Communication method, apparatus and device, and medium and program product

Abstract

The present application belongs to the field of wireless communications. Disclosed are a communication method, apparatus and device, and a medium and a program product. The method is executed by a first MLD. The method comprises: a first station affiliated with a first MLD sending a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, wherein the first frame is used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link. By means of the first frame, each second station is caused to switch to the anchor channel, and the first station can acquire the medium busy / idle status of the anchor channel by means of monitoring by the second station, thereby preventing the first station from losing medium synchronization after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

Description

Communication method, apparatus, device, medium and program product TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication, and in particular to a communication method, apparatus, device, medium and program product. BACKGROUND

[0002] In some scenarios, Basic Service Sets (BSSs) are densely deployed, and the coverage ranges or Basic Service Areas (BSAs) of some BSSs can overlap, forming Overlapping Basic Service Sets (OBSSs). Stations located in the overlapping areas of the coverage ranges of different BSSs can face fluctuating OBSS interference.

[0003] To reduce OBSS interference, a station can be switched to a non-primary channel. However, after the station is switched from a primary channel to a non-primary channel, medium synchronization can be lost.

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a communication method, apparatus, device, medium and program product, and the technical solution at least includes:

[0006] According to an aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, the method is performed by a first Multi-Link Device (MLD), and the method includes:

[0007] A first station attached to the first MLD sends a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations attached to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the first MLD includes an Access Point Multi-Link Device (AP MLD) or a non-Access Point Station Multi-Link Device (non-AP MLD), the second MLD includes an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD, and the first MLD is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0008] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a communication method is provided, the method is performed by a second MLD, and the method includes:

[0009] a second station affiliated with the second MLD receives a first frame on a primary channel of the first link, the first frame indicating or requesting or suggesting one or more second stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the first MLD comprises an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, or a non-access point station multi-link device, non-AP MLD, the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, or a non-access point station multi-link device, non-AP MLD, the first MLD is associated with or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0010] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising:

[0011] a sending module configured to send a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame indicating or requesting or suggesting one or more second stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the apparatus comprises an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, or a non-access point station multi-link device, non-AP MLD, the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, or a non-access point station multi-link device, non-AP MLD, the apparatus is associated with or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0012] According to another aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising:

[0013] a receiving module configured to receive a first frame sent by a first MLD on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame indicating or requesting or suggesting one or more second stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the first MLD comprises an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, or a non-access point station multi-link device, non-AP MLD, the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, or a non-access point station multi-link device, non-AP MLD, the first MLD is associated with or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0014] According to an aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided, the communication device comprising: a processor; a transceiver connected to the processor; a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the communication method according to any of the above aspects.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided, which comprises a receiver, and the communication device is configured to implement the communication method according to the above aspects.

[0016] According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer readable storage medium is provided, which stores at least one program, and the at least one program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the communication method according to the above aspects.

[0017] According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer program product or a computer program is provided, which comprises computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, and a processor acquires the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to implement the communication method according to the above aspects.

[0018] According to an aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a chip is provided, which comprises a programmable logic circuit and / or at least one program, and the chip is configured to implement the communication method according to the above aspects based on the programmable logic circuit and / or the at least one program.

[0019] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can have the following beneficial effects:

[0020] The first station supports the second station switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel through the first frame. After switching to the anchor channel, the second station can acquire the busy state of the medium of the anchor channel through listening, and thus the first station can acquire the busy state of the medium of the anchor channel through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding the first station losing the medium synchronization after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort.

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided by an example embodiment of the present application;

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD provided by an example embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a non-AP MLD provided by an example embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG. 4 shows a non-primary channel access diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG. 5 shows a secondary channel access diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a secondary channel access diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0028] FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0030] FIG. 9 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG. 10 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG. 12 shows an anchor channel diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG. 13 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG. 14 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG. 15 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 16 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG. 17 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG. 18 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG. 19 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG. 20 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG. 21 shows a channel switching diagram according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG. 22 shows a diagram of channel switching according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG. 23 shows a diagram of channel switching according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG. 24 shows a diagram of a first action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG. 25 shows a diagram of a basic trigger frame according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG. 26 shows a diagram of a second action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG. 27 shows a diagram of a third action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG. 28 shows a diagram of a fourth action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG. 29 shows a diagram of a fifth action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG. 30 shows a block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG. 31 shows a block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG. 32 shows a block diagram of a communication apparatus according to an example embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] For the purpose of clarity, technical solution, and advantages of the present application, the following will make a further detailed description of the embodiments of the present application in conjunction with the drawings. Here will be described in detail the example embodiments, which are shown in the drawings. The following description relates to the drawings, when different figures of the same numbers represent the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The following example embodiments described in the embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present application. Rather, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application, as detailed in the appended claims.

[0055] The terminology used in this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in this application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0056] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used herein to describe various information, but the information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another type of information. For example, without departing from the scope of the application, the first information can also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information can also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein can be interpreted as meaning "when" or "in response to determining". In the present specification, when expressing the meaning of a Boolean value, it is expressed as "0" representing "the first meaning", "1" representing "the second meaning", without loss of generality, the skilled in the art can understand that the representative meaning can be reversed, i.e. "1" represents "the first meaning" and "0" represents "the second meaning".

[0057] It should be understood that the format, name and value of the frames / elements / fields involved in various embodiments of the present application are only examples and do not mean to limit the format, name and value of the frames / elements / fields. In different embodiments or different designs, one or more of the name of the above-mentioned elements / fields, the position in the frame, the arrangement order between the other elements / fields, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied can change. In different embodiments or different designs, one or more of the name of the above-mentioned frame, the elements / fields contained, the number of bytes occupied, the number of bits occupied can change.

[0058] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 according to an example embodiment of the present application. The wireless communication system 100 includes stations (STAs) and stations. In the present application, a STA includes an access point station (AP STA) and / or a non-AP STA, where the AP STA can be referred to as an AP. The communication between a STA and a STA can be implemented as the communication between an AP and a non-AP STA, or the communication between a non-AP STA and a non-AP STA, or the communication between a STA and a peer STA. The peer STA refers to a device that communicates with the STA, and the peer STA can be an AP or a non-AP STA. FIG. 1 takes the example of the wireless communication system 100 including an AP 110 and a non-AP STA 120.

[0059] The AP 110 is a device deployed in a wireless local area network (WLAN) / wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system to provide wireless communication functions for STAs. The AP 110 is equivalent to a bridge connecting a wired network and a wireless network, and mainly functions to connect various wireless network clients together and then access the wireless network to an Ethernet network. The AP 110 can be a terminal device or a network device (such as a router) with a WLAN / Wi-Fi chip.

[0060] In some embodiments, the AP 110 can be a device supporting multiple current and future Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family WLAN standards, such as 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. The AP 110 can also be applied to a network environment supporting a next-generation WLAN system / next-generation Wi-Fi communication.

[0061] The non-AP STA 120 can be a wireless communication device supporting WLAN / Wi-Fi technology, such as a wireless communication device with a WLAN / Wi-Fi chip.

[0062] In some embodiments, the non-AP STA 120 can be a device that supports multiple current and future IEEE 802.11 family of WLAN standards, such as 802.11be, 802.11bn, 802.11ax, 802.11ac, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b, and 802.11a. The non-AP STA 120 can also be applied in a network environment that supports next-generation WLAN systems / next-generation Wi-Fi communications.

[0063] In embodiments of the present application, the next-generation WLAN system is a WLAN system evolved from the 802.11be system and can meet the backward compatibility with the 802.11be system. The next-generation Wi-Fi communication is any new generation of Wi-Fi communication after Wi-Fi 7 based on the 802.11be specification, such as Ultra High Reliability (UHR) communication, etc.

[0064] In some embodiments, the AP 110 and the non-AP STA 120 both support the IEEE 802.11 protocol, but are not limited to the IEEE 802.11 protocol.

[0065] It can be understood that the role of the STA in wireless communication is not absolute. For example, when the mobile phone A connects to the router, the mobile phone A is a non-AP STA, and when the mobile phone A acts as a hotspot for the mobile phone B, the mobile phone A acts as an AP.

[0066] The STA in embodiments of the present application can be a device with wireless transceiving functions, such as a device that supports 802.11 series protocols and can communicate with an AP or other STAs. For example, the STA is any user communication device that allows a user to communicate with an AP and thus communicate with a WLAN. The STA is, for example, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile terminal, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device, etc.

[0067] The STA in the embodiments of the present application can also be a device providing voice / data / image connectivity to a user, for example, a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a home device, a household appliance, a game device, etc. with wireless connection function or equipped with a wireless communication module. For example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a drone or aerial photography device, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device with wireless communication function, other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, a terminal device in a beyond 5G (B5G) network, a terminal device in a 6G network, a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The present embodiments are not limited thereto. The present embodiments are not limited thereto.

[0068] As an example but not limitation, the STA in the embodiments of the present application can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. For example, a smart watch or smart glasses, etc., and only focus on a certain type of application function, need to be used with other devices such as smart phones, such as various types of smart wristbands, smart jewelry, etc.

[0069] In addition, the STA in the embodiments of the present application can also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. The IoT is an important part of future information technology development, and its main technical feature is to connect objects through communication technology and network, so as to realize the intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection. In the embodiments of the present application, the IoT technology can achieve mass connection, deep coverage and terminal power saving through, for example, Narrow Band (NB) technology.

[0070] In addition, the STA in the embodiments of the present application can also be a vehicle-mounted communication device or a vehicle itself in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system. The communication mode in the V2X system is collectively referred to as V2X (X represents anything). For example, the V2X communication includes Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication, Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communication, Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P) communication or Vehicle to Network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0071] In some embodiments, the frequency bands that the wireless communication system 100 can support include, but are not limited to, millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands (such as 45 GHz, 60 GHz, etc. belonging to the frequency bands in the range of 30-300 GHz), low frequency frequency bands. Among them, the low frequency frequency band includes the Sub-7GHz frequency band (such as 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, etc. belonging to the frequency band in the range of 1-7.25GHz).

[0072] In some embodiments, there is one or more links between the AP 110 and the non-AP STA 120.

[0073] In some embodiments, multi-band communication is supported between the AP 110 and the non-AP STA 120. For example, communication is simultaneously performed in one or more of the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz, 45GHz, 60GHz, etc. frequency bands. For another example, communication is simultaneously performed on different channels of the same frequency band or different channels of different frequency bands. Multi-band communication can improve the communication throughput and / or reliability between devices. Such a device supporting multi-band communication can be considered to have Multi-Link Operation (MLO) capability, and is usually referred to as a multi-band device or a multi-link device (MLD), and is sometimes also referred to as a multi-band entity or a multi-link entity. In other words, the MLD is an entity or device that supports communication with other MLD entities using multiple wireless links.

[0074] An AP MLD can include one or more APs, i.e., the affiliated STAs of an AP MLD include one or more APs. A non-AP MLD can include one or more non-AP STAs, i.e., the affiliated STAs of a non-AP MLD include one or more non-AP STAs. An AP MLD and a non-AP MLD can form one or more links between them, and each AP affiliated to the AP MLD and each non-AP STA affiliated to the non-AP MLD can communicate over the corresponding link. A non-AP MLD and a non-AP MLD can also form one or more Peer-to-Peer (P2P) links between them, and each non-AP STA affiliated to the two non-AP MLDs respectively can communicate over the corresponding P2P link. An AP MLD and an AP MLD can also form one or more P2P links between them, and each AP affiliated to the two AP MLDs respectively can communicate over the corresponding P2P link.

[0075] For example, referring to FIG. 2, the non-AP MLD 1, the non-AP MLD 2, and the non-AP MLD 3 are all associated with an AP MLD. The STA 11 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 1, the STA 21 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 2, and the STA 31 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 3 are associated with the AP 1 on the link 1, and the AP 1 is affiliated to the AP MLD. The STA 12 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 1, the STA 22 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 2, and the STA 32 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 3 are associated with the AP 2 on the link 2, and the AP 2 is affiliated to the AP MLD. The STA 13 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 1, the STA 23 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 2, and the STA 33 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 3 are associated with the AP 3 on the link 3, and the AP 3 is affiliated to the AP MLD.

[0076] For example, referring to FIG. 3, the STA 41 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 4 and the STA 51 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 5 respectively establish P2P links with the STA 61 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 6, and the STA 42 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 4 and the STA 52 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 5 respectively establish P2P links with the STA 62 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 6.

[0077] Basic Service Set (BSS) is the basic topology structure in WLAN / Wi-Fi communication. The communication devices constituting the BSS include one AP and a plurality of non-AP STAs. After joining the wireless domain of the AP, each non-AP STA establishes association with the AP, and the associated non-AP STA and the AP can perform data transmission, and the non-AP STAs in the same BSS can exchange data through the AP.

[0078] In the present application, the primary channel refers to the channel commonly used by the member stations in all BSSs. For example, in a 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz BSS, the primary channel is a primary 20MHz channel (The common channel of operation for all stations (STAs) that are members of the basic service set (BSS). For example, in a 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz BSS the primary channel is a primary 20MHz channel).

[0079] Non-primary channel refers to any 20MHz channel other than the primary 20MHz channel in a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz BSS (In a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz basic service set (BSS), any 20MHz channel other than the primary 20MHz channel).

[0080] Primary 20MHz Channel: In a 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz basic service set (BSS), the 20MHz channel that is used to transmit 20MHz physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs).

[0081] Primary 40MHz Channel: In an 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz basic service set (BSS), the 40MHz channel that is used to transmit 40MHz physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs).

[0082] Primary 80MHz Channel: In a 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz basic service set (BSS), the 80MHz channel that is used to transmit 80MHz physical layer (PHY) protocol data units (PPDUs).

[0083] Primary 160MHz Channel: In a 320MHz basic service set (BSS), the 160MHz channel that contains the primary 20MHz channel.

[0084] Optionally, the primary 20MHz channel, the primary 40MHz channel, the primary 80MHz channel, and the primary 160MHz channel can be collectively referred to as a primary channel.

[0085] Secondary Channel: A channel associated with a primary channel used to create a channel wider than the primary channel. In a 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz, 80+80MHz, or 320MHz basic service set (BSS) the secondary channel is a secondary 20MHz channel.

[0086] Secondary 20MHz Channel: In a 40MHz BSS, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the 40MHz channel of the 40MHz BSS. In an 80MHz BSS, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the primary 40MHz channel of the 80MHz BSS. In a 160MHz or 80+80MHz BSS, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the primary 40MHz channel of the 160MHz or 80+80MHz BSS. In a 320MHz BSS, the 20MHz channel adjacent to the primary 20MHz channel that together form the primary 40MHz channel of the 320MHz BSS.

[0087] Secondary 40MHz Channel: In an 80MHz BSS, the 40MHz channel adjacent to the primary 40MHz channel that together form the 80MHz channel of the 80MHz BSS. In a 160MHz or 80+80MHz BSS, the 40MHz channel adjacent to the primary 40MHz channel that together form the primary 80MHz channel. In an 320MHz BSS, the 40MHz channel adjacent to the primary 40MHz channel that together form the 80MHz channel of the 320MHz BSS.

[0088] Secondary 80MHz Channel: In a 160MHz or 80+80MHz BSS, the 80MHz channel not including the primary 20MHz channel, that together with the primary 80MHz channel form the 160MHz or 80+80MHz channel of the 160MHz or 80+80MHz BSS. In a 320MHz basic service set, the 80MHz channel adjacent to the primary 80MHz channel that together form the primary 160MHz channel.

[0089] Secondary 160MHz Channel: In a 320MHz basic service set (BSS), the 160MHz channel not including the primary 20MHz channel, which together with the primary 160MHz channel, forms the 320MHz channel of the 320MHz BSS.

[0090] Optionally, the above-mentioned secondary 20MHz channel, secondary 40MHz channel, secondary 80MHz channel, and secondary 160MHz channel can be referred to as a secondary channel.

[0091] Subchannel: In the embodiments of the present application, a subchannel can be understood as a narrow-bandwidth channel in a wide-bandwidth channel. For example, assuming that a wide-bandwidth channel corresponds to an 80MHz channel. Optionally, the 80MHz channel can be divided into four 20MHz narrow-bandwidth channels, and each narrow-bandwidth channel is a sub-20MHz channel. Optionally, the 80MHz channel can also be divided into two 40MHz narrow-bandwidth channels, and each narrow-bandwidth channel is a sub-40MHz channel.

