The method recovers from link errors, receiver-side multi-link devices, and storage media readable by a computer.

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for link error recovery, for performing error recovery in the event that a multi-link device (MLD) without simultaneous transmitting and receiving (STR) capability is involved in communication. This method is applied to a transmitter-side multi-link device, the links between the transmitter-side MLD and the receiver-side MLD comprising the first and second links, and one of the transmitter-side MLDs or receiver-side MLDs is capable of simultaneous transmitting and receiving (STR) while the other multi-link device is not capable of STR.This method involves: The transmitter-side multi-link device determines that the transmission of the first physical protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first link failed; and the transmitter-side multi-link device transmits the second PPDU to the receiver-side multi-link device at time 1 using the first link, with the second PPDU being used to retransmit the erroneous portion of the first PPDU. Time 1 is the moment at which the transmitter-side multi-link device receives the transmission status information of the second link, and this transmission status information is used to indicate that the transmission of the third PPDU on the second link failed. Additionally, time 1 is the time to transmit the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU was transmitted successfully.

Description

Link error recovery method and device Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a link error recovery method and device. Background Art

[0002] To achieve extremely high throughput, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11be standard includes multi-link (ML) communication as a key technology. A multi-link device (MLD) that supports ML communication has the ability to transmit and receive on multiple frequency bands. This allows MLDs to utilize greater bandwidth for data transmission, significantly improving throughput.

[0003] MLDs can be categorized as STR MLDs and non-STR MLDs based on whether they have the ability to simultaneously transmit and receive on different links. A link refers to the spatial path along which the MLD transmits data on a frequency band. STR MLDs have STR capabilities, while non-STR MLDs do not.

[0004] For scenarios where non-STR MLDs participate in communication, link error recovery is an important part of the process. Therefore, it is necessary to design a reasonable solution to achieve error recovery in this scenario.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a link error recovery method and apparatus, which can implement link error recovery in a communication scenario where a non-STR MLD participates.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a link error recovery method is provided. The method is applied to a transmitter MLD, wherein the link between the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD includes a first link and a second link, wherein one of the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD has the capability to simultaneously transmit and receive STRs, while the other does not. The method includes: the transmitter MLD determining that a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first link has failed to be transmitted; and the transmitter MLD sending a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link at a first moment, wherein the second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous portion of the first PPDU.

[0009] The first moment is the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link; the transmission status information of the second link is used to indicate that the transmission of the third PPDU on the second link has failed; or, the first moment is the sending moment of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

[0010] Based on this solution, on the one hand, in the scenario where one of the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD has STR capability and the other does not, and the transmission of the first PPDU of the first link fails, the transmitter MLD can send a second PPDU at the first moment to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU, thereby achieving error recovery for the first link. On the other hand, when the first moment is the moment when the transmitter MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link, the delay of the internal transmission status information exchange of the transmitter MLD is taken into account. Compared with the scenario where the transmission status information exchange is very rapid, this is more conducive to product implementation and reduces the design pressure on the transmitter MLD. Alternatively, when the first moment is the moment when the next PPDU on the first link is sent when the first PPDU is transmitted normally, compared with the scenario where the second PPDU is sent at a moment after the end time of the BA of the first PPDU, link recovery can be achieved earlier, the waiting time before retransmission is reduced, and more time can be spent on transmitting new data, thereby improving the throughput of the link.

[0011] In some possible designs, the interval between the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link and the expected start time of the first acknowledgment block BA is less than or equal to a first duration, where the first moment is the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link; wherein the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU; and the first duration is the sum of the length of the first BA and the short frame interval SIFS.

[0012] In some possible designs, the interval between the moment when the sending end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link and the expected end time of the first BA is less than or equal to the first duration. When the first duration is SIFS, the first moment is the moment when the sending end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link.

[0013] Based on this possible design, since the moment when the sending end obtains the transmission status information of the second link or the moment when the second PPDU is sent is earlier than the SIFS after the first BA, and the SIFS is less than the PIFS, compared with the prior art of starting to retransmit the failed PPDU at the PIFS moment after the end of the first BA, the link recovery can be achieved earlier, and the waiting time before retransmission is shortened, so that there is more time to transmit new data and improve the link throughput.

[0014] In some possible designs, the sending-side MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link, including: the first site receives the transmission status information of the second link from the second site, the first site is the site supporting the first link in the sending-side MLD, and the second site is the site supporting the second link in the sending-side MLD.

[0015] In some possible designs, before the second moment, the transmitting end MLD does not obtain the transmission status information of the second link. The first moment is the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally; wherein the second moment is later than the expected end time of the first BA, and the interval between the second moment and the expected end time of the first BA is SIFS, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

[0016] Based on a possible design, since SIFS is less than PIFS, if the first PPDU is transmitted normally, the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link is earlier than the PIFS time after the end of the first BA. Therefore, compared with the prior art of retransmitting the failed PPDU at the PIFS time after the end of the first BA, the link recovery can be achieved earlier, the waiting time before retransmission is reduced, and more time can be used to transmit new data, thereby improving the link throughput.

[0017] In some possible designs, the end time of the second PPDU is the same as that of the fourth PPDU on the second link, and the fourth PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the third PPDU.

[0018] Based on this possible design, the transmitting MLD can synchronize error recovery on the first and second links, thereby achieving synchronization of PPDUs transmitted on the first and second links and avoiding the need to send and receive data simultaneously on the non-STR MLD side.

[0019] In a second aspect, a link error recovery method is provided. The method is applied to a transmitter MLD, wherein multiple links between the transmitter MLD and a receiver MLD include a first link, the transmitter MLD is capable of simultaneously transmitting and receiving STRs, and the receiver MLD is not capable of STRs. The method includes: the transmitter MLD determining that a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first link has failed to be transmitted; the transmitter MLD sending a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link at a first moment, the second PPDU being used to retransmit an erroneous portion of the first PPDU;

[0020] The first moment is the expected end time of the first confirmation block BA, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

[0021] Based on this solution, on the one hand, in the scenario where the transmitting MLD has STR capability and the receiving MLD does not have STR capability, and the transmission of the first PPDU of the first link fails, the transmitting MLD can send the second PPDU at the first moment to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU, thereby realizing error recovery of the first link; on the other hand, sending the second PPDU at the expected end time of the first BA can realize link recovery earlier than sending the second PPDU at the time after the end time of the first BA, thereby reducing the waiting time before retransmission, and thus allowing more time to transmit new data, thereby improving the throughput of the link.

[0022] In a third aspect, a link error recovery method is provided, which is applied to a transmitter MLD, where multiple links between the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD include a first link, the transmitter MLD has the ability to simultaneously send and receive STR, and the receiver MLD does not have the STR capability. The method includes: the transmitter MLD determines that the transmission of the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU or the first confirmation block BA on the first link fails, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU; the transmitter MLD starts to perform channel backoff at a first moment, and the first moment is the end moment of the first BA; after the channel backoff ends, the transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD through the first link, and the second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

[0023] In combination with the above-mentioned second and third aspects, in some possible designs, the link between the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD also includes a second link, the end time of the first PPDU is the same as the end time of the third PPDU on the second link, and the end time of the second PPDU is the same as the end time of the fourth PPDU on the second link.

[0024] In a fourth aspect, a link error recovery method is provided, which is applied to a transmitter MLD, where multiple links between the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD include a first link, where one of the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD has the ability to simultaneously send and receive STR, and the other does not have the STR capability. The method includes: the transmitter MLD receives a first block acknowledgment BA on the first link, where the first BA is a BA of a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU; the transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD through the first link, where the interval between the start time of the second PPDU and the end time of the first BA is a frame interval, and the frame interval is a point coordination function frame interval PIFS.

[0025] Based on this solution, when the interframe interval after a BA is PIFS, even if PPDU or BA transmission on a link fails, the transmitting MLD does not need to obtain transmission status information on other links when performing error recovery on that link. This avoids information exchange within the transmitting MLD and saves power consumption. Furthermore, because the interframe interval after a BA on each link is PIFS and the interframe interval after a PPDU is SIFS, synchronous transmission can be achieved even when performing error recovery on a link without obtaining transmission status information on other links. This avoids the situation where non-STR MLD devices need to send and receive data simultaneously.

