Communication device, communication method, and program

Abstract

To introduce procedures when accepting only part of requested TIDs and links, thereby efficiently performing allocation processing.SOLUTION: A communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with other communication devices, is configured to: receive requests on the allocation of traffic identifiers (TIDs) indicating the priority of data and the links; and transmit responses to the received requests. At this time, when accepting a first request among the received requests and not accepting a second request among the received requests, the communication device accepts the first request and transmits a response indicating that it does not accept the second request.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method, and a program for performing wireless communication.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the development of wireless communication technologies such as wireless LAN (Local Area Network) has been promoted. As the main communication standards for wireless LAN, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard series is known. The IEEE 802.11 standard series includes standards such as IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax. For example, in the latest standard IEEE 802.11ax, technologies for improving the communication speed under congested conditions in addition to a high peak throughput of up to 9.6 gigabits per second (Gbps) using OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) have been standardized (see Patent Document 1). Note that OFDMA is an abbreviation for Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access.

[0003] As a successor standard aiming for further throughput improvement, frequency utilization efficiency improvement, and communication latency improvement, a task group called IEEE 802.11be has been established.

[0004] In IEEE 802.11be, Multi-Link communication is being considered in which one AP establishes multiple links with one STA (Station) in frequency bands such as 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands and performs simultaneous communication.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] In Multi-Link communication being considered for introduction in IEEE802.11be, it is being considered to associate (allocate) the established link with a TID which is an identifier indicating the priority of data. By pre-assigning the TID to the link, it becomes possible to appropriately select which link to use for data communication according to the priority of the data.

[0007] The allocation of the TID is performed by one communication device (Non-AP MLD) requesting the allocation to the other communication device (AP MLD), and the communication device on the receiving side accepting it. For example, assume that there are three types of TIDs, "0", "1", and "2", and four links from "1" to "4". In this case, assume that the Non-AP MLD requests to allocate link "1" to TID "0", link "2" to TID "1", and links "3" and "4" to TID "2". In this situation, if the AP MLD accepts all of these, the allocation is determined as desired by the Non-AP MLD. On the other hand, if the AP MLD does not accept all (if it rejects all), the AP MLD can notify the Non-AP MLD of an alternative allocation plan.

[0008] However, there has been no conventional procedure assuming a case where the AP MLD accepts a part of the TID allocation requested by the Non-AP MLD (TID "0" in the above example) and does not accept the remaining part (TIDs "1" and "2" in the above example). For this reason, although a part of the requested allocation is acceptable, the presence of other unacceptable allocations forces all requests from the AP MLD to be rejected. In this case, the process for TID allocation has to be done all over again from the beginning, and there is a problem that the procedure becomes redundant and inefficient.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable efficient allocation processing by introducing a procedure for accepting only a part of the requested TID and link allocation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, a communication device of the present invention is a communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with other communication devices, and includes a receiving means for receiving a request regarding a TID (Traffic identifier) indicating the priority of data and link allocation, and a transmitting means for transmitting a response to the request received by the receiving means. The transmitting means is characterized in that when accepting a first request and not accepting a second request among the requests received by the receiving means, the first request is accepted and a response indicating that the second request is not accepted is transmitted.

[0011] Further, a communication device of the present invention is a communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with other communication devices, and includes a transmitting means for transmitting a request regarding a TID (Traffic identifier) indicating the priority of data and link allocation, and a receiving means for receiving a response to the request transmitted by the transmitting means. The receiving means is characterized in that when a first request is accepted and a second request is not accepted among the requests transmitted by the transmitting means, a response indicating that the first request is accepted and the second request is not accepted is received.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, by introducing a procedure for accepting only a part of the requested TID and link allocation, the allocation processing can be performed efficiently.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the configurations shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configurations.

[0015] (Configuration of Wireless Communication System) FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a network in which a communication device 101 (hereinafter, Non-AP MLD 101) according to this embodiment participates. A communication device 102 (hereinafter, AP MLD 102) is an access point (AP) having a role of constructing a wireless network 100. AP MLD 102 can communicate with Non-AP MLD 101. This embodiment is applied to Non-AP MLD 101 and AP MLD 102, respectively.