[0092] Operating Channel: The operating channel is the channel in which beacons are transmitted. The operating channel can be a set of multiple subchannels used by a station when operating. For example, a 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz operating channel.

[0093] Operating Channel Width: The channel width in which the station (STA) is currently able to receive. For example, a 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz or 320MHz operating channel width.

[0094] In some scenarios, BSSs are densely deployed, and the coverage of different BSSs overlaps. Each BSS can be in the same frequency band (for example, the 2.4GHz frequency band, for example, the 5GHz frequency band, for example, the 6GHz frequency band, and the like). The operating channels of different BSSs can partially or completely overlap. If a BSS operates on the same channel as a STA belongs to and is located within (partly or wholly) the basic service area (BSA) of the BSS to which the STA belongs, the BSS can be referred to as an OBSS (A BSS operating on the same channel as the STA’s BSS and within (either partly or wholly) its BSA). Obviously, a STA located in the overlapping area of different BSSs will suffer more interference, such as co-channel interference (CCI), adjacent channel interference (ACI), and the like.

[0095] To reduce the interference caused by OBSS, it can be considered to switch the STA to a non-primary channel for transmission.

[0096] FIG. 4 shows a Non-Primary Channel Access (NPCA) diagram provided by an example embodiment of the present application. S80 represents a secondary channel with a channel bandwidth of 80 MHz, and P80 represents a primary channel with a channel bandwidth of 80 MHz. When the AP and / or non-AP STA detects that the primary channel is occupied by OBSS transmission, it switches to an Auxiliary Primary Channel (or auxiliary primary channel) and acquires a Transmission Opportunity (TXOP) through (MU-)RTS and CTS frame interaction, or acquires a TXOP through BSRP and BSR frame interaction. Here, MU represents Multi User, RTS represents Request-To-Send, CTS represents Clear-To-Send, BSRP represents Buffer Status Report Poll, and BSR represents Buffer Status Report. BA represents a Block Acknowledgment frame.

[0097] Before acquiring a TXOP on the Auxiliary Primary Channel, the AP and / or non-AP STA need to perform channel idle detection. When the AP and / or non-AP STA performs channel idle detection on the Auxiliary Primary Channel, if it can be determined that the Auxiliary Primary Channel was previously occupied by its own BSS (i.e., the Auxiliary Primary Channel was previously in a Network Allocation Vector (NAV) state), it can be considered that the Auxiliary Primary Channel is idle during the corresponding period.

[0098] FIG. 5 shows a Secondary Channel Access (SCA) diagram provided by an example embodiment of the present application. The AP simultaneously monitors the primary channel and the Second Primary Channel. During the period when the primary channel is occupied by OBSS, the AP competes for a TXOP on the Second Primary Channel through RTS and CTS frame interaction or BSRP and BSR frame interaction, and the TXOP has a duration that does not exceed the duration of the occupation by the OBSS.

[0099] The non-AP STA switches to the second primary channel to wait for the AP to initiate transmission after detecting that the primary channel is occupied by the OBSS, and switches back to the primary channel at the end of the time period occupied by the OBSS.

[0100] FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of secondary channel access according to an example embodiment of the present application. The AP and the non-AP STA do not need to have the capability of multi-channel concurrent packet detection or clear channel assessment (CCA). Channel access is only allowed on one non-primary channel (indicated by the AP). The AP and the non-AP STA indicate their respective channel switching delays. Before initiating a TXOP on the non-primary channel, the non-AP STA must follow the baseline medium synchronization recovery rules in the existing standard. The TXOP period on the non-primary channel is limited to not exceed the TXOP period on the primary channel of the OBSS. A short control frame is used when initiating a TXOP on the non-primary channel.

[0101] However, in the non-primary / secondary channel access schemes shown in FIGS. 4-6, there is a problem that cannot be ignored: before switching from the primary channel to the non-primary / secondary channel to perform the enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) mechanism to obtain the TXOP, the AP and / or the non-AP STA need to perform medium synchronization, otherwise interference will be generated to the neighbor BSS that is transmitting on the secondary channel. The conventional medium synchronization recovery mechanism can take a long time, and therefore, the present application proposes a communication method that enables the AP and the non-AP STA to complete medium synchronization as soon as possible.

[0102] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a first MLD. The method includes at least part of the following steps:

[0103] Step 720: A first station attached to the first MLD transmits a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations attached to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link.

[0104] The first station includes an AP or a non-AP STA, the second station includes an AP or a non-AP STA, the first MLD is associated with the one or more second MLDs, or the first MLD establishes a P2P link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0105] In this application, the first MLD can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. If the first MLD is an AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the first MLD include one or more APs, and thus the first station can be one or more APs affiliated to the first MLD. If the first MLD is a non-AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the first MLD include one or more non-AP STAs, and thus the first station can be one or more non-AP STAs affiliated to the first MLD.

[0106] In this application, the second MLD can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. If the second MLD is an AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the second MLD include one or more APs, and thus the second station can be one or more APs affiliated to the second MLD. If the second MLD is a non-AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the second MLD include one or more non-AP STAs, and thus the second station can be one or more non-AP STAs affiliated to the second MLD.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first station affiliated to the first MLD, also referred to as the first MLD-affiliated first station, also referred to as the first MLD-included first station. The second station affiliated to the second MLD, also referred to as the second MLD-affiliated second station, also referred to as the second MLD-included second station.

[0108] In some embodiments, the first station indicates or requests or suggests one or more second stations affiliated to one second MLD to switch to the anchor channel of the first link by sending a first frame on the primary channel of the first link.

[0109] In some embodiments, the first station indicates or requests or suggests a plurality of second stations affiliated to a plurality of second MLDs to switch to the anchor channel of the first link by sending a first frame on the primary channel of the first link. Wherein the number of second stations affiliated to one second MLD can be one or more, and the number of second stations affiliated to different second MLDs can be the same or different.

[0110] In this application, the anchor channel is a subchannel in the current operating channel of the first station, which is used as the primary channel when the first station and the associated STA (e.g., the second station) perform non-primary channel access, or which is used as the primary channel when the first station and the STA (e.g., the second station) that has established a P2P link perform non-primary channel access. The anchor channel can also be referred to as one or more of the following: second primary channel, auxiliary primary channel, temporary primary channel, target subchannel.

[0111] In some embodiments, the anchor channel is a 20MHz subchannel other than the primary 20MHz, which is used as the new primary 20MHz channel when the first station and the associated STA (e.g., the second station) perform non-primary channel access.

[0112] In some embodiments, the operating channel width of the first station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is the same as the operating channel width before the switching. The operating channel width of the second station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is the same as the operating channel width before the switching.

[0113] In some embodiments, the operating channel width of the first station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is smaller than the operating channel width before the switching. The operating channel width of the second station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is smaller than the operating channel width before the switching.

[0114] After the second station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel based on the first frame, the second station can perform listening on the anchor channel to accurately obtain the medium busy state on the anchor channel. Therefore, the medium busy state of the anchor channel before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel is accurately obtained by the second station.

[0115] In summary, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application supports the first station to cause the second station to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel through the first frame. The second station can obtain the medium busy state of the anchor channel through listening after switching to the anchor channel. Therefore, the first station can obtain the medium busy state of the anchor channel through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding the loss of medium synchronization after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

[0116] In some embodiments, on the basis of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, step 720 can also be implemented as step 810, as shown in FIG. 8. Optionally, the first MLD can further perform one or more of the following optional steps: step 820, step 830, step 840, step 850, step 860, step 870, step 880, and step 890.

[0117] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a first MLD. The method comprises at least part of the following steps:

[0118] Step 810: A first station affiliated with the first MLD transmits a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link.

[0119] The transmission time of the first frame is related to an end time of a current TXOP on the primary channel, or is related to a start time of an interference period on the primary channel.

[0120] In some embodiments, the first frame is transmitted by the first station before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel, and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel. It should be noted that the first frame is transmitted before the end of the current TXOP, which means that the first frame can be transmitted at any time within the current TXOP, as long as the transmission time of the first frame is before the end time of the current TXOP, and it is not required that the first frame must be transmitted at the end of the current TXOP.

[0121] In some embodiments, the current TXOP on the primary channel is obtained by the first station itself, or is shared by other stations to the first station. The other stations can or can not include the second station.

[0122] In some embodiments, the bandwidth for transmitting a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) in the current TXOP on the primary channel includes the anchor channel, and it can be considered that the medium state of the anchor channel in the current TXOP is known to the second station. Therefore, if the second station switches to the anchor channel before the end of the current TXOP, the second station does not need to perform a medium synchronization recovery process on the anchor channel, that is, the first station and the second station do not lose the medium synchronization of the anchor channel. If the second station switches to the anchor channel after the end of the current TXOP, the second station needs to start a first timer on the anchor channel to perform medium synchronization.

[0123] In some embodiments, the bandwidth for transmitting the PPDU in the current TXOP on the primary channel does not include the anchor channel, and thus, the medium status of the anchor channel in the current TXOP is unknown to the second station. Whether the second station switches to the anchor channel before or after the end of the current TXOP, the first station needs to initiate the first timer for medium synchronization on the anchor channel.

[0124] In some embodiments, the interference caused by the OBSS transmission on the primary channel of the first link, and / or, the non-Wi-Fi RF interference within the device, and / or, the interference from other sources, is predictable, but the specific occurrence time of the interference is unpredictable, the first station affiliated to the first MLD can instruct or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to the anchor channel of the first link in advance to assist in medium synchronization. Therefore, sending the first frame before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel is an opportunistic method, if the first station expects that there will be interference in the next period of time, the first frame is sent before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel, and one or more of the following steps 820 to 890 are performed, otherwise the first frame is not sent before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel.

[0125] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by the first station before the start time of the interference period, the interference period includes the period of time when the interference occurs on the primary channel; the second station switches to the anchor channel before the start time of the interference period. Optionally, the interference period is periodic, that is, the interference occurs periodically on the primary channel. Optionally, the interference period is aperiodic, that is, the interference occurs aperiodically on the primary channel.

[0126] In some embodiments, the time length between the sending time of the first frame and the start time of the interference period is greater than or equal to the first time length. Optionally, the first time length is agreed by the communication protocol, or is predefined, or is indicated by the first MLD, or is determined by negotiation between the first MLD and the second MLD. Exemplarily, the first time length is the value of dot11MSDTimerDuration. Exemplarily, the first time length is 5484μs.

[0127] Exemplarily, referring to FIG. 9, the first station expects that the interference occurs on the primary channel at T m , that is, the start time of the interference period on the primary channel is T m , then the first station sends the first frame no later than T m -T s , that is, the sending time of the first frame is earlier than or equal to T m -T s . The second station switches to the anchor channel no later than T m- T s switching to the anchor channel.

[0128] In some embodiments, the duration of the second station's stay on the anchor channel is related to one or more of the following: a target beacon transmission time (TBTT); a predefined timeout time; a timeout time indicated by the first station; indication information indicating the second station to switch back to the primary channel; whether the second station needs to transmit on the primary channel; an end time of the interference period. For details, please refer to the description in step 1110 below.

[0129] In some embodiments, to compensate for the reduction in transmission efficiency caused by the second station staying on the anchor channel, the first station can trigger the second station to perform uplink transmission more frequently in subsequent transmissions, or allow the second station to use basic EDCA parameters instead of MU EDCA parameters for channel contention for a period of time after switching back to the primary channel.

[0130] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more of the following fields: a field indicating whether the second station switches to the anchor channel of the first link; a field indicating the association identifier of one or more second stations; a field indicating the operating channel after the second station switches; a field indicating the time when the second station switches to the anchor channel; a field indicating the duration of the second station's stay on the anchor channel of the first link.

[0131] In some embodiments, the first frame includes one or more of the following: a trigger frame, a first action frame, a quality of service null frame (Qos Null Frame) carrying an aggregated control (A-Control) field, a QoS data frame carrying an A-Control field, and a BA frame carrying an A-Control field.

[0132] Step 820: After the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link, the first station affiliated to the first MLD stays on the primary channel of the first link or switches to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0133] In some embodiments, after the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link.

[0134] For example, after the current TXOP on the primary channel ends, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link if the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link is idle. If the first station does not have data waiting to send to the second station, the first station does not trigger the second station, i.e., the first station does not indicate to the second station, and the second station continues to stay on the anchor channel.

[0135] For example, after the current TXOP on the primary channel ends, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link if the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link is idle. If the first station does not have data waiting to send to the second station, the first station does not trigger the second station, i.e., the first station does not indicate to the second station, and the second station continues to stay on the anchor channel.

[0136] In some embodiments, after the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link ends, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link and indicates to the second station to switch back to the primary channel of the first link.

[0137] For example, after the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link ends, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link if the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link is idle. If the first station detects that the anchor channel of the first link is idle and the first station has data waiting to send to the second station, the first station indicates to the second station to switch back from the anchor channel of the first link to the primary channel of the first link.

[0138] In some embodiments, after the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link ends, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link and indicates to the second station to continue to stay on the anchor channel of the first link.

[0139] For example, after the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link ends, the first station stays on the primary channel of the first link if the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link is idle. If the first station detects that the anchor channel of the first link is idle and the first station has data waiting to send to the second station, the first station indicates to the second station to continue to stay on the anchor channel of the first link.

[0140] In some embodiments, after the current TXOP on the primary channel ends, the first station switches to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0141] Exemplarily, after the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel, if the first station detects an OBSS PPDU transmission on the primary channel of the first link (i.e., there is OBSS interference on the primary channel), or the first station learns of other radio frequency interference within the device (which can be the first station itself and / or other stations of the first MLD), or other reasons (such as the first station needs to switch to the anchor channel, or must switch to the anchor channel under certain conditions, etc.), the first station switches from the primary channel of the first link to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0142] Step 830: After the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link, the first station affiliated to the first MLD acquires first NAV information and / or first idle information of the second station on the anchor channel.

[0143] The first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the second station on the anchor channel, i.e., the first NAV information and / or the first idle information detected by the second station on the anchor channel.

[0144] In some embodiments, the first NAV information includes one or more of the following: a first NAV, a source BSS color of the first NAV, a source BSSID of the first NAV, a frame type of a source frame of the first NAV, a bandwidth of a source PPDU of the first NAV. Wherein, the first NAV is a NAV on the anchor channel; the source BSS color of the first NAV refers to the BSS Color of the source BSS of the first NAV; the source BSSID of the first NAV refers to the BSS Identifier (BSSID) of the source BSS of the first NAV.

[0145] Wherein, the source BSS of the first NAV refers to the BSS to which the other station sending one or more of the following signaling belongs: an MPDU carrying a Duration field, a PPDU carrying an HE-SIG-A field containing a TXOP field, a PPDU carrying a U-SIG field containing a TXOP field, and the second station can acquire the value of the first NAV through the Duration field and / or the TXOP field.

[0146] In some embodiments, the frame type of the source frame of the first NAV includes any one of the following: a control frame (such as a CTS frame), a management frame (such as an action frame), and a data frame.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first NAV is a basic NAV. For example, when the second station maintains an Intra-BSS NAV and a basic NAV, the first NAV is the basic NAV among them.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first idle information comprises one or more of: a first idle duration, a first idle bandwidth. The first idle duration refers to an idle duration on the anchor channel, and the first idle bandwidth refers to an idle bandwidth on the anchor channel.

[0149] In some embodiments, the step 830 can be implemented as the step 830b and the step 830c, or the step 830 can be implemented as the step 830a, the step 830b and the step 830c.

[0150] The step 830a: the third station attached to the first MLD sends a third frame to one or more fourth stations attached to one or more second MLDs on the second link.

[0151] The third frame is used to request or suggest the fourth station to send the second frame, which can also be understood as the third frame being used to request or suggest the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information.

[0152] In some embodiments, the third station requests or suggests one or more fourth stations attached to one second MLD to send the second frame by sending the third frame on the second link.

[0153] In some embodiments, the third station requests or suggests multiple fourth stations attached to multiple second MLDs to send the second frame by sending the third frame on the second link. The number of fourth stations attached to a single second MLD can be one or more, and the number of fourth stations attached to different second MLDs can be the same or different.