[0026] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the transmitter MLD described in aspects 1 through 4 above, or a device comprising the transmitter MLD, or a device included in the transmitter MLD, such as a system-on-chip. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to implementing the methods described above. These modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions described above.

[0027] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory is configured to store computer instructions, and when the processor executes the instructions, the communication device performs the method described in any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the transmitter MLD described in the first to fourth aspects, or a device including the transmitter MLD, or a device included in the transmitter MLD, such as a system-on-chip.

[0028] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor; the processor being coupled to a memory and configured to read instructions from the memory and then execute the method described in any of the above aspects in accordance with the instructions. The communication device may be the transmitter MLD described in the first to fourth aspects, or a device including the transmitter MLD, or a device included in the transmitter MLD, such as a system-on-chip.

[0029] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method described in any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the transmitter MLD described in the first to fourth aspects, or a device including the transmitter MLD, or a device included in the transmitter MLD, such as a system-on-chip.

[0030] In a ninth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device can perform the method described in any of the above aspects. The communication device can be the transmitter MLD described in the first to fourth aspects, or a device comprising the transmitter MLD, or a device included in the transmitter MLD, such as a system-on-chip.

[0031] In a tenth aspect, a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system) is provided, wherein the communication device includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects. In one possible design, the communication device also includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0032] In the eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, which includes a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to communicate with modules outside the chip, and the processor is used to run computer programs or instructions so that the device installed with the chip can execute the method described in any of the above aspects.

[0033] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fifth to eleventh aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the above-mentioned first aspect, second aspect, third aspect or fourth aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0034] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD described in the above aspects.

[0035] These and other aspects of the present application will become more readily apparent from the description of the following embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] FIG1a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a PPDU provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG1b is a schematic diagram of the structure of another PPDU provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG1c is a schematic diagram of the structure of a transmission opportunity TXOP provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a backoff mechanism according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a communication scenario provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an applicable scenario of an error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a flow chart of a link error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] 7 to 10 are schematic diagrams illustrating an application of a link error recovery method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG11 is a schematic flow chart of another link error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] 12 to 15 are schematic diagrams illustrating another application of a link error recovery method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG16 is a flow chart of another link error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG17 is a schematic diagram of an application of another link error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG18 is a schematic diagram of an inter-frame interval provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG19 is a flow chart of another link error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] 20 and 21 are schematic diagrams illustrating an application of another link error recovery method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG22 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a transmitting end MLD provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 23 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in this application is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, a and b and c, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. In addition, to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that the words "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the words "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0055] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described in this application as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0056] To facilitate understanding, the following is a brief introduction to the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0057] 1. Physical protocol data unit (PPDU)

[0058] As shown in Figure 1a, it is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of the PPDU in the 802.11ax standard. The PPDU includes: a legacy short training field (L-STF), a legacy long training field (L-LTF), a legacy signaling field (L-SIG), a repeated legacy signaling field (RL-SIG), a high-efficiency signaling field A (HE-SIG A), a high-efficiency signaling field B (HE-SIG B), a high-efficiency short training field (HE-STF), a high-efficiency long training field (HE-LTF), and data. Optionally, the PPDU may also include a packet extension (PE).

[0059] Figure 1b shows the structure of an extremely high throughput (EHT) PPDU that may be used in 802.11be. The EHT PPDU may include a legacy preamble (L-preamble), a high-efficiency preamble (HE-preamble), and a physical layer convergence protocol service data unit (PSDU).

[0060] Among them, the L-preamble part includes the L-STF field, the L-LTF field, and the L-SIG field; the HE-preamble part includes the RL-SIG field and the universal field (U-SIG) field, the extremely high throughput signaling (EHT-SIG) field, the extremely high throughput short training field (EHT-STF) field, and the extremely high throughput long training field (EHT-LTF) field; the PSDU part includes fields such as the data field, among which the U-SIG field occupies 2 OFDM symbols, as shown in U-SIG SYM1 and U-SIG SYM1 in Figure 1b. The universal field (U-SIG) field may include a version-independent info field and a version-dependent info field, a CRC field, and a tail field. The version-independent info field may include a 3-bit WiFi version field, a 1-bit downlink / uplink field, a BSS color field of at least 6 bits, and a TXOP field of at least 7 bits. Furthermore, the version-independent info field may also include a bandwidth field. The version-dependent info field may include a PPDU format field, and may also include one or more of a modulation and coding scheme field, a spatial stream field, and a coding field. The CRC field occupies at least 4 bits, and the tail field occupies at least 6 bits.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the EHT-SIG field includes an EHT-SIG common field and an EHT-SIG user-specific field, wherein the EHT-SIG common field can be used to carry resource allocation information allocated to the STA, and the EHT-SIG user-specific field can be used to carry user information.

[0062] It should be understood that the EHT-PPDU is only an example, and other structures may be possible during the standard formulation process or technology development process, and this application does not limit it.

[0063] 2. Transmission opportunity (TXOP)

[0064] TXOP is the basic unit of wireless channel access. TXOP consists of an initial time and a maximum duration TXOP limit.

[0065] To minimize conflicts, a device must wait for a short period of time after sending a frame before sending the next frame. This period is usually called the interframe space (IFS). Currently, this interframe space is usually the short interframe space (SIFS).

[0066] For example, taking a frame interval of SIFS as an example, Figure 1c shows a schematic diagram of normal PPDU transmission within a TXOP. The transmitting device begins transmitting PPDU11 SIFS after receiving a clear to send (CTS) frame. After a SIFS interval, it receives a block acknowledgment (BA) frame BA11 from the receiving device. BA11 is used to provide feedback to the transmitting device on whether PPDU11 was successfully transmitted. Assuming PPDU11 is successfully transmitted, the transmitting device continues to transmit PPDU12 SIFS after the BA11 frame ends, and so on.

[0067] The RTS in Figure 1c stands for Request to Send (RTS). RTS / CTS is used to address the issue of hidden stations and avoid signal conflicts between multiple stations. Before sending a data frame, the transmitter broadcasts an RTS frame, instructing it to send a data frame to a specified receiver within a specified duration. After receiving the RTS frame, the receiver broadcasts a CTS frame to confirm the sender's transmission. Other stations that receive an RTS or CTS frame do not transmit wireless frames until the specified duration expires.

[0068] 3. Error recovery

[0069] After a transmission opportunity (TXOP) is successfully established, if a PPDU within the TXOP fails to be transmitted, error recovery of the link is triggered.

[0070] Error recovery includes point coordination function interframe space (PIFS) error recovery and backoff error recovery, which are introduced below respectively.

[0071] 1) PIFS error recovery: After the channel is idle for PIFS, the device sends the next PPDU on the channel.

[0072] Waiting for the channel to be idle for PIFS time before sending the next PPDU is called PIFS error recovery.

[0073] 2) Backoff error recovery: Perform channel backoff and send the next PPDU after the backoff is complete.

[0074] The IEEE 802.11 standard supports multiple users sharing the same transmission medium. The transmitter checks the medium's availability before sending data. IEEE 802.11 uses carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) to implement channel contention. To avoid collisions, CSMA / CA employs a backoff mechanism.

[0075] The following describes the backoff mechanism on a single channel. Before a device sends a message, it can select a random number between 0 and the contention window (CW) and use this random number as the initial value of the backoff counter. After the channel's idle time reaches the arbitration inter-frame space (AIFS), the backoff counter decreases by 1 each time the channel is idle for a timeslot. Before the backoff counter decreases to 0, if the channel is busy in a timeslot, the backoff counter pauses. Afterwards, if the channel transitions from busy to idle and the channel's idle time reaches AIFS, the backoff counter resumes counting. When the backoff counter reaches 0, the backoff process ends and the device can begin data transmission.

[0076] As an example, Figure 2 illustrates this. Assume the backoff counter has an initial value of 5. After the channel has been idle for AIFS, the backoff counter begins to roll back. Each time the channel is idle in a time slot, the backoff counter decrements by 1 until it reaches 0. Once the backoff counter reaches 0, the device successfully contends for the channel and can send PPDUs on that channel.