[0016] Each of Non-AP MLD 101 and AP MLD 102 can perform wireless communication compliant with the IEEE802.11be (EHT) standard. Note that IEEE is an abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Non-AP MLD 101 and AP MLD 102 can communicate at frequencies in the 2.4 Hz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band. The frequency band used by each communication device is not limited to this, and for example, the 60 GHz band may be used. Also, Non-AP MLD 101 and AP MLD 102 can communicate using bandwidths of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, and 320 MHz. The bandwidth used by each communication device is not limited to this, and for example, bandwidths such as 240 MHz and 4 MHz may be used.

[0017] Non-AP MLD 101 and AP MLD 102 can realize multi-user (MU) communication that multiplexes signals of a plurality of users by performing OFDMA communication compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard. OFDMA is an abbreviation for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access. In OFDMA communication, a part (RU, Resource Unit) of the divided frequency band is allocated so as not to overlap each STA, and the carriers of each STA are orthogonal. Therefore, the AP can communicate with a plurality of STAs in parallel within the specified bandwidth.

[0018] Generally, radio waves have different reach depending on the frequency. It is known that the lower the frequency, the greater the diffraction of the radio waves and the farther they can reach, while the higher the frequency, the smaller the diffraction and the shorter the reach. Even if there are obstacles in the middle, low-frequency radio waves can bypass the obstacles and reach, but high-frequency radio waves have high straightness and are difficult to bypass, and may not reach. On the other hand, the 2.4 GHz frequency is often used by other devices, and it is known that microwave ovens emit radio waves in the same frequency band. Thus, even for radio waves emitted by the same device, depending on the location and environment of placement, there may be differences in the strength of the radio waves reaching and the SN (Signal / Noise) ratio depending on the frequency band.

[0019] In addition, although Non-AP MLD101 and AP MLD102 are assumed to be compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard, they may also be compliant with legacy standards that are older than the IEEE802.11be standard. Specifically, Non-AP MLD101 and AP MLD102 may be compliant with at least one of the IEEE802.11a / b / g / n / ac / ax standards. Alternatively, they may be compliant with a standard that is a successor to IEEE802.11be.

[0020] In addition to the IEEE802.11 series standards, it may also be compliant with other communication standards such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC, UWB, ZigBee, and MBOA. Note that UWB is the abbreviation for Ultra Wide Band, MBOA is the abbreviation for Multi Band OFDM Alliance, and NFC is the abbreviation for Near Field Communication. UWB includes wireless USB, wireless 1394, WiNET, etc. It may also be compliant with communication standards for wired communications such as wired LAN.

[0021] Specific examples of the AP MLD102 include, but are not limited to, wireless LAN routers and personal computers (PCs). Further, the AP MLD102 may be an information processing device such as a wireless chip capable of performing wireless communication compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard. Specific examples of the Non-AP MLD101 include, but are not limited to, cameras, tablets, smartphones, PCs, mobile phones, video cameras, headsets, printers, etc. Further, the Non-AP MLD101 may be an information processing device such as a wireless chip capable of performing wireless communication compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard.

[0022] Further, the Non-AP MLD101 and the AP MLD102 perform Multi-Link communication in which links are established and communication is performed via a plurality of frequency channels. In the IEEE802.11 series standards, the bandwidth of each frequency channel is defined as 20 MHz. Here, the frequency channel is a frequency channel defined in the IEEE802.11 series standards, and in the IEEE802.11 series standards, a plurality of frequency channels are defined in each frequency band of the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, 6 GHz band, and 60 GHz band. Note that by bonding with adjacent frequency channels, a bandwidth of 40 MHz or more may be used in one frequency channel.

[0023] For example, AP MLD102 has the ability to establish a link and communicate with Non-AP MLD101 via a first frequency channel in the 2.4 GHz band. In parallel, Non-AP MLD101 has the ability to establish a link and communicate with AP MLD102 via a second frequency channel in the 5 GHz band. In this case, Non-AP MLD101 performs Multi-Link communication to maintain a second link via the second frequency channel in parallel with the link via the first frequency channel. In this way, by establishing links with Non-AP MLD101 via multiple frequency channels, AP MLD102 can improve the throughput in communication with Non-AP MLD101.

