the multiple links may be assigned to the image data TID randomly or based on a predetermined rule. Subsequent processing is the same as in step S704. Even if there is no unassigned link with sufficient signal reception strength, it is possible to assign a link to the image TID.

[0067] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may perform link allocation using interference power instead of the signal reception strength. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may assign a higher priority to links with smaller interference power. The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may also assign links with interference power smaller than a threshold to each TID. The interference power is the reception strength of an interference signal caused by another communication device using a frequency used in each link, or the proportion of a period occupied by an interference signal in a certain period. The interference power can be calculated using the power of a signal received by the communication unit 201. By using the interference power in link allocation, link allocation can be performed taking into account the period during which a link cannot be used due to interference.

[0068] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may allocate links using the frequency bandwidth used by each link instead of the frequency band used by each link as the link characteristics. In this case, the higher the priority given to the link, the wider the frequency bandwidth used by each link. For example, when the link 101 uses a frequency band of 20 MHz, the link 102 uses a frequency band of 80 MHz, and the link 103 uses a frequency band of 40 MHz, the presence or absence of an unallocated link may be determined in the order of the link 102, the link 103, and the link 102. When the frequency bandwidths used for the links are different, it is possible to allocate the link using the wider frequency bandwidth to the image TID. By using a narrow frequency band, the received power strength of the signal per bandwidth can be relatively increased. Therefore, the narrower the bandwidth of the link, the more reliable the communication can be. When the priority of the reliable communication is high, the higher the priority may be given to the link using the narrower frequency bandwidth.

[0069] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may determine the priority to be assigned to each link based on the reception strength of the signal from the information communication terminal 300 in each link as the link characteristic, regardless of the frequency band used by each link. As an example, a higher priority may be assigned to a link with a higher reception strength of the signal. In addition, since the higher the frequency, the shorter the distance that the signal travels, when the distance between the devices is large, a link using a lower frequency band can obtain a higher reception strength than a link using a higher frequency band, and as a result, a higher communication speed may be obtained. Therefore, a higher priority may be assigned to a link with a lower frequency band. In addition, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 may use the interference power in each link as the link characteristic. Since a high communication speed may not be obtained in a link with a high interference power, a higher priority may be assigned to a link with a low interference power.

[0070] Fig. 8 shows an example of a flowchart of link allocation for non-image data TIDs according to this embodiment. The communication device 200 assigns a priority regarding communication speed to each link, and assigns links such that the lower the transmission priority level of a TID, the lower the link assigned a priority indicating a lower communication speed. In this embodiment, based on the frequency band used by each link, a lower priority is assigned to a link using a lower frequency band. Note that in this flowchart, the same processing as in the flowchart of Fig. 7 can be applied, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0071] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 obtains the number of unallocated links and determines whether the number is 1 or not (S801). If the number of unallocated links is 1 (YES in S801), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns this unallocated link to a non-image data TID (S802) and ends the process.

[0072] If the number of unassigned links is two or more (NO in S801), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 determines whether the signal reception strength of the unassigned links using the 2.4 GHz band exceeds a threshold (S803). If there is one or more unassigned links in the 2.4 GHz band whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (YES in S803), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns the link with the highest signal reception strength among them to the non-image data TID (S804) and ends the process. Note that if there are multiple links whose signal reception strength exceeds a predetermined value, any of the multiple links may be assigned to the non-image data TID randomly or based on a predetermined rule. The subsequent process is the same as step S704. In link assignment to the non-image data TID, unlike link assignment to the image data TID, the links using the 2.4 GHz band are evaluated first. This is because non-image data has a lower priority than image data, and the data size is small, so there is relatively little need to use links in the 5 GHz or 6 GHz bands that enable high-speed communication. Even if a link is assigned to a non-image data TID before an image data TID, if a link using the 2.4 GHz band is assigned to the non-image data TID, a link that enables high-speed communication can be assigned to the image data TID afterwards.

[0073] If there is no unassigned link in the 2.4 GHz band whose signal reception strength exceeds the threshold (NO in S803), the communication I / F allocation unit 203 assigns the link with the highest signal reception strength among all unassigned links, regardless of the frequency band used, to the non-image data TID (S805). Note that if there are multiple links whose signal reception strength exceeds a predetermined value, any one of the multiple links may be assigned to the image data TID randomly or based on a predetermined rule. Subsequent processing is the same as in step S704. After performing the assignment, the communication I / F allocation unit 203 ends the processing.