[0154] In some embodiments, the third frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a request field indicating that the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; a link identification bitmap field indicating one or more links corresponding to the one or more first stations; an Association Identifier (AID) field indicating the AID of the one or more second stations.

[0155] In some embodiments, the third frame comprises one or more of the following: a second action frame, a trigger frame, a Qos Null frame carrying an A-Control field, a QoSData frame carrying an A-Control field, and a BA frame carrying an A-Control field.

[0156] In some embodiments, the third frame can be referred to as a request frame, or a NAV information request frame, or an idle information request frame, etc., and the specific name of the third frame is not limited in the present application.

[0157] In some embodiments, the second MLD satisfies one or more of the following: a distance between the first MLD and the second MLD is less than or equal to a fourth threshold; the first MLD and the second MLD are the same OBSS on the first link that can be heard by the first MLD and the second MLD; the second MLD supports reporting the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; the second MLD enables the function of reporting the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; and the second MLD works in a non-power saving mode.

[0158] The distance between the first MLD and the second MLD can be known through a ranging protocol. Whether the first MLD and the second MLD are the same OBSS on the first link that can be heard by the first MLD and the second MLD can be determined through the OBSS information reported by the second MLD.

[0159] For example, in order to avoid the invalidity of the reported first NAV information and / or the first idle information caused by the hidden node, the first MLD selects one or more second MLDs according to the fourth threshold and / or the OBSS information, such that the distance between the first MLD and the second MLD is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and / or the first MLD and the second MLD are the same OBSS on the first link that can be heard by the first MLD and the second MLD.

[0160] For example, if the second MLD supports reporting the first NAV information and / or the first idle information, the first MLD selects the second MLD. If the second MLD does not support reporting the first NAV information and / or the first idle information, the first MLD does not select the second MLD.

[0161] For example, if the second MLD enables the function of reporting the first NAV information and / or the first idle information, the first MLD selects the second MLD. If the second MLD does not enable the function of reporting the first NAV information and / or the first idle information, the first MLD does not select the second MLD.

[0162] For example, if the second MLD works in a power saving mode, the first MLD does not select the second MLD. If the second MLD works in a non-power saving mode, the first MLD selects the second MLD.

[0163] Step 830b: one or more fourth stations attached to one or more second MLDs send a second frame to a third station attached to the first MLD on a second link.

[0164] The second frame carries the first NAV information and / or the first idle information.

[0165] In some embodiments, the second frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a link identification bitmap field, a request field, a NAV field, a BSS color field, an MPDU type field, a PPDU bandwidth field, a free duration field, a free bandwidth field.

[0166] In some embodiments, the second frame is sent before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel; or, the second frame is sent after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

[0167] In some embodiments, the second frame comprises one or more of the following: a third action frame, a Qos Null frame carrying an A-Control field, a QoS Data frame carrying an A-Control field, a BA frame carrying an A-Control field.

[0168] In some embodiments, the second frame is sent based on the third frame, i.e., the third station sends the second frame based on a request or indication or suggestion of the third frame. Alternatively, the second frame is sent autonomously by the third station, i.e., the third station sends the second frame proactively without receiving the third frame.

[0169] In some embodiments, the fourth station obtains the first NAV information and / or the first free information of the second station on the anchor channel through information exchange within the second MLD.

[0170] In some embodiments, information exchange between different links within the second MLD requires a certain time, i.e., there is a first internal delay (which can be denoted as IntraDelay1) in information exchange within the second MLD. To avoid the impact of IntraDelay1 on the first NAV, the fourth station modifies the first NAV before sending it to the third station. For example, the first NAV is obtained by subtracting IntraDelay1 from the NAV of the anchor channel informed by the second station. The specific value of IntraDelay1 is implementation-based. Different MLDs may have different internal delays, and the same MLD may have different internal delays in different communication environments, e.g., IntraDelay1 is equal to 16μs or less than 16μs or greater than 16μs.

[0171] Step 830c: The first station attached to the first MLD obtains the first NAV information and / or the first free information through the third station attached to the first MLD.

[0172] For example, the first station obtains the first NAV information and / or the first free information from the third station through information exchange within the first MLD.

[0173] Step 840: The first station affiliated to the first MLD determines the second NAV and / or starts the first timer.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first station determines the second NAV according to the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel. After successfully obtaining the first NAV information and / or the first idle information, the first station can derive and set the second NAV after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel on the first link, so that the first station can perform a basic channel access process based on the second NAV and transmit with the second station or other stations switched to the anchor channel. The second NAV refers to the NAV after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

[0175] In some embodiments, the second NAV is the base NAV. For example, when the first station maintains a BSS internal NAV and a base NAV, the second NAV is the base NAV.

[0176] Suppose the time when the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel on the first link is the first time (which can be denoted as T1), and the second NAV can be determined in the following ways:

[0177] (1) The second NAV is determined according to the difference between the first time and the end time (referred to as the second time, which can be denoted as T2) indicated by the first NAV.

[0178] For example, if the first MLD has obtained the first NAV information at T1, and the end time (i.e., T2) indicated by the first NAV in the first NAV information is later than T1, the first station sets the second NAV as the difference between T2 and T1, i.e., second NAV = T2-T1, so that the medium is synchronized, and the first timer no longer needs to be started.

[0179] (2) The second NAV is determined according to T2-T1 and a first delay value (which can be denoted as D1).

[0180] For example, if the first MLD has obtained the first NAV information at T1, and T2 is later than T1, the first station sets the second NAV as the sum of the difference between T2 and T1 and the first delay value, i.e., second NAV = T2-T1+D1. The first delay value can be agreed by a communication protocol, predefined, indicated by the first MLD, or determined by negotiation between the first MLD and the second MLD. For example, the first delay value is a Distributed Coordination Function Interframe Space (DIFS).

[0181] (3) The second NAV is determined according to T2-T1 and a second internal delay (which can be denoted as IntraDelay2).

[0182] In some embodiments, the exchange of information between different links within the first MLD needs to consume a certain time, i.e., there is a second internal delay (IntraDelay2) for the information exchange within the first MLD. The specific value of IntraDelay2 is implementation-based, and the internal delays of different MLDs can be different, and the internal delays of the same MLD in different communication environments can also be different, e.g., IntraDelay2 is equal to 16 μs or less than 16 μs or greater than 16 μs. IntraDelay2 can be the same as or different from IntraDelay1.

[0183] For example, if the first MLD has obtained the first NAV information at T1, and T2 is later than T1, and T2-T1-IntraDelay2>0, the second NAV is set to the difference between T2 and T1 minus the second internal delay, i.e., the second NAV=T2-T1-IntraDelay2.

[0184] (4) The second NAV is determined according to T2-T1, the first delay value, and the second internal delay.

[0185] For example, if the first MLD has obtained the first NAV information at T1, and T2 is later than T1, and T2-T1-IntraDelay2>0, the first station sets the second NAV=T2-T1-IntraDelay2+D1.

[0186] (5) The second NAV is determined according to the difference between T2 and the time (which can be denoted as T3) at which the first MLD obtains the first NAV information.

[0187] For example, the first MLD has not obtained the first NAV information at T1, and the first MLD obtains the first NAV information and / or the second idle information after T1. Assuming that the first MLD obtains the first NAV information at T3, if T2 is later than T3, the first station sets the second NAV to the difference between T2 and T3, i.e., the second NAV=T2-T3.

[0188] (6) The second NAV is determined according to T2-T3 and a second delay value (which can be denoted as D2).

[0189] Exemplarily, the first MLD acquires the first NAV information and / or the second idle information after T1, assuming that the first MLD acquires the first NAV information at T3, if T2 is later than T3, the first station sets the second NAV as the sum of T2-T3 and the second delay value, i.e., the second NAV = T2-T3+D2. The second delay value can be agreed by the communication protocol, or predefined, or indicated by the first MLD, or determined by the first MLD and the second MLD in negotiation. Exemplarily, the second delay value is DIFS. Alternatively, the second delay value is the same as or different from the first delay value.

[0190] (7) The second NAV is determined according to T2-T3, the second internal delay (which can be denoted as IntraDelay2).

[0191] Exemplarily, the first MLD acquires the first NAV information and / or the second idle information after T1, assuming that the first MLD acquires the first NAV information at T3, if T2 is later than T3, and T2-T3-IntraDelay2>0, the second NAV is set as the difference between T2 and T3 and the second internal delay, i.e., the second NAV = T2-T3-IntraDelay2.

[0192] (8) The second NAV is determined according to T2-T3, the second delay value, and the second internal delay.

[0193] Exemplarily, the first MLD acquires the first NAV information and / or the second idle information after T1, assuming that the first MLD acquires the first NAV information at T3, if T2 is later than T3, and T2-T3-IntraDelay2>0, the first station sets the second NAV = T2-T3-IntraDelay2+D2.

[0194] (9) The second NAV is set to 0.

[0195] Exemplarily, if the first idle duration (which can be denoted as D4) is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the first timer does not expire / end at the time (which can be denoted as T4) when the first MLD acquires the first idle information, the first station sets the second NAV to 0 and resets the first timer. The first threshold can be agreed by the communication protocol, or predefined, or indicated by the first MLD, or determined by the first MLD and the second MLD in negotiation. Exemplarily, the first threshold is DIFS, or the duration indicated by dot11MSDTimerDuration, or 5484μs.

[0196] Exemplarily, if the first MLD records the duration D3 of the PPDU carrying the first idle information sent by the fourth station at the time (denoted as T4) when the first MLD obtains the first idle information, and the first idle duration is greater than or equal to the second duration, and the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link remains idle within the D3 period, and the first timer does not time out / end at T4, the first station sets the second NAV to 0 and resets the first timer. The second duration is the duration between T1 and T4. T4 can be the same as or different from T3.

[0197] In (1) to (9) above, there is a case where T2 is later than T1, and further, in some embodiments, the difference between T2 and T1 is not less than a second threshold (denoted as MinDelay), that is, T2-T1≥MinDelay. The second threshold can be agreed by the communication protocol, or predefined, or indicated by the first MLD, or determined by negotiation between the first MLD and the second MLD. Exemplarily, MinDelay is 72μs, and of course, MinDelay can also be less than or greater than 72μs.

[0198] In some embodiments, if the first MLD does not obtain the first NAV information at time T1, or T2 is earlier than T1, or T2 is equal to T1, the first station starts the first timer to complete the medium synchronization. The first timer is related to the medium synchronization delay. Exemplarily, the first timer is a MediumSyncDelay timer. Exemplarily, the medium synchronization process is as follows:

[0199] • If the current transmission duration is greater than aMediumSyncThreshold (e.g., 72 μs), a first timer (e.g., MediumSyncDelay timer) needs to be started at the end of the current transmission, unless a first timer started before the current transmission has not expired. If the current transmission duration is less than or equal to aMediumSyncThreshold, the first station can choose not to start (or restart) the first timer. All Enhanced Distributed Channel Access Functions (EDCAFs) within the first station share the same first timer, which has a duration of dot11MSDTimerDuration. The first station initializes dot11MSDTimerDuration based on the aPPDUMaxTime value determined by the Extremely High Throughput (EHT) physical layer characteristics. If the AP to which the first station is associated carried the Medium Synchronization Delay Information field in the Basic Multi-Link Element in the most recently transmitted frame, the first station needs to update dot11MSDTimerDuration with the value of this field.

[0200] • If the first station is able to acquire a TXOP (contend and backoff based on EDCA channel access mechanism), then in the case that the first timer is non-zero, it must perform the following procedure: If the first station is a non-AP STA, it must transmit an RTS frame as the initial frame to the associated AP in the acquired TXOP; If the first station is an AP affiliated to a Non-Simultaneous Transmit Receive (NSTR) Mobile (Mobile) AP MLD, it must transmit an RTS frame as the initial frame to the associated non-AP STA in the acquired TXOP, and follow the relevant rules of NSTR mobile AP MLD Operation in the communication protocol; From the start of the first timer, the first station must not initiate more than the dot11MSDTXOPMax number of attempts of a TXOP. Otherwise, if the first station is unable to acquire a TXOP, or, from the start of the first timer, the first station initiates more than the dot11MSDTXOPMax number of attempts of a TXOP, then, prior to initiating the transmission, the first station must perform a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) until the first timer expires. In the case that the first timer is non-zero, the first station must not use spatial reuse operation based on OBSS Packet Detection (PD) to transmit any PPDU.

[0201] In some embodiments, if the first MLD acquires the first NAV information and / or the second idle information after the first station switches to the anchor channel, i.e., the first MLD acquires the first NAV information and / or the second idle information after T1, the first station resets the first timer to 0 in the case that one or more of the following conditions are met:

[0202] • The second time is later than or equal to the first time, and the first timer does not expire at the time when the first MLD acquires the first NAV information;

[0203] • The first idle information includes a first idle duration that is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the first timer does not expire at the time when the first MLD acquires the first idle information;

[0204] • The first idle information includes a first idle duration that is greater than or equal to the second duration, and the first station detects that the primary channel remains idle within the duration of the PPDU carrying the first idle information, and the first timer does not expire at the time when the first MLD acquires the first idle information;

[0205] • the first station receives a Media Access Control Layer Protocol Data Unit (MPDU) after starting the first timer;

[0206] • the first station receives a PPDU after starting the first timer;

[0207] wherein the second time is an end time indicated by a first NAV included in the first NAV information (which can be denoted as T2), the first time is a time when the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel (which can be denoted as T1), the time when the first MLD obtains the first NAV information can be denoted as T3, the time when the first MLD obtains the first idle information can be denoted as T4, the first duration is a duration between the first time and the third time, and the third time is a time when the first MLD receives a PPDU carrying the first idle information sent by the fourth station.

[0208] For example, if T2 is later than T1, and the first timer does not expire / end at T3, the first station resets the first timer to 0.

[0209] For example, if the first idle duration (which can be denoted as D4) is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the first timer does not expire / end at T4, the first station resets the first timer to 0 and sets the second NAV to 0.

[0210] For example, if the first MLD records, at T4, a duration of the PPDU carrying the first idle information sent by the fourth station as D3, and the first idle duration is greater than or equal to the second duration, and the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link remains idle within the D3 period, and the first timer does not expire / end at T4, the first station resets the first timer to 0 and sets the second NAV to 0. That is, if the first MLD obtains, at T4, the first idle duration D4, and the duration of the PPDU (sent by the fourth station) carrying the first idle information is D3, and D4≥T4-D3-T1, and the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link remains idle within the D3 period, and the first timer does not expire / end at T4, the first station resets the first timer to 0 and sets the second NAV to 0.

[0211] For example, the first station receives an MPDU after starting the first timer, that is, the first station obtains a NAV from a Duration field in the MPDU after starting the first timer, the first station resets the first timer to 0. Optionally, the MPDU is not an RTS frame or an MU-RTS frame.

[0212] For example, the first station resets the first timer to 0 after receiving a PPDU whose TXOP_DURATION in the corresponding RXVECTOR parameter is not UNSPECIFIED, i.e., the first station can obtain a NAV from the TXOP_DURATION of the PPDU after starting the first timer.

[0213] In some embodiments, the first idle duration is greater than or equal to the second duration, and further, the difference between the first idle duration and the second duration is not less than a third threshold (which can be denoted as D5), i.e., the first idle duration is greater than or equal to the sum of the second duration and the third threshold, which can be expressed as D4≥T4-D3-T1+D5, or D4-(T4-D3-T1)≥D5. The third threshold can be agreed by a communication protocol, or predefined, or indicated by the first MLD, or determined by negotiation between the first MLD and the second MLD. For example, the third threshold is a Short Interframe Space (SIFS).

[0214] In some embodiments, the first MLD has a second internal delay (IntraDelay2), and the first idle duration being greater than or equal to the second duration includes that the first station detects that the primary channel of the first link remains idle during a period between T4 and a time when the second NAV is set. That is, the primary channel remains idle between the time when the first MLD obtains the first idle information and the time when the first station sets the second NAV.

[0215] Step 850: A fifth station attached to the first MLD sends an eighth frame carrying the second NAV and / or the second idle information to a sixth station attached to a third MLD on the second link.

[0216] In some embodiments, the fifth station is the same as or different from the third station.

[0217] In some embodiments, the fifth station sends the second frame to one or more sixth stations attached to one third MLD on the second link.