[0077] The communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced below. As shown in FIG3 , it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system 30 provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication system 30 includes a transmitting end MLD 301 and a receiving end MLD 302 .

[0078] In this application, an MLD (including a transmitter MLD 301 and a receiver MLD 302) is capable of transmitting and receiving on multiple frequency bands. Compared to devices that only support single-link transmission, multi-link devices have higher transmission efficiency and higher throughput. Exemplarily, the multiple frequency bands include, but are not limited to, the 2.4 GHz band, the 5 GHz band, and the 6 GHz band. The spatial path for MLD data transmission on a frequency band is referred to as a link. In other words, MLD supports multi-link communication.

[0079] It should be understood that for MLD, each link supported by the MLD corresponds to a frequency band.

[0080] It should be noted that, in the present application, MLD may also be referred to as a multi-band device (multi-band device), and the two may be interchangeable, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0081] MLD can be divided into STR MLD and non-STR MLD. STR MLD has STR capabilities, while non-STR MLD does not have STR capabilities.

[0082] In this application, an MLD includes at least two affiliated STAs. The affiliated STAs may be Access Point Stations (AP STAs) or non-Access Point Stations (non-AP STAs). For ease of description, this application refers to a multi-link device whose affiliated station is an AP as a multi-link AP or multi-link AP device or AP multi-link device (AP MLD), and a multi-link device whose affiliated station is a non-AP STA as a multi-link STA or multi-link STA device or STA multi-link device (STA MLD) or a non-AP multi-link device (non-AP MLD).

[0083] In one implementation, a non-AP STA can implement AP functionality, or in other words, a non-AP STA can be operated as an AP. The MLD composed of a non-AP STA that can implement AP functionality, or a non-AP MLD that can be operated as an AP, is called a soft AP MLD.

[0084] As you can understand, AP MLD can be divided into STR AP MLD and non-STR AP MLD. STR AP MLD has STR capability, while non-STR AP MLD does not. Similarly, non-AP MLD can be divided into STR non-AP MLD and non-STR non-AP MLD. STR non-AP MLD has STR capability, while non-STR non-AP MLD does not.

[0085] In the embodiment of the present application, the non-STR AP MLD may include the above-mentioned soft AP MLD. Of course, the non-STR AP MLD is not limited to the soft AP MLD.

[0086] Each STA in an MLD can establish a link for communication. As shown in Figure 4, taking the example of a transmitting MLD 301 including stations A1 and AN, and a receiving MLD including stations B1 and BN, stations A1 and B1 communicate via link 1, stations A2 and B2 communicate via link 2, and so on. Stations AN and BN communicate via link N.

[0087] In the following embodiments of the present application, description is made by taking as an example a plurality of links between a transmitting end MLD 310 and a receiving end MLD 320 including a first link and a second link.

[0088] Optionally, the AP STA in this application can be an access point for mobile users to enter the wired network. It is mainly deployed in homes, inside buildings and inside campuses, with a typical coverage radius of tens to hundreds of meters. Of course, it can also be deployed outdoors. The AP is equivalent to a bridge connecting the wired network and the wireless network. Its main function is to connect various wireless network clients together and then connect the wireless network to the Ethernet. Specifically, the AP can be a terminal device or network device with a wireless fidelity (WiFi) chip. The AP can be a device that supports the 802.11be standard. The AP can also be a device that supports multiple wireless local area networks (WLAN) standards such as 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b and 802.11a.

[0089] Optionally, the non-AP STA in this application can be a wireless communication chip, wireless sensor, or wireless communication terminal. Examples include mobile phones that support Wi-Fi communication, tablets that support Wi-Fi communication, set-top boxes that support Wi-Fi communication, smart TVs that support Wi-Fi communication, smart wearable devices that support Wi-Fi communication, in-vehicle communication equipment that supports Wi-Fi communication, and computers that support Wi-Fi communication. A non-AP STA can support the 802.11be standard. A non-AP STA can also support multiple WLAN standards, including 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a.

[0090] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, BA can be understood as a reply frame. In addition, the reply frame can also include an acknowledgment (ACK). Therefore, BA in the present application can also be replaced by ACK. In other words, BA in the present application only represents a reply frame, and the reply frame does not necessarily have to be a BA but can also be an ACK.

[0091] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0092] First, an embodiment of the present application provides a link error recovery method that can be applied to a scenario in which PPDU transmission fails on both the first link and the second link between a transmitter MLD and a receiver MLD in synchronous multi-link communication.

[0093] For example, taking the transmitting MLD as AP MLD and the receiving MLD as non-STR STA MLD as an example, assuming that the AL MLD includes two stations, AP1 and AP2, AP1 supports link 1, AP2 supports link 2, and the non-STR STA MLD includes STA1 and STA2, and STA1 communicates with AP1 through link 1, and STA2 communicates with AP2 through link 2, the scenario can be shown in Figure 5. A cross indicates a transmission failure.

[0094] Of course, this is only an example of the application scenario of the method. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the application scenario of the method, and the application scenario exemplified here does not impose any limitation on the method of the embodiment of the present application.

[0095] The method can be executed by a transmitting MLD or a component (e.g., a chip) capable of executing the method. This application describes the method as executed by a transmitting MLD. Furthermore, in this method, one of the transmitting MLD and the receiving MLD is STR-capable, while the other is not. This means that one is a STR MLD and the other is a non-STR MLD.

[0096] FIG6 is a flow chart of the link error recovery method, which includes the following steps:

[0097] S601: A transmitting end MLD determines that transmission of a first PPDU on a first link fails.

[0098] Optionally, the transmitting end MLD determining that the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails may include: when the transmitting end MLD does not receive a BA of the first PPDU, the transmitting end MLD determining that the transmission of the first PPDU fails.

[0099] Optionally, the failure to transmit the first PPDU may include a failure to transmit part or all of the content included in the first PPDU.

[0100] S602: The transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link at a first moment. Correspondingly, the receiver MLD receives the second PPDU from the transmitter MLD via the first link.

[0101] The second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

[0102] It can be understood that step S602 may also be: the transmitting end MLD retransmits the erroneous part of the first PPDU to the receiving end MLD via the first link at the first moment.

[0103] Sending the second PPDU through the first link may also be understood as sending the second PPDU on the first link, and the two may be interchangeable.

[0104] Thus, in the case where the transmission of the first PPDU fails, since the transmitting end MLD retransmits the erroneous part of the first PPDU, it can be considered that the transmitting end MLD has completed the error recovery of the first link.

[0105] Optionally, the transmitting end MLD sending the second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link at the first moment may include: when the first link is idle within a first time period, the transmitting end MLD sending the second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link at the first moment, wherein the end time of the first time period is the first moment, and the length of the first time period is a PIFS or a TBD (To Be Decided) time.

[0106] Optionally, the transmitting end MLD may confirm whether the first link is idle within the first time period by performing a clear channel assessment (CCA).

[0107] In another implementation, the length of the first time period is SIFS.

[0108] Optionally, the transmitting end MLD may use energy detection (ED) as a detection method to confirm whether the first link is idle within the SIFS.

[0109] Optionally, the transmitting-side MLD can lower the ED threshold, for example, from -62dBm to -72dBm in the current 20MHz channel space.

[0110] When the transmitting end MLD determines that the first link is idle in the first time period, for example, the CCA passes in the first time period, step S602 is executed.

[0111] As can be understood, assuming that the transmission failure on the second link is a failure to transmit the third PPDU on the second link, the transmitting MLD can retransmit the erroneous portion of the third PPDU at the first moment. In other words, the transmitting MLD performs error recovery on the first and second links simultaneously. This synchronizes the PPDUs transmitted on the first and second links, preventing simultaneous data transmission and reception on the non-STR MLD side.

[0112] At this time, the end time of the second PPDU is the same as that of the fourth PPDU on the second link. The fourth PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the third PPDU.

[0113] Optionally, after receiving the second PPDU, the receiving end MLD may send the BA of the second PPDU to the transmitting end MLD, or may perform service processing according to the second PPDU, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0114] The first moment in this embodiment is described in detail below. In different implementations of the embodiment of the present application, the first moment may also be different.

[0115] In a possible implementation, the first moment is the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link.

[0116] The transmission status information of the second link is used to indicate that the transmission of the third PPDU on the second link fails.