[0074] The communication I / F allocation unit 203 may allocate links to non-image data IDs using the frequency bandwidth used by each link instead of the frequency band used by each link. For example, when link 101 uses a frequency band of 20 MHz, link 102 uses a frequency band of 80 MHz, and link 103 uses a frequency band of 40 MHz, the presence or absence of unallocated links may be determined in the order of link 101, link 103, and link 102. Even when a link is allocated to a non-image data TID before an image data TID, if a link using a narrow frequency bandwidth is allocated to the non-image data TID, a link capable of high-speed communication can be allocated to the image data TID.

[0075] As described above, according to this embodiment, when establishing multi-link communication between the communication device 200 and the information communication terminal 300, the higher the priority of the data type, the more links using frequency bands that enable high-speed communication are assigned. Specifically, links in the 6 GHz band or 5 GHz band are assigned to image data associated with a high-priority TID, and links in the 2.4 GHz band are assigned to control data and other data. This allows links with appropriate characteristics to be assigned according to the type of data, and allows the multi-link to be used more efficiently.

[0076] In this embodiment, still image data and video data are treated as image data equally, but still image data and video data may be distinguished from each other and different links may be assigned to each data type. For example, when high priority is assigned in the order of video, still image, and others, processing may be performed in which TID4 is assigned to still image data and TID5 is assigned to video data, and a link using the 6 GHz band is assigned to TID5, and a link using the 5 GHz band is assigned to TID4. This makes it possible to mitigate the effect of communication of either still image data or video data putting pressure on the other communication. Furthermore, two links using the 6 GHz band and a link using the 5 GHz band may be assigned to the image data TID. By allocating many resources to image data, the time required for communication can be shortened. In this way, by allocating multiple links to a specific type of data, the data of that type can be communicated at high speed. In these cases, the bits corresponding to Link IDs 2 and 3 in the Link Mapping Of TID n field 605-n corresponding to each TID are set to 1.

[0077] In addition, although the present embodiment has been described with respect to image data, the type of data may be voice data. In this case, according to Fig. 3, voice data is associated with TID6 or TID7, and is assigned a link with a higher priority than image data. In this way, by assigning TIDs to data to be transmitted and received, it becomes possible to flexibly control the links assigned for communication of each data.

[0078] (Embodiment 2) In this embodiment, the information communication terminal 300 operates as an AP, and the communication device 200 operates as an STA. In the first embodiment, the communication device 200 operating as an AP performs link allocation for a data type, but in this embodiment, the communication device 200, which is an STA, performs link allocation for a data type, which is different. Therefore, the system configuration, the configuration of each device, the flow chart of link allocation, etc. are similar to those of the first embodiment, but the sequence for establishing a multi-link between devices is different.

[0079] FIG. 9 is a sequence example when the communication device 200 establishes multi-link communication with the information communication terminal 300. The communication device 200 operates as a STA MLD, and the information communication terminal 300 operates as an AP MLD. Here, the communication device 200 has a communication unit 201 having three communication I / Fs, and in FIG. 9, these communication I / Fs are respectively shown as STA911, STA912, and STA913. The STAs 911 to 913 may be called Affiliated STAs without being differentiated from each other. The information communication terminal 300 also has a communication unit 301 having three communication I / Fs, and in FIG. 9, these communication I / Fs are respectively shown as AP901, AP902, and AP903. The APs 901 to 903 may be called Affiliated APs without being differentiated from each other. 9 are similar to S521 to S527 in FIG. 5, and the only difference is that the roles of the communication device 200 as the AP and the information communication terminal 300 as the STA are interchanged, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0080] When the authentication is completed, the control unit 209 generates a TID-To-Link Mapping (S929) in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the control unit 209 operating as an AP generates a TID-To-Link Mapping when it receives an Association Request. In this embodiment, the control unit 209 operating as an STA generates a TID-To-Link Mapping before transmitting an Association Request. The link to be the target of the multi-link communication is specified from the Basic ML Element and the RNR Element included in the Beacon. The control unit 209 generates a TID-To-Link Mapping Element based on the TID-To-Link Mapping, and instructs the STA 911 to include the TID-To-Link Mapping Element in the Association Request and transmit it to the AP 901. The STA 911 transmits an Association Request including the TID-To-Link Mapping Element to the AP 901 (S928).

[0081] When the AP 901 receives the Association Request, it notifies the control unit 309 of the TID-To-Link Mapping Element included in this Association Request. When the control unit 309 acquires the TID-To-Link Mapping Element, it reflects the TID-To-Link Mapping set by the control unit 209 in the TID-To-Link Mapping in the storage unit 308 (S931).