[0218] In some embodiments, the fifth station sends the second frame to multiple sixth stations attached to multiple third MLDs on the second link. The number of sixth stations attached to a single third MLD can be one or more, and the number of sixth stations attached to different third MLDs can be the same or different.

[0219] In some embodiments, the eighth frame carrying the second NAV is for the seventh station affiliated to the third MLD to set the third NAV after the third MLD switches from the primary channel of the first link to the anchor channel of the first link. Thus, the NAV of the first station on the first link can be applied to the seventh station affiliated to the third MLD on the first link.

[0220] The setting of the third NAV can refer to the setting of the second NAV in step 840, which will not be repeated here. The main difference is that the STA setting the third NAV is the seventh station affiliated to the third MLD, and the STA setting the second NAV is the first station affiliated to the first MLD. Therefore, some of the time conditions in the judgment conditions when setting the third NAV should be based on the action of the seventh station or the third MLD.

[0221] In some embodiments, the eighth frame carrying the second NAV includes one or more of the following: a fourth action frame, a trigger frame, a Qos Null frame carrying an A-Control field, a QoS data frame carrying an A-Control field, and a BA frame carrying an A-Control field.

[0222] In some embodiments, the eighth frame carrying the second NAV can be referred to as a NAV synchronization indication frame, and the specific name of the eighth frame is not limited in the present application.

[0223] In some embodiments, the eighth frame carrying the second idle information is for the seventh station affiliated to the third MLD to set the first timer (start the first timer and / or reset the first timer to 0). The seventh station setting the first timer can refer to the relevant content of the first station setting the first timer in step 840, which will not be repeated here.

[0224] In some embodiments, the eighth frame carrying the second idle information includes one or more of the following: a third action frame, a trigger frame, a Qos Null frame carrying an A-Control field, a QoS data frame carrying an A-Control field, and a BA frame carrying an A-Control field.

[0225] In some embodiments, the eighth frame carrying the second idle information can be referred to as an Unsolicited NAV information response frame, and the specific name of the eighth frame is not limited in the present application.

[0226] In some embodiments, the second idle information includes one or more of the following: a second idle duration and a channel idle bandwidth. The second idle duration refers to the idle duration on the anchor channel, and the channel idle bandwidth refers to the idle bandwidth on the anchor channel.

[0227] In some embodiments, the second idle duration is the same as the first idle duration, or the second idle duration is different from the first idle duration. For example, the second idle duration is the first idle duration minus a third duration, and the third duration is a duration between a time when the first MLD obtains the first idle duration and a time when the fifth station sends the second idle duration.

[0228] In some embodiments, the third MLD can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. If the third MLD is an AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the third MLD include one or more APs, and thus the sixth station can be one or more APs affiliated to the third MLD, and the seventh station can also be one or more APs affiliated to the third MLD. If the third MLD is a non-AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the third MLD include one or more non-AP STAs, and thus the sixth station can be one or more non-AP STAs affiliated to the third MLD, and the seventh station can also be one or more non-AP STAs affiliated to the third MLD.

[0229] In some embodiments, the third MLD satisfies one or more of the following: a distance between the first MLD and the third MLD is less than or equal to a fourth threshold; the first MLD and the third MLD are the same OBSS on the first link that can be monitored by the third MLD; the third MLD supports receiving the second NAV; and the third MLD enables the function of receiving the second NAV. The distance between the first MLD and the third MLD can be known through a ranging protocol, and whether the first MLD and the third MLD are the same OBSS on the first link that can be monitored by the third MLD can be determined through OBSS information reported by the third MLD. For details, reference can be made to the related content of the second MLD in step 830, which will not be described here.

[0230] In some embodiments, the first MLD and the third MLD negotiate in advance whether to perform step 850. For example, the third MLD can request the first MLD to perform step 850. The first MLD can accept or reject the request of the third MLD, and if accepted, the first MLD will perform step 850 in the subsequent non-primary channel access process; if rejected, the first MLD will not perform step 850.

[0231] Step 860: The third station affiliated to the first MLD receives, on the second link, a fourth frame sent by one or more fourth stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs, and the fourth frame is used to request the third station to feed back the channel state of the first station.

[0232] In some embodiments, the third station receives, on the second link, the fourth frame sent by one or more fourth stations affiliated to one second MLD.

[0233] In some embodiments, the third station receives, on the second link, fourth frames transmitted by a plurality of fourth stations affiliated with the plurality of second MLDs. Wherein, the number of fourth stations affiliated with a single second MLD can be one or more, and the number of fourth stations affiliated with different second MLDs can be the same or different.

[0234] In some embodiments, the channel status of the first station comprises one or more of: a current operating channel of the first station, whether the first station switches to the anchor channel, NAV information of the first station on the current operating channel (for ease of distinction, can be referred to as fourth NAV information), idle information of the first station on the current operating channel (for ease of distinction, can be referred to as fourth idle information).

[0235] In some embodiments, the NAV information of the first station on the current operating channel comprises one or more of: a fourth NAV, a source BSS color of the fourth NAV, a source BSSID of the fourth NAV, a frame type of a frame of the source of the fourth NAV, a bandwidth of a PPDU of the source of the fourth NAV. Wherein, the fourth NAV is the NAV of the first station on the current operating channel; the source BSS color of the fourth NAV refers to the BSS Color of the source BSS of the fourth NAV; the source BSSID of the fourth NAV refers to the BSSID of the source BSS of the fourth NAV.

[0236] In some embodiments, the fourth idle information comprises one or more of: a fourth idle duration, a channel idle bandwidth. Wherein, the fourth idle duration refers to the idle duration on the current operating channel of the first station, and the channel idle bandwidth refers to the idle bandwidth on the current operating channel of the first station.

[0237] In some embodiments, the fourth frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a request field, a link identification bitmap field, an AID field.

[0238] In some embodiments, the fourth frame comprises one or more of: a second action frame, a trigger frame, a Qos Null frame carrying A-Control, a QoS data frame carrying A-Control, a BA frame carrying A-Control.

[0239] In some embodiments, the fourth frame can be referred to as a NAV information request frame, and the present application does not limit the specific name of the fourth frame.

[0240] Step 870: the third station affiliated with the first MLD sends a fifth frame to one or more fourth stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs on the second link, and the fifth frame is used to feed back the channel status of the first station.

[0241] In some embodiments, the third station sends the fifth frame to one or more fourth stations affiliated with one second MLD on the second link.

[0242] In some embodiments, the third station sends the fifth frame to a plurality of fourth stations affiliated with a plurality of second MLDs on the second link. Wherein the number of fourth stations affiliated with a single second MLD can be one or more, and the number of fourth stations affiliated with different second MLDs can be the same or different.

[0243] In some embodiments, the fifth frame includes one or more of the following fields: a link identification bitmap field, a request field, a NAV field, a BSS color field, a MPDU type field, a PPDU bandwidth field, a free duration field, a free bandwidth field.

[0244] In some embodiments, the fifth frame includes one or more of the following: a third action frame, a Qos Null frame carrying A-Control, a QoS data frame carrying A-Control, a BA frame carrying A-Control.

[0245] In some embodiments, the fifth frame can be referred to as a NAV information response frame, and the present application does not limit the specific name of the fifth frame.

[0246] In some embodiments, the second station obtains the channel state of the first station through the fourth station, such as through internal information exchange of the second MLD.

[0247] In some embodiments, the second station can determine whether to switch back to the primary channel according to the channel state of the first station fed back by the first MLD. For example, if the current working channel of the first station is the primary channel of the first link, or the first station has not switched from the primary channel of the first link to the anchor channel, the second station switches back to the primary channel for channel access and transmission. For example, if the current working channel of the first station is the anchor channel, or the first station has switched from the primary channel of the first link to the anchor channel, the second station performs channel access and transmission on the anchor channel.

[0248] Step 880: The first MLD receives a sixth frame sent by one or more second MLDs on the second link, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the second station has switched back to the primary channel of the first link.

[0249] In some embodiments, the sixth frame includes an anchor channel field for indicating whether to reside in the anchor channel or the primary channel.

[0250] In some embodiments, the sixth frame comprises one or more of: a fifth action frame, a Qos Null frame carrying A-Control, a QoS data frame carrying A-Control, a BA frame carrying A-Control.

[0251] In some embodiments, the sixth frame can be referred to as a switching notification frame, and the specific name of the sixth frame is not limited in the present application.

[0252] In some embodiments, the sixth frame is sent by a fourth station affiliated to a second MLD to a third station affiliated to a first MLD on a second link, wherein the number of second MLDs can be one or more, and the number of fourth stations can be one or more. The third station informs the first station through internal information interaction of the first MLD that the second station has switched back to the primary channel of the first link.

[0253] Step 890: The third station affiliated to the first MLD sends a seventh frame to one or more fourth stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs on the second link, and the seventh frame is used to instruct the second station to switch to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0254] In some embodiments, the third station sends the seventh frame to one or more fourth stations affiliated to one second MLD on the second link.

[0255] In some embodiments, the third station sends the seventh frame to a plurality of fourth stations affiliated to a plurality of second MLDs on the second link. The number of fourth stations affiliated to a single second MLD can be one or more, and the number of fourth stations affiliated to different second MLDs can be the same or different.

[0256] In some embodiments, after the fourth station receives the seventh frame, the fourth station can inform the second station of the indication of the seventh frame through internal information interaction of the second MLD, so that the second station switches to the anchor channel of the first link according to the indication of the first MLD.

[0257] In some embodiments, the seventh frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a field for indicating whether the second station switches to the anchor channel of the first link; a field for indicating the association identifier of one or more second stations; a field for indicating the working channel after the second station switches; a field for indicating the residence duration of the second station on the anchor channel of the first link.

[0258] In some embodiments, the seventh frame comprises one or more of: a trigger frame, a first action frame, a Qos Null frame carrying an A-Control field, a QoS data frame carrying an A-Control field, and a BA frame carrying an A-Control field.

[0259] In some embodiments, the seventh frame can be referred to as a switching indication frame, and the application does not limit the specific name of the seventh frame.

[0260] It should be emphasized that the above steps 820 to 890 are optional steps, and the first MLD can only perform any one or more of the above optional steps, or even not perform the optional steps. Moreover, the application supports adjusting the execution order of each step according to actual conditions, such as step 880 is executed before step 860, step 890 is executed before step 860, step 880 is executed before step 870, step 890 is executed before step 870, step 830 is executed before step 820, and the like.

[0261] In summary, the method provided by the embodiments of the application supports the first station instructing the second station to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel through the first frame. After switching to the anchor channel, the second station can obtain the medium busy state of the anchor channel through listening, so that the first station can obtain the medium busy state of the anchor channel through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding the first station losing medium synchronization after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel. Moreover, the first station and the second station can flexibly determine whether to reside in the primary channel or the anchor channel according to actual OBSS interference and / or transmission requirements, so that the first station and the second station can complete medium synchronization as soon as possible while also obtaining TXOP as soon as possible, thereby meeting the transmission requirements of the first station and / or the second station.

[0262] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided by an example embodiment of the application. The method is performed by a second MLD. The method includes at least part of the following steps:

[0263] Step 1020: The second station attached to the second MLD receives a first frame on the primary channel of the first link, and the first frame is used to instruct or request or suggest one or more second stations attached to one or more second MLDs to switch to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0264] Wherein, the first station includes an AP or a non-AP STA, the second station includes an AP or a non-AP STA, the first MLD is associated with one or more second MLDs, or the first MLD establishes a P2P link with one or more second MLDs.

[0265] In this application, the first MLD can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. If the first MLD is an AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the first MLD include one or more APs, and thus the first station can be one or more APs affiliated to the first MLD. If the first MLD is a non-AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the first MLD include one or more non-AP STAs, and thus the first station can be one or more non-AP STAs affiliated to the first MLD.

[0266] In this application, the second MLD can be an AP MLD or a non-AP MLD. If the second MLD is an AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the second MLD include one or more APs, and thus the second station can be one or more APs affiliated to the second MLD. If the second MLD is a non-AP MLD, the affiliated STAs of the second MLD include one or more non-AP STAs, and thus the second station can be one or more non-AP STAs affiliated to the second MLD.

[0267] In some embodiments, the first station indicates or requests or suggests one or more second stations affiliated to one second MLD to switch to the anchor channel of the first link by sending the first frame on the primary channel of the first link.

[0268] In some embodiments, the first station indicates or requests or suggests a plurality of second stations affiliated to a plurality of second MLDs to switch to the anchor channel of the first link by sending the first frame on the primary channel of the first link. The number of second stations affiliated to one second MLD can be one or more, and the number of second stations affiliated to different second MLDs can be the same or different.

[0269] In this application, the anchor channel is a sub-channel within the current operating channel of the first station, which is used as the primary channel when the first station and the associated STA (such as the second station) perform non-primary channel access, or when the first station and the STA (such as the second station) that establishes a P2P link performs non-primary channel access. The anchor channel can also be referred to as one or more of the following: secondary primary channel, auxiliary primary channel, temporary primary channel, target sub-channel.

[0270] In some embodiments, the anchor channel is a 20MHz sub-channel other than the primary 20MHz, which is used as a new primary 20MHz channel when the first station and the associated STA (such as the second station) perform non-primary channel access.

[0271] In some embodiments, the operating channel width of the first station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is the same as the operating channel width before switching. The operating channel width of the second station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is the same as the operating channel width before switching.

[0272] In some embodiments, the operating channel width of the first station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is smaller than the operating channel width before switching. The operating channel width of the second station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel is smaller than the operating channel width before switching.

[0273] In some embodiments, the indication of the first frame is mandatory, so that the second station has to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel according to the indication of the first frame after receiving the first frame.

[0274] In some embodiments, the indication of the first frame is not mandatory, and the first frame is used to request or suggest the second station to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel, so that the second station can switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel or not switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel after receiving the first frame. Optionally, the second station does not feed back to the first station whether the second station receives the request or suggestion of the first frame. Optionally, the second station feeds back to the first station whether the second station receives the request or suggestion of the first frame. For example, the second station sends a response information to the first station on the primary channel after receiving the first frame on the primary channel, and the response information is used to indicate that the second station accepts (or agrees) the request or suggestion of the first frame, or the response information is used to indicate that the second station refuses (or disagrees) the request or suggestion of the first frame.

[0275] After the second station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel based on the first frame, the second station can perform listening on the anchor channel to accurately obtain the busy state of the medium on the anchor channel. Therefore, the busy state of the medium on the anchor channel before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel is accurately obtained by the second station.

[0276] In summary, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application supports indicating or requesting or suggesting the second station to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel through the first frame. The second station can obtain the busy state of the medium on the anchor channel through listening after switching to the anchor channel, so that the first station can obtain the busy state of the medium on the anchor channel through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding losing the medium synchronization after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

[0277] In some embodiments, on the basis of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, step 1020 can also be implemented as step 1110, as shown in FIG. 11. Optionally, the second MLD can also perform one or more of the following optional steps: step 1120, step 1130, step 1140, step 1150, step 1160.

[0278] FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of a communication method according to an example embodiment of the present application. The method is performed by a second MLD. The method comprises at least part of the following steps:

[0279] Step 1110: The second station affiliated to the second MLD receives a first frame on the primary channel of the first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest that one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs switch to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0280] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by the first station before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel, and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel.

[0281] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by the first station before the start of an interference period, the interference period comprising a period during which interference occurs on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the start of the interference period. Optionally, the interference period is periodic, i.e., interference occurs on the primary channel periodically. Optionally, the interference period is aperiodic, i.e., interference occurs on the primary channel aperiodically.

[0282] In some embodiments, the length of time for which the second station resides on the anchor channel is related to one or more of the following: the TBTT; a predefined timeout moment; a timeout moment indicated by the first station; indication information used to indicate that the second station switches back to the primary channel; whether the second station needs to transmit on the primary channel; the end of the interference period.

[0283] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, the second station resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (which can be denoted as D X ) until the next TBTT. That is, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, the second station resides on the anchor channel until the next TBTT, and when the next TBTT arrives, the second station switches back to the primary channel.

[0284] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, the second station resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (which can be denoted as D X ) until a predefined timeout moment. That is, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, the second station resides on the anchor channel until the predefined timeout moment, and when the predefined timeout moment arrives, the second station switches back to the primary channel.