[0117] It should be understood that, in synchronous multi-link transmission, the end time of the third PPDU is the same as the end time of the first PPDU.

[0118] That is, in this possible implementation, before step S602, the transmitting MLD must obtain the transmission state information of the second link. Optionally, from the perspective of internal implementation of the transmitting MLD, the transmission state information of the second link can be obtained by the first site, where the first site is the site in the transmitting MLD that supports the first link.

[0119] Optionally, the first station obtaining the transmission state information of the second link may include: the first station receiving the transmission state information of the second link from a second station, where the second station is a station that supports the second link in the transmitting-side MLD. That is, before step S602, the method may further include: the second station sending the transmission state information of the second link to the first station. Accordingly, the first station receives the transmission state information of the second link from the second station.

[0120] Optionally, in this possible implementation, if the interval between the time when the transmitting MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link and the expected start time of the first BA is less than or equal to the first duration, the transmitting MLD determines the time when the transmission state information of the second link is obtained as the first time, or in other words, the first time is the time when the transmitting MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link. The first BA is the BA of the first PPDU, and the first duration is the sum of the length of the first BA and the SIFS.

[0121] It can be understood that the scheme can also be described as: the interval between the moment when the sending end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link and the expected end time of the first BA is less than or equal to the first duration. When the first duration is SIFS, the sending end MLD determines the moment when the transmission status information of the second link is obtained as the first moment, or in other words, the first moment is the moment when the sending end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link.

[0122] It is understood that the expected start time of the first BA may refer to the time when the transmitter MLD receives the first BA if the first PPDU is transmitted normally, or in other words, the interval between the expected start time of the first BA and the end time of the first PPDU is SIFS. The expected end time of the first BA may refer to the time between the time when the transmitter MLD receives the first BA if the first PPDU is transmitted normally and the time equal to the length of the first BA, or in other words, the interval between the expected end time of the first BA and the end time of the first PPDU is the sum of SIFS and the length of the first BA.

[0123] It can be understood that since the expected start time of the first BA can refer to the moment when the transmitter MLD receives the first BA if the first PPDU is transmitted normally, the moment when the transmitter receives the first BA when the first PPDU is transmitted normally is called the start time of the first BA or the actual start time of the first BA, then in this application, the expected start time of the first BA can be the same as the actual start time of the first BA. Therefore, in subsequent embodiments, the expected start time of the first BA and the start time of the first BA can be the same moment. Similarly, the expected end time of the first BA and the end time of the first BA can be the same moment. For the expected start time and expected end time of the BA of other PPDUs other than the first PPDU in the following embodiments, please refer to the relevant description of the first BA.

[0124] Optionally, the estimated start time of the first BA is earlier than the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link.

[0125] It can be understood that the interval between the expected start time of the first BA and the end time of the first PPDU is SIFS.

[0126] For example, the start time of the first BA is denoted as t1, the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link is denoted as t2, and the length of the first BA is denoted as L BA , the transmitting end MLD determines the first time may include: when t2-t1≤L BA In the case of +SIFS, t2 is determined as the first moment, or at t2-L BA When -t1≤SIFS, t2 is determined as the first time point.

[0127] Based on this solution, since the moment when the sending end obtains the transmission status information of the second link or the moment when the second PPDU is sent is earlier than the SIFS after the first BA, and the SIFS is less than the PIFS, compared with the prior art of starting to retransmit the failed PPDU at the PIFS moment after the end of the first BA, the link recovery can be achieved earlier, and the waiting time before retransmission is shortened, so that there is more time to transmit new data and improve the link throughput.

[0128] It can be understood that since the BA header includes the BA RESTART indication, in the embodiment of the present application, the expected start time of the first BA can also be called the expected start time of the RESTART indication of the first BA, or the time when the sending end MLD expects to receive the RESTART of the first BA. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0129] Optionally, in this possible implementation, after the first PPDU transmission fails, the transmitting end MLD also obtains the transmission status information of the first link, or in other words, the first site sends the transmission status information of the first link to the second site, and the transmission status information of the first link is used to indicate that the first PPDU transmission fails.

[0130] Optionally, due to synchronous transmission, the transmitting MLD can simultaneously obtain the transmission status information of the first link and the transmission status information of the second link. In other words, the time when the first station receives the transmission status information of the second link is the same as the time when the second station receives the transmission status information of the first link.

[0131] Optionally, for the second link, the first moment in this implementation may also be understood as the moment when the transmitting MLD (or the second station) obtains the transmission state information of the first link.

[0132] For error recovery of the second link, the transmitting end MLD performs a similar process to error recovery of the first link, or in other words, the second site performs error recovery of the second link using a method similar to that of the first site. Please refer to the above related descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0133] The implementation is described below with a specific example.

[0134] For example, based on the scenario shown in FIG5 , with the first link being link 1, the second link being link 2, the first PPDU being PPDU11, the third PPDU being PPDU21, the first BA being BA11, and the BA of PPDU21 being BA21, as shown in FIG7 , if AP1 does not receive BA11 after a SIFS duration from the end time of the first PPDU, the AP MLD (or AP1) can determine that the transmission of PPDU11 on link 1 has failed. Subsequently, after the AP MLD (or AP1) obtains the transmission status information of link 2 at t2 (i.e., the first time), it sends PPDU11' via link 1 at t2, and PPDU11' can be understood as the second PPDU.

[0135] Among them, BA is represented by a dotted frame as not received, and the dotted frames in subsequent figures also represent that the content within the frame has not been received. This is explained uniformly here and will not be repeated in the following embodiments.

[0136] Similarly, if AP2 does not receive BA21 after a SIFS period starting from the end time of the third PPDU, AP MLD (or AP2) can determine that the transmission of PPDU21 on link 2 has failed. Subsequently, AP MLD (or AP2) obtains the transmission status information of link 1 at t2 (i.e., the first time point) and sends PPDU21' through link 2 at t2. PPDU21' can be understood as the fourth PPDU.

[0137] In another possible implementation, the first moment is the sending moment of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

[0138] It can be understood that, assuming that the first PPDU is transmitted normally, the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link is the end time of the first PPDU plus the length of the first BA and 2 SIFS.

[0139] For example, the sending time of the next PPDU is represented as t3, and the end time of the first PPDU is represented as t4, then it can be expressed as t3=t4+L BA +2SIFS.

[0140] Optionally, in this possible implementation, before the second moment, if the transmitting end MLD does not obtain the transmission status information of the second link, the transmitting end MLD will determine the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally as the first moment, or in other words, the first moment is the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

[0141] It can be understood that the second time is the time at which the next PPDU on the first link is sent if the first PPDU is transmitted normally. Therefore, it can also be considered that if the transmitting MLD does not obtain the transmission status information of the second link before the time at which the next PPDU on the first link is sent if the first PPDU is transmitted normally, the first time is the time at which the next PPDU on the first link is sent if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

[0142] Optionally, from the perspective of internal implementation of the MLD at the transmitting end, the fact that the MLD at the transmitting end fails to obtain the transmission state information of the second link may be: the first station fails to obtain the transmission state information of the second link.

[0143] Optionally, due to a large delay in information interaction between the first site and the second site, the first site has not yet obtained the transmission status information of the second link at the time of sending the next PPDU when the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

[0144] Exemplarily, the sending time of the next PPDU is expressed as t3, and the transmitting end MLD determining the first time may include: if the transmitting end MLD does not obtain the transmission state information of the second link at time t3, the transmitting end MLD determines t3 as the first time.

[0145] Based on this solution, since SIFS is less than PIFS, if the first PPDU is transmitted normally, the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link is earlier than the PIFS time after the end of the first BA. Therefore, compared with the prior art of retransmitting the failed PPDU at the PIFS time after the end of the first BA, the link recovery can be achieved earlier, the waiting time before retransmission is reduced, and more time can be used to transmit new data, thereby improving the link throughput.

[0146] For error recovery of the second link, the transmitting end MLD performs a similar process to error recovery of the first link, or in other words, the second site performs error recovery of the second link using a method similar to that of the first site. Please refer to the above related descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0147] The implementation is described below with a specific example.

