BR-122025009550-A2 - A communication method based on a device with multiple non-simultaneous transmission and reception links, and an apparatus.

BR122025009550A2BR 122025009550 A2BR122025009550 A2BR 122025009550A2BR-122025009550-A2

Abstract

This application discloses a method for indicating groupcast traffic on a multi-link device, and an apparatus. The method includes: a multi-link access point device generates a first beacon frame carrying groupcast indication information, wherein the groupcast indication information is used to indicate a station that has groupcast traffic to receive; and the multi-link access point device sends the first beacon frame. A multi-link station device receives the first beacon frame; and if the multi-link station device has groupcast traffic to receive, it interrupts channel contention from a second station that is unable to perform sending or receiving when a first station performs receiving or sending. The method can effectively reduce the access latency of a channel by the multi-link device.

Inventors

Yuchen Guo
Ming Gan
Yunbo Li

Assignees

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260310
Application Date: 20210430
Priority Date: 20200508

Claims (8)

1. A communication method, characterized by the fact that it comprises: obtaining, by a first station in a multi-link station device, a channel in a first link through contention, and obtaining a transmission opportunity, TXOP, in the first link; and terminating, by the first station, the TXOP before the target transmission time of a beacon frame from a second station, wherein the first station and the second station are stations in the multi-link station device, and when the first station performs transmission or reception, the second station is unable to perform reception or transmission.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the termination, by the first station, of the TXOP before the target transmission time of a beacon frame from a second station, comprises: determining that the second station needs to receive the beacon frame at the target transmission time; and terminating, by the first station, the TXOP.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the beacon frame is received by the second station on a second link, wherein the first link is a communication link between the first station and a first access point, and the second link is a communication link between the second station and a second access point; and wherein the first access point and the second access point belong to the same multi-link access point device.
4. Communication apparatus, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: a processing unit, used by a first station in a multi-link station device to obtain a channel on a first link through contention, and obtain a TXOP transmission opportunity on the first link, wherein the processing unit is additionally configured to terminate the TXOP before the target sending time of a beacon frame from a second station, wherein the first station and the second station are stations in the multi-link station device, and when the first station performs sending or receiving, the second station is not able to perform receiving or sending.
5. Communication apparatus, according to claim 4, CHARACTERIZED in that the processing unit is additionally configured to: terminate the TXOP in response to the determination that the second station needs to receive the beacon frame at the target transmission time.
6. Communication apparatus, according to claim 4 or 5, CHARACTERIZED in that the beacon frame is received by the second station on a second link, wherein the first link is a communication link between the first station and a first access point, and the second link is a communication link between the second station and a second access point; and wherein the first access point and the second access point belong to the same multi-link access point device.
7. Communication apparatus, CHARACTERIZED in that it is configured to implement the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3.
8. Computer-readable storage media, CHARACTERIZED in that it is configured to store a set of instructions, wherein the instruction set comprises instructions used to perform the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202010384061.8, filed with the Intellectual Property Administration of China on May 8, 2020, and entitled “COMMUNICATION METHOD BASED ON NONSIMULTANEOUS TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE MULTI-LINK DEVICE, AND APPARATUS”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF TECHNIQUE [0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies and, in particular, to a communication method based on a device with multiple non-simultaneous transmission and reception links, and an apparatus. FUNDAMENTALS [0003] With the development of wireless technologies, more wireless devices support multi-link communication, for example, simultaneously communicating in a 2.4 GHz frequency band, a 5 GHz frequency band, and a 6 GHz frequency band, or simultaneously communicating on different channels within the same frequency band. In this way, the communication rate between devices is improved. This device is generally called a multi-link device (MLD). [0004] A multi-link device typically includes a plurality of stations (STAs), and each STA operates on a specific frequency band or channel. The multi-link device can be an access point device, or it can be a station device. If the multi-link device is an access point device, the access point device includes one or more access points (APs). If the multi-link device is a station device, the station device includes one or more non-AP STAs. The one or more non-AP STAs in the station device can communicate with the one or more APs in the access point device after an association relationship is established between the non-AP STAs and the APs. [0005] A nonsimultaneous transmit and receive multi-link device (NSTR MLD) means that when transmitting on one link, the multi-link device cannot receive on the other link. One reason why the multi-link device cannot receive is generally that when the multi-link device transmits on one link, transmission power is leaked to the other link, self-interference is generated, and due to the self-interference, the device cannot correctly demodulate a data packet that needs to be received on the other link. [0006] For the NSTR MLD, when the NSTR MLD sends data on one link, interference with incoming data traffic on the other link can occur because the NSTR MLD ignores information on the other link. Therefore, a technical problem to be solved in this request is how a link on which data is being sent or will be sent learns about information on the other link, in order to avoid channel interference, caused by the link, with data being received on the other link. SUMMARY [0007] The embodiments of this application provide a method of communication that is based on a device with multiple non-simultaneous transmit and receive links, and an apparatus, to reduce the access latency of a channel in a non-simultaneous transmit and receive link in a multi-link device. [0008] According to a first aspect, a method of indicating groupcast traffic on a multi-link device is provided. The method includes: A multi-link access point device generates a first beacon frame carrying groupcast indication information, wherein the groupcast indication information is used to indicate a station that has groupcast traffic to be received; and the multi-link access point device sends the first beacon frame. [0009] In a possible design, the first beacon frame includes a first information element, and a bitmap control field and a partial virtual bitmap field, in the first information element, are used to indicate the station that has the groupcast traffic to be received. [0010] In a possible design, the first beacon frame includes a second information element, and a list of groupcast identifiers, in the second information element, is used to indicate the station that has the groupcast traffic to be received. [0011] In a possible project, the first beacon frame additionally includes broadcast indication information, used to indicate whether there is broadcast traffic to be received. [0012] In a possible project, a broadcast indication field, included in the first information element or the second information element, is used to indicate whether there is broadcast traffic to be received. [0013] In a possible project, the method additionally includes: A second access point, in the multi-link access point device, interrupts the sending of a first message to a second station, where the first message is a message that needs to be answered by the second station. [0014] In a possible design, the multi-link access point device generates a second beacon frame, in which a target TWT wake-up time information unit of the second beacon frame carries TWT type indication information, and the TWT type indication information is used to indicate whether a service period specified by the TWT information unit is used to transmit groupcast traffic and/or broadcast traffic; and the multi-link access point devic