[0285] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (D). X The second station will remain on the anchor channel until the timeout indicated by the first station. In other words, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it will remain on the anchor channel until the timeout indicated by the first station is reached. When the timeout indicated by the first station is reached, the second station will switch back to the main channel.

[0286] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (D). X The second station remains on the anchor channel until it receives an instruction to switch back to the main channel. In other words, after switching to the anchor channel, the second station remains on the anchor channel until it receives an instruction to switch back to the main channel, at which point it switches back to the main channel.

[0287] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (D). X This continues until the interference on the main channel of the first link ends. In other words, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it remains on the anchor channel, and switches back to the main channel at the end of the interference period on the main channel.

[0288] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (D). X It also includes: when the second station needs to perform uplink transmission on the main channel, it temporarily switches back to the main channel, and after the transmission is completed, the second station automatically switches to the anchor channel; or, when the second station needs to perform uplink transmission on the main channel, it switches back to the main channel, and after the transmission is completed, the second station remains on the main channel.

[0289] In some embodiments, after the second station switches to the anchor channel, it resides on the anchor channel for a period of time (D). X ). In D X Within this context, the second site cannot or is not permitted to actively perform uplink transmissions. In this case, the second site can also be a non-MLD non-AP STA or a non-MLO non-AP STA operating in non-multilink mode.

[0290] For other related content, please refer to steps 810 and 820, which will not be repeated here.

[0291] Step 1120: After the end of the current TXOP on the primary channel of the first link, the second station affiliated to the second MLD feeds back the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel.

[0292] The first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel is detected by the second station.

[0293] In some embodiments, the first NAV information comprises one or more of: a first NAV, a source BSS color of the first NAV, a source BSSID of the first NAV, a frame type of a source frame of the first NAV, a bandwidth of a source PPDU of the first NAV. Wherein, the first NAV is a NAV on the anchor channel; the source BSS color of the first NAV refers to a BSS Color of a source BSS of the first NAV; the source BSSID of the first NAV refers to a BSSID of the source BSS of the first NAV.

[0294] In some embodiments, the frame type of the source frame of the first NAV comprises any one of: a control frame (e.g. a CTS frame), a management frame (e.g. an action frame), a data frame.

[0295] In some embodiments, the first NAV is a base NAV. For example, when the second station maintains a BSS internal NAV and a base NAV, the first NAV is the base NAV among them.

[0296] In some embodiments, the first idle information comprises one or more of: a first idle duration, a channel idle bandwidth. Wherein, the first idle duration refers to an idle duration on the anchor channel, and the channel idle bandwidth refers to an idle bandwidth on the anchor channel.

[0297] In some embodiments, step 1120 can be implemented as step 1120a and step 1120c, or step 1120 can be implemented as step 1120a, step 1120b and step 1120c.

[0298] Step 1120a: The fourth station affiliated to the second MLD acquires the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel from the second station.

[0299] For example, the fourth station acquires the first NAV information and / or the first idle information from the second station through information interaction within the second MLD.

[0300] Step 1120b: The fourth station affiliated to the second MLD receives a third frame sent by the third station affiliated to the first MLD on the second link.

[0301] The third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the second frame. It can also be understood that the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information.

[0302] For related content, please refer to step 830a, which will not be repeated here.

[0303] Step 1120c: The fourth station attached to the second MLD sends the second frame to the third station attached to the first MLD on the second link.

[0304] For related content, please refer to step 830b, which will not be repeated here.

[0305] Step 1130: The fourth station attached to the second MLD sends a fourth frame to the third station attached to the first MLD on the second link. The fourth frame is used to request the third station to provide feedback on the channel status of the first station.

[0306] For related content, please refer to step 860, which will not be repeated here.

[0307] Step 1140: The fourth station attached to the second MLD receives the fifth frame sent by the third station attached to the first MLD on the second link. The fifth frame is used to provide feedback on the channel status of the first station.

[0308] For related content, please refer to step 870, which will not be repeated here.

[0309] Step 1150: The second MLD sends a sixth frame to the first MLD on the second link. The sixth frame is used to indicate that the second station has switched back to the main channel of the first link.

[0310] For related content, please refer to step 880, which will not be repeated here.

[0311] Step 1160: The fourth station attached to the second MLD receives the seventh frame sent by the third station attached to the first MLD on the second link. The seventh frame is used to instruct the second station to switch to the anchor channel of the first link.

[0312] For related content, please refer to step 890; it will not be repeated here.

[0313] It should be emphasized that steps 1120 to 1160 above are all optional steps. The second MLD may execute only one or more of the above optional steps, or even not execute any optional steps. Furthermore, this application supports adjusting the execution order of each step according to the actual situation. For example, step 1150 may be executed before step 1130, step 1150 before step 1140, step 1160 before step 1130, step 1160 before step 1140, step 1130 before step 1120, step 1140 before step 1120, and so on.

[0314] To sum up, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application supports indicating or requesting or suggesting the second station to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel through the first frame. After switching to the anchor channel, the second station can acquire the busy / idle state of the medium of the anchor channel through listening, so that the first station can acquire the busy / idle state of the medium of the anchor channel through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding the first station losing the medium synchronization after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel. In addition, the first station and the second station can flexibly determine whether to reside in the primary channel or the anchor channel according to the actual OBSS interference and / or transmission requirement, so that the first station and the second station can acquire the TXOP as soon as possible while completing the medium synchronization as soon as possible, thereby meeting the transmission requirement of the first station and / or the second station.

[0315] FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the anchor channel provided by the exemplary embodiments of the present application.

[0316] For example, referring to (a) of FIG. 12, taking the current operating channel bandwidth of the first station as 160MHz for example, it is assumed that the current operating channel bandwidth includes the following sub-channels: primary 80MHz (referred to as P80, including P20, S20 and S40, S40 including S20-1 and S20-2), secondary 80MHz (referred to as S80, including S20-3, S20-4, S20-5 and S20-6). When performing non-primary channel access, S20-3 is used as the primary channel P20, S20-4 is used as the secondary channel S20, S20-5 and S20-6 are used as the secondary channel S40, and P80 is used as the secondary channel S80, so S20-3 is the anchor channel.

[0317] For example, referring to (b) of FIG. 12, taking the current operating channel bandwidth of the first station as 160MHz for example, it is assumed that the current operating channel bandwidth includes the following sub-channels: primary 80MHz (referred to as P80), secondary 80MHz (referred to as S80). When performing non-primary channel access, S80 is used as the primary channel, and P80 is used as the secondary channel, so S80 is the anchor channel.

[0318] Based on the embodiments shown in FIG. 8 and / or FIG. 11, FIG. 13 to FIG. 20 show the channel switching schematic diagram provided by the exemplary embodiments of the present application. Among them, FIG. 13 to FIG. 21 are examples in which the first frame is sent before the end of the current TXOP of the primary channel of the first link, and the second station short-term resides in the anchor channel. FIG. 22 is an example in which the first frame is sent before the start time of the interference period of the primary channel of the first link, and the second station short-term resides in the anchor channel. FIG. 23 is an example in which the first frame is sent before the start time of the interference period of the primary channel of the first link, and the second station long-term resides in the anchor channel.

[0319] In FIGS. 13-21, it is assumed that the first MLD is an AP MLD, the first station is an AP 1, the second MLD is a non-AP MLD, and the second station is a STA 11 and a STA 21. In practice, the first MLD can also be a non-AP MLD, and the second MLD can also be an AP MLD.

[0320] In some embodiments, the interference caused by the OBSS transmission on the primary channel of the first link, and / or the interference caused by the non-Wi-Fi radio frequency within the device, and / or the interference caused by other sources, can be predictable, but the specific occurrence time of the interference is unpredictable, and the first station affiliated to the first MLD can instruct or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to the anchor channel of the first link in advance to assist in media synchronization. This is an opportunistic method. If the first station expects that there can be interference in the next period of time, the flow shown in FIGS. 13-18 is executed, otherwise the flow shown in FIGS. 13-18 is not executed.

[0321] Referring to FIG. 13, the AP 1 affiliated to the first MLD sends a MU-RTS frame to the associated non-AP MLD 1 and non-AP MLD 2 on the first link, and the non-AP MLD 1 and non-AP MLD 2 send a CTS frame to the first MLD on the first link to perform uplink and / or downlink data transmission within the current TXOP on the 160Mhz of the first link. The TXOP can be obtained by the AP 1 itself, or can be shared by other STAs to the AP 1. Before the end of the current TXOP, the AP 1 sends a first frame on the first link, which is used to instruct the STA 21 affiliated to the non-AP MLD 2 to switch to the anchor channel S80 of the first link. The first frame can be transmitted in a MU PPDU or a single-user (SU) PPDU, or can be transmitted in a non-HT duplicate PPDU. The STA 21 switches from the primary 20MHz channel P80 to the 20MHz anchor channel S80 in the secondary 80MHz before the end of the current TXOP. After the STA 21 switches to the anchor channel S80, it continues to listen to the anchor channel S80 to obtain the first NAV information and / or the second idle information of the anchor channel S80.

[0322] After the current TXOP ends, if AP 1 detects OBSS transmission in the primary 20MHz channel in the primary channel P80 of the first link or learns that there is other radio frequency interference or other reasons within the device, AP 1 switches to the anchor channel. The first MLD can request the fourth station (such as STA 22) attached to the second MLD to feed back the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of STA 21 in the anchor channel S80 through the third station (such as AP 2) attached to it in the second link. Assuming that AP 1 learns through AP 2 and STA 22 that the anchor channel is always idle, it can transmit with STA 21 that has switched to the anchor channel and / or other STAs that have switched to the anchor channel through the interaction of RTS frames and CTS frames.

[0323] Unlike Figure 13, in Figure 14, it is assumed that AP 1 learns through AP 2 attached to AP MLD and STA 22 attached to non-AP MLD 2 that the anchor channel is not always idle, taking the first NAV as OBSS2NAV for example. When OBSS2NAV decreases to 0, AP 1 can transmit with STA 21 that has switched to the anchor channel and / or other STAs that have switched to the anchor channel through the interaction of RTS frames and CTS frames.

[0324] Unlike Figure 13, in Figure 15, it is assumed that after the current TXOP ends, AP 1 detects that the channel is idle in the primary channel P80 on the first link, and AP 1 stays in the primary channel. If the anchor channel S80 is detected to be busy, if AP 1 has no data waiting for downlink to STA 21, AP 1 can use existing technologies to perform channel access and transmission in the primary channel.

[0325] Unlike Figure 13, in Figure 16, it is assumed that after the current TXOP ends, AP 1 detects that the channel is idle in the primary channel P80 on the first link, and AP 1 stays in the primary channel. If the anchor channel S80 is detected to be idle, if AP 1 has data waiting for downlink to STA 21, AP 1 instructs STA 21 to switch back to the primary channel for transmission.

[0326] Unlike Figure 13, in Figure 17, it is assumed that after the current TXOP ends, AP 1 detects that the channel is idle in the primary channel P80 on the first link, and AP 1 stays in the primary channel. If the anchor channel S80 is detected to be idle, if AP 1 has no data waiting for downlink to STA 21, AP 1 instructs STA 21 to continue to stay in the anchor channel S80. STA 21 can participate in transmission in the anchor channel S80.

[0327] Unlike Fig. 13, in Fig. 18, it is assumed that after the end of the current TXOP, AP 1 detects that the primary channel P80 on the first link is idle, AP 1 stays in the primary channel. If the anchor channel S80 is detected to be idle, if AP 1 has no data to be sent to STA 21, AP 1 does not trigger STA 21 (i.e. does not indicate to STA 21), STA 21 stays in the anchor channel and does not participate in transmission.

[0328] Unlike Fig. 13, in Fig. 19, after STA 21 switches to the anchor channel, if uplink transmission is needed, STA 21 first sends a fourth frame through STA 22 attached to non-AP MLD 2 on the second link, the fourth frame is used to request AP 2 attached to AP MLD to feedback the channel state of AP 1, including: whether AP 1 switches to the anchor channel, the fourth NAV information and / or the fourth idle information of AP 1 on the current working channel. STA 21 judges whether to switch back to the primary channel according to the channel state of AP 1 feedback by AP 2 sent fifth frame.

[0329] If AP 1 is currently working in the primary channel and the primary channel is idle, STA 21 switches back to the primary channel for channel access and transmission. Alternatively, when STA 21 switches back to the primary channel, STA 22 can send a sixth frame to AP 2 on the second link, the sixth frame is used to indicate that STA 21 has switched back to the primary channel.

[0330] Unlike Fig. 13, in Fig. 20, when AP 1 switches to the anchor channel, or after switching to the anchor channel, acquires the first idle information and / or the first NAV information of the anchor channel, and knows that the anchor channel is idle, AP 2 can send a seventh frame to STA 22 attached to non-AP MLD 2 on the second link, the seventh frame is used to indicate that STA 21 switches to the anchor channel or to indicate that STA 21 stays in the anchor channel. When STA 21 needs to perform uplink transmission, STA 21 has acquired the indication of AP 1 through the seventh frame, then STA 21 stays in the anchor channel for channel contention.

[0331] Unlike Fig. 19 or Fig. 20, in Fig. 21, due to the delay of one or more of the fourth frame, the sixth frame, and the seventh frame on the second link, STA 21 can first switch back to the primary channel, and then send a sixth frame to AP 2 through STA 22 on the second link, and then switch to the anchor channel according to the seventh frame sent by AP 2 on the second link.

[0332] Referring to FIG. 22, the AP 1 attached to the first MLD sends a MU-RTS frame to the associated non-AP MLD 1 and non-AP MLD 2 on the first link, and the non-AP MLD 1 and non-AP MLD 2 send a CTS frame to the first MLD on the first link, to perform uplink and / or downlink data transmission within the current TXOP on the primary channel P80 of the first link. If the specific occurrence time of the interference caused by the OBSS transmission on the primary channel P80 of the first link, and / or the in-device non-Wi-Fi radio frequency interference, and / or other sources of interference, can be predicted in advance, the AP 1 attached to the AP MLD can send a first frame to indicate or request or suggest the STA 21 to switch to the anchor channel S80 before the start time of the interference period. The interference of the primary channel P80 of the first link can occur periodically or non-periodically. The STA 21 switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel before the start time of the interference period. After the STA 21 switches to the anchor channel, the STA 21 continues to listen to the anchor channel to obtain the first NAV information and / or the second idle information of the anchor channel.

[0333] Optionally, the STA 21 switches to the anchor channel and stays until the end of the interference on the primary channel, or until receiving the indication or request sent by the AP MLD to switch back to the primary channel, or until the next TBTT, or until the pre-defined timeout time, or until the timeout time indicated by the AP 1, the STA 21 switches back to the primary channel.

[0334] Optionally, during the period of staying in the anchor channel, the STA 21 needs to temporarily switch back to the primary channel for uplink transmission on the primary channel, and automatically switches to the anchor channel after completing the transmission. Alternatively, during the period of staying in the anchor channel, the STA 21 needs to temporarily switch back to the primary channel for uplink transmission on the primary channel, and stays in the primary channel after completing the transmission.

[0335] Optionally, the STA 21 cannot or is not allowed to actively perform uplink transmission during the period of staying in the anchor channel (D X In this case, the STA 21 can also be a non-multilink non-access point station device (non-MLD non-AP STA), or a non-multilink operation mode non-access point station device (non-MLO non-AP STA).

[0336] After the end of the current TXOP, if AP 1 detects OBSS transmission in the primary 20MHz channel in the primary channel P80 of the first link or learns that there is other radio frequency interference within the device or other reasons, AP 1 switches to the anchor channel. The first MLD can request the fourth station (such as STA 22) attached to the second MLD to feed back the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of STA 21 in the anchor channel S80 through the third station (such as AP 2) attached to it in the second link. Assuming that AP 1 learns through AP 2 and STA 22 that the anchor channel is always idle, it can transmit with STA 21 that has switched to the anchor channel and / or other STAs that have switched to the anchor channel through the interaction of RTS frames and CTS frames.

[0337] STA 21 switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel before the start time of the interference period, after switching to the anchor channel, STA 21 can switch back to the primary channel or stay in the anchor channel, STA 21 can participate in or not participate in transmission, the relevant process is similar to that of FIGS. 14-21, and will not be repeated here.

