US-12628221-B2 - Communication apparatus, communication method, and storage medium

Abstract

A link is established between communication apparatuses 102 and 103 that can execute multi-link communication complying with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series standard via a frequency channel, and a media access control (MAC) frame in which information regarding a second link different from an established first link is included later than a field in which information regarding a service set identifier (SSID) is stored is communicated between the communication apparatuses 102 and 103.

Inventors

• Tomoyuki Takada

Assignees

• CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20220902

Priority Date

20200305

Claims (9)

1. 1 . A communication apparatus that can execute multi-link communication complying with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series standard by a first link using a first frequency channel and a second link using a second frequency channel, comprising: at least one memory that stores a set of instructions; and at least one processor that executes the instructions, the instructions, when executed, causing the communication apparatus to perform operations comprising: communicating a media access control (MAC) frame including a first element including information regarding the second link and a second element including information regarding a service set identifier (SSID) in the first frequency channel, the MAC frame including a header and a body, the first element and the second element being included in the body, and the first element being arranged later than the second element in the body, wherein the first element includes an Element ID field and a Length field, and the Element ID field is a field positioned in front among a plurality of fields included in the first element.
2. 2 . The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information regarding the second link includes identification information regarding the second link.
3. 3 . The communication apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the identification information is a basic service set identifier (BSSID) regarding the second link.
4. 4 . The communication apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the identification information is a Link ID of the second link.
5. 5 . The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information regarding the second link is included later than an HE 6-GHz Band Capabilities element in the MAC frame.
6. 6 . The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the information regarding the second link is included later than a Supported Rates and BSS Membership Selectors element in the MAC frame.
7. 7 . The communication apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first element includes a first field including information regarding the first link and the information regarding the second link, and the first field is arranged later than the Length field.
8. 8 . A communication method that can execute multi-link communication complying with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series standard by a first link using a first frequency channel and a second link using a second frequency channel, comprising: communicating a media access control (MAC) frame including a first element including information regarding the second link and a second element including information regarding a service set identifier (SSID) in the first frequency channel, the MAC frame including a header and a body, the first element and the second element being included in the body, and the first element being arranged later than the second element in the body, wherein the first element includes an Element ID field and a Length field, and the Element ID field is a field positioned in front among a plurality of fields included in the first element.
9. 9 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing a program for causing a computer to execute a communication method that can execute multi-link communication complying with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series standard comprising: communicating a media access control (MAC) frame including a first element including information regarding the second link and a second element including information regarding a service set identifier (SSID) in the first frequency channel, the MAC frame including a header and a body, the first element and the second element being included in the body, and the first element being arranged later than the second element in the body, wherein the first element includes an Element ID field and a Length field, and the Element ID field is a field positioned in front among a plurality of fields included in the first element.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2021/004554, filed Feb. 8, 2021, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-038139, filed Mar. 5, 2020, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to transmission and reception of information regarding communication in wireless communication. Background Art As wireless local area network (WLAN) communication standards formulated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), IEEE802.11 series standards have been known. The IEEE802.11 series standards include standards such as IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards. In the IEEE, to further increase throughput and enhance frequency usage efficiency, the formulation of an IEEE 802.11be standard has been considered as a new IEEE 802.11 series standard. In the IEEE 802.11be standard, there has been considered multi-link communication by which one access point (AP) establishes a plurality of links with one station (STA) via a plurality of different frequency channels, and communicates with the STA. Patent Literature 1 discusses establishing links in a case where an AP and a STA perform communication. In the multi-link communication, for example, it is considered to perform communication preferentially using a relatively-uncrowded link among a plurality of links. To perform such control, an AP and a STA are required to communicate information regarding another link. Nevertheless, because the multi-link communication is a technique newly introduced in the IEEE 802.11 series standards, in the case of communicating information regarding another link using a media access control (MAC) frame, for example, compatibility thereof needs to be considered. CITATION LIST Patent Literature PTL 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-523202 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, the present invention is directed to ensuring compatibility of a frame in the case of communicating information regarding a link to be established with another communication apparatus in a frequency channel complying with an IEEE 802.11 series standard. For achieving the above-described objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, a communication apparatus that can execute multi-link communication complying with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 series standard includes an establishment unit configured to establish a link with another communication apparatus via a frequency channel, and a communication unit configured to communicate a media access control (MAC) frame in which information regarding a second link with the other communication apparatus that is different from a first link established by the establishment unit is included later than a field in which information regarding a service set identifier (SSID) is stored. Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a network to which a communication apparatus 102 belongs. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication apparatus 102. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the communication apparatus 102. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing to be executed when communication apparatuses 102 and 103 establish a link of multi-link communication. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame format of a Multi-Link Capability Element. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing to be executed by the communication apparatus 103 when executing multi-link communication. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating processing to be executed by the communication apparatus 102 when executing multi-link communication. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating information included in a Beacon. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating information included in a Probe Response. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame format of a switch destination link information element (information element). DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In addition, the configurations to be described in the following exemplary embodiment are mere examples, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations illustrated in the drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration of a network in which a communication apparatus 102 according to the present exemplary embodiment participates. The communication apparatus 102 is an access point (AP) having a role of constructing a network 101. The network 101 is a wireless network. In the pr