[0024] Note that in Multi-link communication, multiple links with different frequency bands may be established between communication devices. For example, Non-AP MLD101 may be enabled to establish links in the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band respectively. Alternatively, it may be enabled to establish links via a plurality of different channels included in the same frequency band. For example, a 6ch link in the 2.4 GHz band may be set as the first link, and in addition, a 1ch link in the 2.4 GHz band may be set as the second link. Note that links with the same frequency band and different links may be mixed. For example, in addition to the first link of 6ch in the 2.4 GHz band, Non-AP MLD101 may be able to establish a link of 1ch in the 2.4 GHz band and a link of 149ch in the 5 GHz band. By establishing a plurality of connections with different frequencies between Non-AP MLD101 and the AP, even when a certain band is congested, communication can be established between Non-AP MLD101 and the other band. This can prevent a decrease in throughput and communication delay in communication with Non-AP MLD101.

[0025] In the wireless network of FIG. 1, there is one AP MLD and one Non-AP MLD, but the number and arrangement of AP MLDs and Non-AP MLDs are not limited to this. For example, in addition to the wireless network of FIG. 1, one more Non-AP MLD may be added. At this time, the frequency band, number of links, and frequency width of each established link are not limited.

[0026] When performing Multi-link communication, the AP MLD 102 and the Non-AP MLD 101 transmit and receive data with the counterpart device via a plurality of links.

[0027] In addition, the AP MLD 102 and the Non-AP MLD 101 may be able to perform MIMO (Multiple-Input And Multiple-Output) communication. In this case, the AP MLD 102 and the Non-AP MLD 101 have a plurality of antennas, and one of them sends different signals from each antenna using the same frequency channel. The receiving side simultaneously receives all the signals that have arrived from a plurality of streams using a plurality of antennas, separates the signals of each stream, and decodes them. In this way, by performing MIMO communication, the AP MLD 102 and the Non-AP MLD 101 can communicate more data in the same time compared to the case where MIMO communication is not performed. Also, when the AP MLD 102 and the Non-AP MLD 101 perform Multi-link communication, they may perform MIMO communication on some of the links.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the Non-AP MLD 101 in this embodiment. The Non-AP MLD 101 includes a storage unit 201, a control unit 202, a functional unit 203, an input unit 204, an output unit 205, a communication unit 206, and an antenna 207. Note that there may be a plurality of antennas.

[0029] The storage unit 201 is composed of one or more memories such as ROM and RAM, and stores computer programs for performing various operations described later, as well as various information such as communication parameters for wireless communication. ROM is the abbreviation of Read Only Memory, and RAM is the abbreviation of Random Access Memory. In addition to memories such as ROM and RAM, storage media such as flexible disks, hard disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and DVDs may be used as the storage unit 201. Also, the storage unit 201 may include a plurality of memories and the like.

[0030] The control unit 202 is composed of one or more processors such as a CPU or an MPU, for example, and controls the entire Non-AP MLD101 by executing the computer program stored in the storage unit 201. Note that the control unit 202 may control the entire Non-AP MLD101 in cooperation with the computer program stored in the storage unit 201 and the OS (Operating System). Also, the control unit 202 generates data and signals (wireless frames) to be transmitted in communication with other communication devices. Note that CPU is the abbreviation of Central Processing Unit, and MPU is the abbreviation of Micro Processing Unit. Also, the control unit 202 may include a plurality of processors such as a multi-core, and control the entire Non-AP MLD101 by the plurality of processors.

[0031] In addition, the control unit 202 controls the functional unit 203 to execute predetermined processes such as wireless communication, imaging, printing, and projection. The functional unit 203 is hardware for the Non-AP MLD101 to execute predetermined processes.

[0032] The input unit 204 receives various operations from the user. The output unit 205 performs various outputs to the user via a monitor screen or a speaker. Here, the output by the output unit 205 may be a display on the monitor screen, an audio output by the speaker, a vibration output, or the like. Note that both the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be realized by one module such as a touch panel. Also, the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be integrated with the Non-AP MLD101, or may be separate entities.