[0148] For example, based on the scenario shown in FIG5 , with the first link being link 1, the second link being link 2, the first PPDU being PPDU11, the third PPDU being PPDU21, the first BA being BA11, and the BA of PPDU21 being BA21, as shown in FIG8 , if AP1 does not receive BA11 after a SIFS duration from the end time of the first PPDU, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP1) can determine that the transmission of PPDU11 on link 1 has failed. Subsequently, if the AP transmitter MLD (or AP1) does not obtain the transmission status information of the second link at time t3, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP1) sends PPDU11' via link 1 at time t3, and PPDU11' can be understood as the second PPDU.

[0149] Similarly, if AP2 does not receive BA21 after a SIFS period starting from the end time of the third PPDU, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP2) can determine that the transmission of PPDU21 on link 2 has failed. Thereafter, if the AP transmitter MLD (or AP2) does not obtain the transmission status information of the first link at time t3, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP2) sends PPDU21' via link 2 at time t3, and PPDU21' can be understood as the fourth PPDU.

[0150] In another possible implementation, the interval between the first moment and the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link is PIFS.

[0151] The first moment is later than the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link, that is, the transmitting end MLD waits for the PIFS duration from the moment when the transmission status information of the second link is obtained, and then sends the second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link.

[0152] Optionally, when the interval between the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link and the end moment of the first PPDU is less than or equal to PIFS, the transmitting end MLD determines that the interval between the first moment and the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link is PIFS.

[0153] Exemplarily, the end time of the first PPDU is represented as t4, and the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link is represented as t2. Then it can be expressed that when t2-t4≤PIFS, the transmitting end MLD determines that the interval between the first time and the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link is PIFS.

[0154] For error recovery of the second link, the transmitting end MLD performs a similar process to error recovery of the first link, or in other words, the second site performs error recovery of the second link using a method similar to that of the first site. Please refer to the above related descriptions and will not be repeated here.

[0155] The implementation is described below with a specific example.

[0156] For example, based on the scenario shown in FIG5 , with the first link being link 1, the second link being link 2, the first PPDU being PPDU11, the third PPDU being PPDU21, the first BA being BA11, and the BA of PPDU21 being BA21, as shown in FIG9 , if AP1 does not receive BA11 after a SIFS duration from the end time of the first PPDU, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP1) can determine that the transmission of PPDU11 on link 1 has failed. Subsequently, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP1) uses t2 as the start time of the first time period and sends PPDU11' via link 1 at the end time of the first time period. PPDU11' can be understood as the second PPDU.

[0157] Similarly, if AP2 does not receive BA21 after a SIFS period starting from the end time of the third PPDU, the AP transmitter MLD (or AP2) can determine that the transmission of PPDU21 on link 2 has failed. The AP transmitter MLD (or AP2) then uses t2 as the start time of the first time period and sends PPDU21' via link 2 at the end time of the first time period. PPDU21' can be understood as the fourth PPDU.

[0158] It should be noted that the complete alignment of the RTS / CTS of Link 1 and Link 2 in Figures 7-9 does not limit the solution of this embodiment to the case where the RTS / CTS are completely aligned on multiple links. This solution can also be applied to the case where the RTS / CTS are not completely aligned on multiple links. For example, the solution shown in Figure 7 can also be applied to the scenario shown in Figure 10, where PPDU10 and PPDU20 include RTS, and BA10 and BA20 include CTS.

[0159] The RTSs of different links are completely aligned, which may mean that the start and end times of the RTSs on different links are the same. The CTSs of different links are completely aligned, which may mean that the start and end times of the CTSs on different links are the same.

[0160] Based on this solution, on the one hand, in the scenario where one of the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD has STR capability and the other does not, and the transmission of the first PPDU of the first link fails, the transmitter MLD can send a second PPDU at the first moment to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU, thereby achieving error recovery for the first link. On the other hand, when the first moment is the moment when the transmitter MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link, the delay of the internal transmission status information exchange of the transmitter MLD is taken into account. Compared with the scenario where the transmission status information exchange is very rapid, this is more conducive to product implementation and reduces the design pressure on the transmitter MLD. Alternatively, when the first moment is the moment when the next PPDU on the first link is sent when the first PPDU is transmitted normally, compared with the scenario where the second PPDU is sent at a moment after the end time of the BA of the first PPDU, link recovery can be achieved earlier, the waiting time before retransmission is reduced, and more time can be spent on transmitting new data, thereby improving the throughput of the link.

[0161] The above embodiments describe an error recovery method for a scenario where PPDU transmission failure occurs on both the first link and the second link between the transmitting MLD and the receiving MLD. Furthermore, embodiments of the present application also provide a link error recovery method that is not limited to scenarios where PPDU transmission failure occurs on both the first link and the second link.

[0162] The method can be executed by a transmitting MLD or a component (e.g., a chip) capable of transmitting MLD. This application describes the method by using a transmitting MLD as an example. Furthermore, in this method, one of the transmitting MLD and the receiving MLD has STR capability, while the other does not.

[0163] In the following embodiments of the present application, the transmitting end MLD is an AP MLD and the receiving end MLD is a non-STR STA MLD as an example. It is assumed that the AL MLD includes two sites, AP1 and AP2, AP1 supports link 1, AP2 supports link 2, the non-STR STA MLD includes STA1 and STA2, and STA1 communicates with AP1 through link 1, and STA2 communicates with AP2 through link 2 for illustration.

[0164] In a possible implementation scenario, as shown in FIG11 , the method includes the following steps:

[0165] S1101: A transmitting MLD determines that transmission of a first PPDU on a first link fails.

[0166] The relevant description in step S1101 can refer to the above-mentioned step S601 and will not be repeated here.

[0167] S1102: The transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link at a first moment. Correspondingly, the receiver MLD receives the second PPDU from the transmitter MLD via the first link.

[0168] The second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous portion of the first PPDU. For details on how the transmitting end MLD sends the second PPDU to the receiving end MLD, please refer to the description of step S602 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0169] Optionally, after receiving the second PPDU, the receiving end MLD may send the BA of the second PPDU to the transmitting end MLD, or may perform service processing according to the second PPDU, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0170] The first moment in this embodiment is described below. Optionally, in different implementation scenarios of this embodiment, the first moment may also be different.

[0171] In one possible implementation, when the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails and the BA of the third PPDU on the second link is successfully transmitted, the first moment is the expected end time of the first BA, the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU, and the end time of the third PPDU is the same as the end time of the first PPDU.

[0172] For example, if the first link is link 1, the second link is link 2, a PPDU transmission failure occurs on link 1, and a transmission failure does not occur on link 2, the first PPDU is PPDU11, and the first BA is BA11, as shown in Figure 12, if AP1 does not receive BA11 after the SIFS period from the end time of the first PPDU, the AP transmitting end MLD (or AP1) can determine that the transmission of PPDU11 on link 1 has failed. Afterwards, the AP MLD (or AP1) sends PPDU11' through link 1 at the expected end time of the first BA. PPDU11' is the second PPDU. Among them, PPDU21 is the third PPDU on link 2, and PPDU22 is the fourth PPDU on link 2.

[0173] In another implementation, when the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails and the BA of the third PPDU on the second link is successfully transmitted, the first moment is later than the expected end time of the first BA, the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU, and the end time of the third PPDU is the same as the end time of the first PPDU.

[0174] Taking FIG. 12 as an example, the first moment of sending the PPDU 11 ′ on the first link, that is, the sending time of the PPDU 11 ′ is not earlier than the expected end time of the first BA.

[0175] Optionally, the first moment and the expected end time of the first BA are separated by a certain time. For example, the interval between the sending time of PPDU11' on the first link and the expected end time of the first BA can be a frame alignment error, such as 8us.

[0176] Optionally, the first moment is the same as or aligned with the actual end time of BA2 on the second link. For example, the sending time of PPDU11' on the first link may be the actual end time of BA2 on the second link, where BA21 is the BA of PPDU21 on the second link, and PPDU21 is the third PPDU on the second link.

[0177] It should be noted that in this possible implementation, the sending-end MLD has STR capability, that is, STR MLD, and the receiving-end MLD does not have STR MLD capability, that is, non-STR MLD.