[0338] Referring to FIG. 23, AP 1 attached to the first MLD sends a MU-RTS frame to the associated non-AP MLD 1 and non-AP MLD 2 in the first link, and non-AP MLD 1 and non-AP MLD 2 send a CTS frame to the first MLD in the first link to perform uplink and / or downlink data transmission within the current TXOP on the primary channel P80 of the first link. If the specific occurrence time of the interference caused by the OBSS transmission on the primary channel P80 of the first link, and / or the non-Wi-Fi radio frequency interference within the device, and / or the interference from other sources is predictable and periodic, the AP 1 attached to the AP MLD can send a first frame before the start time of the interference period to instruct or request or suggest STA 21 to switch to the anchor channel S80. STA 21 switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel before the start time of the interference period. After STA 21 switches to the anchor channel, it continues to listen to the anchor channel to obtain the first NAV information and / or the second idle information of the anchor channel.

[0339] STA 21 switches to the anchor channel and stays for a long time until it receives an indication or request from the AP MLD to switch back to the primary channel (such as through a first action frame, or a trigger frame, or a Qos Null frame carrying A-Control, or a QoS data frame carrying A-Control, or a BA frame carrying A-Control, etc.), and then switches back to the primary channel.

[0340] Optionally, STA 21 needs to temporarily switch back to the primary channel to perform uplink transmission on the primary channel during the period of residing in the anchor channel, and automatically switches to the anchor channel after completing the transmission.

[0341] Optionally, STA 21 is unable or not allowed to actively perform uplink transmission during the period of residing in the anchor channel. In this case, STA 21 can also be a non-MLD non-AP station device, or a non-MLO non-AP station device in a non-MLO operating mode.

[0342] After the current TXOP ends, if AP 1 detects OBSS transmission in the primary 20MHz channel in the primary channel P80 of the first link or learns that there is other radio frequency interference within the device or for other reasons, AP 1 switches to the anchor channel. The first MLD can request the fourth station (such as STA 22) attached to the second MLD to feed back the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of STA 21 in the anchor channel S80 through the third station (such as AP 2) attached to it in the second link. Assuming that AP 1 learns through AP 2 and STA 22 that the anchor channel is always idle, it can perform transmission with STA 21 that has switched to the anchor channel and / or other STAs that have switched to the anchor channel through the interaction of RTS frames and CTS frames.

[0343] STA 21 switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel before the start time of the interference period, and after switching to the anchor channel, STA 21 can switch back to the primary channel or reside in the anchor channel, and STA 21 can participate in or not participate in transmission. The relevant processes are similar to those in FIGS. 14-21, and will not be repeated here.

[0344] According to the above description, in some embodiments, the first frame, and / or the seventh frame, and / or the frame for indicating or requesting the second station to switch back to the primary channel, can be a first action frame. The first action frame is used to indicate switching to the anchor channel or the primary channel.

[0345] FIG. 24 shows a format of a first action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application. The first action frame includes a MAC frame header and / or a MAC frame body and / or a frame check sequence (FCS). The MAC frame header includes one or more of the following fields: frame control, duration, address 1, address 2, address 3, sequence control (Seqctl), high throughput control (HT Control).

[0346] The MAC frame body includes an action field, which includes one or more of the following fields: category (Categary), ultra high reliability public action (UHR Public Action), dialog token, non-primary channel access element (NPCA Element). The Categary field is used to indicate the action category, and occupies 1 octet. For example, the Categary field of the first action frame takes the value of 37. The UHR Public Action field is used to indicate the ultra high reliability public action subcategory, and occupies 1 octet. The dialog token field occupies 1 octet. The NPCA Element occupies a variable number of bytes.

[0347] The NPCA Element includes one or more of the following fields: element ID, length, element ID extension, control field, station information list (STA Info List), target subchannel bitmap, switch time, timeout. The element ID field and the element ID extension field each occupy 1 octet. For example, the element ID field of the first action frame takes the value of 255, and the element ID extension field takes the value of 138. The length field occupies 1 octet.

[0348] The Control field occupies 1 byte, including one or more of the following fields: Anchor Channel, Reserved.

[0349] The Anchor Channel field occupies 1 bit, and the Reserved field occupies 7 bits. The Anchor Channel field is used to indicate switching to an anchor channel or a primary channel. When the Anchor Channel field is a first value, it is used to indicate switching to an anchor channel. When the Anchor Channel field is a second value, it is used to indicate switching to a primary channel. The first value is different from the second value. For example, the first value is 0, and the second value is 1, or the first value is 1, and the second value is 0. The application does not make a specific limitation on the first value and the second value. The first value and the second value can also be other values other than 0 or 1. When the Anchor Channel field is used to indicate switching to a primary channel, the Target Subchannel Bitmap field and the Timeout field do not exist.

[0350] The STA Info List occupies a variable number of bytes, including one or more AID 12 fields. Each AID 12 field occupies 12 bits, and is used to indicate the AID of a second station. Multiple AID 12 fields can be used to indicate the AIDs of multiple second stations. Optionally, the STA Info List further includes padding, which occupies 0 or 4 bits.

[0351] The Target Subchannel Bitmap field occupies 0 or 2 bytes. When the Anchor Channel field is used to indicate switching to the primary channel, the Target Subchannel Bitmap field does not exist, i.e., occupies 0 byte; when the Anchor Channel field is used to indicate switching to the anchor channel, the Target Subchannel Bitmap field exists, occupies 2 bytes. The Target Subchannel Bitmap field indicates the working channel after switching. Each bit respectively represents a subchannel (here, taking 20MHz as an example, not excluding other bandwidths such as 40MHz, 60MHz, etc.), and the primary 20MHz subchannel can be at any position in the 16 bits, i.e., any bit in the 16 bits can be used to represent the primary 20MHz subchannel. The bits corresponding to the subchannels not within the working bandwidth of the current BSS are reserved bits. For example, the subchannels can be ordered according to the size of the center frequency, and in the 16-bit bitmap, the lowest bit corresponds to the 20MHz subchannel with the lowest frequency within the BSS bandwidth, and the subsequent bits in the bitmap correspond to the next higher frequency 20MHz subchannel within the BSS bandwidth, and the bits corresponding to the subchannels outside the BSS bandwidth are reserved (A 16-bit bitmap where the lowest numbered bit corresponds to the 20MHz subchannel that lies within the BSS bandwidth and is the lowest in frequency of the set of all 20MHz subchannels within the BSS bandwidth. Each successive bit in the bitmap corresponds to the next higher frequency 20MHz subchannel. A bit in the bitmap that falls outside of the BSS bandwidth is reserved), and the primary 20MHz subchannel can be at any position in the 16 bits.For example, in a 16-bit bitmap, the first bit indicates the primary 20MHz subchannel, the second bit indicates the secondary 20MHz subchannel in the primary 40MHz, the third bit indicates the low-frequency 20MHz subchannel in the secondary 40MHz in the primary 80MHz, the fourth bit indicates the high-frequency 20MHz subchannel in the secondary 40MHz in the primary 80MHz, and so on, and the 16th bit indicates the highest-frequency 20MHz subchannel in the secondary 160MHz in the 320MHz. A first value of a bit indicates that the corresponding subchannel is used, and a second value of the bit indicates that the corresponding subchannel is not used. The first value is 0 or 1 or another value, the second value is 1 or 0 or another value, and the first value is different from the second value. Some bits in the bitmap indicate subchannels within the BSS bandwidth. When the bits are set to the first value (e.g., 1), the corresponding 20MHz subchannel is used, and when the bits are set to the second value (e.g., 0), the corresponding 20MHz subchannel is not used.

[0352] The Switch Time field occupies 0 or 2 bytes and indicates the latest time for switching to the anchor channel or the primary channel, i.e., indicates that the switching to the anchor channel or the primary channel is not later than the time. The latest switching time can be a partial synchronization time value (Paritial TSF Timer) or an offset value of the latest switching time from a current time. The partial synchronization time value can be truncated data of the synchronization time value, e.g., the least significant 16 bits of the 64-bit TSF Timer.

[0353] The Timeout field occupies 0 or 2 bytes. When the Anchor Channel field is used to indicate switching to the primary channel, the Timeout field does not exist, i.e., occupies 0 byte; when the Anchor Channel field is used to indicate switching to the anchor channel, the Timeout field exists, occupying 2 bytes. The Timeout field indicates the length of time for the second station to reside on the anchor channel. For example, when the value of the Timeout field is 0, it indicates that the second station always resides on the anchor channel; when the value of the Timeout field is 1, it indicates that the second station resides on the anchor channel for 1 Time Unit (TU, 1024 μs); when the value of the Timeout field is 2, it indicates that the second station resides on the anchor channel for 2 TUs; and so on. For another example, when the value of the Timeout field is 1, it indicates that the second station resides on the anchor channel for 1 TU; when the value of the Timeout field is 2, it indicates that the second station resides on the anchor channel for 2 TUs; and so on; when the value of the Timeout field is 65535, it indicates that the second station always resides on the anchor channel.

[0354] The fields, elements, byte numbers, and bit numbers shown in FIG. 24 are optional examples, and the application supports any adaptive modification of the frame format of the first action frame, such as adding fields, reducing some fields, recombining some fields, changing byte numbers, changing bit numbers, changing field names, and the like.

[0355] According to the above description, in some embodiments, the first frame, and / or the seventh frame, and / or the frame used to indicate or request the second station to switch back to the primary channel, can be a trigger frame, and further can be a basic trigger frame. The basic trigger frame can be used to indicate switching to the anchor channel or the primary channel.

[0356] FIG. 25 shows a format diagram of a basic trigger frame according to an example embodiment of the application. It includes a MAC frame header and / or a MAC frame body and / or a FCS.

[0357] The MAC frame header includes one or more of the following fields: frame control, duration, receiver address (RA), transmitter address (TA). The frame control field and the duration field each occupy 2 bytes, and the RA field and the TA field each occupy 6 bytes.

[0358] The MAC frame body includes one or more of the following fields: common info, user info list, padding.

[0359] The number of bytes of the user info list is variable, including: a Special User Info field, one or more User Info fields.

[0360] In some embodiments, the reserved bits in the HE Variant User Info field and / or the EHT Variant User Info and / or the Ultra High Reliability Variant User Info in the basic trigger frame can be used to indicate the second station (AID12 in the User Info field indicates the AID of the corresponding second station) to switch to the anchor channel or the primary channel. For example, 1 reserved bit in it can be used as the Anchor Channel field.

[0361] In some embodiments, the reserved bits in the Common Info and Special User Info in the basic trigger frame can be used to indicate the second station to switch to the anchor channel or the primary channel. For example, 1 reserved bit in it can be used as the Anchor Channel field.

[0362] In some embodiments, the reserved bits in the Common Info and Special User Info in the basic trigger frame can be used as the Target Subchannel Bitmap field and / or the Timeout field.

[0363] The general information field in the basic trigger frame occupies 8 bytes, including one or more of the following fields: trigger frame type (Trigger Type, occupying 4 bits) with a value of 4, uplink length (UL Length, occupying 12 bits), whether there is more trigger frame (More Trigger Frame, occupying 1 bit), whether channel measurement is required (Carrier Sense Reqiured, occupying 1 bit), uplink bandwidth (UL BW, occupying 2 bits), guard interval (Guard Interval, GI), and high-efficiency long training field (High Efficiency Long Training Field, HE-LTF) type / triggered transmission opportunity sharing mode (GI And HE-LTF Type / Triggered TXOP Sharing Mode, occupying 2 bits), HE-LTF symbol number and midamble period (Number Of HE / EHT-LTF Symbols, occupying 3 bits), low-density parity check (Low-Density Parity Check, LDPC) extra symbol segment (LDPC Extra Symbol Segment, occupying 1 bit), AP transmission power (AP Tx Power, occupying 6 bits), pre-forward error correction (Pre-Forward Error Correction, Pre-FEC) padding factor (Padding Factor, occupying 2 bits), data packet extension (Packet Extension, PE) disambiguation (Disambiguity) (occupying 1 bit), uplink spatial reuse (UL Spatial Reuse, occupying 16 bits), HE / EHT primary 160 (Primary 160, P160) (occupying 1 bit), special user information field flag (Special User Info Field Flag, occupying 1 bit), EHT reserved (occupying 7 bits).

[0364] The user information list field in the basic trigger frame includes: 0 or 1 or more special user information (Special User Info) fields, 0 or 1 or more HE variant user information fields, 0 or 1 or more EHT variant user information fields, 0 or 1 or more UHR variant user information fields.

[0365] The special user info field includes one or more of the following: AID 12 with a value of 2007, a physical layer version identifier, uplink bandwidth extension, EHT spatial reuse 1, EHT spatial reuse 2, universal signal (U-SIG) disregard and validate, trigger frame subclass related user info. The number below each field indicates the number of bits it occupies, where the number of bits of the trigger frame subclass related user info field is variable, e.g., the trigger frame subclass related user info field includes an 8-bit reserved field.

[0366] The EHT variant user info field and / or the UHR variant user info field includes one or more of the following: AID 12, resource unit (RU) allocation, uplink forward error correction (FEC) encoding type, uplink EHT modulation and coding class, spatial stream allocation or random access resource unit information, uplink target receive power, primary-secondary 160, trigger frame subclass related user info. The number below each field indicates the number of bits it occupies, where the number of bits of the trigger frame subclass related user info field is variable. For example, the trigger frame subclass related user info field includes one or more of the following: MU-MPDU slot factor, traffic identifier (TID) aggregation limit, reserved, preferred access category.

[0367] The fields, elements, byte numbers, and bit numbers shown in FIG. 25 are optional examples, and the present application supports any adaptive modification of the frame format of the trigger frame, such as adding fields, reducing some fields, recombining some fields, changing byte numbers, changing bit numbers, changing field names, etc.

[0368] According to the above description, in some embodiments, the third frame and / or the fourth frame can be a second action frame, where the second action frame is used to indicate a NAV information request.

[0369] FIG. 26 shows a format diagram of a second action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application. It includes a MAC frame header and / or a MAC frame body and / or a FCS.

[0370] The MAC frame header includes one or more of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, Address 1, Address 2, Address 3, Sequence Control, High Throughput Control. The MAC frame body includes an Action field, which includes one or more of the following fields: Category, UHR Public Action, Dialog Token, NAV Info Element. The Category field is used to indicate the action category, occupying 1 octet. For example, the Category field of the second action frame takes the value 37. The UHR Public Action field is used to indicate the UHR public action subcategory, occupying 1 octet. The Dialog Token field occupies 1 octet. The NAV Info Element occupies a variable number of bytes.

[0371] The NAV Info Element includes one or more of the following fields: Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, Control, Link ID Bitmap, STA Info List. The Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, and Control fields each occupy 1 octet. For example, the Element ID field of the second action frame takes the value 255, and the Element ID Extension field takes the value 138.

[0372] The Control field occupies 1 octet and includes a 1-bit Request field and a 7-bit reserved field. The Request field is used to indicate a request or a response. When the Request field takes a first value, it indicates a request, and when the Request field takes a second value, it indicates a response. The first value is 0 or 1 or another value, and the second value is 1 or 0 or another value, with the first value being different from the second value.

[0373] The Link ID Bitmap field occupies 2 octets and is used to indicate the NAV information on which links (which can be one or more links) the request or response is for. When the i-th bit in the Link ID Bitmap field is set to 1 (or 0 or another value), it indicates link ID i (a value of 1 in bit position i of the Link ID Bitmap field indicates link ID i).

[0374] The number of bytes occupied by the station information list is variable, and includes one or more AID 12 fields. Each AID 12 field occupies 12 bits, and is used to indicate an AID of a second station. Multiple AID 12 fields can be used to indicate AIDs of multiple second stations. Optionally, the station information list further includes Padding (occupying 0 or 4 bits).

[0375] The fields, elements, number of bytes, and number of bits shown in FIG. 26 are optional examples. The present application supports any suitable modification of the frame format of the third action frame, such as adding fields, removing some fields, recombining some fields, changing the number of bytes, changing the number of bits, changing the field names, etc.

[0376] According to the above description, in some embodiments, the second frame and / or the fifth frame and / or the eighth frame can be a third action frame, which is used to indicate a NAV information response.

[0377] FIG. 27 shows a format of a third action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application. The third action frame includes a MAC frame header and / or a MAC frame body and / or a FCS.