[0033] The communication unit 206 controls wireless communication compliant with the IEEE802.11be standard. In addition to the IEEE802.11be standard, the communication unit 206 may control wireless communication compliant with other IEEE802.11 series standards or wired communication such as a wired LAN. The communication unit 206 controls the antenna 207 to transmit and receive signals for wireless communication generated by the control unit 202.

[0034] Note that when the Non-AP MLD101 supports communication standards such as the NFC standard and the Bluetooth standard in addition to the IEEE802.11be standard, it may control wireless communication compliant with these communication standards. Also, when the Non-AP MLD101 can execute wireless communication compliant with multiple communication standards, it may have a configuration with separate communication units and antennas corresponding to each communication standard. The Non-AP MLD101 communicates data such as image data, document data, and video data with the Non-AP MLD101 via the communication unit 206. Note that the antenna 207 may be configured separately from the communication unit 206, or may be configured as one module together with the communication unit 206.

[0035] Antenna 207 is an antenna capable of communication in the 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, and 6 GHz band. In this embodiment, Non-AP MLD101 is assumed to have one antenna, but it may have three antennas. Or it may have different antennas for each frequency band. Also, when Non-AP MLD101 has a plurality of antennas, it may have a communication unit 206 corresponding to each antenna.

[0036] AP MLD102 is assumed to have the same hardware configuration as Non-AP MLD101, but it is not limited to this. For example, the configurations of the input unit 204 and the output unit 205 may be different between AP MLD102 and Non-AP MLD101.

[0037] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the functional configuration of Non-AP MLD101 in this embodiment. It is assumed that AP MLD102 has the same configuration, but a part of it may be different. Here, Non-AP MLD101 is assumed to include a wireless LAN control unit 301. Note that the number of wireless LAN control units is not limited to one, and it may be two or three or more. Non-AP MLD101 further includes a frame processing unit 302, a TID-To-Link Mapping management unit 303, a UI control unit 304, a storage unit 305, and a wireless antenna 306.

[0038] The wireless LAN control unit 301 is configured to include an antenna and a circuit for transmitting and receiving wireless signals to and from other wireless LAN devices, and a program for controlling them. The wireless LAN control unit 301 executes wireless LAN communication control based on the frame generated by the frame generation unit 302 in accordance with the IEEE802.11 standard series.

[0039] The frame processing unit 302 processes the wireless control frames transmitted and received by the wireless LAN control unit 301. The content of wireless control generated and analyzed by the frame processing unit 302 may be restricted by the settings stored in the storage unit 305. It may also be changed according to user settings from the UI control unit 304. The information of the generated frame is sent to the wireless LAN control unit 301 and transmitted to the communication partner. The information of the frame received by the wireless LAN control unit 301 is passed to the frame processing unit 302 and analyzed.

[0040] The TID-To-Link Mapping management unit 303 manages which TID is associated with which link. A TID (Traffic identifier) is an identifier indicating the priority of data used for QoS, and there are 8 types from "0" to "7". Among the 8 types, there are TIDs for transmitting, for example, Video data and Voice data, and each TID must be assigned to at least one link.

[0041] The UI control unit 304 includes hardware related to a user interface such as a touch panel or buttons for receiving operations by the user on the Non-AP MLD101, and programs for controlling them. Note that the UI control unit 304 also has a function for presenting information such as display of images or voice output to the user.

[0042] The storage unit 305 is a storage device that can be composed of a ROM, a RAM, etc. that store the programs and data for the operation of the Non-AP MLD101.

[0043] Fig. 4 shows an overview of the Multi-link communication executed by the AP MLD102 and the Non-AP MLD101 in this embodiment.

[0044] A communication device operating in Multi-Link is called an MLD (Multi Link Device). One MLD has multiple STAs and APs corresponding to each link. An MLD with AP functionality is called an AP MLD, and an MLD without AP functionality is called a Non-AP MLD. Note that even if a device has AP functionality but does not operate as an AP and participates in a network constructed by other AP-MLDs, it is also called a Non-AP MLD.

[0045] AP1 401 and STA1 404 in FIG. 4 establish Link1 407 via the first frequency channel. Similarly, AP2 402 and STA2 405 establish Link2 408 via the second frequency channel, and AP3 403 and STA3 406 establish Link3 409 via the third frequency channel.