[0082] The control unit 309 instructs the AP 901 to transmit an Association Response to the STA 911. The AP 901 transmits the Association Response to the STA 911 (S930). Upon receiving the Association Response, the STA 911 notifies the control unit 209. The control unit 209 confirms that the reflection of the TID-To-Link Mapping in the control unit 309 has been completed based on a success code or the like included in the Association Response. As a result, multi-link communication between the control unit 209 and the control unit 309 is established, and the allocation of the TID and link between the control unit 209 and the control unit 309 is completed.

[0083] According to this embodiment, even when the communication device 200 operates as a STA MLD and the information communication terminal 300 operates as an AP MLD, the higher the priority of the data type, the more links using a frequency band capable of high-speed communication are assigned, as in the first embodiment. This allows links with appropriate characteristics to be assigned according to the data type, and allows the multilink to be used more efficiently. In addition, by having the STA side perform link assignment, it becomes possible to perform link assignment taking into account interference that cannot be detected on the AP side.

[0084] The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0085] (Summary of the embodiment) At least some of the above-described embodiments can be summarized as follows. (Item 1) A communication means capable of communicating with other communication devices using a plurality of links; means for identifying a characteristic of each of the plurality of links; and an allocation means for allocating one or more of the plurality of links to each of one or more types of data to be communicated with the other communication device based on the characteristics. A communication device comprising: (Item 2) The allocation means allocates one or more of the links to an identifier associated with the type of data. 2. The communication device according to item 1, (Item 3) The identifier is a Traffic Identifier (TID) defined in the IEEE 802.11 series of standards. 3. The communication device according to item 2, (Item 4) and an assigning means for associating 4 or 5 as the TID when the type of the data is still image data or video data, and for associating any one of 0 to 3 as the TID when the type of the data is data related to the control of the other communication device. 4. The communication device according to item 3, (Item 5) The identifier is an Access Category (AC) defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard. 3. The communication device according to item 2, (Item 6) and an assigning means for associating "Video" as the AC when the type of the data is still image data or video data, and for associating "Best Effort" or "Background" as the AC when the type of the data is data related to the control of the other communication device. 6. The communication device according to item 5, (Item 7) A first priority in terms of transmission priority is assigned to the identifier; a second priority in terms of communication speed is assigned to each link included in the plurality of links based on the characteristic; The allocation means allocates the link to which the second priority, which indicates a higher communication speed, is assigned to the identifier to which the first priority, which indicates a higher priority of transmission, is assigned. 7. The communication device according to any one of items 2 to 6, (Item 8) the characteristic is a frequency band used in each of the plurality of links; The higher the frequency band used by a link, the higher the second priority is assigned to the link. 8. The communication device according to item 7, (Item 9) the characteristic is a reception strength of a signal from the other communication device on each of the plurality of links; A link having a stronger reception strength of a signal from the other communication device is assigned a higher second priority. 8. The communication device according to item 7, (Item 10) the characteristic being a frequency bandwidth available for use in each of the plurality of links; The link with a wider available frequency bandwidth is assigned a higher priority as the second priority. 8. The communication device according to item 7, (Item 11) the characteristic being an interference power in each of the plurality of links; The smaller the interference power of the link, the higher the second priority is assigned to the link. 8. The communication device according to item 7, (Item 12) The allocation means allocates to the identifier, among the plurality of links, a link in which the reception strength of the signal from the other communication device is greater than a predetermined threshold or a link in which the interference power is smaller than a predetermined threshold, based on the second priority. 12. The communication device according to any one of items 7 to 11, (Item 13) The plurality of links includes two or more links using the same frequency band. 13. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 12, (Item 14) Each of the links in the plurality of links uses one of the following frequency bands: 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, or millimeter wave band. 14. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 13, (Item 15) The allocation means allocates one or more of the plurality of links to the type of data when the plurality of links are established with the other communication device. 15. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 14, (Item 16) The communication device operates as an access point defined in the IEEE 802.11 series of standards. 16. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 15, (Item 17) The allocation means, when receiving a connection request for establishing the plurality of links from the other communication device, allocates one or more of the plurality of links to the type of data. 17. The communication device according to item 16, characterized in that (Item 18) The communication device operates as a station as defined in the IEEE 802.11 series of standards. 16. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 15, (Item 19) The allocation means performs link allocation before transmitting a connection request for establishing a plurality of links from the other communication device. 20. The communication device according to item 18, characterized in that (Item 20) The allocation means notifies the other communication device of allocation information indicating the allocation of the plurality of links by using a Beacon frame, a Probe Request frame, a Probe Response frame, an Association Request frame, an Association Response frame, a Re-Association Request frame, a Re-Association Response frame, or a new frame for notifying the allocation information, which are defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard. 20. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 19, (Item 21) The allocation means executes a process for establishing a multi-link defined in the IEEE 802.11be standard. 21. The communication device according to any one of items 1 to 20, (Item 22) 1. A control method executed by a communication device capable of communicating with another communication device using a plurality of links, comprising: identifying a characteristic of each of the plurality of links; and an allocation step of allocating one or more of the plurality of links to each of one or more types of data to be communicated with the other communication device based on the characteristics. A control method comprising: (Item 23) A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to any one of items 1 to 21.