[0178] In another possible implementation, when the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails and the transmission of the BA of the third PPDU on the second link fails, the first moment is the expected end time of the first BA, the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU, and the end time of the third PPDU is the same as the end time of the first PPDU.

[0179] Optionally, the BA transmission failure may include a BA decoding failure.

[0180] In this possible implementation, the link error recovery method provided in this embodiment may further include: the transmitter MLD sends a fourth PPDU to the receiver MLD via the second link at a second moment, where the fourth PPDU is used to retransmit the PPDU containing the error portion of the third PPDU.

[0181] The interval between the second moment and the end moment of the BA of the third PPDU is PIFS, and the second moment is later than the end moment of the BA of the third PPDU.

[0182] Optionally, the end time of the fourth PPDU is the same as the end time of the second PPDU.

[0183] For example, taking the first link as link 1, the second link as link 2, PPDU transmission failure occurs on link 1, BA transmission failure occurs on link 2, the first PPDU is PPDU11, the first BA is BA11, the third PPDU is PPDU21, and the BA of the third PPDU is BA21 as an example, as shown in Figure 13, if BA21 transmission fails, AP MLD (or AP2) can wait for the PIFS duration from the end time of BA21 and then send PPDU21', and the PPDU21' is the fourth PPDU.

[0184] It should be noted that in this possible implementation, the sending-end MLD has STR capability, that is, STR MLD, and the receiving-end MLD does not have STR MLD capability, that is, non-STR MLD.

[0185] Based on the above two possible implementation methods, sending the second PPDU at the expected end time of the first BA can achieve link recovery earlier than sending the second PPDU at the time after the end time of the first BA after the interval PIFS. This reduces the waiting time before retransmission, and allows more time to transmit new data, thereby improving the link throughput.

[0186] In another possible implementation, when the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails and the transmission of the BA of the third PPDU on the second link fails, the interval between the first moment and the expected end time of the first BA is PIFS, and the first moment is later than the end time of the first BA.

[0187] In this possible implementation, the link error recovery method provided in this embodiment may further include: the transmitting end MLD sends a fourth PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the second link at a second moment, where the fourth PPDU is used to retransmit the PPDU containing the erroneous portion of the third PPDU. For the second moment, please refer to the above-mentioned relevant description.

[0188] For example, taking the first link as link 1, the second link as link 2, PPDU transmission failure occurs on link 1, BA transmission failure occurs on link 2, the first PPDU is PPDU11, the first BA is BA11, the third PPDU is PPDU21, and the BA of the third PPDU is BA21 as an example, as shown in Figure 14, when PPDU11 fails to transmit, AP MLD (or AP1) sends PPDU11' at the first moment, and the PPDU11' is the second PPDU. When BA21 fails to transmit, AP MLD (or AP2) sends PPDU21' at the second moment, and the PPDU21' is the fourth PPDU.

[0189] It should be noted that in this possible implementation, the sending-end MLD does not have the STR capability, that is, non-STR MLD, and the receiving-end MLD has the STR MLD capability, that is, STR MLD.

[0190] In another possible implementation, when the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails and the BA transmission of the third PPDU on the second link fails, the first moment may be the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link, and the transmission status information of the second link may be used to indicate the BA transmission failure of the third PPDU.

[0191] Optionally, the first moment is earlier than the expected end moment of the first BA.

[0192] In this possible implementation, the link error recovery method provided in this embodiment may further include: the transmitting end MLD sends a fourth PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the second link at a second moment, where the fourth PPDU is used to retransmit the PPDU containing the erroneous portion of the third PPDU. For the second moment, please refer to the above-mentioned relevant description.

[0193] For example, taking the first link as link 1, the second link as link 2, PPDU transmission failure occurs on link 1, BA transmission failure occurs on link 2, the first PPDU is PPDU11, the first BA is BA11, the third PPDU is PPDU21, the BA of the third PPDU is BA21, and the moment when the sending end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link is t2. As shown in Figure 15, in the case of PPDU11 transmission failure, AP MLD (or AP1) t2 sends PPDU11', and the PPDU11' is the second PPDU. In the case of BA21 transmission failure, AP MLD (or AP2) sends PPDU21' PIFS after BA21, and the PPDU21' is the fourth PPDU.

[0194] It should be noted that in this possible implementation, the sending-end MLD has STR capability, that is, STR MLD, and the receiving-end MLD does not have STR MLD capability, that is, non-STR MLD.

[0195] Based on this possible implementation method, compared to the case where the second PPDU is sent after the end time of the first BA, the link recovery can be achieved earlier, the waiting time before retransmission is reduced, and more time can be used to transmit new data, thereby improving the link throughput.

[0196] It can be understood that in the above four possible implementations, since the receiving end MLD is non-STR MLD, the end time of the second PPDU is the same as the end time of the fourth PPDU on the second link.

[0197] Optionally, for an implementation method in which the end time of the fourth PPDU is made the same as the end time of the second PPDU, the later-transmitted PPDU between the fourth PPDU and the second PPDU may adjust its own PPDU length according to the length of the earlier-transmitted PPDU, for example, by aggregating fewer media access control protocol data units (MPDUs) or reducing padding to adjust the length.

[0198] Optionally, in the four possible implementations described above, if the first link is not idle within a first time period ending at the first moment, or if a CCA fails within the first time period, channel backoff can be initiated at the expected end time of the first BA. After the channel backoff completes, the transmitting MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiving MLD via the first link. This solution allows for continued backoff recovery even if PIFS recovery fails, improving the reliability of link error recovery.

[0199] Based on the scheme shown in Figure 11 above, on the one hand, in the scenario where the transmitting MLD has STR capability and the receiving MLD does not have STR capability, and the transmission of the first PPDU of the first link fails, the transmitting MLD can send the second PPDU at the first moment to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU, thereby achieving error recovery of the first link; on the other hand, in the case where the BA transmission of the third PPDU on the second link fails, the fourth PPDU can be sent at the second moment to retransmit the erroneous part of the third PPDU, thereby achieving error recovery of the second link.

[0200] In another possible implementation scenario, as shown in FIG16 , the method includes the following steps:

[0201] S1601: A transmitting end MLD determines that a first PPDU or a first BA transmission on a first link fails.

[0202] The first BA is the BA of the first PPDU. If the transmission failure of the first PPDU or the first BA fails, please refer to the above related description, which will not be repeated here.

[0203] S1602: The transmitting end MLD starts performing channel backoff at the first moment.

[0204] The first time is the end time of the first BA. It can be understood that the channel backoff is the channel backoff on the first link.

[0205] S1603: After the channel backoff is completed, the transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link. Correspondingly, the receiver MLD receives the second PPDU from the transmitter MLD via the first link.

[0206] The second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

[0207] It can be understood that in step S1603, the transmitting end MLD does not perform CCA before sending the second PPDU.

[0208] For example, taking the first link as link 1, the second link as link 2, PPDU transmission failure occurs on link 1, and no transmission failure occurs on link 2, the first PPDU is PPDU11, and the first BA is BA11, as shown in Figure 17, at the expected end time of BA11, AP MLD (or AP1) starts to perform channel backoff, and sends PPDU11' after the backoff ends. This PPDU11' is the second PPDU.

[0209] Optionally, in the event that the BA transmission of the third PPDU on the second link fails, the transmitting end MLD may also perform channel backoff on the second link at the end time of the BA, and after the channel backoff ends, send a fourth PPDU to the receiving end MLD on the second link for retransmitting the erroneous part of the third PPDU.

[0210] Optionally, after receiving the second PPDU, the receiving end MLD may send the BA of the second PPDU to the transmitting end MLD, or may perform service processing according to the second PPDU, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0211] Based on this solution, on the one hand, in the scenario where the transmitting MLD has STR capability and the receiving MLD does not have STR capability, and the transmission of the first PPDU of the first link fails, the transmitting MLD can start to perform channel backoff at the expected end time of the BA of the first PPDU, and after the channel backoff ends, send the second PPDU on the first link to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU, thereby achieving error recovery of the first link; on the other hand, in the case where the transmission of the BA of the third PPDU on the second link fails, the channel backoff on the second link can be started at the end time of the BA, and after the channel backoff ends, send the fourth PPDU to retransmit the erroneous part of the third PPDU, thereby achieving error recovery of the second link.