[0046] Here, AP MLD102 and Non-AP MLD101 establish a connection via frequency channels in the sub-GHz band, 2.4 GHz band, 3.6 GHz band, 4.9 and 5 GHz bands, 60 GHz band, and 6 GHz band. AP MLD102 and Non-AP MLD101 maintain the connection of the second link via the second frequency channel in parallel with the connection of the first link via the first frequency channel. Also, instead of connecting different frequency bands, multiple connections via different frequency channels in the same frequency band may be established.

[0047] Figure 5 shows a sequence diagram illustrating link establishment in this embodiment. Non-AP MLD101 transmits an Association Request (501). The Association Request includes a TID-To-Link Mapping element, which will be described later. In response to this, AP-MLD102 transmits an Association Response that includes information indicating whether it accepts the requested allocation (502). The Association Response is a response to the Association Request. At this time, if it does not accept at least part of the allocation, the TID-To-Link Mapping element is included in the Association Response.

[0048] Here, if at least part of the allocation is accepted by AP-MLD102, communication using that link becomes possible (503).

[0049] On the other hand, if at least part of the allocation is rejected by AP-MLD102, Non-AP MLD101 transmits a TID-To-Link Mapping Request (504). The TID-To-Link Mapping Request also includes a TID-To-Link Mapping element. In response to this, AP-MLD102 transmits a TID-to-Link Mapping Response that includes information indicating whether it accepts the requested allocation (505). At this time, if it does not accept at least part of the allocation, the TID-To-Link Mapping element is included in the TID-to-Link Mapping Response.

[0050] Here, if at least part of the allocation is accepted by AP-MLD102, communication using that link becomes possible (506).

[0051] FIG. 6 shows an example of the frame format of the TID-To-Link Mapping element in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the name of the element shown in FIG. 6 is the TID-To-Link Mapping element, but it is not limited thereto, and other names may be used. This element is stored in management frames such as Association Request frames and Association Response frames. In addition, this element is also stored in action frames such as TID-To-Link Mapping Request frames and TID-To-Link Mapping Response frames.

[0052] The TID-To-Link Mapping element includes an Element ID 601, a Length 602, an Element ID Extension 603, and a TID-To-Link Mapping Control 604. Further, the TID-To-Link Mapping element includes Link Mappings of TID 605#1 to #8.

[0053] The TID-To-Link Mapping Control 604 includes a Direction 607, a Default Link Mapping 608, and a Link Mapping Presence Indicator 609.

[0054] The Direction 607 is a field indicating whether it is in the UL direction or the DL direction. The Default Link Mapping 608 is a field indicating that the TID is assigned in the default mode. Here, the default mode is a mode in which all TIDs are assigned to all links.

[0055] The Link Mapping Presence Indicator609 is a field that indicates whether the Link Mapping of TID605 is included in this element. If the Link Mapping of TID605 is not included in this element, the Link Mapping Presence Indicator609 may not be included.

[0056] Link Mapping of TID605♯1 to ♯8 are fields that indicate which link each TID is assigned to, and are generated in the number equal to the number of TIDs. That is, as described above, there are 8 types of TIDs from "0" to "7", so 8 Link Mappings of TID605 from #1 to #8 are included.

[0057] It will be described in more detail using Link Mapping of TID605♯8. Link Mapping of TID605♯8 is prepared with the number of bits 610 equal to the number of established links (maximum 16), and whether each link is assigned to TID "7" is indicated by the value of each bit. For example, consider a case where links "1" to "3" are established and the links assigned TID "7" are link "1" and link "3". In this case, in Link Mapping of TID605♯8, the values 1, 0, and 1 are stored in the bits corresponding to links "1" to "3", respectively.

[0058] Using FIG. 7, the flow of the assignment process of TIDs and links realized by the control unit 202 executing the program stored in the storage unit 201 of the communication device operating as the Non-AP MLD101 will be described. This flowchart starts when the Non-AP MLD101 transmits the Association Request described in 501 of FIG. 5 and then receives the Association Response described in 502.