[0086] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 200: communication device, 300: information communication terminal, 201: communication unit, 209: control unit

Claims

1. A communication means capable of communicating with other communication devices using a plurality of links; means for identifying a characteristic of each of the plurality of links; and an allocation means for allocating one or more of the plurality of links to each of one or more types of data to be communicated with the other communication device based on the characteristics. A communication device comprising:

2. The allocation means allocates one or more of the links to an identifier associated with the type of data.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

3. The identifier is a Traffic Identifier (TID) defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard.

3. The communication device according to claim 2.

4. and an assigning means for associating 4 or 5 as the TID when the type of the data is still image data or video data, and for associating any one of 0 to 3 as the TID when the type of the data is data related to the control of the other communication device.

4. The communication device according to claim 3.

5. The identifier is an Access Category (AC) defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard.

3. The communication device according to claim 2.

6. and an assigning means for associating "Video" as the AC when the type of the data is still image data or video data, and for associating "Best Effort" or "Background" as the AC when the type of the data is data related to the control of the other communication device.

6. The communication device according to claim 5,

7. a first priority in terms of transmission priority is assigned to the identifier; a second priority regarding a communication speed is assigned to each link included in the plurality of links based on the characteristic; The allocation means allocates a link to which the second priority, which indicates a higher communication speed, is assigned to an identifier to which the first priority, which indicates a higher priority of transmission, is assigned.

3. The communication device according to claim 2.

8. the characteristic is a frequency band used in each of the plurality of links; The higher the frequency band used by a link, the higher the second priority is assigned to the link.

8. The communication device according to claim 7,

9. the characteristic is a reception strength of a signal from the other communication device on each of the plurality of links; A link having a stronger reception strength of a signal from the other communication device is assigned a higher second priority.

8. The communication device according to claim 7,

10. the characteristic being a frequency bandwidth available for use in each of the plurality of links; The link with a wider available frequency bandwidth is assigned a higher second priority.

8. The communication device according to claim 7,

11. the characteristic being an interference power in each of the plurality of links; The smaller the interference power of the link, the higher the second priority is assigned to the link.

8. The communication device according to claim 7,

12. The allocation means allocates to the identifier, among the plurality of links, a link in which the reception strength of the signal from the other communication device is greater than a predetermined threshold or a link in which the interference power is less than a predetermined threshold, based on the second priority.

8. The communication device according to claim 7,

13. The plurality of links includes two or more links that use the same frequency band.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

14. Each of the links in the plurality of links uses one of the following frequency bands: 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, or millimeter wave band.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

15. The allocation means allocates one or more of the plurality of links to the type of data when the plurality of links are established with the other communication device.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

16. The communication device operates as an access point defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

17. The allocation means, when receiving a connection request for establishing the plurality of links from the other communication device, allocates one or more of the plurality of links to the type of data.

17. The communication device according to claim 16,

18. The communication device operates as a station defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

19. The allocation means performs link allocation before transmitting a connection request for establishing a plurality of links from the other communication device.

20. The communication device according to claim 18,

20. The allocation means notifies the other communication device of allocation information indicating the allocation of the plurality of links by using a Beacon frame, a Probe Request frame, a Probe Response frame, an Association Request frame, an Association Response frame, a Re-Association Request frame, or a Re-Association Response frame, which are defined in the IEEE 802.11 series standard, or a new frame for notifying the allocation information.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

21. The allocation means executes a process for establishing a multi-link as defined in the IEEE 802.11be standard.

2. The communication device according to claim 1 .

22. 1. A control method executed by a communication device capable of communicating with another communication device using a plurality of links, comprising: identifying a characteristic of each of the plurality of links; and an allocation step of allocating one or more of the plurality of links to each of one or more types of data to be communicated with the other communication device based on the characteristics. A control method comprising:

23. A program for causing a computer to function as the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

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