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EP-4482124-B1 - TECHNIQUE FOR PERFORMING MULTI-LINK COMMUNICATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

EP4482124B1EP 4482124 B1EP4482124 B1EP 4482124B1EP-4482124-B1

Inventors

  • KIM, Namyeong
  • KIM, JEONGKI
  • CHOI, JINSOO
  • PARK, SUNGJIN
  • SONG, Taewon
  • JANG, Insun

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20210316

Claims (9)

  1. A method performed by a multi-link device, MLD, (120, 205) operating a plurality of links in a wireless local area network system, the method comprising: receiving (S3210) a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, through a first link among the plurality of links from an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, (110, 225, 230) wherein the PPDU includes first information related to a second link distinct from the first link among the plurality of links, wherein the first information related to the second link includes second information related to a link identifier of the second link and third information related to whether complete element information for the second link or partial element information for the second link is included in the PPDU, and the third information has a length of one bit, wherein the third information has a value of one for the complete element information, and the third information has a value of zero for the partial element information; and obtaining (S3220) the complete element information for the second link based on the second information and the third information.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein the complete element information for the second link is set based on whether the PPDU is a probe request frame or a (re)association response frame.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first link operates as an anchored link, and the second link operates as a non-anchored link.
  4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: changing a link operating as the anchored link from the first link to the second link based on the complete element information for the second link.
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of links is included in one of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands.
  6. A method performed by an access point, AP, multi-link device, MLD, (110, 225, 230) operating a plurality of links in a wireless local area network system, the method comprising: generating (S3310) a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, wherein the PPDU includes first information related to a second link distinct from a first link among the plurality of links, wherein the first information related to the second link includes second information related to a link identifier of the second link and third information related to whether complete element information for the second link or partial element information for the second link is included in the PPDU, and the third information has a length of one bit, wherein the third information has a value of one for the complete element information, and the third information has a value of zero for the partial element information; and transmitting (S3320) the PPDU through the first link.
  7. A multi-link device, MLD, (120, 205) applied to a wireless local area network system and operating a plurality of links, the MLD (120, 205) comprising: a transceiver (123, 630) to transmit and receive a radio signal; and a processor (121, 610) connected to the transceiver (123, 630), wherein the processor (121, 610) is configured to: receive (S3210) a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, through a first link among the plurality of links from an access point multi-link device, AP MLD, (110, 225, 230) wherein the PPDU includes first information related to a second link distinct from the first link among the plurality of links, wherein the first information related to the second link includes second information related to a link identifier of the second link and third information related to whether complete element information for the second link or partial element information for the second link is included in the PPDU, and the third information has a length of one bit, wherein the third information has a value of one for the complete element information, and the third information has a value of zero for the partial element information; and obtain (S3220) the complete element information for the second link based on the second information and the third information.
  8. The MLD (120, 205) of claim 7, wherein the processor (121, 610) is further configured to carry out the steps of a method according to any one of claims 2 to 5.
  9. An access point, AP, multi-link device, MLD, (110, 225, 230) applied to a wireless local area network system and operating in a plurality of links, the AP MLD (110, 225, 230) comprising: a transceiver (113, 630) to transmit and receive a radio signal; and a processor (111, 610) connected to the transceiver (113, 630), wherein the processor (111) is configured to: generate (S3310) a physical layer protocol data unit, PPDU, wherein the PPDU includes first information related to a second link distinct from a first link among the plurality of links, wherein the first information related to the second link includes second information related to a link identifier of the second link and third information related to whether complete element information for the second link or partial element information for the second link is included in the PPDU, and the third information has a length of one bit, wherein the third information has a value of one for the complete element information, and the third information has a value of zero for the partial element information; and transmit (S3320) the PPDU through the first link.

Description

BACKGROUND Field of the disclosure The present specification relates to a technique for performing multi-link communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN) system and, more particularly, to methods for receiving and transmitting information on a link in multi-link communication and a multi-link device, MLD, and an access point, AP, multi-link device, MLD, supporting the same. Related Art Wireless network technologies may include various types of wireless local area networks (WLANs). The WLAN employs widely used networking protocols and can be used to interconnect nearby devices together. The various technical features described herein may be applied to any communication standard, such as Wi-Fi or, more generally, any one of the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless protocols. A wireless local area network (WLAN) has been enhanced in various ways. For example, the IEEE 802.11ax standard has proposed an enhanced communication environment by using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and downlink multi-user multiple input multiple output (DL MU MIMO) schemes. The present specification proposes a technical feature that can be utilized in a new communication standard. For example, the new communication standard may be an extreme high throughput (EHT) standard which is currently being discussed. The EHT standard may use an increased bandwidth, an enhanced PHY layer protocol data unit (PPDU) structure, an enhanced sequence, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheme, or the like, which is newly proposed. The EHT standard may be called the IEEE 802.1 The standard. US 2019/0335454 A1 discloses an access point (AP) included in a plurality of APs affiliated with a multi-link AP logical entity. As part of a multi-link AP logical entity, the plurality of APs share a common medium access control (MAC) data service interface to an upper layer. The AP exchanges signaling with a station (STA) as part of a multi-link setup process between the multi-link TP logical entity and a multi-link non-AP logical entity. The STA is included in a plurality of STAs affiliated with the multi-link non-AP logical entity. The multi-link setup process establishes a link between each AP of the plurality of APs and a corresponding STA of the plurality of STAs. In IEEE document 802.11-19/1544r2 titled "Multi-link power save operation", multi-link power save operations for 802.11be are proposed. More specifically, it is proposed to use the power states (awake/doze) as defined in the existing spec for each STA of non-AP MLD to indicate availability of a STA for frame exchange on each enabled link, and a method to indicate buffered data for the multi-link operation is discussed. SUMMARY In the EHT standard, a wide bandwidth (e.g., 160/320 MHz), 16 streams, and/or a multi-link (or multi-band) operation may be used to support high throughput and high data rate. In the EHT standard, a device supporting a multi-link (i.e., a multi-link device) may operate in a plurality of links. The multi-link device needs to transmit element information on a second link through a first link. Accordingly, a technical feature for the multi-link device to receive information on a different link may be required. The invention is defined by the independent claims. Features of certain embodiments are defined in the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an example of a transmitting apparatus and/or receiving apparatus of the present specification.FIG. 2 is a conceptual view illustrating the structure of a wireless local area network (WLAN).FIG. 3 illustrates a general link setup process.FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a PPDU used in an IEEE standard.FIG. 5 illustrates an operation based on UL-MU.FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a trigger frame.FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a common information field of a trigger frame.FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a subfield included in a per user information field.FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a channel used/supported/defined within a 2.4 GHz band.FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a channel used/supported/defined within a 5 GHz band.FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a channel used/supported/defined within a 6 GHz band.FIG. 12 shows an example of a HE-PPDU.FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a PPDU used in the present specification.FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a modified transmission device and/or receiving device of the present specification.FIG. 15 illustrates an example of channel bonding.FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the structure of a non-AP MLD.FIG. 17 illustrates an example in which an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD are connected through a link setup process.FIG. 18 illustrates an example in which a link is changed or reconnected.FIG. 19 illustrates a specific example in which a link is changed or reconnected.FIG. 20 illustrates the operations of an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD for a link change or reconnection.FIG. 21 illustrates the operations of an AP MLD and a non-AP MLD for