[0059] In S701, it is determined whether the status code of the received Association Response is "SUCCESS".

[0060] Figures 13(a) and (b) are diagrams showing a list of status codes. Among these, the status code "1" shown in Figure 13(a) is associated with "SUCCESS". That is, in S701, it is determined whether the status code is "1". As a result of the determination, if the status code indicates "SUCCESS", the process proceeds to S702; otherwise, it proceeds to S705. Note that, as will be described later as Modification Examples 2 and 3 on the AP-MLD102 side, "PREFERRED_TID_TO_LINK_MAPPING_SUGGESTED" and "ACCEPT_PARTIAL_TID_TO_LINK_MAPPING" may be introduced. In this case, before proceeding to S705, it may be determined whether these are the status codes. In this case, if none of the status codes apply, it may be considered an error end.

[0061] In S702, it is determined whether the received Association Response contains a TID-To-Link Mapping element. As a result of the determination, if the TID-To-Link Mapping element is included, the process proceeds to S706; otherwise, it proceeds to S703.

[0062] In S703, based on the fact that the status code is "SUCCESS" and the TID-To-Link Mapping element is not included, it is determined that all requests from the Non-AP MLD101 have been accepted. Then, in the subsequent S704, communication is started based on the accepted assignment.

[0063] On the other hand, in S705, similar to S702, it is determined whether the received Association Response contains a TID-To-Link Mapping element. As a result of the determination, if the TID-To-Link Mapping element is included, the process proceeds to S706; otherwise, it proceeds to S709.

[0064] In S709, based on the fact that the Status Code is not "SUCCESS" and the TID-To-Link Mapping element is not included, it is determined that all requests from Non-AP MLD101 have been rejected. Then, in the subsequent S708, the update process of the TID-To-Link Mapping is performed. The details of this process will be described later with reference to FIG. 8.

[0065] On the other hand, in S706, based on the TID-To-Link Mapping element included in the Association Response, it is determined whether the requested allocation has been accepted. Here, if there is even one Link Mapping of TID605 not included in the received TID-To-Link Mapping element, for the corresponding TID, it is determined that the requested allocation has been accepted. In this case, in the subsequent S707, communication is started based on the accepted allocation. On the other hand, for the TID whose corresponding Link Mapping of TID605 is included in the TID of the received TID-To-Link Mapping element, it is determined that the requested allocation has been rejected. For such TIDs, in S708, the update process of the TID-To-Link Mapping is performed.

[0066] Using FIG. 8, the details of S708 will be described. In S801, it is determined whether all requests have been rejected. The case where all requests have been rejected is when the transition is from S709 to S708. Also, in the determination of S706, it also applies when there is no Link Mapping of TID605 that is not included in the TID-To-Link Mapping element. That is, it is the case where Link Mapping of TID605 for all TIDs is included. As a result of the determination, if all requests have been rejected, the process proceeds to S803, and otherwise it proceeds to S802.

[0067] In S802 and S803, processing is performed to re-request some or all of the rejected allocations. Note that in S802, the processing is performed using the TID-to-Link Mapping Request, while in S803, the processing is performed using the Association Request. This difference is because when all requests have been rejected, it is necessary to start over from the Association procedure, while when some requests have been accepted, only the update of the TID-to-Link Mapping needs to be performed.

[0068] Using FIG. 9, the flow of the allocation process of TID and link realized by the control unit 202 executing the program stored in the storage unit 201 of the communication device operating as the AP MLD102 will be described. This flowchart starts when the Non-AP MLD101 receives the Association Request described in 501 of FIG. 5.

[0069] In S901, it is determined whether it is possible to accept all of the allocations requested from the Non-AP MLD101. As a result of the determination, if it is possible to accept all of them, the process proceeds to S902, and otherwise (that is, if there is an allocation that cannot be accepted even partially), the process proceeds to S904.

[0070] In S902, an Association Response that does not include a TID-To-Link Mapping element is sent to the Non-AP MLD101. At this time, "1" which means "SUCCESS" is set in the Status Code of the Association Response.