[0378] The MAC frame header includes one or more of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, Address 1, Address 2, Address 3, Sequence Control, High Throughput Control. The MAC frame body includes an Action Field, which includes one or more of the following fields: Category, UHR Public Action, Dialog Token, NAV Info Element. The Category field is used to indicate a category of action, and occupies 1 octet. In an example, the Category field of the third action frame takes a value of 37. The UHR Public Action field is used to indicate a UHR public action subcategory, and occupies 1 octet. The Dialog Token field occupies 1 octet. The NAV Info Element occupies a variable number of bytes.

[0379] The NAV Info Element includes one or more of the following fields: Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, Control, Link ID Bitmap, NAV Info List. The Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, and Control fields each occupy 1 octet. In an example, the Element ID field of the third action frame takes a value of 255, and the Element ID Extension field takes a value of 138.

[0380] The control field occupies 1 byte, including 1 bit of request field and 7 bits of reserved field. The request field is used to indicate request or response. When the request field takes a first value, it indicates request. When the request field takes a second value, it indicates response. The first value is 0 or 1 or other value, and the second value is 1 or 0 or other value, and the first value is different from the second value.

[0381] The link identification bitmap field occupies 2 bytes, and is used to indicate which link (one or more links) the NAV information of the request or response is for. When the i-th bit in the link identification bitmap field is set to 1 (or 0 or other value), it indicates link ID i (a value of 1 in bit position i of the Link ID Bitmap field indicates link ID i), and accordingly, the NAV information list has the NAV information corresponding to the link. The total number of bits set to 1 in the link identification bitmap indicates the total number of NAV information in the NAV information list. For example, the 1st bit and the 3rd bit in the link identification bitmap field are set to 1, which indicates that the NAV information list has two NAV information corresponding to link 1 and link 3 in order.

[0382] The NAV information list occupies a variable number of bytes, and includes one or more NAV information. Each NAV information field indicates the NAV information of a corresponding link. The NAV information field includes one or more of the following fields: NAV, BSS color, MPDU type, PPDU bandwidth, idle duration, and idle bandwidth. The NAV field occupies 16 bits, and indicates the current NAV value of a corresponding link. The BSS color occupies 6 bits, and indicates the color of the source BSS of the NAV. The MPDU type field occupies 6 bits, and indicates the frame type of the source frame of the NAV. The PPDU BW field occupies 4 bits, and indicates the bandwidth of the source PPDU of the NAV. The idle duration field occupies 12 bits, and indicates the duration of the corresponding link that has been idle so far. The idle bandwidth field occupies 4 bits, and indicates the bandwidth of the corresponding link that has been idle during the idle duration.

[0383] The fields, elements, byte numbers, and bit numbers shown in FIG. 27 are optional examples. The application supports any adaptive modification of the frame format of the third action frame, such as adding fields, reducing some fields, recombining some fields, changing byte numbers, changing bit numbers, changing field names, and the like.

[0384] According to the above description, in some embodiments, the eighth frame can be a fourth action frame, and the fourth action frame is used to indicate NAV synchronization.

[0385] Figure 28 shows a format of a fourth action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application. The fourth action frame includes a MAC frame header and / or a MAC frame body and / or a FCS.

[0386] The MAC frame header includes one or more of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, Address 1, Address 2, Address 3, Sequence Control, High Throughput Control. The MAC frame body includes an Action field, which includes one or more of the following fields: Category, UHR Public Action, Dialog Token, NAV Info Element. The Category field is used to indicate the category of the action, and occupies 1 octet. For example, the Category field of the fourth action frame takes the value of 37. The UHR Public Action field is used to indicate the subcategory of the UHR public action, and occupies 1 octet. The Dialog Token field occupies 1 octet. The NAV Info Element occupies a variable number of octets.

[0387] The NAV Info Element includes one or more of the following fields: Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, Control, Link ID Bitmap, NAV Info List. The Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, and Control fields each occupy 1 octet. For example, the Element ID field of the fourth action frame takes the value of 255, and the Element ID Extension field takes the value of 138.

[0388] The Control field occupies 1 octet, and includes a 1-bit Update field and a 7-bit reserved field. The Update field is used to indicate synchronization. When the Update field takes a first value, it indicates synchronization. When the Update field takes a second value, it indicates reserved. The first value is 0 or 1 or another value, and the second value is 1 or 0 or another value. The first value is different from the second value.

[0389] The Link ID Bitmap field occupies 2 bytes, and is used to indicate which link (may be one or more links) the NAV information is synchronized. When the bit in the i-th position of the Link ID Bitmap field is set to 1 (or 0 or other values), it indicates link ID i (a value of 1 in bit position i of the Link ID Bitmap field indicates link ID i), and accordingly, there is the NAV information of the corresponding link in the NAV information list. The total number of bits set to 1 in the Link ID Bitmap indicates the total number of NAV information in the NAV information list. For example, the first bit, the second bit and the third bit in the Link ID Bitmap field are set to 1, which indicates that there are three NAV information corresponding to link 1, link 2 and link 3 in the NAV information list in order.

[0390] The NAV information list occupies a variable number of bytes, and includes one or more NAV fields. Each NAV field occupies 2 bytes, and is used to indicate the target NAV value of a corresponding link.

[0391] The fields, elements, byte numbers and bit numbers shown in FIG. 28 are optional examples, and the fourth action frame format of the present application supports any adaptive modification on the basis of FIG. 28, such as adding fields, reducing some fields, recombining some fields, changing byte numbers, changing bit numbers, changing field names, etc.

[0392] According to the above description, in some embodiments, the sixth frame can be a fifth action frame, and the fifth action frame is used to notify the peer device (Peer STA) when the station has switched back to the main channel.

[0393] FIG. 29 shows a format diagram of the fifth action frame according to an example embodiment of the present application. It includes a MAC frame header and / or a MAC frame body and / or a FCS.

[0394] The MAC frame header includes one or more of the following fields: Frame Control, Duration, Address 1, Address 2, Address 3, Sequence Control, High Throughput Control. The MAC frame body includes an Action field, which includes one or more of the following fields: Category, UHR Public Action, Dialog Token, NPCA Element. The Category field is used to indicate the action category, and occupies 1 octet. For example, the Category field of the fifth action frame takes the value 37. The UHR Public Action field is used to indicate the UHR public action subcategory, and occupies 1 octet. The Dialog Token field occupies 1 octet. The NPCA Element occupies a variable number of octets.

[0395] The NPCA Element includes one or more of the following fields: Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, Control. The Element ID, Length, Element ID Extension, and Control fields each occupy 1 octet. For example, the Element ID field of the fifth action frame takes the value 255, and the Element ID Extension field takes the value 138.

[0396] The Control field includes an anchor channel field of 1 bit and a reserved field of 7 bits. The anchor channel field is used to indicate whether the station is currently camped on the anchor channel. When the anchor channel field takes a first value, it indicates that the station is camped on the anchor channel, i.e., the station has not switched back to the primary channel. When the anchor channel field takes a second value, it indicates that the station is camped on the primary channel, i.e., the station has switched back to the primary channel. The first value is 0 or 1 or another value, and the second value is 1 or 0 or another value, with the first value being different from the second value.

[0397] The fields, elements, number of octets, and number of bits shown in FIG. 29 are optional examples. The present application supports any suitable modification of the frame format of the fifth action frame, such as adding fields, removing some fields, recombining some fields, changing the number of octets, changing the number of bits, changing the names of fields, etc.

[0398] Again, the frame formats, element formats, and field formats shown in the various embodiments described above are examples and are not limiting. The present application supports any suitable modification of the formats described above, such as changing the order of fields / elements, changing the number of octets of fields / elements, changing the number of bits of fields / elements, changing the names of fields / elements / frames, etc. It also supports setting some fields / elements as reserved fields.

[0399] Figure 30 shows a structural block diagram of a communication apparatus 3000, which can implement the first MLD or a part of the first MLD, such as the first station and / or the third station and / or the fifth station affiliated to the first MLD, according to an example embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the communication apparatus 3000 is a wireless communication apparatus / wireless device supporting WLAN / Wi-Fi protocol, such as 802.11 protocol. The communication apparatus 3000 comprises a sending module 3010. Optionally, the communication apparatus 3000 further comprises a receiving module 3030 and / or a processing module 3050.

[0400] The sending module 3010 is configured to send a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the apparatus comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), and the apparatus is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0401] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by the first station before the end of a current transmission opportunity on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the end of the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel.

[0402] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by the first station before a start time of an interference period, the interference period comprising a period of interference on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the start time of the interference period.

[0403] In some embodiments, a residence duration of the second station on the anchor channel is related to one or more of: a TBTT; a predefined timeout time; a timeout time indicated by the apparatus; indication information used to indicate the second station to switch back to the primary channel; whether the second station needs to transmit on the primary channel; an end time of the interference period.

[0404] In some embodiments, the processing module 3050 is configured to: stay on the primary channel after the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel ends; or stay on the primary channel after the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel ends and instruct the second station to switch back to the primary channel; or stay on the primary channel after the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel ends and instruct the second station to continue to stay on the anchor channel; or switch to the anchor channel after the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel ends.

[0405] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3030 is configured to obtain, after the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel ends, first NAV information and / or first idle information of the second station on the anchor channel.

[0406] In some embodiments, the first NAV information and / or the first idle information are carried in a second frame sent by one or more fourth stations affiliated with the one or more second MLDs to the apparatus on a second link.

[0407] In some embodiments, the second frame is sent by the fourth station based on a third frame, the third frame being used to request the fourth station to send the second frame, the third frame being sent by the apparatus to the fourth station on the second link.

[0408] In some embodiments, the third frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a request field indicating that the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; a link identification bitmap field indicating one or more links corresponding to the anchor channel; an AID field indicating an association identifier of one or more of the second stations.

[0409] In some embodiments, the second frame is sent before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel; or the second frame is sent after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

[0410] In some embodiments, the first NAV information comprises one or more of the following: a first NAV, a source BSS color of the first NAV, a source BSSID of the first NAV, a frame type of a source frame of the first NAV, a bandwidth of a source PPDU of the first NAV; the first idle information comprises one or more of the following: a first idle duration, a channel idle bandwidth.

[0411] In some embodiments, the processing module 3050 is configured to: determine a second NAV according to the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel; and / or, start a first timer; wherein the second NAV indicates a NAV of the first station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel, and the first timer is related to a medium synchronization delay.

[0412] In some embodiments, the processing module 3050 is further configured to reset the first timer to 0 when one or more of the following conditions are met: a second time is later than or equal to a first time, and the first timer is not expired at a time when the device obtains the first NAV information; the first idle information includes a first idle duration that is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the first timer is not expired at a time when the device obtains the first idle information; the first idle information includes a first idle duration that is greater than or equal to a first duration, and the device detects that the primary channel remains idle within a duration of a PPDU carrying the first idle information, and the first timer is not expired at a time when the device obtains the first idle information; the first station receives an MPDU after starting the first timer; the first station receives a PPDU after starting the first timer; wherein the second time is an end time indicated by a first NAV included in the first NAV information, the first time is a time when the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel, and the first duration is a duration between the first time and a third time, and the third time is a time when the device receives a PPDU carrying the first idle information sent by a fourth station affiliated to the second MLD.

[0413] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3030 is configured to receive, on the second link, a fourth frame sent by one or more fourth stations affiliated to the one or more second MLDs, the fourth frame being used to request the device to feed back a channel status of the first station.

[0414] In some embodiments, the sending module 3010 is configured to send, on the second link, a fifth frame to one or more fourth stations affiliated to the one or more second MLDs, the fifth frame being used to feed back a channel status of the first station.

[0415] In some embodiments, the channel status of the first station includes one or more of: a current operating channel of the first station, whether the first station switches to the anchor channel, NAV information of the first station on the current operating channel, and idle information of the first station on the current operating channel.

[0416] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3030 is configured to receive, on the second link, a sixth frame sent by the one or more second MLDs, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the second station has switched back to the primary channel of the first link.

[0417] In some embodiments, the sending module 3010 is configured to send, on the second link, a seventh frame to one or more fourth stations affiliated to the one or more second MLDs, the seventh frame being used to instruct the second station to switch to the anchor channel.

[0418] In some embodiments, the sending module 3010 is configured to send, on the second link, an eighth frame to one or more sixth stations affiliated to a third MLD, the eighth frame carrying the second NAV and / or the second idle information.

[0419] In some embodiments, the first frame comprises one or more fields: a field used to indicate whether the second station switches to the anchor channel; a field used to indicate an association identifier of the one or more second stations; a field used to indicate an operating channel after the second station switches; a field used to indicate a time point when the second station switches to the anchor channel; and a field used to indicate a residence duration of the second station on the anchor channel.

[0420] In some embodiments, the sending module 3010 is configured to perform one or more of the following steps: the step 720, the step 810, the step 850, the step 870, and the step 890.

[0421] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3030 is configured to perform one or more of the following steps: the step 830, the step 860, and the step 880.

[0422] In some embodiments, the processing module 3050 is configured to perform one or more of the following steps: the step 820 and the step 840.

[0423] The content described in each of the foregoing embodiments, such as the interaction process, use, name, type, format, etc. of the first frame to the eighth frame, is applicable to the communication apparatus 3000 shown in FIG. 30. For details not described in the present embodiment, refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0424] In summary, the apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application supports switching the second station from the main channel to the anchor channel through the first frame, and can obtain the medium busy / idle state of the anchor channel through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding the loss of medium synchronization after the first station switches from the main channel to the anchor channel. Moreover, the first station and the second station can flexibly determine whether to reside in the main channel or the anchor channel according to the actual OBSS interference and / or transmission requirement, so that the first station and the second station can complete the medium synchronization as soon as possible and also acquire the TXOP as soon as possible, thereby meeting the transmission requirement of the first station and the second station.

[0425] Figure 31 shows a structural block diagram of a communication apparatus 3100 according to an example embodiment of the present application. The communication apparatus 3100 can implement the second MLD described above, or implement a part of the second MLD described above, such as the second station and / or the fourth station affiliated to the second MLD. Alternatively, the communication apparatus 3100 can also be a wireless communication apparatus / wireless device supporting WLAN / Wi-Fi protocol (such as 802.11 protocol). The communication apparatus 3100 comprises a receiving module 3110. Optionally, the communication apparatus 3100 further comprises a sending module 3130 and / or a processing module 3150.

[0426] The receiving module 3110 is configured to receive, on a primary channel of a first link, a first frame sent by a first MLD, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the first MLD comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), and the first MLD is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

[0427] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by a first station affiliated to the first MLD before the end of a current transmission opportunity on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the end of the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel.

[0428] In some embodiments, the first frame is sent by a first station affiliated to the first MLD before a starting moment of an interference period, the interference period comprising a period of interference on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the starting moment of the interference period.

[0429] In some embodiments, a length of residence of the second station on the anchor channel is related to one or more of: a TBTT; a predefined timeout moment; a timeout moment indicated by the first station; indication information used to indicate the second station to switch back to the primary channel; whether the second station needs to perform transmission on the primary channel; an ending moment of the interference period.

[0430] In some embodiments, the processing module 3150 is configured to switch from the primary channel to the anchor channel according to the first frame.

[0431] In some embodiments, the sending module 3130 is configured to feed back first NAV information and / or first idle information of the anchor channel.

[0432] In some embodiments, the sending module 3130 is configured to feed back, by the fourth station, the first NAV information and / or the first idle information to a third station affiliated to the first MLD through the fourth station; wherein the first NAV information and / or the first idle information are carried in a second frame sent by the fourth station to the third station on a second link.

[0433] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3110 is configured to receive, on the second link, a third frame sent by a third station affiliated to the first MLD, the third frame being used to request the fourth station to send the second frame.

[0434] In some embodiments, the third frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a request field indicating that the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; a link identification bitmap field indicating one or more links corresponding to the anchor channel; an AID field indicating an association identifier of one or more of the second stations.

[0435] In some embodiments, the second frame is sent before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel; or the second frame is sent after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

[0436] In some embodiments, the first NAV information comprises one or more of the following: a first NAV, a source BSS color of the first NAV, a source BSSID of the first NAV, a frame type of a source frame of the first NAV, a bandwidth of a source PPDU of the first NAV; and the first idle information comprises one or more of the following: a first idle duration, a channel idle bandwidth.

