Data acknowledgment method and apparatus

Abstract

A station (STA)-side data acknowledgment apparatus includes a transceiver configured to send a data frame and send an acknowledgment request, and a processor configured to control the transceiver to send the acknowledgment request after a duration from an end of sending the data frame. The duration is greater than or equal to a transmission delay on a backhaul link between access points (APs). The acknowledgment request is an acknowledgment request for the data frame.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A station (STA)-side data acknowledgment apparatus, comprising:
 a transceiver configured to send a data frame and send an acknowledgment request; and   a processor configured to control the transceiver to send the acknowledgment request after a duration from an end of sending the data frame, wherein the duration is greater than or equal to a transmission delay on a backhaul link between access points (APs), and the acknowledgment request is an acknowledgment request for the data frame.   
     
     
         2 . The STA-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the data frame is configured to carry indication information indicating uplink joint reception. 
     
     
         3 . The STA-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the indication information comprises:
 a return address (RA) field whose value is a medium access control (MAC) address of a virtual coordinated AP and is in the data frame, or   a 1-bit uplink joint reception indicator bit in the data frame.   
     
     
         4 . The STA-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive a beacon, wherein the beacon comprises:
 a MAC address of an AP,   a MAC address of a virtual coordinated AP to which the AP belongs, or   the transmission delay on the backhaul link between the APs.   
     
     
         5 . An access point (AP)-side data acknowledgment apparatus, comprising:
 a transceiver configured to receive a data packet, and receive an acknowledgment request; and   a processor configured to control the transceiver to receive the acknowledgment request after a duration from an end of receiving the data frame, wherein the duration is greater than or equal to a transmission delay on a backhaul link between APs, and the acknowledgment request is an acknowledgment request for the data frame.   
     
     
         6 . The AP-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to reply to the acknowledgment request. 
     
     
         7 . The AP-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the data frame is configured to carry indication information indicating uplink joint reception. 
     
     
         8 . The AP-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the indication information comprises:
 a return address (RA) field whose value is a medium access control (MAC) address of a virtual coordinated AP and is in the data frame, or   a 1-bit uplink joint reception indicator bit in the data frame.   
     
     
         9 . The AP-side data acknowledgment apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to send a beacon, wherein the beacon comprises:
 a MAC address of an AP,   a MAC address of a virtual coordinated AP to which the AP belongs, or   the transmission delay on the backhaul link between the APs.   
     
     
         10 . A station (STA)-side data acknowledgment chip, comprising:
 a transceiver interface configured to send a data frame, and send an acknowledgment request; and   a processor configured to control the transceiver interface to send the acknowledgment request after a duration from an end of sending the data frame, wherein the duration is greater than or equal to a transmission delay on a backhaul link between access points (APs), and the acknowledgment request is an acknowledgment request for the data frame.   
     
     
         11 . The STA-side data acknowledgment chip according to  claim 10 , wherein the data frame is configured to carry indication information indicating uplink joint reception. 
     
     
         12 . The STA-side data acknowledgment chip according to  claim 11 , wherein the indication information comprises:
 a return address (RA) field whose value is a medium access control (MAC) address of a virtual coordinated AP and is in the data frame, or   a 1-bit uplink joint reception indicator bit in the data frame.   
     
     
         13 . The STA-side data acknowledgment chip according to  claim 1 , wherein the transceiver interface is further configured to receive a beacon, wherein the beacon comprises:
 a MAC address of an AP,   a MAC address of a virtual coordinated AP to which the AP belongs, or   the transmission delay on the backhaul link between the APs.   
     
     
         14 . The STA-side data acknowledgment according to  claim 1 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive a reply to the acknowledgment request. 
     
     
         15 . The STA-side data acknowledgment chip according to  claim 11 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive a reply to the acknowledgment request.