[0071] On the other hand, in S904, a TID-To-Link Mapping element including a Link Mapping of TID605 corresponding to a TID that is not accepted is generated. Then, an Association Response including the TID-To-Link Mapping element is sent. At this time, "1" which means "SUCCESS" is set in the Status Code of the Association Response.

[0072] In the subsequent S903, communication for each link is started based on the assignment of the accepted TID. Note that if all the requested assignments are rejected, the communication is not started in S903.

[0073] <Modification Example 1> FIG. 10 is an explanation of the flow of the assignment process between a TID and a link, which is realized by the control unit 202 executing a program stored in the storage unit 201 of a communication device operating as the AP MLD102, and is a modification example of FIG. 9. Since S1001 to S1003 are the same as the processes of S901 to S903 in FIG. 9, the description thereof is omitted.

[0074] In S1004, it is determined whether all the requested assignments are unacceptable. As a result of the determination, if all the requested assignments are unacceptable, the process proceeds to S1006; otherwise, the process proceeds to S1005.

[0075] In S1005, a TID-To-Link Mapping element including the Link Mapping of TID605 corresponding to the unacceptable TID is generated. Then, an Association Response including the TID-To-Link Mapping element is sent to the Non-AP MLD101. At this time, "1" which means "SUCCESS" is set in the Status Code of the Association Response.

[0076] In S1006, a TID-To-Link Mapping element including the Link Mapping of TID605 corresponding to all TIDs is generated. Then, an Association Response including the TID-To-Link Mapping element is sent. At this time, "22" which means "PREFERRED_TID_TO_LINK_MAPPING_SUGGESTED" is set in the Status Code of the Association Response.

[0077] Here, the reason for setting different Status Codes in S1005 and S1006 is to enable the Non-AP MLD side to easily determine whether some requests have been accepted or all requests have been rejected. In the example of FIG. 7, when the Status Code is other than "1", all are processed in the same way, but the processing may be different between the case of "PREFERRED_TID_TO_LINK_MAPPING_SUGGESTED" and other cases.

[0078] <Modification Example 2> FIG. 11 is an explanation of the flow of the assignment process of the TID and the link, which is realized by the control unit 202 executing the program stored in the storage unit 201 of the communication device operating as the AP MLD102, and is a further modification example of FIG. 9. Comparing FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the process of S1005 is changed to S1105, but the same process is executed in the corresponding steps otherwise.

[0079] In S1105, a TID-To-Link Mapping element including the Link Mapping of TID605 corresponding to the unacceptable TID is generated. Then, an Association Response including the TID-To-Link Mapping element is transmitted to the Non-AP MLD101. At this time, "23" which means "ACCEPT_PARTIAL_TID_TO_LINK_MAPPING" is set in the Status Code of the Association Response.

[0080] Here, the reason for making the Status Code different between S1102 and S1105 is to enable the Non-AP MLD side to easily determine whether some requests have been rejected or all requests have been accepted.

[0081] <Specific Example of Allocation Process> FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a specific example of the allocation process of TID and link. For example, assume that there are three types of TIDs, "0", "1", and "2", and four links, "1" to "4". In this case, the Non-AP MLD101 requests to allocate link "1" to TID "0", link "2" to TID "1", and links "3" and "4" to TID "2" (1201). However, the AP-MLD102 accepts the request for TID "0" but rejects the requests for TIDs "1" and "2". At this time, the Association Response transmitted by the AP-MLD102 includes a TID-To-Link Mapping element including the Link Mapping of TID605 corresponding to TIDs "1" and "2". On the other hand, the Link Mapping of TID605 corresponding to TID "0" is not included. (1202) Upon receiving this Association Response, Non-AP MLD101 determines that the request regarding TID "0" has been accepted and starts communication on Link "1" with TID = 0. Since the assignment of TIDs for Links "2" to "4" has not been accepted, communication is not started. (1203) Subsequently, if Non-AP MLD101 agrees to the assignment proposed by AP-MLD102, it generates a TID-To-Link Mapping element including the Link Mapping of TID605 accordingly. Then, it sends a TID-To-Link Mapping Request containing the said TID-To-Link Mapping element. (1204) AP-MLD102 accepts all re-requests from Non-AP MLD. At this time, the TID-To-Link Mapping Response sent by AP-MLD102 does not contain a TID-To-Link Mapping element.