[0437] In some embodiments, the sending module 3130 is configured to send, on the second link, a fourth frame to a third station affiliated to the first MLD, the fourth frame being used to request the third station to feed back a channel status of the first station.

[0438] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3110 is configured to receive, on the second link, a fifth frame sent by a third station affiliated to the first MLD, the fifth frame being used to feed back the channel status of the first station.

[0439] In some embodiments, the channel status of the first station comprises one or more of the following: a current operating channel of the first station, whether the first station switches to the anchor channel, a NAV information of the first station on the current operating channel, an idle information of the first station on the current operating channel.

[0440] In some embodiments, the sending module 3130 is configured to send, on the second link, a sixth frame to a third station affiliated to the first MLD, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the second station has switched back to the primary channel of the first link.

[0441] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3110 is configured to receive, on the second link, a seventh frame sent by a third station affiliated to the first MLD, the seventh frame being used to indicate that the second station switches to the anchor channel.

[0442] In some embodiments, the first frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a field used to indicate whether the second station switches to the anchor channel; a field used to indicate an association identifier of one or more second stations; a field used to indicate an operating channel after the second station switches; a field used to indicate a time point when the second station switches to the anchor channel; and a field used to indicate a residence duration of the second station on the anchor channel.

[0443] In some embodiments, the receiving module 3110 is configured to perform one or more of the following steps: step 1020, step 1110, step 1140, and step 1160.

[0444] In some embodiments, the sending module 3130 is configured to perform one or more of the following steps: step 1120, step 1130, and step 1150.

[0445] In some embodiments, the processing module 3150 is configured to determine whether to switch back to the primary channel, and / or whether to reside on the anchor channel, and / or whether to reside on the primary channel, and / or whether to switch to the anchor channel.

[0446] The content described in each of the foregoing embodiments, such as the interaction process, use, name, type, format, etc. of the first frame to the eighth frame, is applicable to the communication apparatus 3100 shown in FIG. 31. For details not described in the present embodiment, refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0447] In summary, the apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application supports switching the second station from the primary channel to the anchor channel through the first frame, and the medium busy state of the anchor channel can be obtained through the listening of the second station, thereby avoiding the loss of medium synchronization after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel. Moreover, the first station and the second station can flexibly determine whether to reside on the primary channel or the anchor channel according to the actual OBSS interference and / or transmission requirement, so that the first station and the second station can complete the medium synchronization as soon as possible and also obtain the TXOP as soon as possible, thereby meeting the transmission requirement of the first station and the second station.

[0448] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in the above examples is only used to illustrate the division of the above functional modules in achieving their functions, and in actual applications, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the communication device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above-described functions. In addition, the apparatus and method provided in the above examples belong to the same concept.

[0449] FIG. 32 shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 3200 provided in an example embodiment of the present application, which includes at least one of a receiver 3201, a transmitter 3202, a processor 3203, a memory 3204, and a bus (not shown in the figure).

[0450] Optionally, the communication device 3200 is configured to perform part or all of the steps performed by the first MLD.

[0451] Optionally, the communication device 3200 is configured to perform part or all of the steps performed by the second MLD.

[0452] Optionally, the communication device 3200 is a wireless device / wireless communication device supporting WLAN / Wi-Fi protocol (such as 802.11 protocol).

[0453] The receiver 3201 is configured to implement the receiving function. Optionally, the receiver 3201 can be configured to implement the functions and steps of the receiving module 3030 and / or the receiving module 3110. The transmitter 3202 is configured to implement the sending function. Optionally, the transmitter 3202 can be configured to implement the functions and steps of the sending module 3010 and / or the sending module 3130.

[0454] Optionally, the receiver 3201 and the transmitter 3202 can be implemented as a communication component, which can be a communication chip, and the communication component can be referred to as a transceiver. Optionally, the receiver 3201 and the transmitter 3202 can be implemented as a wireless communication component and / or a wired communication component. Optionally, the wireless communication component includes a wireless communication chip and / or a radio frequency antenna. Optionally, the wired communication component includes a wired communication chip and / or a wired interface.

[0455] The processor 3203 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 3203 performs various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules. In some embodiments, the processor 3203 can be configured to implement the functions and steps of the processing module 3050 and / or the processing module 3150. The memory 3204 can be configured to store computer programs executed by the processor 3203, and the processor 3203 is configured to execute the computer programs to implement each step in the above method embodiments.

[0456] In some embodiments, the memory 3204 can be connected to the processor 3203, and the receiver 3201 and the transmitter 3202.

[0457] In addition, the memory 3204 can be implemented by any type of volatile or nonvolatile storage devices or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: a magnetic or optical disk, an Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic storage, a flash memory, a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM).

[0458] In some embodiments, the receiver 3201 receives signals / data independently, or the processor 3203 controls the receiver 3201 to receive signals / data, or the processor 3203 requests the receiver 3201 to receive signals / data, or the processor 3203 cooperates with the receiver 3201 to receive signals / data.

[0459] In some embodiments, the transmitter 3202 transmits signals / data independently, or the processor 3203 controls the transmitter 3202 to transmit signals / data, or the processor 3203 requests the transmitter 3202 to transmit signals / data, or the processor 3203 cooperates with the transmitter 3202 to transmit signals / data.

[0460] For details not described in the present embodiment, refer to the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0461] In one example embodiment of the present application, a chip is also provided, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running on a communication device, is used to implement the communication method provided by each method embodiment.

[0462] In some embodiments, the chip includes a sending module 3010. Optionally, the chip further includes a receiving module 3030 and / or a processing module 3050. For related content, refer to the foregoing description, which will not be repeated here.

[0463] In some embodiments, the chip includes a receiving module 3110. Optionally, the chip further includes a sending module 3130 and / or a processing module 3150. Details can be referred to the foregoing description and will not be repeated here.

[0464] In an example embodiment of the present application, a computer readable storage medium is also provided, and at least one program is stored in the computer readable storage medium. The at least one program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the communication method provided by each of the above method embodiments.

[0465] In an example embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is also provided, and the computer program product includes computer instructions. The computer instructions are stored in a computer readable storage medium. A processor acquires the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and executes the computer instructions to implement the communication method provided by each of the above method embodiments.

[0466] In an example embodiment of the present application, a computer program is also provided, and the computer program includes computer instructions. The computer instructions are stored in a computer readable storage medium. A processor acquires the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and executes the computer instructions to implement the communication method provided by each of the above method embodiments.

[0467] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of the above embodiments can be completed by hardware, or by program instructing relevant hardware to complete, and the program can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. The storage medium mentioned above can be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc.

[0468] The above is only an optional embodiment of the present application, and is not used to limit the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is performed by a first multi-link device MLD, and the method comprises: a first station affiliated to the first MLD sends a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to instruct or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the first MLD comprises an access point multi-link device AP MLD or a non-access point station multi-link device non-AP MLD, and the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device AP MLD or a non-access point station multi-link device non-AP MLD, and the first MLD is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first frame is sent by the first station before the end of a current transmission opportunity on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the end of the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first frame is sent by the first station before a starting moment of an interference period, and the interference period comprises a period of interference on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the starting moment of the interference period.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, A length of residence of the second station on the anchor channel is related to one or more of the following: a target beacon transmission time TBTT; a predefined timeout moment; a timeout moment indicated by the first station; indication information used to instruct the second station to switch back to the primary channel; whether the second station needs to perform transmission on the primary channel; an ending moment of the interference period.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, After the end of the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel, the method further comprises: the first station staying on the primary channel; or, the first station staying on the primary channel and instructing the second station to switch back to the primary channel; or, the first station staying on the primary channel and instructing the second station to continue to stay on the anchor channel; or, the first station switching to the anchor channel.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, After the end of the current transmission opportunity on the primary channel, the method further comprises: the first station obtaining first NAV information and / or first idle information of the second station on the anchor channel.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The first station obtaining the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the second station on the anchor channel comprises: the first station obtaining the first NAV information and / or the first idle information through a third station affiliated to the first MLD; wherein the first NAV information and / or the first idle information are carried in a second frame, and the second frame is sent by one or more fourth stations affiliated to the one or more second MLDs to the third station on a second link.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, The second frame is sent by the fourth station based on a third frame, and the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the second frame, and the third frame is sent by the third station to the fourth station on the second link.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The third frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a request field indicating that the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; a link identification bitmap field indicating one or more links corresponding to the anchor channel; an association identifier (AID) field indicating an association identifier of one or more of the second stations.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The second frame is sent before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel, or the second frame is sent after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

11. The method of any one of claims 6-10, wherein: The first NAV information comprises one or more of the following: a first NAV, a source BSS color of the first NAV, a source BSSID of the first NAV, a frame type of a source frame of the first NAV, a bandwidth of a source PPDU of the first NAV; The first idle information comprises one or more of the following: a first idle duration, a channel idle bandwidth.

12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 11, characterized in that, The method further comprises: The first station determines a second NAV according to the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel; and / or, the first station starts a first timer; wherein the second NAV indicates a NAV of the first station after switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel, and the first timer is related to a medium synchronization delay.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The method further comprises resetting the first timer to 0 when one or more of the following conditions are met: A second time is later than or equal to a first time, and the first timer has not expired at a time when the first MLD acquires the first NAV information; The first idle information comprises a first idle duration that is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the first timer has not expired at a time when the first MLD acquires the first idle information; The first idle information comprises a first idle duration that is greater than or equal to a first duration, and the first station detects that the primary channel remains idle within a duration of a PPDU carrying the first idle information, and the first timer has not expired at a time when the first MLD acquires the first idle information; The first station receives a medium access control layer protocol data unit (MPDU) after starting the first timer; The first station receives a physical layer protocol data unit (PPDU) after starting the first timer; The second time is an end time indicated by a first NAV comprised in the first NAV information, the first time is a time when the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel, the first duration is a duration between the first time and a third time, and the third time is a time when the first MLD receives a PPDU carrying the first idle information sent by a fourth station affiliated to the second MLD.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that, The method further comprises: A third station affiliated with the first MLD receives, on a second link, fourth frames transmitted by one or more fourth stations affiliated with the one or more second MLDs, the fourth frames being used to request the third station to feedback channel status of the first station.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The method further includes: A third station affiliated with the first MLD transmits, on a second link, fifth frames to one or more fourth stations affiliated with the one or more second MLDs, the fifth frames being used to feedback channel status of the first station.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The channel status of the first station includes one or more of: a current operating channel of the first station, whether the first station switches to the anchor channel, NAV information of the first station on the current operating channel, idle information of the first station on the current operating channel.

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein, The method further includes: A third station affiliated with the first MLD receives, on a second link, sixth frames transmitted by the one or more second MLDs, the sixth frames being used to indicate that the second station has switched back to a primary channel of the first link.

18. The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein, The method further includes: A third station affiliated with the first MLD transmits, on a second link, seventh frames to one or more fourth stations affiliated with the one or more second MLDs, the seventh frames being used to indicate that the second station switches to the anchor channel.

19. The method of any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein, The first frame includes one or more of: a field used to indicate whether the second station switches to the anchor channel; a field used to indicate an association identifier of one or more second stations; a field used to indicate an operating channel after the second station switches; a field used to indicate a time instant when the second station switches to the anchor channel; a field used to indicate a dwell duration of the second station on the anchor channel.

20. A method of communication, comprising: The method is performed by a second multi-link device (MLD), and the method includes: A second station affiliated with the second MLD receives, on a primary channel of a first link, a first frame, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated with one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; The first MLD includes an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), and the second MLD includes an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), and the first MLD is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein, The first frame is transmitted by the first station before an end of a current transmission opportunity of the first station on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before an end of a current transmission opportunity of the second station on the primary channel.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein, The first frame is transmitted by the first station before a start instant of an interference period, the interference period including a period during which interference occurs on the primary channel; and the second station switches to the anchor channel before the start instant of the interference period.

23. The method of any one of claims 20 to 22, wherein, The length of time that the second station resides on the anchor channel is related to one or more of: a target beacon transmission time TBTT; a predefined timeout time; a timeout time indicated by the first station; indication information indicating that the second station switches back to the primary channel; whether the second station needs to transmit on the primary channel; an end time of an interference period.

24. The method of any one of claims 20 to 23, wherein, The method further includes switching from the primary channel to the anchor channel according to the first frame.

25. The method of any one of claims 20 to 24, wherein, The method further includes: feeding back first NAV information and / or first idle information of the anchor channel.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein, The feeding back of the first NAV information and / or the first idle information of the anchor channel includes: feeding back, by a fourth station affiliated to the second MLD, the first NAV information and / or the first idle information to a third station affiliated to the first MLD; wherein the first NAV information and / or the first idle information are carried in a second frame, which is sent by the fourth station affiliated to the second MLD to the third station on a second link.

27. The method of claim 25 or 26, wherein, The method further includes: The fourth station affiliated to the second MLD receives a third frame sent by the third station affiliated to the first MLD on the second link, and the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the second frame.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein, The third frame includes one or more of the following fields: a request field indicating that the third frame is used to request the fourth station to send the first NAV information and / or the first idle information; a link identification bitmap field indicating one or more links corresponding to the anchor channel; an association identifier AID field indicating an association identifier of one or more of the second stations.

29. The method of any one of claims 26 to 28, wherein, The second frame is sent before the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel; or the second frame is sent after the first station switches from the primary channel to the anchor channel.

30. The method of any one of claims 25-29, wherein: The first NAV information includes one or more of: a first NAV, a source BSS color of the first NAV, a source BSSID of the first NAV, a frame type of a source frame of the first NAV, a bandwidth of a source PPDU of the first NAV; The first idle information includes one or more of: a first idle time length, a channel idle bandwidth.

31. The method of any one of claims 20 to 30, wherein, The method further includes: The fourth station affiliated to the second MLD sends a fourth frame to the third station affiliated to the first MLD on a second link, and the fourth frame is used to request the third station to feed back a channel state of the first station.

32. The method of any one of claims 20 to 31, wherein, The method further includes: The fourth station affiliated to the second MLD receives a fifth frame sent by the third station affiliated to the first MLD on a second link, and the fifth frame is used to feed back a channel state of the first station.

33. The method of claim 31 or 32, wherein, The channel status of the first station comprises one or more of the following: a current operating channel of the first station, whether the first station switches to the anchor channel, NAV information of the first station on the current operating channel, and idle information of the first station on the current operating channel.

34. The method of any one of claims 20 to 33, wherein, The method further comprises: A fourth station affiliated to the second MLD sends a sixth frame to a third station affiliated to the first MLD on a second link, the sixth frame being used to indicate that the second station has switched back to the primary channel of the first link.

35. The method of any one of claims 20 to 34, wherein, The method further comprises: A fourth station affiliated to the second MLD receives a seventh frame sent by a third station affiliated to the first MLD on a second link, the seventh frame being used to indicate that the second station switches to the anchor channel.

36. The method of any one of claims 20 to 35, wherein, The first frame comprises one or more of the following fields: a field used to indicate whether the second station switches to the anchor channel; a field used to indicate an association identifier of one or more second stations; a field used to indicate an operating channel after the second station switches; a field used to indicate a time when the second station switches to the anchor channel; and a field used to indicate a residence duration of the second station on the anchor channel.

37. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a sending module configured to send a first frame on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the apparatus comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), and the apparatus is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

38. A communications device, characterized by The apparatus comprises a receiving module configured to receive a first frame sent by a first MLD on a primary channel of a first link, the first frame being used to indicate or request or suggest one or more second stations affiliated to one or more second MLDs to switch to an anchor channel of the first link; wherein the first MLD comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), the second MLD comprises an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) or a non-access point station multi-link device (non-AP MLD), and the first MLD is associated with the one or more second MLDs or establishes a point-to-point link with the one or more second MLDs.

39. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a processor, a transceiver connected to the processor, and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to load and execute the executable instructions to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

40. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer readable storage medium stores at least one program, and the at least one program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

41. A computer program product or computer program, characterised in that, The computer program product or the computer program comprises computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium, and a processor acquires the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and executes the computer instructions to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 36.

42. A chip, comprising: The chip comprises programmable logic circuitry and / or at least one program, and is configured to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 36 based on the programmable logic circuitry and / or the at least one program.

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