[0212] In addition, embodiments of the present application also provide a link error recovery method. This method can be performed by a transmitting MLD or a component (e.g., a chip) capable of performing the transmitting MLD. This application illustrates the method performed by the transmitting MLD as an example. In this method, one of the transmitting MLD and the receiving MLD is STR-capable, while the other is not. This means that one is a STR MLD and the other is a non-STR MLD.

[0213] In this method, after the TXOP on each link of the transmitting MLD is successfully established, the interframe interval after the BA in the TXOP is PIFS, and the interframe interval after the PPDU is still SIFS. For example, as shown in Figure 18, the interframe interval after BA11 and BA12 is SIFS, and the interframe interval after PPDU11 and PPDU12 is PIFS.

[0214] It is understandable that since a BA in this application is a type of reply frame, the frame interval after the BA in the TXOP is PIFS, which can be understood as: the frame interval after the reply frame is PIFS. Accordingly, in the embodiment of this application, receiving a BA can also be understood as receiving a reply frame.

[0215] FIG19 is a flow chart of the method. The link error recovery method may include the following steps:

[0216] S1901: A transmitting end MLD receives a first BA on a first link.

[0217] Among them, the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

[0218] Optionally, if the transmitting end MLD fails to decode the BA of the first PPDU after receiving it, it can be considered that the transmission of the BA of the first PPDU has failed.

[0219] S1902: The transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link. Correspondingly, the receiver MLD receives the second PPDU from the transmitter MLD via the first link.

[0220] The interval between the start time of the second PPDU and the end time of the first BA is the frame interval, which is PIFS. For the relevant description of the transmitting end MLD sending the second PPDU to the receiving end MLD, please refer to the relevant description in the above step S602 and will not be repeated here.

[0221] Optionally, when the first BA decoding fails, the second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

[0222] For example, taking the first link as link 1, the second link as link 2, the first PPDU on link 1 as PPDU12, and the BA (BA12) decoding of PPDU12 failing as an example, as shown in Figure 20, after the decoding of BA12 fails, the transmitting end MLD sends PPDU12' in the next frame of BA12. The frame interval between BA12 and PPDU12' is PIFS, and the PPDU12' is the second PPDU.

[0223] In addition, when the transmission of the first PPDU on the first link fails, the transmitting end MLD can still send a second PPDU to the receiving end through the first link in the next frame of the first BA to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

[0224] For example, taking the first link as link 1, the second link as link 2, the first PPDU on link 1 as PPDU12, and the transmission of PPDU12 failing as an example, as shown in FIG21 , after the transmission of PPDU12 fails, the transmitting end MLD sends PPDU12' in the next frame of BA12. The frame interval between BA12 and PPDU12' is PIFS, and the PPDU12' is the second PPDU.

[0225] Optionally, after receiving the second PPDU, the receiving end MLD may send the BA of the second PPDU to the transmitting end MLD, or may perform service processing according to the second PPDU, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0226] Based on this solution, when the interframe interval after a BA is PIFS, even if PPDU or BA transmission fails on a link, the transmitting MLD does not obtain transmission status information on other links when performing error recovery on that link. This avoids information exchange within the transmitting MLD and saves power consumption. Furthermore, because the interframe interval after a BA on each link is PIFS and the interframe interval after a PPDU is SIFS, synchronous transmission can be achieved even when error recovery on a link is performed without obtaining transmission status information on other links. For example, in the examples shown in Figures 20 and 21, if a transmission failure occurs on link 1 but not on link 2, using this method to perform error recovery on link 1 allows synchronous transmission with link 2, thereby preventing non-STR MLD devices from sending and receiving data simultaneously.

[0227] The above is the link error recovery method provided by this application. The following summarizes the link error recovery in various scenarios.

[0228] It should be noted that this summary describes the cases where the transmitting MLD is either STR MLD or non-STR MLD, and the links between the transmitting MLD and the receiving MLD include link 1 and link 2. Link 1 and link 2 are merely examples of link distinctions; their link states are interchangeable. When the link states are interchangeable, the same method can still be used to recover from the faulty link.

[0229] For an explanation of the link states involved in the following summary, see Table 1.

[0230] Table 1

[0231] Link status interpretation successful PPDU and BA transmission and reception are successful PPDU error PPDU transmission failure BA error BA transmission failure

[0232] When the sending end is STR MLD, the transmission scheme or error recovery scheme in various scenarios can be seen in Table 2 below.

[0233] Table 2

[0234]

[0235] When the sender is non-STR MLD, the transmission scheme or error recovery scheme in various scenarios can be seen in Table 3 below.

[0236] Table 3

[0237]

[0238]

[0239] It is understandable that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the transmitting-end MLD may also be implemented by components (eg, chips or circuits) that can be used for the transmitting-end MLD.

[0240] The above primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Accordingly, embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. This communication device can be the transmitting MLD described in the method embodiments described above, or a device including the transmitting MLD, or a device included in the transmitting MLD, such as a system-on-chip.

[0241] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0242] In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules of the communication device can be divided according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0243] For example, taking the transmitter MLD in the above method embodiment as an example, FIG22 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a transmitter MLD 220. The transmitter MLD 220 includes a transceiver module 2201 and a processing module 2202. The transceiver module 2201, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement transmission and / or reception functions and can be, for example, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

[0244] In one possible implementation:

[0245] The processing module 2202 is configured to determine that a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) transmission on the first link fails;

[0246] The transceiver module 2201 is configured to transmit a second PPDU to the receiver MLD via the first link at a first time. The second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous portion of the first PPDU. The first time is the time when the transmitter MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link; the transmission status information of the second link indicates that the transmission of the third PPDU on the second link has failed. Alternatively, the first time is the time when the next PPDU on the first link is transmitted if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

[0247] Another possible implementation:

[0248] The processing module 2202 is configured to determine that transmission of a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) on the first link fails;

[0249] The transceiver module 2201 is configured to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD via the first link at a first time, wherein the second PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous portion of the first PPDU. The first time is an expected end time of a first acknowledgment block (BA), and the first BA is a BA of the first PPDU.

[0250] In another possible implementation:

[0251] The processing module 2202 is configured to determine that a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU or a first acknowledgment block BA fails to be transmitted on the first link, where the first BA is a BA of the first PPDU;

[0252] The processing module 2202 is further configured to start performing channel backoff at a first moment, where the first moment is an end moment of the first BA;

[0253] The transceiver module 2201 is configured to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD via the first link after the channel backoff ends. The second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

[0254] In another possible implementation:

[0255] The processing module 2202 is configured to receive a first block acknowledgement (BA) on the first link through the transceiver module 2201, where the first BA is a BA of a first physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU);

[0256] The processing module 2202 is further configured to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD on the first link through the transceiver module 2201, wherein the interval between the start time of the second PPDU and the end time of the first BA is a frame interval, which is a point coordination function frame interval PIFS.

[0257] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0258] In this embodiment, the transmitting end MLD 220 is presented in the form of various functional modules divided in an integrated manner. Here, "module" can refer to a specific ASIC, circuit, processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuit, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0259] Since the transmitting end MLD220 provided in this embodiment can execute the above communication method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be described in detail here.

[0260] FIG23 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware structure of a communication device 230 according to an embodiment of the present application, wherein the communication device 230 includes at least one processor 2301 , a communication circuit 2302 , a memory 2303 , and at least one communication interface 2304 .

[0261] The functions of the transmitting end MLD can be implemented by the communication device 230. For example, the processor 2301 in FIG23 can call the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2303 to enable the communication device 230 to execute the method in the above method embodiment.

[0262] Specifically, the steps / implementation processes in FIG6 or FIG11 or FIG16 or FIG19 can be implemented by the processor 2301 in FIG23 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2303. Alternatively, the processing-related functions / implementation processes in FIG6 or FIG11 or FIG16 or FIG19 can be implemented by the processor 2301 in FIG23 calling computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2303, and the transceiver-related functions / implementation processes in FIG6 or FIG11 or FIG16 or FIG19 can be implemented by the communication interface 2304 in FIG23.

[0263] The processor 2301 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program of the present application.

[0264] The communication link 2302 may include a pathway for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0265] The communication interface 2304 uses any transceiver or other device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), etc.