[0082] Here, an example where Non-AP MLD agrees to all the assignments proposed by AP-MLD102 in 1202 is shown. However, if it does not agree to at least a part of them, it may request a new assignment in 1204.

[0083] Also, here an example where one TID is assigned to one link is shown, but it is also possible to assign multiple TIDs to one link.

[0084] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which requests are accepted or rejected in TID units has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, when requests are made to assign the same TID to a plurality of links, some links may be accepted and other links may be rejected. In this case, in the determination of S702 and S705, instead of determining whether a TID-To-Link Mapping element is included, it is determined whether there is an accepted link. This determination is made by referring to bit 610 in the Link Mapping of TID605♯8. In this case, in S707, even for the same TID, communication is started for the accepted link and communication is not started for the rejected link.

[0085] <Other Embodiments> Furthermore, a recording medium recording a software program code for realizing the above-described functions may be supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (CPU, MPU) of the system or apparatus may read and execute the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the above-described apparatus.

[0086] As the storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, a DVD, etc. can be used.

[0087] Also, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only are the above-described functions realized, but also based on the instructions of the program code, the OS running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing to realize the above-described functions. OS is an abbreviation for Operating System.

[0088] Furthermore, write the program code read from the storage medium into the memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program code, the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit may perform part or all of the actual processing to realize the above-described functions.

[0089] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0090] 201 Storage unit 202 Control unit 203 Functional unit 204 Input unit 205 Output unit 206 Communication unit

Claims

1. A communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with other communication devices, receiving means for receiving a request regarding a TID (Traffic identifier) indicating the priority of data and link allocation, transmitting means for transmitting a response to the request received by the receiving means, comprising: When the transmitting means accepts a first request and does not accept a second request among the requests received by the receiving means, the transmitting means accepts the first request and transmits a response indicating that the second request is not accepted. The communication device is characterized by this.

2. When the transmitting means accepts a first request and does not accept a second request among the requests received by the receiving means, and when all the requests received by the receiving means are accepted, the transmitting means sets a status code different from the status code set in the response and transmits the response. The communication device according to claim 1, characterized by this.

3. When the transmitting means accepts a first request and does not accept a second request among the requests received by the receiving means, and when all the requests received by the receiving means are rejected, the transmitting means sets a status code different from the status code set in the response and transmits the response. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by this.

4. When the transmitting means accepts a first request and does not accept a second request among the requests received by the receiving means, the response transmitted by the transmitting means does not include information regarding the TID corresponding to the first request and link allocation, but includes information regarding the TID corresponding to the second request and link allocation. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by this.

5. The request received by the receiving means is an Association Request, and the response transmitted by the transmitting means is an Association Response. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that.

6. The Association Request and the Association Response include a TID-To-Link Mapping element indicating the assignment of a TID and a link. The communication device according to claim 5, characterized in that.

7. A communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with another communication device, A transmitting means for transmitting a request regarding the assignment of a TID (Traffic identifier) indicating the priority of data and a link, A receiving means for receiving a response to the request transmitted by the transmitting means, comprising When the receiving means accepts the first request and does not accept the second request among the requests transmitted by the transmitting means, the receiving means accepts the first request and receives a response indicating that the second request has not been accepted. The communication device characterized by that.

8. A communication method in a communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with another communication device, A receiving step of receiving a request regarding the assignment of a TID (Traffic identifier) indicating the priority of data and a link, A transmitting step of transmitting a response to the request received in the receiving step, comprising In the transmission step, when accepting a first request and not accepting a second request among the requests received in the reception step, the communication method is characterized by accepting the first request and transmitting a response indicating that the second request is not accepted.

9. A communication method in a communication device capable of establishing a plurality of links in parallel with another communication device, a transmission step of transmitting a request regarding the assignment of a TID (Traffic identifier) indicating the priority of data and a link, a reception step of receiving a response to the request transmitted in the transmission step, comprising: In the reception step, when the first request is accepted and the second request is not accepted among the requests transmitted in the transmission step, the communication method is characterized by receiving a response indicating that the first request is accepted and the second request is not accepted.

10. A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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