[0266] The memory 2303 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor via a communication line 2302. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0267] The memory 2303 is used to store computer-executable instructions for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 2301. The processor 2301 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 2303, thereby implementing the link error recovery method provided in the following embodiments of the present application.

[0268] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0269] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 2301 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in Figure 23.

[0270] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 230 may include multiple processors, such as the processor 2301 and the processor 2308 in FIG23 . Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0271] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 230 may further include an output device 2305 and an input device 2306. The output device 2305 communicates with the processor 2301 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 2305 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 2306 communicates with the processor 2301 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 2306 can be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0272] The communication device 230 can be a general-purpose device or a dedicated device. In a specific implementation, the communication device 230 can be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal device, an embedded device, or a device with a structure similar to that shown in FIG23 . The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the communication device 230.

[0273] Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the method in any of the above method embodiments. In one possible design, the communication device also includes a memory. The memory is used to store necessary program instructions and data, and the processor can call the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to execute the method in any of the above method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, it may be composed of a chip, or it may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0274] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)). In the embodiment of the present application, the computer may include the aforementioned device.

[0275] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art can understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0276] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A link error recovery method, It is characterized in that The method is applied to a transmitting end multi-link device MLD, wherein the link between the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD includes a first link and a second link, wherein one of the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD has a capability of simultaneously transmitting and receiving STR, and the other does not have a capability of simultaneously transmitting and receiving STR, and the method includes: The transmitting end MLD determines that the transmission of the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU on the first link fails; The transmitting end MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link at a first moment, where the second PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the first PPDU; The first moment is the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link; the transmission status information of the second link is used to indicate that the transmission of the third PPDU on the second link fails; Alternatively, the first moment is the sending moment of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The interval between the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link and the expected start time of the first acknowledgment block BA is less than or equal to the first duration, and the first time is the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link; Among them, the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU; the first duration is the sum of the length of the first BA and the short frame interval SIFS.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link, including: The first station receives the transmission state information of the second link from the second station, the first station is a station in the sending-side MLD that supports the first link, and the second station is a station in the sending-side MLD that supports the second link.

4. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Before the second time, the transmitting end MLD does not obtain the transmission state information of the second link, and the first time is the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally; The second moment is later than the expected end time of the first BA, the interval between the second moment and the expected end time of the first BA is SIFS, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, It is characterized in that The second PPDU has the same end time as a fourth PPDU on the second link, and the fourth PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the third PPDU.

6. A link error recovery method, It is characterized in that The method is applied to a transmitting end multi-link device MLD, wherein the multiple links between the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD include a first link, the transmitting end MLD has the capability of simultaneously transmitting and receiving STR, and the receiving end MLD does not have the STR capability, and the method includes: The transmitting end MLD determines that the transmission of the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU on the first link fails; The transmitting end MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link at a first moment, where the second PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the first PPDU; The first moment is the expected end time of the first confirmation block BA, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

7. A link error recovery method, It is characterized in that The method is applied to a transmitting end multi-link device MLD, wherein the multiple links between the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD include a first link, the transmitting end MLD has the capability of simultaneously transmitting and receiving STR, and the receiving end MLD does not have the STR capability, and the method includes: The transmitting end MLD determines that the transmission of a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU or a first acknowledgment block BA on the first link fails, and the first BA is a BA of the first PPDU; The transmitting end MLD starts to perform channel backoff at a first time, where the first time is an end time of the first BA; After the channel backoff ends, the transmitting end MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link, where the second PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the first PPDU.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, It is characterized in that The link between the transmitter MLD and the receiver MLD also includes a second link, the end time of the first PPDU is the same as the end time of the third PPDU on the second link, and the end time of the second PPDU is the same as the end time of the fourth PPDU on the second link.

9. A link error recovery method, It is characterized in that The method is applied to a transmitting end multi-link device MLD, wherein the multiple links between the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD include a first link, and one of the transmitting end MLD and the receiving end MLD has a capability of simultaneously transmitting and receiving STR, and the other does not have a capability of STR, and the method includes: The transmitting end MLD receives a first block acknowledgment BA on the first link, where the first BA is a BA of a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU; The transmitter MLD sends a second PPDU to the receiver MLD through the first link, wherein the interval between the start time of the second PPDU and the end time of the first BA is a frame interval, and the frame interval is a point coordination function frame interval PIFS.

10. A transmitting multi-link device MLD, It is characterized in that The transmitting end MLD supports multiple links for communication with the receiving end MLD, the multiple links include a first link and a second link, and the transmitting end MLD includes: a processing module and a transceiver module; The processing module is used to determine that the transmission of the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU on the first link fails; The transceiver module is used to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link at a first moment, where the second PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the first PPDU; The first moment is the moment when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission status information of the second link; the transmission status information of the second link is used to indicate that the transmission of the third PPDU on the second link fails; Alternatively, the first moment is the sending moment of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally.

11. The transmitting end MLD according to claim 10, It is characterized in that The interval between the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link and the expected start time of the first acknowledgment block BA is less than or equal to the first duration, and the first time is the time when the transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link; Among them, the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU; the first duration is the sum of the length of the first BA and the short frame interval SIFS.

12. The transmitting end MLD according to claim 10 or 11, It is characterized in that The transmitting end MLD obtains the transmission state information of the second link, including: The first station receives the transmission status information of the second link from the second station through the transceiver module, the first station is a station in the sending end MLD that supports the first link, and the second station is a station in the sending end MLD that supports the second link.

13. The transmitting end MLD according to claim 10, It is characterized in that Before the second time, the transmitting end MLD does not obtain the transmission state information of the second link, and the first time is the sending time of the next PPDU on the first link if the first PPDU is transmitted normally; The second moment is later than the expected end time of the first BA, the interval between the second moment and the expected end time of the first BA is SIFS, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, It is characterized in that, The second PPDU has the same end time as a fourth PPDU on the second link, and the fourth PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the third PPDU.

15. A transmitting multi-link device MLD, It is characterized in that The transmitting end MLD supports multiple links for communication with the receiving end MLD, the multiple links include a first link, and the transmitting end MLD includes: a processing module and a transceiver module; The processing module is used to determine that the transmission of the first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU on the first link fails; The transceiver module is used to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link at a first moment, where the second PPDU is used to retransmit an erroneous part of the first PPDU; The first moment is the expected end time of the first confirmation block BA, and the first BA is the BA of the first PPDU.

16. A transmitting multi-link device MLD, It is characterized in that The transmitting end MLD supports multiple links for communication with the receiving end MLD, the multiple links include a first link, and the transmitting end MLD includes: a processing module and a transceiver module; The processing module is used to determine that a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU or a first acknowledgement block BA on the first link fails to be transmitted, and the first BA is a BA of the first PPDU; The processing module is further configured to start performing channel backoff at a first moment, where the first moment is an end moment of the first BA; The transceiver module is used to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD through the first link after the channel backoff ends, and the second PPDU is used to retransmit the erroneous part of the first PPDU.

17. The transmitting end MLD according to claim 15 or 16, It is characterized in that The multiple links also include a second link, the end time of the first PPDU is the same as the end time of the third PPDU on the second link, and the end time of the second PPDU is the same as the end time of the fourth PPDU on the second link.

18. A transmitting multi-link device MLD, It is characterized in that The transmitting end MLD supports multiple links for communication with the receiving end MLD, the multiple links include a first link, and the transmitting end MLD includes: a processing module and a transceiver module; The processing module is configured to receive a first block acknowledgement BA on the first link through the transceiver module, where the first BA is a BA of a first physical layer protocol data unit PPDU; The processing module is also used to send a second PPDU to the receiving end MLD on the first link through the transceiver module, wherein the interval between the start time of the second PPDU and the end time of the first BA is a frame interval, and the frame interval is a point coordination function frame interval PIFS.

19. A multi-link device, It is characterized in that The multi-link device comprises: a processor; When the multi-link device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to enable the multi-link device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, It is characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed on a multi-link device, the multi-link device is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

21. A computer program product, It is characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, and when the computer program is run on a multi-link device, the multi-link device is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

22. A chip, It is characterized in that The chip comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to communicate with a module outside the chip, and the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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